74

I was thinking that the leaves looked a lot different from most oolongs I’ve had and then I read on the description here that this is a mix of oolong, black and green tea. Holy infusion temperature/steeping time confusion, Batman! Out of an abundance of caution I’m going to start with an infusion on the short side.

There’s a shortcakey smell to the dry leaves which must be the “hints of berry jam.” The other scent I’m getting is more spice than floral. Let’s see how it steeps up.

Tawny color, with hues of orange from the black tea and green from the green tea and yellow from the oolong. It smells like berries!

The taste is interesting. It’s got a thicker mouthfeel than I expected, with a moderate amount of astringency. The black tea is pretty prominent in the taste, but I can parse out the oolong as well. It adds a dab of butter, and is no doubt responsible for the softness. The green. Hmm. Yeah, I do think I can detect that too. It’s a fresh, higher note. The berry hops around a bit. It’s not a strong, uniform flavor, but it does pop up in the aftertaste like a little starburst of sweet fruit. The tea didn’t change much through three infusions and the berry flavor was present throughout.

It’s unusual and I appreciate its ambition. I enjoyed drinking it. It isn’t immediately grabbing me by the collar and shouting that I must order it, but it isn’t outside of the realm of possibility. I just want to shop around a bit first, maybe try that raspberry oolong Angrboda likes so much and some others before I commit.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
~lauren.

Okay – i’m loving this sentence right here: “Holy infusion temperature/steeping time confusion, Batman!” – you are so going to have to trademark it or register it or copyright it or something – it’s that good! LOL!

__Morgana__

Haha. If only DC Comics would let me trademark it, but alas, I fear they would not. ;-)

~lauren.

All right, never mind then, boo on DC comics, but I always enjoy reading your posts – they sometimes make me smile and/or laugh! Most times, I’m glad I’m not in the middle of a swallow of tea at the time I read one of your whimsical/funny sentences!

__Morgana__

Awww, thanks!

Ricky

Batman!

Did someone mention some unmentionable tea!?!?

Lori

Love the Batman sentence…this tea sounds like a hot, confused mess…

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~lauren.

Okay – i’m loving this sentence right here: “Holy infusion temperature/steeping time confusion, Batman!” – you are so going to have to trademark it or register it or copyright it or something – it’s that good! LOL!

__Morgana__

Haha. If only DC Comics would let me trademark it, but alas, I fear they would not. ;-)

~lauren.

All right, never mind then, boo on DC comics, but I always enjoy reading your posts – they sometimes make me smile and/or laugh! Most times, I’m glad I’m not in the middle of a swallow of tea at the time I read one of your whimsical/funny sentences!

__Morgana__

Awww, thanks!

Ricky

Batman!

Did someone mention some unmentionable tea!?!?

Lori

Love the Batman sentence…this tea sounds like a hot, confused mess…

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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