What-Cha

Paging Daylon or other what-cha oolong fans..

I’ve got a damn cold again, so my taste might be way off, but I found a blank sample pack with ‘taiwan gui fei oolong what-cha’ written on it. As it wasnt in its original, thats usually reserved for teas I take to my girlfriends, or out with me – had a look inside, rolled oolong, good for colds – I guessed it might not be that special.. as its in a blank pack.

Wow, its amazing. The first few steeps are like orange and something. A bit like yancha? I dont know, its totally muddled but tastes gorgeous.

Out of stock at what-cha and I cant find a review here, so I have no idea, but its really good.

ends up being a sweet almost dongfang meiren sweet wood tangy something oolong base. Its really nice. I dont usually like orangey oolongs, this was special though

I dont know much about this apart from the early part of the session was totally lovely. Now, I may be wrong about its taste, everything tastes either odd or amazing when I have a cold.
Often better because my stuffed nose captures a tonne of aroma.

I’m thinking nose plugs might be a thing for tea tasting. ? lol

Anyone with more info on this one, would love to chat about it! I sent Alistair a message asking if he can get more.

This is a mystery tea I recieved in my order (I bought 4 mystery teas at $1 per sampler pouch). I’m still exploring green teas, and so far I’ve had the most luck with dragon well because it tends to be sweet and nutty (like soybean). This particular one was very fresh (just picked in spring 2017), and so I’m excited to open it now. Even though I’ve got so many caffeinated teas already open, I figure fresh dragon well is going to taste best if consumed soon.

350 mL, 4g leaf, 2 minute steep (two steeps at 2 minutes each), hottish water (~80 deg. C)

While this was more vegetable than I hoped (baby spinach, bok choy), the classic dragonwell nutty profile (soybean) if there too. A slight sweetness is present, but nothing like the stonefruit notes I’ve tasted in other dragonwells. This leans towards vegetal and nutty but not fruity.

Brewed tea has a wet leaf aroma with a hint of vanilla, fruit, and cinnamon. There’s a savoury bread-y note in the aroma as well.

Bright and fruity flavour on the sip with a sweet spice aftertaste.

So far, all the teas from this provider have been exceptional but unfortunately this one has been a bit of a meh.

I started brewing this tea at 80 C, but on the second steep there needed to be an increase in temperature of 5 C. Honestly, I am not convinced, the flavour was not present and I couldn’t find a scent nor a taste.
Probably, though not making any promises, will repurchase a small package to see if I am in the wrong and give it another taste.

For now it’s a “I don’t know”.

4g looseleaf, 325 mL hot water, 3 minutes

This oolong is quite toasty. Roasted grain (barley), unflavoured popcorn, burnt sugar (slight bitterness), graham cracker, toasted rice. It has some bitterness to it that I do not like, but the graham cracker flavour in the aftertaste is amazing. Very desserty, in a subtle natural way. Some peachy and plum notes come out if you steep it cold/drink it after it cools.

So the tea I’m reviewing is labelled “Nepal Golden Tippy Black Tea” and I think its just this year’s version of the same tea.

To be honest I just had it for the second time and I’ve delayed posting a note because I’ve been lacking the vocabulary to describe this one. There is a smell, from the dry leaf in a warm pot, and a flavour from the tea, that I couldn’t quite place.

Most other reviews mention fruity, which I don’t get. However, someone mentioned french toast which might be close to the smell I pick up. The tea is smooth as described, but the malt is much weaker than I expected. There is an after taste that is difficult to place, a pleasant one. Overall a good tea but doesn’t really stand out for me. For smoother teas I prefer the Georgian ones carried by the same vendor, and for more malt I look to yunnan blacks.

I may try this with a longer infusion time, maybe 5 minutes.

I need to keep this one short. Been busy with student teacher stuff and trying to figure out how to balance my energy levels, be more efficient with grading and paperwork, and maintain some semblance of a healthy personal life-i.e.-working out and seeing friends when I can without losing sleep. #Lifegoals.

Anyway, this tea was pretty unusual. The Jin Xuan similarities that Alistair described were present. Gong Fu brings out more dimension in my opinion because of how it fluxes from a first flush Himalayan tea, Dajeeling or from this general Terroir, in its light sweet florals and nutty roasted body. Western was pretty consistent, though the resteep values were decent and complex.

In general, the body was creamy and floral in some form for every brew, and subtle sweet notes occasionally popped in the background like plaintain. The first three and the last two steeps were the most floral, the middle body no matter the brew had the more light-
medium roasted nutty qualities. Though the oolong is still green, the more leafed sessions nutty notes bordered on the similarities of a first flush black tea, and even a hong cha or hwang cha without cocoa, but instead focused on the nuts, florals, and almost potato-y starchiness. You can still tell that it was an oolong, which is why I should say it is more akin to a light roast Jin Xuan or Dan Cong, but again, it is closer to a Dan Cong and the florals are more like the first and second flush black teas of the same Himalayan terroir.

Though I this tea is not my favorite, it was distinct and very likable. It is a worth while try for any sommeliar who wants to examine something experimental, and as with any Nepalese tea, I think its worth a try because this terroir is not always as appreciated as others. It has enough sophistication to think about and it has the special quality of balancing its floral and roasted character, which is a trait that I’ve seen in half the oolongs I have tried. Other people might be unimpressed and just categorize it as an oolong, or tea while at least noticing some of the florals. Though I do not need more of this tea in my life, it’s one that I am glad that I tried anyway as I get more hope from what Nepal has to offer.

I need to review this one soon…

When opening the package, the smell of the tea is a bit overpowering but i couldn’t take my nose off because it smells really good.

It has this coconut milk pudding smell that I love.

Usually the way I brew my tea is the Gong fu style. Once the tea it’s brewed the scent transfers to the liquour and the scent is not overpowering but very floral with a hint of coconut pudding.

In total, I love this tea and will buy it again.

Gaiwan brewed, the raw leaf smells delightfully malty and toasty with only a hint of sweetness. The first steep was a lovely composite of gentle cocoa and malt flavors, gently sweet with a very faint toasty char character. I mostly found these flavors remained balanced and unchanged in later steeps with the flavor sadly fleeting. A delightfully drinkable tea that left me wanting a little more.

2.5g for 2.5 minutes in 300ml of water just off the boil. Re-steeps well at 4 minutes.

This is a surprising tea. It’s a nice strong cup of tea but smooth and without any of the astringency I usually expect with a stronger hongcha. Thick mouthfeel almost like a bulang shou. Not the most complex but very satisfying for when you want a nice strong cup. Notes of cocoa dominate with an underlying sweetness that is somewhat obscurbed by the slight bitterness from the cocoa. Not getting much malt from this one unlike other reviews. I’ve been drinking this on and off for the last few weeks. It will never be a favourite as its a bit monodimensional but its something I think I’d like to have on hand for when I want a stronger hongcha.

I think this would make for a good option for those looking for a loose leaf alternative to bagged english breakfast teas. Will introduce this to family members who enjoy a splash of milk in their tea as I think it will hold up well to it.

I’ve had this one a few times now. 3g for 300ml for 3 minutes, with water just off the boil. Re-steeps well at 5 minutes.

Smooth, very very smooth with a light sweetness. There is a bit of a fruity taste somewhere in the body but its so delicate that I find it hard to pin down. This is a great daily drinker and also great for anyone that doesn’t usually like hongcha due to astringency as there is none to be found here.

This isn’t exactly a mind blowing tea in terms of flavours but I rate it quite highly just because its so smooth and pleasurable to drink.

Yet to gongfu this.

2.5g for 300ml for 3 minutes with water just off the boil.

A very interesting black tea that is completely distinct from darjeelings. The first aroma from the dry leaf upon opening the bag is of milk chocolate. After leaving it in a preheated empty pot for a few minutes, the aroma shifts more towards roast and wood.

This is a dry tea with an underlying delicate sweetness. Not sweet like a taiwanese black, a lot more subtle. It’s a softer black but not very soft, compared to say a georgian black or even an Australian arakai. It feels dry in the mouth at first, followed by smooth notes of chocolate and light roast, followed by a dryish slightly sweet aftertaste with lingering roast notes.

Will give this another go on a different day, both western style and also gongfu. My first assessment is that it’s a good and different hongchabut not quite up there with some of the others I’ve tried recently (Shan cha, Phoenix Georgian Black and Australian Arakai).

Like a cross between a taiwanese black and a mellow georgian black, but maltier and woodier. With a sweet after taste. This is definitely a good one. I’m currently exploring hongcha from different terroirs and processing – a total of about 40 different hongcha over the next few months – and I definitely want to try the spring flush from this estate now.

I brewed this western style, 2.5g for 2.5 minutes in 300ml of water just off the boil. Will try it gongfu next, as per recommendations from the estate.

Bought the yellow tea as a 10 g sample.

I like it, though it is my first time tasting yellow tea. Will purchase a bigger pack to get to know this tea better from this provider.

First time with an unflavored tea (No fruit/flowers/sweetners added.)

Great notes of dark chocolate, malt, and Autumn leaves. A bit bitter, but that may just be my untrained palette. Felt thick on the mouth and throat, and definitely could have went longer than the 5 steepings I did.

This was a really pleasant green tea. It has a wonderful aroma of milk, flowers, spinach, and sweet grass. The smell in fact resembled a nice Jin Xuan oolong more than a green. The taste is smooth and mellow with delicate notes of sweet pea, cucumber, and crisp butter lettuce. In subsequent steepings, the flavor changes to a light vegetable broth and reveals hints of green bean and spinach. I got about 4-5 good quality steeps out of it. The soft, clean flavor of this tea makes this a good tea for beginners and people who don’t drink green tea.

This was my least favorite of the What-Cha oolongs I ordered. The giant green nuggets had the faintest aroma and smelled a little stale. When brewed, the tea was flat with a seaweed like flavor and a vague floral note. Dry mouthfeel and overall, just seemed to lack freshness. Given What-Cha’s steller track record though, odds are I had a bad or old sample.

Holy orange blossoms, this tea is amazing! It’s sweet and flowery filled with a lovely orange blossom flavor. The tea starts off somewhat weak but with an interesting Korean melon like fruity flavor, corn husk, and a slight sourness. The florals really come out after the first steeping. I detected notes of osmanthus, orange blossom, and cream. The floral notes soon flattened into perfumey orange blossom water for the next several steeps. I brewed it fairly hard, at temperatures between 200 F to boiling , and there wasn’t a trace of bitterness.

I can see this replacing one of my favorite teas that’s now discontinued: Taiwan Tea Craft’s Citrus Scented oolong, a Taiwanese oolong scented with pomelo flowers. I was astonished at how much it resembled the TTC tea despite being unflavored. Compared to What-Cha’s Li Shan, this had less depth of flavor. The orange blossom, though enjoyable, becomes the dominant note. I would have liked more of the osmanthus and fruity flavors that I tasted early on but faded quickly.

Nice tea from Sumatera

Sipdown! Hot brewed I was pretty unimpressed with this tea but cold-brewed it’s wonderful! I find it best if you start with warm water (about 140-160F), up to 12oz per 5/6 g, then throw that baby in the fridge and let it age like a fine wine for up to a few days. The longer you cold steep it the fruitier and sweeter it gets, with a hint of ripe plum and rosehip notes, a pleasant slippery mouthfeel and absolutely no hint of bitterness. It’s almost hard to believe it isn’t just a little bit sweetened.

This is one of the best cold brewed teas I’ve ever had.