257 Tasting Notes

100
drank Silver Peony by TeaSource
257 tasting notes

The dry leaf is a fun menagerie of White Peony and Silver Needle teas with scents of after dinner mint & dried basil.
The packaging had low brew temp instructions which I love. I have brewed White Peony at 185 before and it brings out a good sweet and champagne colored liquor. I chose to go with 160 F and then just left the leaves in longer, for 5 minutes.
This created a light silver green clear colored liquor with flavors of Honeycrisp apple, Asian pear, pie crust. Yumm this tea is a mix of fun, delicious and lovely.

Second Steeping – I resteeped this at 185F and it brought out a more colored liquor and deeper flavor. Still lovely with accents of apple and pear.
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7/25/14
Brewed this Western style today at a very low 165F temp. The liquor is pearl color and the scent is light light fruit.
Flavor is fruity and creamy. There are notes of pear and peach with cream. This is a nice white.

Flavors: Cream, Mint, Pear, Stonefruit

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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99
drank Tippy South Cloud by The Tao of Tea
257 tasting notes

Little tiny, cut and curled twisted black leaves with scents of bourbon and orange.
The brewed leaves reveal that they have been very precisely chopped small and have a fall reddish brown green color to them.
The liquor is red and smells very sweet and malty yumm. Malt is one scent but there are also hints of orange and bourbon as well.
The flavor is smooth, sweet potato, roasted potato skins, malt, bit of bourbon and orange. The flavors get better and better as the tea cools a bit. There is an ever so tiny tiny bit of astringency to the back of the throat so to wash this away, I will steep for 2 or 2 1/2 minutes next time because I don’t drink tea with milk or additives. It is hardly astringent at three minutes though, this is a very smooth and delicious red tea.
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5/16/14
Had a cup this morning and it was sweet and luscious,,,wasn’t catching any astringency this time as I read my notes from last time. Maybe it has mellowed out in the bag now that I have opened it. This is an all-around good, subtly sweet black tea :)
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7/8/14
Didn’t add the origin when I first started Steepster so this one is from
Cangyuan, Yunnan, China and it is Organic — The appearance of the dry leaf and wet leaf look like an Indian tea. The leaves are chopped looking and have the multi hues of browns and greens.
The scent is bourbon and light orange and the liquor looks the color of light bourbon. This is a unique Yunnan tea and doesn’t have the typical malty notes that Yunnan teas usually have. I looked up where Cangyuan is in China and it is very close to the border of Burma and this is probably why. I like that this tea has different qualities and influences. It really has essences and notes of Bourbon. Yum Yum lol. I really am enjoying this tea now that I have tried lots of Yunnan teas and am able to compare it to those from other areas.
Tao of Tea’s website includes that Tippy South Cloud is a varietal of plant and that few areas in Yunnan contain these type of plants. Other areas known to have golden tipped varietals Hunan and Fujian in China and Assam in India.
Tippy South Cloud is special during late summer months. Since it is a heavily oxidized (darker) tea, it maintains its flavor well over the months.
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7/10/14
Having a bit of this Western style this morning. So rich and almost tangy today. Put 2 heaping teaspoons into my teapot to brew 2 cups. 190F for 3 minutes. A bourbon flavor with a malty scent. It does have touches of an Assam quality to it as well with a tiny tiny hint of a bitter note with bittersweet chocolate quality to it. This tea is very intriguing in its flavor and where it comes from. Plus it’s organic! Love it!

Flavors: Orange, Potato, Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
TheTeaFairy

This sounds awesome Lee!

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99
drank Jingmai White by The Tao of Tea
257 tasting notes

The most beautiful silver needle-looking, very long, slender, perfectly uniform sea-foam green colored leaves I have ever seen!!! Scents of spice and a bit of fresh cranberry, lima bean.
The leaves were so pretty I didn’t want to pour water onto them but I placed them into my glass teapot so I could watch them. They danced downward as they brewed. Very pretty.
The flavors are very subtle with this white. I left the leaves in for 4 minutes and the liquor didn’t gain too much color and it has scents and flavors of butter bean. It has the subtlety of a white but a few notes of a light green tea. The fruit I am catching is quince.
Pretty tea.
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6/19/14
Brewed a bit of this Western style today. The dry leaves smell like spices. I am tasting the quince again today and this tea has mellowed out a bit with less butter bean and sweeter notes. Very good. Gets sweeter as it cools.
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7/26/14
Having a cup this afternoon, Western style. Very nice white. The leaves are super huge and fuzzy silver needles. Love it!
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8/7/14
Gaiwan style this morning!! Very subtle and lovely tea. Pretty leaves!
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8/23/14
Western style this morning,,,used lots of leaf,,,170F for 4 minutes. Has a creamier mouthfeel today and is really mellowing out. Will have to get more of this sometime bc I am almost out.

Flavors: Fruity, Hay, Honey, Lima Beans

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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100
drank Golden Needle by The Tao of Tea
257 tasting notes

The dry leaf is so beautiful,,very long, slender, black and gold needle shaped leaves. Scents of citrus.
The brewed leaves are fall brown colored and very very long buds. I am excited to try this tea!!!
The liquor is a clear orange color with scents of orange cream.
I brewed by Tao of Tea’s instructions and I agree with lower brew temps. I could have kept this in for another minute but I chose 3 minutes. This created a light, smooth black/red tea with subtle flavors of orange and a touch of cream. They caught red apple in their tasting and I do detect it breathing out. As the tea cools, the sweetness comes thru more and it is flavors of turbinado sugar.
Very lovely tea!!

Second Steeping – got another 2 brews out of these leaves using my Gaiwan.
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7/28/14
The dry leaf really does look like needles. Some teas are called needles but these have actually been twisted thinly with a pointy tip like a needle.
The liquor is a bright, clear orange. Like Sunkist Soda orange. It is GorGeous!!!!!!!!!!! The flavor has sweet orange in it as well,,,is this in my head? It’s really not,,it does!!!! It has blood orange flavors too, which is a deeper, more complex orange. The added cream note makes this creamsicle, a touch of malt, and super delicious!!

Flavors: Blood Orange, Cream, Malt, Orange

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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100
drank Tea Forest Green by The Tao of Tea
257 tasting notes

Dry leaf is very different from any green I have had. It smells spicy like a spice shop. Very subtle anise, dried basil, and spring grass scents.
The liquor has the color of white tea. You would not know this was a green tea unless you were an expert.
I love this green tea because I love white tea!!!!!!!!!!!! It is very much like a white tea with notes of cream, subtle notes of anise, tart apple.
If you don’t like vegetal or grassy notes in green tea, this is the one for you.
I like the appearance of the wet leaf too. They are free with lots of two leaves and bud size. A bit wild looking which is fun because I had a proper uniform and “all the same size” tea this morning lol.
It is very cleansing as well and I am having this after a lunch of vegetables and quinoa so this is delicious. I think it would pair heavenly with an anise flavored biscotti and I wish I had one. The anise is extremely subtle which is what is beautiful about this tea.
Very lovely tea!!!!!

Second Steeping brought out a bit of mint flavor!! This is a very interesting tea that makes me love large leaf Chinese green tea!!!

ICED I poured the rest of this lovely on ice because I live in the desert and the afternoons are getting warm now. This makes a great iced tea as well!! Yummm and refreshing!!
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5/16/14
Had a bit more of this today and it is mild and lovely. It has no vegetal notes, no grassy notes, it really doesn’t taste green. It is just a nice, sweet, delicious tea. A good one for people who don’t like green tea to try,,, because I think the people who don’t like green tea have tried ones with grassy, seaweed, or vegetal notes and they weren’t ready for those notes in tea :)
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8/25/14
More today yumm

Flavors: Anise, Cream

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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100
drank Emperor's Gold by The Tao of Tea
257 tasting notes

The leaf is gorgeous. All uniform mostly golden and some black threads. Very fresh. Scents of orange, spices, golden raisin.
The wet leaves all turn chocolate brown and smell fresh, not briny. Very nice leaves.
The liquor is deep brown and smells creamy and sweet like honey.
The flavor is creamy, rich, not too sweet, no bitter and no astringency. There is a sweet note when you breathe out of dried apricot and a bit of date.
This is a beautiful tea!!
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8/4/14
Had some of this Gong Fu style this afternoon. This tea is not too sweet. I caught a smoky note today.

Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Dates, Honey, Smoke

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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100

2014 Pre-Qing Ming – Yunnan Province China
Wow!!! The dry leaves are so attractive, light moss green and white delicate threads. All uniform and the scent is fresh, Spring scent, hay, greens, nutty.
The liquor is a light champagne color with scents of butter bean, fresh spring peas and vegetables. Each leaf has opened up to be a perfect light Spring green bud. Very pretty.
So fresh and loving the chance to taste this new tea. The flavor is buttered peas with chestnuts. It is like green tea and white tea together. There is a natural sweetness that resembles white tea and then the green tea is nutty and a subtle buttery pea with no bitter or astringent qualities. This is really really delicious green tea!!! Probably one of the best I have ever tasted.
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7/27/14
Having a cup this afternoon. This is a great green tea to pair with a savory snack or meal. It is buttery peas flavor with an accent of chestnut or almond and even has a bit of salinity to it. The dry leaf is gorgeous too.

Flavors: Butter, Chestnut, Lima Beans, Peas

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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95

Miaoli County, Taiwan 2013 Late Spring Pluck.
The dry leaves smell of rye bread and they are larger leaves than I have seen in other Oriental Beauties that I have tried. They have the distinctive speckled appearance of browns, dark browns, moss greens, and cream leaves.
Brewed this Western-style and tasted at 2 minutes, wasn’t sweet or strong enough so left the leaves steeping for a total of 3 minutes.
The wet leaves turn into large brown fall colored leaves with an orange spice scent.
The liquor is golden brown and has flavors of apricot, tangy grape skins, cream.
Delicious.

Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bread, Grapes

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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100
drank Fuding Wild Curly-leaf by Tea Trekker
257 tasting notes

From wild tea bushes, Fujian Province China. Organic 2013 Pre-Qing Ming.
I love these leaves! They are wild, curly, different colors of green , and they smell creamy and of dried sour cherries.
The liquor is golden, smells creamy and like wild flowers, cooked peaches plus a little wild strawberry.
The flavor is cream, graham cracker, herbs, tiny tiny touch of sweet wild strawberry. Very delicious,, I love white tea and this is probably the best one I have tried. Yum

Second Steeping — same amount of time and temp and still delicious !!!

Flavors: Berries, Cream, Peach, Plants, Stonefruit

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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98

Cute little snail-shaped light moss green leaves.
Liquor is golden color.
The flavor is very nutty, not vegetable or grassy. I really enjoyed this green tea!!!!

Flavors: Nuts

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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