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Really love the smell of this tea after the first few infusions. It has an outstanding rich roasted aroma along with the smell of dark chocolate, lightly roasted nuts, a touch of floral. I always thought that I enjoy the smell of tea more than the taste, this is one of those teas. I have no complaints about the taste either. It is very smooth, mellow and has a mild sweetness, no bitterness, light minerality.

I’ve had a few samples of this and I’m always pleased as it’s a well-balanced tea, in that the roasted and floral notes complement each other instead of compete against each other. I was surprised when I first sipped it in that it’s not quite full-bodied as I thought.. Because the liquor is an intense dark color and although flavorful, I’d still call it more a medium-bodied tea. Less astringent as well compared to many of the other Da Hong Pao that I’ve tried, it’s very pleasant for an after dinner tea. I can see why some prefer this as their daily tea and is very popular on TeaVivre’s site. The first few times I tried this was at about 195-200℉. It’s much better (to me) at 212℉, hence the rating change.

Yixing, 212℉, 110 ml, 8g, 6 steeps: rinse, 15s, 25s, 35s, 60s, 100s, 160s

Had to go to the DMV today. Yeah, no matter what city or state, it’s always the most inefficient operation ever. lol

I wanted something special so I chose the Nonpareil Taiwan DaYuLing High Mountain Cha Wang Oolong Tea. The type of tea that is flourishing waaaay the heck up there (2500m+), away from it all, where its cooler year around. The type of tea that is quite expensive but hey, it is DaYuLing, and a great one too ($36.90 for 50g).

Tightly dark green nuggets, large leaves when unfurled. It has a noteworthy aroma with a mixture of orchid, vegetal, fruit, sweetness. Smooth, silky, calming. Sweet, creamy, buttery, some chestnut, umami, gardenia/floral notes, seaweed/marine notes towards the end. Balanced and well-rounded, complex yet subtle, lingers at the throat and back of the tongue well after you finish your steep, a comforting effect. Full-bodied, thick mouth-feel & in the throat.

Gaiwan, 7g, 212℉, 110ml, 8 steeps: rinse, 30s, 30s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 120s, 150s, 180s

Flowery, perfumey, light milk aroma. Sweet and super light vegetal notes compared to other TGYs. More of a floral taste instead of green, no real fruit notes that I can detect. Subtle buttery notes in the early steeps. Very slight bitterness, some astringency on 2nd steep but not overwhelming. It makes it work, makes it interesting and delicious. On the 6th steep, cut green grass notes came out, with a slight vegetal aroma and the floral taste subsided a bit, became a little tart. Although light bodied, its complex, as it changes on each steep.

7g Tea, 212℉, 110ml, 7 steeps: rinse, 20s, 40s, 60s, 80s, 100s, 120s, 180s

The liquor is a pretty clear yellow. Aromatic with rich fruit & honey aroma. Fresh cut apricots came to mind. Every steep was crisp, smooth, sweet, and full of flavor that lingered forever. Throughout the infusions, no hint of neither tartness nor bitterness. It was refreshing, mild, light bodied, mellow, and lots of stonefruit notes. After finishing the sample, I went to their site and put it in my cart for my next order, that’s how much I liked it.

Porcelain gaiwan – 5g, 194, 110ml,9steeps: rinse, 60s, 65s, 70s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 120s

The liquor is a very dark, reddish brown with an earthy aroma. I prepared it in a porcelain gaiwan and followed the suggestion Boiling water, 7 g, 8 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 50s, 80s, 120s. It was a wonderfully soft mouthfeel, and the taste was aged, sweet, mellow and extremely smooth going down but alas, its just not for me, despite all the great reviews, I just couldn’t get past the strong leather taste.

I bought another sample to try again. Sometimes I’m just not in the mood for certain types of tea so I’m going to give it another shot when it comes in a couple of weeks. ^^

Free sample. Yippee. ^^

I used 3g in 110 ml with a 10-second rinse with just under boiling water. I started with four 30-sec infusions. Even by the 5th infusion, the leaves had not quite completely unfurled. As I continued on, increasing steeping time, the ginseng little by little dissolved and the tea leaves fully opened releasing oolong goodness.

It has a delicate light roasted aroma. I’m still not sure what type of oolong it is, it is high-quality though. I really liked the taste, am glad I saved half the sample for another go later this week. Other ginseng teas I’ve tried can be slightly bitter. This one is not. It has a nice earthy natural sweetness, no bitterness detected at all. Not sure if it’s American ginseng or Asian ginseng. Probably Asian ginseng since it gave me energy vs a sleepiness/calming sensation. It had multiple flavorful steeps. Towards the end, I got a powdery feeling on the roof of my mouth, slightly drying.

3g, 208℉, 110 ml, 13 steeps: rinse 10s, 30s, 30s, 30s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 80s, 100s, 120s, 140s, 160s, 3m

Flavors: Ginseng, Root, Licorice, Vegetal

I’ve been regularly drinking Mandela Tea Milk Oolong (one of my faves) and also I have this 1 oz sample of this organic Jin Xuan. Their site says "subsequent additive-free processing makes for a delightfully aromatic and creamy cup (hence the moniker “milk”. This is an unscented/unflavored tea.") I like comparing things and I love their Milk Oolong. I think that one has some natural additives hence the coconut, toffee, pineapple notes in that one. I prefer their Milk oolong over this one, and it doesn’t have that fake additive taste that some milk oolongs have. Having said that, both are excellent.

The dry leave s are rolled in a tight little ball, smells sweet, floral and fruity. It has a pleasant, creamy taste but with more vegetal notes in comparison to their Milk Oolong. It has a creamy, buttery, comforting mouthfeel, and the light golden liquor has a floral, milky and vegetal aroma with the equivalent taste. It’s deep and complex although very mild throughout the steeps, as it changes adding some mild fruity notes. Long and pleasant aftertaste, so smooth with a great finish. Throughout the infusions, no bitterness detected… And although I prefer their regular Milk Oolong over this one, it is a good “pure” delicious Jin Xuan. I’m thinking maybe it would go well with some Yokan or mochi. hehe

Yixing gaiwan, 7g, 195℉, 7 steeps for now (still lots of flavor and will continue so that’s good it has lots of infusions): rinse, 25s, 35s, 45s, 55s, 65s, 75s, 85s.

This is a pleasant baked tie guan yin. It has a strong charcoal baked and floral aroma. Floral sweet notes, vegetal notes, mixed with the charcoal baked taste. Smoky, light astringency, and some minerality. No bitterness until the last infusion, but it was very faint. The sea sedge and vegetal notes were more pronounced at the later steeps, which I enjoyed.

Gaiwan, 7g, 212℉, 110ml, 5 steeps: rinse, 25s, 40s, 55s, 70s, 85s

Chilly out and got a new package of tea samples. That always makes my day.

This Golden water turtle just smells so wonderful. A very rich, toasty, roasted nuts & dark chocolate aroma. I’m very happy with the taste as well. For an oolong tea, it reminds me of some great black tea I’ve tried in the past because it’s so biscuity, malty yet very smooth and even. Some caramel, some fruit notes in later infusions. I taste a little spice in it but I don’t taste any root vegetables as in the description but some fruit instead. It’s rich, medium bodied and savory, has a crisp clean long-lasting finish. It is complex and it never got bitter. It is exactly what I needed after a difficult and busy day.

Yixing gaiwan, 195˚F, 5g, 110ml, 15/15/20/30/40/50/60/70/80