teasenz

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88
drank Yunnan Gold by teasenz
3986 tasting notes

This is the first of five free samples that I requested from teasenz. If you haven’t received samples from them yet, it’s a great value. No cost to you and the sample sizes are huge! Here’s the link: http://www.teasenz.com/free-tea-samples-with-free-shipping

Anyway, I was looking through my straight black teas this morning for something to try (I recently organized my teas by type, hooray!) and saw this pouch. Now, as anyone who has tried a few Yunnan teas knows, the descriptor “gold” doesn’t generally tell you anything. It can mean any amount of golden tips, from the very few to the many. I must say, I was shocked when I opened this pouch! When teasenz says “gold”, they mean it! This tea is a fuzzbud™ variety, meaning it consists purely of giant, fuzzy golden buds. I was expecting at most a large amount of buds mixed with leaves, so this was a very pleasant surprise! The inside of the pouch is covered with lovely golden Yunnan fairy dust. Dry scent is sweet and honeyed with stonefruit and light malt notes. I didn’t look up the recommended parameters, but did my usual straight black tea method of 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

The brewed aroma has surprisingly strong cocoa notes! And then there’s also the expected honey, malt, and stonefruit loveliness. This tea is rather simple, but delicious. It’s a lovely melange of creamy and grainy flavors. There’s nice crusty toasted bread along with light and airy puff pastry flavor. Then I also taste a bit of raw grains, along with hot baked sweet potato. I also get a sweet hay-like note near the end and into the aftertaste. Of course, there’s honey over the top of everything, and the whole result is quite creamy and delicious. I wish there was a little bit of that nice stonefruit flavor in here, but this tea is very tasty even without it.

Overall, this tea is quite light and a lovely mix of grainy, creamy flavors!

(I don’t generally add links to the product, but it was mentioned on the free sample page so I figured I should comply since they sent me such lovely samples. I hope this is okay/allowed!)
http://www.teasenz.com/yunnan-gold-tea#.U-ZwU_ldXX8

Flavors: Bread, Creamy, Grain, Hay, Honey, Pastries, Sweet Potatoes, Toast

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Tealizzy

Oh, this sounds good! I think it’s fine to put the link…I’ve seen it done before, especially when reviewing free samples. :)

Cameron B.

I have a few more servings if you want to try it, or you can send them an email and request it as one of your samples. :)

Tealizzy

Thanks for the offer, but I’ll just put it on my wishlist for later. I have an overload of tea right now! ;)

Frolic

Do you have to have a blog for them to send samples? I sent them a e-mail with a link to my steepster reviews.

Cameron B.

Frolic, no you don’t. I do not have a blog, I just linked them my Steepster profile. :)

Christina / BooksandTea

Hmm, these samples are free, which means that technically if I got them, I wouldn’t be breaking my hiatus…

Christina / BooksandTea

Well, I’ve gone and done it. Asked for free samples. But I didn’t pay, so I still think I stuck to my until-September purchasing hiatus. :-P

Cameron B.

Totally doesn’t count, Christina! ;)

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drank Ginseng Vitality Oolong by teasenz
294 tasting notes

I’ve never had ginseng before, let alone a ginseng oolong tea. The dry leaf smells roasty like the skin of roasted peanuts, and the knarled little oolong leaves are covered in a dense coating of powdery ginseng.

Taking a sip, I was not a fan, it took me a moment to place the fimilar savory clashing with sweet type of taste that was getting. Then I realized, it tastes like a lotus tea I recently had, which tastes like licorice, my arch nemisis. That sneaky little devil keeps into the most innocent seeming teas, and turns them evil. I know that there was a roasty note to this, but I couldn’t tell you what else was here. Once my taste buds spot that evil villain licorice, it hones in and mutes all other flavors so that it’s all I can taste.

I’ve you’re the type who doesn’t mind canoodling with the licorice enemy, then you could find yourself enjoying the sweet roasty earthiness of this tea.

tea-sipper

I think licorice is added to the ginseng coating to make it tastier… obviously not in your case! :/

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84
drank Anxi Tie Guan Yin by teasenz
294 tasting notes

The smell of the dry leaf of this is very creamy yet floral, and a touch vegetal. Steeped up the creamy mostly only translates over in a smooth almost buttery mouthfeel. The flavor is very floral with a hint of butteriness at the end of the sip. Second steep is similar to the first, but also a bit chestnutty, especially as it starts to cool.

The third steeping is much like the last, but the forth brings out a smooth creamy note. And with that, it’s getting late and I’m gonna hit the hay.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 0 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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86
drank Alishan Milky Oolong Tea by teasenz
294 tasting notes

The dry leaf of this smells amazing. This is my first experience with a milk oolong, and it’s smells sweet and creamy and almost buttery.

Steeped up, the aroma is so creamy and milky. The mouth feel of this is buttery and the tea seems to almost coat the inside of my mouth. The taste is a bit more mellow than the smell, but still have sweet and creamy. There’s also a bit of a floral note present. The second steep features a sweet buttery flavor in addition to the mouthfeel.

The third is much like the second, but brings back the floral notes a bit stronger. The forth steep the buttery and creamy notes has faded quite a bit, taking the background to the floral.

I know this is a flavored oolong, but it’s delicious.

Flavors: Butter, Cream, Floral, Milk

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 15 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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84

The leaves of this smell floral and nutty and lightly vegetal.

The tea steeps up a very pale peachy yellow, almost clear. This is a quite floral and delicate, with a hint chestnut and green beans. The second cup is much like the first, but a bit stronger. The floral is more like a jasmine type of floral than a rose type of floral, which I definitely prefer. I imagine this will make a great cold brew.

Flavors: Chestnut, Floral, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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90

First of all, the leaf of this is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Long flat leaves ranging from about 2-3" long. Almost translucent in some parts, and delicate. I’ve never had a monkey picked tea before, so I don’t know if this is the norm, but it’s beautiful. And the smell smells just like all my favorite green teas, deliciously vegetal.

Brewed up, this is a pale pistachio color. The flavors are very soft and delicate, gently caressing you taste buds with light asparagus and green bean like flavors. The second steep provides a darker, deeper asparagus flavor complemented by a soft chestnut flavor. As it cools it develops a slightly floral hint at the edges.

This was an absolute delight, and one I’ll have to restock on.

Flavors: Asparagus, Chestnut, Green Beans, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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82

Backlog
So when I got my samples from Teasenz, the box looked like the mailman used it as a seat cushion. Fortunately most of the teas were fine, unfortunately, this one had sprung a leak. I was a little hesitant about contamination, but for some reason decided the best course of action would be to cold brew it (the hot water of a regular steeping probably would have killed the germs, but cold steeps are so great for taking to class).

So far I haven’t felt ill so I take that to mean that it wasn’t contaminated. And now for the reason I took a risk with this tea, it’s smells to fresh and vegetal that I couldn’t bare tossing the sample. The liquor smells like spinach and some kind of stone fruit, apricots maybe, and a bit of nuttiness that I’m starting to thing is the infamous chestnuts note that lots of greens apparently have (I’ve never had chestnuts so I wouldn’t know).

Taste wise, this is fresh and green and vaguely nutty and stone fruity. If refreshing was a flavor, I’d say that it was the strongest one here. First and foremost this tea is clean and fresh, like rain water, and then there’s a mid sip taste of mild vegetal notes that transform into a soft apricot chestnut taste, with the vegetal returning in the lingering after taste. Another good contender for an iced tea on a hot day.

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65
drank XIN YANG MAO JIAN by teasenz
306 tasting notes

Okay, tried a new brewing method with this one! Aaaaand I overbrewed it… just a little… add some hot water. Now it’s just fine. Hehehe.

I am picking up a lot of sort of smokey flavor in this one. It reminds me a lot of a Jun Shan Yin Zhen I’ve had before. It’s delicate and a little bit sweet and has a strong aroma and flavor of green beans and spinach. I am not gonna go into too much detail here because Amanda’s review is very well written and covers pretty much the same points.

Flavors: Broth, Green Beans, Smoke, Spinach, Sweet

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95
drank IRON MAN by teasenz
306 tasting notes

Alright! Here we go! This is my first time drinking Tie Luo Han, or “Iron Warrior Monk” Wuyi oolong. It came to me as a sample from a friend at an opportune time because I’m just getting into the traditional Wuyi oolong Gongfu method and needed some test subjects. That said, I am using a gaiwan with 4g of leaf per 100ml of water at 203F/95C. No rinse, first infusion 10 seconds, then flash infusions afterward.

I’m immediately surprised by the very complex aroma of the leaves after the first infusion. There are so many bold scents: fig, licorice, spearmint, and mineral are the most evident, with a bit of roasted scent. The flavor is out of this world! There’s a strong minerality that could almost be mistaken for smokiness and a very wonderful fig-like sweet fruity flavor which outlasts the other flavors and really stays on your tongue for a long time, becoming more of a raspberry or blackberry kind of flavor. As it lingers it becomes even more delicate and sweet, reminding me of sweet cherries.

On the second steeping it tastes much more roasted and I’m getting less of the sweet flavors. I may have overbrewed it, but it still tastes good. On the third infusion, more of the sweetness is there, but mostly a mineral and roasted flavor. The sweetness is mostly in the scent. The fourth is much like the third but a little more subtle.

I almost jumped the gun on this tea and gave it a perfect 100 rating, which I don’t do often. I absolutely would have if any of the later steepings tasted like the first one, as that was one of the most incredible and complex tea tastes I’ve ever enjoyed. After that though, it seemed to mostly yield a darker and more roasted flavor with just a hint of sweetness and none of the particularly fruity flavors.

I would buy this tea though just for a chance to taste that initial steeping each time, not that the later steepings are bad! They’re just quite a shift towards a more dry, earthy flavor.

Flavors: Cherry, Fig, Mineral, Roasted

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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91

I’ve recently decided I needed to have more oolongs, so I had to try this one. It has a creamy and slightly floral scent. The milk (creaminess) comes out more in the flavour, along with floral/ vegetal notes. Having it a bit cold is nice too.

Flavors: Floral, Milk

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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76
drank Wild Orange Pu'er by teasenz
278 tasting notes

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 205 degrees, 1.5 min, Forlife brew in mug strainer

Dry Leaf Aroma: mildly earthy

Brewing Aroma: mushrooms and cinnamon

Flavor: mushrooms and dirt, with a hint of citrus so subdued, you repeatedly ask yourself if it’s really there. The mushrooms and dirt are also mild, but contrary to what you’d think, the tea is good. I’m not ready to trade in all my oolongs and profess my love for pu’erhs, but I thought this was a fun tea.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
TheTeaFairy

Trade ALL your oolong…What a sad thought.

SarsyPie

Never! I love them all dearly. I’m not sure if I could love any other teas as much. :)

TheTeaFairy

…Try drinking lots of mandala pu’erh for a while ;-)

boychik

That is what I thought until I tried the good one. I’m completely obsessed. You should try Mandala with their 50% off offerings

MzPriss

+1 for Mandala the sale is way too good to pass up – but it might have tipped me over the edge into a for real tea hoarding problem.

SarsyPie

Oh tea peeps, come on now. Ya’ll know I can’t resist a sale! I ordered some pu’er from Mandala DAYS ago. :p

I got the Temple Stairs b/c of The Tea Fairy’s lovely review, and I also ended up getting the Special Dark because of you, MzPriss.

So I hope you’re all happy with yourselves! LOL

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80
drank Wild Jujube by teasenz
278 tasting notes

Method: 2 tsp @ 205 degrees in 8 oz, grandpa style

Aroma: Dry and Steeping aromas smell sweet and candy-like. These are a type of date, and that’s just what they smell like.

Flavor: I added a little rock sugar from the start because in my mind, date tea should be sweet. It was only 1/2 tsp or so, and the sweetness is very pleasant. The tea tastes warm, and I don’t mean the temperature. It definitely tastes like the dried dates I like to purchase. I wonder if I can make a tea out of those!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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76
drank Jin Jun Mei by teasenz
278 tasting notes

Method: 1.5 tsp @ 208 degrees in 8 oz, 4 minutes, French Press

Dry Leaf Aroma: Cocoa and light malt

Brewing Aroma: Strongly malty

Flavor: I was really hoping to pick up some of the honey flavor from the description, or at least some sweetness, but this was pretty neutral. I enjoyed the malty flavors, and I didn’t find the tea to be overly bitter or astringent, but I also did not find many interesting notes. I think this is a good tea, but not my fave.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Skulleigh

Heyyyy, wait… I think I have a French press I got for the husbeast which he never uses. I should bring that to work! If it gets lost or broken, I won’t particularly care… well this opens up some possibilities!

Do you put the leaves above the press to pull them out, or under and press them down?

SarsyPie

Husbeast. Awesome!

I put the leaves in, then put the top on, then press down when done. I never thought of putting them on top, which is kind of genius if I want to make a whole pot, but drink some now and some later. Normally I only use the french press when making tea for 2 or 3.

I am going to try the pulling tea leaves method later!

Skulleigh

:D
I will definitely bring it to work if I still have it hiding in the top of the pantry! I hope I didn’t inspire you to try something that will cause a big mess, lol!

yyz

Jinjunmei is worth experimenting with! You may get more honey notes with shorter steeps. In fact I have one jinjunmei that I regularly use just a little more leaf than treat to 5-15s initial steeps in boiling water sounds weird but it will brought out the sweeter notes in that particular tea.

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87

It’s not milky, but it is excellent.

Method: 1.5 tsp in 8 oz at 200 degrees, 3 min, French Press

Dry Leaf Aroma: Sweet fruits, melon

Brewing Aroma: Same

Flavor: I don’t taste any of the usual milk flavors, and this doesn’t seem especially creamy to me. That being said, I think it’s an excellent tea. It’s sweet on its own, and the fruity flavors are really amazing. I usually pick up many florals in an oolong, but not as many fruits. This tasted kind of melony, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on the exact fruit. Either way, I really enjoyed it!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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69

Soft asparagus start, mild astringency that offers classic chinese green chestnut taste. Not really complex, but I’ve never had this tea before so I don’t really know what to look for!

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82
drank Keemun by teasenz
149 tasting notes

I’m torn on this review! I like this tea, but it isn’t really a good representation of a Keemun, infact it tastes more like a Yunnan black tea than a Keemun.

A nice lovely chocolate taste, but it got that yunnan element to it. So do I rank this tea high because I like its taste? Or lower because it doesn’t represent Keemun in my opinion.

Gonna go with the rank high. :) taste is all that matters!

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73

Well, a second brew of this, and the flavor has significantly decreased. I prefer the Monkey Picked, or the Anji Bai Cha. This feels weak and possibly stale.

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73

This is a pleasant tea, not as good as their Anji Bai Cha. A lovely aroma when I opened the bag, very heavily perfumed, that didn’t really transfer over to the brewing.

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55

A longjing that tastes more like it was grown outside the region and made into the "dragonwell’ style. There is that lovely chestnut element to Chinese green teas, but also a bitter and stale edge. Maybe this is from the previous year?

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82
drank Anji Bai Cha by teasenz
149 tasting notes

A lovely crisp green tea. Delicately picked and delicious to drink. Delicious buttered asparagus taste.

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86
drank Jin Jun Mei by teasenz
687 tasting notes

This is perhaps the best brunch tea I’ve had recently. Goes very well with French toast.

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86
drank Jin Jun Mei by teasenz
687 tasting notes

This is the latest in my quest to try as many Chinese black teas as possible. It has a lovely scent of honey and maybe bread as well. The flavour is sweet with hints of orange, along with a bit of wheat toast. Overall, I’ve found this to be a good morning tea.

Flavors: Bread, Honey, Orange

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 45 sec
@ligongsf

that sounds really good/ I want to try now:-)

Terri HarpLady

I really enjoy Jin Jun Mei teas!

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95
drank Yunnan Gold by teasenz
687 tasting notes

I was looking forward to this sample. It smells awesome! Like sweet potato crisps and honey. The honey comes out a bit more in the flavour, and I get a little roast yam too.
Any tea that can taste like my fave tuber is a hit for me.

Flavors: Honey, Yams

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec

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