Tealet

The recommended serving for this is 1 Tbsp., but I just used a tsp. because (a) all I’ve got since my steeper went out of commission is a little basket strainer that fits in the top of the cup, and there’s no way 1 Tbsp of rolled oolong leaves would fit in it once the water hit them and (b) I wasn’t keen to use the whole tin in one go.

Now that I’m trying it, a Tbsp still seems unnecessary, but maybe 1.5 tsp would have been good. It is just slightly on the weak side. That aside, the flavor is great, very smooth with that classic Taiwanese honey-floral oolong taste. A bit of mellow pinenut flavor too. There are few things as comforting as a honeyish oolong.

Sipdown. I really enjoyed the buttery green vegetal notes of this tea, but it’s soothing flavor is a bit at odds with the walloping punch of caffeine that comes with it. I steeped it barely a minute, kept my water temperature low, and I’m still feeling it.

I think this may be the greenest green tea I’ve ever seen; the steeped leaves are the saturated green of fresh-cut grass and the brew is a murky chartreuse. I was going to save this for later in the day until I saw it got 5 out of 5 marks for caffeine (and after just a few sips, I can already feel the buzz). The directions said 1.5 tsps, but these leaves are so fine they make for a dense spoonful — I cut it down to 1.25 and now I’m thinking just 1 tsp in the future will be plenty. The description card says this is a sweet tea; I’m getting savory. This has a lot of the same buttery spinach and green bean notes as a long jing, though it is far, far stronger than long jing. The quality is excellent, but really, I think I just stumbled across the espresso of the tea world, so sip with caution.

I took this traveling with me, but unfortunately few teas can overcome bad water and faulty kettles, and this one is no exception. It’s too bad because the tea really is quite excellent and now I’ve used it all up.

OP stands for orange pekoe (it took me longer to work this out than I care to admit). I think I slightly oversteeped this cup, and when I first sipped it, it had a coffee-like bitterness. With just a little sugar though, it becomes the most heavenly honeyish tea. I’ve always enjoyed orange pekoes for their full-bodied flavor (delicate flavors are great for green tea, but give me a hearty black, please), and this is a really good orange pekoe, strong but still nuanced. Though I’m not picking up the promised almond floral notes, I think I might have to chalk that up to my own haphazard steeping. The leaves are very long and thin, black in the tin but steep to a warm brown, and yes, there are little gold tea flowers mixed in. They’re about the size of my pinkie fingernail, but they’re whole, and they look like tiny buttercups. Adorable.

Sipdown of this. Light muscatel and olive notes, earthy. While this was never my favorite, it’s a quality tea, with an interesting flavor profile.

Liking this one more now than when I first tried it. Part of it I think is that I’m using longer steep times — while it is by no means weak at the recommended 1 min., I feel like the flavor is more rounded at about 3 min. There’s a hint of muscatel in this, so it kind of tastes like I imagine a darjeeling oolong would.

The label says “musky vanilla flavors and white chocolate aftertaste.” I’m kind of picking up more on that as the tea cools — at first it seemed more like musky melon and olive notes. I also added 1/2 tsp of raw sugar, and I think that helped bring out it’s sweeter side. I have a feeling this one will grow on me and I’ll pick up more of its complex flavor profile when I’ve drunk it a few more times. The leaves are long, narrow, and olive-colored. They smell vegetal and spicy, kind of like a rain forest. I think this one might benefit from a longer steep time than was recommended, because I’m getting a lot in the aroma that doesn’t translate to the tea.

Polishing this one off right now, though unfortunately I didn’t have a full teaspoon left, so this cup is slightly on the weak side. While not my favorite style, this is still a well-done green tea, slightly roasted-tasting and with just a touch of astringency.

A nutty green tea from the Doke region of India. This is one of those green teas that steeps up a burnt orange, and to me it tastes roasted, though I can’t find anything that specifically says that it is. Also a bit more caffeinated than greens typically are. All in all, this is not my favorite style of green tea, but if you do like darker greens, this is a solid specimen.

Another sipdown. This is a quality tea, but always seemed like not quite one thing nor the other — it’s sort of a fruity darjeeling, but with a hint of dark oolong. I felt like I always wanted the flavors to be stronger, but it’s not exactly weak — it’s more like there’s something about the flavor that makes my brain expect a strong black morning tea, but that’s just not what this is.

This is a good-quality unflavored black, but to me not the great standout that the Black Pearl is. Has some low-key fruit flavors and beautiful whole leaves. The little card that came with the tea says that it it comes from a late harvest, so the fermentation process begins naturally before the leaves are plucked. Interesting. Next time I make this, I think I’ll try using slightly more leaves and see if I get stronger fruit notes.

Sipdown of this too :( This is such a dark oolong that when I first had it I was convinced it was black tea and steeped it accordingly (in boiling water), and it tasted like black tea too. Then when I realized my error, I tried cooler water, but that actually was the REAL mistake. The tea turned out quite weak and meh. Of course I could have saved myself all this trouble by reading the directions, which clearly stated both that it was oolong and that it needed 205 F, but SOME of us only skim directions, and by skim I mean glance in the general direction to ascertain that directions are there without actually absorbing a word. Anyway, I finally figured it out (now that the tea is all gone). This tea is deliciously dark, rich, and raisiny when prepared properly, and utterly flat otherwise.

Sipdown of this too :( This is such a dark oolong that when I first had it I was convinced it was black tea and steeped it accordingly (in boiling water), and it tasted like black tea too. Then when I realized my error, I tried cooler water, but that actually was the REAL mistake. The tea turned out quite weak and meh. Of course I could have saved myself all this trouble by reading the directions, which clearly stated both that it was oolong and that it needed 205 F, but SOME of us only skim directions, and by skim I mean glance in the general direction to ascertain that directions are there without actually absorbing a word. Anyway, I finally figured it out (now that the tea is all gone). This tea is deliciously dark, rich, and raisiny when prepared properly, and utterly flat otherwise.

Logging this one from memory, so the details are fuzzy, which is a shame. This tea deserves adjectives! I think it may very well be my favorite unflavored black to date. The flavor is rich and strong, with some grape/raisin notes. It reminded me of a darjeeling, but had none of the mustiness you sometimes get with darjeeling. I’m really going to have to drink this again so I can write a proper tasting note, because this isn’t cutting it. For now, just know that the tea is delicious. More details soon.

Woke up really late today, much to my dismay. On the bright side at least I am starting work tomorrow, and not today. Woke up 4 hours later than I planned today and was too disappointed to know what to drink today until I randomly had a craving for genmaicha. xD
Tried one from a different company this time.
Lovely tea. Soft and smooth. Light and nutty.
Great choice for a first tea of the day! Thanks, Rie T! :D

And that’s the last of the genmaicha, sigh. Considering I have a deep-seated hatred of rice, this tea was surprisingly addictive. The mineral flavors of the tea were nicely smoothed with sweet toasty taste of the rice. The tea also has a pleasant citrusy aroma, though this doesn’t quite translate to the flavor. Will definitely be on the lookout for more genmaichas.

I am a deep-seated hater of rice, so it comes as a shock to me that I’m loving this very ricey tea. Something about the toasted flavor . . . it’s weird, but I can’t deny it any longer. The tin is looking dangerously low.

Was hit with the aroma of toasted rice the instant the water hit the tea leaves. Wow, genmaicha really is unique. The flavor definitely reminds me of rice cakes, earthy and nutty with just a hint of sweetness. There are a lot of mineral flavors in this too. The little card that came with the tea said this would pair well with Japanese cuisine, and I believe it. It’s quite robust for a green tea.

I actually had a chance to try this once before when I won a Tealet contest, but it was nice to get a sample and be reminded of how delicious and buttery it is. This tea, like several of Tealet’s oolong offerings, is sourced from Mountain Tea, and I’m finding I really enjoy the teas from this farm, the quality is just lovely.

I really wish I had some of Teavivre’s milk oolong on hand so that I could do a steep-off, as Teavivre also does a really nice milk oolong and as best I can remember, the teas have very similar flavor profiles. Alas, I have yet to have both brands on hand at the same time.

Woefully behind on my tea logging. Not at all behind on my tea drinking though, as evidenced by several empty tins. It’s easy to see now which ones are my favorites. I can’t believe I already polished this off (there were only 15 grams, but still). SIgh. Milk oolong is SO addictive.

Steeped up some of this last night, and caffeine or no caffeine, there couldn’t be a more soothing tea. I think this cup was even better than the first time I tried it. Somewhat by chance, I think I used slightly cooler water and steeped it a bit longer. Also, the leaves weren’t cramped up in the little basket strainer this time, and given the extra room, they unfurled to fill the whole steeper. I’m not sure it’s a big deal with all teas, but if you’ve got large-leaved oolongs, giving them room to breathe really helps.