659 Tasting Notes
Had this once a long time ago, and steeped it up tonight in the hopes that it would be better than I remembered. It’s not. It smells like dusty alfalfa hay, and it tastes the way I imagine alfalfa hay would taste if you brewed it. It’s also kind of drying to the mouth, even though it’s not astringent. Upton lists this under their ‘bold’ teas, and I liked the sound of that, because I find all too often that white tea is weak and flavorless (and also, I thought, how bold can it really be?) But Upton is not kidding about this, the tea boldly and strongly tastes like hay. I guess I should see how the neighboring horses feel about it.
Flavors: Hay
Preparation
I am new to Bailin Gongfu, so this tea came as something of a surprise to me. Aside from the Lapsang Souchong, all the teas in the Teavivre black tea sampler I’ve been working through have been mellow and mild. But this tea is hearty. Somewhat earthy. For the first time, I’m understanding why people say ‘bread notes’ when describing tea. There’s some sort of vegetable it reminds me of, but for the life of me, I can’t put my finger on exactly which one. And there are other elusive flavors too. Man, this tea is complicated. Anyway, I like it, but it’s a lot to take in all at once. Maybe I’ll be able to sort out the flavors better the second time around.
Preparation
Finally settling down with this and a big bowl of popcorn to write the artist notes I’ve been trying to get my head around all morning. This is my #1 stand-by tea. It’s cheap and excellent. While it’s notably more balanced when you steep it correctly, I’ve never been able to truly ruin it, a sterling testament to the tea’s fortitude, as I excel at oversteeping and all other kitchen-related disasters.
Flavors: Coconut, Ginger, Lemongrass
Preparation
This tea smells so peachy keen, I was expecting to be hit with a blast of flavor. But it’s actually a very subtle tea. I couldn’t taste much till I added a bit of raw sugar, and then the peach came alive. Still subtle, but in a delightful way. The jasmine is even more in the background, but it rounds out the peach flavor nicely.
As to appearance, these pearls are huge! Even bigger than Teavivre’s plain jasmine pearls. The size actually makes them a bit tricky to measure. Do people just count them out? I used 10, which filled a teaspoon more or less. It seemed in the ballpark of correct, but maybe 1 or 2 more pearls would have been nice.
Flavors: Peach
Preparation
A teaspoon of pearls sounds about right…the first time I made this I used a whole sample package which was too much. Flavor is subtle though.
Thanks, I’m never quite sure! Steepster doesn’t actually list a recommended amount on those little packets, though I noticed someone suggested a tsp. in the steepster listing.
Sorry, I meant Teavivre doesn’t like an amount on their packets. I’m such a ditzo-head today.
Lol ;-)
Also, I think some people add a couple of the plain jasmine pearls to bring out more jasmine flavor, although I haven’t done this myself. If you have the plain ones you could give it a try.
Cool, I’ll try that! I do have some on hand :)
I was apprehensive about this tea because the dry leaf smells dreadful. I read somewhere that the leaves are sometimes smoked over pine tar rather than pine wood, and I wonder if that’s the case for this one, because it smells like pine tar. With heavy emphasis on the tar, and not much on the pine.
That said, most lapsang souchongs taste better than they smell, in my opinion, so I forged ahead.
When I first sipped it, I didn’t like it, though it definitely tasted better than it smelled. Now that it’s cooled a bit, it tastes nicer, sweeter and more mellow. There’s still a faint note of something that just doesn’t appeal to me though.
I have a feeling that this tea might just be too authentic for my sheltered American tastes. I’ve never really been into lapsang souchongs, but of those I’ve tried, I liked David’s the best. It was recognizably smoky, but still on the mild side.
Flavors: Smoke, Tar
Preparation
Another smokey one! I still have half my sample I’m saving to try again, but it isn’t something I think I’d have very often, although I did enjoy drinking it. I remember though that the aroma of it stayed with me all day!
I agree with the sheltered American tastebuds vs smoky tea. I live in the southern California wildfire area, and now smoky teas remind me of evacuating my home, so I steer clear of them….for now!
Yes, I’m getting near the end of my first round of tea sampler packets, and it’s no coincidence that the smoky teas got shoved till last. I only drink them when I’m feeling daring. I guess I’m just fussy about smoke flavor. I WANT to like it, because it’s so interesting and nuanced. And as we discussed, personal tastes do change from day to day. But at heart, I’m a peaches and cream kind of girl, so something this strong is way outside my comfort zone.
Sorry, donkeytiara, I just now saw your comment. Just watching them on tv, those southern California fires look terrifying. I hope they’re not as bad down there this year! Now that you mention it, I wonder if I too haven’t been affected by bad experiences with smoke. I’m staying in Idaho at the moment, and though I’ve never been in danger from the fire, both the forest service and the farmers have these controlled burns all through the summer that really pollute the air. I cringe now whenever I smell smoke.
Um, I go back and forth on this one. Some days I don’t know what I like. Am I or am I not into smoky green tea? It’s become like a deep philosophical riddle for me. Also, I think I steeped this slightly too long, so that’s not helping me decide.
I had this for the first time today. It was the first smoky green tea I’ve had I think, and I liked it quite a bit. Some days I like some teas better than others though, so I get the going back and forth part. :)
I saw that and I really enjoyed your review! The first time I tried this tea I really liked it too, because it’s so unique. But now that I’m on the last sample packet of it, I’m trying to decide whether I like it enough to buy a whole 100 grams of it. It’s starting to feel more like a once-in-awhile tea to me. The flavor is good, but I’m not really into that drying effect it has on my mouth and throat. I’m drinking the re-steep now and I’m still on the fence. Oh well, I have two cups worth left of it. Hopefully by the time that’s gone I’ll have made up my mind up. Let me know how you feel once you’ve had a few more cups :)
I also find it hard to decide which ones will be restocks, and I’m glad to have more than one sample pack so can taste them again on other days as well. It would be nice though if all their teas came in 50 gram sizes as that seems a better amount to get for those once in awhile teas.
Wouldn’t that be nice? 50 grams doesn’t seem like such a huge commitment.
Despite the almost identical name, there are huge differences between this and the FLAVORED Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong. While the flavored one veers strongly into sweet cream, this one is very vegetal, smooth and buttery, a little sweet but not much. They’re both great. I requested a sample of this so that I could figure out which I liked better, but now I see I’m going to need both.
Preparation
Milk oolong is one of those teas that I really want to try but I can’t seem to decide where to order it from. I will definitely keep Teavivre in mind for this, thank you!
Me too! This and the flavored one from Teavivre are the first milk oolongs I’ve had, so I’m far from an expert, but I thought they were delightful. In fact, all the oolongs I’ve had from Teavivre have been high quality. I’m also curious about David’d milk oolong, as I’ve heard good things about it.
I noticed that Mandala Tea’s milk oolong was rated very highly, but the price is a bit steep for my first try. I was thinking of just ordering a bunch of samples from Teavivre, so I may have to do that soon! :)
That’s what I did :) Their samplers are very nice and you only have to get like $30 worth, I think, before the free shipping kicks in.
I am fascinated by milk oolongs….not drinking them yet, just huffing them! The scent is amazing!
Lol, yes, if there’s one disappointing thing about them, it’s that no matter how good the milk oolong is, the taste can never live up to that amazing aroma.
Tried this again, and I don’t know if the water temp. was slightly different or I steeped it longer, but it seemed a lot more flavorful this time. I still can’t pinpoint what those flavors are, though. Still working on my tea vocabulary, I guess. The short version is: Good Tea! If you haven’ tried this, get a sample.
Sipdown :( I’ve gotten used to having this tea around. I wouldn’t say it’s an amazing tea, but it’s good and comforting. If I liked more of Upton’s teas, I think I would reorder it, yet it doesn’t quite seem worth the hassle all on its own. Speaking of re-ordering, ALL the green teas in the stash are looking frighteningly low. I’ve whipped through Teavivre’s green tea sample pack a lot faster than I meant to. It contained:
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea,
Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea,
Premium Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea,
Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea,
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea
The long jings were my favorite, with the Huang Shan Mao Feng a close second. I wondered if anyone had any other Teavivre greens that they would highly recommend?
