72 Tasting Notes

93

This is a great, general black tea. It’s got a little smokiness, and a touch of astringency that can get bitter if I let it steep too long. The site’s description says there’s sweetness, but I don’t get much of that with this tea. This tea for me is kind of savory and brisk. It’s mellower than a breakfast blend, but has more of a bite than many other teas I own. It’s the perfect tea for today, since I was up absurdly late and need a bit of bracing tea to get me going this morning. Solid, comforting fuel for the morning!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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89

For tonight’s late-night ridiculous tea adventure, I brewed this a little longer, and it’s just how I want it. The raisin taste has mellowed into the background, and it’s got wonderful toastiness and dark chocolate kind of flavor. There’s a kind of warm sweetness when I first sip that reminds me of toasted marshmallows. This is almost undoubtedly not how I’m supposed to brew this tea but it is awfully delicious. I’ll definitely be brewing it long in the future.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 15 sec
Burbling

I think maybe the taste I kept describing as “raisin” was the “fruity” taste from the description

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89

I ordered this because I’m almost out of my other Golden Monkey, which came from The Steeping room. I tried it this morning, and liked it plenty, but it was definitely different than I expected. There was the bread-y starchy-y taste that I associate with Golden Monkey, but also a bit of a raisin smell and taste. I didn’t love this one quite as much as I liked the Steeping Room kind, but it was still sweet and nice, and it’s interesting to see the differences between the two sources. I’m excited to keep trying this one since I ordered a bunch of it, and seeing how different steeping conditions affect it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 15 sec

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90

The smell of this bizarrely reminds me of a berry tart, and the taste of the first infusion is pretty similar. I’m really enjoying it, because it has the kind of bready taste that I was hoping for, but also has that little extra sweetness, and gentle berry-ish flavor. My impression of the taste seems to be different than what others have pointed out, but I do really love it. It’s sweet, and a little bit complicated, and super yummy. I might write another review that’s a little more detailed , since it’s getting a bit late here, but basically I’m blown away by this tea, and really happy I got it.

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86

I’ve had this Western style and am now trying it grandpa style while I frantically try to finish a crazy writing project. It’s got a nice strong veggie flavor this way, and isn’t getting too bitter. I’m still not in love with green tea in general, and I’m not sure I’ll reorder this, but it is a good tea to keep me company on my late nights.

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86

My family had this tea cake in the cupboard and I just tried it over the holidays. I like this tea. It’s a little bit bitter on the first steep, but overall has an underlying sweetness that I like. It tastes a bit more complex than the What-cha pu-erh that I tried recently. It has some flavors that remind me of Yunnan Blacks. There’s a spiced taste I’ve found in Upton’s Yunnan tea, and the dark earthiness that I’ve tasted in other puerhs. I find I really like the wet fermented puerh taste, and it’s pretty comforting on a fall day. It kind of reminds me of the smell of wet moss.

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81

It’s hearty and bracing. I got it as a “mystery tea” and am happy with the flavor. It’s a bit more astringent than I often drink, but still has smooth taste overall. It’s got that bready/starchy underlying flavor that I like in a black tea, and has a briskness I associate with most traditional breakfast teas. It won’t be what I reach for when I want a mellow wakeup tea, but is perfect as a hearty pick-me up, or a daily-drinker kind of straightforward tea.

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76

On first steep, I didn’t love this tea. The roasted flavor was definitely present, but not overpowering, which I liked. But it also had a kind of tartness, or sharpness? I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but there’s a particular flavor I’m not too fond of that I sometimes come across in green teas, and it was present in this one.

But I was up really late last night, and ended up doing many steeps. Starting on the second steep, the sharp flavor mellowed, and the tea took on a fresh sweetness that I enjoyed. Each subsuquent steep, the sweetness seemed to intensify. So, I ended up liking the tea. I don’t think I love it enough to buy more when the sample runs out, but maybe it will grow on me.

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91

Another good steep of this tea. I’m trying to drink through some of my many samples! The flavor is very light this time, so I think I might try it a tad longer next time. It reminds me a lot of other “golden” teas I’ve had, and the sweet taste has a lot in common with the Golden Buds tea from What-Cha, though this tea isn’t as rich.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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100
drank Autumn oolong by Rosali Tea
72 tasting notes

I’m completely obsessed with this tea. I got it in a long-ago subscription box and have been hoarding it. The leaves are long and dark and twisted very slightly at the edges. There are a few smaller dry, very light brown flat leaves mixed in. The smell of peaches is strong, and it tastes sweetly and naturally of peaches. It’s an amazing richly flavored oolong. I desperately want more,but Rosali Tea doesn’t sell it anymore and there’s no information on what region it’s from. I tried emailing them to no avail, so I guess I’ll just savor what I have.

Rasseru

Not sure if you have any dancong experience (you said you are new to puerh, right?) but sounds
to me like some kind of Fenghuang Dan Cong. Not sure about the flat lighter brown leaf but long twisty peach flavour, single origin is bang on the money.

Burbling

Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I’ll look into that! I haven’t had any dancong experience! I’m still kind of exploring tea.

Rasseru

Well, dan cong means single origin/tree, fenghuang the area – ‘phoenix mountain’. And it can be very pricey. But the taste is out of this world.

My favourite vendors for this type are jingteashop & wuyi origin. Yunnan sourcing also stocks them but the first two have the edge.

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