359 Tasting Notes
Sweet… floral… buttery… Creamy… Feminine… Sophisticated… Classy…
Mine. Right now.
Had this beautiful oolong using high mountain seasoned yixing clay pot.
This is my special occasion oolong and I just realized last night that I had totally forgotten to order some more on the last Butiki sale :-(
And then a miracle. I found an unopened 1/2 ounce pouch in the butiki drawer.
So I drank some with no special occasion other than having found it…and it gave me pure joy.
This is the epitome of what clean and fresh should be. A taste of the sky.
Sweet, creamy and buttery, pudding mouth. Floral notes very present of lilac and orchid, with a fresh minty finish.
The leaves are beautiful, so I decorated my pot with it to thank it for my session.
beautiful!
Thanks stephanie :-)
Sometimes it’s a special occasion with no reason at all. And that drinking this tea gave you pure joy, that’s a special occasion and a special tea. <3
Well said cheri :-)
I like that you have a Butiki drawer, that is a level of organization I can appreciate!
Beautiful picture! I am anxiously awaiting for my butiki order to arrivr:)
Lovely! I adore da yu lings!!!!
Thanks christeana, med too can’t wait to get it, especially the mug!!!
Amanda, I only create the illusion of being organized…too much tea!!!
Sars, da yu ling is my favourite high mountain oolong :-)
No, it’s MY fave high mountain oolong ;p
It’s awesome that you have a Butiki drawer.
You deserve a miracle tea find :).
Kaylee, butiki was the first tea Co. I ever dedicated a drawer to :-)
mj, awww, thank you ;-)
Hehe. What are the other companies?
Well, i recently invested in a tin system, that means less tea in drawers! But other than Butiki, Whispering Pines and Teavivre each have their own ;-)
(So much tea!!)
Love your pic! :) Unfortunately, we just missed out on the Da Yu Ling this year. I waited a few days too long to purchase and it was already gone. :( Instead I was able to find a fantastic Fu Shou Shan in its place.
I don’t think I’ve ever had such a fruity oolong before. This is amazing.
I thought I would be able to identify cinnamon notes, but quite frankly, my taste buds don’t seem to pick up cinnamon much at all.
What I do get is lots of apple and peach. Oh, this is oven baked apple and peach cobbler with honey drizzle!
It’s lightly roasted and nutty, smooth, sweet and creamy, no astringency present at all.I also get a faint earthiness mixed with some minerals…not strong minerals like from a giant rock or something, very gentle…like pebble minerals :-)
I really like this…pure oolong awesomeness.
Thank you so much Garret for this generous sample…
I love that your samples are always large enough to brew gongfu style.
Oh my… this sounds just yummy! Love the review!
Thanks Sars…I think I may need some of this in the cupboard…sigh.
Awesome!!! Really happy that you enjoyed it, and really happy that it’s more apple, peach than cinnamon. This was the sample that I asked for with the order I received today!!!
This does sound amazing! You always sell me on the teas you review though :), except the greens…but that’s not your fault!
Dex, how funny that we both requested the same sample! I can’t wait to have your impressions. I’m surprised I did not get cinnamon…but I don’t care, that apple taste is so good and juicy.
Mj, lol, I know you haven’t crossed to the green side yet :-)
Fairy – how did you steep this? Did you gongfu it or did you western brew it? Parameters?
Is ok mj – stay with us over here on the dark side – that green stuff is scary. ;))
Gongfu gaiwan. 4 oz water and it was perfect. Now I don’t remember how long, but I think I did 20s, 30, 60, 90, and then lost track. I’m terrible with that, sorry. Did about 6 steeps. Are you trying tonight?
Dark siiiiiide. We don’t drink grass here! :p
Lol, if you don’t drink it, what do you do with it? (Innocent face)
Mow it? :p
Lol.
You don’t know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master.
I’m an imposter…I play both sides, and I,m loving every minute of it….cause I want ALL THE TEA!!!!
I’m going to go the other way and western steep it in my yixing mug. I’m going to use about half the sample and do about 3-4 minutes – see if that gives a different flavor profile. Will be back….. (if I drink this tonight I don’t need to enter it into my spreadsheet)
Lol you know you’re addicted to tea when….?
LOL You know you are overwhelmed with tea when….
(How am I suppose to enter "from my personal stash 2006 ripe from Yong De area?)
The joy of spreadsheets :-o
OHHHH I found cinnamon…. this is odd – good but strange….
Yay, you found it!
i love that dexter really does have to “find” her teas…
I’m with you, TTF. I like both the dark and the light side. The dark is new for me, though.
This sounds really good
Krystal, it is hard to find a Mandala tea that isn’t!
I found one once!
No wait. That was something else. Nevermind. :p
See??? Lol.
Yes I am just finding this out now Tea Fairy! But bettet late than never
Better*
I’m finishing a cup of this beautiful tea. My night cap.
Can I reiterate how much I like it? You already know that. Well, I like it. A lot. There, now you know even more.
Just want to share that like most of you, I would like to get some sleep now.
But…my dog Dexter has decided to land on my legs. What’s the big deal, right? Well, he’s kind of heavy and he’s playing rag doll. It’s like there’s no bones in that body. There’s no way I can move him. So, I tried to contort myself from underneath him, and now I must make myself as small as can be so I can fit on whatever space is left on the mattress. I do have a queen size. He’s not only big…he’s tall.
I remember when he was a few months old, a friend told me «don’t ever let him jump in bed…Dobermans are velcro dogs. They stick to you like glue…»
Sigh…he was right.
Aww that’s adorable. xD Haha I at least love when my dog is on my bed with me :P But he’s not as big or as tall as yours!
Your dog is such a cutie :-)
Can’t imagine – my cat can take up 2/3 of the bed when he sprawls out, your dog could probably take up the whole space and then some. It is funny that we will contort around our pets rather than just kicking them out of bed….
One of my cats can take up half of my half of the bed without a problem. Another one of my cats (only when the first cat isn’t around) likes to wait until I’m asleep and then climb on me and sleep sprawled out all crazy like.
So who decided that tea could taste so good, huh?
Really, who??? Cause now, I’m drinking Cocoa Amore in my little VD pot, and I see where some of the goodness comes from cause it gets stuck in my strainer and I have to fight myself not to lick it, lick it good!!
http://instagram.com/p/rF5qlTQh8z/?modal=true
Do you see her? It’s Miss Vanilla Bean!!! Oh, she is such a temptress, so wicked.
She turns everything she touches into a severe addiction. Chocolate covered cherries. I’m already a chocolate and cherry addict.
What was I thinking?
And remember, this has no flavouring!!
Only black tea blended with the best vanilla bean ever, and you get pure magic!Nice pic!
I love your cute little teapot! Plus, you make me want to drink this, but I have to switch to decaf now :p
Thanks nxtdoor :-) i could take tea pictures al, day…
Sars…really. This tea is just Amore! And yes, my little VD pot is also Amore.
One day I’ll have to try some of the vanilla teas at Whispering Pines Tea. They sound amazing.
They are, Ubacat! You definitely need to try some
Yes, they are amazing…and what’s even more amazing is they all taste very different from one another!
And amazing.
I love to drink sheng. I’m a fa-sheng-ista!
But sheng is not my favourite tea to review cause I always get taken by it, in the moment. It’s hard for me to analyze and think about anything…Just want to let the tea take me to wherever it wants to…
I love Mao Cha, what cakes are made of…
I won’t comment on each steep cause that’s not the way I review my tea. But because some have requested I write details on the way I brewed it (cause apparently it can be a little finicky) here are my parameters. I actually counted the seconds this time :-)
7g, 5oz gaiwan, water temp. 175F
Steep 1) 20 sec.
Steep 2) 30 sec.
Steep 3) 40 sec.
Steep 4) 60 sec.
Steep 5) 90 sec.
Steep 6) 90 sec.
Steep 7) 120 sec.
This type of tea is light in weight and takes a lot of room. The leaves are so long, they barely fit in the gaiwan. First, the dry scent. Smells like some kind of smoked lemonade. Yes, smokey and citrusy. Interesting. When I say smoke, let’s be clear: it’s very subtle.
Oh, the first few steeps are very sweet and “melony” juicy with a fresh mouthfeel. I find some echo of yesterday’s campfire wood if that makes senses. You know, that scent you get in the air the next morning when you camp? It renders a light smoked dampness in the mouth.
It’s creamy and a little salty and nutty. In some ways, it does remind me of high mountain oolong.
I must talk about the fragrance exuding from the wet leaves. It triggers memories of late August summer nights after a hot afternoon…when the warmth of the day collides with the coolness of the night. Yes, this tea smells like August, and it leaves an imprint of late summer nights as I drink it. I do realize it must sound plain weird to you,but it means a lot to me…that’s how cha qi kicks in for me. Memories.
The later steeps are not as sweet, a nice light astringency is building up. I say nice, cause to me, the right dose of astringency in sheng is a good thing. It’s bright and awakening.
What I identified as being melon earlier is now morphing into grapefruit. I also get more saltiness, a “brothy” feel, umami.
Cedar and camphor are present at the end of the sip.
I’ll be stopping here, cause I just want to enjoy the rest peacefully and stop taking notes.
This is a special one. It made me feel something…that’s what I seek when I drink sheng.
Nice review :)
Thank you tommy…i loved this tea.
I’m looking forward to having some really soon :) i can’t wait!!
I’ll be interested to read what you think of it.
I really enjoyed it, too. :)
Sounds good, but not sure about camphor taste in a tea?
Mountain tea trees often have camphora trees in the same area and their odor can get into tea leaves, and hence into the cake. It is really more of a mouth/throat cool feel.
I really like camphor notes in sheng
Ah! That’s what that mouthfeel is. Thanks!
Rainy and soooo cold today!
Perfect chai day…which brings a question: Is there such a thing as a perfect chai?
If there is, I never found it. Always a little too this or a little too that…
Cause what makes a perfect chai I ask you? One question, but probably a thousand answers, I know. For me, it’s all in one word: balance. Yes, the perfect balance. But what does that mean?
I think it means that I don’t have to say “oh, it’s good, but there’s too much of this and not enough of that”. It also means I won’t have to add anything to it, unless I feel like it.
So far, I have tried El Dorado three different ways:
1) brewed according to WP’s instructions…it’s just perfect.
2) cold brewed…again, just perfect.
3) brewed in hot almond milk with a tad of maple syrup…Ghawwww. PERFECT!
The “Snaily Yums” base is brilliant, it’s sweet and mellow. Paired with “magic” vanilla bean, it prevents for any bitterness to develop from the spices.
I personally don’t like my chai too pungent, but I do want a little kick in the tushie. This classic spice blend makes the cut. It’s gingery, clovy, cinnaNOMMY, cardaNOMMY in the perfect amount…I like that it’s peppery without the addition of any actual pepper. That’s probably form the ginger.
This is everything I want a chai to be and so much more…If the perfect chai exists, i have found it in El Dorado!
Sooo….Haven’t had much of an appetite lately…been skipping meals and what ends up happening sometimes is I get certain weird cravings late in the night. Like my smoked salmon at 1am the other night.
Another thing that you may or may not know about me is that I don’t eat junk food. I am a bit of a health freak. But….I have my weaknesses… And one of them hit hard last night. My last encounter with it was about six months ago and I did report it in a pu’erh review. I even found out then that there were fellow steepsterites suffering from the same addiction. Somehow, I feel like I need to confess whenever I succumb to it.
Forgive me Steepster for I have sinned…
Last night, 12:30am, I was just sitting pretty on the couch, doing a little bit of reading, a little bit of Steepstering. The tv was on in the background. Then it happened.
I saw someone eating mac & cheese!!!
Damn it…
Some of you might remember that I keep a small emergency supply of…KD mac & cheese. Yes. Guilty as charged. Now…I make a mean REAL healthy mac and cheese from scratch with tofu, avocados, red bell peppers, an yes, some cheese. But…KD has a sentimental value…I just need to eat it occasionally. And when I do…I eat the whole god damn thing!
So I got my but off the couch and I made some….I gulped it down as if there was no tomorrow.
And again, I had some pu’erh to avoid major bloating situation.
This was one of the first pu’erh I ever drank…I really like Butiki’s mini tuochas. I ordered a bunch of them a long time ago, love how handy they are and that you can keep them forever.
This mini tuocha is different from others I’ve had. You must steep it a very long time. Like 7-8 minutes after a quick rinse.
It gives a very interesting mouthfeel, it feels «chewy», you know that feeling you get in your mouth when eating raw mushrooms? Hard to explain.
It’s also sweet and smooth, rather on the light side for shou.
It’s very forest-like, damp soil, wet autumn leaves. It has a wintergreen fresh finish, just lovely.
And…it most certainly took care of my bloated tummy!
Thank you pupu for the rescue!
i know what the chewy feels like :P
Oh you know what is funny, the “KD” thing isn’t used in the US, I remember seeing on a show that it is marketed that way other places. Just trivia!
I love the from-the-box mac and cheese too! I haven’t had it in FOREVER
I ate some last night too.
Oh I remember, I first heard it called KD on Top Chef Canada.
I think I got one of these in the sale, just to try. Glad it made you feel better!
+1 for the smoked salmon! Now if they just had a lower-sodium version!
Oh, but is this is supposed to be about smoked salmon, mac & cheese, or a tea tasting … ;-)
+1 “love how handy they are and that you can keep them forever.” Excellent point!
“…interesting mouthfeel, it feels «chewy»” “…also sweet and smooth”
Sounding very good!
However, “…rather on the light side for shou.” You almost had me …
rich ppl dont eat fancy mac n cheese they just eat twice as much kraft
(I went to buy some real food people…no more boxed mac & cheese…and yes…I got some cherries!!)
Kirkoneill, glad you understand what I mean by chewy ;-)
Thanks for the fun fact marzi, did not know that!
mj, it’s time to have some!!
Sars, I really like it, but let it steep a loooog time!
LooseTman….so sorry I lost you there :-(
But I know I’ll get you back with some other stuff :-)
There’s probably some truth in that apt!
OH MAN I miss KD. It’s so dirty and so wrong and a massive rip-off here when you can find it (upwards of £4.50 a box? Forget it!) but sometimes it’s the only thing that does it, man.
I actually have no idea what KD is, but I don’t eat cheese, so I’m just playing along. :)
Sami, that’s expensive, wow! They are only $2 here…
Haha! Sars, it’s Kraft Dinner boxed mac & cheese!!!! You play along just fine :-)
No cheese???? Preposterous!!!
Oh kraft. That’s a classic here. Grew up on it.
Nope, no cheese. It’s one thing I miss in my vegan life. And also bacon.
I eat Kraft Mac & Cheese everyone in awhile, but it never ever has the same taste I remember from childhood – that tart cheesyness. I don’t know if they changed it or if my tastebuds changed from childhood.
Oh, did not even know you were vegan! I’ve got nothing but respect for you…
Skulleigh, I think you’re right, maybe that’s why I like to add a little lemon juice in mine :-)
Lemon Juice to KD?
Yep. So good. And so much pu’erh, lol, I ended up drinking 3 cups from the other one i told you yesterday, and 3 cups of butiki. I was so pu’erh’d up! But no tummy ache :-)
You are Foxy Roxy, Queen of the Midnight Pu’erh. You henceforth shall be known as: FRQOTMP
I feel like there are quite a few vegan/vegetarians on here..lol:)
Christeana1-mwahaha, we are everywhere. : D
I can’t hear you guys from behind my big juicy burger.
I was a vegetarian for the second 8 years if my life (from when I was 8 till I was 16, being a kid vegetarian was hard 10 years ago man), and then only ate chicken and sea food until I was 18, when I discovered that beef can actually taste good if it’s not massively over done (love my mom but she can’t cook meat to save her life and so I always thought all meat was gross). Still don’t like pork, hate bacon with a burning passion, but give me a good bloody steak and I’m yours.
This is all so interesting to me…
Was vegan until expecting my son and I started craving hamburgers, he was over 11 lbs when born. He took a look at a bean as a baby and wouldn’t eat it. He’s 23 now and still won’t eat a bean. He needs meat. My vegan days were pretty much over though I don’t eat much red meat myself, it is very rich to digest for me.
Drinking this “Laoshan style”… I used to drink only my Dragonwell this way, but a certain Tea Whiz of the Woods mentioned that method worked with pretty much all teas.
For those who are unfamiliar with the method, this is how I do it. I use a tall glass preferably, and poor low temp water on the leaves. When they sink at the bottom, I start to drink. When the glass gets 2/3 empty, I refill. If you are using good quality tea, it NEVER gets bitter.
I like using a crystal beer glass cause I don’t burn my fingers this way. Here’s a few pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14565779587/lightbox/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14751914512/lightbox/
Now the tea. It’s such a lovely pretty tea. (Aren’t WP teas all pretty? What’s up with that?)
The taste is so friendly, it’s smooth, not overly vegetal nor grassy. It’s got sweet tender buttery green beans notes.
It’s got that marine breeze saltiness I like so much, I’m eating macadamia nuts and it just goes so perfectly with that taste.
If you shy away from green teas because of their ususal grassiness, this tea is for you. Oh, and please don’t throw out the brewed leaves. They are so good and tender. Add them to green smoothies, stir fries or salads. They are delicious, not bitter at all!
Now, a long Story…skip if uninterested.
My dog Dexter has been a little nervous at night lately. We’ve had a possible beak in attempt a few nights ago…while I was in the house. The alarm company sent the police over, big commotion, could not determine what really happened.
My dog is a big baby, but he can be such a bad ass mofo (this word is a courtesy of MzPriss)
The police told me he does a better job than any alarm system will ever do. They say if a doberman lets you in…it won’t ever let you out.
So the next night, when I heard him growling at the same door from which the supposedly break in attempt happened, I got scared.
So I did what any bad fake blonde actress in a lame B horror movie would do. I did it people. I opened the door and got out on the deck. (Fake dumb blond reenactment) «Hello? Hello? Someone there?» Silence. Pitch dark, I don’t have city lights in my neck of the woods…but then I heard alien noises…hmmmm…was I about to have an encounter with the third kind? Flashlight time, pointed it towards the noise source. This is what I found:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14748863064/
Awwww…. Little baby raccoons feeding off my bird feeder!!! They froze and stayed there. I had time to go grab the camera, put it on night mode and get this amazing shot.
Now, was this dynamic duo responsible for the break in attempt? They would not tell me. But I’d like to think they were…and I’d say that’s a guilty look if I ever saw one!
Eww, raccoons. Not a fan after seeing coons larger than dogs in the city boosted by human food growth hormones. Nice post about the tea, however^^
Lol, but racoons are so cute!!
Aaaaww they are so cute! Remind me to tell you about Mr. Peepers sometime.
I had a break in once, while I was in the house. Now I have 3 dogs and I’m armed. I used to have an alarm, but that just went off for no reason. If anyone so much as breathes outside this house, the dogs let me know.
Oh how horrible Sars… Good thing you are well protected now. And yes, I’d love to hear about Mr. Peepers :-)
I’m glad you have Dexter, even if he’s a big baby, as you say. He still undoubtedly has impressive hearing and the fact that he probably LOOKS scary goes a long way!!!!
How adorable!
(I really need to change my screen name…..)
LOL Dex :p
Hahaha! So sorry about that dexter…don’t change your name please, maybe i should just call him DeDe around here like I do at home ;-)
Sars he his a big baby, but don’t underestimate him: he can flip into serial killer in no time! Two years ago, he came back with a peeping tom’s piece of ass in his mouth…good boy :-)
So adorable! That’s great they stayed while you ran for the camera – such a good photo!
Caile, It was so funny, they were like frozen in time, caught in the act!
ROTFL!!! Omg, I guess that’s why some people don’t like them…But they are just hungry little fury balls, poor things.
Soo cute! But I would piss in my pants. I’m scared of wild animals except squirrels haha
Wow.. So glad it was mischievous raccoons & not someone tryi to get in. What a scary adventure.
We had one that visited the well where we keep the garden hose in the front porch. One day I lifted off the cover only to be greeted by a furry face. The poor thing was only looking for water. It had been very hot, but it made me jump back a little.
Yikes! I hope it turns out the little robber raccoon were responsible for the whole thing, how terrifying!
Lol, boychik, How do you survive the whole summer over there??? Now you must have critters all over the place no?
Suziqzer, dunno if they are guilty, but it reassures me to think they are, that’s for sure :-)
Yyz, I guess they can be surprising, no matter how cute they are!
Amanda, yep, I sure hope so….
I saw coyote last week. He was running to my neighbors drive way. Needless to say I run to the house. I think he got scared as well;)
Omg, they’re sooooooo cute!! I love raccoons :) I hope they were the guilty party for the attempted break-in. They’re easily distracted by shiny things :)
Oooh, coyote…they can be dangerous though when they are hungry…but you’re right, most critters are more afraid of of then we are of them!
mj, they were just the cutest thing ever!! i do hope they were the ones playing with my door nob, haha!
They probably smelled you brewing tea and wanted to come in for a tea party… They figured they could jiggle the doorknobs and get your attention. It’s a little known fact that racoons can’t knock on doors.
Well sars…then tea would be the culprit???
And your sparkling personality. I’d totally crash your tea parties. I’d just knock first. :)
Holy sweet mother of god. This is good.
I drank it for the first time 3 months ago thanks to a sample from Dexter. I knew I wanted to order it, but always got so mesmerized by Garret’s pu’erh and oolong selection, I’d always forget to add it to the cart.
MzPriss’s Dark Beauty cocktail helped me remember this time. I finally got my supply of it. Obviously, I did not order enough, but that’s another story. (Garret, you know what this means, don’t you?)
It truly feels like a leafhopper bitten tea, except that it’s not. It’s like a mix of mellow “bready” Yunnan an sweet fruity Oriental Beauty oolong.
It may be smooth and silky like honey in the mouth but it’s got lots character, it’s a little boozy and feisty, I like that. Fiona Apple’s lyrics comes to mind “slow like honey, heavy with mood”…I think it’s just the perfect way to describe it!
I’m so upping my rating on this tea. It’s spectacular.Wow… I am headed to the kitchen to brew this now!
I really do enjoy this tea. It works well at a variety of water temps. I had an oolong fan sit down with me at the sampling bar early last week and I brewed some of this up at around 195F. Delicious. I’d say anywhere between there and 208F gives a great cup (or 8) of this tea.
Oh, I so wish I could be sitting at your sampling bar right now Garret :-)
Yeah, me too! Tea party!
Oh yes, a real tea party!! Sars, didn’t you like this tea? Why did I ever think 2oz was going to be enough? I already drank half of my supply, sigh….
Yes, dearest. I like it very much. I only got a little to try, so I will need more soon also :)
After searching through a horde of comments and posts, I cannot seem to find the recipe/proportions for the Dark Beauty cocktail. Can you remind me of them?
Very incisive!
Apparently, I can be a woman of a few words ;-)
I love these pictures you are posting :)
Thank you christeana, I just love taking pictures, and tea is such an inspiration :-)
Love this review and the pic!
Thanks mj :-)