Pouchong

I really like this tea. I think it deserves another star (at least one more, maybe a couple more!) so, even though it probably doesn’t count for much, Mr. Xu, I bestow upon you more stars for your fabulous tea.

(If you are wondering WHAT THE HECK I’m talking about, please read the description of this tea)

Sweet, creamy, decadent, soft, luxurious – these are all words that come to mind as I sip this tea. It’s like falling into a soft, fluffy cloud of wonderful and floating in the air on that cloud.

LOVELY!

My last pot of this delicious Pouchong is being used to fuel me this morning. I need that something special to pick me up after having a horrible night. 3 fish died last night and 1 of those I had to euthanize after his incurable illness took a turn for the worst. :( RIP Cardinal, Danio and Ken.

I have a large order of 30 necklaces to custom make on top of my other orders so I really should get a move on today and hope that it takes my mind off the events of last night. For now I have tea, loving cats and work to focus on.

I got this at the end of last week via the Canton Tea Club, and I’d completely forgotten that I had tried it before. In fact, it was the very first pouchong/baozhong/whatever I ever sipped. I actually had to refer back to my old review to recall what I thought of it. (HERE: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/20/review-canton-tea-co-pouchong-4/)

This time around, I actually opted to treat it more like an oolong and gaiwan it. It was a far more floral and buttery drink when done with short, successive steeps. Far more preferable to the toasty profile of a western approach. As a result, I’m boosting the rating up.

There’s a lively discussion going on as to whether it’s a green tea or oolong on the Canton blog: http://www.cantonteaco.com/blog/2012/10/canton-tea-club-week-2-that-pouchong/

I’m firmly in the oolong camp…but I will settle for “groolong” as a sub-category.

I love Pouchong. When I saw this one was a GREAT TASTE GOLD Winner in 2009 I had to try it!

After I received it I took a look at the ratings on steepster and I am a little afraid…altho there are only 3 logs – one is a really low rating, one isn’t rated but commented, and the other is an 80. So…could it be one of those teas that are all across the board!? Not sure.

Here are my findings…

I know the term “Agony of the Leaves” is to describe the unwinding and unfurling of the tea leaves but I have always found it to be somewhat of a downer…I mean really…think about it…it sounds PAINFUL. Most of the time I say the leaves dance because it’s more positive and it sounds happier! Well, these leaves are somewhere inbetween. It seems like they want to dance but they are struggling…perhaps a sign of good multiple infusions!? Maybe…time will tell.

This isn’t much for aroma. It isn’t much for color…very pale. Heck it’s not really that strong in taste and I went 5 minutes. It’s a really tasty taste – what I CAN taste of it…but it’s VERY mellow. It IS very clean…I will say that.

I’m going do a 2nd Infusion before I rate…

I tried this again today and I don’t know what I had going on yesterday, but this time round it’s amazing. Sweet and vegetal with a lovely toasty thing going on in there. And I managed to get six amazing steeps!!!

Here is another from the box o’teas from LiberTeas from way back when. This is one of the samples that had some smell contamination but as it is an unflavoured tea I don’t imagine it will be as much an issue as it was for the flavoured teas.

I actually don’t know anything about pouchongs, and was a little wary when I read that they are a mix of green tea and green oolongs. Those are my two least favourite kinds of tea, both prompting queasy stomache on occasion which leads me to stay away from them.

This is beautiful though, long twisted leaves that open up to be very full and have a very sweet smell without any of that vegetal aroma I dislike so much. The liquor is a golden yellow and smells almost of mild cinnamon sugar. The first sips echo these smells and are really quite nice. I get a sense of creaminess, and it is a very full flavour, much more than I expected by the aroma.

Despite my dislike of green tea and green oolongs, this is really nice. I am very impressed, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the sample. I’m not sure if this is an authentic tasting of this pouching, but man is it yummy. There is hope for me yet!

Edit to add: This is tasting note 600. Yippee!

I felt that this tea was going to be a very unique experience. After all, pouchong is not a very common type of tea. The people who grow it refer to it as a green tea, yet in reality, pouchong is actually a type of oolong. The oxidisation process is such that the tea is supposed to be very light in flavour.

For preparing pouchong, water of a temperature akin to that which is used for green tea should be used. According to Canton Tea Co’s website, the tea is very forgiving, and they recommend using anywhere from one teaspoon to one table spoon of tea per cup of water. As I was making this tea in a 150ml gaiwan, I chose to just go with their recommendation and use 1 teaspoon of leaves. In keeping with their description of it being a very forgiving tea, they recommend 2-4 minutes for steep time. I went with three, just to be safe.

The dry leaves and the wet leaves smell much the same. A hint of fruitiness and a lot of fresh, light, oolong scent. Even after three minutes, the brew looks incredibly pale, but has a wonderfully light, floral aroma. The initial flavour, when the tea first touches the tongue, is light, too. While it may seem ridiculous, it is almost feathery in how soft the flavour is. One is then surprised when the finishing taste is bolder than expected. In fact, it seems that the finish is bolder than the foretaste.

I can see why this tea wins awards. It really is good. Canton Tea Co’s website says nothing regarding resteeping, but I decide to try anyway, increasing the steep time to four minutes. I cannot say that the resteeping has improved or changed the flavour. If anything, it is a bit weaker than before. However, this tea still maintains its soft mouthfeel and light flavours. An indefinite steep is probably called for in order to get all the vestiges of flavour from these leaves.

I enjoyed drinking this tea, and it is certainly one of Canton Tea Co’s very nice offerings. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it a 77/100.

This was my wake up tea. I love the sample size packaging of the Canton Tea Company. It makes it so convenient with using the Breville. Enough for a cup at home and a travel mug.

I forgot to make notes about the dry leaf scent; however, nothing remarkable either way stands out. (I set this one up the evening before I drank it… and it was a long night for my sleepless toddler.) 195/3 min.

It smells floral. I can pick up on that as I come close to the teapot. The taste confirms the floral notes. I’m not certain, but I’m picking up an aftertaste of plastic. I’ve had this happen to me before with certain floral teas. This one is a delicate oolong, so I guess I’m not surprised. Still, it’s a nice tea. I like the slightly sweet finish.

Okay, I have to admit I’m a bit worried about this one. I love oolongs (dark ones) and I love green tea….but the last and only green oolong I had was vile. So vile and stinky in fact that I could seriously smell it for days (after I had gotten rid of it all!!) The scent was seriously stuck in my sinuses and it was horrible. I’ve read somewhat encouraging reviews about this one…so here we go…

The dry leaves are nice, long, and various shades of green. They are quite beautiful much like Dawn….but even better because green is my favorite color. The scent is not overpowering, but smells very green almost like seaweed. Thankfully, the aroma did not intensify while steeping so I think I can do this.

The scent has turned very floral and almost reminds me of roses. The tea itself is very smooth and almost buttery – but not as buttery as a Sencha. Wow, unless this starts to turn on me as it cools I think I like this. I will be updating later and perhaps adjusting the rating up or down as I see fit.

Okay, this turned on me. Big time. Not as bad as my previous experience but I just don’t like green oolongs. BIG ratings drop as I couldn’t even finish my cup.

Very smooth tea. The smell is sweet and reminds me of cinnamon toast crunch mixed with honey. The taste is very clean,green and enjoyable. It’s a laid back cup for me, which is exactly what I am looking for at 5pm. However, I would have liked to have a bit more flavor, it isn’t strong, but it could be stronger,imo.