Taiwan Tea Crafts

i have a confession. I don’t love Mi Xian blacks. The one from stacy is good, but i don’t love it like others do. There are teas that i like better. All that aside, i don’t DISLIKE these teas either. they’re just lower on the totem pole than some others :) this one is very similar to the one that stacy carries, though slightly different and reminds me more of some of the other TTC teas that i’ve had. Over all, a nice cup of tea from this morning. Thanks Cavocorax!

I feel bad because cavocorax sent this to me and i’m reviewing this before her and i literally have NOTHING to say about this because i had a no good very bad day and all i can recall was that it was like other TTC teas and i enjoyed it, though it didn’t knock my socks off. Which means it’s likely about an 83 ish but i’m not sure i could pick it out of a line up of TTC teas lol.

TTB&C II

This is such a delicious tea! From the aroma, that seemed more on the fruity side, I expected a fruitier and tarter assam but this is more like the malty one that I love. I find some chocolate notes, too. It has a very creamy and silky mouthfeel. And now that it cooled down, the aroma actually corresponds with the taste much more…

I am off to make another steep! Thanks, Sil, for including this one. This is my first Taiwan Tea Crafts tea ever :D

Super generous sample from Terri HarpLady – thank you
3G 130 ml gaiwan 212F
Rinse/30/45/45/1min etc
Leaves are black and unruly so I used scale to not underleaf
It’s malty with muscatel and stone fruit notes kinda like Second Flush Darjeeling but with Taiwanese notes as well. Some unmistakable Taiwanese sweetness. Some dryness in aftertaste but not unpleasant . I really liked this tea as much as I like good SF Darj
Thank you Terri for the opportunity to try. It’s a winner

This is the first of 9 samples I ended up with from TTC! I’m so excited. I wasn’t even sure where to start, but I’m very pleased with this one.

It smells like honey, and tastes almost like baked bread with honey and just the barest hint of cinnamon. It has a thicker mouthfeel than your average tea, and is rich with flavour.

It’s too bad I finished off my Butiki Mi Xian because I’m curious how they compare? I enjoy both blends (and am looking forward to resteeping this all evening) but can’t say what makes them different.

This tea is delicious. Still devouring (I had typed “savoring” but my iPad autocorrected it to “devouring”, also true) the sample from Sil :)

It is really fruity and flavorful and malty and one day, when I’m not drowning in tea, one day I will put in a TTC order!

Breakfast tea of the day!

Oh dear, this tea is delicious. So fruity and flavorful. Must buy.

Light colored liquor, not a super potent tea, but still bursting with tastiness.

Thanks for sharing a surprise sample of this, Sil! Looks like I’m going to have to look into this TTC company!

Thanks Sil for this sample. I enjoyed it and it helped me decide to order from TTC.

I drank the last of this with Lot 306 to see if I could notice any differences, but to be honest, I didn’t. They were both so simliar and I couldn’t quit describe the differences. I think until my palette becomes better refined I’m better served buying whichever one is cheaper! :D

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THIS is how you start your day. :) Thanks Sil!

When I took my first sip, I thought this was struck by how different it was from my other TTC tea – Sun Moon Lake 147. This was darker, thicker, and reminded me somewhat of Teavivre’s Bailin Gong Fu tea. With subsequent sips and I can taste fruit like apricot or peach. It smells malty and delicious too. After reading the description, I was able to pick up on the cinnamon notes, but the menthol has eluded me. That’s ok. :)

I’m currently rating this at 80 because it’s really good, but not quite at the point where I’ll be daydreaming about it later. At least, I haven’t yet. :P

From the BBBB Grab bag, provided by TastyBrew.
This is a baked oolong, as opposed to a roasted one. So basically, it’s a green oolong that has been baked.
Not roasty, not particularly sweet, & my taste buds are still stuck in tart mode, so I’m not really doing it justice.
Sipdown

So good! This is SO GOOD. Thank you Sil for introducing me to all the best teas! :D

this came my way via the BBB Box in the grab bag from Tastybrew. Not overly excited by this one, though i was hopeful because in my head baked = roasty oolong. well GUESS WHAT! it doesn’t lol. this is a greeeeeeeen ooolong. But you know what? i am digging it! it really is a sweet oolong. there’s none of that oolong note that i don’t like. instead this is just a refreshing cup of sweet tea…it’s almost honeylike but not quite. I’m also getting a teeeeeny floral note at the back of the sip, but it’s only there is i concentrate on it – so i’m not lol. thanks for sharing girls!

Thank you Sil! This was a really great assam to start my day with. It was slightly tangy and sharp, but evened out into sweetness and fruit. It’s a very easy cup to drink; I’m really enjoying it, and would consider placing an order some time!
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A rather light tea that has a taste of sweet corn, green beans, and a touch of barley. The final infusion is the usual honyed brew. Slightly creamy and floral throughout. A well-made tea.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 2:00 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 5:00 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 80 deg., 10:00+ min.

Kittenna provided me with a sample of this one to try, which is great because it’s one of the few types that i don’t think i’ve tried from TTC that i was curious about. This one still has that familir juicy taiwanese profile but there’s a note in this one that isn’t present in the other teas that i’ve had. It’s not exactly “malty” but has that same sort of feel to it. Idon’t think i’d order this one myself because there isn’t enough of a wow factor here – there are only so many times you can drink a taiwanese sort of tea before they start to taste the same :)

Another one from the BBB Box and one that has been good to me. I’m passing the last bit on to Cavo who is about to have her own TTC journey :) Thanks a bunch to TastyBrew for sharing this one with me since it’s one htat i hadn’t seen/tried yet so it was nice to try something new.

i finally got around to trying this one this week as well – one of the offerings from the BBB Box that i share with Terri and Tastybrew! I have to say ladies, thanks for being awesome! I don’t recall much of this tea except that i DID enjoy it…thankfully there is more for me to drink uplater!

This tea had a lovely balance between the sweet and the savoury. I didn’t get the strong peach notes until later steeps, but I did get a lot of fruity tones from it including, longan, prune, fig tones, mulberry and lemon. This was bonded to the savoury notes by butter caramel, which evolved into honey, cocoa, malt and cereal notes and a touch of salt. The savoury herbaceous notes I found were, lemon thyme, the flavour you breathe in when you crumble dried oregano, cilantro, cinnamon, and towards the end ginger and artichoke. I got nine steeps out of this tea . (1tsp, 170ml,95°C: rinse, 10, 15,20,25,35,45,60,120,180s), and it has been a pleasant companion today.

Thanks TastyBrew for the opportunity to expand my experience with Taiwanese blacks!

This generous sample came to me from Terri Harp lady – thank you!
Gongfu method
5g 150ml gaiwan 205F
rinse/10/15/20/25/30/45sec etc
This tea has similar profile as “High Mountain Red” Ai Lao Mountain Black Tea by Yunnan Sourcing. Some peach, plum, grape, by 6 steeping there is strong grapefruit note. this tea is very good quality tea. I’m not rating this tea because I’m not experienced in Taiwanese black teas.
Thank you so much Terri, I’m grateful for the opportunity to taste such a wonderful and unique tea.

Large twisty brown dry leaf which smell a bit like fruit and dry floral but once brewed becomes more rosy in scent.

Brewed colour is a light amber and smells so pretty with fruitiness and floral rosiness.

Taste is juicy, fruity and floral as well, and is very smooth and light. Very delicious with beautiful aroma – a lovely tea, and I very much enjoy this.
A good afternoon tea!

Thank you to Philip at Taiwan Tea Crafts who sent me this generous sample with my order.

I steeped the rest of this sample a little longer because I wanted a bit more flavor from it last time. That may not have been the bestest of ideas for me.

See, this tea already had some of the notes that I don’t like in Taiwanese black teas, the specific fruitiness that doesn’t agree with me. In the weaker brew they weren’t enough to turn me off, but I didn’t think about the fact that in the stronger brew they might become more prominent. BUT I still find the overall tea tasty. Fruity, honeyed. If you like Butiki’s Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black it might be worth checking this one out as well.

Yay, another sample from Sil! I am happy to try all of these TTC teas since Taiwanese black teas are a little hit or miss for me. They can’t be too fruity, which is weird to me, but there it is. I didn’t quite know how to steep this one so I dumped about half my sample in the cup (long, squiggly leaves always making things interesting) and tried out these parameters first… will likely try others with the next half.

This tea certainly smells very fruity. Apricot, perhaps, with a hint of whatever that note is that I dislike in Taiwanese black teas (hard to describe). A bit honeyed as well. I would say this cup is a little under brewed. I think I would go hotter and also possibly longer. The flavor in the main part of the sip is thin, but there is a lot in the aftertaste. This does remind me of Butiki’s Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black but it’s been so long since I’ve had that one that it’s hard to remember exactly. I am happy to say that the note that I tend to dislike has smoothed itself out in the flavor, and the honey and pastry notes make themselves a bit more known. As it cools the cup gains a smooth, almost creamy texture that is quite pleasant.

Overall this is definitely an enjoyable tea, although it edges toward the side of Taiwanese blacks that I’m not in love with, or at least I would never really crave. But obviously a very nice example of the type if you are into those sorts of things.