85
drank Ta Oolong by Tea From Vietnam
676 tasting notes

Picked up this tea during the Black Friday sale. This is a nice jade oolong that’s similar to many Taiwanese high mountain teas. It’s sweet, a little tart, and lightly floral. After experimenting with steeping parameters, I found the best results came from a high leaf to water ratio, short infusions, and lower temperature about 185-195. It’s prone to bitterness if oversteeped or too hot water is used.

I got eight good infusions following the gongfu instructions on Tea from Vietnam’s site, and it still had a lot left to give. The tea is somewhat light bodied and while it does have a floral background, it wasn’t as flowery as I had hoped. There are subtle notes of lily floating in the aroma and finish, but it’s not a flower bomb like say a TGY or shui xian. I noticed the picking date on the package was January 2015. Perhaps some of that floral goodness had faded by the time I got my hands on it 11 months later?

Overall, a pretty darn good if not stellar tea that’s worth trying if oolong is your thing.

Flavors: Creamy, Flowers, Sweet

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 120 OZ / 3548 ML
Zennenn

It’s more comforting than flashy, isn’t it?

LuckyMe

Definitely, it’s my go-to after meal tea these days

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Comments

Zennenn

It’s more comforting than flashy, isn’t it?

LuckyMe

Definitely, it’s my go-to after meal tea these days

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

My Rating Criteria:

95 to 100: Top shelf stuff. Loved this tea and highly recommend it

90 to 94: Excellent. Enjoyed this tea and would likely repurchase

80 to 89: Good but not great. I liked it though it may be lacking in some aspects. I’ll finish it but probably won’t buy again

70 to 79: Average at best. Not terrible but wouldn’t willingly drink again

60 to 69: Sub-par. Low quality tea, barely palatable

59 and below: Bleh

Fell into tea many years ago and for a long time my experience was limited to Japanese greens and flavored Teavana teas. My tea epiphany happened when I discovered jade oolongs. That was my gateway drug to the world of high quality tea and teaware.

For the most part, I drink straight tea but do appreciate a good flavored tea on occasion. I love fresh green and floral flavors and as such, green tea and Taiwanese oolongs will always have a place in my cupboard. After avoiding black tea forever, Chinese blacks have started to grow on me. I’m less enthusiastic about puerh though. I also enjoy white tea and tisanes but reach for them less frequently.

Other non-tea interests include: cooking, reading, nature, philosophy, MMA, traveling when I can, and of course putzing around on the interwebs.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/melucky

Location

around Chicago

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