Have you ever judged a book by it’s cover? Looked at a tea and thought, meh? I confess I did that with this one. I’m not a big fan of pu er and some other aged teas I’ve had were okay. But I figured let’s give this a try anyway.
I only have a 5g sample so I’m going to do everything right with this one. Using the gongfu method I’ll be trying to steep as many times as I can. (Ended up with around 5 or 6 steepings).
The dry aroma is very woody, dried wood with other earthy notes. When wet, the minerality immediately comes forth along with some clean earthy somewhat roasty notes. It is a unique aroma that is rich and deep but not overwhelming.
The flavor, likewise, is mineral. Soft on the palette. The second steeping has revealed interesting milky notes. Also with the second and third steeping, unique rye notes came out. Like rye bread without the bread. Heavier roasted notes towards the end.
If you guys are able to give this tea a try I highly suggest it. Just make sure you give yourself a good half hour to enjoy the tea as it should be. No tea mugs for this tea.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
The Ben Shan cultivar has a big, strong flavor that is full of all the fruit and sweet florals we love in Tieguanyin. Ben Shan is so rich that it is often sold as Tieguanyin or blended with Tieguanyin to make Tieguanyin taste more like Tieguanyin. Some of the oldest tea bushes on Master Zhang’s high mountain plot are Ben Shan varietal, planted by his grandparents. Ben Shan is used by Master Zhang in many of his Wulong revival experiments for its versatile nature and big, deep texture. Careful aging and roasting bring out unexpectedly tropical florals paired with a taut cooling minerality.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Imperial Ti Kwan Yin from Enjoying Tea. . . .
Oolong is such a delicate tea.
If you eat or drink anything heavy before some, like this one, you’ll often find that some of the intricate flavors are hidden. I find it best to cleanse my palette with a few small cups (maybe 4-5 tablespoons worth) and then begin to decipher flavors after that.
This seems like your typical Ti Kwan Yin. Some orchid notes in both flavor and aroma along with slight marine and grassy notes. A shorter steeping time reveals sweeter characteristics with stronger floral emphasis while a longer steep will, like most teas, bring out more tannins.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Enjoying Tea
Description
This Oolong comes from the province of Fujian and is great when brewed Gongfu Style. This tea is named after the Iron Goddess of Mercy. When brewed, this tea offers a smooth taste, nutty flavor, and a sweet lingering aftertaste. This tea is also great served chilled.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lemongrass Oolong / The Tea Club
In the world of tea and tisane, there are some ingredients used that are overpowering. One of these is lemongrass. This tea is a perfect example, in taste and aroma, of how careful a tea blender must be in combining their ingredients.
The lemongrass is all that can be smelled, good thing it’s a calming scent.
Whoever blended this tea did a wonderful job. At first I wasn’t impressed All the flavor was lemongrass.
Even the after taste was lemongrass. Don’t get me wrong it’s a gentle flavor that can easily be enjoyed but what I really wanted was to taste the oolong. With a bit more steep time the uniqueness of this tea came forth. It is very apparent that whoever blended this tea has taken a class or five on tea blending. The oolong may be the main ingredient but in this case it aids the lemongrass. The floral, citrus, and tropical notes are subtly amplified.
The only thing I’m not really fond of in this tea is the pineapple pieces. They add a unique tropical tone to the tea but because of this the aftertaste is a bit artificial.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Tea Club
Description:
This was a special blend in the December Tea Club pack.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sweet Watermelon Oolong from TeaLeafs #VeganMoFo2016
I have an insane love for Watermelon so when the prompt for Vegan MoFo was for favorite food, I knew exactly which tea would fit!
I recently polished off my stash of Sweet Watermelon Oolong from TeaLeafs and eventho it’s not currently for sale on their website I thought it was still worth a mention and a review as it is absolutely YUMMY! (As of 11/7- this tea is back online)
Like I stated above…I am now finished with my stash of this flavored Oolong. Is it wrong and weird of me to keep the bag for smelling purposes? Yes, it really IS that wonderfully flavored. It you are a fan of Watermelon Jolly Ranchers you will have to check this one out as soon as it’s available again at TeaLeafs.
Sweet Watermelon Oolong is great HOT and stand alone. But it’s also amazing COLD by itself and/or with your sweetener of your choice. I rarely suggest adding sweeteners to teas but my husband drinks teas with sweeteners when he does drink them and he enjoys this one as well. He’s used Natural Dark Rock Sugar chunks but we have also tried it with Agave and that works nicely, too!
But don’t feel like you HAVE to add anything because this is a gem by itself. I’m assuming my with-drawls will begin shortly. I NEED to get my hands on more of this flavored oolong!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Oolong
Where to Buy: TeaLeafs
Description
Origin: Fujan Provence, China
Ingredients: Oolong tea, Papaya pieces, Plum + Safflower petals, Natural flavors
Ripe, juicy, thirst quenching
