E Alexander Gerster select Send Message

End of the Laoshan Northern Green from Verdant Tea, but just placed an order for more… After several steepings, I was getting some nice citrus tones in the background, and was not ready to abandon the last of the leaves. Added a few pieces of dried Yuzu rind to make a nice tart brew – amazing. :)

Finished the last of my Jingshan this morning. It is a comforting friend when a cool breeze is blowing. Must prepare a new order from Verdant Tea soon. :)

Superb tea that I simply call “Beautiful Journey” as it takes you to places both familiar and mysterious. I love Geoffrey’s description in his Steepster tasting notes, and have to say I agree completely with the other tasters who have rated this as such a fine Dancong Oolong. You truly must take the time to focus on the tea, and brewing it in small multiple steepings is the best. I happened across David’s (Verdant Tea) video on YouTube specifically showing his steeping method, which also serve as a nice reminder or guide for those who might be unfamiliar with a nice way to enjoy your oolong. Highly recommended.

I had not been in the local Teavana for more than a year, but saw their signage for their Heavenly Tea sale, and thought I would check them out. Most items of my taste were already gone, but the salesperson did a good sell on this Oolong, which was 75% off and did smell fantastic. I brewed up a gaiwan full when I arrived home, and am mighty glad for the purchase.

1st steep: 4 minutes at 200 F, yields a nice amber brew with nice aroma of roasted bamboo. Taste is really surprising. Honey and toasted almonds… a bit like the Honiglebkuchen cookies that I had as a child. Faint wisp of floral notes are there waaay in the background.

2nd steep: 3 minutes at 190 F. Stronger aroma, wonderful flavor. Less sweet, more toasty, and definitely a well defined oolong flavor. Quite surprised by the excellent quality, and beautiful color.

More steeps to follow, and can recommend picking this one up at this deeply discounted price.

After roasted oolong earlier in the day (2011 Golden Key Wuyi), I really wanted to spend a bit of time trying this lovely Autumn Tieguanyin brewed gong fu style. I loaded up my little glass 100 ml oolong pot, broke out my gong fu tea tray and ru kiln cup, and let myself really get absorbed in the flavors and aromas that emerged.

It is such a pleasure when a tea opens up to reveal it’s true nature. Orchid, rock sugar, sweet grass, with spicy notes too — mmm. Enticing aroma that is both seductive and intriguing. I make it through three short steeps before I get a bit of the saffron flavor to emerge, then the hint of apricot and peach, and a wonderful tart edge. At 9 steeps, the flavors keep on coming. Grassy fields and dried flower tones emerge… as Spock says, “fascinating!”

This is my second session with Verdant Teas Hand Picked Tieguanyin, and I look forward to more in the near future. :)

It was a nice cool, crisp morning and I had a hankering for a nice roasted Oolong. This “Golden Key” has been a really wonderful friend, but I had not had any since Christmas… so I brewed up a nice large cup full before heading to work, and set aside a second steeping to have cold later on. I love the nice roasted aroma and flavor of fresh baked sugar cookies. When hot it is extremely satisfying, and cool it is quite refreshing. I may have to order more of this before all of the 2011 batch is gone. ;-)

What is it about this tea that is so addictive? I had to bump my rating up a few points, as I have turned to this buttery green tea once again, this time brewing it exactly as Den’s recommends. 1st steep, 1 minute with boiling water (!!!), 2nd steep for 15 seconds with boiling water.

This is the only loose leaf green that actually tastes better when made with boiling water. Most are best at 180 F or below, but this tea is just so much more forgiving. As other have recommended, I have cold brewed this bancha, ice brewed it on one occasion and never had a bad cup of tea. Not terribly complex, but refreshing, bright and nice vegetal flavor. Thanks Den’s Tea for offering such great Japanese teas!

So I finally ordered from Upton Tea Imports, mostly a batch of samples priced from $1 to $1.50. Their shipping is very inexpensive, and Alex Z at RateTea.net has given good marks for many of their teas. This one intrigued me, and is the first I tried.

The aroma of both the dry and wet leaves is amazingly more like a very green oolong. The flavor is also like a fall oolong, with hints of smoke, sweet grass, and a light fruity aftertaste. Yet this is a green, and carries a bit of astringency and freshness as well. A very pleasant tea, and one I look forward to spending more time sipping.

Once again started my day with this fascinating green tea. It brews so perfectly in my Koryo (Korean) celadon infuser cup, warming my hands and warming my soul. I went back to review my previous tasting notes on this one and it continues to amaze me that it fuses some of the best qualities of Dragonwell/Longjing with the Gyokuro and Laoshan green flavors and aromas. I had a second steep an hour after the first, putting me in a good mindset to make it through another day! :)

Another wonderful tea full of flavor and complexity. I can’t add anything to what so many have already said, except that this truly is an exceptional Jasmine White!