Tealyra

a friend picked this up, loved it for the caffeine rush then decided he didn’t like it after all so i ended up with it lol. I’ve had this before, but my tasting note was shit and i’m not sure why. I suspect my taste buds have changed because this is WAAAAY too earthy/licking a forest mud floor, for me. I ended up pouring out a few steepings, just to see if later steeps would cut it…nope. This is no longer a tea for me…just too….consistent in it’s flavour profile, which isn’t up my alley anymore to begin with? :)

dexter sent this to me and uh it was what i managed to sip on most of the afternoon. this was a really tasty one….and something likely to end up on my list again when i order from tealux again. Dexter keeps finding little happy spots with them that i like. This might be one for you to try out cavo!

I was drinking this at work yesterday. This is really good – unusual, for me anyway.
I’m not even sure how to describe it. WOW smooth is where I want to start. Mellow, gentle, barely pu’erh. It’s just a touch earthy – and I don’t know what the rest of the flavor is, but I like it. It’s not really a black, it’s barely pu’erh, but it still has lots of flavor – just different from anything else I’ve tried.
If I ever get my cupboard under control, I would consider getting more of this so that I can play with it some more.

I got this back in Feb and forgot to even try it. So this tea is a very complex tea. Let me try to describe it. It’s kind of like a black or a pu’erh and yet not like them. I can smell charcoal from the tea. It brews up dark. I can taste the oolong along with a charcoal taste and a deep sweetness like a plum or molasses. It says there are cinnamon, musk and amber notes in it on the package but I’m not really picking up any cinnamon. I am holding off rating this tea for now until I’ve had a few more cups of this. I steeped for 3 minutes so I will try some different steep times and see what I like.

I am playing catch up from a week of lots of packages coming and not enough writing of tasting notes so sorry for the flood of notes:) I received a very generous sample of this from bluebelle.

Roasty oolongs are becoming my favorite evening wind down tea. Something about them makes me just want to cuddle up in my pj’s with my book and stay that way for a really long time. When I saw this tea in the mix of sample I got pretty excited, but the perfect time to try this kept escaping me over the past few weeks. I finally got to it this week. This was roasty, and more sweet than some of the other roasty oolongs I have had. As the sip lingered in your mouth it was almost like eating chocolate. I still got the oolong flavor, but it was mixed with a chocolaty after taste. I am not sure about this one just yet. It was enjoyable, yes, but something I crave and would buy again, I am still not sure.

Another tea I’ve had for awhile and enjoyed many times but forgot to review. The brew temperature from Tealux says 194F. That seems just way too high for a white tea and I’ve been brewing closer to the 175F. Definitely has a smooth butterscotch flavour. The peppercorn is very faint and I only seemed to notice it when the tea cooled down more. It is just enough to add to the tea but not ruin the overall flavour. I’m not as experienced as some others on Steepster noticing the different notes but am working on it.

Sipdown no. 92, another one from Sil.
This is a sweet roasty charcoaly tasty cup of yum!

“A little weird tasting, but not undrinkable” says TheTeaFairy in her note stuck to the ziploc holding this 2-cup sample. Naturally, I have avoided it and tried all the samples she indicated were her faves. So tonight, after missing again, I thought to myself: self, I bet you will like the ones she hates. So I grabbed the so called weird tasting tea!

Don’t you know it, it’s not weird tasting to me. And it smells like butterscotch indeed. I did add honey because it wasn’t sweet enough for me. It smells faintly of chamomile but luckily it doesn’t taste like chamomile. It almost tastes milky too, I wonder which ingredient does that.

I wouldn’t call this an amazing cup — my goodness, I’d have to read my notes and find which teas I thought were amazing because lately I have found them all to be missing something. Maybe it’s me. I know it is. I haven’t been in the mood.

Great light amber colour on this, not astringent at 3 minutes with 190F water. It’s not a bad tea. I wouldn’t rush out and buy it or anything, despite the alluring name. Thanks again to the generous TheTeaFairy who sent me so much tea I’m still working my way through it.

So this tea, right from reading the name, I was stoked to try it out. And it didn’t disappoint. Thus far I could say that this tea is one of the number 1’s from the Great Canadian Travelling Tea box. Such a wonderful idea, it has opened me up to new teas. I really want to get my hands on more of this wondrous creation. I consumed this tea on Oct 2 & 3 2013. It was a marvelous 2-day event :)

Dry leaf: Dark, like super dark oolong leaves, with kind of a purple-y tinge to it, which I would then deduce, hence the name purple oolong.

Steeped: from a first glance, the water appears to be brownish with a purple tinge. The taste was just PHENOMENAL. Just saying, I was soothed and entranced by this mystical tea. I guess I could describe it as a kind of woodsy taste, maybe just ever slightly bitter and sort of smoky.

Re-Steep 1: This time around it was slightly more subtle, yet still soothing. The only difference? It was slightly sweeter the second time around :)

Re-Steep 2: Lighter than the steep and re-steep. The scent is just so yummy and the taste is yet again subtle. The aroma of the tea is spicy and becomes even more sweet.

Had some cooled off tastes very fruity almost like a fruit juice.

Very fruity tea lots of fruit tastes well blended delicious fruit pieces. Tastes of ripe blackberries black currants strawberry raspberry with hibiscus and apple a little elderberry slightly tart note. Well blended mix of fruits.

Very robust strong tasting tea eventhough only used a bit less than 1 teaspoon. Past days I had cream irish breakfast also from tealux and comparing them I prefer the other than this.I always taste just plain and after some sips of this will add sugar.Some brown sugar would also work for such a strong tea. This tea really wakes you up.Glad I only bought a sample.

I steeped this for 3 minutes and found it light & pleasant.
I think I will steep it the entire five minutes next time.
After that, I will try it cold.
I love cold peach tea, but I taste the lychee slightly more than than the peach.
Thank you, Scribbles, for passing this on to me :-)
It is refreshing to me, and I love the aftertaste.

sipdown! this was one from the great canadian travelling teabox that i saved so that i could try it later. today is later! I really like this one! It’s like a dark oolong that could almost be coffee like but isn’t’. No smoke to be found in my cup so that’s lovely. Instead it’s delicious…and suddenly all gone? oopsy haha

This tea smells amazing, but the taste is more subdued. I think I would have liked more of a punch of flavor, especially since the flavor is a nice maple, caramel, popcorn flavor, with a hint of cinnamon. Very cozy, but could use more oomph!

It is really chilly here in TO, perfect for taking beastie down to the ravine for a nice long hike. It’s so peaceful and beautiful there. I guess it was too cold for other dog walkers, since we had the park and ravine to ourselves.

I made steep 4 of this tea when I got back. I’ve had this tea before, and from my notes it looks like I didn’t like it very much the last time. This time around I’m enjoying this a lot more. Roast and charcoal are predominant, goes well on a cool summer day that feels more like autumn. Steep two had very strong mineral notes. Steep 3 and 4 less intense charcoal, but very satisfying and warming roasted flavour.

I guess age mellowed the really intense charcoal that I recall from the last time I had this tea. Thanks to Dexter for the sample!

I got this from Dexter3657 – thank you!!

This has much more flavour than the purple oolong that I have. Mine has no flavour. This, on the other hand, has quite a smoky/charcoal taste to it, that got to me after a while, and became a little too much charcoal. I am only on the first steeping, so maybe the second or third won’t be as smoky.

I won’t give a rating right now…waiting for second infusion to see if I will enjoy it better.

Second steep…still pretty charcoal tasting…I think I will have to take Dexter3657’s advise: rinse and shorter infusions. Still not going to rate it.

This tea is really interesting. Definitely not what I expected, but still good.

When I first smelled the dry leaf, I totally noticed the peppercorns, but it was a little butterscotchy. I thought, what a weird tea!

I steeped some up today. I actually resteeped it too.

The package recommended 194 degrees for 3-4 minutes, but that didn’t match up with how I thought a white tea should be brewed, so I did my first steep at 140 degrees for 2 minutes. This resulted in a slightly weak cup, with the dominant flavor being peppercorn. I could taste a little cinnamon too, but to me, it was like they were trying to make butterscotch flavor with a combination of other flavors and it didn’t quite make it. Not sure if they actual put butterscotch flavoring in, but it does say there is added flavoring.

The resteep was different. I decided to go with the package directions, and it resulted in stronger flavor, and a darker brew. What was interesting was I got a lot more cinnamon and the peppercorn was toned down somewhat.

Still not sure it is really butterscotch, although I may have messed up the flavoring with my first steeping. Overall, it’s pretty good, and warming. Good with a little sweetener to make it more dessert-like. I can imagine this being very cozy when the weather is cold, unlike today. Ha!

Reserving judgment on this one. The first infusion (which I may have over steeped) was CRAZY smoky, almost offensive in how smoky it was. The second infusion is MUCH better. Dark rich, nutty, woody oolong. I really like this second steep. Next time will start with a shorter first infusion and work up more slowly. All in all I think I will be friends with this tea once I work out my preferred steep parameters.

1 tablespoon for 375ml

Scent is plum-sweet, leathery and slightly mineral.

Mild, hint of mint flavour (hopefully not from cross contamination of other teas). Slight charcoal flavour. End of sip reminds me of milk. Plum sweetness. Dark chocolate hint.

Second infusion at 4 minutes. Hint of violet floral flavour.

A friend of mine just came back from Peru and visited me this afternoon. He’s not really a tea drinker, but he loves when I prepare it for him. He likes the set ups, the teaware, and thinks I’m some king of tea prodigy, haha!

He doesn’t always like the tea though…especially when I try so desperately to make him like pu’erh, telling him it tastes like forest and chocolate. It always ends up tasting like “pu poo” to him. Oops. Sorry friend. I get over enthusiastic sometimes.

Today, I took it easy on him and prepared my favourite high mountain green oolong. To me, this tea is better than any Ali Shan or Tie Guan Yin I’ve had.

It’s beautifully crafted, and the leaves unfurl to perfection, looking like seaweeds.

The taste is ethereal. Floral, but not in a flower bomb mouth kind of way. It has a buttery creaminess to it that creates a sweet and silky mouthfeel. Perfectly balanced.

The minerals are intensified by the clay pot. It’s just such a lovely tea.

It’s spicy and minty at the same time. Nutmeg and spearmint.

He loved it, yay, victory!

Before leaving, he presented a gift to me. Said he was sorry not to have searched for tea to bring back for me. Instead, he brought a very special present that symbolizes friendship. A Peruvian sterling silver ring. It took my breath away. I will wear that ring with so much pride. Friendship is so precious…

Pics of the tea session…(and the ring)

http://instagram.com/p/rsWU_Qwh16/

http://instagram.com/p/rsXEsZwh3C/

So, nothing against it, but I’m not much of a Valentine’s day type of gal. I much prefer unexpected love days throughout the year :-)

But since today is supposed to be about love (and not about picking up some cheap flowers last minute at a grocery store cause you feel you have too), I chose to do things I really love.

Drinking this tea was one of them. Top 3 favourite tea of all time for me. Discovered Da Yu Ling last year, I keep two from different companies, equally good. Learned that it is grown at the highest plantation in the world, 8500 feet altitude!

This green oolong is similar to some of my favourites Tie Guan Yin, but brings it to the next level.

I’m using the yixing pot I dedicate to fragrant green oolongs. The brew is a beautiful bright yellow colour.

The aroma is breathtaking. I picture a vast garden with luxuriant vegetation all around as I sip on it. Think orchids and lilac scent, mixed up in a twirl of honey and fruity notes. Not sure what’s the specific fruit I get, but it feels like apricot to me.

It’s very sweet, and yet, the finish is minty fresh. Not in your face mint, more of a sweet faint spearmint. The most fabulous phenomena about this tea is how long the taste lingers in the mouth. Long after I’m done drinking it, I can still feel its imprint.

This type of thick buttery mouthfeel always reminds me a silk ribbon dancing in my mouth!

It’s pure liquid gold, but I rarely see people reviewing any Da yu ling at all.

Is there other Steepsterites out there that are as taken by it as I am??

I’ll end this note with a little love story…

It might have been the side effects of the snowstorm, but my cat Happy today was such a little bugger. Dexter (my dog) and I were trying to chill, me having tea and reading a book, him all curled up next to me. Happy likes Dexter’s ears. He’s obsessed with them . He keeps toying with them while Dexter tries to nap. Eventually, Dexter wakes up and gives me the helpless puppy look while Happy takes over his whole head. So what does a 100 pound dog do to an anoying kitty you ask? Well, have a look here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/12529529795/lightbox/

No worries, although it looks like it, Dexter is not having a “Happy meal”, lol!

Here’s how it usually ends:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/12530016644/

As the song goes «…so “happy” to-ge-therrr…»

Oh Well, I just died and went to Tea Heaven on a sunday night all by myself it seems, no one else has logged this tea yet.

This is expensive and worth every penny.

As a high mountain oolong should be, it exudes exquisite floral notes that are invading every corners of my mouth.

It’s a heavy mouthfeel charged with a sweet and buttery aftertaste, coating my throat.

Makes this beautiful elixir very decadent. And the taste lingers, and lingers…

A new gem that I will cherish in my tea treasure chest…
________________________________________________________________________
ETA: the leaves are still giving this morning, but as I often notice when I abuse my oolongs the next day, a more mineral taste dominates the cup…I guess something happens when you let wet leaves rest for too long? Still yummy though, but I’m curious and would like to know if someone else has noticed that…