RahRahSan Send Message

Cape Jasmine Oolong
Origin: Alishan Mountain Region, Nantou, Taiwan
Cultivar: Jin Xuan
Elevation: 1200m

Dry Leaves: The leaves were the most striking of the three samples, mostly green, but with a fair bit of yellow and blues running through it. Otherwise it has a strong Gardenia aroma as well as some minor floral ones more towards orchid than anything else, but it was a little murky.

First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Gardenia and Floral
Flavor: Gardenia, Jasmine and Milk
Tasting Notes: This was my favorite of the three samples I received. Initially I wasn’t getting much besides jasmine, but after a few seconds I began to distinguish the gardenia notes. I wonder if this is scented with gardenia blossoms. The gardenia is very powerful and intoxicating. I didn’t notice the milk taste till I tried this for the second time, although if I read the entirety of the sample I would have known this has a Jin Xuan base. I don’t think this had a very strong Jin Xuan, it’s not that creamy and the milk notes are the weakest, but if this was scented with gardenias it would not be surprising if it overpowered some of the base tea’s characteristics. It was a little buttery, not too much though. I tend to find Taiwanese teas grown below 1000m or those grown above 2000m (especially winter harvests) tend to be rather buttery, but everything inbetween in my experience has thinner mouthfeels.

[Originally on: http://rah-tea.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/tea-ave-preview.html)

(Tea Provided for Review)

Lishan Oolong
Origin: Lishan Mountain Region, Taichung City, Taiwan
Cultivar: Qinxin Oolong
Elevation: 1700m

Dry Leaves: The leaves were the most underwhelming of the three; this had a light floral scent. The leaves had a lot of yellow and green and not a lot of blues.

First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: Three Minutes
Aroma: Floral and Fruity
Flavor: Floral and Sugarcane
Tasting Notes: This has a nice thin-ish mouthfeel, not as thick as teas grown at higher elevations, but not what I normally expect for teas grown at 1700m. Regardless it was nice. It is a little vanilla for my taste. I could taste honeysuckle, hyacinth and lilies, other than that I could taste sugarcane. It was very mellow. I imagine it would brew a lot better for longer times.

Depending on the price I might buy this again. I tend to prefer more complex oolongs.

[From http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/02/tea-ave-preview.html]

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong
Origin: Muzha District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Cultivar: Tie Kwan Yin
Elevation: 350-400m

Dry Leaves: I love how much info Tea Ave has on their teas on each individual sample package. Although it might be a little overwhelming to someone new to tea, I was rather interested in what they decided to list. The origin and elevation is pretty standard for Taiwanese oolong. The roasting level, oxidation level and cultivar are pretty rare and I love that they included it; and then three separate brewing recommendations (tea bag, tea pot and cold brewing), although the tea bag recommendation wasn’t really necessary. Unfortunately I lost all my photos of this particular tea, but the leaves were closer to a green oolong then a darker one.

First Steeping
Temperature: 195oF
Brewing Time: Three Minutes
Aroma: Roasted and Fruity
Flavor: Roast, Fruity and Burnt Wood
Tasting Notes:
This was my least favorite of the three (not surprising). I am not really fond of roasted oolongs; I have trouble distinguishing darker oolongs apart. Most roasted TKY taste nearly the same to me. So I wasn’t surprised to taste mostly the roast and some fruity notes, but I was startled to be able to taste burnt wood. The burnt wood flavor was the best part of this tea for me; it distinguished it enough from others that made it stand out for me. As to would I buy this tea, maybe. I generally prefer aged tea over new roasted teas, but if the price is right I may buy this once Tea Ave launches their site.

[Originally published: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/02/tea-ave-preview.html]

Origin: Myanmar
Harvest: Spring 2014

So I felt like tasting the 2014 version of Shan Valley’s First Flush Green Tea after trying the 2013 version and brewed it exactly the same as I did the 2013version. This time I only had a small (relative to the large six ounce packet last time) one ounce sample. I liked the packaging on this one more than the paper-foil packet the 2013 was in, even though my issue with the 2013 packaging was purely aesthetic, although I am a little concerned about the packaging on this one because of the clear back. But then I don’t store my teas in a place that gets much sunlight, so it isn’t that big of an issue.

Dry Leaves: The leaves look pretty similar to the 2013 version, still very dark for a green tea and have a stiff bark-like texture; the difference is these leaves look a little flatter and have longer stems. Other than that they are pretty similar to the 2013 harvest, maybe with a tangier smoke scent, but still has a pleasant fermented fruity aroma as well. It almost reminds me of a barbecue sauce, but it is smokier then most barbeque sauces I make.

First Steeping
Temperature: 175oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Fruity
Flavor: Spinach, Fruity, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: Immediately I could tell I liked this harvest more than the 2013 even though it is more astringent. The 2013 harvest reminded me a lot of a Sheng Puerh crossed with a Purple tea, this time not so much, even though it still feels quite different than most greens I’ve had. There was a sharp metallic taste this time that made the astringency much more noticeable.

Not bad for a first infusion I am not really fond of metallic tastes in tea, most teas I’ve had with metallic notes generally have a rust/blood element, but this was a little different. I almost wanted to describe it as either wet stone or minerally, but it doesn’t fit either category comfortably.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Smokey
Flavor: Spinach, Stone Fruit, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: Still very astringent, but it is becoming much more vibrant and nuanced then the last infusion and even the 2013 harvest. There was a nice creamy mouthfeel this time. It still had that sharp metallic taste from last time, but this time it was not as biting.

This was the best of the three infusions, it had a near perfect mouthfeel and a nice balance between the strong spinach notes that lingered and the minor honey notes that disappeared almost immediately. I liked the aroma quite a lot, it doesn’t have as pungent fruity aroma as the next infusion, but it still has a very nice smoke in it that become quite weak in the next infusion.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Smokey
Flavor: Green Beans, Metallic and Honey
Tasting Notes: While not as astringent as the last two infusions it feels much harsher this time because the green bean and honey flavors do not last as long. While the metallic notes are not as strong as the green bean it has become very sharp by now. Probably my least favorite infusion.

Overall not a bad tea, I was a little disappointed initially because I came in expecting a sheng like tea, but it still was not bad. It is much more vibrant and complex than the 2013 harvest and overall is a much better tea than the 2013 harvest, but there is something about the 2013 harvest that left me breathless which is missing from this tea. Perhaps this is a tea that is technically better than its predecessor, but lacks the soul of the previous. Regardless this tea is definitely worth trying, at $3 for an ounce (or $10 for 6 ounces! at the time of writing this) it is hard for me to not recommend this tea. Although this tea might not be the right tea for the normal green tea drinker, it won’t break the bank.

[From my bog: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/shan-valleys-first-flush-green-tea-2014.html ]

Origin: Myanmar
Harvest: Spring 2013

So I’ve bought quite a lot of Shan Valley’s tea in a sale sometime last year and finally decided to start sampling them. Today I decided to look at their 2013First Flush Green Tea, I do have the 2014 version and I probably will compare it to this at a later date.

Dry Leaves: I bought a six ounce bag because of the low price and it comes in a paper-foil bag that I am not really fond of. As you can see it has quite a few dings, but surprisingly the bag was not punctured. Regardless the leaves are quite bark like appearance, in fact the leaves are rather pliable firm. There is a pungent smell about them almost like fermented fruit with a little smoke, but not unpleasant. It is quite dark for a green tea.

First Steeping
Temperature: 175oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Char and Fruity
Flavor: Fruity, Smoky and Spice
Tasting Notes: I decided to not brew this for the recommended three to four minutes because this is quite a potent tea, almost like a young sheng puerh, although it does not have that same harshness that is common in many shengs, but there is a bit of a bite. Even after one short minute I could taste some of the sting of this tea.

I rather enjoyed this infusion. It had a nice balance between being fruity and smoky with a nice spicy kick, it almost reminds me of a purple tea, but it feels unique somehow. Even though it is a green it is easy to imagine this being sold as maocha and while it does remind me of a sheng, it is missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Fruity and Wood
Flavor: Fruity, Smoky, Vegetal and Spice
Tasting Notes: It had quite a lovely aroma, almost like burning woodchips mixed with peaches. It wasn’t as balanced as the last infusion, the fruity noes became much more prominent and while the smoky taste is still there it is becoming weaker. There were new vegetal notes this time, along with the smoky notes I almost would have said they were the dominant tastes, but the fruity part lingers and is quite nice when you start to taste the spicy almost peppery notes.

It still is very sheng-like, but it is becoming a little more like a purple tea. Although this infusion is the most complex of the three, it is my least favorite. The spicy notes are becoming more distinct, but the vegetal notes are making this a little murky.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Fruity
Flavor: Fruity, Vegetal and Pepper
Tasting Notes: This was the best infusion! Even though I was sad to see the smoky notes disappear, I was quite happy to taste that it had finally achieved a perfect balance between fruity and vegetal with a nice peppery taste that comes in at the very end. The peppery notes were not as sharp as the fruity ones, but it was quite lovely.

This was the most sheng-like of the three infusions.

If I didn’t have so much of this leftover I’d definitely buy this again, for $3.00 an ounce this is a steal. As for whether or not I’d recommend this to a green tea drinker, definitely, even though it has some sharp puerh-like elements to it, it isn’t an expensive tea to try. I was rather impressed with this even though I initially was expecting a more traditional green tea taste, but I am rather content with this tea. I almost want to call it a Sheng-Lite, but that feels unfair to this tea.

[From my blog: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/shan-valleys-first-flush-green-tea-2013.html]

Origin: Obubu Tea, Kyoto, Japan
Harvest: Summer 2014

So I received a new houhin from O-Cha and decided to break it in with this Sencha. I haven’t been that impressed with many of the Japanese teas I’ve had this year even though Senchas are probably my favorite kind of tea, so I was a little cautious about this tea even though it is from Obubu Tea being sold by What-Cha.

Dry Leaves: I think this is a machine harvested, judging by some of the smaller tea leaves. This isn’t as uniform tea as I like for Sencha, there are quite a few bits that would not stand out from Long Jings, while others are tightly coiled and sill there are some smaller fragments. I wasn’t too impressed by the leaves, but they had a lovely green bean aroma and a nice spectrum of colors. There were more yellows and blues in my sample packet.

First Steeping
Temperature: 158oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Vegetal and Camphor
Flavor: Sweet Grass, Seaweed and Spinach
Tasting Notes: The first steeping was bitterer then I expected, although I did not find it entirely unpleasant, at first I thought I used more tea leaves then I should have, but in subsequent infusions the tea started to shine. Besides the bitterness this first infusion felt very much like a run of the mill Sencha.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 163oF
Brewing Time: One and a half Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal
Flavor: Wet Grass, Vegetal, Hay, Citrus and Savory Bitterness
Tasting Notes: While it wasn’t as bitter as the previous infusion, it still had some bitterness, although it became much more pleasant. I was quite surprised, while I wasn’t that shocked to find a Japanese tea with some initial bitterness, I was amazed by how quick it became pleasant. Otherwise it started to develop a sweet finish.

I was quite fond of this infusion even though I liked the previous, this time it had a nice balance.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 168oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal
Flavor: Grass, Savory Bitterness, Buttery and Sweet
Tasting Notes: It became much more simple than the previous infusions, and not as nuanced, although it was still quite pleasant. Even though the flavors were not as complex or as crisp as previous infusions, this was my favorite of the three infusions.

Overall I was impressed with this it was rather enjoyable for a summer tea. And at $8.80 for 50g (at the time of writing this) it is well worth the price. I am not sure if I would recommend this tea unless someone was familiar with Japanese greens. I haven’t had many summer senchas that start out as strong as this one then become sweeter in subsequent infusions which was a rather interesting transition for a sencha. While it may not be a daily drinker for everyone, it certainly s for me I can easily see myself buying more of this as my morning tea. I got about five infusions out of this tea although I might stop at four the next time.

[Images: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/sencha-of-summer-sun-2014-from-obubu.html}

Today I decided to look at Eco-Cha’s High Mountain Concubine Oolong.

Origin: Shan Lin Xi, Nantou
Harvest: Summer 2014
Elevation: 1500m

Dry Leaves: There is quite a lot of variance in the dry leaves, as you can see towards the left is a rather large strangely shaped ball and then there are some fairly normal sized pellets. There is a strong vegetable aroma to the leaves, quite interesting since many of the teas I tried so far from Eco-Cha have been more savory/herbaceous than floral and there is a foresty smell as well.

First Steeping
Temperature: Boiling
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Cooked Kale, Almonds and Vegetable Broth
Flavor: Almonds, Pine, Vegetal and Orchid
Tasting Notes: I was surprised by the very light orchid taste this tea has, as I said before I like that Eco-Cha’s oolongs aren’t predominantly floral; I don’t know if non-floral oolongs are becoming rare or if I am just looking in the wrong places. Otherwise it is quite nice, it has a thin mouthfeel for a high mountain oolong, but it is quite pleasant nonetheless.

Second Steeping
Temperature: 190oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Pine and Fir
Flavor: Almonds, Pine and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: The floral notes have completely disappeared and the aroma has become both distinctly Pine and Fir. I was quite surprised that it smells so similar to the two trees definitely brought me back to walking through the woods on the way to class. The tea is a little crisper then the previous steeping, I almost want to say sharp, but not quite.

Third Steeping
Temperature: 195oF
Brewing Time: Three Minutes
Aroma: Pine and Redwood
Flavor: Almonds and Honey
Tasting Notes: It is much simpler by now, the pine taste and vegetable tastes have disappeared as well as the fir scent. This time there is a little bit of redwood in there and a honey taste as well. This might have been my favorite steeping even though it is by far the simplest.

Unfortunately at the time of writing this, this particularly tea is sold out, otherwise I would have bought a bit of it. While I still have a couple samples left from Eco-Cha I immediately wanted to buy this again. I suppose I’ll have to wait to the next harvest before getting this again. Eco-Cha is really starting to grow on me, while I do love Beautiful Taiwan Tea for their floral oolongs; I am rather fond of the herbaceous/savory oolongs I’ve tried from Eco-cha. I am a little curious if this tea will age well, I’ve been told in the past that generally lower quality oolongs age better than the higher quality ones, but I am considering buying some of the next harvest of High Mountain Concubine and hiding it away for a while.

{From my blog: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/eco-chas-high-mountain-concubine-oolong.html)

Vietnam Wild Tiger Monkey Green Tea
Origin: Lung Phin, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam
Elevation: 1500m

Dry Leaves: Another wild growing tea, this time it doesn’t remind me so much of Korean greens; they look a little more Chinese-y then the Five Penny, but I can’t think of any particular style that they remind me of. They had a very nutty and smoky scent.

Temperature: 176oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Smoke, Nutty and Wood
Flavor: Smoke, Nutty, Wood, and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: Again I started out brewing following the suggested times, and then started over with new leaves and cut the brewing time in half. This had a very pleasant wood taste, but it was slightly smokier although the nutty and smoke tastes did linger, but the nutty lingered a little longer.

For $8 for 50g, it isn’t a bad deal I generally like nutty teas, and this is no exception, my only problem with recommending this tea or any of the others is that I don’t know a lot of green tea drinkers who like smoky teas. Although like the other two teas it starts to lose it smoky edge in later infusions.

[From my blog: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-cha-discover-vietnam-part-2.htm]

Vietnam Wild Five Penny Green Tea
Origin: Suoi Giang, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam
Elevation: 1200m+

Dry Leaves: Again the leaves remind me of Korean teas, although this time they also look a little like curved long Jings. Other than that, they are a lovely shade of grayish-green. There is a slight burning wood smell. I am surprised in the uniformity in the tea leaves since this is a wild grown tea.

Temperature: 176oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Smoky, Apricot and Muscatel
Flavor: Smoky and Fruity
Tasting Notes: I brewed this again according to the suggested time, immediately afterwards I started over with new leaves and cut the time in half. The original was too smoky for me and the second was much more pleasant. Although even after cutting the time in half the smoky taste still lingered for quite a long time.

At $8 for 50g (at the time of writing this) it is certainly a good deal, as for whether I’d buy it again, maybe. I don’t have a lot of smoky and fruity teas, I am more of a grassy tea guy, but this might be the easiest of the three teas in the post to drink. Not quite a daily drinker, but it is quite nice if you like a little smoke in your greens. I am comfortable saying this is my favorite of the three, because the fruit tastes was a nice contrast to the smoke and the other two felt very similar to me, although this still feels quite similar to the others, perhaps not as much.

[Read the rest at: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-cha-discover-vietnam-part-2.html)

Vietnam Fish Hook Green Tea
Origin: Tan Cuong, Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam
Elevation: 250m

Dry Leaves: They kind of remind me of Korean greens, but they are surprisingly hard. Normally small twisted leaves like these are a little more pliable, but I was surprised by how little it takes for these two snap.

Temperature: 167oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Grassy and Ash
Flavor: Ash, Vegetal and Grassy
Tasting Notes: This is a very ashy tea; I almost wanted to say smoky, but the other two teas that are in this post are more what I’d describe as smoky then this. It is a little overwhelming, I hated it using the suggested brewing times, I also had this problem in the other two teas in this post. Luckily I had enough leaves to brew again and only steep for half as long, which produced a much better cup. While it was still ashy was nowhere near as overwhelming.

I may or may not buy this tea again, my problem with these three teas is that the suggested brewing times is way too long, but as long as you don’t brew as long as the suggested time or perhaps at such a high temperature. I am not really fond of brewing teas below 160oF, but these might be the only teas that I’d consider brewing at such a low temperature. Going back to whether or not I’d buy this tea again, the price isn’t bad $8.00 for 50g (at the time of writing this), but I’d have to choose between this and the other two teas in this post. The three have a very similar flavor profile, although there is some differences between the three.

[More at: http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-cha-discover-vietnam-part-2.html)