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So, I think this may be the same product as listed and reviewed by others 7–8 yr ago at:
http://steepster.com/teas/beautiful-taiwan-tea-company/72057-red-jade-highest-quality

This was the expected wiry strands of large, intact black tea leaves of the famous hybrid variety grown in Nantou County, Taiwan. BUT mine were not labeled as “highest quality” nor as an oolong. Maybe it has to do with the production year? Mine was the Summer 2020 harvest, and I bought it 3 yr ago, so the BTTC description might have been different then as well, but I didn’t think to capture it back then.

I steeped 2.5 g in 4 oz alpine spring water at 90°C for 2 min, 4 times in succession. Great malty aroma, flavors of malt, brown sugar, mineral and assamic heritage that nicely complemented my breakfast of Lucky Charms cereal (oat puffs with marshmallow bits). Not bitter or astringent, and not as pleasing as other TRES #18 teas I’ve had, but still very good. I finished off the leaves with additional steepings with boiling water, to get another two cups of good tea.

“What’s that flattened gold bag on the bottom shelf of the tea cabinet?? It’s the last 5g of Taiwanese tieguanyin that I bought some 6 years ago from BTTC! Let’s finish it off.” So I dumped the 5.25 g into the basket of my 16oz western-style teapot, poured in boiling alpine spring water, and let it steep for 6 minutes.

Labeled as “TIEGUANYIN Roasted Muzha, 2016” I believe it is the same product others have reviewed here, as several mention it being roasted, despite not having it in the title, and at present even the BTTC description doesn’t mention roasting. My first cupful was sooo flavorful! I cannot even begin to describe, but derk, eastkyguy, and others have done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of this tea in their notes here. I enjoy the extended aftertaste, lack of bitterness, and smooth richness of the brew! While I’m not a fan of roasted tea, in this case the roastiness isn’t overpowering and adds a depth of rich umami to the tea, elevating the complexity. My second cupful was drawn from the pot after the leaves had continued soaking for 30 min and was WAY overpowering, with an edge of bitterness and a landslide of mineral flavor. I rescued it by adding a half volume of fresh water, and continued sipping with pleasure. Later this rainy, gloomy day I will steep some authentic, non-roasted tieguanyin for comparison!

I obtained this as part of a group order a few years ago and have finally gotten into it! Seeking another uncaffeinated beverage for evening sipping, it seemed a good time. I have been hesitant up to now because this is made of the young leaves of wild quince trees, and I worried about potential side effects, such as oxalate presence, as I do not wish to experience more kidney stones! I also spent a year drinking coffee.

I steeped 1g of the bunny-fluff (about 2 tsp) in 8 oz boiling spring water, western style using a stainless steel infusion strainer, for about 6 minutes to obtain a golden and aromatic liquor.

As others have noted, it smelled close to toasted walnuts. And tasted like a combination of walnuts, boiled edamame, and maybe summer squash. Sounds weird, but entirely pleasant! There was a bit of sweet velvety sensation on the tongue, and a flash of minerality followed by a fleeting aftertaste that left the mouth feeling fresh. No astringency, no bitterness, no sourness, smokiness, or compost notes.

I enjoyed the tisane quite a bit and will continue to do so, sharing it with friends, possibly increasing the amount of dry material. And now that autumn is here, it’s time to get my hands on some quince fruit and cook up a batch of jam for spreading on crostini with sliced fruit and varied cheeses! Thanks to Martin Bednář for organizing the group order from (the seemingly defunct) Georgian Tea 1847!

I’ve had this in a sealed jelly jar in my tea cupboard for several years, with the provided desiccant pouch, and it has remained stable in its delightful taste and aroma. Brewed 2.5g in 7 oz 90°C alpine spring water for 3 min each steep, in a stainless steel basket. The first infusion produced a clear, deep golden liquor with a floral and vegetal aroma, but the leaves had only partially relaxed. The second infusion was a lighter gold color, similarly fragrant, and the leaves had almost finished expanding. The flavor is a mouthwatering, smooth, sweet, fruity and well rounded sensation, tickling the taste buds all around my tongue. Most reminiscent of ripe mango flesh, there was more that I can’t quite pin down. If orchids had a flavor, I would include that, too. There was a long, satisfying finish that left me eager for the next sip. after a 30 minute pause, a third infusion yielded much the same as the second, with somewhat muted flavor and aroma. The leaves were fully relaxed and olive-green (see photo). I begin to think that a single western-style steeping of 2.5 g in 16 ounces of 90° water for five min. would have been optimal, probably exhausting the leaves. I suspect that boiling water would have merely driven-off some of the pleasing aroma.

I would NOT recommend this as an iced tea, because once it had cooled to room temperature, much of the flavor element had diminished. I expect it would only further diminish when chilled. Next time I plan to add a lump of sugar to see how that changes the flavor, if at all.

Stepping away from my Puer for a bit, I decided to re-visit this Spring 2022 Feng Qing Golden Pekoe #100 Dian Hong black. It’s been quietly sitting in a sealed jelly jar in my dark tea cabinet for over 2 yr now. The dry leaves are wiry strands about an inch long, and cocoa-brown in color, with a pronounced scent of dry cocoa powder. I brewed a heaping tablespoon in 16 oz boiling alpine spring water western style for 4 min.

Bang! This stuff packs a punch! The clear golden-brown brew is highly aromatic, smelling of chocolate vegetable and prune stew. And the taste is phenomenal, with powerful dark chocolate and malty raisin-like tones, sweet yet umami flavors, and if you look for it, a residual assamica note as well. A long-lasting and mouthwatering aftertaste enhanced my savoring of this delicious tea. Nothing astringent or bitter or sour at all. Just a mouthful of chocolate-covered plums and raisins.

This will be a nice counterpoint to the season’s pumpkin-spice pungence that just swept in, and the peppermint & cinnamon candy-cane flood on the horizon. I’m looking forward to diving into the yet-unopened quarter kilogram bag of this in my back closet and sharing it with friends!

Brewed and noted on 23 Sept. ‘24. This was a 25g bag I’d bought last year from YS, and I’d forgotten about it until looking over the comments from my review 2 yr ago of the 2020 Yunnan Sourcing “Ba Da Mountain” Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake and seeing that user looseTman had asked about it back then. I must have brewed it previously and not reported because 5g is missing.

Anyway, I did my version of a gongfu session, using 5g tea, a stainless infusion basket, 3 ounce espresso cups, and alpine spring water at 90°C. Started with 10 sec wash, discarded, then six infusions of 15 sec each, then an hours’ pause, and six more infusions, again 15 sec each. I suspect I could have done a third set for a total of 18 decent cups, but stopped. The first two of each set were very strong and could have been yet briefer. The attached photos show the dozen infusions, from right to left. The weakest ones were #11 & #12.

I was not thrilled with this tea, as I have been with my other recent ripe puer tastings of late. There was still a bit of wet-pile humidity odor and taste in the first four infusions that masked any more subtle flavors. Not astringent, not fishy, not creamy either. No bitterness. It is a decent, solid tea, and I was pleased by the camphor arising in #5 & #6, and later by the lingering finish with notes of hazelnut in 10, 11, & 12. I didn’t get any notes of cocoa or fruit or leather. Next time, I’ll cut down the leaf by half, and try to control the early infusions to produce a less inky brew. YMMV. I’m also going to transfer the remaining tea from its mylar pouch to a filter-paper-covered jelly jar in my darkened tea cabinet for 6 months, so that the wet-pile notes can dissipate before my next session with it.

Full cakes are still for sale on YS and YS.us, and I’ll leave them for others who prefer potent shou.

I bought these raw puer balls with my last order from BTTC just to try it. And yesterday I tried it. Said to be a 2015, I don’t doubt its youth—now at 9 yrs. Physically, the material consists of whole tips (2 leaves and bud) carefully rolled into a ball slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, weighing about 9g each. I used a whole ball and steeped sequentially in 8oz boiling alpine spring water for 30 sec after a quick rinse with the same water. The tea rapidly loosened, with free leaves after the 2nd steep. Their color was an olive green with brown streaks, looking very appealing. The aroma was sharp and slightly smoky. The taste, however almost made my mouth pucker! Not sour, but very astringent and bitter. Vegetal, tannic and harsh, and so rough on my throat that I couldn’t speak well after the second cup! As if my vocal chords seized up, like happens after a coughing fit. Third steeping was the same, and was the last I could tolerate. These “dragon balls” won’ be fit to drink for another 20 years at least. And I will have no interest in them by then, so they are up for adoption. My voice gradually recovered overnight. If this type of tea is to your taste, they are still for sale on the BTTC site also.

We visited Mexico, and forgot to bring tea! In desperation, I visited a local grocery and the only straight black tea I could find was McCormick tea bags, 25 per pkg. Brewed each bag western style, with 6 oz purified water at whatever temperature it came out of the hotel coffee maker, probably 190°-200° F, for 3 minutes.

The tea was not discernably an Assamica, so I would guess an ordinary generic China black. Fannings, of course. Very plain tasting. Aroma similar to Lipton bags, but less intense. Taste had some astringency, dull generic strong black tea that gave me the caffeine I wanted. Not unpleasant, no serious defects, but nothing to write home about. If standard Lipton black tea bags (a very well standardized and reproducible benchmark) earn a rating of 65, and Red Rose a rating of 60, then I would rate these McCormick Té Negro bags in Mexico at 50. Better than quaffing an energy drink or popping a caffeine pep pill.

We’ve not had a review of this in 9-10 years, so here’s mine! I bought 100g of this “1990s Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Puerh” tea way back in May of 2017, shortly after Tealux became Tealyra. And three months later I bought another 100g of it, so I must have liked it—but got distracted and didn’t drink much of it. The description from Tealux in this listing says it was harvested in 1991, so that makes it now a 33 year old shóu Pu’erh. And since this is a loose (uncompressed) máo chá, it has/had potential to age faster, although I’m not sure what that means for a ripe puer. I’ve mostly kept the first 100g in a filter paper-covered jelly jar in the dark at 55-60 %RH and ambient 70°F, as I sip along. The second 100g is unopened, in its mylar pouch. At this point, Tealyra no longer sells the stuff, instead offering a younger “1999s” successor, at almost the same price.

Today I brewed 5 g of tea in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water using a stainless steel tea strainer in a porcelain teacup for 5 successive 30-second infusions following a 10s rinse with the same water. The 6th and 7th infusions were allowed to go for 90 seconds. The resulting liquors were clear, clean, dark brown, and aromatic without any trace of fishiness, and although now a bit lighter in color, the 7th infusion is still chestnut brown in shade with a tinge of redness—quite potent in aroma and flavor. The aroma is reminiscent of my grandfathers springhouse and root cellar on his farm in winter: fresh, earthy and deeply of old wood and root vegetables. The flavor is full and satisfying, what some might describe as creamy in texture (but not taste), with a slight honey sweetness, notes of oakwood, leather, and black tea, and that indescribable taste I’ve found common to all the better shóu pu’erhs that I’ve tasted. I do like the flavor of bourbon, but unlike others, I am not getting that from this tea. There is a wholesome woodsy forest in the cup, without any rot or sourness or rancid fish. I am glad to have this, and will happily drink this on cold, lonesome, snowy weekend days to help me recall the warmth and love of long-gone relatives and the ancient farmhouse wherein they lived.

Thank you for indulging me and my drifting impressions and memories. I wish you a similar experience in your sippage!

This may or may not be the same item as sold by Tealux, a historic name of this company, and there are a couple of reviews here under that name. But since the Tealyra offering has a somewhat re-worded description, I’ve created a new listing for it, using the new company name.

The product is a fairly nondescript China Black Tea with Jasmine flavor and fragrance. It’s probably a Keemun, but is unspecified. I bought 100g some 7 years ago and have been gradually sipping it down ever since. Kept stored in a well-sealed jelly jar in the dark at ambient home temp. Brewed western style with only a single infusion of 1 tsp in 8 oz boiling water for 3-4 minutes. The jasmine aroma and flavor is quite powerful still, and I am surprised that pricing has not risen. I was amused at the description, which tells of picking of the jasmine flowers, and goes on to say “imagine watching the full jasmine flowers dance in your cup!” because there are but few visible petals in the tea, and zero full jasmine flowers. You’d better have a good imagination!

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this tea and will eventually re-stock, as I’m down to my last 15g or so. There is no sourness or astringency, no real flaws that I can detect. The base tea is most noticeable as a lingering finish, once the jasmine-forward nose abates, and I sense deep notes of caramel and keemun on the sides and back of my tongue. But jasmine is the star, and it is quite floral, a touch sweet, and not at all “artificial”. It brings back childhood memories of summertime play amongst the star jasmine bushes in our California yard, with plastic soldiers and hot-wheels and popsicle sticks. Back when July and August seemed endless, before I cared about politics and mortgages. And our cat wasn’t symbolic of anything more than a gargantuan monster threatening the assemblage of toys amongst the jasmine hedge. Gosh, tea can be so soothing!