siam tea shop

Hello Tea Friends,

I got a sample pack of Dong Ding Oolong to try from my last order with Siam Tea and today is the day to try it. Think of it as a random cupboard sample that has been chosen for the potential of greatness.

Opening the packet reveals large brown leaf balls complete with stem that appear whole. They truly are an impressive size! Also though dark they have a nice glossy shine. On sniff-spection I can smell toasted wood with soft, dry smoke.

Steeping Parameters: 5g Leaf, 320ml vessel, 85C water temperature, 3 minute steep.

The resulting tea is golden in colour with a toasted malt scent.

The first few sips reveal a soft sweetness amidst a sour, toasted wood note that lightens to an almost malt finish in the after taste. There is also a slight dryness. The sweetness carries on half way down the cup with a floral quality and lightness. I close my eyes and imagine I’m drinking flowers that were wood roasted. The sourness remains consistent which leaves a mature, sour wood note to dance on my tongue.

This Oolong was very easy to drink and tasted pure, a very nice example of a lightly toasted Oolong. Even at the end of the cup I could taste each flavour individually with just as much character as the first sip. This would make a nice everyday Oolong.

Until next time,

Happy Steeping!

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Oolong

Where to Buy: Siam Tea

Description:

DMS Dong Ding Blue Pearls Oolong Tea from Doi Mae Salong, north Thailand,rolled, handpicked. Strongly reminiscent of Chinese Wuyi rock Oolong teas, in particular Da Hong Pao Oolong tea.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here.

kittylovestea

My name is Kayleigh Jade and I was born in Leicester, England, UK. I have always had a love for herbal and fruit tea (even as a child) but my curiosity got the best of me in my teen years and I started to look into other teas. I eventually found some companies in the UK that offered different teas and eBay was an easy source for international (particularly Chinese) teas. I found myself liking specific teas more than others such as Pu Erh and jasmine green pearls (which are two of my favourites still to date) and my obsession kept growing. Now I am in tea clubs and regularly order new products to try and though I have tried a good variety of different teas I still consider myself to be a beginner student. My goal in life is to keep tasting and steeping and learning and hopefully by having this blog I will pass on what I learn and feel. My name is kittylovestea because it combined my two favourite things in the world. Those being cats and tea (of course!). My cats are also interested in some of my teas (especially dessert or sweet teas) and always seem to become excited once they smell what I’m brewing. I have arrived home before to find a few tea packets on the floor with suspicious looking holes which any cat owner know are made from biting. I now have to be careful with the storing of my tea but it’s nice to know my 4 angels have the same interests as me. =^_^=

This post was posted in Oolong, Siam Tea Shop

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black blend.

Where to Buy: Siam Tea Shop

Tea Description:

Siam Blend Black, an aromatic Thai tea blend based on a wild black tea collected by the local Lahu tribe in Fang province, reminiscent of Thai cuisine through an added blend of typical Thai food ingredients such as lemongrass, lime leaf, chili and ginger root.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Hello fellow tea lovers,

Today I’m reviewing a blend that was inspired by the aromatic and beautiful flavours of Thai cuisine, think of this as an ode to Thai food in tea form. This sounds delicious but also a little strange at the same time, though I think it’s wonder outweighs my doubts. Thai food flavoured tea…that just sounds so creative…and delicious, right?

The loose leaf is large and hosts an array of colours, most noticeably the lime leaf. The black tea is also large and thinly rolled into long, squiggly pieces. The blend as a whole has a spicy and rather aromatic scent. Not as strong as I expected nor as Thai food strong.

So 2 teaspoons (since it’s large leaf) of blend into my steeping mug and boiling water added for roughly 3-4 minutes.

The resulting tea liquid is dark brown and in colour and has the most amazing Thai scent I have ever smelled from a tea. It truly does smell like Thai green curry, or another similar dish. It’s spicy with citrus highs and a creamy underlayer, before becoming spicy again. Wondrous indeed!

And here comes the taste test (which I can hardly control my excitement about). ..sip..sip. Holy moly, that has a spicy kick! The chilli burns the throat (well rather tingles than burns) and is quickly neutralised by a touch of cream and citrus (which matches the smell) before becoming spicy again in the after taste. The chilli is definitely the main character. I gave a sip for my husband and he stated “I’ve never had such a spicy cup of tea” and considering I’m on 1291 (including this tea) steeping notes of which I pass onto him to try; it’s saying something about this ‘unique’ blend.

I think you would either love or hate this one. As for me I like the inspiration of it and can enjoy the spicy chilli kick at the start of the sip. It’s even making me sweat a little, but it gives you that ‘warm and spicy glow’ that you get when you eat something a little hotter than what you are used to. Hopefully someone else will understand what I mean by that 🙂

So yes, for originality and a unique experience plus a spicy food (or in this case drink) glow I declare this a winning blend. I shall no doubt enjoy the rest of my 20g pouch, and with instructions to ice this tea on their website I even get a chance to experiment a little.