Leaf Type: Oolong
Produced By GoeTea
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
This Oolong tea is AMAZING! It is quite unlike any Oolong I’ve yet to encounter.
The aroma is floral and sweet, reminding me a bit of orchid and lilies. It is a very intense fragrance. This floral essence translates into the flavor of the cup, but, I would have to say that the floral notes do not become the main focus once I’ve taken a sip. 
That is because this tea has an incredible savory overtone to it. It tastes a little salty, a little buttery (with a soft, creamy mouthfeel that compliments the buttery aspect), and vegetal tasting … a bit like steamed vegetables, yes. And, by now, you may be thinking “how does this make it unlike any Oolong I’ve ever tasted?” because I’ve often used the terms “buttery” and “vegetal” or “vegetative” to describe an Oolong.
What makes it different, in my opinion, is that these are more savory than sweet, which is characterized by a saltiness that I don’t think I’ve ever really tasted in an Oolong. This savory aspect makes this quite like soup, like a rich, nourishing broth … rather than a sweet Oolong tea.
But yes, there is sweetness to this tea as well. Remember the floral notes I mentioned earlier? Well, they are there, and they provide a sharp note that is quite complimentary to the savory tones, as well as a sweetness that seems to provide contrast to those same savory notes. Instead of a savory note that cuts through some of the sweetness, here I find that the sweetness is arriving just in time to cut through some of the savory flavors.
This is an Oolong I’d recommend to all the Oolong enthusiasts out there … it is one of those MUST TRY Oolong teas!
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, October’s Shipment, Part 1: SiaoSyue – Winter Jin Syuan
Leaf Type: Oolong
Produced By Dignitea Garden
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
October’s shipment of teas for ITFA’s Global Tea Taster’s Club brought me teas produced in Taiwan. And when I think of teas from Taiwan, I immediately think Oolong! And, yes, this shipment featured three different Oolong teas (as well as one Black tea). Yay! I do love Oolong!
And of course, my favorite Oolong is Ali Shan! And so what better way to start off these tastings from October’s shipment than with an Ali Shan Oolong?
This Ali Shan Jin Shuan SianSyue Oolong from the Dignitea Gardens is the first tea that I selected from my October package, and it is LOVELY. It has a remarkably light roast to it, giving it a hint of nutty, buttery flavor without a strong roasty-toasty taste. 
It is remarkably fragrant, with a beautiful floral note that reminds me of something between orchid and lily. This floral note translates to the flavor, but while the floral taste is there, it is in keeping with the overall lightness to the cup, and does not overwhelm.
In one sip, I notice not only the delightful floral notes, and the nutty flavor, but hints of buttered popcorn, and a very subtle undertone of spice. For such a light tea, there is a surprising amount of flavor and body to the cup.
This tea is a perfect example of why I adore Ali Shan so much.
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, August Shipment, Part 4: Old Style Gyokuro (First Flush)
Leaf Type: Green
Produced by Kurihara Seicha
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
I’ve not tried a lot of Gyokuro, but, of those that I’ve tried, this is easily the BEST. It is ah-MAAAZ-ing!
It is incredibly sweet, but not a cloying, sugary sweet. It is more of a vegetal sweetness, like the naturally occurring sweetness you might taste in a vegetable. There are hints of grassiness to this, but not a bitter grassy taste. If I could only use one word to summarize the flavor of this tea, the word would be sweet.
But, one word does not make a review, does it? 
The texture of this Gyokuro is thick and broth-y, or as the literature provided with the Global Tea Taster’s Club package suggests: syrupy. It is incredibly smooth and rich in flavor. While the overall flavor can be described as sweet, there are some intriguing savory notes to the tea. It tastes very fresh (and it should, as it was harvested in May of this year).
The price of the subscription to the Global Tea Taster’s Club is worth it for this tea alone! Yes. It is THAT good.
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, August Shipment, Part 3: Organic Gemmai cha
Leaf Type: Green
Produced for the Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
Editor’s Note: I know it is usually spelled “Genmaicha” or “Genmai Cha,” however, the label on the package says Gemmai Cha.
Genmaicha stands out as my first really positive green tea experience. Way back (about 15 years now! yikes!) when I first started drinking tea “seriously” (err… that is, buying and drinking loose leaf tea), I had decided (rather prematurely) that I wasn’t crazy for green tea. Most of what I had tried was bitter. I have since realized that it was my fault because I had not yet learned the proper way to brew green tea. It was about the time that I started learning more about brewing temperatures and steeping time that I tried Genmaicha, and I really enjoyed it.
So I am always happy to receive Genmaicha, and was thrilled to find a package of Genmaicha along with the other teas that I received as part of August’s Shipment for the Global Tea Taster’s Club.
About this Genmaicha:
Obubu’s Genmaicha, or brown rice tea, is made with new leaves harvested in the summer. Instead of regular rice, Obubu uses sweet rice grown locally in the valley of Wazuka, creating a tea with a strong, sweet, toasty flavor and an aroma that fills the room.
While I am enjoying this Genmaicha immensely, I do disagree with the above quote regarding this tea. This has to be one of the lighter Genmaicha teas that I’ve ever tasted. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It is sweet and toasty, and it is very aromatic, but, it doesn’t have the strong flavor that I usually experience with a Genmaicha.
Yes, I do appreciate the strong flavor of a typical Genmaicha, but, I am finding the lightness of this Genmaicha to be very refreshing, and I’m liking it a lot. The green tea tastes fresh and exhilarating. It has a crispness to it, and a moderate amount of cleansing astringency.
The sweet brown rice adds that cozy, comforting toasty flavor, but it doesn’t taste overly roasty-toasty. It is the brown rice flavor where the lightness is especially noticeable. The brown rice isn’t overpowering the flavor of the green tea, which I think is often the case with Genmaicha. With this Genmaicha (Gemmai Cha?) it is the green tea that is celebrated, and not the toasty rice.
A very unexpected yet delicious Genmaicha!
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, August Shipment, Part 2: Organic Houjicha
Leaf Type: Green
Produced for the Kyoto Obubu Tea Plantations
For More Information, visit the Tea Farms webpage
About ITFA Global Tea Tasters Club:
By subscribing to the Global Tea Tasters Club, you will receive tea from ITFA tea farms 6 times per year. Each time, we will select a different region to feature and as we grow in tea farm members, so will your tea experience.
Your tea will also be accompanied by info about the tea and the tea farms themselves.
To know where your tea is coming from, who has grown and produced it, to taste the difference in teas from around the world…what could be better?
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve said it before: I love Houjicha (or Hojicha, as it is sometimes called). I love the roasty-toasty flavor of it, and the sweet, honey caramel notes. It’s one of those teas that really remind me of autumn.
And this is quite possibly the best Houjicha tea that I’ve ever tasted. Yes, it’s sweet and roasty-toasty, with a very pleasant nutty flavor. But there is something more to this one, something that I don’t always experience with Houjicha. And that’s the creamy note that I’m tasting now. Sweet and almost milky.
According to the information that is included with the teas in the Global Tea Taster’s Club package, this particular Houjicha was harvested in June of this year. That’s roughly about three months ago! I have to believe that it is the freshness of this Houjicha that makes it stand out above the rest … and the fact that it is organically grown doesn’t hurt either.
I am so happy with this August shipment of teas from the ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club (and it makes me wonder what is in store for us for October!) If you love tea – you’ve gotta sign up! You’ll be glad you did.