31 Tasting Notes
This is no wussy Earl Grey, the bergmont t is strong here yet balanced by the smooth malty black tea it’s with. This tea is floral and citrus, heady aroma and refreshing. Of the three teas from the generous samples sent to me (and I have several more to go), this was my fav thusfar. Re steeps well Gongu, I thought I was pushing the leaves at 6 steeps, but there was still good flavor.
Preparation
This was a whopper Gongfu style. It is more akin to a sturdy Irish Breakfast tea rather than an English Breakfast. This tea will wake you up. It brewed up strong and with a tart bite rather than malty yet it smelled malty. I think I’ll brew it up Western Style next time as it can take honey and milk.
Preparation
This tea had notes of earth. mush, camphor. I’m fussy about Puerh and this one was not in my wheelhouse. I have many other tea samples to review so stay tuned. This Pu wasn’t my cup of tea but again I’m fussy and I’m sure others would love it. See my review on their Canadian Breakfast.
Preparation
I have a sizable stash of WP teas and finally got around to trying Foxtails. YUM. The leaves are tight, long and light gold, and I could smell the cocoa malt aromas off them. I love when light colored black teas deliver big flavor. Although I didn’t pick up the sites described mushroom notes, there was a savory element but mostly a toasty baked goods choco flavor dominant. I used 5 grams for a 100 ml pot and for a black, this was a decently long running tea with many steeps. Very smooth, comforting.
Preparation
I admit, I often sweeten my teas depending on the tea and my mood. I usually use a light honey, but prefer Agave Necter as it’s more neutral, rarely sugar, but sometimes natural plant sweeteners like the Chinese Blackberry Leaf, or in this case Amacha which is made of the fermented hydrangea plants. Both of these natural plants are indeed VERY sweet and only a few leaves needed to the pot to sweeten the soup. That being said, it does impart a flavor sensation that is not neutral like Agave necter or Sugar. I would use these natural sweeteners in a strong tea like a black, or a Puerh, but not greens or oolongs.
Being still new to tea, this reminded me of a Formosa of sorts but that’s just me. It’s more according to the site a cross between a anxi tieguanyin and a green baozhong, which explains why I loved it. The leaves are full and large. The soup is light, getting deeper with each infusion and this tea is a long hauler for a light Oolong. It’s very floral and fresh, smooth on the creamy side, yet dry, if that makes any sense. Slight astringency but steeps long (like when I forgot I was steeping it for 5 minutes) with no bitterness. There are notes of flowers along with a greeny veg flavor as well. It’s balanced, refreshing. I’d drink this all day iced on a summer day. I started the steeps at around 30 seconds, increasing time with subsequent steeps. Aside from all this, I have enjoyed all the teas I’ve tried from Jeffery at UNYtea, a very new, young on line tea shop that I hope you will head over to and try his teas. I like supporting small business ventures.
Preparation
This to me is a nice variation on a Pu cake, it’s the leftover crumbles or nuggets from the cake making process. Rinse a few times, can take long steeps. Earthy, Mushroom notes with malt, chocolate and musty, depending on measurments, inky like coffee. I also like White2tea site said boiled the leftover nuggets when i was done steeping for 10 minutes or so, but all I got was a viscous bitter drink, not a fan of that part but I might have done it wrong. It’s good to have as a back up for if you run out of Puerh.
Preparation
this sample was pretty good. i love the packaging on these samples this company uses. the dry leaf smelled more vegetable than floral. i used205f water starting at 45 seconds and increased brew time when needed. the soup pale yellow/green and the flavors were a bit creamy and some floral and gamy or vegetable notes. all in all a good standard oolong.
Preparation
This is a dark, dark black tea, pitch black shiny black small leaves. the broth is nice orange/brown and the flavor actually to me is more of a strong rock big red robe than most blacks. this one is fruity with a bite, caramel and savory fruit notes like plum and blackberry with a brown sugary roasted chestnut flavors as well. but there is a sharpness to it that’s very clean, almost mineral which vanishes quickly leaving the fruit notes on the palate. increased brewing time as usual in later steeps