CrowKettle Send Message

This sample was generously provided by Whispering Pines

I don’t drink alcohol that often because even small amounts make me feel like crap, but I miss my old staple stout Dark Matter (Hoyne’s Brewery, Victoria, BC). It’s such a local favourite that I’ve see a few food businesses incorporate it into their products- the most noteworthy (to me) being Cold Comfort’s ice cream. I miss Victoria sometimes. (thank you for taking me to that happy place, tea).

Steep Count: 2

I initially thought two things when I first tried this tea: 1) Holy Bergamot, and 2) Sil would not like this at all.

The Bergamot is strong but not enough to curdle milk. I wouldn’t normally add milk to a Dian Hong but this scented tea takes it well- Like a freshly baked citrus loaf, with sweet potato and butterscotch notes. Someone else mentioned taro root and that is spot on. I also get a marmalade finish, which sours into a red wine aftertaste (and man, is that noticeable after cooking with our old syrah tonight).

Something about this tea is too aritificial. Not sure if it’s the white chocolate, added sugar, or dairy (would’ve preferred this to be Vegan) but this coconut pie is more sour and cloying than I would like it. While it makes a passable latte, I don’t think it offers up much competition or innovation to the other coconut oolong blends already out there.

Omg, I was hoping to finish this off today but the rest of my packet went missing at work. BOOOOO. Because this was actually pretty for a flavoured oolong from David’s Tea; second steep was like a lemon meringue pie.

Wish I had picked up a little more (and taken it home). Why do I learn to like a David’s Tea offering just as they are discontinuing it?

Sample Generously Provided by Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’ve had this one before but this time around it’s hitting a sweet spot. Maybe this harvest is more to my taste than the one in the past. Maybe I haven’t had a Chinese black tea in my cupboard for a long time and now I’m latching on to the first one I try. Who knows.

One of my cups had delicious spicy-fruity aroma that reminds me of Verdant’s old Vanilla Citrus Spice blend (the batches that didn’t taste like dirt; orange, ginger, and cinnamon notes apparent). The taste throughout the various sessions were often starchy-sweet (banana, sweet potato), meaty-starch nut (chestnut), syrupy or jam-sweet (plum, marmalade, molasses.. possibly caramel? I didn’t get that much caramel except maybe to finish). Aftertaste is partially salty, partially sweet musky tobacco.

All in all, this is a pretty filling cup, with a lot happening! I’m glad I had the opportunity to give this tea a second chance.

Steep Count: 2

(2018 Spring Harvest)

Sample generously provided by Mandala Tea

(I think this is the Golden Daylily although my sample was only marked as “Jin Xuan”, so apologies if it’s another variant).

I was baad about mindfully drinking this sample; I meant to savour and make note of it properly but it turns out this Jin Xuan is an easy drinker (aka- totally chugged it. Sorry).

I do recall that it was juicy, silky and somewhat buttery, although not to the extent of the scented Milk Oolong, which knows no equals in its richness and creaminess. There was one particularly noteworthy cup where this Jin Xuan transformed into an extremely happy mango pudding; that was one fine cup.

Steep Count: 6

Sample generously provided by Mandala Tea

This vibrantly green oolong is like drinking a silky bouquet of spring flowers. During various sessions I picked up notes of honeysuckle, clover honey, lilac, citrus blossoms, and… licorice to finish once? (the latter is probably the result of a White Wolf anise contamination but it was still lovely).

The enthusiastic garden display reminded me a tad of this ridiculously floral Gewürztraminer I once had. Like aforementioned wine, this turned out to be a happy pairing with Palak Paneer, Dahl Makhani and some garlic naan. Maybe I should try more floral-sweet tea with spicy food pairings in the future.

Steep Count: 5

There was always a long break between the first steep and second steep because I could never get into the first cup, even with a rinse. Consecutive cups were almost always better and more complex

(2018 harvest)

Hello again, spiritually fulfilling tea. I’m going to drink this one all day, and at some point I’m going to compare it to the sample of Jin Xuan that Mandala Tea so generously provided.

Steep Count: 5 (Aprox. 20s each at 195F)

The first steep went to my Mom’s travel mug on her journey downtown to see a play with my older sister. I am left with the second steep, and I’m noticing a lot more sweet grass notes this time around. I just ate a bunch of Squish gummies (spicy vanilla cola skulls) which I think are accentuating different flavours in this tea (like vanilla custard).

Here’s the tea I’ve been using other Dragonwell batches to revitalize. Seeing the original picture on here makes me so sad; my 2oz is no longer the beautiful display it once was, and only the strawberry pieces have retained any of their original colour (let this be cautionary tale demonstrating why there is no point in hoarding tea).

I’ve had a few people request this in swaps over the years but I don’t really like to send it out because it just looks so bad. The profile’s original chemistry is also much diminished; if you’ve never had a Butiki tea but wished you had, I’d say it’s better to imagine what this one in particular would’ve been like as opposed to drinking it’s pale shadow. The original leaf has greatly wilted wilst the ginger and strawberry pieces have fermented into a drunken dictatorship.

I dearly miss Butiki. Stacy wasn’t afraid to take “nicer” teas and build off of their already amazing natural profiles to create some truly unique and exquisite flavoured teas. However, it’s time to say goodbye and move on. I’ll try to drink this one up over the next week or two. (Also, at 18 teas in my cupboard I caved and ordered new teas so…).

This Dragonwell isn’t anything special but it is a pleasant cup; it strikes the right balance between a pleasantly nutty and grassy profile. Nuts are the thing that hooked me onto this type of tea years back when I was just learning that green tea doesn’t necessarily equate to Bitter Veggies of Death. To this day, as long as a hazelnut, peanut, or sesame profile is present and the leaves aren’t burnt and astringent (looking at you David’s Tea Dragonwell circa 2012), I’m more or less in a nostalgic happy place.

To double the nostalgia, I’ve been using this as a filler base for my remaining With Open Eyes from Butiki (A Strawberry Ginger Dragonwell blend from 2015). That Butiki blend is essentially a wilted brown hue now, but the ginger and strawberry are still quite bright; they just need a nut-grass pick-me-up!