DeRen Tea

The smoky aspect to this one is barely there. From others I’ve tasted I expected it to be a Lot stronger.

It has a sweetness to it.

It’s generally good, but not a favorite for me.

Thanks to Nicole, I can now try a jasmine oolong! A few months ago I thought a jasmine oolong would be interesting… and this one is! It has a lovely and fragrant jasmine & oolong scent and flavor. And I could taste it even before it was very cooled! Usually, I have to wait a bit to get any good flavor out of a jasmine or oolong tea. Both the jasmine and the oolong have a ton of flavor, so they are both pretty much evenly matched. One doesn’t over-power the other. Delicious! It’s exactly how I imagined a jasmine oolong! On my oolong flavor meter (one is light and floral, five is strongest), this oolong gets a three! It’s floral tasting, but there is something stronger there too.

First steep, 5 sec: Musty and minty. Kind of a woody taste as it cools.

If I thought the dry leaf from the last Dan Cong I had smelled like fresh lilacs, it’s nothing compared to this one. My mom has a lilac bush in the front yard and the smell of them in the spring is intoxicating. I’m not holding my breath that this scent will carry over to the steeped tea, but I do know I would love a tea that did have those notes in it. The dry leaves are incredibly long and spindly on this tea, and definitely more green in color than the other Dan Congs I’ve had. They’re plumping up a lot more as well.

Wow, the steeped tea for this one smells like a Tie Guan Yin, not a Dan Cong! Not that I’m complaining. Sweet, floral, a bit leafy, with a hint of that buttery character often found in Tie Guan Yins. The flavor is actually surprising because I expect it to taste like it smells, but it doesn’t. Honestly the flavor in the main part of the sip is hardly there, but in the aftertaste there’s a tantalizing floral note that grows and lingers, including the faintest hint of that oolong sweetness. As the cup comes down in temperature those lighter flavors start to become more forward in the sip. All and all definitely a more favored Dan Cong, even if it doesn’t really seem like a Dan Cong to me, but still not a tea I would restock.

I realized I hadn’t tried all of my samples of Dan Cong teas from DeRen, and since I just had a different Dan Cong recently, I decided to try the last two teas this afternoon. This is the first one!

The dry leaves smell very floral, and it’s definitely a floral note I know, but I can’t place right now. Springy, almost like daisies. Maybe lilacs? Yeah, I think lilacs. It has those really fresh, green leafy notes behind it, very much like smelling a fresh flower. This tea was brewed “western” style with 4g of leaves for 12oz of water. The lilac aroma has sadly gone away in the steeped tea, but I didn’t really expect it to stick around. Now it’s all roasty toasty dark oolong scent. That’s pretty much born out in the taste as well, which is all dark dark oolong. I don’t get any lighter flavors from this one (certainly not any “honey orchid”)… but I’m starting to think my expectations are all wrong for these dan congs. It still doesn’t mean that they’re really “my cup of tea”, but there you go. Maybe it would be better if I brewed them gong fu style, but I feel like it wouldn’t make that much difference. I get notes of firewood, charcoal, and burnt grains. The mouthfeel is a tiny bit drying and a bit astringent. I thought this might be a tea I really enjoyed based on the description, but unforunately not.

I still consider myself new to the world of loose tea. A few months ago I was still buying teabag packages from supermarkets. In the past few months, I had mixed experience with loose tea. Some were very good while others were worse than the cheap teabags I was acustomed to. This Golden Osmanthus tea from DeRenTea was among the ones that set my standard for good loose tea. My tea vocabulary is few. I would say this tea has a pleasing floral note, is light, and refreshing. I had this tea hot and iced, both exceeded my expectation.

The sweet Dinosara sent me a swap package which I received on Monday. At first I was all excited and dithering about where to begin, but as I was feeling decidedly under the weather (what a great timing to receive care-mail!), attempting to choose between new teas and the very idea of posting about it in any sort of useful way turned out to be rather too much for my meagre brain capacity to handle. In the end I turned towards the tried, tested and true comfort teas (Kusmi’s Caramel and ditto Four Red Fruits, if you’re curious. Seperately, mind). Untill this morning.

I’m slowly recharging my batteries, but I’m still not the brightest bulb in box. Yesterday, for example, someone told me they were a ‘textbook asthmatic’ and my first thought was that she was allergic to textbooks. Yes. I know. Consequently choosing between new things is obviously still rather difficult, so I went for the sample of LS, because I know LS. I know what I like in an LS and I know what to expect from one. It seemed the simplest solution for the moment.

The sample pouch contained exactly precisely just about my preferred amount of leaf for a small pot. How excellent. I tried smelling the dry leaf in the pouch, but I couldn’t really get anything from it. There was a sweet note and no smoke at all, which I find somewhat confusing considering what we’re dealing with here. On the other hand, I’m not certain my nose is entirely trustworthy at the moment.

After steeping, it smells grainy and honeyed and with a touch of something that rather reminds me of lingonberry jam. Still no smoke, though. This doesn’t smell like a standard LS at all. Where is the smoke??? It’s missing; it’s not there! It is being advertised to me as smoky, and I wants it!

But then again, the trustworthyness of my nose is somewhat in question… I hope that’s why I can’t find the smoke. Although, you would think that smoke should be the one thing I could find…

squints at cup

One last chance to deliver some proper smokyness. Flavour. Okay, yes, the flavour has some trace amount of smoke, but not nearly strong enough that I think DeRen can really get away with saying it has ‘smoked aroma’ at all, be it ever so gentle. I believe there’s a distinct difference between ‘gentle’ and ‘barely there’.

The flavour that we have left reminds me mostly of a sort of mix between Bai Lin and Tan Yang. Something sort of inbetween those two. It’s quite grainy like the Bai Lin, but doesn’t have the orange-y note, and it’s quite fruity and cocoa-y like the Tan Yang, but without (infamously) the pseudo-smoke. It does however have that Fujian-ness about it that makes it so easy to recognise. Full and strong and very, very pleasant.

Yes, this has a ton of qualities that I really like. It’s a very good representative of my Number One Favourite tea producing area, indeed, but as I am being led to believe that it’s supposed to be smoky and it just isn’t delivering on that count, I’m going to have to dock some points.

Experience buying from DeRen Tea http://steepster.com/places/2836-deren-tea-online-portola-california?visit=1354

Age of leaf: Advertised as early autumn 2011. Received samples late September. Brewed up a little over a week after I received it in mail.

Packaging: Samples: silver translucent bags with simple label.

Dry leaf: Smelled like a standard oolong, but with a powerful floral fragrance. Very long, thin, wiry looking leaves; dark, uneven coloring, with some green showing through.

Brewing guidelines: I decided to break with my traditional brewing techniques prompted by the brewing instructions for Dancongs on DeRen’s website. I also decided not to ‘wash’ it
………1st : 190, 30”
………2nd: 185, 45”
………3rd: 190, 60”
………4th : 195, 75”
………5th : 185, 90”
………6th : Boiling, 2’

Aroma: very floral.

Color of liquor: light copper.

Wet leaf: very floral aroma; light green color, tinged with brown on many of the edges. Whole, big, beautiful leaves!

Flavor: Ranged from very floral to a well-balanced and nuanced oolong flavor.

Value: Sample was provided by DeRen Tea (Thank you Aaron!). This particular tea on their website is more than I am willing to pay for any oolong, but I am guessing it is still competitively priced for a Semi-Wild Yulan Dancong, as the rest of their tea is.

Overall: This tea has changed the way I view oolongs. I consider myself fairly new to this class of semi-oxidized teas. After having had a number of flower-scented teas (green, black, and oolong), I am discovering that I don’t particularly like them; to me, the scent—-and especially the flavor—-does not ‘belong’ in tea. And so on the first steeping of this tea, I was a little put off by the overpowering floral taste and aroma. But I liked the second steeping more, as it was less floral. Then the third, ah, the third. This is what changed my relationship with oolongs. The floral flavor was there, but I guess more as a supporting cast member, because it was also sweeter, and the overall flavor was like something I have never tasted before. That third cup was probably the best cup of oolong tea I have ever had. I think some underlying perception about oolongs has lain dormant inside my consciousness for awhile, and has finally surfaced. Don’t judge a tea by it’s first, or even its second infusion: wait at least until your tried the third! But wait, my guess is there are other oolongs, and Pu-erhs, that get better even later! Wow! I really enjoyed watching the leaves slowly change after each steeping, such that they were finally fully unfurled on the forth. The later steepings were not as flavorful, but surprisingly, the sixth had more flavor than the fifth! What an adventure in steeping and tasting. In summary, this tea is amazing.

Experience buying from DeRen Tea http://steepster.com/places/2836-deren-tea-online-portola-california?visit=1354

Age of leaf: Advertised as spring 2011. Received samples late September. Brewed up a couple of days after I received it in the mail.

Packaging: Samples: silver translucent bags with simple label.

Dry leaf: Looks as shown on website and like one other Bi Lo Chun I have tried. Smelled fresh, woodsy, and somewhat sweet.

Brewing guidelines: Loose in glass Bodum, Stevia added. Two and a half teaspoons of dry tea = two and a half eight-ounce cups of water (I brewed this up a little longer than I would for a standard green tea):
………1st: 165 (I was shooting for 170), 2’
………2nd: 170, 2’
………3rd: 175, 2’
………4th: 180, 2.5’

Aroma: Pleasant: standard fresh green tea smell.

Color of liquor: Very light yellow-green.

Wet leaf: Not uniform in color—-ranging from pale yellow to dark green—-but looked fresh and smelled sweet and slightly roasted.

Flavor: light, sweet, and very pleasant, with a slightly roasted note.

Value: Sample was provided by DeRen Tea (Thank you Aaron!). Tea on their website is competitively priced for fresh, standard Bi Lo Chun.

Overall: I was pleased with the flavor of this tea (it reminded me of a H&S version I had weeks before). To me Bi Lo Chun seems to exemplify freshness (somewhat similar to the taste of Anji Bancha, but not as strong). It held flavor through to the forth steeping, with a slight astringency coming through (most of the leaves were on the bottom beginning with the first steeping). With the right price, this is a tea I would seriously consider buying and having around.

Experience buying from DeRen Tea http://steepster.com/places/2836-deren-tea-online-portola-california?visit=1354

Age of leaf: Advertised as spring 2011. Received samples late September. Brewed it up not long after I received it in the mail.

Packaging: Samples: silver translucent bags with simple label.

Dry leaf: Mildly roasted scent, fresh, woodsy? Caramel color, with a few light brown colored leaves (reminded me somewhat of a Yunnan Gold—but not as fluffy and light).

Brewing guidelines: Loose in glass Bodum, Stevia added. Three teaspoons of dry tea = three eight-ounce cups of water. Used my standard red tea guidelines.
………1st : Temp -Two minutes off the boil, Steeping time – 2’
………2nd: One minute off the boil, 3’
………3rd: Boiling, 4’
………4th : Boiling, 6’

Aroma: Reminded me of the smell from a brewery: malty.

Color of liquor: light caramel color.

Wet leaf: Similar to liquor aroma; not smoky at all. Brown medium-size chopped leaves, with a few whole leaves and buds.

Flavor: I brew beer on occasion, and the taste of this tea reminds me of the taste in the unfermented beer product (called ‘wort’), a barley or grain-like taste, which I believe is called, ‘malty’. There was no smokiness what so ever in the taste. It held flavor up through the third and had little flavor on the forth steeping.

Value: Sample was provided by DeRen Tea (Thank you Aaron!). Tea on their website is competitively priced for fresh, red tea.

Overall: I was surprised by this tea. I was expecting lots of smokiness (I have had one other of this type of tea, called Strong Smoke Lapsang Souchong) and yet found none in the aroma, nor in the taste (I have it on authority just recently that not every Lapsang Souchong is smoky). This wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t what I was expecting. The tea itself was clearly fresh and tasty—it tasted like a quality red tea. I wouldn’t buy it if you’re looking for a smoky tea, but it is definitely a quality Chinese red tea.

I made a cup of this tea with the sample pack I got from DeRen Tea today. I smelled the tea before I steep it and it was a little vegetal and a little floral. The tea was light golden yellow. The aroma was creamy? or buttery? or somewhere inbetween, with a hint of floral sweetness. The taste was light, clean, and a little buttery initially. I didn’t taste the floral note with the tea in my mouth. But after I swallow the tea, there was a floral aftertaste in my mouth. It was quite interesting. It was a pleasant surprise. It was… great.

The first time I had this, I really liked it. This cup, however, just seems weak, even after cooling. I used the same amount of leaf as I always do, so I don’t know what happened. What’s there is fairly vegetal with hints of florals, but none of the butteriness from before. Unfortunately I don’t have enough leaf for another cup (what’s left is destined to be “blended” in a cold brew) so I’m sad that this had to be my last experience with this sample since my first one was so good. Oh well.

Another afternoon, another oolong. This one is another of my samples from DeRen Tea, and it is certainly tasty. Let’s back up, shall we? The leaves in this tea are very large and loosely scrunched, opening up to huge whole leaves when steeped. The scent of the dry leaves is lightly green-oolongy, with a faint floral tinge. Steeped, the liquor is a very pale greenish yellow and the florals have come out much more in the aroma, with the oolong base taking on a warm, buttery character.

The taste is pretty true to the aroma: light, buttery, slightly vegetal oolong, with a lovely dose of florals and a natural lingering sweetness. I looove oolongs with that natural sweetness, so that ups the marks for this one. The florals are somewhat indistinct… this doesn’t have the floral notes of a particular flower (at least not one that I really recognize), but instead amps up that general floral character that some oolongs have. Overall very very nice.

So this is the second Anxi oolong that I’ve had in the last couple of days (the first being the base of the Gardens of Anxi by Verdant Tea), and they’re both really sticking out to me as great. I have an Anxi Tie Quan Yin also from Verdant that is a spring 2011 harvest, so I now can’t wait to try that one too. Yay for tea discovery!

This tea was recommend to me by Aaron who runs DeRen. I have my cousin made this tea gongfu style and we both liked it. The orchard aroma was there the moment we pour the tea into our cups. The tea itself is yellow, slightly orange. The orchard smell was more obvious when the tea cooled a bit. The tea had the same light pleasant sweet orchard taste in the mouth. There is a little tiny bit of bitterness. But it actually made the tea more balanced, more complete for me. I like this tea and thanks Aaron for suggesting this tea.

I ordered a bunch of samples of Dancong from DeRen Tea because it’s a type of oolong I have yet to explore. I’ve only tried the Dan Cong from thepuritea, sent to me a while ago by QuiltGuppy, but I enjoyed the flavors in that one so wanted to try others of the type to see if it’s for me!

I prepared this tea “western” style, with 4g of leaves in a 12oz mug, because I don’t have a gongfu setup and probably won’t until I go to China next spring. The leaves are long, dark and twisted, and when brewed some are greener than others. The aroma of the steeped tea is really nice… roasty grains, like a dark oolong, but also sweet and floral like a green one.

The floral note is the first one in the flavor, but it’s quickly taken over by the roasty notes. I’m acutally getting a slight bitterness in the aftertaste, but I’m hesitant to dock the tea for that because I feel like it’s likely an issue with one of my parameters. Other than the lingering hint of bitter, I do like the combo of the floral plus roasted flavors. I’m not sure that I like them more than the pure fresh floral flavor of some green oolongs, but I have a number of other dancongs to try as well!

Ugh, still sneezing, but better than before. And finishing up a sample, yay! I do have to remind myself that I want to save samples of most of my oolongs to try once I get a gaiwan or a gong-fu teapot.

I steeped this one at a slightly lower temp for a shorter time because last time it was a hint bitter. I might have over compensated, but the resulting brew is still a nice yellow and smells pretty strong. One thing I don’t think I got from the aroma last time is another floral hiding underneath the jasmine… it’s that oolongy floral, that green, fresh floral that green oolongs often have. This is plenty flavorful with these parameters, though it still mostly reminds me of a good jasmine green. I definitely still very much enjoy the cup!

Several days ago, after I had this tea, I took my steeped leaves and put them in a cup with water for a cold steep. I ended up leaving them steeping for a long time, but I think it was ok because I had less leaves than I would normally use for a 16oz cold brew, and they were already steeped previously. Anyway I pulled it out today and it’s really nice. Very jasminey, with some sweet creamy oolong flavor in the aftertaste that I actually didn’t get in my initial steep. Quite a success, and I’m tempted to cold steep all of my leftover oolong leaves like this to see how they turn out!

I have so many new oolong samples right now it’s really hard to choose one to try, but today I was wanting something extra floral, so I chose this one which will certainly deliver. This was one of the free samples that I ordered from DeRen Tea, which has a new online store. I was able to get samples of almost all of their oolongs for basically just the cost of shipping, so I couldn’t resist. Thanks DeRen, for the samples!

Somehow I’ve never tried a jasmine oolong, though I totally love other floral scented oolongs. The dry leaf on this one smells very very jasminey, and includes jasmine petals as well. I might have expected the leaves to be rolled, which seems to be common with green oolongs, but this tea looked more a standard green, with slightly twisted leaves. Brewed, the liquor is a deep golden yellow, and the aroma is all jasmine, sweet and floral with a slight greenish undertone, which makes it smell fresh. I’m realizing that it’s been a while since I had a jasmine tea, and I’ve missed it!

The flavor is very pleasant. It’s very much like a plain jasmine green, but without the grassiness of the green tea. The oolong flavor is slightly vegetal, but in a warm, not bright, way. The jasmine lacks the honeysuckle sweetness of jasmine pearls, but it’s definitely a strong jasmine… people who dislike strong florals beware! There is a very slight bitterness to the edge of this tea, which makes me think that I should drop the steeping time a little next time. I’m enjoying this tea, but honestly there’s not much more to the flavor that would make me reach for this over a jasmine green, and it certainly isn’t replacing jasmine pearls for me. As the tea has cooled almost to room temp, a light sweetness comes out that makes me think that this one would be great iced.

This was a rather interesting experience for me, because I am used to milder green teas. This tea was like a sledgehammer of greenness. From the moment the hot water hit the leaves, there was an almost overwhelming vegetative aroma. The first sip was the same, except that there was a bit of a bitter taste as well.

I was once again brewing this in the so-called “Grandpa” style, meaning I added water to the tea when I started to get low. I am writing this review 3 hours later, and the only real difference is that the aroma and taste have mellowed. From how it tastes, I think the leaves haven’t yet reached the end of their life either. This longevity is something to be commended, and greatly enhanced the score I gave this tea.

In the end, this is an above-average tea, but not something that I would recommend for a new tea drinker, an not really something that I would go out of my way to purchase.

Experience buying from DeRen Tea http://steepster.com/places/2836-deren-tea-online-portola-california?visit=1354

Age of leaf: Advertised as spring 2011. Received samples late September. Brewed up the day after I received it in mail.

Packaging: Samples: silver translucent bags with simple label.

Dry leaf: smells carmel-ly. It looks as shown on website, like a standard Yunnan black tea: a mixture of light and dark brown curly leaves and buds.

Brewing guidelines: two 8-oz cups of water used, leaves loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added.
………1st: Temp – a few minutes off the boil, Steeping time – 2.5 minutes (Great, strong flavor)
………2nd: Boiling, 3.5 minutes (Still strong flavor)
………3rd: Boiling, 6 minutes (the next day) (Still good flavor)

Aroma: Pleasant: sweet and rich.

Color of liquor: Dark amber.

Wet leaf: A number of medium and small chopped pieces, but also quite a few nice buds and whole leaves; a consistent brown color throughout.

Flavor: Similar to one other Yunnan black I have had before, but possibly more flavorful. It has what I believe to be the characteristic Yunnan flavor, which I don’t know how to describe, other than it has what I believe is known as ‘a full body’ and a carmel-ly taste. It still had good flavor even on the third steeping; that is impressive.

Value: normally about $4/oz. I am not too familiar with the standard price of quality Chinese black teas, but I think this is fairly reasonable for the quality.

Overall: I do like this tea. I drank the first two steepings in the early evening—-which I normally don’t do—-and yet I don’t remember feeling jittery (as I commonly do when I drink more two cups or more of any red/black tea. Hmmmm That’s a bonus in my book!). I think I may be hooked on Yunnan blacks!

When brewed, this has a spicy, earthy smell. Smooth with a mildly smoky under-taste. Mildly vegetal green tea taste around the edges. I am not a huge fan of oolong, having grabbed this sample mostly for my mother, but I love watching oolong leaves unfurl! Not something I’d buy again, but only because oolong is not my go-to tea. I’d not hesitate to recommend the tea or the merchant to anyone looking for a good oolong with a smooth, quick and pleasant transaction.

Very nice. Smooth and, yes, as advertised, a slightly sweet aftertaste. No astringency at all. When dry, this tea seems to have a lot of sticks and very, very long leaves. After steeping, the tea reminds me a lot of rosemary (in appearance only, not taste or smell). Two or three leaves unfurled at the ends of small pieces of stick.

I like this tea. It has a nice body, good mouth feel and overall taste. This would make a good every day tea.

First steep: The smell is very nutty. The taste is smooth and with an upward nut/hay taste in the back of the mouth. The is also a big of green to the flavor around the sides and underneath the tongue.

Second Steep: Much more of a roasted flavor to this one. This one is also more green. There’s also something… maybe floral?… inside the nose when swallowing. Also, a bit of a clover taste.

Third Steep: This one is lighter. The roasted flavor is not in the forefront now but is the main part of the finish, instead. The green is the main taste. The clover taste is there just a bit more, but still faint.

I won’t report further steepings.

This is a very nice tea. Not a buyer for me, but well worth the try. I’d recommend it to others, sure.