Zhao Zhou

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Recent Tasting Notes

94

I tried this tea earlier this year and it was so good that I’ve been hoarding the last couple sessions’ worth. However, green oolongs never respond to this well, so I’ve decided to finish it before 2022 comes to an end. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of coconut, pineapple, orchids, honeysuckle, custard, and grass. The first steep is floral and grassy, with orchid, honeysuckle, custard, cream, and hints of pineapple and coconut. The next steep is still very green, with the kind of coconut water taste that Daylon describes. I’m getting other floral notes that I can’t pinpoint, though it could be lily as the vendor says. This oolong comes into its stride in steeps three and four, with coconut, lime, custard, milk, headier florals, and grass. It’s still a little green for me, but the coconut and florals are lovely. Steeps five and six retain a lot of these flavours, but the spinach and grass are becoming stronger. I also get a bit of herbaceousness along with the coconut, lime, custard, and florals. The tea starts to fade after this, with the next couple steeps featuring florals, custard, faint coconut, spinach, and grass. The rest of the session is greener, with notes of grass, spinach, and faint florals.

This is an excellent tea with many of the flavours I like. It’s a bit green for me, but that’s a minor quibble considering everything else it has to offer. Thanks to Daylon for sending me such a generous sample!

Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Custard, Floral, Grass, Green, Herbaceous, Honeysuckle, Lily, Lime, Milk, Orchid, Pineapple, Spinach, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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84

Found it!

I was stoked about this one. I haven’t had a first flush in close to a year, let alone Jun Chiyabari. I only had 5 grams of it, and I divided it up in 3 oz for some small cold brewing, and 2 grams for semi-gong fu and western.

I have only started it recently, not letting it exceed 30 seconds. It’s got some green woody bitterness and some typical first flush peppery astringency. You can read their notes too get an accurate idea of what you will have. It’s pretty green to me, bordering on being olive like with a bit of hoppy and citrusy zest. Woodsy camphor and balmy menthol definitely in there too. Tiger Balm was always citrusy for me anyway, so I’m not surprised. I actually didn’t camphor was a tree, and an oil used in balm, so it was cool to learn that. Every time I journey into more obscure teas, the more flower language and modicums of herbology I come across.

I’m still not finished with the tea yet, going through 1.5 minutes second time, and it’s more citrusy and blamy. Still twiggy.

I’ll have to write another note to see how far I get. I usually stop early with first flushes because of their astringency, but this one has very oolong like, so we’ll see.

… next morning, and the leaves smell too bitter and astringent for me. I disposed of those, and then retrieved my cold brew from the fridge. So much smoother. Citrus, orange, creamy, floral, refreshing and juicy in layers. Sip starts out honeysuckle, then light orange blossom, full on citrus, light spice, and creamy, juicy finish. Tasted like orange or lemon water. Yeah, this one was significantly better cold brew for me.

Overall rating is above an 80. High quality tea, and definitely for first flush lovers, though cold brew is the easy way to go. Despite drinking tea for over 20 years, I still like the more flavor forward teas. I’m so thankful to get to try this sample. I cannot recommend Zhao Zhou enough.

Flavors: Astringent, Bell Pepper, Bitter, Camphor, Citrus, Green Wood, Herbs, Hops, Olives, Pepper

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95
One more cup before it’s a sipdown…this one was soooooo gooood. I gave myself a proper gong fu session with longer steep times beginning around 40 seconds with no rinse, and went from shorter to longer rinses between 30 seconds to a minute, and finally, 2 and 3 minute steep times as I down it. More floral, some pineapple hints, yet spinachy and custardy all at the same time with a great sweetness. I’m going through my green oolong quicker than I expected. This one is going to be a sad goodbye, and another justification for more tea when I drink it down.

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95

Finally giving it a rating. One of the easiest going Lishans I have, and creamiest. It actually works as tumbler fuel, giving some coconut water vibes amidst its soothing healthy green taste. I’m excited for Leafhopper to try this one out.

Leafhopper

I’m excited to try it out now, too! :) I’m drinking some of the Wang Dayuling in my 150 ml Hongni teapot and it’s sweet orchid nectar. However, maybe that’s because the pour is longer so the steeps are more intense. I’m trying to open some of my own vacuum-packed oolongs to put in the swap boxes before trying yours, but it’s hard!

Daylon R Thomas

Lol no worries!

Daylon R Thomas

Also, you have unopened green oolong?! Jealy. Granted, I always plow through mine quickly.

Daylon R Thomas

I had a hard time giving up the Dayuling, but since I had others I needed to get through, you’d be better off with it. It’s really good, though it changes a lot from session to session.

Leafhopper

I try to keep only one or two green oolongs open at a time to maintain freshness, though I sometimes cheat if they’re not in vacuum-sealed bags. (Those zip pouches are already “open” when they arrive, right?) I actually still have some unopened oolongs from Wang and a couple from Ethan Kurland, plus a few from 2018-2020 that I need to finish.

I imagine it was hard to part with that Dayuling. Thank you! It’s so good that I might cave and pick up a 50 g bag, though I may change my mind once I’ve tried the Fushoushan. All the teas I’ve had so far from Wang have been excellent.

Leafhopper

I tried the Li Shan today. It’s indeed floral coconut custard with a green edge, and is very enjoyable.

Must! Not! Buy! More! Green! Oolong!

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95

So I played with this one more. I am having fun to see how it changes. It hasn’t lost anything, and I keep on finding different smooth traits each time. I used tumbler today, and the first brew was caramel coconut spinach with some texture, and the second was creamy egg yolk and milk tasting. Again, it’s why I kind of think of Irish Cream. It’s not as sweet or obviously riddled with whiskey, but it’s thick and creamy like irish cream. Maybe flan is a better descriptor. Again, not dessert sweet cause it’s still a straight grassy green oolong, yet it’s totally something you’d eat with a chease cake, brie, or something soft.

Flavors: Custard, Egg, Flan, Floral, Lily, Milk, Thick

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95

Splurged on this one, and figured it be good if they are keeping this vintage around for a slightly higher price. I’ve only begun drinking it tonight, but the aroma and flavor are the right mix of delicate and full. Rounded texture, and the tea opens up at an even pace after 20 seconds, slightly getting bigger, and not revealing its secrets and layers immediately.

Coconut shells and meat comes to mind every time, with some lime qualities that I’d associate with a green Qin Xin they described, with a creamy texture. There are some similarities to Camelia Sinensis Lishan, though this one is more heavy in the coconut department so far. It’s interesting they wrote caramel in the notes because I usually don’t get that for most green oolongs. I am for this one, and it’s spinachy milk water so far that I am enjoying slowly. Kinda reminds me of Irish Cream somehow…exaggeration probably. I will add more to the notes as I continue tonights session.

I saved some for Leafhopper in the trade, and I look forward to seeing what she thinks.

Adding more to this, it does fade out kinda quick after steep 4. I did it again western at 2 minutes, and it was smooth and consistent.

Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Creamy, Irish Cream, Lily, Lime, Milk, Spinach, Thick

Leafhopper

I’m glad you included it in the trade because I was drooling over the description. Coconut gets me every time.

Daylon R Thomas

Same. I wanted to give you the opportunity to try this company out because their sourcing is really exceptional. I will add that this one is not as flavor forward or long lasting as like say What-Chas, but it does pretty well western to get the smooth caramel coconut spinach combo. It’s really forgiving, so I might tumbler or grandpa it to see if it keeps the flavor.

Leafhopper

I’ve never Western steeped Taiwanese high mountain oolongs, except at the beginning of my tea journey when I didn’t know any better. They’re so pricy that I want to get the most out of them. Out of curiosity, what are your parameters for Western steeping gaoshan?

Leafhopper

Also, this company has a free shipping threshold of 70 euros, so I very well may make an order when I’ve finished more of my spring 2021 oolongs. They have a Shan Lin Xi Black and a white tea from Jun Chiyabari, among other interesting things.

On a related note, have any of you had any luck getting rid of the VAT when importing tea from European vendors outside the EU? Apparently, they can’t do it on their own and need to go through courier services, which often charge as much in brokerage fees as the original VAT amount. Any advice would be appreciated.

Daylon R Thomas

Um, I paid around 9 euoros the previous time I ordered from them, so it wasn’t as bad as I expected. As for lishans and other high mountains that I know will do well with, I use 3-4 grams and never exceed three minutes occasionally bringin the temp down to 180-185, 5 grams if I got a 14-16 oz tumbler. I only do western for a tea if I know it’s not astringent and flexible, and I usually brew it between 1-2 minutes, 3 minutes if it’s taking its time to open up. I actually have been able to rebrew the tea quite a few times doing it that way, but again, I only do it with the ones I’ve got several amounts of that I can experiment with. I will also do it for the weaker teas, or the ones that usually need grammage above 6 grams to open up. I know that’s not exact step by step instructions, but I hope it gives you an idea of what I work with. I also brewed this one western 1 minute and 15 the first time, 2 min, 3 min, 4, 5, and then grandpa to get it. Gong fu parameters are better to get to it first, though.

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94

No. 648 Red Jade Ruby 2020
I’m trying this out for last to see how it goes, and I’m doing it without reading the notes. I’ve already got the eucalyptus, malt and menthol expectations up as I try it out, and I hope it’s not as astringent as other Red Jades I’ve had.

I went 5 grams 150 ml, 15, 30, 45, 65 and stopped.

The earlier notes I mentioned were there as expected, and this one was considerably smoother to drink. Each brew had a bright ruby red color, and lots to offer in the aroma in terms of mint, eucalyptus, sage, and malt. The flavors are much the same, but steep three gave me a little bit of cherry hint, and every steep was sweeter than normal, as if it had simple syrup added. Overall, the effect reminded me of cough syrup or sweetened cough medicine, but I didn’t have a major headache afterwards. I’d give it a 75-80 rating. I could also see other people giving it a much higher rating.

While I’m still not someone who likes the Red Jade varietal in blacks and whites as much now, I appreciated and enjoyed the tea because it was smoother than others I’ve had prior. This last note solidifies how well rounded the sampler is to give people an idea of what Taiwan teas are like. I preferred some over others and wish there might have been at least a Assam or Qin Xin Black, yet this is a good gift box for someone learning about or adoring of Taiwanese teas. Again, I deeply recommend Zhao Zhou.

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94

Backlog/continued from yesterday:

No. 218 Formosa White Jade 2021
5 oz, 10 sec beginning, 10 sec increments, 185 roughly in temperature.
Dark leaves, nearly black with some green thrown in. Sage/eucalyptus like aroma, and trying it out, liquor is a darker orange or light brown. The Red Jade cultivar aroma of cinnamon, fruit, and balmy herbs lingers. The note “Steamed aroma: Summer dried wildflowers and herbs, spicy apple compote, nutmeg and taste of subtle flowers, chamomile, jasmine, tiger balm, sweet spices.Energizes gently.” The taste is extremely sweet and syrupy like ripe fruit, like apple compote. It’s brown like apple compote. Dense, full body every steep highlighted by jasmine green tea like florals like they said, and a healthy dose of eucalyptus/sage/mint/camphor/balm-again, typical red jade stuff. AAAAAaaaand, I could not manage past steep four. Too much for me. I think I can conclude that no matter how high quality and exceptional the tea, I still have a hard time with this varietal.

So, I gave myself a break by going into the green tea.

No. 341 Taiwan Primeur Green 2021
15 beginning, 10 sec increments, other parameters the same.
Again, I’ll borrow their description:
“steamed scent: chestnuts, baked buns, spinach, toasted fish skin, edamame beans
at 85 degrees: the scent of water chestnut, peach, lotus seed, Gingko Biloba, and the typical Maofeng greenish fresh scent, the aftertaste is long and pleasantly green, with typical notes of Qing Xin.”

Tasting notes hit me. Very peachy and forward with the water chestnut, and insanely green and fresh, easy to drink. I could get to steep 5 really easily, and then it was too green. Very creamy. I see the Gingko Biloba in the kind of green notes it has.

That’s all I have for now. I like the green a little bit more. Highly recommend this sampler and any teatasting from Zhao Zhou. I will say it is also re-affirming my biases for oolong and qin xin blacks. Typical.

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94

I tried the High Mountain GABA, and I did it in imprecise 30 second steeps. It was extremely sweet and forgiving.

Trying it out, it had the baker spices and mulled wine the company writes about. I made some mulled wine to compare it. It was pretty close, but the spices were more in the aroma and accented the teas natural hong sweetness. I personally didn’t think it was that green, and the tea was very brown and a little ruddy. The spices and wine were most pronounced in steep one, but steep two onward were more savory. I kept on getting brown sugar, corn, chicory, and barley in how I tasted the tea. Later notes became more sweet and plummy, but not intense with a little bit of florals, maybe gardenia if you want to stretch.

It’s very good, and I like that it’s not just a funky fruit-corn tasting tea. I definitely calmed down, but was a bit more alert than I wanted to be at 9:00 last night. Focus and clarity resonated. I wouldn’t reach out for it because I like greener oolongs, but I think it’s very good and memorable. I’d rate it a 84-87.

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94

I’m being lazy and writing all the tea notes on one page, but I may do a detailed review of each one later. I got this with 50 grams of the 2019 Lishan, and was ecstatic. This package was my 2021 end of the year self care pick me up.

I’ve gotten through half of the teas so far, so I’ll list them based on the order I tried them in as I backlog.

No. 540 Li Shan 2021 – 1800m
15-20 sec increments, repeated a 20 second rinse 4 times, and then longer minute steeps after based on aroma and color.
Insanely good and sweet smelling, having a great mix of savory vegetable with floral, sweet, and tropical ones. It smelled like fruit loops cereal, and initial steep had a sweet corn butter taste, and later steeps got vague fruitier and more floral with some healthy buttered and sweet greens in the body, bordering on caramelized despite being a greener Qing Xin. Maybe it’s the barley note they write about? Definitely a fan.

No. 540 Li Shan 2021 – 2000m
Same methods as above, and definitely more delicate and floral. The comparison I made in my head was between the lower elevations caramelized sugar, and this one was more like soft, powdered sugar. I got baby’s breath for some of the florals, definite orchid. Zhao Zhou describes this one as greener with a goat milk density to it, and it is. Both teas are very similar, and oddly enough, carry a bit of a chamomile like milky profile. Insanely uplifting, and has a clear meditative quality that’s really nice. I prefer the lower elevation overall, but I think I would have to always get some of this in comparison for a calming afternoon or evening.

No. 547 Wenshan Baozhong 2021
Of course a bazhong was next
15 sec parameters, 20, 15, 20, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80.
LOOOOOOOOVED this one. I was surprised how complex this one was, and it meshed insane floral and fruity qualities that were more pronounced in the lishan. I’m gonna be basic and use Zhao ZHou’s description:
“It has a lily of the valley scent, which changes slightly to other flowers later, slight hyacinth, rose, chamomile. Great experience to meet this tea. Its taste is characterized by deep green notes, florality, a bit of citrus, and later some buttery biscuit. Delicate throbbing, focus. A great accompaniment to hot summer days from morning to afternoon. We hope your tasting is as enjoyable as when we first met this tea.”
It’s still green, but I was hit with jasmine, rose, citrus, butter, bready notes, and freshly steamed and sweet snap pea green. Hugged myself with it. Sad I only had 5 grams.

No. 539 Shan Lin Xi 2021 – 1400m – 10 g
I had 5 grams of it. 20 sec steeps in increments. They compared it to the 2017 vintage, which I had in the previous oolong sampler I got from them, and like that one, had a lot of coconut, butter, almond, and lots of spinachy green goodness and umami. Some gyurko qualities like they describe, but more nuanced and not quite as marine. I really like it, but Baozhong is my favorite so far because of its complexity.

Here’s what I got left to try:
No. 218 Formosa White Jade 2021
No. 341 Taiwan Primeur Green 2021
No. 546 High Mountain Gaba 2020 – 10 g
No. 648 Red Jade Ruby 2020

I know I should just make my own notes for each. However, I can just copy my drafted reviews and make pages when I have the brain power….I mean…“discipline.”

Other than that, I HIGHLY recommend this sampler for Taiwan Tea lovers. I’m a little bit dodgy about the Red Jade varietals, so it will be interesting to see how they taste. More notes soon…I’m behind.

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80

Coming back from Florida three days ago with my Zhao Zhou order arriving!

This was gifted with another Jin Chiyabari First Flush sample with my order, and I was pretty ecstatic. I followed their parameters using 150 ml of water, 5 grams of tea, and 15, 20, 25, 15,10, 20 sec steeping time.

The tea was full bodied and herbaceous, floral. First steep had a citrusy and grainy aroma and thick viscousness. Lemon peel, herbs, hops, bread, malt. Second one was much the same beginning to lean into the beer character. The fourth steep was the most complex and full on tasted like a citrus beer with lemon and orange in a wheaty aftertaste, some grass herbs and hops from the trichomes. Thick as ever. Later steeps grew bitter and more herbaceous.

I’m definitely happy for this one. I’m not sure I’d reach for it, but it’s the kind of style white tea I like that still has enough fruity elements and texture to keep me going. There are more first flush black qualities in this tea than white qualities since it’s not delicate. It’s a little malty, but refined and zesty. The citrus and texture felt great on my throat as I am sick and recovering from Bronchitis and my booster. I wish I saved some for a cold brew, but with how cold it is in Michigan right now, I’m satisfied with my hot cup. Not sure if I’ll rate it-but at least an 80 min.

Flavors: Beer, Bread, Citrus, Citrus Zest, Floral, Grassy, Herbs, Hops, Lemon Zest, Malt, Orange, Thick, Wheat

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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84

A gracious sample that I enjoyed. Thank you so much Zhao Zhou!

The previous reviewer already nailed this one, especially with the Goji berry notes and Sheng like qualities. I only got four cups, and it was fairly flexible, but a little bitter like a sheng. I mostly got Autumn Leaves, forest floor, resin, and a little bit of fruitiness. I got the grape the company talks about in their description, and a little bit of birch and maple in the overall taste. It was personally kinda woodsy and brothy for me.

I liked this one more in the later steeps, but this was definitely a “Chill, bro” kind of tea. I liked it, and I still cannot say thank you enough for the company for putting this fine tea in the package all the way from Budapest. I’m totally going to this shop when I travel to Europe in the far, but hopefully not too far future.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Fig, Forest Floor, Grapes, Maple, Resin, Wood

derk

Daylon, baby, keep ’em coming!

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87

I expected a nuclear green floral and soapy Chou Chi before I bought it. Their description was upfront about the tea’s headiness: “Green dancong is one of our most fragrant teas. Due to the special drying process that involves both heating and cooling, the leaves can keep their original fragrance: orchid, lily, and lilac. This overwhelming flower bouquet, is accompanied by the scent of fresh green grass. The aftertaste is mild and buttery with some refreshing, vivid buzz.”

Again, their description and steeping methods were reliable as ever; but it was not overwhelming and soapy at all. It was subtle and refined like every tea, and immensely creamy. It was green, but again, creamy florals of orchid, lilac and lily dominated the tea without ever being astringent or bitter in the least. The lilac, and MAYBE vanilla notes reminded me more of a high grade Baozhong than a TieGuanYin like the other green dancongs I’ve had, which was so very welcomed.

It had some durability at seven steeps, so it was medium in strength. This is a good tea if you like things on the lighter end of oolongs, and definitely better than other green dancongs I’ve had.

Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Floral, Freshly Cut Grass, Green, Orchids

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89

I thought that the Hongxin would be more roasted, but I was wrong; this one’s baking was much more distinct despite being lighter and greener. It was nutty and had a very similar macademia note that the Hongxin had, but this one was more abrupt in its change. Going with their recommendations, the tea did indeed start was sweet and floral, having some violet in its sweetness, that then became a little bit more bready. Then, it transitions into a sourdough texture with immense florals akin to orchid and something fainter then magnolia amidst a baked and ever nutty background. The transition was louder in the aroma as well. The tea did not settle down until it’s 10th and 11th steep.

The overall notes are things you’d expect from a Tie Guan Yin, but the combo was not. I actually liked it, and it woke me up more than the Hongxin did. I would want to see what some one else thinks of this one. I think it’s more suited for intermediate drinkers, but there are some tea snobs that could take out more from this than I can. Cheers for surprises.

Flavors: Bread, Creamy, Flowers, Green, Nuts, Pleasantly Sour, Toast

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91

I have not had a Tie Guan Yin that’s impressed for a while. The medium roasted Tie Guan Yin’s used to be my favorite, starting with Rishi’s version of the tea. It was like drinking liquid graham crackers. Since then, Tie Guan Yins have been two dimensional; they are either vegetal, nuclearly floral, or plain toasty. When I read the description for this one and the Yesheng, however, I got a sense of renewed hope.

Surprisingly, this tea was one of my top five of the sampler. Immensely nutty like almond, cashew, and hazelnut, this one was a little bit more complex than I anticipated. The first few steeps were indeed “coffee-like” with the same kind of toffee finish you get in some coffees with creamer or savory like the graham cracker note I imagine, but immensely nutty while slightly floral. The middle brews shifted to something that reminded me of macademia, while the overall tea maintained its baked character. Later steeps were indeed vegetal and floral like a greener tieguanyin, but still ever so slightly baked.

I got ten cups out of this one, and I was impressed with it. I’d be interested to see people with a more straightforward vocabulary break it down to what this tea is, and I’d also be interested in what someone who is more tacit or even flareful might describe it. This was an interesting tea overall.

Flavors: Almond, Bread, Coffee, Floral, Graham Cracker, Hazelnut, Nuts, Smooth

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92

This one was much more traditional Milan Xiang, but it was still impressive. Unlike the other dancongs from the sampler, this one was dominated by honey, lychee, orchids, and a few other florals that I have yet to name. The texture and aroma were also of course creamy and nectar like. There was some mango, but not as much as the wudong. This one was a little darker than the wudong, but barely so. I did not taste too much toast or baking. I got some hints that resembled cooked peaches or grapefruit, but nothing close to char. Yes, it was a little bit nutty too, but in the hints and aroma during the middle brews. Although my description is relatively simple, the tea had some flux of notes going through and a long lasting durability since I got about ten brews out of it Gong Fu style with the 3-3-5-7 second increment rule.

Again, I hope that I’m doing the tea justice. If you’ve had Milan, you know what to expect. It’s an easy drinker that I’d recommend newer drinkers trying once in their life, and I think more intermediate drinkers would appreciate the lychee notes. I liked the wudong a little more, but I’d personally drink this one more often because it is a little bit less finicky. It gives you a balanced cuppa, even sippa’ either way. I might get this one again because I feel like I’m missing something….We’ll have to wait until the next tea addict writes about this, I guess.

Flavors: Almond, Floral, Fruity, Honey, Lychee, Nuts, Orchid, Peach, Wood

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94

I feel unoriginal in using the company’s description, but they nailed it: “An especially fragrant tea with notes of acacia , orange and almonds. It has a characteristic taste of citrus fruits with a hint of hazelnut and a slight, refreshing sourness. The aftertaste is quite long, round and creamy, the chaqi is deep and energising.” I was also surprised by how many yellow green leaves there were in the mix. I’ve had wudongs and Da Wu Yi’s with the weird green-yellow-orange-leaves, but they did not accent the pile the ways these did. And unlike other Wudongs, the fruit notes were more prominent for me. Following their exact guidelines for how to brew it, Guava was the biggest note I tasted, then orange and mango in the middle brews, and vague lychee toward the end. The acacia was always there, and the tea was definitely nutty, but it was very fresh rather than roasted. It was more on the creamy and fruity ends of oolongs overall, and although it might seem on the more green end of oolong, it was not vegetal in the least.

It’s a given that I loved this tea, and I personally did not have one favorite over the other in this sampler. The notes reminded me of summer, but you could drink this tea fine any season. I recommend this one if you are looking for an especially fruity and bright dancong.

Flavors: Almond, Citrus, Creamy, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Green Wood, Guava, Hazelnut, Mango, Pleasantly Sour, Sweet, Tropical, Wood

derk

I wonder what a pleasant acacia note smells and tastes like. My only experience with acacia is as an invasive trees species in the Bay Area. Acacia smells like piss and peanut butter when the fog comes through.

Evol Ving Ness

:)

Possibly beats blossoming gingko which smells exactly like toxic fratboy vomit.

Daylon R Thomas

XD I think they were trying to describe a woodsy citrus combo that does not quite make sense.

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89

If you know what a high quality Shui Xian tastes like, then you know what to expect when you buy this one:toasty goodiness with subtle notes that you almost call floral, but you don’t care because it is one of the few types of teas that naturally resembles coffee with a lot of creamer. That’s my opinion, and I’m proudly biased to that description.

Anyway, I drank this exactly as instructed, and was pleased that this tea had some Cha Qi like they described. I felt productive after drinking it, but I had no jitters going into the final eighth cup of this. As for the flavor, it was primarily nutty like almond and roasted nuts, followed by a caramelized body in the aftertaste that was not too far off from coffee. The florals reminded me a little bit like narcissus, and as the steeps got rebrewed, the tea got some fruity hints. This tea was not actually fruity, but it got sweeter in the later hints. The tea was also moderately woodsy and vegetal (barely so), but more roasted and floral overall. Nuts, butter, caramel, toast, wood, orchid, rye, and some “sourness” and smoke that the company describes are the descriptors I’m going to stick with. I’m recommending this tea, and really, any tea from this company either way.

Flavors: Almond, Caramel, Coffee, Nuts, Orchid, Roasted, Rye, Smoke, Smooth, Sweet, Toast

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92

The next few teas are going to be a bunch of backlogs from this sampler, and the Song Zhong sampler I had from Harney and Sons.

Every tea has been great from Zhao Zhou. This one was one of my favorites. It had the usual notes of a slightly toastier Dan Cong and the usual fruity peach notes and floral orchid ones, but it was a little bit deeper overall. The roast blended effortlessly with the stone fruit ones in a mineral textured complexity. I followed the instructions as they listed, and it occasionally had a cassia spiciness from the roast. I occasionally got something similar to plum or grapefruit, but every once in a while, I got something a little bit more tropical like passionfruit. I wish I wrote the notes at the time to accurately describe the fruits, because whereas the other dancongs were more akin to lychee and mango, this one was a little bit more robust and “red” in fruits. It was as viscous and creamy as the others, but more complex with its toasty accents. I’m half tempted to get more of this one in particular, although all the Dancongs Zhao Zhou offers are great in their own right.

I hope this note does this tea service. Overall, this tea had a great balance between its fiery toast notes and its fruity and floral ones. It also had a decent amount of longevity for nine good brews gong fu as the company recommended.

Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Fruity, Mineral, Orchids, Passion Fruit, Roasted, Sweet, Toast

derk

I’ll have to look into this one. Passionfruit, for me, is like the rare treasure note in teas.

Daylon R Thomas

Dido. It was something I personally got from this tea and the Dan Zhu, but moreso the Dan Zhu. Even if you don’t taste it, this was a very good tea that was different from the other Dan Congs I’ve had.

derk

Mmm, wishlisted.

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92

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94

Soo good. I followed their 3-5-7 approach with 150 ml, and it worked beautifully. Dried plums, roast, vanilla, and smoke in the dryeaf, and fresh plums, rock sugar, roasty hints, and vanilla hints in the aftertaste. The liqours color was amber, but with a purple tint. The tea was immensely sweet, and it gave me a bit of a buzz. The same notes permeated the later ones, bringing out more florals like orchid and fiery charcoal in the aftertaste. The fourth began with plums and rock sugar again, then a zingy blackberry note, and then the tea hit the roof of my mouth: smoke and fire. It was not ashy, but it was so sweet and smooth. The Cha Qi made my arms and legs purr. Later steeps brought a little bit of grapefruit, but plum, blackberry, and currant later on permeated it overall. I wish there was more of this one because it had so much complexity. I highly recommend it for roasted tea drinkers looking for some nuance in short flash steeps…or people with taste buds, because it’s good.

Flavors: Black Currant, Blackberry, Brown Sugar, Char, Fireplace, Floral, Orchid, Plum, Roasted, Smoke, Vanilla, Wet Rocks, Wood

Kawaii433

Oh my. All of your latest reviews on this tea made me bookmark them. hehe They sound really good.

Leafhopper

This is the first I’ve heard of this company and that oolong sampler looks interesting! For Christmas I got some oolongs from a company in Poland called TheTea.pl. Seems premium tea is catching on in Eastern Europe. How much was the shipping to North America?

Kawaii433

Daylon: Nice! Thank you :D

Daylon R Thomas

Leafhopper, around 8 bucks. It was worth it for me, personally.

Daylon R Thomas

I think that our search engine has just expanded to them considering that they’ve been drinking tea longer than the U.S. has.

Leafhopper

$8 isn’t bad. Another Steepster member recommended TheTea.pl, so I didn’t find it using Google, but maybe the search engine has expanded (or the sites are being translated into English). I know there’s a vendor from Czechoslovakia selling tea and teaware that’s been around for a while.

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90

Thank you so much for adding this sample from my request!

This Dan Cong is good. I followed the Gong Fu style they suggested fairly strictly, and started off with a 3 second rinse, and followed through with a 3-5-5-7-8-9-12-12 pattern.

The dryleaf reminded me of incense. It was woody like dragons blood or sandelwood, but it was unpronounced like bamboo. The tea still had that ripe peach aroma that Mi Lan’s usually have.

Drinking it was interesting. First steep had notes of hibiscus and passionfruit, and it was a little bit woodsy. The flavor was still ripe, almost like a good quality sheng.

The following one had the same notes, but more texture. It was creamy and sweet like guava, and the wood note, maybe almond, was a little bit more pronounced mid sip. Mild astringency came through.

Third (fourth if you include the rinse which I TOTALLY drank) yielded guava, hibiscus, pollen, almond, and then a weird pineapple note in the finish. I usually don’t get that, but it was sweet and sour.

The next one had more dimension. Peach became the flavor this time with a woodsy peach seed in the background, and a little bit more nutty. The texture was more creamy, and ended with a mineral hint in mouth feel. The bitterness came through a little bit, and again was pleasant.

The next one went back to hibiscus, peach, guava, mineral, and slight bitterness.

The second to last one was surprisingly sweet-grapefruit, mineral, honey, and some things that almost reminded me of candy, or the salty rim of margarita.

The final brew was floral, a little bit bitter, creamy, and fruity.

Again, the company’s description was accurate, though it was not as nutty as I would personally describe it since the fruit notes were a little bit more dominant in flavor. Nutty notes were a little bit more in the aftertaste, aroma, and texture. I was very pleased with this tea overall, but I would say it’s the kind of tea you need to devote a session to. It does require some effort in how you brew it because it can get a little bit sour, but it’s very pleasing. I recommend a try of this one if you know anything about Dan Congs. It’s a little expensive for me personally, but I am glad I got to try it.

Flavors: Almond, Astringent, Creamy, Floral, Fruity, Guava, Hibiscus, Mineral, Nuts, Smooth, Sour, Wood

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85

I am backlogging backwards, and divided this one up in 2.5 grams increments. Gong fu would totally work well for this one, but I am not sure if I would get too much of a difference. I brewed this in a strainer in my mug for three minutes, four, and five each time.

Cocoa was definitely in the aroma with the usual autumn leaf pile warmth, but chestnut and bread were dominant in smell and taste dryleaf and after brewing it. Again, the company’s description represents it well: “Its Bouquet-like character combined with the freshness of a green tea makes a lovely tea-experience. The usual taste of bread and chestnut is now supplemented with a smild citrus flavour.” And man, was it buttery and bready in flavor, and thick in texture. Malt were one of my notes since I brewed it so long. It was very similar to a Darjeeling black, but since I’ve had a few of these oolongs before, it tastes like any Nepal oolong-i.e. excellent.

I don’t have much more to say than that, and I wish I could have gotten a little bit more to experiment with it Gong Fu. I was still very pleased and I definitely recommend this tea. It is a little bit more of a snobs tea (looking at you Darjeeling and Nepal Lovers), but I do think it is approachable for a new drinker.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Bread, Chestnut, Citrus, Cocoa, Floral, Malt

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