I must confess – my sample is old, I don’t even remember how old it is, even approximately… but there is a reason why it became neglected and spent so much time in the back of my tea cabinet. To start off, I’m very upset with the leaf quality, the sample almost entirely consists of small broken leaves rolled into very loose pellets. For this price I find it unacceptable.
Now to the taste. This is a lightly roasted TKY that tastes slightly woody, nutty and dry. I am not getting much of floral notes, more of irony aftertaste in the background. Oversteeping and/or subsequent infusions bring a lot of vegetal flavor which I don’t like. Can’t say much about aroma probably due to the age of my sample but it reminds me of hay and has some toasty edge to it.
Overall, I found this oolong unremarkable and overpriced.
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
That’s a shame. Mine is so good!
Oolonga, how about playing teamaster and roasting what you have left? I use my toaster oven at 375 or 400F, closely watched. You don’t want it to get brown, but close to it; when the tiny flakes turn brown, it’s done. You won’t regain the same qualities of the original tea, but make a different tea entirely. Maybe take one serving and experiment on it first? What do you have to lose? ;-)
@Dax Pamela Dean- you should start a thread about toasting your own tea and other crazy things. That’s AWESOME! And it would be even more awesome if I actually liked toasty teas lol.
Dear Cofftea, thanks for the appreciation. I’ve been able to lightly roast an oolong or two without actually toasting it. The object is to drive out the moisture, which affects the remaining drop of plant juice in the tea. This is what tea vendors do to preserve their oolongs. Every 14 months they roast them slightly to dry them out and prevent mold. Then they sell them as “aged oolong” or “roasted Ti Kuan Yin” — and sometimes charge more than for a new-made ti kuan yin. I know — obviously i spend way too much time surfing the net. Another idea — throw it in some water in a jar and put in the fridge overnight. What the hey? (yeah, i hate to throw anything out)
If roasting oolong interests you, here are some links, including a clay oolong roasting oven you can buy:
http://www.meetup.com/SA-Tea-Herb/messages/boards/thread/9088519
http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=716
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2007/12/roasting-tea-serves-few-purpose-here.html
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/search/label/Roasting
Cofftea
My sample might as well be the previous year harvest, who knows? I just received some White Peony from Adagio and doesn’t taste as the one I had a few months back…
Dax Pamela Dean
Thanks for the advise but I don’t like heavily roasted teas.
That’s a shame. Mine is so good!
Oolonga, how about playing teamaster and roasting what you have left? I use my toaster oven at 375 or 400F, closely watched. You don’t want it to get brown, but close to it; when the tiny flakes turn brown, it’s done. You won’t regain the same qualities of the original tea, but make a different tea entirely. Maybe take one serving and experiment on it first? What do you have to lose? ;-)
@Dax Pamela Dean- you should start a thread about toasting your own tea and other crazy things. That’s AWESOME! And it would be even more awesome if I actually liked toasty teas lol.
Dear Cofftea, thanks for the appreciation. I’ve been able to lightly roast an oolong or two without actually toasting it. The object is to drive out the moisture, which affects the remaining drop of plant juice in the tea. This is what tea vendors do to preserve their oolongs. Every 14 months they roast them slightly to dry them out and prevent mold. Then they sell them as “aged oolong” or “roasted Ti Kuan Yin” — and sometimes charge more than for a new-made ti kuan yin. I know — obviously i spend way too much time surfing the net. Another idea — throw it in some water in a jar and put in the fridge overnight. What the hey? (yeah, i hate to throw anything out)
If roasting oolong interests you, here are some links, including a clay oolong roasting oven you can buy:
http://www.meetup.com/SA-Tea-Herb/messages/boards/thread/9088519
http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=716
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2007/12/roasting-tea-serves-few-purpose-here.html
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/search/label/Roasting
Cofftea
My sample might as well be the previous year harvest, who knows? I just received some White Peony from Adagio and doesn’t taste as the one I had a few months back…
Dax Pamela Dean
Thanks for the advise but I don’t like heavily roasted teas.