87

Thanks to Lion for this sample! What an interesting tea this is. Looks like an oolong but apparently is a red tea.

Did a flash steep in 190 F. First infusion of about 15 seconds in the gaiwan. Liquor color is a pale blonde… much like a lightly oxidized oolong. A delicious light sweetness fills the cup. It coats the tongue and throat.

Second steep, 20 sec. Honestly, the wet leaves smell so much like an oolong. Are we SURE this is a red tea? Haha. The sweetness stays here. The scent has an almost hay like quality to it so when I’m drinking this steep there is a play of sweet hay balance going on here. I really am enjoying this.

Third steep, 25 sec. On the third steep, you can see the leaves unfurl and actually start to look like a red (black) tea. The liquor has darkened up slightly to a honey gold color. The sweetness is still there. I got a very small note of tang/sour on the front end but I might have missed it if I weren’t paying attention enough to write this review. The coating sweetness still is the prominent feature here.

This tea petered out after about 4 steeps. I’m sure I could get some more steeps but I might be sacrificing quality at that point. Overall, I am really happy I was able to try this tea. It has a very natural sweet quality to it that I enjoy.

Flavors: Hay, Sweet

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 88 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Michigander, Husband, father of three, lover of tea, books, nature, gardening, and passion. Stay at home dad currently. Previously a preschool teacher.

I have now completed some tea swaps and I am so totally up for swapping! What a cool way to connect with fellow tea lovers and try some new teas. My tea cupboard on here is woefully out of date though.

Black tea has been my go to tea for some time. Oolongs are good too but mainly roasty oolongs. I’m finding that there are some green and white teas (mostly Moonlight Whites) that impress me lately which they never used to do. I am getting into and developing a taste for Pu-erh. I have tried raw and my Ulcerative Colitis just can’t handle the roughness of it. So I stick to ripe Puerh. I am recently drinking more herbal tea or Rooibos especially STRONG ginger blends. I’m not too picky.

Some of my favorite places from which to purchase tea are Whispering Pines Tea Co, Verdant, A Quarter to Tea, Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co, Bitterleaf Tea, and Yunnan Sourcing.

Rating system:
90-100: Some of the best I’ve ever had. I’d be a fool not to keep it stocked as often as possible
80-89: A damn good tea. Not to be missed
70-79: A good tea but lacks the wow factor. More than likely a simple tea that could be an every day option
60-69: Eh. This is okay. Not swill by any means but fairly underwhelming.
50-59: Not really doing it for me. I’ll finish it but please don’t bring me any more.
Below 50: Life is too short to waste on things such as this

Location

Lansing, Michigan

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer