Tea Horse
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VERY strong, dark cocoa, malty-goodness! This is a solid tea! There is a touch of smooth – much like honey – playing around on the tongue – while I sip.
The 2nd infusion isn’t as brash. I do like both infusions, however. I like the sturdiness of the first one but I like the toned-down cocoa notes paired with a sweeter honey or ‘mead’ taste in the 2nd infusion as well!
This is a mighty-fine tea!
In appearance the small Oolong balls consist of both dark green, light green and brown coloured leaves and measure roughly 3-4mm. The balls look shiny and fresh.
They have a strong floral scent similar to Lily of the Valley. Imagine sitting in a field full of flowers on a warm Spring day and taking in deep breaths. That’s what I think of when I smell this tea.
Tea Horse Brewing Suggestions – 2tsp of tea 90°C 3min
I shall be using my Gongfu teapot for this steep which holds 200ml (aprox an average cup size worth). Re steeping is encouraged for this tea so I shall do three steeps.
First Steep – 3 mins – Once steeped this tea is yellow in colour with a buttery, sweet, floral and lightly toasted aroma. In flavour this tea is very similar to it’s beautiful aroma. It has a gentle buttery taste with hints of toasted flowers (honeysuckle and lily), grass and kale. A very refreshing and delicious start.
Second Steep – 3 mins – Tea tea remains yellow in colour but smells a little sweeter than the previous steep. It tastes that way too, definitely a touch sweeter and grassier. It’s lost some of it’s buttery and toasted charms but picking up with the touch of spring feel. Lighter than the first steep but still with lots of flavour.
Third Steep – 3 mins – It’s the last steep and I’m sad that the end is near. On the plus side the sun has come out to perfect my drinking experience. In flavour this is very subtle and all that I can taste are fragments of sweet grass and flowers with hint of butter. A very nice, refreshing steep that cleanses the pallet wonderfully.
After the steeps the balls heave been fully expanded to leave behind dark green leaves with a slight red edge. For the most part the leaves remain whole but some have broken into smaller pieces.
Overall this has had flavour and freshness which has made it very pleasurable to drink. I would recommend this tea for Oolong lovers everywhere.
For more information and pictures please visit my blog. http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/08/08/having-an-oohh-moment-with-four-seasons-oolong/
Preparation
As I open the packet I note dark green, brown and silver leaves that are thin, roughly 3mm long on average and squiggly in shape. On closer inspection I can note there are no stems or sticks.
In scent I can detect hints of wood, earth, musk and a subtle hint of sweet flowers. As a whole it reminds me of being in a woods or forest as it rains, the rich musky scent of those surroundings just reminds me very much of this tea.
In the booklet it has little notes to recommend 1tsp of tea with 95°C water for 3 minutes steeping time.
My teapot holds just over two cups worth of tea so I shall be using 2tsp of tea but shall keep the same water temperature and steeping time for the sake of this review and analysis.
Once steeped this tea is golden in colour with a delicate but sweet, floral and wooden aroma.
The first few sips reveal sweet wood with flowers which finishes as a dry nutty, muscatel combination. Very clean and on the lighter side but with real wood and muscatel tones. It does get a little sweeter and more floral as my taste buds adapt to it’s beauty but as a whole I would still say the wooden musk combination was the most dominant in flavour.
A second steep increases the wooden musk but is now not as dry as the previous steep. Whether that is because I am used to the musk or not I don’t know but it definitely seems less so. Still very wooden and sweet.
Overall I believe this to be a very nice First Flush Darjeeling and an excellent example of one being muscatel. First flush varies a lot to me to the point where some taste more grassy and floral than muscatel at all, it’s refreshing to be taken back to what I expect.
For more information along with pictures please view my blog entry.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/07/31/tea-horse-monthly-taster-box-darjeeling/
Preparation
I grabbed my press to dump the leaf this morning and this still look abundantly refreshing so another round before this gets composted. Way toned down from yesterday. Of course I kind of oversteeped yesterday on purpose. Today is mild and malty. Not noticing the chocolate today. Very smooth. Still really liking this one.
My second offering from this UK supplier. This is a solid Fujian Tanyang. You know, cocoa, caramel, honey, and malt. I’m enjoying these Tea Horse offerings. A full review here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2013/07/tea-horse-panyong-golden-needle.html I’ll rate it when I get a mouse for my laptop – I seem to be helpless without it.
This is a good tea but not as good as the same tea from Rare Tea Republic.
I will stick with RTR but wanted to note that if you are planning an order from Tea Horse this is quite lovely.
It has a juicy bright mouthfeel and has some very subtle spicy notes. The predominant flavor is of hay that has been in the sunshine.
Full review on SororiTea Sisters on the 14th.
Wow. I just published my review of this on my blog and came here to comment as well. There is already a review here by TeaEqualsBliss my blog entry looks like a long version of what she wrote. Two separate reviews coming that close to each other is amazing. At least you should know what can expect with this one! http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2013/07/tea-horse-dong-ding-oolong.html
Preparation
After last nights panic attack, I got up early and was standing at the library door when they unlocked it this morning. I was giving them one last chance. Their WiFi signal is so weak that last time the buffering was so bad I had to give up trying. Today started the same. But I don’t want to go to $tarbuck$. Logged off my laptop and logged on to one of their networked desktops. It flew through the videos. Yeah. Except I couldn’t download the accompanying PDF’s. Had to do that later. At least I am caught up on videos and assignments. Now I have to catch up on the examples. I’m tired and my brain hurts. I haven’t even touched my blog but once this month. Short term pain long term gain.
I am finally home and I want tea without thinking. I grabbed this and finished off the last of the sample. Absolutely my favorite chocolate tea to date. The tea base is solid and very present. The main flavor is the chocolate which doesn’t cloud the water or clog the strainer. The mint is fresh and though not the driving flavor it is nicely intense. A very good cup.
Listen up, especially you UK Steepsterites. I just tried the best chocolate tea I have had to date. This is seriously good. The mint lends just light background support. Most amazing to me was the liquor did not become murky. Full review here: http://theeverdayteablog.blogspot.com/2013/07/tea-horse-chocolate-peppermint.html
Preparation
Full Review on SororiteaSisters.com on the 24th but here are the snippits:
2nd Flush Assam from Tea Horse may be the first tea I have ever had from this company. I cannot recall another before it. This 2nd Flush is a good morning cup. I find the flavors evolve more if you let it cool just slightly before sipping.
What I find most pleasing with this tea is that the berry notes turn to something like a wine flavor as the cup breathes a little – cooling slightly more.
Personally I think this would make a far better tea iced or cold steeped because the longer I sip on this cup, the more flavors evolve with the caramel and malt waking up even more.
It is relatively bright in the mouthfeel however, its not heavy, or creamy, or even all that robust. It may not be the morning tea for everyone depending on how strong you like your morning tea to be.
This is a really delightful Darjeeling – very crisp and clean. Not overly sweet. Notes of flower, hints of spice, and barely-there notes of fruit that develop as I continue to sip, but never really become a dominating flavor.
A very pleasing, contemplative cup. Very enjoyable.
I started my day with steeping not one, but two pots of this tea today.
The first pot that I steeped was slightly oversteeped, I think, because I tasted bitterness but not much else. It was that “oops, I oversteeped the Assam” kind of bitterness, so I drank about half a cup of that before I decided I’d start over.
And this second pot is MARVELOUS! Sweet with caramel-y tones, and rich and malty. So very comforting and cozy. Even though it is still summer, this tea makes me feel like it’s autumn outside. It’s got that kind of coziness to it, it’s the kind of tea you want to curl up with on a cold day. And even though it is warm outside (not too hot, thankfully) because the heat hasn’t managed to make it’s way inside I can still sort of imagine it IS fall (my favorite time of year) and it is cool and it makes this kind of comfort the more enjoyable.
So, the lesson for today is: don’t oversteep this Assam. The first time, I steeped it for 2 minutes, boiling water, in my Breville. The Breville is key with this, because it does stay hotter than other brewing vessels do (at least, that has been my experience). The second time I steeped it for 1 1/2 minutes, boiling water, in my Breville. And it is perfection.
LOVE this Assam.
i feel you will enjoy assam more if you just steep in water at first boil. Add 1 tea spoon (abt 1:5gram) for a cup, steep for 2mins and enjoy the cup.. Though assam is not famous for re-steeping..
I did not re-steep this tea, I steeped a new measurement of leaves after my attempt which did not turn out so well. So I made two pots of tea this morning with this tea – but both were first infusions.
Nice! This is beautifully smooth with a light citrus-y tone. I was a little worried about the Echinacea because it sometimes tastes kind of funky in teas, but, it’s hardly noticeable here. There is a slight medicinal sort of note to this, but, it doesn’t taste off-putting. It melds so well with the other ingredients that it doesn’t come off as a strong, off-putting medicinal taste.
Overall this is a light, pleasantly sweet tea that I find quite enjoyable. A nice way to drink Echinacea – one of the nicest ways I’ve encountered!
Interesting!
At first…this sort of tasted like Hojicha…roasted and a bit green. Then…as I continued to sip I noticed the taste morph into a roasted sweet woodsy type taste…then…the peachy notes hit me, subtly…that is.
This is really special! It’s like Dong Ding with Super Powers or something!
I really like this!
OK, I realize this probably comes from hanging around 7-year-olds all week, but am I the only one who gets the giggles when I read “Dong Ding Oolong?”
lol – Ummm…no…you are not the only one. I really have to catch myself sometimes…I want to call it Ding Dong…
I like dong ding oolongs! :) This one sounds delicious!
LOL Im guilty as well.
And Dong Ding is the same thing as Tung Ting, so how do they choose which to call it?
Sounds like a pastry with chocolate on it!
@Ashmanra: It is just like Long Jing, and Lung Ching being the same tea. It gets pretty confusing!
Let me start off by saying…THIS…is the MOST Chocolate-Aroma I have smelled in ANY tea – right off the bat, that is! It smell marvelously-amazing!
Now…lets see how it tastes!
The Black Tea base is sturdy and of medium to medium-strong strength. It’s not POW!!! Top-Of-The-Morning-To-Ya type intense strong if you know what I mean.
Yes…the flavor DOES taste like Black Tea, Chocolate (more of a dark chocolate, tho), mint, and a bit of cream.
I’m chalking the ‘dark chocolate’ notes to the cocoa shells. It’s as simple as that! There are a lot of them in there! It’s a STRONG cocoa flavor. I would say it was a milk chocolate flavor, it’s not a sugary-chocolate flavor, and it’s not a cocoa powder type flavor either. It has a dark chocolate – bark/woodsy type flavor swirling around as I sip it.
I will say it got major points with me because of the flavor intensity. The peppermint is there but isn’t overwhelming by any means (this coming from a lover of all-things-mint – just so you know – for comparison reasons and level VS palate/preference ratio for others!)
This is incredibly done! One really needs to like cocoa and a fairly strong flavored black tea with mint notes to enjoy – which is good for me – because I do – it’s right up my alley!
