Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Driftwood Tea
Tea Description:
Fujian Province, China – Spring 2012 Harvest
Tie Guan Yin or Iron buddha is perhaps China’s most famous Oolong. We sourced this handmade version from a small farm in Anxi County, in China’s Fujian Province, and believe this to be one of the finest Tie Guan Yins, or even teas, any of us at driftwood.
Tie Guan Yin is another tea that, depending on where you are, is know by many different names including: Iron Buddha; Iron Goddess of Mercy; Ti Kwan Yin and several others. However, what remains constant is the fact that this tea is among China’s finest, and probably its most well known oolong – no matter what it’s called.
Key Flavours: A sweet honey note, lively florals with a smooth buttery finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Driftwood Tea delivers with a delightful aromatic cup of sweet buttery goodness. Steeped this tea is a bright lively golden cup that is very light in color yet full in mouthfeel. There is almost a heaviness in the mouth but the flavor is light and creamy at the same time. Amazing how both can be elements in one wonderful tea. I would never usually describe something buttery or creamy as bright or light. Its such a cheery tea – a real mood lifter.
This tea however is not just a cup of creamy buttery goodness. There is far more depth to this tea, layers of flavor, including floral elements that are not perfume like. There are notes of honeysuckle that remind me of my youth, picking the honeysuckle flowers and sucking out the gooey nectar inside. There is also a note of sweet green veggies.
The lingering after taste is my favorite element in this tea. It is sweet but has savory elements that are outstanding.
It is quite a refreshing cup as well once the after taste does wear off it does not leave you with a drying sensation in the mouth or throat whatsoever.
For me, this is not my absolute favorite oolong, as I like one that is a bit heavier and more roast-y but it is a very good quality oolong that I will enjoy revisiting.
Osmanthus Tea from Driftwood Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Driftwood Tea
Tea Description:
Osmanthus Oolong combines high quality Jin Xuan variety loose leaf tea with fresh osmanthus flowers to produce a most spectacular tea. Handmade and scented using only natural methods this is an example of an aromatic tea that tastes as good as it smells.
Key Flavours: Bright soft stone fruits. Juicy peaches and ripe apricots with delicate touches of natural creaminess.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After receiving a wonderful mixed box of samples from Driftwood Tea I selected this as the first one to taste and review. When I opened the bag I was greeted with the aromas of a wonderful milky oolong! The dry leaf is quite pretty with small bits of osmanthus flower through out.
The flavor of this tea is creamy which I love in tea. Beyond creamy what I get is a candy flavor! Yes candy. It reminds me of the White Rabbit candies that my daughter loves so much. Okay I admit, I love them too except they are terrible on my teeth! Now I can have my creamy milk candy in a tea! This tea is somewhat sweet but in a natural manner of course which is so much better! I am sure that comes from the fruity flavors in the tea which I find to be far more subtle than other teas with fruit flavors, yet they are present and pleasant!
The peachy apricot notes come out much after the tea cools. They are light flavors however so do not expect a peach flavored pow in your cup.
I did not do an initial rinse and I am glad as thus far it is my favorite steep being the sweetest and most candy like out of my two steeps thus far.
The oolong base is wonderful, light, and fragrant in and of itself so the osmanthus does not totally take over whatsoever, rather just add a lovely light floral element to the tea and I believe also add to the creaminess.
Overall this is a light oolong and while I do love darker deeper oolongs I am absolutely appreciating the wonderful flavor characteristics of this lighter oolong tea! This is what I would consider a late afternoon or early evening oolong.
As I wait on steep three I wanted to mention how fast Driftwood Tea’s shipping is! I was shocked when it arrived within only a matter of days! I can’t remember for sure if it was three days or five days but it was well under a week and I have waited well over a week for teas from some tea companies right here in the United States!
This third steep is so far the creamiest. Its not as sweet nor as fruity but it is like a mouth full of silk! It has a puffy marshmallow like texture that is just so luxurious! As I reflect upon the smooth sensation in my cup I refer to the founder of Driftwood Tea’s philosophy:
Frequently I have encountered tea aficionados – pompous and aloof – seemingly preoccupied by the grade of a loose leaf, or a wonderfully exotic name, when in reality the resulting liquor that was being produced was, well, blah. For me that’s not what tea should be about.
I have now spent the last ten years searching for and sampling some of the world’s finest teas. During this time I have learned many things about loose leaf tea, yet there really is only one point which I have found to be crucial: do I like it? If you like what you’re drinking nothing else should really matter.
I for one agree, and I can say I DO like this tea!
Bi Luo Chun Spring 2012 from Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Taiwan Green Tea
Where to Buy: Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tea Description:
Bi Luo Chun
Spring 2012
碧螺春茶
Taiwan. San Hsia Township.
Fresh is the operative word for this tea. Fresh, vibrant and green with notes of bamboo sprouts. Perfectly balanced with subtle nutty aromas, lively vegetal flavors, lingering grassyness, and a touch of ocean mist. This sparkling green infusion is perfect for a sunny day, or if you’d just like it to .
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened the bag the buttery sweet aroma was so intoxicating! Then a sweet vegetal aroma lifted up toward my nostrils and I was in love. I just melt when I sip on buttery, sweet, vegetal, grassy, creamy, nutty teas and if I had to list adjectives to describe a perfect green those are the adjectives I would list, and this tea captures every single one of them perfectly.
It is such a very pretty leaf! All curly and springy! I love the shades of green and would describe this leaf as “playful”. The steeped leaf is so soft and silky – what I describe as “angel hair” feeling. It feels so plush I wish I could sleep on a bed that feels like this!
I keep re-steeping in order to do a proper review but I just can’t keep my cup full long enough to savor these amazing flavors, and while I do like to respect the tea, and appreciate it, savoring each and every sip I can’t seem to contain myself to do so with this one. Look out folks…its a guzzler!
Now I assume that in the description they say “a touch of ocean mist” to mean there is a slightly seaweed like flavor in it. I have to say that I get very subtle notes here and there of that, more of a salty like note, however it is slight and I do love salt! Ironically even though I am a total saltaholic my sodium levels always run low! Go figure, I could put a salt block in my living room and be quite happy. So for that reason I am very happy to have that “touch of ocean mist” flavor in my cup. As for a seaweed note, to me that is more in the aroma than in the flavor but it is there, that salty seaweed bamboo like flavor just screams tropical rain forest to me more than ocean side sea spray.
The flavor is so very buttery, so creamy and silky in the mouthfeel, yet I can’t quite decide which vegetable it tastes like, corn came to mind, but so did green beans, and peas, but its more like a medley of vegetables. Yet there is this nutty almost wood like flavor perhaps from the bamboo sprouts. The after taste lingers so nicely making me just want to keep sipping away without a care. Which in and of itself is making it more difficult to really give a detailed review of exactly what this tea taste like other than AMAZING!
I clicked on the blog link on Stone Leaf Teahouse website and found this tidbit of information about Bi Luo Chun that I wanted to share with you because I found it so romantic:
Yet another legend claims that this tea was named after a girl, Bi Luo, who watered a tea tree with the tears she had shed for her slain dragon lover. She then died under this tree, and the next spring, the tree produced a fragrant green tea which we now call Bi Luo Chun.
This is only a small excerpt however as there is an entire article about the name of this tea and the man legends associated with it. Here is the link to their blog if you would like to read more for yourself.
Green Kukicha from The Tea Merchant
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Tea Merchant
Tea Description:
Our organic green kukicha is comprised of non-roasted tea twigs and leafs. Otherwise known as Senkukicha and praised for its health benefits and low caffeine content in the macrobiotic community. This tea has a fresh grassy feel with a slightly fruity taste and a crisp finish. Brews a lively green infusion and is best brewed at a low temperature.
Ingredients:
Organic Green Tea Leafs and StemsCaffeine Content: Low
Organic
Region: Japan
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This has a lovely green Kukicha base and one of my first Kukicha, actually this may have been my first Kukicha, however since have been able to sample a couple others so I can say I do like the base used in this blend. Its buttery, and slightly nutty and I am partial to buttery, nutty teas!
The initial aroma was nutty and the dry leaf is eye pleasing.
The initial taste on first sip was indeed buttery but then something shifted, this tea tasted very much of an oolong, which I also do love my oolongs!
The color of the steeped tea is quite interesting, almost a neon yellowish color that boarders on orange. It is the color of the sunrise. Quite pretty.
For such a light colored tea it actually has somewhat of a full mouth feel being nice and creamy!
As I sat with my cup and took in the aromas around me I noticed this tea also smells very much like an oolong!
The flavor however was still very vegetal, grassy and fresh, yet there was this kick to it similar to an oolong with a roast-y toast-y goodness and after taste!
It is quite rich and while I am used to using 2tsp of leaves for greens and oolongs this one may even be able to be extended in your stash by only using 1tsp but I have yet to try that.
Its a delicate tea so be sure you steep a bit lower – around 150 to 170 degrees but not over that as it will become bitter and astringent.
This is a part that is slightly annoying to me as often I do not have the time to baby my teas and just need hardy teas that you can dump into the stainer and pour some scouring water over and be done with it but fine tea does deserve far more focus and attention so be sure that when you steep this tea you have the time to treat it with respect and it will offer you a welcome cup.
2009 Bu Lang Gong Ting from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’er, Pu-erh, Ripe, Shu
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
We totally scored with this find! We have sampled so many different ripe teas over the years both in China and here at our shop. Samples are continuously sent here from various tea merchants and most of the time, we find them ok at best. But when we tasted this gong ting (imperial court quality, smallest leaf) tea, we immediately had every last bit of it shipped to us so we could share it with our customers not to mention drink it ourselves!
Hailing from Bu Lang mountain in Menghai, this is an expertly crafted tea. Rich and sweet, hints of dark chocolate and slight nuttiness with a creamy aroma becoming more pronounced as the post-fermentation smell quickly becomes a memory. We are sure that this gong ting, given a bit more age, will easily rival our favorite Golden Gong Ting from 2005. We are extremely pleased when all the conditions come together to create a memorable tea and this, my friend, is one of those teas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I had logged eight steepings before I lost focus, and became too full to do more. Each steep brought forth new and wonderful flavors!
When reviewing a pu’er I find it difficult to write in paragraphs because each steep is like a new tea unto itself. So with that I give you my tea log with short notes on each steep. I know it may be dull to some, but to those who really enjoy pu’er I hope it gives even a small glimpse of the wonder of this tea! These are my actual notes.
Steep One: 30 Seconds (after an initial rinse)
Light, Juicy mouthfeel, Dry in back of throat, Mushroom flavors, Spicy, Creamy, and my favorite flavor.. Leafy!
Steep Two: 45 Seconds
Leafy, Oaky, More Creamy than first steep, Autumnal Flavors and aromas like being in the woods after a light rain in autumn! Love it!
Steep Three: 1 Minute
Leafy aromas with an amazing mossy flavor again the wet leaves in autumn flavors but more prominent!
Drier, Earthy, Hay, Tingly, Mushroom.
Steep Four: 1:15 Minutes
Light, Clean, Milky, Nutty
Steep Five: 1:30 Minutes
Weaker on flavor in this steeping, Mellow, Leafy, Sweetness coming out!
Steep Six: 2:00 Minutes
About the same as the last cup but sort of getting weak. I went for another steep anyway.
Steep Seven: 2:30 Minutes
Mossy, Juicy and now Fruity!
This shows just because one steep is less flavorful its always a good idea to steep one more time!
Steep Eight: 2:45
No real flavors present although a light golden color. No notes taken, by this time I was absorbed into a movie (Red Tails – GREAT movie!)
Overall I was surprised to find I did not get any of the chocolate notes as in the description but was not disappointed! I think I will allow this to age quite a bit and re-visit it later on.
I did enjoy it very much and there were some wonderful flavor notes and a few surprises even once I began to think it was past it’s steep-ability!
A nice tea with mellow flavors through out that over all remind of me my favorite season! You can’t beat that!
On another note. My husband, who drinks very little tea to begin with, at first, said it smelled fishy. “Fishy” is a word that seems to come up often with pu’er, but I proved something to him and myself.
I said rather than fishy think of it as MUSHROOMY!
He disagreed so I made him go get an organic mushroom from the fridge!
He took a bite and said “OMG your right!!!”
I think the two flavors are similar in some ways but distinctly different enough. Plus for most mushroom is more palatable to stomach and mind than “fishy”. Honestly, I did not get a bit of fishiness in this pu’er and I only bring it up because all too often, especially with those who are first starting out on their pu’er experience that word comes up. My suggestion is to grab yourself a couple of mushrooms, and take a couple of bites to compare.
After pointing this out to my husband he drank with me the entire time! I was so shocked and happy!
It was a great experience to share a pu’er session with him and he also shared his tasting notes with me during that time. We both enjoyed this tea very much.