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Thank heavens eastteaguy is on here, because he tends to buy the same things I do lol.

I am holding off on rating this one, and I hope some of you have tried it before I did, but I have a very mixed opinion of it. Alistair described this one as a Baozhong style oolong, and it looked like that in the picture. When I got the actual leaf, it was a lot tippier than I thought it would be. It looks as advertised, and is very pretty, though.

As for tasting it, it was stronger than I expected. It’s supposed to be smooth, floral, sans bitterness or astringency, but it has the sharpness of a first flush Darjeeling. I used very light leaves and 1 minute of steeping, but it was still pretty cutting. The florals were there, like osmanthus, peony, major honeysuckle, linen, and it was a little bit sweet, but there was something still strong about it. Sharp is the only way I can describe it, though it reminded me of astringency, drying, or acidity. I could be brewing it wrong and would like some advice for those willing to give. Maybe my palettes off.

So far, I prefer the Hand Crafted Spring Oolong from Rohini, but I need to let this one grow on me before I make a final judgement. I will say this is definitely more for experienced tea drinkers who want to try India’s new stuff. I have not figured out a way for a new drinker to like it yet.

I swear I’ve grown up with this tea when I lived in Hawaii. I got a free sample of it, and it’s very similar to the Oolong version, but that one is a little bit more tropical and stonefruit in vibes, whereas this one is arguably peachier with the vanilla addition. It’s very smooth and sweet. I slightly prefer the oolong, but the flavoring of this peach is creamier with the vanilla.

I finally got one of the most rated teas on Steepster!

I’ve been meaning to try this one for a while, since I got started on steepster in the first place. The high price and shipping has made me delay for years, especially since I’ve spent most of it on What-Cha. People are usually divided on this one from what I see. Either it tastes refreshing; the natural peach blends the florals effortlessly with the oolong; it tastes fake and the peach overpowers the oolong; OR the peach is the weakest thing about the tea. I eventually was going to try it to see what I thought myself; it’s inevitable.

Since I had slightly more income, I decided to get a few sachets of this tea with the mango oolong. I’ve been using the flavor=sachet, high grade tea=loose leaf rule. I was very close to getting either the Melon and the Queen’s Muscat Oolongs, but I don’t need more than 50 grams of tea , and the current expiration date for the Muscat oolong was in July of this year…I was not going to risk a long shipping time on that. My greedy thirst does want to try EVERYTHING, but I cannot have TOO much more tea.

The nice thing about this tea sachet is that it really does not oversteep in large mugs for me. I had about 12 oz of this one, and I’ve had it twice. The second brew is weaker, but it’s still peachy. The rose is subtle, but I can definitely taste it. I am glad they used flowers instead of a rose flavor since it could have been too perfumey.

As for the teabase, it was not as high grade leaf as it advertises. I think it would have been had I gotten the loose leaf version of it. It’s possible that the Baozhong leaves ARE high grade, but got broken up in the bags. There is some dust, however. It luckily does not make the tea astringent. They could have used a little bit more Baozhong in the sachets or a different source for better leaves, but it would have been extremely easy to make this tea too astringent with a baozhong base.

Baozhongs are one of my favorite oolongs, and they blend really well with fruit flavors, but even on their own, they can become astringent like Green Teas. I think the sachet was made with the notion that someone might leave it in their mug.

So to finally wrap up my ramble, this was the nice refreshing oolong sachet I hoped it would be. It reminds me of home, sunshine, spring and summer. I do agree that the flavor could have been drawn out a little bit more, but I enjoy that it’s intentionally light. I do not think it deserves to cost $1 per sachet, but it’s a unique tea that I do not regret getting. It’s a 75 in terms of tea quality, a near 90 for in terms of aroma, 80 in terms of taste, so I personally rate it 85.

Long backlog and sipdown. I’ve mostly been pre-occupied with reading, school-work, parent contact, and binging youtube videos and Netflix to maintain a sense of humor…and of course drinking mugs of tea.

I’ve relied more on longer steeper times and western more than I have gong fu, mostly relying on larger amounts of water for my mugs. I’ve been bad and purchased more sachets, but I still plow through my good loose leaf western. I’ve also used an uncomfortable amount of sachet teas lately for the BWB blends I love (Cardamom French Toast….), but I still turn to the amounts I have from Wang, Whispering Pines, and What-Cha pre-epidemic.

Though I have splurged on Whispering Pines, Tea Spot, and Lupicia (crossing figures it gets to MI alright and the MOMO SUPERGRADE and RIPE MANGO are good- I really wanted Queen’s muscat, but the expiration date for the tea was in July of this year).

Finally getting to this tea from Wang, there is a lot going on with it. It tops as a must try sample in my opinion despite being more expensive, and it honestly competed with the Da Yu Ling from the company.

I was not quite sure what to expect for this one since it is a Tieguanyin varietal grown in Taiwan. I used to love Tie Guan Yin’s, but the orchid-pepper notes have bugged me lately, and switched to Taiwanese teas a while back. Trying this one out, the Cui Feng notes are more prominent than the Tie Guan Yins. It’s very green and has the orchid/green been notes that you get in a Tie Guan Yin, but it’s loaded with the alpine forest notes, some woodiness, but heavy amount of lilac and hyacinth among a thick body and mouthfeel. It is also sweet, and orchid becomes more prominent.

I’ve mostly done western for this one since it does take some time to develop for what I’ve gotten. I could see it working with a lot of leaf gong fu, but it’s very durable western. I’ve gotten six cups minimum, using brewing increments based on minutes. The minimum I’ve done is a minute, but I usually do 1 minute 45 to two minutes in the first two brews either in my 10 oz kyusu or french press.

I’m not sure how else to describe it. It’s a THICC Tie Guanyin-Gaoshan Baby.

I thought I tried this one before. Anyway.

There are so many teas in my backlog. Most of them, I need to add to steepster myself. Cheers to trailblazing!

I hesitated on this one for a while since I was not quite sure how I felt on Jasmine Blacks. They tend to be too malty for me personally, but I given how smooth the Golden Snail is, I’d give it a try. I have only brewed it very lightly via western with 3-5 grams in 8-12 oz, but my initial times tend to be between two and three minutes, and then I add 30-45 seconds, and then minutes afterwards. I have gotten between 4-6 solid cups followed by fainter ones. I can see this as an easy Gong Fu tea, but I’ve been working a lot online (TEACHING), and have needed French press to power me through sessions.

First of all, this is a very well balanced tea, and naturally extremely creamy, sweet, and dense with jasmine flavor. The body is viscous, but not overwhelming thick or malty. Like other reviews, I could still taste the sweet potato and cherry malt underneath the jasmine. The cocoa nib notes a little bit more subdued, but they are there. Middle brews give me caramel notes, and later ones lean to honeysuckle from the black tea rather than the jasmine. The first and second steep remind me of buttercream frosting due to its voluptuous sweetness. Sometimes it reminds me of cantaloup, but I point that to the sensation when my buds go from Jasmine to black tea.

When I bought it, I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to buy more Lorien, or more of this one. I wanted the Nepal Gold, but it was sold out right when I went to go through checkout. So I doubled on Lorien because Jasmine Whites are my favorite, and if White Lotus was any indicator of Brenden’s tastes, Lorien would be really good because he topped it above Lotus. So I got less of this one…though I wanted to add more. Curse expenses and my propensity to diversify my Dragon’s Horde of Tea!

So, after trying both, I like both equally, but I prefer the Jasmine to tea ratio on this one’s taste. Lorien can be perfumy if you ever brew it like I did the first time, and I like that this jasmine is not nearly as vegetal, but better yet, not super malty or astringent if you brew it lighter. I like that I can taste both tea and jasmine, and this is the perfect pick me up tea. I used it before work this morning to power through parent phone calls (I HATE talking on the phone), and sustained me through my meeting.

Only complaints:
1. Expense (WHICH IS ALWAYS THE CASE, BUT I SUPPORT BRENDEN AND HOLY CRAP DOES THIS ONE HAVE A HIGH DEMAND)

2. Longevity. Lorien’s main advantage over this one is that it yields more cups than this one. It can start to get week around cup 4-5 whereas my other teas tend to get weak at 6-7 western. It’s honestly a nitpick that depends on my leaf ratio.

3. Strength. This is easy to avoid and not a complaint from me, but I can see some people not liking this one because of the florals. It’s balanced enough to win people over and jade them to other Jasmine teas, but if you up the leaf too much, the Jasmine could get to your stomach. It’s more forgiving than most black teas, but it’s still a black tea, and can get astringent if it is over done.

I personally did not entirely picture Alice when I drank it unlike the Jabberwocky, Rivendell, or Lorien, but after reading the notes I can see it depending on how I picture it. When Alice drinks tea at the Mad Tea Party, I always imagine something more British like a breakfast tea, but then thrown in with something whimsical. The jasmine is more otherworldly than whimsical for me. But when I picture her with the caterpillar or with the flowers, this blonde tea makes more sense (ironic because I picture her more as a Brunette in the books over the blonde in the series). This little Geek rant has nothing to do with my enjoyment of the tea though, and Alice is one of the best blends that Whispering Pines has had. I like it more than Earl Gold, but that’s personal preference.

Okay, I have a hard time letting go of this one. I need to drink it everyday to remain satisfied with life.

I’ve got this song stuck in me head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek0SgwWmF9w

Backlog

I should have written a note before I finished off the rest of it. I might have some left, but drank it quickly. This was by far one of my favorite of the lighter roasts from Wang Family Tea. Like most of them, it had the nutty floral combo with the roast. The first steep is very much like almond, but after steep two, the longan charcoal brings out a bit of a caramelized sugar note, and slowly, brings out some fruit notes. They generally fade as the more alpine floral notes take over. The roast is still there, but it is not as present. It also does have a sweetness and like scotch.

It does not have the stone fruit thing going on like the light roast Alishan did, but it was a different balance of subtlety while resembling that one over the Fenghuang Dong Ding and the light roast Li Shan. It also had a little bit more body than the Lishan Light Raost did. This one was a little bit easier for me to pin point flavors overall, but it was also more complex in the florals. I recommend this one a little bit for more advanced drinkers because certain elements might be a little too subtle for newbie drinkers despite how easy it is to drink. It’s sweet and approachable, but does take a little bit of patience to appreciate it. It was doable western, but I ended up rushing a little too much. It was a little bit better suited in a slower Gong Fu, or a slower western at least. Think like Dolly Parton-sings at an even pace and is rounded in all the right places.

So many more teas to add…I think I have five to go. At minimum.

I’ve had a few Wu Yi style mimic teas, and I’ve personally had mixed feelings about them. The ones I’ve had in my experience tend to up the charcoal and juice out as much stone fruit and cannabis as possible in taste…which I am personally not a huge fan of, especially the one served by Taiwan Sourcing. But this one was a different story and a much needed surprise.

Opening the bag, it is woody and roasty….and almost nutty….like hazelnut or chestnut. I try this out, and the aroma is fairly smokey, but the taste….holy crap it’s smooth and heavenly. I played around a lot with this one, and did a semi western while sipping it ever so often in a smaller vessel. After about 30 seconds, I pour my kyusu, and it is super sweet. It reminded me of Japanese milk candy, but with a slight roast in the aftertaste.

I do it again after about 12 sec, and some fruit comes along. Not quite sure what. The roast is there, but the tea is still super viscous and not cloying or overwhelming.

I brew the rest of the pot after about another minute, and what I was tasting was unusual. It got the milky caramel candy notes with the fruity and the roast, but it rose from floral, to milky, to fruity, to whatever-the-hell is this sweetness is, and then, to a woodsy charcoal in a silky finish that contrasts and balances nicely. I then thought-holy heavens WTF IS THIS. Smoke on the water…..Fire IN MY TEA CUP! DE-NE-NA-ne-NA!

Here’s how they described it on their page:

“After rinsing, the leaves give off a light aroma of sugar, and a strong aroma of wood. The first round of brewing expresses the warming smell of longan charcoal. The first sip gives you a calming feeling. The taste is that of sweet cream with a hint of hazelnut. Already the tea is expressing a mellow cha qi (tea energy). The color of the tea liquor is a dark golden brown. Second round intensifies the woody aroma. The cha qi continues to spread throughout the body. It causes a pleasant warmth. The third round introduces the flavor of stone fruits. With the stone fruits, the charcoal flavor, and the sweetness, it reminds us of flambeed fruit. At this point, the cha qi has spread throughout our entire bodies. We feel deeply relaxed and calm.”

Pretty much exactly what I got. The tea was medium in its re-brew strength, and I usually got 5-8 cups from 5 grams using 10 oz, averaging closer to 6. It’s good both Western or Gong Fu, and good light with grand pa, but I find that I prefer most of Wang Family Teas western.

The Wuyi oolong has quickly become a favorite becuase it is so easy to drink and smooth. It’s warming and relaxing, and perfect for a rainy day. I thought that I’d prefer the greener teas or the lighter roasts, but man, does this tea kick most of their leaves out of the water in balance and smoothness. Now, I pick teas deliberately if they are smooth, but I did not expect it from something that is supposed to emulate a Wuyi style, which tend to be rougher from my experience.

I can say that I highly recommend this tea. It is a lot more like a traditional Lu Yu or Dong Ding in style, but it does have some florals and milkiness that Wu Yi’s can. It’s definitely oolong, and I really think almost anyone could enjoy this one, but I think it might be better for intermediate to experienced drinkers. If someone new tries it, I think they would like it if brewed with care. It is pretty forgiving, but I could see it becoming a little too smokey if oversteeped.

Well, my sample is almost gone. I just give it a subjective 96. I might raise it. I might not. We’ll see. It’s been my favorite in quarantine anyway.