The Tao of Tea
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With the recent purchase of amazing apricot and plum jams this oolong will get a lot of love this week. Today it was showered with seven cups worth and the eighth is steeping along now. I tried it at 200 F today for the first few and it came out very much like a toasty TGY with a dollop of peach preserves. I dropped the temperature to 190 and it swung back to light nectarine with plum in the background. It’s so easy to pair this oolong with a certain fruit or be careless and let it run wild while multitasking.
Ah! There’s the timer.
Hot as it can go the first round.
First infusion: Very light color and aroma of wheat and apricot. Tastes light and peachy with some golden raisin. Some rose and lychee are hiding back there after a few sips. The aftertaste is quite dry and gel like, some other yellow fruit I can’t name. A bit of a oversteep taste but I really poured the liquor at 50 seconds insted of 40.
Second infusion: Slightly more rose and peach, much brighter. Very juicy and full bodied. Feels like a plum and rose water smoothie.
Third Infusion: Burned the tea. Oh well. A fresh infusion will pair better with lunch than this does with breakfast.
Preparation
In this case the poetic Chinese name of Phoenix is quite appropriate; I predict this tea reappearing in my tasting notes again and again.
This tea is just fun! I’ve only had a couple cups all brewed differently with sharply contrasting results but they’ve all displayed a complex flavor profile and flexibility I don’t see in many teas. They usually center around stone fruits, muscatel, and herbs. I need to record all the parameters to nail how to get what flavor.
And what better way to start the day than oolong investigation and BBC? It’s the start of the 100 day coutdown to the Royal Wedding, after all! ;)
Okay, I’ll admit it. I bought this yesterday simply for the fact that it had “Gold” in its name. Given my recent lucky streak with golden tipped teas – including a Golden Tipped Assam – I thought Darjeeling could turn out something equally noteworthy. I was wrong. For the most part.
This is a very average autumnal flush. The brew smells interesting enough on splashdown – yielding the quintessential muscatel nose and a light liquor – but that’s where the magic ends. On taste, it is crisp (which is nice), minimal in its astringency (also nice)…and that’s about it. Very middle-of-the-road, this Darjeeling autumnal.
Preparation
From Jay! Thanks!!!
1st infusion…somewhat light in color…smells like a lighter-scented pu-erh…tastes like a lighter black plain tea.
2nd infusion…darker in color and in aroma. Smells like pu-erh but with a little floral aroma as well. Tastes quite good…both hot and cold. Tastes like a medium flavored black tea with a slight sweet-floral taste.
More infusions to come…
OMG! This is good. I love Tao of Tea… have I said that yet? This Oolong is so good.
I can’t talk now.
Must enjoy tea.
subsequent infusions are also just as lovely! This tea is a winner!
Did the osmanthus lean towards apricot or citrus for you?
Would be nice to try, but Tao of Tea has been sold out of it for like forever,
@Paul: It was more apricot for me. I didn’t get much of a citrus-y or tart edge to this at all. It was sweet and smooth and luscious.
Ah! My tea shop and the site have been sold out for over two onths! Where/when did you get this?! It’s my whole family’s favorite oolong.
It was sent to me. :)
4th infusion…
smells more like a plain black tea now…
still dark in color…about the same darkness as before
There is a stronger fruit-like flavor…I’m thinking raisin, plum, maybe a berry of some sort…OH! Maybe Strawberry…yeah! It’s like if you were to take plums, strawberry, and raisins and create a hybrid fruit! This is very interesting and the sweetness has come back in full force!!!!! WOW!
I was going to stop with this infusion and switch teas but not I am wondering what the next infusion will bring! :)
2nd infusion…
completely different from the first…still good tho!
It’s darker in color (I could have over infused) and bolder taste-wise.
Not as sweet….more woodsy…I can also taste more of a floral rose too. Malty yet smooth!
Batrachoid…THANK YOU!
1st infusion…
incredibly smooth with slight rose aroma and flavors.
And you know what…it DOES remind me of the aroma of Seitan/Vegan Bacon! Before infusing…
The taste is VERY good…VERY good. VERY smooth and almost sweet! YAY!!!!! An awesome Pu-erh!
This is solid classic Oolong. Just drank the last of my batch. Name is very fitting for the 2 feet of snow we got today.
Song(Rolling in the Deep) Which could be how this Oolong is made.
The first thing that popped on the cbc radio2 while drinking this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lazyDlfaptM&feature=related
I really love that little store; they are an amazing source of health and tea relief in this wasteland Ohio. I’m not a big fan of chrysanthemum, but Tao has enchanted me into loving very impossible things before. So I picked up a couple ounces and scurried home. And surprise! Tao doesn’this tuocha doesn’t even sell on their site! O= Bless their magic restocked.
Twenty second boiling rinse.
First steep: Brewing it like the rose first, two minutes and 5oz 212 F water. Light aroma, some oceanic pu-erh scent with chrysanthemum underneath. Tastes very earthy with chrysanthemum loudly taking over but wakame and sunflower make it interesting. It gets much thicker as it cools, almost gel like. You really don’t like being treated like your rosy sibling, eh? Noted.
Second steep: 3 minutes, 200 F
Still too light. The chrysanthemum has settled down and let everything start to harmonize. Thick but light, tastes land feels just like coconut milk, straw pu-erh, and air from a nearby beach. I don’t like chrysanthemum much but this is delicious. Once again the second cup is the best, under steeped or not! And I know exactly what this tea is for!
Third: 4 min 30 seconds, 200 F
Oops. Got a tad distracted and it’s definitely a smidge over-steeped.
Fourth steeping: Chrysanthemum’s all gone, just like in the rose tuocha. It’s a little darker and made of pure pu-erh tastes, like a lakebed. Much thinner as well. Very relaxing and the perfect end to a good transformation of tuocha but…
Fifth steeping: 5 minutes 212 F water
Yeah, it’s done at four. Even if I had extra chrysanthemum to pop in like I did the rose, the pu-erh has lost too much. No lakebed, no beach, just lake water.
Every tea has its purpose and each of Tao‘s tuocha have made theirs very clear to me; this one is definitely for chilly spring days , steeped throughout the morning to remain refreshed and focused on a good start to a project. Given how soon I start art school, this tea is another perfectly timed find for which I am very grateful.
Glancing out at the literal blizzard that just began, inexplicably grateful. Shudder I might go through another of these today.
Long post short: I love Steepster, I love tuocha, I love my magic health food store that thinks it’s a Tao of Tea store. This tea has simple, cleaner tastes than Tao’s other tuocha that could win over some on the ‘”weird” taste of chrysanthemum, but I can’t see myself drinking this past lunch. Very good for getting going early and all the way to lunch.
Edit: XD Oh wow this all fits so perfectly! So glad I checked the dashboard before I got back to things.
In response to TeaEqualsBliss’s song-and tea matching challenge: This song from my favorite video game is appropriate to both my situation and it sounds like the scene I imagine while drinking this tea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3H56O1iP9Q
Preparation
My iPhone is now my iPod and my iPod Shuffle has been forcing me to be on a Duran Duran kick…so…when I saw this one from Tao of Tea I had to add this video for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XovoAKVOPOM
Now…on to my tea tasting…
This is a fairly standard and good ole stand bye for a Yerba Mate! It’s sweet, fresh, and clean!
This is tasty for a plain(er) Yerba Mate! The song from Duran Duran while sipping doesn’t hurt the process either…
I challenge you!!!!
That’s RIGHT…I am challenging anyone who wants to play today! Pair your teas today with songs – if you can – and post a video along with them! Sort of like a word association type thing…does a tea remind you of a song? Why? Does it share the same name as your tea/song? Tell us! Or does the video go hand in hand with the tea some way? Be as creative or as random as you wish! I can’t wait to see who plays a long today!!!
4th infusion…4 minutes…
I could go on with more infusions with this one but have more tea to try so I will call it quits with this one…
Just as dark as the 3rd infusion…
Smells like black tea with a hay-like aroma as well
More woodsy-tasting and more malty. Less sweet but still velvety.
I would still say upper 80’s even with it being the 4th infusion!
Very Sturdy Tuocha!
Beat me again! XD This one’s my favorite of the three they have on their webs ite. Do you want some of their Rose or Green? They also have a crysanthemum tuocha that they don’t have up on their website. It’s quite odd. I’ve been waiting until I get back to the store so I can photograph the jar for Steepster.
I’d love to try those!!!! :P
XD I’l take that as a yes. PM me your address and I’ll send you some.
I usually get like 8 good steepings before the flavor is gone
I’d hate to give up on this one because I KNOW this will be good for more than 3 infusions! It’s not slowing down anytime soon! But I got an awesome package from Meghann today and I want to jump in…lol…
Anyhow…3rd infusion…4 minutes….
Even darker than the first two! Smells earthy but not wormy at all.
It’s a bit sweeter than the last infusion but there is a ricey-type taste hiding underneath this time. It’s interesting…the aftertaste is a little nutty but malty and more black tea/bold tasting.
This is one interesting ‘nest’
personal rating on this infusion about an 88-89 – still quite good!
