Taiwan Tea Crafts

Trying to catch up on things, had this the other day…it’s tasty but it’s not that honey taste.

Another one from a week or so ago. Will capture proper notes later.

need to try this again. Recent purchase but drank it a week? ago. I do remember enjoying it, which is good since it won an award lol

When I open the bag, I get hit in the face with wintergreen but it’s nonexistent in taste. It’s mostly autumn leaf and mineral with honey sweetness and florality that are muted, a hint of malt. Can’t place the flower — it almost reminds me of baby powder, maybe gardenia past its prime? Flamboyant this tea is not. It would be good when I’m in the mood for an understated brew. Regardless of its lack of overt character, this makes a fine autumn cup. I’ll have to come back to this one, and I will because I have a whole cake, haha. Stuff the tiny teapot and see what it has to offer. It seems ashmanra had some success 9 months ago.

Fall 2017 Harvest

I seem to be on a roll with eating a food and tasting the food in the tea. Pear meet pear note in tea!

My first steep was probably too short (1min30s) so I’m attributing the initially light flavour to that. A lot of typical red oolong flavours are coming through though: baked bread, stewed fruits, the aforementioned pear, blueberries (also pretty distinct), vanilla, brown sugar, nuts, and a hint of sweet spice… Despite thinking this a weak and watery cup to start, the typical mi xiang sweetness really smacks me one near the end. Sugar crush!

The second steep (3min30s) cooled down quite a bit before I payed attention to it. It tastes strongly of cherries, and is complimented by vanilla, brown sugar, and bread notes. There’s a bit of tree resin too. I initially thought it was citrus-like, but it’s woodier (pine, cedar, or even eucalyptus). The sweet, cherry-like aftertaste is strong.

Third steep (over 4min) is a smoother version of the second steep. It tastes of cherries, resin, vanilla, and sugar, verging on floral honey. It’s still extremely sweet, with a hint of cinnamon to finish. Maybe even a slight return of the blueberry and pear.

Steep Count: 4, Western Style. This tea also deserves a gongfu session at a later time.

Spring 2020 Harvest supposedly.

For breakfast I had a slice of toast, with butter and pineapple coconut jam. Now, I only bring this up because if I didn’t know better I would think that some of that butter and jam slipped into my cup while I wasn’t looking!

This oolong is relatively buttery, floral, extremely tropical (tangy pineapple, coconut), with a pleasant jam-like sweetness. Like my pineapple coconut jam, which contains a hint of rum, this also has a faint, subtle “bitter-sugar,” flowery undercurrent that adds depth to this first steep. It reminds me of sarsaparilla (vanilla, licorice, green note, etc.) or just straight up bitter vanilla. This vanilla quality softens to a silky fineness in my third steep; the tropical, butter, and floral notes are well balanced here. It’s my favourite cup so far.

This oolong is almost perfect for me, although I do prefer more butter, and less tangy flowers. Still, it tastes like Hawaii in a cup – or maybe it’s fairer to say it’s Taiwan in a cup (there’s a lot of subtropical and tropical goodness in Taiwan too)!

Steep Count: 5 @1 minute each, western style.

Next time I will try it gongfu or grandpa style. My gaiwan hasn’t seen use in years but this tea makes me think it’s time!

This wasn’t as good as the Shibi teas of yesteryear. It had those familiar mouthwatering aromas of wildflowers and syrup, and it starts off just as I remembered it: bright, fresh, and floral. But it goes south quickly. It develops a savory flavor with this odd oats/toasted grain edge to it. Tried different brewing methods but alas, could not rescue this tea. Ah well, better luck next season.

Posted for the wrong tea. See my updated tasting note.

Backlog.

This is one of the teas from the great Steepster freeze of 2020 that I’m getting around to logging now. My memory is a little hazy because I only had a couple of sessions with it, but I remember it being a solid SLX with the usual alpine florals and tropical notes. A little lighter and lacking the full mouthfeel of previous harvests. Good for 6-7 steeps.

Lex had back to back Zoom calls all afternoon, so I made this one up just before they all started to attempt to not have the kettle going quite as much.

This one is always super tasty. I forgot about it about halfway through and had the last half quite cold, but nonetheless it was great! The sweetness comes out even more once it cools.

I steeped this one up for my first volunteer shift this morning and it was perfect as usual!

Another day in NS quarantine and another wee cup of this tea!

I love the difference in water in NS, it adds to the tea and I’m grateful I get to enjoy it for a few weeks before heading back!

We had to unexpectedly fly home last Thursday and are here for three weeks (quarantine for two). I only managed to pack this tea, Dandy Blend, Relax & Renew, and some coffee for our time here. We’re juggling work, my new term of classes starts today, and family stuff, so yay for tea!

This one is tasty as always and I’m so glad I had the forethought to grab it in our rush to pack last minute.

Rough start to the workday that started with an email late last night. Sigh. A real lesson in removing my email from my phone.

However, all that calls for only the best tea! So this one I didn’t get to until it was lukewarm, but still so tasty nonetheless. I love how the sweetness comes out as it cools.

I steeped this one for my first cup this morning. So tasty, especially on a chilly, grey day. I’m actually in my pajamas answering all the work emails haha.

I just love the sweetness of this paired with the maltiness, this is just such a great tea all round.

Today we decluttered the house and listed some things for sale on Kijiji. I steeped one cup of each lot (641 & 864) and then received a message that someone could pop by tonight for a sale (covid-safely, of course!). Naturally! So, by the time I got to these teas, they were lukewarm, however, my notes are below and I’ll try for a more detailed/at least a hotter cuppa later in the week!

Lot 864: Maltiness and oat-y with a hint of a savoury note mixed in at first sip, a hint of sweetness and no astringency. As it cools (even more), notes of floral come through, though very subtle.

Lot 641: Maltiness and oat-y with a hint of sweetness in the background mid-sip, absolutely no astringency at first sip. I would say this one has the barest hint of floral as it cools (a little sooner noticeable) and some fruits in the background, though I can’t say which fruits.

Overall, very similar in taste with only the barest hint of difference, at least at this temperature. I have only a limited amount of 641 remaining, so I’ll have to postpone any and all things when I steep these two the next time around!

Mediocre Ali Shan. This one is big on aroma but flavor just isn’t there. Intensely fragrant with notes of honey, orange blossom, and vanilla cream in the wet leaf. However none of it comes through in the steeped tea which is fairly bland and has a sort of mild/generic floral flavor. Once again, cold brewing came to the rescue and helped salvage an otherwise boring tea.

I’ve tried a number of TTC Ali Shans now and they all seem lacking. I’ll continue to buy my other high mountain oolongs from there but skip this one next time.

I have so much catching up to do and decided to wade through some of it tonight with this tea!

This one is really tasty — very smooth with the slightest hint of mineral, but with a subtle background sweetness as well. I wish I had ordered more!

The Taiwan Tea Crafts have arrived! Four days early, and no custom fees (Sil)! :)

This one is super tasty! I was interrupted and managed to get half of it in while hot and the other half while ice cold haha — but it was tasty both ways! Such a great ‘mix’ of black and oolong flavours. I saved the leaves for a second steep, so hopefully I can provide a more detailed review soon!

I’m finally polishing off my 250g package of this after hoarding the remaining bits of it during COVID. I bit the bullet and ordered another 250g earlier this week and now I can comfortably finish this off knowing more is en route (unless something happens with the post…).

This is one of my all-time favourite teas and I usually order the 250g package once per year to enjoy throughout the year. I would describe this as waffle-y and delicious. I can’t wait to see what the new lot (864) brings!