108 Tasting Notes
Lightly sweet, with a comforting fruity finish and a soft, but not creamy, mouth feel. The flavor is like sweet corn. This year’s pick is starting to lose some of its staying power; the second infusion (at least at my time and temp) is drier than I would prefer and the floral aroma is mostly gone.
Preparation
A very light, almost green, oolong; which is probably what makes it one of my favorites. Still, care must be taken when infusing this tea. There are many ways to make a good cup; I prefer 85-90 degrees for a minute fifteen after quickly washing the leaves first. Sweet and a little flowery in taste, the golden infusion makes a good session oolong. Not as heady as Tung Ting or as grounding as the roasted oolongs, nor as creamy as a true green, Bao Zhong (or Pao Chung) is more of a weekly tea for me.
Preparation
It “wakes up” the leaves. Oolongs and pu-erhs particularly are often so densely rolled, pressed, or dried that the flavor of the leaves is locked up and only comes out after the first infusion. To help make the first infusion more delicious, pour very hot water over your leaves, allow to rest for 5-10 seconds, and then pour it out. After washing/rinsing the leaves in this way, take a whiff of the tea leaves and you’ll notice that the aromas are starting to come out! :-)
Sipping this tea is like walking in to a comforting old library. It has a very slightly salty taste with mushroom notes. We were accidentally given cooler water for the first few infusions and I think it gave a better flavor than the usual boiling water.
Preparation
A buttery sweet taste with a simple flowery aroma that lingers in the mouth and nose. Brewed in a zhong, I managed 4 great infusions before I had to leave the teahouse, so it’s also a tea that has a lasting quality. The flavor reminded me of a wonderful infusion of Nok Cha.
Preparation
The tightly curled, dark green leaves produce the most amazing first infusion of this tea. Its aroma is of honey, molasses, or milk chocolate. The texture is creamy and soft as silk. I even picked up the milk chocolate flavor in the flavor, despite it being a light green tea. Two infusions pretty much take all this leaf has to offer, but I can’t get enough of it.
Preparation
If you’re craving a sweet tea-flavored beverage but not in the frame of mind for a bowl of Matcha, this is definitely what you should drink. The steaming mug full of a creamy rich green soy milk is, I feel, kin to one of those chai tea lattes you might find in coffee shops around the country, although certainly with a Japanese twist. Great for a cold day when you need more than hot water to warm your body.
I’ve tried a lot of Earl Greys and this one is a reasonable pick. Just the right black tea astringency and an uplifting flavor with just a little bit of sweetener and (for my taste) no milk. I’m a big fan of bergamot and so a shorter infusion allows the citrus flavors to remain apparent over the black tea. If you’re ordering this tea prepared, you may want to request a shorter infusion unless you’re more of a fan of drinking Earl Grey as a dark brew with milk and sugar.
Preparation
Makes a wonderfully floral and comforting first and second infusion. The aroma of the dry and wet leaf really is like fresh flowers. Much closer to a green tea in terms of oxidation than most Oolongs and therefore will be better appreciated by those who favor greens or who are looking to move into the territory of green tea from blacks and oolongs.