28 Tasting Notes

61

Being a green tea fanatic as I am, I don’t often swing to the dark side and sample a black tea, however when I do it tends to be a Chinese variety, as I find these seem to appeal more to my green-tea-palate… or maybe I’m just biased because I like Asia!

Aroma: Rich wood, marmalade and spice. Distinctly a ‘black’ tea (obviously) with those slightly tannic notes.

Palate: Surprisingly tasty! Quite light, complex and enjoyable for a black tea. Deep and woody, almost smoky but well balanced and not overpowering. Spice and fruitcake on the aftertaste. Slight bitterness.

Other: I prefer loose leaf tea to those in a bag, but these are very high quality fabric pouches -at this price though you’d expect so! As such this tea loses points with me for price, but if you are shopping at Simon Johnson then you probably aren’t concerned about that ;)

Overall: This Grand Yunnan didn’t quite win me over, but It pushed me that little bit further into enjoying the world of black teas. Not so much so that I’ll be buying a box, but I wouldn’t turn down a cup if you offered me one on a cold winters morning!

Price: AUD$15.70/15 bags

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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70

I cant get enough of ‘green’ Oolongs. Ever since my first sip at a tea house in Shanghai (no, not Taiwan sorry) they have been my favourite tea, and the Jin Xuan (milk oolong) is my pick of the bunch.

Milk Oolongs are a funny thing. Perhaps by dint of their alluring name, Chinese and Taiwanese producers have taken to spraying them with artificial ‘milky’ flavour to mimic and enhance the milky caramel characteristics which they were first renowned for, however the result is now an influx of over flavoured (albeit sometimes delicious) teas that go under the name of Milk Oolong, yet are quite unlike the natural originals. Ironically, I think it was probably the artificial milk oolongs in China that got me hooked on this variety, so imagine my horror in finding out they were spraying-on the delicious ‘dulce de leche’ flavour I found so alluring! Since then, and given my aversion to (most) flavoured teas, I have been on a hunt for the real thing. A natural Milk Oolong is hard to find, but this offering from one of my favourite distributors – Tea & Sympathy – is just such a tea.

So, onto my tasting notes:

Aroma: Surprisingly fresh and vegetal, with notes of zuchinni and subtle dried flowers. This tea is buttery like a milk oolong but much less so than many I’ve tried (somewhat disappointingly, as it is this characteristic that when well balanced is arguably what draws one to a Milk Oolong).

Palate: Asparagus, zucchini, sweet corn and vegetal notes rising up above a typical buttery milk oolong base. Definitely a distinctive and complex taste. Like many oolongs, this tea holds up well on the second and third steepings.

Overall: This tea has real character, but for some reason I’m just not sold on it. Don’t get me wrong, the tea is delicious, but for the price I guess I was expecting something truly amazing. This all natural Jin Xuan is still about the best I have found from an Australian supplier, but I can’t say it is the best I have ever tasted, and as this price there are other green oolongs I enjoy almost as much. I’ll savour every cup of the packet, but doubt I’ll be back for more. The hunt continues…

Price: AUD$33/100g

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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63
drank Organic Sencha by T2
28 tasting notes

There were three things on my mind when I tried this tea: The is that it is organic (big points with me); the second is that, oddly, it is brewed in China (according to the T2 website) not Japan where sencha is traditionally grown and consumed; and the third was that it seems to contain a lot more stem pieces than I’ve seen in most sencha I’ve had. So with these in mind, on to the tasting notes!

Aroma: Quite fresh, ‘green’ and vegetal, with notes of spinach and grass.

Palate: Very much a grassy vibrant tea, however not astringent like many cheap sencha teas can be (even when brewed correctly). Like the nose, spinach and vegetal flavours shine through. Some notes of straw and dried flowers come through as the tea cools. Great lingering sweetness that really comes through on the second steeping. Lacks the umami of many good sencha teas. All in all a very drinkable green tea and quite unlike most sencha teas I’ve drank, but nothing that captivates me here.

Overall: I can’t say I thought much of this tea. I love sencha as it has this unique taste that immediately transports me back to my last trip to Japan, however this intangible flavor was entirely lacking in this tea. Perhaps the fact it is from China not Japan accounts for this lack of character. The organic status of this tea does however score a few extra points with me. Whilst an entirely different sencha to T2’s Organic Super Sencha, at less than half the price this could no doubt be a more enticing choice for most tea drinkers new to sencha or green tea. However in my opinion (and whilst trying not to be a tea-snob) the teas are incomparable and I would opt for the T2 Super Sencha every time, or source my sencha elsewhere. All this being said, not an unpleasant tea and great value, just not one for me!

Price: AUD$12.50/100g

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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88
drank Pi Lo Chun by T2
28 tasting notes

Aroma: Aromatic and delicious. Summer fruits: passionfruit, lychee and apricots. Fragrant hopps and mandarine peel. Vegetal kelp/iodin notes with a slight strawiness. Second steeping is slightly muted and not much on the third steeping.

Palate: Sugar cane, passionfruit and tropical fruits. Mandarin and citrus peel. Really flavourful but beautifully balanced. Little to no tannins. Distinct similarities to Ya Bao white tea. Still delicious on second steeping, with peach notes coming through. Third steeping is a bit bland.

Colour: Very light golden.

Overall: Delicious. This tea really blew me a way and left me wanting more – a new favorite! Light, refreshing, complex and well rounded. The only thing that lets it down is the rapidly declining quality of brew after the second steeping.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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36
drank Eastern Sunshine by T2
28 tasting notes

Aroma: Full-on! Pine-lime and boilled sweets to the max. Too sickly and artificial for me.

Palate: Lemongrass, pine-lime and tropical fruit flavours. Fresh grassy green tea in the background. All round not a completely unpleasant taste but this really is over the top and tastes artificial (likley because it is!).

Overall: This is a tea that is severly lacking in restraint! But then maybe I am hard to convince as any ‘flavoured’ green tea has a hard time winning me over. I am also really put off by the addition of ‘nature identical flavours’ in T2 flavoured green teas like this – in my opinion the falvours are usuall overdone and teas this expensive should be able to achieve great flavour and balance from the actusal ingredients rather than the addition of flavouring – other great companies achieve this so why cant T2?

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 45 sec

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72

Aroma: Light and well balanced, if somewhat underwhelming. The creaminess and butter of a Taiwaneese Oolong, combined with the woody, peaty notes of a Nth Thailand tea. Slightly vegetal with grassy notes.

Palate: As with the nose, this tea finds an interesting middle ground between a rich, buttery unfermented/green oolong and a more woody, vegetal and fresh Thai green tea. Nuttiness and a lingering sweetness. The result is easy drinking and pleasant. Very well balanced without the usual ‘forest floor’ palate of many Thai teas. Despite a fresh, grassy undertone the tea has almost no astringency.

Colour: Golden yellow.

Overall: Quintessentially Northern Thai, but with a more restrained nose and palate than any other tea from the region I’ve tried. Both refreshing and comforting. Yet another ‘green’ oolong I’d be happy to drink every day, but loses points for being more expensive than others.

Price: AUD$33/100g

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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73

Aroma: Subtle but complex. Reminiscent of buttered croissants, subdued grassy notes, hints of sweetcorn. Similar to a Gyokuro.

Pallate: Delicious! Mellow butteryness, lots of savory ‘umami’, slight grassiness but with litte to no astringency. Light apricot/stone fruit and dried flowers. Full, creamy mouth feel. All in all similar to a Gyokuro but with a bit more butteryness and a little less astringency. Flavour is still there on the second steeping but lacks some complexity.

Colour: Golden with a green tinge.

Overall: Both fresh and comforting. A very worthy (cheaper) alternative to T2’s Gyokuro and definitely my preference of the two when price is considered. And the ‘organic’ status is a big plus for me.

Price: AUD$28/100g

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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78

Aroma: Beautiful orange peel, burnt sugar and woodiness, with subtle wafts of light smoke and lemongrass. The intense floral fruity notes are fleeting and fade in the cup a little. Still aromatic on second steeping.

Pallate: Deep and woody but with a complex and delicate floral palate. Distinct orange peel notes. Little to no bitterness. Almost as good on the second steeping, with a little less complexity.

Overall: A really delicate and floral dark oolong. I normally like my oolongs less fermented/roasted, but this has got me hooked. Not a cheap tea though, so for half the price I would rate http://teaandsympathy.com.au/ ’s Order Orchid Nectar Oolong as a better value tea with the same great characteristics.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 15 sec

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Tea Glorious Tea!

Since a trip to Japan as a young lad I have had a growing obsession with tea. Oolongs are my all time favorite but I love almost all green and white teas and love trying anything new.

I’m just starting out on Steepster but am looking forward to uploading a whole bunch of teas in the future!

I’m always keen to review sample teas so please PM me if you would like some reviews done!

Location

Perth, Australia

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