What-Cha

It smells amazing, and tastes just as good. A wonderful creamy, floral taste. I steep it Western style in a small pot, and get 3 or so steeps. It’s a lovely dessert tea. I made some delicious ice cream out of it!

So far, I’ve been reviewing only teas I love, and this is no exception. I thought it had just a little bit of astringency, which I like in a breakfast tea, but it still was very smooth and malty. I tried this one as a sample and then promptly ordered more. Like other teas that I enjoy, it has a light cocoa flavor.

I really love this tea. I’m a fan of slightly cocoa tasting teas, so this one is right up my alley. The dry leaves look beautiful, and when brewed it tastes both a little like bread, and a little like hot cocoa. It’s a very non-astringent tea, but the flavors are still powerful. I brewed it Western style and got three tasty steeps out of it. I love enjoying it with a nice book on a cozy fall afternoon.

Hmm, the smell and taste of this tea don’t seem to match. It has the unmistakeable floral aroma of an oolong, but tastes like a green tea. Light buttery with a dominant vegetal flavor. The body is thin and has a slight sour/bitter note in the end if steeped too long. No matter how I brewed it, I couldn’t coax out any florals or fruity flavors from it. A rather atypical oolong.

The dry leaf has a punchy sweet apricot aroma.

The brewed tea has a sticky pudding sweetness aroma with baked plum and molasses on the finish.

The tea has a sweet white tea flavour which intermingles well with the different flavour notes. Cotton candy sweetness on the tip of the tongue on the sip. Plum fruity notes throughout. A hint of floral bouquet. Molasses on the aftertaste.

I did 3 steeps using 1.5 tsp leaf and 300 mL hot water in a gong-fu teapot

Steep 1: 1 minute – nice deep roasted flavour, bran, grain
Steep 2: 2 min – toasted rice, raisin, molasses
Steep 3: 2 min – more of the same, very smooth each steep, main note is roasted oolong with some fruity notes, slightly sweet in the aftertaste
-overall fairly smooth

Hot water (not boiling), 4g leaf, gong-fu brewed

Steep 1: 2 min – cocoa,chocolate, sweetness at the beginning of the sip

Steep 2: 3 min – fruity, orange, chocolate, cocoa nibs

Steep 3: 3 min – a little bit less rich and desserty, a bit more classic Ceylon

Steeps 4-5: Tastes like a high quality Ceylon black. Honestly, I didn’t find this tastes like an oolong at all, however I was very pleased with the delicious dark chocolate notes at the beginning

I have been curious about some of the Indian teas produced outside of the major tea production areas for some time, but I did not bother to make a point of exploring such teas until this year. This particular tea was the second tea from the state of Bihar that I tried. The first was an oolong that I also purchased from What-Cha, and like this tea, it was also a product of Doke Tea Garden. To be honest, I did not care for that tea and I did not care for this one either. As a matter of fact, if I were to be placed in a position to pick between the two, I would take the oolong over this black tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, I noted aromas of wood, malt, caramel, sorghum molasses, plum, and raisin coming from the dry tea leaves. After infusion, I did not note nearly as much complexity. I mostly picked up scents of sweet potato and honey underscored by hints of cooked leaf vegetables. In the mouth, I found soft notes of malt, butter, caramel, sweet potato, honey, plum, sorghum molasses, raisin, brown toast, and wood with distinctive vegetal overtones that reminded me somewhat of both damp grass and cooked spinach. There were slight traces of earthiness and minerality in there too. What-Cha suggested that there were aromas and flavors of rose in this tea, but at no point did I ever come close to finding them. The finish was clipped and very sweet, mostly offering brief malty notes underscored by touches of sorghum molasses, sweet potato, and honey. Even after the lingering flavor impressions faded, I was left with traces of sweetness in the mouth and on the back of my throat.

Well, Doke Tea Garden is now 0 for 2 as far as I am concerned. To me, this tea was just thoroughly unappealing. Not only was it too sweet, but no specific aroma or flavor stood out on its own enough to make it remotely interesting. The tea was just oddly sweet and topped with awkward vegetal notes that neither fit with the tea’s other components nor created enough of a contrast to provide some much needed dimension.

Full review still to come, but this is super buttery. It reminds me a lot of movie theatre buttered popcorn. I can definitely see where the sticky rice association comes from. This herb definitely has that sort of flavour.

Savoury herb note which blooms into a sweetness. Some astringency. Very nice full flavour.

Black tea is not necessarily a regular in my tea consumption schedule, but I’ve been trying to explore more lately and I am really glad that this is one of the ones that I decided to try out, because it is fantastic.

The leaves of this tea have the sweet aroma of maple syrup and blueberries, which grows even more welcoming once steeped. And the taste itself does not betray the aroma. It’s sweet, smooth and fruity, with a hint of malt in the finish.

I liked this one so much that I made it a point to stock up on more while I could, and it is now my main go-to when I’m in the mood for a black tea.

Yet another review from the backlog, I finished this tea about a week ago. If memory serves, I finished this one the same day I finished the Nepal Golden Tips Black Tea from What-Cha. Amazingly, the backlog is getting small. I should only have about four or five more reviews to go after this one. Anyway, time to get back on track here. I found this to be a very nice second flush Darjeeling.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No subsequent infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of wood, fruit, flowers, and herbs. After infusion, I detected aromas of wood, toast, malt, orange blossom, and Muscatel underscored by hints of rose, violet, and herbs. In the mouth, I found pleasant, well-layered notes of malt, cream, butter, roasted almond, wood, toast, herbs, straw, Muscatel, and orange blossom balanced by quite subtle impressions of chocolate, rose, violet, nutmeg, and golden raisin. The finish was smooth and mellow, offering lingering notes of roasted almond, herbs, malt, cream, Muscatel, and orange blossom.

It seems that the teas produced by the Gopaldhara Estate never disappoint me these days. I greatly appreciated how complex this tea was. It had so much flavor, yet remained very smooth and balanced. Though I would have liked to see a little more pronounced of a Muscatel presence, this tea was still very good. I imagine it would please most fans of second flush Darjeelings.

Well, I am continuing to slog my way through all of the backlogged reviews I have accumulated since the start of the month. I finished a pouch of this tea a little over a week ago. I tend to be a big fan of the Nepalese black teas sourced by What-Cha and this tea was certainly no exception. I found it to be a smooth, remarkably flavorful black tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I attempted no additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of chocolate and herbs. After infusion, I noted aromas of chocolate, malt, herbs, orange, and flowers. In the mouth, I found a mellow blend of cream, malt, chocolate, wood, orange zest, and roasted nuts balanced by touches of honey, cherry, banana, black grape, herbs, and leather. Oddly, I could find no floral notes in the mouth. The finish was somewhat dry, yet not astringent. It offered lingering touches of malt, roasted nuts, chocolate, and black grape. What-Cha swore there was a note of nectarine in there somewhere, but I never found it.

This was a very smooth, mellow, approachable black tea with a nice body and just enough depth and complexity. Thankfully, it also did not come off as a clone of a second flush Darjeeling either. If you are a fan of malty, flavorful black teas, then this one would likely be for you.

Strong note of spinach on the sip with a trailing mild sugar pea sweetness.

Got this in a what-Cha sampler. It’s very green and vegetal to me. Mean green. I liked it, but I didn’t like it as much as the black tea or white tea choice in my surprise tea sampler.

Brewed as the directions dictate this tea is the heavy on the malt! It’s right up there with a deep nut brown ale or a dense homemade wheat bread. A honeyed sweetness, maybe the very slightest fruitiness, it’s like drinking a cup of fresh baked honey wheat bread with a little banana snuck into the dough. There’s also a damp leafiness to it, the way a rainy autumn day smells. Later steeps see a softening of the honey and a strengthening of deciduous leaf flavor, though the honey always remains on the nose. The smell of the empty, cooling cup is like sticking your nose in a honey pot.

A gongfu session for me brought out the best flavors, the first steep at only about 12 seconds with a high leaf:water ratio seriously pumping out the honey notes and creamy mouthfeel. Every subsequent steep is delicious but lacks that thick honey flavor, winding down almost immediately into the musty leaf and bready flavors with that tempting honey on the nose. That first steep really left me wanting more. I’d rate this one a solid 100 if that flavor weren’t so fleeting.

Edit: tried a batch cold-brewed as I do with almost every new tea. Pretty unremarkable compared to the hot.

A fruity and well rounded milk oolong that rewards multiple steeps. Starts off very light, and gradually develops a very creamy mouthfeel.

Very pleasant as a breakfast tea. Retains flavor with a little milk. Wonderful malty flavor.

I finished a sample pouch of this tea earlier this week, but I’m just now getting around to posting a review. Going out of my way to take more prompt and thorough session notes has been both a blessing and a curse because while I now have a written account of every review session I have conducted over the past two weeks and am not in a position where I have to work from memory on any tea I have consumed in that time, I also now have an excuse to put off posting reviews as quickly. I hope to be completely caught up by the end of next week, but as I am trying about 3-4 new teas each week, it could take a little longer.

This oolong broke up the monotony of Indian black teas for me. I had been on a mission to greatly reduce the number of samples from Teabox on hand and turned to this tea on a whim in order to try something new and different that was not an Indian black tea. I found it to be a unique oolong, perhaps not the deepest or most refined in the world, but unique, complex, and appealing nonetheless.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of char, roasted grain, wood, and coffee beans. After the rinse, I found emerging aromas of tree bark, hay, seaweed, and rice cakes balanced by a subtle fruitiness. The first infusion brought out scents of caramelized banana, spinach, and a hint of stone fruits. In the mouth, I found subtle, well-integrated notes of wood, char, tree bark, roasted grain, seaweed, cooked spinach, coffee, rice cake, and caramelized banana. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas and flavors of banana leaf, sour plum, apricot, butter, malt, tart cherry, and wild mushroom. I also noted roasted nut and mineral impressions accompanied by something akin to a slight young sheng funk. The later infusions offered slight notes of minerals, malt, roasted grain, hay, rice cake, and roasted nuts underscored by fleeting impressions of seaweed and lingering sheng-like funk.

This was an interesting oolong with a unique and challenging mix of aromas and flavors. It kind of reminded me of some of the Yunnan oolongs I have tried over the course of the year, though its aroma and flavor components were significantly more mellow and integrated overall. As a matter of fact, that was my only real problem with this tea. While I could appreciate its balance, I also felt that everything was a little too integrated. After a point, nothing about it stood out enough to really spur me forward-I kind of had to push myself to get through the session in the later goings. Still, this was a very nice tea and well worth a shot for anyone considering trying it.

Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Seven- Tea #2
A tea from Georgia, which is a place I haven’t heard tea coming from very much. It’s a tasty one! The leaves are big and full and there is such a sweetness here. It’s kind of like a Ruby tea or Sun and Moon or Taiwanese Assam. I think fans of Butiki’s PTA would like this one, but it still isn’t quite the same. Really great flavor here but not quite the same complexity as PTA but that is tough to match! It’s also tough to report what these flavors are but the two steeps were fantastic — very thirst quenching. Possibly hints of molasses, raisins, but definitely the sweetness takes over. Happy to find this in the tea box!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 //few minutes after boiling // 5 minute steep