Silk Road Teas

Just to confirm, used water at 180. Not as good as boiling water. This oolong is a very dark brown, almost black. Maybe it does need to be treated as close to black tea.

This time, the steep was short, but the water maybe too hot. However, the tea is delicious. A light tan, slowly darkening. A smooth smokey, woodsy flavor.

Got distracted, so the steep was quite long. maybe 15 minutes. The roasted flavor comes through quite strongly, but the astringency makes the tea undrinkable for me. But no rating, since it was an unfair tasting.

(backlogging)

I’ve had this tea a few times since my first try in my hotel room coffee pot. Now, I just throw the pearls (usually 4) in my mug and leave them there. I’ve resteeped up to four times with no loss of flavor, and it never gets bitter, even without removing the leaves.

The leaves are extremely long and narrow. This tea is by far the best Jasmine-scented green I’ve had to date.

Steeped 6 pearls in water that was a little too cool. It’s a little tricky, as I’m in a hotel room so my water comes from the coffee pot. (I know, I know). It took about 5 minutes for there to be any evidence of a liqueur.
Jasmine-y, but the tea taste is not completely lost. Like it! Will do a second steep very shortly, as I have just about downed this mug.

Taste is definitly both nutty and sweet, but slightly dry as well. Aroma is a little nutty also, not grassy has I have had with other green teas like this. Color is a nice green-gold.

Very light. Very floral, but not overpowering. Leaves are a combination of bright and dark greens, and silver buds. I used two full teaspoons. Next time, I think I’ll use three. Try to boost the flavors a bit.

Tried more tea than usual. Improved the flavor. Delicious when cooled, but still warmer than room temperature.

This time, I let the tea cool to a little more than room temperature before tasting. The body was smooth and sweet. Floral aromas and taste dominate, but are not too strong.
The tea takes a least a couple of steeps for the leaves to unroll. The are small (around 1cm) pieces rather than entire leaves.

Vary delicate aroma, and stronger floral taste. Maybe jasmine, not sure. Next steep will be interesting.
Another great oolong variety.

Something new for the first cup of the day. Another good oolong. Flavors are more subtle, slightly sweeter than others. The aftertaste is slightly fruity but not enough to say it is definitely pear.

As the tea cools, hints of pear become more pronounced.

Tried it with boiling water, and a short steep, and it is much more tastier. Actually, I didn’t choose to do that. My utiliTea thermostat is flaky again. But it did bring out a more malty flavor.

This ones almost gone. One more serving perhaps.
Flavor was a little more woody this time, less malty. I prefer the malty taste, so I might need to order a different brand next time.

With my cup size tea strainer broken, I have reverted to my larger teapot. Problem is, the position of the strainer requires me to make more than one cup at a time, using more tea.
But maybe thats a good thing, because this particular brew tasted as lot better than I remember. It was very smooth with no bitterness. A delicious malty favor and delicate slightly woody aroma.

A very smooth fine body. Nice malty aroma and taste. Very slight astringency.

First steep was as expected, but the second steep was very flavorful. Then thinking back I realized something. The noise during preparation wasn’t quite right. My kettle, an Adagio utiliTEA kettle with an analog temperature knob, didn’t stop at the selected temperature and the water actually boiled. So, a new, and better, and more reliable kettle goes onto my gift list.

The result was a less delicate, more earthy, more roasted taste. Quite pleasant. I may need to experiment more with hotter water with these darker Oolongs.

Also, unrelated, I need to figure out how to link my notes to my Facebook page. The ‘link’ icon is missing.

After the second steep completed, I (accidently) let the tea sit for a bit, cooling. I have found that on many teas, I can taste more of the flavor after it cools. Not as cold as ice tea, but closer to room temperature.

This tea also improves. Much more flavorful when cool. A smoother texture as well.

Nice straw colored brew, slightly floral aroma, and a slight grain in the taste, maybe rice.

The dragon ball slowly unfurls, but not as elegantly as a flowering tea. Further steeps will reveal how well it holds together, or not. It does need plenty of room. (teapot size rather than glass size)

Sweet melon taste and a complexity that is beautiful.

Certainly one of the best teas I have ever had to pleasure of drinking.

Huge project at work – I made the first steep of this just-so, but the second – fourth? Craziness! This tea could handle it, though. Can you believe that even my poor forgotten third steep for 15 minutes was delicious!!??! Nut buttery and smooth even though it was steeping for half of forever. No bitterness.

This tea is a-mazing! ♥

Goodness gracious I love this tea!!!

If some Imaginary Person said, “JacquelineM! You must choose one black tea to have every single morning at work, and only one! Which would you choose!!???!!”

I would say, “Imaginary Person! I would definitely choose Imperial Red (Da Hong Pao) by Silk Road Teas!”

So smooth and roasty. Three delicious steeps – none of them weak or uninteresting. I love the nut butter quality.

Thank you so much Soccer Mom for introducing me to one of my all time faves :) This is where the Steepster Magic comes in – I wouldn’t have had the inkling to even try this one if it wasn’t for Steepster. Chinese teas of this nature were TOTALLY off my radar before now! Warm Fuzzies!!!