Tea Ave

Edit Company

Recent Tasting Notes

drank Magnolia Oolong by Tea Ave
3226 tasting notes

I revisited this tea today with my best friend. I am aware that the scents I got from this tea are not mentioned in the description, but I really do initially smell chocolate, milk chocolate specifically, which is also true of Da Hong Pao for me. Then I smelled vanilla, and then I smelled cake. Not a bready, sensible cake but a sweet and fluffy bakery cake.

I was somewhat justified I think today when I had my friend smell the aroma cup. I asked her if she smelled chocolate and she said, “No, honey. Maybe because I had honey this morning earlier it is on my mind, but it smells like good honey.” That made sense, and it hit me that I also detected butter. When asked to sniff again she said she got butter also. Ah ha! Thus the impression of cake! What could be more cake-y than honey and butter and the sweetness of the magnolia?

Bottom line, today’s snow day from school turned into a really nice visit with a friend who agreed that this is a tea for enjoyment, for real inspection, for paying attention to, and not a tea that you steep in a mug and sip while you work or watch tv.

Stephanie

I have this one too, can’t wait to try it now :D

TeaBrat

sounds yummy :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Magnolia Oolong by Tea Ave
3226 tasting notes

Tea Ave was so generous with their sample packages! I am so thankful to have been part of this sampling for their opening, and I believe they will be successful if they maintain this quality in their products and service. I would not hesitate to say if I didn’t like a tea. What you will get here is my honest evaluation of the tea I had tonight.

I invited hubby to join me tonight to taste this. He was very fond of a Li Shan not long ago so I thought this would appeal to him. We used the aroma cup to experience the tea to the fullest.

First we smelled the aroma of the dry leaf, which was very true to the steeped tea. It was sweet, with chocolate and vanilla overtones more than floral ones to me. It smells incredibly fresh. These are not flavors mentioned by the comoany but I consistently smelled milk chocolate and real vanilla in the aroma cup, the dry leaf, and even some steeps of the tea.

I made about seven ounces of tea at a time, pouring into a fair cup first and then quickly filling the aroma cup. The first aroma was quite sweet and reminded me of delicious cake more than of flowers. The liquor is pale yellow. The leaves unfurled to tremendous size and were deep green.

The taste – first steep was so sweet and still reminded of a cake, really delicious cake.
Second steep went a bit longer and had that edge that immediately makes a sweet aftertaste spring out. Second steep was hubby’s favorite but then, he has always been fond of second steeps!

Steep three was still sweet but now I am tasting more oolong and less cake, and the flowers are beginning to become more evident. At no time was this tea overly floral. Hubby even mentioned that he doesn’t care for very floral tea, and he was glad that the level of this one was just right for him.

Steeps four and five had an increase in the creaminess of the liquor. There is the taste of green oolong with very light floral undertones.

In short, this tea is making me vow that I will keep fresh – truly fresh – oolong on hand. There is nothing else quite like it.

A thousand thanks, Tea Ave, for the generous gift!

LiberTEAS

This is the next one that I’ll be sampling from them. I loved the Jasmine.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
drank Lishan Oolong by Tea Ave
326 tasting notes

Tea provided by Tea Ave for review

Trying the second of three samples provided by Tea Ave today. Using half the sample to try their suggested steeping method (see my steep time notes at the bottom), and saving the other half for experimenting.

Comparing the aroma cup and first steep, there is a a buttery, floral scent with a bit of cinnamon. The tea liquor tastes very delicate and has subtle flavours. I tasted the expected light oolong base, floral, buttery and vegetal characteristics. There was also a delightful zesty peach flavour there as well.

Steeping through the other five cups, the intensity of the tea remained consistent. It peaked on the fourth and fifth cups, but it didn’t taste too bland or light on the cups leading up to it or on the last cup. The zesty peach flavour was present in all the steepings, and it lingered on in the aftertaste with the delicate oolong tea base. One thing I noticed is that each steeping was very smooth, so there was no bitterness, off putting aroma, or over-roasted flavour.

Overall I enjoyed Li Shan oolong tea. It met my expectations; it is a sold resteeper, a good representative of it’s type, and didn’t bring any off putting aromas to the table.
I’d recommend this tea to those that prefer delicate, subtle oolongs. It is a very satisfying tea when I slow down and give my attention and focus to each steeping, taking in the delicate flavours. For someone that prefers bold teas, this just wouldn’t meet your expectations.

Steeped as suggested on package: 1m, 1m20s, 1m40s, 2m, 2m30s, 3m

Flavors: Butter, Cinnamon, Citrus Zest, Floral, Peach, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 g 3 OZ / 80 ML
Teaave

Hey Dorothy, it’s been a while!! We want to say thank you for trying out our samples and invite you back to visit our website sometimes and rate the teas you’ve tired :) Hope to see you soon! Cheers.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93

Received this delightful sample from Tea Ave. This oolong feels very fresh, very on the green side of the oolong spectrum. Dry, it smells like spinach and chard, and I still get some of that once the leaves are steeped, but then they also become strongly floral. The tea has only a lightly floral taste though, a touch of sweetness against the deeper vegetal notes. There’s a little milky flavor, but mostly the tea just feels so smooth going down. Very nice.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong by Tea Ave
6105 tasting notes

Backlog (from this past week). A deliciously creamy and tasty oolong. I had at least three tasty infusions.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong by Tea Ave
6105 tasting notes

Delicious. I did a terrible thing and used my travel mug for my first taste of this tea, but I don’t regret it, because even then, it was really quite tasty. I’d love to try this one with short infusions, so hopefully will have the time to… eventually. Anyhow, flavourwise it’s very creamy and incredibly fresh-tasting. Reminiscent of spring, if that’s possible. Again, I drank it a couple days ago and didn’t write anything down, I just really enjoyed it. The second infusion was okay, but not as magical as the first (and I’ll give it at least one more).

Also, a huge huge huge thanks to Tea Ave for sending this free sample my way! And I have to note the excellence of their tea packaging – samples in resealable, scent-proof plastic pouches, with incredibly detailed tea info on the front, including roasting and oxidation level, which I find very interesting! Looking forward to seeing their website up and running, and making an eventual purchase!

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec
Teaave

Hi Kittenna, it’s been a while!! We want to say thank you for trying out our oolongs and also invite you to come back to our site sometimes to rate the teas you’ve tried :) Hope to see you soon, cheers!!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
drank Dong Ding Oolong by Tea Ave
17 tasting notes

Out of the tea samples I got from TeaAve (which included Magnolia Oolong and Alishan Jin Xuan), this is my favourite!

I’ve steeped it gongfu style in my gaiwan as well as Western style (90C ish water for 3.5mins)

This tea is delicious both ways!

Western style, it has a slightly stronger nutty flavour (which comes out lightly in some of the gongfu steeps), as well as the taste of very rich fruit! I get peach and plum a lot. Like, stewed peaches and plums. Mm.

In the gaiwan the flavour is similar – its a joy to drink. Its not overly strong but its not overly light, its just perfect, and delicious. Its sweet with that rich fruity taste (peaches n plums!) and some steeps get a nice nutty roastyness to them. It has a silky smooth feel in the mouth though leaves a dry finish thats kid of fun, not unpleasant at all!

I’ve steeped it gong fu in my gaiwan twice now.. and… Each time it made me incredibly sleepy! I felt so relaxed and drowsy, like I could melt right then and there and go to sleep. Is that what it is to be tea drunk? If so its pretty great.

Flavors: Fruity, Nuts, Nutty, Peach, Plum, Roasted, Roasted Nuts

Teaave

Hey sameatschildren, it’s been a while!! We are so happy you enjoyed the oolong samples!! We’d like to invite you to our site and rate the teas you’ve tired sometimes when you get a chance. Hope to see you soon!! Cheers :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
drank Tie Kwan Yin Oolong by Tea Ave
2201 tasting notes

Another gongfu session with Equusfell today, this time with my new bamboo draining tea tray. My tea pets can get some love now, yay!

I felt pretty much the same abou tthis as the first time I had it. Roasty to the point of almost bitter charcoal, vegetal, a bit nutty. The first steep had some elements of sweetness to it, but it faded pretty quickly. Got a bit boring in the later steeps.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
drank Tie Kwan Yin Oolong by Tea Ave
2201 tasting notes

So, this falls outside of my taste-through-the-cupboard, but I wanted to have a gongfu today (it’s been forever since I’ve done one), and I have the samples I just got from Tea Ave to try. Plus I was going to play with the aroma cup, so it made sense.

Anyway, this is a bit roastier than I usually prefer my TGYs. I found their gaiwan instructions kind of confusing because besides the volume, the steeping instructions seem to be the same as the western style. So I did about 6g in a 6oz gaiwan, steeping a few seconds to start and going up from there.

The aroma cup was fun. I really got the florals in that, moreso than in the tea itself. They had a rich, orchid note, especially in the early steeps. Also a hint of charcoal and leafiness.

The tea itself is roasted to the point of edging toward bitter; not bitter as in the tea steeped too long, but bitter in a burned charcoal-y way. I got it in all the steeps, really. The flavor is nutty with a bit of vegetal notes.

This seems to be a pretty nice roasted oolong with some charcoal notes, which is not my favorite type of oolong, but I still had a nice session with it today.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Dong Ding Oolong by Tea Ave
2891 tasting notes

I’m not sure that its appropriate for a heavy-handed, cheapster, black tea-loving amateur to provide the initial review for such a fine and lovely oolong, but with mine in place, there’s nowhere to go but up, yes?

One of the things that a very good quality oolong impresses upon me is its texture. This slides across your tongue like soft, heavy silk. I feel like I just put on lip gloss. At the recommended 1-minute mark, it’s the color of champagne. So the sensory impact of this one is significant.

I don’t feel as vocabulary-equipped to address the flavor. “Roasted” is an adjective used in Tea Ave’s vendor description, but I’d call it very lightly roasted on its way to the fruity-floral spectrum. If you break a twig off a tree in very early spring to see the pale insides—-this tastes like what that looks like. How’s that?

Label says this will take multiple steeps with ease. Next time I’m going to dredge it a little longer to see if I can kick up the roast a notch.

Equally impressive is the presentation and sincerity with which Tea Ave has presented their samples —my very sincere thanks!

ashmanra

I LOVE Dong Ding!

gmathis

Two to go—their tieguanyan and … something … but I want to wait until I have time to enjoy. It’s been a grab’n’go week.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Rose Oolong by Tea Ave
1113 tasting notes

Thank you Tea Ave for the samples! The presentation was top notch. I very much enjoyed the aroma cup experience. It really does help concentrate and focus the aromas so you can fully appreciate the oolong! The rose was definitely not overpowering. This type of high mountain oolong can have some floral overtones anyway so the rose just seemed to fit right in. Very creamy buttery oolong, with a little hint of a vegetal taste. Quite complex and tasty. Really looking forward to trying the other 2 oolong samples I was given, the Jasmine and Magnolia.

http://instagram.com/p/zGPgO6xhw-/

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
661 tasting notes

I left this sample as last to review because—well because jasmine is an old favourite but I’ve grown a bit away from it. Of course, I’ve never had a jasmine oolong but have had plenty of jasmine green teas. Pouring a cup of jasmine tea is pretty much like putting on a favourite old pair of jeans. Well let me tell you—this tea blew me away! I’ve never had a jasmine tea like this one before.

My first hint I was in for a real treat was smelling the jasmine as the dry leaves sat in the warmed up gaiwan. Intoxicating floral jasmine. Mmmmmmm.

I didn’t use boiling water like Tea Ave recommended. It just seemed like such a high temperature for the oolong (Although now that I’ve brewed this tea, I can see it could take really high temperatures) I used 205F. First infusion was amazing. From the aroma cup I could smell jasmine, vanilla & honeysuckle. I think my interpretation of honeysuckle was just the jasmine and milky notes combining to create what my brain was getting as honeysuckle . When I tried the tea, I slurped it down so fast. More floral jasmine, honeysuckle, buttery , creamy, vanilla. It is soooooo good. Every time I smell it, I feel like a bee intoxicated by a flower. I’ve made it to the 6th brew so far and notes and flavour are still amazing (but are a little bit fainter only on the 6th).

I like what Tea Ave says in their description “Get ready to breathe more deeply than you have in a while.” Ha! I can’t stop breathing, sniffing, and slurping. I am in tea heaven.
I will definitely have to buy this tea when their store is open. I am rating this tea at 100. It’s been ages since I’ve rated a tea that high.

For anyone who loves buttery & floral you will love this tea.

Edited: Just wanted to add I’ve got up to 10 or 11 infusions with this tea because I loved it so much. The intoxicating aroma dropped off but it was still a good creamy jasmine oolong cup.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
84 tasting notes

I finished off my sample of this and got quite a few steepings from it. Beautiful jasmine aroma and buttery oolong, which I enjoyed. I also gave a cup to my husband who initially said ‘mmm good’ after taking a sip but then after drinking the cup said he didn’t care for it so much as it reminded him of ‘olive leaves or something’. :)
I put the leftover brewed leaves in a jar with water in the fridge overnight and was treated with a gorgeous glass of iced tea the next day. The color of this brew struck me as so beautiful – it was such a perfectly clear golden yellow and simply lovely to look at. The flavor was perfect as well; crisp and floral without a hint of bitterness.

(Note:) I originally wrote this review on April 25th but hadn’t posted it at the time, and ten days later my husband had to return to hospital after our short time back home. Although we hoped he would be returning home again that never happened. And despite everything, he took his last breath November, 2015.
Over the past months I have read this saved review many times and have recalled this moment, and am now sharing it here. To remember this moment spent with my beautiful husband, so brave, so loving. Always my sweet angel, always my love.

Dexter

So sorry for your loss…. thinking about you. :((

Nicole

So sorry to hear this.

Tamarindel

So sorry, caile :(

__Morgana__

I’m so sorry, Caile. Strength and comfort to you and your family.

Fjellrev

I am so sorry, caile. :(

boychik

So sorry for your loss

OMGsrsly

♥ I’m so sorry to hear.

Roswell Strange

So sorry. Thoughts are with you <3

mrmopar

You still have an angel looking over you. Hope there is comfort for you. I lost my Father this year as well. It is tough but remember the good and happy times.

Sil

I’m so sorry for your loss Caile.

gmathis

Caile, thanks for sharing this sweet memory. Praying that great peace surrounds you during these hard days.

caile

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences – I will hold these comforts close.

mrs.stenhouse12

So sorry to hear about this caile. Hugs to you and my thoughts are with you, happy you have great memories to cherish! ♥

TeaExplorer

My thoughts are with you. It’s comforting to know you have some good memories to hold on to. ♥

Lindsay

So sorry for your loss. <3

Rosehips

Thank you for sharing this. I’m so sorry.

White Antlers

OMG! My breath stopped when I read this. I hope tincture of time is helping you to deal with your loss. You have my sincere condolences.

caile

Thank you very much for your condolences Whiteantlers (and to everyone else here as well). xo It takes my breath away too.

Lee

Oh I just read this Caile!! I am sorry for your loss. I am glad there are lots of friends here on Steepster. I am glad I came back today.

caile

Thank you Lee!
I saw that you were back today – I have been up to reading tea reviews lately and was glad to see yours.

mrmopar

Caile good to see you back. I hope you are doing well.

caile

So kind of you to think of me mrmopar. Thank-you.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
84 tasting notes

This is a very fragrant tea! The jasmine is full and crisply fresh, and blends beautifully with the milky oolong. Smooth and creamy to sip with a breathtaking aroma.
Quite outstanding, and anyone who is a fan of jasmine will certainly love this.

Thanks so much to Tea Ave for sending this sample to try!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 88 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
drank Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong by Tea Ave
661 tasting notes

I see there’s lot’s of pictures attached to this tea that Tea Ave must have added. I love the look of the packaging. It looks fabulous. I especially love the colour of the tin too.

Brewed this one in the gaiwan. I did 6 infusions and through all six it was creamy & milky. With the aroma cup I would capture more of that sweet milky flavour. It wasn’t as complex as the Whenshan Baochong Oolong. The only aroma and notes I got off it was the milky notes but it was silky, sweet and stood up well to many infusions. Overall, a great milk oolong.

Flavors: Cream, Milk, Sweet

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

drank Cape Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
818 tasting notes

Thanks so much to Teaave for this sample! So, jasmine and I have not been the best of friends. I really have to be in the mood. This one didn’t smell too strong based on the dry leaf, so I had a feeling I might enjoy it more, and guess what? I did! This is the best jasmine tea I’ve ever had. It is so creamy and buttery with a fresh flower petal taste, not that I’ve ever eaten flowers, but it’s what you imagine they taste like from the fragrance. Sweet, more than just floral, like it has substance, like thick flower petals. It’s floral, but not perfume-y, if you know what I mean. So good! If I were to have a jasmine tea in my cupboard, this would be the one! By the way, have any of you noticed the additional photos Teaave put up on their Steepster tea pages? Omg, the tins and other packaging are so nice! I can’t wait for their online store to open! That $15 off will not be going to waste!

Jackie

Ooh! Your description is so tempting I feel like it should be written on the side of their box. :D I do love the packaging, too! The photos look like postmodern art. %)

Tealizzy

Thanks, Jackie!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84
drank Cape Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
672 tasting notes

This sample got lost in the back of the cupboard. I try to avoid jasmine because, although I like the flavor, I tend to get headaches from it. However, the jasmine in this is very pleasant and light, not perfumey at all, and gave me no problems. The oolong makes a nice base for it — I nearly always see jasmine paired with green tea, and the oolong is an interesting switch.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84
drank Cape Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
672 tasting notes

A while back I got a message from Tea Ave, offering samples of their new oolong. I’m SO glad I signed up, because look what just came in the mail:
https://twitter.com/DanaDraws/status/565998818437509120
Not to mention a gift card and 3 sample pouches. Tres deluxe!

So this one first: as someone who likes jasmine but is more than a little sensitive to florals, I appreciate this light approach to the flavor. I definitely taste it, but it’s a side note to the oolong. The instructions said boiling water for 1 minute; I was a bit leary, but did it anyway, and I DO think boiling water is right for this. It didn’t taste at all scorched or astringent, and I think these leaves need the extra heat to bring out the flavor. As is not uncommon for jasmine tea, the flavor got a bit stronger and more balanced when the tea cooled slightly (something that wide-mouthed cup helped with immensely).

Anyway, so excited about this new company! Their official launch isn’t till March and it looks like their website (teaave.com) is still under wraps, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them. Thank you, Tea Ave!

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 0 sec
Teaave

Hi Tamarindel, it’s been a while, thank you so much for sampling our oolongs. It will be awesome if you would to stop by our site sometimes when you get a chance to rate the teas you’ve tried! Cheers :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank Osmanthus Oolong by Tea Ave
306 tasting notes

I have had a few Osmanthus oolong teas before and while I enjoy the fragrance, I had trouble enjoying the flavor. They were cloyingly sweet. That said, I’m going to give this one a chance and see what happens.

The dry leaves in a warm gaiwan smell heavily of sweet flowers and bright orange fruit like oranges or apricots. There are also hints of milky cream scent from the Jin Xuan cultivar used in this tea. Orange cream-sickle anyone?

I am using a Taiwanese aroma cup set to enjoy this tea. The scent is even more decadent coming out of the aroma cup, very creamy and fruity, very sweet and honey-like.

The first infusion is pale yellow. Surprisingly, the flavor that comes through the most in the drink is the creamy taste of the oolong itself. The floral sweetness comes in as a refreshingly sweet aftertaste. The mouthfeel of this tea, just like all the others I’ve tried from Tea Ave so far, is exceptionally smooth and clean, very crisp, not drying at all.

The aroma from the second steeping is really just impressing me to no end. Is this really osmanthus tea? Haha. It smells like oranges and cream. I am melting a little bit every time I sniff it. The liquor is a little more yellow this time, but still on the pale side. The flavor is wonderfully sweet and mellow. There is nothing cloying about this tea at all, nothing soapy, nothing bitter, nothing that tastes artificial. Wow!

By the third infusion, I almost can’t imagine having this tea without an aroma cup. The way the scent lingers in there and is just so rich and concentrated… it’s incredibly invigorating and relaxing both at once. This is great. Sure the scent is good off the drinking cup too, but it’s a little different, and not as potent. The flavor this time is incredibly rich and smooth. Wow.

Tea Ave, you have made a believer of me. I look forward to trying your entire selection of loose teas. I think this company could really go far! Osmanthus is a tea I haven’t even liked in the past, and of the three samples you’ve sent, this one is my favorite! Wow! I am just so impressed! The flavors of the oolong and the osmanthus flowers really complement each other, a perfect yin and yang. I don’t taste one more than the other. This is brilliant. Kudos to the farmers and staff who produced this tea!

I was going to end this review here, but made a 4th infusion while I was finishing up, and goodness, I can’t take how good this is! Few teas put me in a tea frenzy like this. This is good stuff! The sweetness lingers in your mouth for such a long time.

Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Flowers, Orange, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Ubacat

Oh that sounds so good! I’m just sad that sample isn’t in mine. This was the very first time for me too using an aroma cup. It made for an amazing tea experience. What was even better was I had to set aside time to take notes, sniff, sip. I really got into the full experience of the tea.

Lion

What samples did you get Ubacat? I can’t wait for their store to open so I can order some more of them.

mrmopar

Osmanthus done right is killer good.

TeaBrat

I have an Osmanthus white pearl tea from Red Blossom & it is to die for…

Ubacat

I’ve got Wenshan Baochong oolong, Jasmine oolong , & Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong. I’ll probably order more samples when the store opens too. They’re getting some great reviews.

Teaave

Hey Lion, we are so happy to see you enjoying our oolongs! It will be awesome if you can stop by our site sometimes and help us rate the teas you’ve tried!! Thank you :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

I received this sample from Tea Ave prior to their grand opening. The leaves are gorgeous little twirls ranging from dark brown to fuzzy white. The scent is of autumn leaves and spices. I’m reminded of Bai Mudan.

After letting the dry leaves sit in a warm gaiwan for a moment, the scent that arises is of honey, lemons, and warm cream. I’m also getting subtle notes of cucumber and dry leaves (haha, sounds funny since they are dry leaves).

The aroma of the wet leaves is incredibly fragrant, with honey, warm grass, and so many wonderful tropical flower scents.

I’m enjoying this tea with an incredibly well-made and gorgeous Taiwanese aroma cup set that was sent to me by Tea Ave. They are white porcelain, hold a couple ounces of tea, and rest on a beautiful oak wood saucer. These cups are used by pouring the tea into the tall aroma cup, then pouring it from there into the wide, short drinking cup. The aroma is sniffed from the tall empty cup as a column of vapor exits it after pouring, then the tea is drank from the short cup.

The aroma from within the aroma cup is a very sweet one, reminding me of the scent of honey. Moving back to the drinking cup, the aroma is creamy with little drops of spice. On my first sip of the tea, it has a very smooth and mouth-coating texture, very clean. The color of the liquor is pale gold. The flavor is light and reminiscent of white tea. There is an intense hui-gan, or recurring cooling sweetness in the mouth, more so than I’ve experienced with any other tea, and in that regard it is very refreshing. The overall taste is not quite as sweet as the scent. There’s a mild dry praire grass and fallen leaves kind of characteristic to it, once again reminding me of a Bai Mudan or White Peony tea. The little notes of spice in the flavor are very reminiscent of chrysanthemum.

On the second infusion, the aroma cup starts with a strong smell of peat or bog. I had thought I detected this on the first cup, but it was much lighter. After just a few moments of gently rolling the cup between my hands the flavor evolves into a sweet honey scent once again, with bright floral notes. The brewed liquor in the drinking cup is now a deep golden yellow, nearing orange. The taste is again very clean and crisp, deeper and more earthy this time with more of the chrysanthemum notes coming through. If you let it sit in the back of your mouth and hold your breath, wonderful floral aromas rise up into your nose from inside. This may be one of the cleanest and lightest tasting oolong teas I’ve had. It is not at all lacking in flavor, but it registers in a subtle and gentle way on the palate.

Third infusion , the scent and flavor are even more complex. It is hard to describe. I will leave it at that. This is definitely a great tea and one I would recommend.

Many thanks to Tea Ave for the wonderful samples and cups!

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Cucumber, Flowers, Grass, Honey, Spices

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Shae

An aroma cup sounds like such a neat idea!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

92
drank Jasmine Oolong by Tea Ave
306 tasting notes

I have never had jasmine scented oolong, only white and green tea, so this will be interesting!

With a base of Jin Xuan, this tea has a very creamy scent after the first infusion. The wet leaves smell of buttery cream and jasmine flowers! Using a taiwanese scent cup set, the aroma of the tea is really light and sweet jasmine with hints of cream. The liquor is a pale yellow green and after drinking some of the tea I’m impressed by just how clean the mouthfeel is. There’s a cooling sweet sensation that stays in the mouth. The tea is so light and delicate, a real plus for a jasmine tea, as they can easily be overly flavored and come out soapy tasting.

One thing I love about Jasmine is that if you get a delicate enough one, the flavor is somewhat reminiscent of pink bubble gum. This one definitely has that quality, but the added creaminess of the Jin Xuan cultivar is a real treat. This is a wonderful pairing. One of the problems I’ve had with many of the scented oolong teas I’ve had before is that the base oolong tea was not a very great quality one and had too much of a vegetal or bitter flavor that overpowered the floral tastes.

I’ve noticed in my experiences with tea over the years that you can usually tell a poor quality oolong by the fact that the leaves come unrolled rather quickly and it oversteeps easily. With quality oolong in a gongfu style, they aren’t fully opened until the 3rd-5th infusion, whereas with cheaper ones, they tend to open fully by the 2nd-3rd. That said, this tea does not overbrew easily and opens more gradually, giving you more variation in flavor from one infusion to the next. By the third infusion, the leaves are not yet fully open and the flavor is still creamy and floral, not too strong. Still tastes clean and not dry or bitter at all.

By the 4th infusion, the aroma cup is giving off hints of buttercream and french vanilla. The tea now tastes very buttery and sweet, and the jasmine has a little more of a kick to it, though not overpowering still. The leaves are just about fully opened now. I am going to end the review here as I anticipate the next infusions will not be distinct enough to describe too differently. Overall, the flavor becomes more buttery and rich as you infuse it further, more creamy. The pairing of Jin Xuan (Golden Daylilly or “Milk” Oolong) with Jasmine really works well. This tea may be well-suited to those who like Jasmine but can’t stand when it is heavy and in-your-face.

Another great tea from Tea Ave. I’m really looking forward to their grand opening. There are so many teas I want to try!

Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Jasmine, Milk, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
drank Wenshan Baochong Oolong by Tea Ave
661 tasting notes

I reviewed this year over a year ago but I still dug up an extra unopened sample a few days ago when going through my teas. Today I have finished off the last speck of this tea. Over a year old and it’s still outstanding. Floral with a creaminess to it.

Still…. I am glad to cross another one off my tea list even though I loved this one. Down to 160 teas. At one time I though around 120-130 was reasonable. Then it ballooned up to about 190 around Christmas. I want to try to keep all my teas under 100 (maybe even 80) but if I can get down to 130 I will be happy!

Ubacat

Well, crap. so much for getting my tea list down. I just saw 20% off at Tealyra and placed an order for some herbal teas I needed plus some I didn’t need just to get the free shipping.

Evol Ving Ness

This is the problem of having your finger on the pulse of the tea world: you find out about sales and then it’s all over. I filled up my shopping cart at Tealyra and walked away. I need to do far more shopping in my home stash which overfloweth.

Evol Ving Ness

How long I can stay strong is another question altogether.

Ubacat

I’ve been good from Jan to March. April I broke down and placed a tiny order at Grand Tea to get some new 2016 white teas. I could feel it building up after so long of hardly any tea shopping.

Evol Ving Ness

Oh, I’ve been breaking down regularly from the new year onwards.

Ubacat

I don’t feel so bad now. ;-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
drank Wenshan Baochong Oolong by Tea Ave
661 tasting notes

I was so excited to get the wonderful teaware and samplesfrom Tea Ave. It was extremely generous of them! I wonder if they looked at our profiles on Steepter in order to choose the right samples for us. All of mine are the lighter oolongs which I love.

Today working from home I thought I would try this one in the gaiwan. I really like all the info on the back of their samples and with 4 different brewing methods. Very impressive.

The dry leaves looked to be green/black or green and very dark green to me. In the bag I could smell a slight milky aroma.

First brewing – 20 sec at their temp -95C. From the aroma cup I got a light floral aroma that was gone pretty quick. Tea brewed up very light. There were light floral notes with a mildly sweet buttery finish. The wet leaves turned a beautiful dark green

Second brewing – 30 sec. This time I got a different aroma from the aroma cup. I couldn’t quite place it until I checked out the review by Tealizzy. Vanilla was mentioned and I thought Yes, that’s it. But not a strong vanilla. Kind of like a floral vanilla.
This time I got a roasted note from the tea. That’s only when I slurped the tea. When I drank it without the slurp I couldn’t get anything roasted. It was just floral and buttery. I found this interesting since it says on the package it’s an unroasted oolong.

3rd brewing – Aroma is still floral vanilla. Still getting the light roasted buttery flavour but a bit more floral notes coming off the tea.

4th brewing – The tea seems to become more silky in the mouth. Roasted notes are much lighter.

5th brewing – The floral notes were very strong from the aroma cup this time which quickly turned to floral vanilla again. Roasted notes lighter again and the tea became more buttery.

6th brewing – The tea mellows out more on the 6th steeping. Becomes a little less buttery & floral but still good. Not picking up any roasted notes.

This oolong had it all. Buttery, light roast, floral. I really enjoyed it.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Roasted, Vanilla

Tealizzy

:) This is a yummy tea!

Ubacat

I really enjoyed it!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
drank Wenshan Baochong Oolong by Tea Ave
661 tasting notes

Login or sign up to leave a comment.