Leaf Type: Oolong
Produced By PT Harendong Green Farm
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:
December’s Shipment from ITFA was unique in a couple of ways. First, it was teas from Indonesia, and I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to try teas from Indonesia prior to receiving this package. Second, it was unique because all three teas were from the same farm: PT Harendong Green Farm.
So far, I’ve reviewed for you two of the three teas I received from December’s Shipment: the Black Tea (aka Red Tea) and the Green Tea, and I enjoyed both of those quite a bit. Now, I’m reviewing the third and final tea in December’s Shipment: the Oolong!
And this is unlike any Oolong I have ever tasted. Dry, the tea looks very much like a Tie Guan Yin with its tightly wound, deep green pellets. But it doesn’t smell like a Tie Guan Yin. This one smells fruity and a little floral before steeping, and the brewed tea smells a bit vegetal, losing much of the fruit and flower notes that I noticed prior to infusing the leaves.
The flavor is also different. It has a smooth vegetative taste with sharp floral tones in the background. The contrast between these two flavors is quite compelling. The vegetative flavor is earthy and somewhat reminiscent of fresh herbs, and this herbaceous taste lingers in the aftertaste. The floral tones are sharp yet sweet. The finish is dry with strong astringency at the start of the cup, and as I continue to sip, I notice that this astringency seems to taper. In subsequent infusions, the fruit tones develop, and I notice a juicy taste that begins to emerge as the astringency wanes.
I really enjoyed this memorable journey to Indonesia by way of tea, and I’ve been so honored to take part in the Global Tea Taster’s Club. I look forward to what the next shipment might have in store!
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, December’s Shipment, Part 2: Green Tea
Leaf Type: Green
Produced By PT Harendong Green Farm
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:
At first glance, I wouldn’t guess that this tea was a green tea. The dry leaves look very much like a green Oolong, possibly a Tie Guan Yin. The leaves are rolled into tight pellets, just like a green Oolong would be.
However, upon closer examination, I began to recognize significant differences between this and an Oolong. The aroma is more like a green tea, with a fresh, distinctive grassy tone.
The tea infuses to a lovely pale green color, and the flavor is rich and the texture is broth-like. I wouldn’t call the flavor “grassy” exactly, at least, not in a bitter/grassy context. Instead, this has a sweet flavor with a savory vegetative note, like the flavor of a mild steamed vegetable. There are delicious nutty notes in the background.
This is very smooth and a pleasure to sip. As I continue to sip, I notice that the savory tones of this tea develop, enhancing the vegetative notes but not overwhelming the sweet flavors. A remarkable green tea from Indonesia, I am so glad I had this opportunity to taste it.
ITFA Global Tea Taster’s Club, December’s Shipment, Part 1: Red Tea
Leaf Type: Black
Produced By PT Harendong Green Farm
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:
December’s Shipment of the Global Tea Taster’s Club is here! I get so excited every time this package arrives, because I know I am about to enjoy tea that I would likely never have the chance to try if it were not for the International Tea Farm Alliance (ITFA). This time, we journey to Indonesia to sample the red tea (or what we would refer to as black tea here in the United States) from PT Harendong Green Farm. 
This is truly a unique black tea, quite unlike anything I’ve tried thus far. The dry leaves are very dark (which was expected), and they have been rolled into pellets resembling an Oolong (well, except for the dark color!) The dry leaf aroma is floral and slightly earthy, reminiscent of the air in early spring. It infuses to a coppery brown color with a fragrance that is quite similar to the scent of the dry leaf. It is one of those intriguing scents that draws you in and beckons you to sip.
The flavor is amazing. There are earthy tones with hints of flower in the background, with a foreground of sweet, malty tones, as well as a caramel-like flavor. There is a taste that is similar to freshly baked bread. Our local grocery store has freshly baked French bread daily at 4 o’clock pm (also at 5 and 6 o’clock), and my family and I love arriving there just in time to get a hot loaf of bread, and we eat it immediately. No butter, no jam – just the piping hot bread – the crust is tender and chewy, with just the right amount of crunch to it, and the inside is soft and warm. And that tender, chewy crust is my favorite part, and this tea has a flavor that to it that reminds me of that chewy, deliciously caramel-brown crust.
There are also delicious hints of cocoa in this – rich and chocolatey – that develop as I continue to sip. The finish is dry with a sweet aftertaste.
A truly remarkable tea from Indonesia. I am honored that I had the chance to try it!