659 Tasting Notes
Sipdown of this too :( This is such a dark oolong that when I first had it I was convinced it was black tea and steeped it accordingly (in boiling water), and it tasted like black tea too. Then when I realized my error, I tried cooler water, but that actually was the REAL mistake. The tea turned out quite weak and meh. Of course I could have saved myself all this trouble by reading the directions, which clearly stated both that it was oolong and that it needed 205 F, but SOME of us only skim directions, and by skim I mean glance in the general direction to ascertain that directions are there without actually absorbing a word. Anyway, I finally figured it out (now that the tea is all gone). This tea is deliciously dark, rich, and raisiny when prepared properly, and utterly flat otherwise.
Sipdown of this too :( This is such a dark oolong that when I first had it I was convinced it was black tea and steeped it accordingly (in boiling water), and it tasted like black tea too. Then when I realized my error, I tried cooler water, but that actually was the REAL mistake. The tea turned out quite weak and meh. Of course I could have saved myself all this trouble by reading the directions, which clearly stated both that it was oolong and that it needed 205 F, but SOME of us only skim directions, and by skim I mean glance in the general direction to ascertain that directions are there without actually absorbing a word. Anyway, I finally figured it out (now that the tea is all gone). This tea is deliciously dark, rich, and raisiny when prepared properly, and utterly flat otherwise.
Woefully behind on my tea logging. Not at all behind on my tea drinking though, as evidenced by several empty tins. It’s easy to see now which ones are my favorites. I can’t believe I already polished this off (there were only 15 grams, but still). SIgh. Milk oolong is SO addictive.
I approached this sample warily because (as must be abundantly clear to anyone who’s seen my previous notes) I don’t like spice tea, and the last few spice tea samples have been particularly dreadful. This one smelled quite lovely though (the combination of ginger and anise, I think) and as it turns out, it was pretty well balanced too. Obviously it tasted like spices, but they weren’t overwhelming and the black tea came through. So though I wouldn’t buy it myself, I’d give it a thumbs up for those people who like spice tea.
Preparation
Sipdown :( This is a great tea, but the ratios in this particular bag seemed slightly different to the one I’d had before. I remembered it with an emphasis on the caramelized coconut, and this bag definitely leaned more towards rum (though you get all these notes in all the batches, I’m just talking about which note comes through strongest). Anyway, this was fine, but I could have done with a pinch more coconut.
I stretched this sample out as long as I could, but this is the last of it (tears). This is such an under-sung tea. So good, so natural, so green-oolongish- with-a-kiss-of-mountain-strawberry. I’ll just have to buy some more, but I need to drink some of these other teas first.
I should be getting a sample of this from Angel at Teavivre. If you rate it at 100% I am excited to try it. It’ll be a couple of weeks though.
Oooo, I hope you like it! I really love it, but I don’t want to give you the wrong expectations, because it’s not like one of those really strong-flavored teas that knock you out of the park. That’s sort of what I like about it, actually. It’s oolong first and foremost and the strawberry is a nice accent — it seems like so many flavored teas are all about the flavoring and you can barely pick out the actual tea underneath it all.
p.s. If I remember correctly, Teavivre wrote their oolong steeping instructions at WAY too high a temperature, and of course that makes the tea astringent and weird. I just did 180-185 F, which is pretty normal for oolongs, and it was great.
They wrote their Da Hong Pao instructions the same way, boiling water but I didn’t brew it like that.
Good thinking! I don’t why they write such mad instructions.
Steeped up some of this last night, and caffeine or no caffeine, there couldn’t be a more soothing tea. I think this cup was even better than the first time I tried it. Somewhat by chance, I think I used slightly cooler water and steeped it a bit longer. Also, the leaves weren’t cramped up in the little basket strainer this time, and given the extra room, they unfurled to fill the whole steeper. I’m not sure it’s a big deal with all teas, but if you’ve got large-leaved oolongs, giving them room to breathe really helps.
Preparation
I got this as a sample sachet in a recent order. It’s not as bad as David’s Snickerdoodle, but still too much sickly sweet cinnamon. Keep in mind I am definitely prejudiced on this point — I don’t like spice tea — but still, I think H&S, a company notably good at balancing the ingredients in their blends, could have done a better job balancing this one. Like maybe you get a hint of the black tea that’s supposedly in this? If people just wanted to drink cinnamon, they could probably get it from their spice rack.
