127 Tasting Notes

76

Dry leaf
Upon inspection the bag had a lot of twig and branches which usually I don’t mind if it is a leaf set with 3-4 leaves attached but they appeared to be just random long twigs thrown in to increase weight. I kept an open mind thinking of ku ki cha green tea which usually adds stems for varying texture and flavor.

Infusion
Amber colored liquor that smelled sweet like a dried raisin.
Will revisit exact notes and nuances when I am not sick but I was able to taste.
I got a sweetness with trailing notes of honey graham crackers. Incredibly enjoyable and will gladly have a cup a few times a week due to taste and cheapness.

This is my 3rd source I have tried for GABA oolong not as complex as the others and less “tea drunk” relaxation of the others but gave some to a non tea drinker who was over and my friend asked if he could take some home. I think this tea is not bad flavor wise but still unsure of quality of plucking/sorting( high leafless twig/branch content) and the concentration of gaba.

Summary
Great taste, while negligible “GABA effect” it is a super cheap daily drinker

Flavors: Dates, Honey, Melon, Raisins

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 0 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
jLteaco 8 years ago

Dear Jiang Luo,

Thank you very much for your wonderful tea review for Taiwan GABA Tea. The reason why we contain many twigs because they contain the most enzyme. For the healthy purpose, we keep the most twigs for our tea consumers.

Any more details please go to https://www.fong-mong-tea.com/.

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75

Dry leaf
I am sick but I smelled a very strong food aroma that was familiar. It reminded me of the mixed herbs in a pasta sauce with a slight hint of briny seafood broth at the end.

Infusions
Reminder I have a cold
Very light green similar to sencha color but lighter with a touch of yellow.
Taste was very light as well but 0 astringency (even after throwing boiling water on it) very refreshing tasted similar to a cold brewed sencha but even lighter more floral and more briny.

Will come back to this one when I am not sick and have taste buds.

Flavors: Asparagus, Fish Broth, Seaweed

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 6 g 10 OZ / 300 ML

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75

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75
drank Yunnan Gold by Adagio Teas
127 tasting notes

Tasty isnt bad but the caffiene is what makes this one a staple.

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85

THE most complex and unique black tea I have tasted to date. Perfecting my steeping time and dry leaf ratio, still can not believe what difference in opinion I have have from the first time I tried this one. I highly recommend Gongfu steeping this guy as I mentioned it is even more complex than most oolongs I have had and that is quite a feat.

7g dry leaf 100mL gaiwan

Boiled 500 ml of water and just used the same water without reheating for all brews
Quick rinse (as long as it takes me to scoop out impurity bubbles)

1st (<60 sec)
sweet raisin, slight dry spicy cinnamon bite and menthol after taste

2nd(100 sec)
sweet spice is the dominant taste with the cooling menthol also becoming more noticeable

3rd(120 sec)
Wintergreen coming through into the foreground strong, spice fades out and sweetness of a dried date lingers in the background

4th(2 min)
Playful minty brisk bite with a smooth finish

Tai Cha #18 is quite an experience I am excited to try other garden’s Red Ruby and hats off to the Taiwan Tea Institute for this varietal.

Flavors: Anise, Cinnamon, Dates, Licorice, Plums

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Jiāng Luo 11 years ago

Not sure why it cuts off my review guess I exceeded character length but long story short Tai cha #18 is an experience everyone should have

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72

Not a bad cup

Flavors: Butter, Coconut, Cream

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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75
drank GABA Black by Mandala Tea
127 tasting notes

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76

I am a sucker for that laoshan black flavor profile as much as I complain about the value ($8/oz) and the questionable air quality of the region(https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/4775-Seeing-China-s-pollution-from-space). I think this blend is the best way to go value wise and with the addition of the rice it reminds me of kashi cereal which i have fond memories of growing up so this blend almost always puts a smile on my face. A great no fuss tea that travels well(tumbler western brew) and is always pleasant.

Flavors: Baked Bread, Chocolate, Malt

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 4 g 6 OZ / 177 ML
Terri HarpLady 11 years ago

I love Laoshan Black, AND this variation, with the rice & the Oolong is OH SO GOOD! :)

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77

-Preface
I do not think I have had a bad tea from verdant yet but I have yet to have one that is worth their prices. This is another prime example, obviously I understand you are buying small batch productions of quality tea and I am sure his costs are high but to me garden to cup freshness only really matters when you are buying first flush or spring plucking green/green oolongs(I am excited to try their shi feng dragonwell when the time comes). Darker teas may actually improve with age(pu er unquestionably) so if you can afford to pay over a $1 per cup (4g/cup most tea are +$8/oz.) then by all means verdant is the not a bad option but I am still waiting for that tea that blows my mind and is worth almost double what I would pay at any other shop(anxiously waiting to try their 10 yr aged TKY in my cupboard). To clarify Verdant has some great teas but Im broke as hell lol so anything over $7/oz has to be something really special for my budget at the moment.
-Review
(Back log)I western brewed first time around and got a pleasant cup definitely different from laoshan black flavor profile wise. I do get the slight sweet potato notes not as much as I had hoped but still pleasant. I can not recall anything amazing about this tea which is never a good sign but I do like it and will gladly drink the rest of the bag, I will not re purchase but glad I tried it.

Flavors: Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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70
drank Special Dark by Mandala Tea
127 tasting notes

Nothing too offense after two long rinses but nothing worth $8/oz either. I have brewed it a few different ways and still can not seem to get a “80” rating taste out of it, not a bad ripe to start with before delving into the pantheon of puer but even some big box brands ive had better and for much cheaper (still prefer rishi’s shous over this and they are almost half the price and “organic” not that it matters but it doesnt hurt).

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 100 OZ / 2957 ML
Show 1 previous comments...
Garret 11 years ago

Hi!! This is Garret from Mandala Tea, wishing you a great day. I am sorry to hear that you have not been enjoying the Special Dark. It is a very big seller here for us, but not every tea can be loved by every person.

Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what you are using for water when you prepare your tea. There can be some HUGE differences in the tea depending of the water one uses to make it. Let me know when you get a chance. I’m interested to see if that may be part of what is giving you such a different experience for this (or any other tea).

Joy and good health to you!!

Jiāng Luo 11 years ago

Im honored and embarrassed someone from the company of the tea I reviewed is replying(thank you for the sample of gaba black btw). Until recently I was using the filtered water from my refrigerator but the city works cut off my water last week and I have been using spring bottled water. I do not believe it is water quality but I was curious about your recommended steeping times for my gaiwan I have learned this shou tasted better after two long rinses.

Garret 11 years ago

I love it when I have the chance to reply to users on Steepster, I am the one who is honored :) Please don’t be embarrassed. I hope you enjoy the GABA black. It is a tie guan yin varietal leaf fully oxidized into a black tea. It’s been quite popular since we began importing it. It has a sweetness to it and also the typical tie guan yin slight sourness. Very interesting tea.

Spring water is good. I just really recommend that people stay away from RO water or distilled because of the lack of minerals. Can’t get the taste from the tea without the minerals. It is always a good idea to use water without chlorine in it, too, as that chemical tends to really zap tea of its flavor.

As far as ripe style pu’er teas, I typically do two (boiling) rinses of about 5 to 10 seconds if the tea is loose leaf, slightly longer if it is compressed. With the special dark, I start with steepings around 15 seconds and slowly increase from there. That’s how I like it. Others report using less leaf and doing longer steepings. I’m always telling people to experiment and see how they like it prepared in various ways. Some drinkers allow the brewed tea to cool a bit in the cup before they sip and that does change the characteristics of the tea somewhat. Fun to see what might make it your cup of tea :)

Great to have some conversation about it. Thank you! Garret

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Profile

Bio

Reputable Companies I have narrowed down to over the years and my personal purchase preferences from each

Origin tea (Gao Shan Oolong)
-Eco Cha (Taiwanese Teas)
-Rishi (Great starter for Taste Profile Footing and high quality teaware)
-Yunnan Sourcing (Teaware, Black, Pu er)
-White2Tea (Curated Pu er)
-Essence of tea (Curated Pu er)
-Yuuki-Cha (Japanese Teas/Teaware)
-Teavivre (Chinese Teas)
-Jing Tea (High quality Chinese)

“You can go a week without food, but not a day without tea."

Numerical rating personal meaning
70-75
#Bulk#
Drinkable but would not purchase

76-80
#Traveling/Tumbler/Office Tea#
Willing to pay up to $5/oz

81-84
#Staple#
Willing to pay up to $8/oz

85-89
#Reserve#
Willing to pay $10/oz

90-99
#Experience#
Priceless

I try to refrain from numerically rating a tea until I have tried brewing at least an oz of it with various different parameters and vessels (hotter/colder water, longer/shorter times, yixing/gaiwan etc)

Location

Hovering over my tea table

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