tperez Send Message

Very dark leaves with and obvious roasted aroma. Brews a deep red orange. The dark roast dominates the flavor profile, reminding me a bit of French roast coffee, but there is also a light fruitiness to it that reminds me of strawberries and lemon zest. Not bitter, but it is slightly tart. I get just a hint of something floral in the aroma.

This tea is decent, but the roast is too dark in my opinion.

Here’s a surprise: I opened the package of Big Dark Leaf and it appears to be filled with big dark leaves! They’re big, twisty, and deep green-brown. Dry aroma reminds me of green beans. Brews a medium yellow, a bit lighter than the Ya Shi Xiang.

Smooth taste with a strong mineral note, green wood, and a bit of half-ripe tangerine rind. Excellent aroma of honeysuckle, citrus, and warm candle. Whereas the Ya Shi Xiang had definite buttery mouthfeel, this tea is more light and clean; maybe watered down milk. There’s a bit of astringency, but practically zero bitterness.

While I prefer roasty-er oolongs, this is a very nice lighter roast and I prefer it to the Ya Shi Xiang.

I open the bag, breath in the smells, and know immediately that I’m going to like this one! Dark whole leaves and aroma of raisins, tobacco, and a hint of smoke. Brews a little darker than the Rou Gui or Bairuixiang, medium orange.

The taste, like the aroma, has a nice raisin/date note as well as flavors of spiced rum, oatmeal, and dark wood. Just a touch of smoke, this tea also reminds me of nice cigars. The flavor lingers in the mouth and is super deep and complex. Really makes my mouth water. As I keep brewing, the flavor becomes lighter and a mild floral note appears. This tea fades faster than the Rou Gui, but gives a decent number of brews and the flavor hits really hard. I definitely need more of this tea!

Very buttery taste and a strong floral aroma that lingers in the mouth. Slightly “green” taste due to the light roast, and a mild fruity sweetness. I’m having a hard time picking out any specific notes on this tea, but it’s quite nice.

Moderately sized, dark green twisty leaves that look more like a Baozhong than a regular green tea. Sweet, slightly vegetal aroma. The taste is very clean and predominantly vegetal. Somewhere between kale and edamame. Somewhat buttery and also reminds me of sugarcane and (oddly) pumpernickle bread.

This is a nice green tea, very mellow and refreshing.

My five free samples from Teavivre came in the mail yesterday, and I was really craving a roasted oolong so I brewed this one up. The flavor is fairly nice. Mineral, red clay, roasted barley, and ripe plum flavors with an unripe plum tang and astringency. Slightly burnt tasting though. The aroma however is awesome! My cha hai smells of osmanthus and daffodil flowers, burning candle warmth, and something being baked with lots of butter and brown sugar.

This is a nicely aromatic and economical Wuyi oolong with very “warm” tastes and aromas.

I do wish the roast was a little more subtle. I’ve read that a little aging can help heavily roasted oolongs to “calm down” a bit; perhaps this one would benefit from that.

This is a fairly nice Bai Mudan. Mellow and sweet with a slight vegetal note and a light menthol-like cooling effect. It is good, but I’ve been spoiled by the awesome Bai Mudans from Wuyi Origin and Yunnan Sourcing. This one just isn’t quite as flavorful.

*Edit: Rating increased as it gave me a REALLY good tea high, wow….

Four, count them, four samples down and reviewed in one day, which is very unusual for me.

This tea has fairly small leaves for a Dragowell. Nice, yellow-green coloration. Brews almost clear and I wonder if I should have steeped it longer, but the taste reveals that that is not the case. Very smooth and buttery, slightly vegetal (edamame and a bit of asparagus), and just a hint of floral. A second or so after you sip you get hit with a nice round sweetness that I can’t quite pin down. The aroma lingers in the mouth a lot like a good sheng. Very clean tea with a lubricating mouthfeel.

I would say that this is the best tea I’ve sampled from Dazzle Deer, and probably the best Dragonwell I’ve had. The only think I can knock it for is that the tea soup gets bitter quickly if allowed to cool. Unfortunately it’s out of stock…

Third sample of the day; I’m trying to empty my sample bin to make room for incoming Black Friday orders.

This is the Dazzle Deer sample that I was most excited about; I like my oolongs roasted and the degree of roasting appears similar to my beloved Mountain Tea Amber Oolong.

Looks like a nice medium-heavy roast. Brews a medium-light orange. I used water at the recommended 212F temperature and the tea handles is just fine. The taste is indeed quite similar to the Amber Oolong! Strong rock sugar sweetness, dried fruit, barley, resiny cannabis-like quality, baking spices, and a slightly tart pineapple finish. Warm, mellow, roasty aroma. I don’t get any floral notes, which is surprising for being an Anxi TGY-related varietal.

I like this tea a lot, and will have to get some more so that I can do a side-by-side tasting with the Amber Oolong.

Loose leaf shou: the very thought strikes fear into my tastebuds. My first puerh was a loose leaf shou and it very nearly completely turned me away from puerh and I’ve had a bias towards cakes ever since. This one proves my bias unfounded as it is very tasty and clean.

Fairly small leaf material, but not a lot of buds. Smell its typical shou. Brews a dark brown-burgundy. Tastes of clay, nuts, and earth with a molasses sweetness. Nice, velvety feeling in the mouth. Lasted plenty of infusions and even the longest ones turned out tasty. Very clean shou; absolutely no fishy flavors or funk. Nice overall, not the most unique or complex but very easy drinking.