Christopher F. select Send Message

Thanks to Tea Junkie for this sample. I dislike sweet tasting teas. I’ve always preferred dry/slightly bitter/vegetal/earthy/dark tasting teas. This is quite possibly the sweetest tasting straight tea I’ve ever had… and I couldn’t stop drinking it. When I reached the end of my sample (the same day I received the sample) I shed a wee tear; it was like being told there is no Santa! I’m quite convinced I’ll never drink a tea this sweet this good ever again, and I’m ok with that, it was a good experience for me, and I’ll cherish the memory, but it’s time to go back…

Thanks to Tea Junkie for this sample. Love it… I desperately want more. One of the better green teas I’ve had. I’m afraid that I greedily drank it all down without takign any notes..

Makes a great pitcher of iced tea. Sometimes you just want a cold drink with a crisp edge, and this fills that craving for me. There’s always a pitcher of this in my fridge.

I always keep a tin full of this stuff. It’s my go-to black tea for iced tea and tea eggs, but rarely drank hot.

Since cutting back on alcohol, I’ve explored the confusing and sometimes blasphemous world of iced tea, only to find failure at every turn. It seems most of my delicious teas are truly meant to be enjoyed hot, but sometimes you just want a nice cold beverage. This tea, along with Teavana’s Moroccan Mint, saved the day, and I always have at least one pitcher of this in the fridge. Good stuff.

Despite being a fan of Wuyi rock oolongs, this is my first Da Hong Pao, and it is amazing! I enjoyed the roasty, burnt caramel aroma. Prepared this the gongfu way in my yixing whilst indulging in my second addiction: pipe smoking. The sweet tobacco with the roasted aroma of the Da Hong Pao was enough to settle me in for the night for many more steepings. I would definitely like more of this one…

LongJing always has a place in my cupboard, so it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this one the most from January’s Steepster Select; or maybe the Okubucha.. Can’t decide yet.

Brewed in the traditional Dragonwell method, I emptied contents into a warmed tall glass, poured in 180F spring sourced water and let sit until the leaves expanded and danced around the glass. I drank the glass 2/3rds and added more water to the remaining 1/3rd. I had maybe 5 infusions with this method, the last resulting in mostly clear hot water with very little flavour.

The aroma was nutty and vegetal, as described on the packet, and lasted through the first 3-4 infusions.
The taste was typical of Longjing, and I thought it to be delicious. The fact that it’s organic only made it better.

Definietly a great tea, and I’ve yet to have a bad longjing…knock on wood.

San Diego airport brew whilst I wait for my plane to Colorado to board. The staff that made the tea used boiling water, or extremely hot… but definitely not 175-185F, which I think would have made this tea better.

Putting the above peeve aside, the tea is nice. I order this everytime I fly out of San Diego, and will continue to.

Aroma and taste are nutty and vegetal, as described, but the “buttery finish” never happens for me, most likely due to the water temp.

Maybe in the future I’ll ask to have them not put the bag of tea in the water until I can let it cool down.

Included with January 2014’s Steepster select box.
Well, I didn’t not like it, but I barely did like it…. I got nothing that the card mentioned in the flavour profile.. no cinnamon, no cloves, no mint. It was named correctly though, There’s a lot of red in this black tea. I’ve had better black teas, the taste was mediocre. I steeped twice and tossed the spent leaves out.

Edit:
After reading people’s positive experiences with this tea, and Eco-Cha’s notes and background info, I’ve decided to give the 2nd packet a go, this time gongfu style…

HUGE difference!

Although still not my favourite black, the gongfu method really brought out some of the flavours I missed the first time around. I enjoyed this tea last night, it was a very nice experience. Thanks for taking the time to reply with the extra info and opinions, Eco-cha, it’s changed my opinion of this tea for the better.

Received this tea in January 2014’s Steepster Select box.

The aroma of this steeped is similar, to me, to an unsteeped four seasons oolong. The colour is close to that of a yellow highlighter… It’s almost glowing in my glass cup.
Tastes slightly like some fruit. The included card says pear, but I don’t get a pear taste. Can’t put my finger on it, but I do like it.
Kind of similar to an older tieguanyin.
Overall not my favourite ever, but a very interesting tea to have. I wouldn’t mind having more in my cupboard.

Honestly, I love this tea; I bought 6oz of it. I miss the 90 bucks it all cost, but this tea is just great!
If anyone can recommend a similar tea that is less expensive, I’d be forever in your debt.

~1tsp in yixing pot,
1-2 steeps 15seconds with 175F
Colour is light golden.
Aroma is of mild honey, floral and sweet.
Taste is much of the same with a smooth buttery finish, that doesn’t stick around too long.
3-4 Steeps 20 seconds 180F
Colour is more of a yellow/green, still pleasing.
Aroma has settled on the floral notes and less on the honey.
Taste is much lighter, more delicate, but less complex.
5th steep 25 seconds 180F
Colour is now like a clear yellow.
Aroma still hits with the floral, but significantly less “umph” to it.
Taste has mellowed out and the buttery finish is almost gone.

I’ll keep steeping with 30sec times until I get clear water out of the leaves. I really enjoyed this one. The spent leaves are also very attractive on the bottom of the yixing pot.