Taiwan Tea Crafts

Not usually a big fan of bug bitten teas but this one is really nice. I’m struck by how much it resembles Darjeeling. Notes of rose, wood, and muscatel. Light malt and a hint of Dian Hong sweet potato in he finish.

First oolong of the spring 2020 harvest. Grandpa steeped just over a gram in my knock off the wall style mug from AliExpress. I love me some AliExpress for cheap teaware. Shipping takes forever sometimes but I don’t mind waiting given the deals that can be found.

This one has more aroma than flavor. The scent of the dry leaves is a perfumy bouquet of honeyed flowers. Notes of gardenia, lilac, and violets. Brewed tea is rich and buttery with a vegetal sweet pea flavor. Lilac dances across the tongue in the after taste. Towards the end of the session, it turns somewhat flat.

Good baozhong though nothing earth shattering. Going to brew with lower temperature next time to see if I can extract more subtleties from it.

I bought a 10 g sample of this tea back in February, when Taiwan was still shipping to Canada. (What a long time ago that seems!) I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 190F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of malt, sassafras, raisins, and flowers. The first steep has notes of sassafras, cream, malt, cinnamon, raisins, jasmine, soy sauce, and menthol. The second steep is heavier on the raisins and malt and has a metallic undertone. The raisins become more like grapes in subsequent steeps, and the sassafras, malt, and cinnamon notes persist. The end of the session has malt, tannin, wood, and mineral notes.

I found this to be a fairly average Taiwanese Sun Moon Lake black tea, although the heavy cinnamon and menthol were pleasant. I’m glad I steeped it at 190F, as I imagine the astringency would be greater at higher temperatures. I’m sure I’ll be able to better pick apart the flavour notes in these types of teas when I’ve tried more of them.

Shibi is my favorite high mountain cultivar and a regular TTC purchase. But this particular harvest was a real dud. It had the familiar aromas of wildflowers, custard, and vanilla. The actual flavor however was weak and pretty bland. Don’t know if my sample was old or what but it didn’t even taste like the same Shibi oolong that I’ve come to know and love. Ended up cold brewing the rest of my stash.

I almost never buy rose scented tea. Not because I dislike the flavor but rather I can usually achieve the same thing by blending in a dried rosebud to any tea. This tea basically confirmed it.

The smell out of the bag is very faint with the barest whiff of rose, cherry, and almond. The brewed tea has a soft rose flavor that’s nice but also very similar to my Teavivre dried rosebuds. Can’t taste much of the underlying oolong. Where this tea really shines is cold brew. Here the greenness of the base oolong comes through complemented with a gentle touch of rose.

This could be a good tea for those who are into rose or floral scented teas that aren’t overpowering. I personally would just add a rosebud to regular oolong tea to obtain the same result but this is a nice option too if you want a pre-blended rose tea.

Dry leaf: sweet, floral and vegetal aromatics — sweet pea, dark chocolate, caramel, roast, cream, fruity peach tone
Warm leaf: roast, burnt sugar, floral, vegetal sweet pea
Rinsed leaf: dominant florals — orchid and sweet pea, some roast

Gongfu 5g to 100mL, 195F: alkaline-marine-vegetal (hint of seaweed), straw, floral. Medium body, peach apricot aftertaste quick to arrive and depart. Sandpaper tongue. Not much longevity and the taste wasn’t up my alley so the leaves got overnight cold brew treatment which turned out floral and pleasant.

Western 2.5g to 10oz, 195F: aroma was very roasty-milky-floral. Taste was dominantly milky-creamy-floral-straw. Combined with the alakaline-marine vibe, it was kind of weird. Decent fruity peach midtone. Somewhat drying.

Pretty basic and enjoyable enough. I liked western prep more even if I found the flavor combo strange.

Definitely my least favorite of the black tea sampler from Taiwan Tea Crafts. A bit of a sweet potato note, but otherwise kind of stale tasting. Only lasted for 2 infusions

Just finished off my sample packet of this, and really enjoyed it. I’ve actually enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve purchased from Taiwan Tea Crafts, and I desperately want to make another purchase. I’m restraining myself. Onto the tea- very easy to drink. Smooth with notes of sweet potato, caramelized sugar, and chestnuts.

This is an exquisite high mountain tea. Exotic tropical fruit flavors that evolve into elegant florals and sweet pastry through steepings.

Dry leaf has a light floral and green apple fragrance. Following a rinse, intense aromas of mango and pineapple emerge.

The first steep tastes like biting into a juicy, fresh nectarine. Super thick and sweet with a luscious mouthfeel. The second steep brings out a burst of flowery goodness – notes of lily of the valley and jasmine – and a very satisfying silky texture with a distinctive aftertaste. Some light vanilla notes, creme brûlée, and orange blossom encountered as the tea progresses. The flavor begins dropping around the 5th or 6th steep but remains enjoyable.

I sampled pretty much every single high mountain oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts and this was hands down my favorite from this winter’s harvest. Note that while Long Feng Xia is an amazing tea, it’s sensitive to water temperature. You need to use slightly cooler temperature than what normal gaoshan calls for. It used to give me fits because I would end up scalding it by brewing it my usual way. This time I kept temperature around 185 F, never letting it go above 195 F and it was perfect.

Wow. I would’ve sworn this tea had added ingredients/flavors if I didn’t know better. It’s a blast of floral aromatics. So strongly perfumed. The flavor is similarly floral and explosive. Really interesting, but not something I would purchase again at the price point.

I haven’t been drinking any flavored teas lately. I just haven’t been in the mood. Because of that, I’ve been going through a lot of my single origin tea sample fairly quickly, which I consider a good thing! I have a few orders that I’m waiting on, but aside from those, I’m waiting until my cupboard falls below 250 to purchase any new teas. Hopefully I can keep to my self-imposed tea band this time.

As for this tea, it’s interesting. Brewing at 200degrees creates an incredible jasmine aroma, a floral flavor, and slight acidity. Lower temperatures yield quite a strong sweet potato flavor, but still with that acidity. Because of the slight sourness, this just isn’t my favorite.

I’m finding that if I’m going to drink a roasted oolong, I want it more heavily oxidized. While this is more pleasant than the deep roast Bao Zhong, it still covers up all of the subtlety and nuance of the unroasted Bao Zhong. I’m finding this to be a nondescript- some artichoke and roasted vegetables, with a bit of nuttiness. But, I’d much prefer the Bar Zhong in an unfrosted format.

Not loving this. The deep roasting covers up the lovely floral integrity of an unroasted Bao Zhong. A bit nutty, but overall pretty flat tasting.

Here’s a well balanced, intricate, and full-bodied Dong Ding – one that I would happily reorder given its reasonable price. It has the right amount of roasting to drink young. Maybe as the only drawback I would mention that the taste is a bit muted and the aftertaste somewhat simple.

Dry leaf aroma is very nice and memorable already. It has a somewhat earthy and cooling base with notes of apple, parsnip, and beeswax on top. During the session, the scent is also fairly complex and mostly floral with some complementary vegetal and sweet, woody tones.

The taste is well balanced, but overall skewed towards mineral and savoury flavours. Bitterness and sweetness are present too, the latter especially in the aftertaste. Specific notes includes ones like bone broth, raisins, butter, lavender, and parsnip.

As I mentioned already, liquor is thick and has a very nice brothy and bubbly mouthfeel. The chh qi is pleasant too and mind clarity inducing.

All in all, a lovely tea that I can definitely recommend.

I’m finding this incredibly enjoyable today. Really happy with all of the teas I’ve tried from Taiwan Tea Crafts so far. Vibrant orchid and lilac notes, with a beautiful freshness.

This deep baked baozhong hits the senses strikingly like a qilan rock oolong, though it exhibits more of the grassy/plant stem/banana leaf greenness of Taiwanese oolongs than a light-roasted Wuyi qilan can offer. Rich milk chocolate and caramel aroma of the dry leaf, with hints of charred wood and dill, yields to the roast and spice bread after warming and rinsing. The strength of the tea lies in its dense and heady chocolate and floral aromatics which are less expressed as pure flavor. There is some alkalinity from the roast in the first few steeps and pleasing astringency throughout. Roasty, floral and mineral sweet with a peach impression. Lingering fragrance in the mouth and light yet long banana leaf and sugared peach gummi aftertaste that later hints at buttery osmanthus. Somewhat cooling, alpine feel.

Deeply relaxing tea, so much that I forewent trying the remainder of my sample both western and grandpa. This tea lends itself very well to evening gongfu sessions. Either the caffeine content is low and/or the high, creamy florals lull me into not noticing or caring.

All through this week into my days off on Sunday and Monday, the weather should be cool and cloudy with some rain. This is the perfect spring weather to sample my other baozhong oolong of varying roast levels and to sipdown the last of the pure green stuff I have.

Song pairing: Placebo — Haemoglobin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuvD4d80vJ0
Shoot, maybe all of the Black Market Music album. One of those nights.

This falls somewhere between the select grade and premium grade for me. Some really nice honey notes, with an aftertaste of wet hay. Not something I necessarily need to purchase again.

Not enjoying this one nearly as much as the Select Grade from TTC. This one is relatively flat, and lacks the depth that was so exciting in the former. Lacks the rich, decadent sweetness that I love so much in an Oriental Beauty. A. bit dusty tasting as well.

I don’t know if this is the right lot for what I tried (in fact, I’m like 90% sure it isn’t), but I’m too tired/lazy right now to look it up and create a new Steepster page for a straight green tea…

Anyway; I recently did a split order from Taiwan Tea Crafts with a coworker. Obviously I’m not the one who decided to order green tea; but he was nice enough to bring in the sample and make a large Western style pot of it for the three of us in office to try and share together. I don’t generally like green teas, but I love experiencing new teas and I’m always willing to be pushed outside my comfort zone and expand my palate so I kindly accepted a cup.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it was quite sweet and refreshing, with flavour notes that I would probably describe as raw anise bulb, arugula, and crisp iceberg lettuce. He said that he finds the flavour quite basil-y, and I can see that comparison as well. In many ways, I was reminded of very fresh baozhong. It’s not something I would want to own/reach for often, but it was a really nice one off cup and I deeply appreciate him sharing it with me.

I think the reason I’m gravitating towards this varietal so much is that it very much reminds me of our most recent trip to New York. We visited Té Company multiple times during our trip, and this smells just like one of the teas I sipped in the shop. Really sweet and comforting, and shockingly affordable. I’ll definitely be grabbing more of this.

Just received this in an order of 3 samplers from Taiwan Tea Crafts. Since I’m home so much, I liked the idea of tasting multiple different varietals in the same category from the same brand. This is a really lovely oriental beauty. Tastes like syrupy sweet stone fruits and wildflower honey. It smells incredible as well- honey and overripe stone fruits.

I am a fan of red jade white (and black) teas in large part because when I crave a tea of this kind, there are very few others that can do the trick. This one fits that purpose, but it’s also quite different from its relatives. The minty character less pronounced and the tea has a more malty profile.

The aroma has a strong dill note, complemented by scents of cape gooseberry and puff pastry. On the whole, it is not as pungent as these teas can be though. The liquor is very refreshing thanks to a fruity tartness, quinine bitterness, a spicy anise finish and a cooling mouthfeel. The texture is buttery and a little bubbly, with a distinct astringency that translates into a sandpaper-like, numbing mouthfeel. There is also a strong flowery fragrance in the aftertaste coupled with some more fruity flavours such as those of grapes and gooseberry.

This is my second time trying this tea and it’s pretty much how I remember it from before. Greener than a typical dong ding with such a subtle roast that you might think you’re drinking a green oolong. The baked bread and caramel popcorn aromas are the only clue that this is a roasted tea. It’s fruity with light mineral and butterscotch undertones. Notes of apricot, osmanthus, and tangerine when steeped at cooler temperatures. Higher temperatures will bring out slightly more toastiness. Very refined and delicate with a smooth texture. Doesn’t become bitter no matter how long it steeps. I left it steeping for a few hours in my tea thermos yesterday and it still tasted great.