Red Blossom Tea Company

Another nice jasmine scented tea from Red Blossom. I bought this and their Supreme as I ran out of their Organic and it’s now out of stock.

This is a very jasminey tea. Round mouth feel, jasmine finish in the back of the nose that lingers.

I’m not getting any of the “buttercream” taste to it. But maybe I will after it cools a bit, we’ll see. For now it’s just a nice, strong, jasmine white.

A sweet and light oolong. Only steeped for several seconds, but that was enough to release a full pallat of flavors. The second infusion was even better. I had it with sushi tonight and thought it complimented the spicy tuna nicely.

Excellent tea- balanced and rich. I love the charcoal roasting.

A great tea… expensive company.

Dry Leaf – Light and dark tones of green with some brown stems. Amazing sweet scent that reminds me of sweet corn and buckwheat honey, and a flowery scent I cant pinpoint.

Wet leaves- Sweet corn smell raises, warm butter and honey with a flower background. As the leaves open the flowery background becomes more apparent but sweet corn nuttiness is the main character. Once the leaves have opened I get the same scents I got previously but with an added citrus character and very apparent mango. As the steeps continue the scents start to fade and mostly mango with hints of the sweetcorn remain with some green vegetable smell in the background.

The Tea – Gong fu style (with a washing of leaves). Butter and lilac seem to be the main character but seem to be only opening up for a sweet honey and nuttiness of corn. Next two steeps are very similar with variations of which specific flavor is highlighted and a slight astringency appears. Once the leaves are fully opened Honey, corn nutty flavors are in the background while a mango/citrus taste becomes apparent and lingers on after sipping a long after the astringency is there but doesn’t lessen the experience. I got the next two steeps being very similar with the last one starting to fade in sweetness and nuttiness but the aftertaste of mango/citrus will linger on. (Mango as in the after taste flavor of eating a ripe mango.)

In summary this IS a really good tea but I’m not sure I would pay the price again, I’ve had similar and better from other sources. But since I’m rating the tea and not the price. GREAT tea!

I’ve always enjoyed dragonwells, but my experience with them has always been with what some would say, low grades or everyday types. While I did enjoy them, I never quite understood why it was considered a China famous tea, they’re good but just not as amazing or as tasty as my fave Japanese greens. That changed, when I tried this one. After reading and learning more about dragonwell, I decided to look for a high quality version of this tea. Sadly not many places here in the US carry high grade dragonwells and among the few places that did, Redblossom convinced me the most to actually try it (thanks to the oh so pretty pictures they have).

Still, I was reluctant to buy it over the internet since this was not a cheap tea, and I didn’t want to buy something that did not live up to my expectations. So I waited until my recent trip to San Francisco to physically visit the store, see the teas first hand, etc. While I REALLY wanted to try the Panan Supreme, my budget simply did not cut it, so I settled for the regular Panan. After tasting it in store and brewing it myself at home, I can safely say, I’ve found a new tea to add to my favorites collection.

>Dry Leaf Appearance/Aroma
This is a very beautiful tea. Small thin blade-like sets of buds and leaf, vibrant golden green leaves, and very soft and delicate to the touch. Some damaged leaves and broken pieces. The aroma is so entrancing, super fresh, lightly fruity, reminds me of rain, forest and nuts. I don’t know what this tea has, but every time I open the tin, I just want to drink it.

>Brewing Method
Small Gaiwan, 175F water, 1 min steep time. 3 times.

>Liquid Appearance
Very pale but bright clear green.

>Taste/Aroma
The first cup was obviously the best. Lightly sweet, very buttery, nutty, juicy, crisp finish, and fresh, It is simply delicious. The second cup was still good, but with a slight loss to the buttery texture. The third cup was still good but much lighter in taste.

>Wet Leaf Appearance
Beautiful leaves, small and delicate buds with 1-2 leaves.

>Overall
This tea was such an eye opener for me concerning dragonwells. Quality does make a huge difference. The taste was so mouthwatering that I keep coming back to it for more. I would like to eventually try the Panan Supreme to see if the price on that one is really worth it, but after trying this one, I might just get it… someday. Definitely one of my new favorites.

Its been awhile since I have had this tea! This was one of the first teas that I drank that really changed my whole outlook on tea in general. One of the first teas to make me break away from Teavana. I will admit I purchased this tea almost a year and half ago because of Kevin Rose. He said that this was his favorite tea. Long story short this was one of my “first” teas. Yes, I have always drank tea since I was little but never really saw the full range and complexity to it until I had this. It it made me want to buy more and try more.

I’m an oolong girl, and I have had many roasted and charcoal roasted oolongs that don’t measure up to this one. All you get is charcoal, and thats it with other charcoal roasted oolongs. This tea has a caramel fruitiness to it. A sweetness on the tongue that makes me smile cup after cup.
It is also a very forgiving tea. I can’t tell you how many times I let this oversteep, or used hotter water the I should have. This always produce a good cup of tea. Roasted fruitiness:)
Great for a person who is just getting into tea.

Its funny I have never written a review of this tea until now. It was at the bottom of one of my tea jars waiting for me to open it up again. I’m on my 6th steep now, and it is still going strong.I know that this tea is good, but I think I love it because it started me on my tea journey that continues to grow.:)

Fantastic white tea, definitely has a stronger almost green tea flavor, but is still a white with all of the added health benefits. The undertone is slightly floral and very slightly nutty. Oversteeping this tea will ruin it. I steep for 30 seconds on the first infusion, 45-1min on the second and then about 2 min on the third. I have continued using the leaves longer than this and just steeped for longer, but it does lose some flavor past three steeps.

First off- It’s a green tea. Don’t know why people keep saying white.

Second off- Best jasmine tea I have ever had.

Liked it, but after 2 weeks in an airtight light-tight tin, if I used more than a teaspoon per cup, it would taste soapy.

Wonderful, high quality lavender tea. Pity they don’t sell it any more.

Wonderful green tea, I have had mine for 7 years and am now running out. Smoky peach-apricot flavor. No flavor change over seven years, due to limited access to light and heat.

Great balance of the characteristics of white and Chinese tea. Hints of something toasted, clean flavors.
Almost too mild, however…

A good everyday tea and tuos are nice for the office, although I haven’t had these in a few years it seems. I don’t think Red Blossom even sells these anymore.

I steeped it for around 1 minute at 190f or so water. These are pretty mellow, not that bitter. Have an apple flavor with some woodsy and vegetal notes. It yields a fairly pleasant cuppa that isn’t too fussy or aggressive. Good to see that these are aging well.

I really just got these for everyday drinking at the office and whatnot. These are small raw green (sheng) touochas. I did a quick rinse and did my first steep at 60 seconds and the second at 2 minutes, both with around 180 F water.

These are nice and inexpensive – I got a whole bag for $6.50 which has 20 or so pieces in it (I did not count). The flavor is mellow, earthy and malty. With the shorter steep I was picking up some apple flavors but with the longer steep I got some slightly bitter flavors. They claim these are aged but I don’t know for how long, they still seem kinda young. They are of good quality as you can see the long leaves unfurl with only a bit of broken leaves. Amazing how they were able to compress all that in a little cake.

I liked this, good for every day, not as astringent and sour as some sheng tou chas I’ve had but certainly nothing as complex as their loose leaf sheng pu-erhs.

This is one of the strongest and most assertive gunpowder teas I have ever had. I tried cold brewing it with some loose leaf spearmint from Upton Teas (about 18 hours).

The result is potent! The smokiness is definitely present with an assertive wallop. The spearmint is hovering in the background but doesn’t really stand a chance against the gunpowder here. I ended up adding some sugar to make it slightly more palatable. I’m not totally in love with this creation, however.

Am I motivated yet? Evidently not since I keep making more tea. ;-)

This is a delicious gunpowder, today I steeped it for about 90 seconds. It’s fairly potent but savory and slightly smoky. yummm (see previous notes)

This was a recent purchase for me at Red Blossom, it almost felt like they were trying to talk me out of purchasing this one, after reading the description I am a little scared… lol. Regardless the only other gunpowder I’ve had was Numi’s and I liked that version.

I steeped this gong fu style for only about 30 seconds, I think that was probably enough for me, I’m not sure it would need to be much stronger. The smell is smoky and very nutty and the flavor is definitely assertive, must be the strongest bodied green tea I now currently own. I’m not normally a huge fan of smoky teas (or of pungent ones)! I am getting walnuts, smoke and some hearty green vegetal notes, roasted artichoke or even brussels sprouts. It also has a nice richness which I can only liken to olive oil. If green teas were like musical instruments this might be the tuba… lol. I think without the slightly sweet richness playing a part this would almost be unbearable but it works.

I did get a second steep put of this and I’d imagine I could even one more perhaps.

Anyway since I’ve been drinking so much sheng lately I’ve gotten used to some of these flavors. The BF who normally doesn’t have much of a reaction to green teas thought this one was good. I cannot see drinking this first thing in the morning or with a stomach ache, but it would be good in the afternoon, or perhaps with a meal. Definitely recommended for adventurous types & is much stronger than the Numi teabags. :)

There is nothing more amusing that a hype written about perfumes and teas which make you drool with anticipation and then rush to buy pounds or gallons in case they get sold out FOREVER. 1980 year for a tea makes it antique by American standards. And indeed, this tea tastes and smells like a very antique ginger root fermented in miso. How does such old ginger root smell and taste? Well, to know it you would need to try this tea. Use hot boiling water and wait 1 minute. The secret should be then revealed to you. As for me, I am going to store it in a ginger jar, hide in a dark place and then wait another 30 years to taste it again.

What a beautiful tea two small leaves and a bud with lots of orange tips. Sweet flavor of malt and grains in initial infusions. Scent of cocoa on the lid of guiwan but no flavor of chocolate in the liquor. Subsequent infusions become more fruity with notes of orange pith . On this day it is hard to imagine a better black tea. It does seem to give up after about 4 infusions though but sublime up until that point.

Makes a very nice cup of delicate white tea. I usually make a two infusions. and the second infusion is just as nice as the first. I usually use my IngenuiTea for brewing and it easily filters out the large needles/leaves and results in a very clean cup of tea. This is a delicate white tea and as such may not meet the expectations of people who are used to drinking flavored/strong teas.

This is a great green tea. Has some of the classic characteristics of dragonwell, but those are perfectly balanced with more traditional green tea flavors. Light and delicious. Good stuff.

I get much better results on this tea using much higher concentration than recommended by Red Blossom. Using the suggested 2g/100mL and slightly cooler water makes this taste essentially like a typical (albeit very tasty) Yin Zhen white tea with a tad more heft. Using 5g/100mL and near-boiling water puts this much more in the realm of special-prep Jin Jun Mei, adding a whole host of aromas and flavors while still retaining the characteristics of a lighter infusion.
For the purposes of this review I used 5g in 100-125mL near-boiling water ranging from 93-98C, though the high end was used when the gaiwan had cooled a bit and the low end was used when it was nice and preheated so it kinda evens out. Each infusion progressed by one minute, so first infusion was one minute, sixth infusion was six minutes.

This is a mild tea. Fragrance, aroma, taste, and even color are pretty light… but gooood.

I keep wanting to say cocoa when relating to this tea in most all aspects, but really the characteristics are those I associate with the accents atop a dark chocolate bar rather than the actual chocolate base character. Really, the biggest similarity in dry fragrance and flavor is stone fruit. Peach/nectarine skin is prevalent in the dry fragrance while the wet leaf has more black plum aroma alongside the typical bran or toasted wheat aromas most bud-heavy Fujian red teas possess. Liquor aroma is very comforting and similar to honey on toasted wheat bread and a bit of nectarine preserves (here I will admit to a touch of cocoa powder in the aroma).

Flavor is resoundingly similar to a white peach with all kinds of light toasty goodness. Warm wheat rolls not long out of the oven (again, with a bit of honey). Second infusion wraps in an odd but pleasant note of caramelized onions and body is actually right up there with a lighter-bodied puerh. Third brings out a mixed spiciness of clove and cassia and the bran flavor has swung toward the taste of Grapenuts cereal and the taste of honeysuckle has come to play. Fourth was spicier, bringing in a California Bay edginess that comes off as slightly (but pleasantly) metallic while balancing against a slightly raised aspect of honeysuckle. By the fifth infusion the body and flavor have started to seriously wane and the predominant flavor is woody with a slight astringency making for a juniper character overall. Sixth tastes like an overbrewed Yin Zhen white tea… Not much more than a cottony flavor up front with lingering light astringency but a light sweetness pops up a couple seconds after each sip, making it taste a bit like water with a touch of honey in it, though there is still a faint wheat toast base flavor. When gulped, the honey expression is a lot more obvious in these brews, bumping this from a light sweet expression in aftertaste when sipping to a nectar-like tea when glugged. The first three brews is incredibly reminiscent of white peach, particularly when larger mouthfuls are taken.

Yummy toasty goodness. Basically a beefed-up Yin Zhen that is a bit nicer in cool weather. Pricey and you need to use quite a bit to justify the cost flavor-wise in my opinion, but I think the cost to flavor ratio is justifiable (though if using the recommended parameters I wouldn’t think so).

My early evening tea: If you can remember I forgot about this one the other day and I steeped it for a half-hour and it was still nice. Tonight I paid attention. Lovely fragrance and a soft delicious liquor. I am tasting honey and caramel. I never time anything so I am assuming it was around 4 minutes. I used the remainder of the sample bag which probably a bit over a teaspoon. This is not your typical black tea. I am actually getting very relaxed. Not a bad thing after this mornings Sheng. This is something I would definitely buy….