Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea From Taiwan
Tea Description:
Zhong Shu Hu oolong tea comes from the Zhong Shu Hu area of Ali Mountain (Alishan) – one of the most famous tea producing regions of Taiwan. The climate here is cool and moist with cloud cover and mists every day. These conditions are ideal for tea because the plants grow very slowly and produce tender, flavorful tea leaves and buds.
Zhong Shu Hu oolong tea has a sweet taste and refined aroma. Each brewing brings out new flavours and taste sensations. This tea has a complexity that provides continuous nuances with every cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ah! Ali Shan! Yay! There are few teas out there that make me happier than an Ali Shan Oolong. And this Zhong Shu Hu Oolong Tea from Tea From Taiwan is an OUTSTANDING Ali Shan tea!
It is so sweet and light! The light texture is what I’m noticing in particular here … this tea does not feel heavy or weighty on the tongue. It seems to float over the tongue, delivering it’s delicate taste and delicious sweetness.
Up front, I notice notes of flower that are reminiscent of orchid. There is a honeyed sweetness to the cup that accentuates the orchid notes nicely. I notice hints of Asian pear (apple pear) in the distance … sweet and crisp! And then there is the buttery note that is absolutely irresistible.
But what I like about that buttery note here is that it doesn’t weigh the palate down or feel like it’s “coating” my tongue. It is light! As if the hint of vegetable taste that is also a part of this tea has been lightly drizzled with melted butter. Just enough to enhance the flavor of the veggies, but not enough to overwhelm their delicate nuances.
This is one of the best Ali Shan Oolong teas I’ve tasted in a very long time. I highly recommend it to all those who love Oolong like I do. And if you’re worried about the price – don’t! I got ten AMAZING infusions out of one measurement of leaves … so consider the price an investment in good taste that will keep paying you in re-steeped dividends!
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.
2002 Ripe/Cooked Pu-erh Mini Bing-Tea Cake from ESGreen
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: ESGreen
Tea Description:
This mini tea cake was made by high-level material made from broad-leaved wild tea trees. Traditional court recipe.
The vintage year is 2002, which is over 10 year now.
Learn more about this pu-erh here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned (more than once!), I’ve had a very difficult relationship with Pu-erh. It started off really bad … and I think it is those bad memories that taint my experiences with Pu-erh even now. And really, I don’t think it was the fault of the Pu-erh back then… it was my lack of knowledge. I didn’t know how to brew a Pu-erh properly, and I ended up with a very earthy dark tea that made me think I was drinking a very thin mud rather than tea. It wasn’t pleasant.
But that was then, and this is now!
And I have learned quite a bit since then, I have learned better ways of brewing tea. I have come to embrace the gaiwan as not a “gadget” but an essential tool for tea making. I love my gaiwan, because I have not only rediscovered the joy of Oolong but have also learned there is much joy to be discovered even with a tea I once disliked: Pu-erh!
It’s the earthiness that was off-putting. And when brewed improperly, a Pu-erh can be overwhelmingly earthy, so much so that it is really REALLY off-putting. But when brewed correctly, a Pu-erh can be so delightfully complex while maintaining a mellow character that is really quite enjoyable.
This Pu-erh is indeed earthy – but the strongest earthy tones are experienced in its aroma, when the tea is in its dry cake form. After a quick rinse and a 30 second infusion, I smell and taste only a very delicate earthiness, which is layered with an intense sweetness that is like caramel. It is very smooth.
I’ve often heard Pu-erh compared to a “fishy” taste but I don’t taste that here. There is a slight mushroom-y/earthy flavor to it, but not at all fishy. The sweetness is what I taste most, it is very mellow and remarkably smooth. It’s a really excellent value, too, because I got six very flavorful infusions from one mini tea cake, and I think it would have given many more!
This is one of those Pu-erh teas that I’d recommend to someone who has had bad luck with Pu-erh in the past … this is a good one and certainly worthy of a try. You might just find this one to your liking!
Yanxin’s Reserve ’04 Shu Nuggets from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
These nuggets are formed from only the smallest most delicate buds, and slow-fermented to form nuggets.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Just … Wow!
I always seem to be so surprised by pu-erh… surprised that I actually like it. The first couple of times that I did try it were less than successful tastings, and as a result, I have it programmed in my head that I do not like pu-erh. But, you’d think that by now, after so many successful tastings since those first few, that I’d have managed to reprogram myself and realize that I DO like pu-erh.
And I REALLY like this pu-erh. Immediately upon opening the pouch I KNEW this was different. The tea has been formed into little nuggets, looking a bit like dried clots of dark earth. And I expected it to smell like dark earth, but it didn’t. The aroma is fairly faint. I detect hints of wood, but not much else.
The flavor is quite remarkable. The tasting notes on Verdant Tea’s website seem to describe what I’m experiencing very well. Notes of sweet cinnamon and a vanilla tone that is not so much a creamy vanilla, but more of the sugary sweetness you’d experience from an angel food cake. Enhancing these angel-food-esque flavors even more is a sort of cake-y like taste … wheat and browned sugar and tones of malt.
But it’s what I don’t taste that makes this shu even more remarkable … I don’t taste EARTH! Usually with a shu pu-erh, even a very good one that is sweet and delicious, there are earth tones that taste unmistakeably … well, like earth. But, I don’t taste those same earthy tones here. I don’t taste that brine-y fish taste. I taste a sweet, clean flavor with notes of wood and spice. And I like it a LOT!
If you have wanted to get in to pu-erh but have not found one that you can enjoy without tasting those strong, earthy flavors, try this one! This one WILL surprise you!
Peacock Village 2004 Shu from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
The Peacock Village is unique in its perfectly light and clean body. It does not weigh down the palate with earthiness. Rather, it sparkles in its crisp sweetness. The very large leaves used are similar to the old tea tree leaf material in the Xingyang 1998. The first steepings yield a crystalline orange tea with tea oils swirling on top. The sweetness is like rock sugar and white grapes. After the preliminary steepings, the tea starts to unfold in darker buckwheat flavor and honey. Unexpectedly, there is something in the texture and aftertaste of dried oregano. As the tea steeps out, the grape-like fruit taste becomes dark elderberry, and the aftertaste is tinged with the warm spice of Thai ginger and peppercorns.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea made me a little nervous at the start. While the dry leaf aroma doesn’t possess a strong earthy scent, the liquor does smell rather earthy. And it is that earthiness that often puts me off when it comes to Pu-erh. But Verdant has not let me down yet, so I relied on my past experiences and took a sip.
Yes! Fortunately, the earthiness is not as strong in the taste. The first sip starts out with a fairly moderate earthy tone which quickly dissipates into a clean, sweet flavor. With each subsequent sip, I notice less of the earthy note, and more of that sweetness. It’s really quite lovely.
I brewed this Gongfu style as directed on the Verdant Tea website, except that I steeped the first infusion 30 seconds and added 15 seconds with each subsequent infusion. What I am drinking now is the results of the first two infusions (following two quick rinses). The taste is remarkably light for a Pu-erh, which tends to be somewhat heavy. Once the earthy notes subside, the flavor is sweet and crisp … almost like a honey that has been thinned with sparkling white grape juice.
The third and fourth infusions render a tea that has almost no earthy note to speak of. There is just a hint of earthiness somewhere in there, but, it’s back in background, and so easy to miss with the other lovely flavors in the cup. It has a warmth to it as if it had been slightly spiced. The spiced tones develop later in the sip, toward the finish, and the aftertaste imparts a tingly taste on the tongue as if I had just eaten something with fresh peppercorn. Not hot or spicy, mind you, but, just a hint of pepper. I taste lovely fruit notes throughout: the grape-y notes that I mentioned earlier are still there, and I taste something else too … pear perhaps? A very interesting tea, this Shu from Peacock Village, and I am eager to try the next two infusions.
My fifth and sixth infusions are even sweeter, reminding me a bit of the rock sugar candy that I used to love as a child (and if the flavor of this tea is any indicator, I still quite like that rock sugar candy!) The earthiness is gone. There is a dry sensation toward the finish and into the aftertaste … but it isn’t astringency. It almost feels powdery, like dry cocoa but it doesn’t taste chocolate-y, instead it tastes like warm spice. It is a curious sort of sensation, but not at all unpleasant. I’m quite enjoying the mysteries that I experience as I sip this tea.
For those who have thought that Pu-erh is not to your liking, I think you should give this Shu a try. It is quite remarkable, and unlike any Pu-erh I’ve yet to taste.