Red Blossom Tea Company

I love this tea when it’s raining. I haven’t quite developed a taste for aged oolongs yet- they’re quite new to me. But I would say this tea is pleasant- it has some of the character of a roasted Taiwan oolong, but masked with a layer of aged depth to it. Interesting, not an everyday kind of tea for me but definitely satisfying and something about a rainy day makes me love brewing this tea.

Hands down, the first thing you notice is the aroma. To me, it simply smells like butter or buttered corn on the cob. This actually came from a small company called eL Tea http://bit.ly/cCHOyK

Well…I didn’t actually drink this, but I just ordered it and I am really excited about it. I was going to look and see what you all thought about it, but no one had logged drinking it, so I created this page! I am not usually a huge fan of green teas, but we’ll see.

Had it today at the cafe. It was okkay and woke me up, but wasn’t very strong.

Sipdown! Thanks Sil.

I got distracted by my computer (AGAIN.), and so this tea got steeped a wee bit longer than intended… but luckily, still within a reasonable infusion time for a black. I think.

Anyhow, there’s very little aroma… maybe this is too old? A quick sip points in that direction as well, although it’s too hot for me at the moment. Weird that a black would age badly… It’s specifically in a box with other unflavoured teas to prevent contamination, but I suppose that doesn’t simultaneously reduce flavour loss. I’ll update this note once the tea cools… I thought I’d have more to write, haha.

ETA: Well, I’m sad to say that this doesn’t have a great deal of flavour, and does taste a bit off – although I see that my original note also mentioned the same thing, and I’m pretty sure I tried this one soon after receiving it, so it’s unlikely that it’s a product of age. Ah well, there are plenty of black teas that I adore; no need to add another to that pile. It is decent enough that I’m going to drink it, though (unlike that pu’erh… eek…). My best guess is that my brewing parameters were poor – I think a rinse may have been recommended, and that could have helped, and perhaps more leaf or a longer infusion time.

Thanks to Sil for a sample of this one.

Now, this tea is coming off as kind of weird for me. It’s not particularly strong, although I followed the brewing instructions (not intentionally, I just happened to go with a 2-min infusion!). It’s also seeming to be a bit mariney?? The odds of it having been contaminated and ending up tasting like that are quite slim, so I have to assume that it’s an intentional note in the tea… Yeah, this is just weird. The aftertaste is honey-like and nice, but the initial flavour is verging on unpleasant.

I will admit that I did not rinse; I will try to remember to do that next time I give this a shot. I may have also underleafed, though I can’t see how that would have contributed to the weird flavour, just to the seeming weakness.

From sil…had this with my brunch this morning with hubby since he prefers straight black teas with milk and sugar, English style. Even used my two English bone china tea cups (thrift store finds).

Anyway, about the tea. The first think I noticed was a light smoky taste. I’m not typically a fan of smoky teas, but this one seems ok, and probably the edge of my smoky tea comfort zone. There was a slight smoky smell to the dry leaf, as well as a sort of thickness. I didn’t find the brew to look thick, but on the tongue, it was a bit thick. Next taste was probably a bit grainy, followed by a hint of floral, though not sure WHICH floral.

All in all I would say this is a nice straight black tea that I got multiple steeps out of. I think though, that I’d like to try out other keemuns and see if I can find one a little less smoky. This one is pretty good though, but I think I like my Teavivre blacks a little more. I might have to do a side by side with those. I have a few places in town I can get this kind of tea from, so I might explore that option too.

Often called “Milk Oolong”, Jing Xuan was developed in 1982. A product of Taiwan’s Tea Research Institute (created by the Japanese during the occupation of WWII), its name means Day Lily (Named in honor of the creators mother)

Appearance: Tightly wound green oolong. Blueish green hue with a moderate amount of stems.
Wet Leaf aroma: fruity, Bread-y, cooked sugar,

4 grams of tea, 5oz water at 195, brewed in a taiwan.
(Rinse with boiling water, 10 seconds). 1st steep: 2 minutes, 2nd steep: 2 minutes , 3rd steep: 2:30

First steep
The first steep was very light. The color was an almost neon green. The dominant notes were fruity (peach?) and floral. Not much depth on the first brew.

Second Steep: The slight creaminess this tea is known for showed itself in the second steep. The fruit and cream together makes for a nice mouthfeel/aroma. This brew was a bit “coppery” with a tropical overtone (pineapple/coconut). Still a bit lacking in the depth department. While it was fresh, was expecting a long lasting finish.

Third/Fourth Steep: The creaminess was already on its way out, replaced by a more noticeable floral scent. I got jasmine, orchid and lily with a hint of citrus (mandarin). The color of the liquor at this point was more golden then green. The wet leaves had opened completely and had a slight “meaty” aroma, similar to chicken soup. (interesting!)

Overall, a lighter brewed than I had hoped for, but fresh and clean. Great if you like floral and fresh oolong.

Alishan, a fragrant cup of flowers. Light-yellow seep with a vegetal sweet taste of apples and pumpkin seeds. Finesse cup of tea.

Tea had a wood pine scent to it. It was also very pungent with a bittersweet fruitful body. Grateful cup.

Echoing tea. One of a kind scent. Fruity apricot taste with a caramel hint to it. Remarkable everyday cup of tea.

This tea is heavenly! The taste is both roasted and floral. Very interesting tea with high quality.

I love a good Keemun and I try to always keep one around. I’ve found my perfect favourite Keemun not too long ago, but I’m not so married to it that I’m going out of my way to make sure it’s that particular Keemun that is always in the cupboard. Any Keemun is fine really. I’m loosening up in the same way with other types, I’ve noticed. I have my favourites, my most beloved, and I make sure I won’t forget where it came from when I find Perfection, but it’s only my various flavoured favourites, where I’m truly brand loyal. But the flavoured tea is a completely different beast as well.

Sil shared this particular Keemun with me, and it’s from a company that I’ve previously had some very good teas from. I remember fondly the Heritage Aijiao Oolong. Wombatgirl once sent me a whole pouch of that one as a gift. (I miss her. I wish she was still around.) I wrote a (bad) ode to that one, for crying out loud! I believe I must have a tried one or two others from that company as well. So Red Blossom is a company that immediately raises my expectations of the tea I’m about to drink.

Very pleasant aroma on this one. Lightly smoky and with grainy notes underneath. Just how I like’em. There’s a smidge of something floral to it as well, but it smells like it’s in balance with the note of smoke. I prefer that. I’ve long believed that the smoky note in some Keemuns and the floral note in others are actually the same aspect, but coming across in different ways. Seems to me that this depends on the leaf grade. Higher leaf grades are usually more floral than smoky, where lower grades are more smoky than floral. I tend to prefer sort of the lower end of the middle here.

The flavour is quite strong, and it has an initial prickly feeling of smoke with a floral character. After that it’s just completely smooth. The note of grain seems to be a tad thin though. That initial flavour is just so big, it’s like the grain can’t quite keep up with it.

As it cools a little further, however, this is adjusted as the grainy note seems to expand more, becoming thicker and smoother.

There is also quite a nutty flavour to this one, which is a new note to me. Strangely though it doesn’t feel like it’s anything new in that this tea doesn’t strike me as hugely different from other teas of its kind. It’s just that this nutty note is like something that was always there but which I’ve only just become aware of. Slightly toasted hazelnuts. It’s a very small note in all this, which is probably why I’ve never really identified it before even though I feel like I’ve been aware of it being there. Does any of this even make sense?

Anyway, as it cools a little further, I’m nearing the end of the cup here, that nutty note mellows out again and all but disappears. That supports my suspicion that it’s a note that was there in Keemuns all along, but difficult to identify. Apparently you only get a small window of ideal temperature to do it in.

Many Keemuns seem to have the ability to develop caramel-y notes, but I haven’t really found any of that in this one. Mind you I’ve never had a Keemun that went all out on the caramel yet either but I’ve had several that tasted like they could have. This one is really just the smoky/floral start, the grainy middle and the briefly nutty finish. I wouldn’t have minded a smidge of caramel in there as well.

Good tea but not aged, certainly processed.

One of the better Shous out there for sure though.

I recommened drinking it after the 4th or 5th steeping when it settled down a bit. They did a good job with it. BEST with boiling water

Late night tea session! I wanted something warm before I went to bed, but somehow none of the decaf teas I have appealed to me, so here I am with this (you can say my go to tea-ish)

The dry tea is thin in shape and most have a little curve, so I’m guessing thats where the name came from (Although I have to say translation is really an issue here as the Chinese says sparrow’s tongue, not beak). The dry tea also smelled very fragrant, however not intensely so.
The brew is a light yellow color, and the fragrance is more prominent. The taste is much in line with this observation: a whisper of jasmine that doesn’t overwhelm. Clean, refreshing cup of tea.

Can’t help but compare this to Red Blossom’s Dragon Pearl Supreme, which held stronger scents in both dry and wet tea form. However, Dragon Pearls are also a heck lot more expensive than Sparrow’s Beak, so for anyone that’s seeking a cheap (yet not so cheap) alternative to the Pearls, this is the tea you want. Personally, I feel that I would rather have the pearls when I’m fully awake and able to appreciate all it’s beauty, but during other times when I’m too busy, tired or just distracted (or even when I’m alert but just not feeling it), this is my go to jasmine. Sure, it isn’t as wow worthy, but it will never disappoint.

One of the few teas that doesn’t suffer from oversteeping IMO (since I accidentally left this a tad longer than I was supposed to) A great tea for anytime.

Breville try out session! And my fav tea to accompany me on a mini Big Bang Theory marathon;) (I can almost imagine the disapproving face of my roommate since I supposedly have a 1250 word paper due tomorrow, but whatever)

So anyway, this is as delicious as ever. Actually, it was even better than last time since this time, it wasn’t overbrewed at all.
The dry tea smells like candy, as usual. The brew is a beautiful light green color and the sweet aroma just envelopes you, in a very very good way.
The vegetal notes are reduced to a minimum, and you can’t really taste it this time round. The sweet, cotton candy-ish, caramelly awesomeness is however enhanced and you can really feel the sweetness, mellow and smooth. But you still get the tea behind all this, so you aren’t overwhelmed by the sweetness of it, nor do you get tired of it since the flavor profile changes slightly as the temp changes and cools.

Upping the rating to 100 because it is now as awesome as I remember it (unlike last time, when I sadly sort of ruined it a little by oversteeping)