Tea from Taiwan

Out of the 4 teas I’ve tasted since I received my sampler packs, this one has stood out the most! Well, I have to admit rui feng did also since it was my first milk oolong.. but this tea is awesome. It is really full-bodied and after the first few sips I immediately felt like I had to write a comment about it =) It actually tastes a bit milky too!

Edit: Going to bump this down some, the 2nd and third steeps were just no where near as awesome as the first =( 1st steep = 93 rating = omg bliss i might just buy it for the first steeping anyways

Tried this in my brand new gaiwan that I just received yesterday from Jings Tea Shop. Much lighter than the mainland oolongs I have been drinking lately. Actually smells and taste lemony-sweet on the finish as do the leaves after the first steeping. Other than that, I just can’t get into these type of teas. Just too “light” for me. Maybe I should have prepared it in the Yixing? Oh well…sample is gone now.

Very florally and light. I tried steeping this at a lower temp than I usually do oolongs to see if it made a difference and because TFT is not very specific on their recommendations on temperatures or steeping times. I did the first two steeps at 190F and 75 seconds and then two minutes because the first steep was way too light for me. Astringent very buttery taste not altogether bad, but it just didn’t do “it” for me. Tried one last steep at 4 minutes, but was pretty unremarkable. Glad these are just samples.

Brewed much darker than any of my other oolong samples. Smells like a black tea…Darjeeling…has a very nice bouquet actually. Tastes like a very lightly steeped black tea. Not much else to describe about it. I won’t be purchasing it again, but it isn’t bad…worth a try I guess if you think the GABA stuff is good for you.

Wow, I guess Auggy and I are the only ones brave enough to try this scarey looking tea. :) I think the dry leaves smells kind of fishy, soy saucey. Not bad—rather savory smelling. I pulled out the Yixing, because after reading Auggy’s notes, I was actually worried I might kill myself if I steeped this for 4-5 minutes western style. I went with about 8 ounces water and the whole package (7 grams?) at 195F for 45 seconds. The brew was not bad…kind of like some funky Pu-erh with a toasty, salty, fishy kind of finish. I rather liked it and will steep another for longer this time. The wet leaves smell exactly like belt leather…did this one for well over a minute, but since I just received my Silk Road Teas order from the UPS guy, I’d turned the Zojirushi down to 175….so steeped at 190. Much darker steep this time! Less fishy and much more leathery salty taste. It isn’t bad, in fact, I’d recommend a sample of this just for the weirdness factor. That and it seems to be giving me a good caffeine buzz too, somehow. I am going to be brave and try another steep at 4 minutes with a little more water. Hmm..I think this one tastes the best, however, my water is getting colder as I get ready to have Chinese greens so I’ll have to end it here. Not your father’s oolong and not something I’d buy again, but all-in-all, not a horrible experience considering it was 20 years old. :) The juvenile in me likes how my son pronounced this…Wang Tan Pee.

Brewed western style…I can’t wait until I get my gaiwan from Jing’s, but things just weren’t tasting right in the Yixing pot I have. This one does smell good and the leaves really smelled good after steeping. Taste is good…almost creamy, apple taste-with a buttery note on the finish. I did it for less time (4 minutes) than I have been in the Teavana teamaker (basically just a loose leaf steeper that drains out the bottom leaving the leaves inside). This tea really gets tastier as it cools down. Not one I’d buy again (except to possibly try out in my gaiwan when I get it), but not bad.

These “milk oolongs” just didn’t do it for me, but I’ll preface that by saying I don’t have a gaiwan. I ordered one today from Jing’s Tea Shop…a 125cc model I think, so I may try these “milky” ones again later after I get my cup. As it is, I tried the sample size with about 10-12 ounces water and steeped for 5 minutes at 195F. Just not the amount of flavor I am looking for…too mild. I think the sample sizes are 7 grams. If anyone has an estimate of steeping times and amount of tea for my new gaiwan when I get it in about two weeks, I am all ears. :)

Doesn’t seem as flavorful or smell as good as the last three I have had from TeafromTaiwan. Don’t get me wrong, it is better than anything green or oolong that I have ever had from Adagio or Teavana , but I think I was spoiled by the first ones which were very good. I broke down today and ordered a gaiwan from Jing Tea shop so I could try and do “Eastern” style properly. With this one, I cheated and went “western” using my Teavana 2 cup steeper, the whole pack sample, and 195F water.

My tasting notes are entirely for me…feel free to read them, but don’t put any stock in whether the tea is good or not. I simply don’t want to buy something again if I don’t have success or didn’t like the taste. With my old brain, this Steepster website is the easiest way for me to remember what I have tried and what I haven’t.

Boy I am ignorant…I keep logging out after moving the sliders, forgetting to add tasting notes. Anyhow…this looked so green coming out of the package that I had to try it the multiple steep “Eastern” style in my Yixing…I think I’ll leave my Japanese Kyusu strictly for Japanese green.

First steep was 50 seconds at 195F with about 6-8 ounces water. Very buttery flavor…creamy too! This must be less oxidized than others I have tried because I can almost detect a vegetal background. I think I may have finally got the water to tea mix right because that first steep went down fast and tasty!

The second steep was 60 seconds at 195F and is predominantly salty and toasty- kind of reminds me of Long Jing (Dragonwell) . What’s going on here? I am beginning to suspect that my Yixing pot, my ignorance, or a mix of both is to blame. I may do the rest of my samples “Western” style. Maybe I am not refined enough for oolong? After this batch I am turning the Zojirushi down to 175F and having some Sencha which I at least know how to brew.

I opened this sampler pack and found the tea somewhat crumbled and not wanting to get a bunch of leaves in my mouth, I decided to brew this “Western” style in my Teavana “Perfect Tea” maker. I did the whole 7 grams to about 14 ounces water and the brew was delicious. Much better than the stuff I have been getting lately from brewing “Eastern” style. I am thinking I either don’t have enough leaf or my Yixing is just too big and I need to use less water. Any input or ideas is appreciated.

Back to the tea. Very substantial mouthfeel. Tasted to me like a good Oolong you get in a Chinese restaurant (where they also do it Western style). I would order this if the price isn’t too bad so am saving the wrapper for when I run out of Oolong samplers from Tea from Taiwan. I think the bad thing about a Western style is the second steep…which I did for 6 minutes at 195 was noticeably weak so I didn’t try a third.

I must start this off by saying I bought sample packs from Tea From Taiwan so you’ll be seeing a few more reviews of their teas. I must also say I am no expert so feel free to comment or correct me if I have made a blunder.

This tea’s first steep in my Yixing was the whole 7 grams for about a 8-10 ounce cup. This was the best I have had “Eastern” style so far! Smell of the dry leaf was yummy familiar oolong smell. I found myself sticking my nose in the empty sample package for scent “hits” many times. First steep was 60 seconds at 195F after a quick leaf wake up/rinse as directed by the web site. The taste is very floral and buttery with a slight mineral hint. Very nice mouthfeel…almost broth-like. Second steep (80 seconds) was a deep golden brew that had more aroma, but about the same amount of flavor. The website says you can go 5 steeps and beyond, but being a middle-aged barbarian with unrefined taste buds, I’ll stop when the tea taste is fading to me. Third steep is holding up well at 1:40 was a little lighter but still tasty – in fact, I decided to order more based on the staying power and taste of this tea. I quit after the fourth cup at 2 minutes because I was full (big cups), plus I had to take the kids to an orthodontist appointment.

I will admit I am a barbarian. I have to have a tea come up and kick me in the butt for me to appreciate it and buy it again. I used 195F water tried for 1 minute, tried for 2 minutes, tried for 3 minutes with the sample size in a 10 ounce Yixing pot. I am sure someone with a more refined palate than mine could appreciate this tea, but to me, it seems weak and tasteless. Maybe I didn’t use enough tea? Glad this was just a sample!

Yeah, I just got pooped on by a cat. I need some medicinal tea. Actually, the past couple of weeks have been kind of not great (though not to the just-got-pooped-on level, mind you) so even though I’ve been kind of quiet, I have been doctoring my pour, abused psyche with tea regularly. But yeah, the pooping? This sort of raises it to a whole new level. So I thought I’d try a whole new tea.

Well, ‘new’ tea… it’s actually really old. I can’t believe I’ve ignored my few remaining Tea from Taiwan samples for so long. I tell myself that they are vacuum-sealed so it’s really not a bad thing if I take months to drink them. I may or may not be lying to myself with that statement, but this tea doesn’t seem to have minded being tucked into my pantry for so long. It’s rich, floral and pretty darn intense. Sweet but not light and delicate. There is a nice floral tone to it, but the richness and intense flavor it has makes the sweetness more like a hard candy sweet, not nectar sweet. Or maybe nectar hard candy? It leaves a great aftertaste on my tongue, too. And, months old or not, it still tastes fresh – green and a little buttery.

I could totally see myself buying something larger than sample size of this one. It’s delightful. Almost worth the kitty poop that preceded it.
8g/10oz

I do really love the greener oolongs, I have to say. Sometimes the greenness of them — by which I mean that tip-of-the-tongue astringency that says, ‘hey! I used to be a green and growing plant, and I thought that you should know that!’ — can put me off after a few steeps, but when all of the buttery, creamy, floral, greenish goodness is in balance, it’s a truly aromatic, comforting cup.

Something about this one reminds me of popcorn! Very lightly buttered popcorn. It was more intensely floral when it was much hotter, and now seems to be settling down and softening, such that the floral and green elements are nicely balanced by a round, buttery flavor.

It’s not an overly-complex oolong, but it’s a very friendly one. There’s enough going on there that focusing on each sip is pleasant (thank you, popcorn flavor!) but not necessary — I can sip it while I’m doing other stuff and enjoy it sheerly for the smooth flavor and broth-like texture.

Yum!

This tea has a very distinctive taste. Honey up front and some sour notes in the back. I find this tea performs best using a lot of leaf and short steep times in a gaiwan. That way I get 6 to 8 brews out of the leaves. This is one of the teas I always like to have around.

yum. the leaves were very fresh and green out of the vacuum sealed package. this tea is creamy, clean and fresh. After sipping, it reminds me of biting into a fresh cucumber.

The dry leaf smells tangy, creamy, fruity and rich. The flavor is darker and deeper with really only a hint of milk oolong. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have guessed that this was a milk oolong based on the taste. The smell, sure, but not the taste.

The taste is dark and heavy on my tongue and reminds me a bit of Samovar’s Four Season oolong (which I never really had all that much luck with). The way this differs from FS is that this one does have a lighter top note to give it better depth. The top note isn’t floral or even really sweet but somehow manages to make me think of fruit. Actually, I take that back, it makes me think of the tangy fruit notes in Valrhona’s Manjari chocolate ( http://www.valrhona-chocolate.com/Grand-Cru-Manjari-Bar-246oz_p_48.html ).

And I would say more but my cup is gone. * Poof * So yeah. I suppose it’s pretty tasty.

Nice, mellow, oolong with floral overtones. Very twisty leaves, and nicely aromatic.

This tea is weird. It’s so close to perfect but it’s got two weird little things going on that just totally throw me off. The flavor has so much depth – it’s sweet and fruity and floral and rich. It’s got a sweetness similar to that of a milk oolong, floral hints like a great Ali Shan. Each sip makes me think, “AH! This is going to be perfect!” And then two things happen.

One, there’s this funky little end note and aftertaste that I can only describe as sour. It’s not an overly strong note and not totally unpleasant – a bit like sour apple candy flavor – but it just seems to clash with the rest of the notes in the tea so it keeps throwing me off. And two, the mouth feel is water-thin. This huge, rich, thick, decadent flavor… and this weak, thin mouthfeel that makes me think I underbrewed.

Neither point is enough to kill off my enjoyment of the tea, but it does leave me feeling rather confused while I sip.
7.8g/13oz

fruity flavor, which reminds me of apples. There is a slight sweet finish,which ends rather quickly and makes me want another sip. Wonderful tea. I am very pleased with the group of oolong samples I bought from Tea from Taiwan!!