Ooooh Darjeeling

This was very disappointing. It had a very flat and mundane taste, with no character or personality. Will try again to see if I missed something, but I was very unimpressed.

Compared to recommended steeping instructions, I’m using a ton of tea and very short steeps in a gaiwan instead of a more western-style approach. In general I’m adding just enough recently-boiled water to cover the leaves and pouring it out as soon as I can manage.
steep 1 – Leafy, fresh, sweet, a little astringent.
steep 2 – smell is very deep and woody, astringency overwhelms any flavor at first but some sweet notes as my mouth adapts. Will try to be quicker with future steeps.
steep 3 – I can’t imagine steeping much more quickly, but the astringency is still fairly overpowering. There is, however, a hint of a pleasant aftertaste coming along that I hope will express itself more fully soon.
steep 4 – The aroma is really coming along but it’s still promising more than it can deliver in flavor. There’s definitely a hint of deliciousness that hits the palate briefly but it is quickly overcome by the more bitter chlorophylly flavor that the initial astringency has morphed into.
steep 5 – same as 4 but less bitter, equally flavorful
steep 6 – astringency is gone; there’s a fleeting fruity flavor on top of the steady woodsy leafy notes that’ve been around for awhile; will extend steep time from here.
steep 7 – finally it’s not unpleasant in any way. this cup is decent.

Unfortunately I need to stop for now. I don’t recommend brewing this tea like I did.

Reminds me a lot of a black tea… The Ooooh Darjeeling has some hints of astringency, but it’s not so in-your-face like with many black teas. It has a malty and slightly fruity flavor which is similar to an earl grey. I think it would probably make a good breakfast tea if you are looking to try something different.

Given that it was an oolong I treated it like a Chinese/Taiwan Oolong and gaiwan brewed it. Contains the familiar grape and dried fruit floral notes that one would expect to find in a first flush Darjeeling black tea of quality. While I really enjoy it, it has gotten me thinking about how much different brewing a Darjeeling black tea in a gaiwan would be from what I am brewing now from the many observations of others about first flush Darjeeling black teas being a more oolong like black tea. Regardless it stands out as a nice tea that is a very enjoyable change from what I normally drink although I highly doubt it will become a staple tea for me.

My first venture into Oolong, and I was pleasantly surprised. Very smooth taste which made drinking it an enjoyable experience.

received this as part of the savant oolong sampler, and while its not bad by any means, I’ve had much better oolongs. Its a little too strong/sharp for some of its taste, maybe even a bit bitter? Doesn’t really hold a candle against their oolong #18. Still a good tea, but I wouldn’t buy it again.

Holy Crap!
Truly something enticing. Really had that unique and characteristic Darjeeling smell and taste, but with the nuance and beauty of Oolong. I was expecting a mediocre, amateur Oolong, but this really added a new facet to my favorite type of tea.

I’m impressed – astonished even.

Let’s hope the plantations of Darjeeling starting hitting the docks with first-flush Oolongs in the near future.

Citrus and malty and lactic notes with some green leafy briskness but really nice oolong qualities.

Wow, I totally forgot I owned this one. I pulled it out on a whim when nothing else appealed to me, and man, it’s FIT. I brewed it a little longer than I’d intended, as my husband is under the weather and I got caught up in giving him a feel-better cuddle for like 5 minutes and forgot my tea was brewing. And it’s fine! I haven’t had a Darjeeling in ages, and this is so nice. It’s so fruity it’s like I chucked a handful of raisins in the mug.

Contrast this with the bagged darjeeling that I had at the office that was bitter and tannic after like a minute and left me with a feeling in the back of my throat as though I’d been sick… no, there’s no comparison. This stuff is GOOD.