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Here is another unique tea from Taiwan Tea Crafts, a “Shui Xian” styled tea in processing, but made from local Taiwanese oolong cultivars. It’s a bit confusing to me why they chose to call this Shui Xian since the leaves are not long twisted oolong leaves like Wuyi Oolongs but are instead the tightly rolled balls you see in most Taiwanese oolong, along with many loose stems. I guess they’re just referring to it having the same general roasting process and treatment as Shui Xian up to the point where it is rolled.

The warm leaves in the gaiwan do in fact smell reminiscent of Shui Xian, a deep roasted scent with orchid notes. Because the leaves are rolled into beads, I am brewing this longer than I would if they were strip style oolong. After the first infusion, the leaves smell really strongly fruity and floral. Orchids and figs, maybe blackberries. Of course they smell very roasted as well.

Despite a mild yellow infusion, the flavor is very powerful. The deep roasted flavor has hints of char and tobacco and is underscored by a subtle orchid note. There isn’t much sweetness or fruitiness to the tea’s taste. Those more delicate notes present themselves more in the aroma. The tea is moderately drying in the throat and back of the tongue.

The second infusion is perhaps a bit more floral with a faint honey note. The roasted flavors are diminished, but the creeping dryness that sneaks up at the end of a sip is still there. This is definitely not a smooth tea, and I find that aspect of it very unfortunate because I am finding it hard to continue drinking because of how abrasive the texture is. Third infusion, lighter flavor but the dryness is still present.

I will have to give this tea a try another day and see if I still feel it is so drying.

I’m eager to try this tea commissioned by Taiwan Tea Crafts. They explained on their site that they do not sell Taiwanese green teas unless they produce or commission them because allegedly most green Taiwanese teas are imposters from China. So I’m interested to try some real Taiwanese green tea. This tea is made from Qing Xin cultivar, which is usually used for oolong, so it likely won’t taste much like the usual green teas I’m used to.

Out of the bag it already has a really sweet, rich, vegetal aroma with hints of flowers and herbs. After the first infusion in a gaiwan, the leaves smell abundantly of lush tropical growth like you might experience in a greenhouse, and the brewed tea has a bit of a citrusy smell to it. The liquor is almost colorless, yet full of flavor. On the first sip, the flavor is unique… striking me as somewhere between Chinese green tea and Tie Guanyin. It has both the green bean vegetal notes and nutty notes (pecan this time) I’m used to in Chinese green teas and the mountain vegetation notes I’m used to in Tie Guanyin and other rolled oolongs.

This tea takes substantially longer to brew than other green teas. The leaves seem to be thicker and larger, also twisted similar to a Taiwanese open-leaf style oolong (Baozhong, Bai Hao, etc.) which seems rather tight and may be more responsive to hotter temperatures (I’ll have to experiment with this).

On the second infusion, I’m getting more of all the aforementioned flavors, but more intense, a hint of camphor in this infusion. The color is a nice pale green. The flavor is really nice and reminds me of spiced cookies with nuts, though of course the vegetal notes are still alongside this, but blend well because of the strong nutty flavor.

By the third infusion, it is really starting to taste a lot more like your usual Chinese green tea in its flavor profile, mostly nutty, green beans, vegetal.

I think this is a really nice green tea overall though, and would encourage Taiwan Tea Crafts and their partners to keep producing it!

Well I’m in the reviewing mood today but have no new teas to review. Ho-hum. I did find this sample from Yunomi which was unopened but past its suggested “drink by” date, so I will leave my impressions gingerly.

I haven’t particularly given much love to my beautiful Tokoname-yaki kyusu lately. I really need to sift through old emails and see if I can figure out who made this thing because it is handmade and is easily the most beautiful and precisely-crafted teaware in my collection.

Anyway, these bancha leaves are the big yellowish green leaves I’m used to seeing. The scent of the leaves after the first infusion is mildly floral and nutty with a bit of the scent of prairie grass in late summer. Most people would use the word hay here, but I like the more idyllic descriptor of golden grasses drying out with splashes of living growth and wildflowers in the mix. It’s a distinct smell. If you’ve gotten to visit any tall prairies you know it, and I grew up among them, so I cant depart it from my memory. The scent of the leaves is also slightly herbal and reminds me of the scent of dry matcha.

The flavor is more enjoyable than I expected, especially from expired tea. It tastes like yellow apple peels and walnuts and packs a pretty decent umami for a bancha. It’s very clean and crisp, quite rich in flavor too. There’s a tart black currant kind of note late in the sip and it lingers. There is a hint of bitterness but I think the tartness and the richness of flavor work together pretty well in hiding it. It has a slightly dry finish as well but a bit of lingering sweetness too.

This tea was relaxing. Good by me. :3

EDIT: I found the aforementioned email and it is made by Shoji Umehara. If you see any of his works, I highly recommend them. My kyusu has the most immaculate lid fit I’ve seen on a teaware (zero wiggle room, but can be rotated smoothly), and the shape and glazing of this kyusu are just perfect.

EDIT EDIT: I found the old Amazon page with pictures of it, though this one I ordered from Chado Tea House (they are the ones who were selling it on Amazon too) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CD8NPTU?tag=tystoyboxpair-20

After letting the dry leaves sit inside a prewarmed gaiwan for a minute, it definitely smells of Sheng… leather, wood, earth and a faint aroma of flowers and sap.

The first infusion is sweet and smooth, with notes of sandalwood and a hint of honeysuckle. The taste and aroma also remind me of summer trees in the rain. It has a silky texture, and while there are hints of dryness in the woody finish, and little sparks of white pepper flavor, there’s also a good amount of lingering sweetness, and a taste of golden raisins.

By the second infusion, the wood note is coming through much more, and the peppery note in the finish, while overall it is less sweet.

I won’t go much more deeply into this review except to say that if you’ve had good young sheng, this is good young sheng, and it has all the tastes and aromas you’d expect from your typical sheng, so that’s that. I have no idea what the asking price is, so it may be a good deal, but the flavor profile’s not one that is particularly memorable to me, so I’ll probably pass on ordering some.

“I so badly want to say… ‘would you like a cup of tea?’”

I finished playing Undertale yesterday and I couldn’t stop crying my head off. I can’t get it out of my mind. If you like classic NES style nostalgic video games, or RPGs, or good humor, or good feels, or happiness, or peace in the world, or anything good, please pay the paltry $10 and play this game. It is life changing. I can’t drink a cup of tea now without thinking about its ending and its message. I’ll leave that to your curiosity if you haven’t played it. If you do you’ll know what I mean.

On to the Tieguanyin.
The fragrance of these dry leaves in a preheated gaiwan is very rich. They smell like flowers, honey, camphor, and maybe even cinnamon. The wet leaves are similar but have an even stronger aroma and the addition of vegetal, buttery notes.

The first infusion of this tea taste very buttery and creamy, lightly, floral, and has a surprise ending that tastes like peach and really lingers on the palate. Wasn’t expecting that!

Eerily, this tea infuses a very pale green color, almost colorless. It’s very cool. The leaves are giving off a more honey-sweet floral aroma after the second infusion, and the flavor of this infusion is more floral with notes of evergreen trees and clove. The third infusion is really buttery and sweet with a hint of tartness. The flavors of flowers and honey permeate with a very warming feeling.

Repeated infusions are similar and just as generous. This is the best Tie Guanyin I’ve tried, so I know where I’ll be buying mine next time I need to refill.

These curly little black leaves are gorgeous. After putting them into a preheated yixing pot, they have a very malty aroma and smell heavily of oats and dark chocolate, also raisins. The aroma of the wet leaves is very complex, earthy… somewhere between tobacco, prunes, dark chocolate, wood ashes, and a cellar.

The first infusion is incredibly mellow and sweet. The sweetness really lingers, with notes of stone fruits and cocoa and a rich bready background like sweetened porridge or oatmeal. There are hints of malt and dark chocolate in the finish. The repeat infusions have been less sweet and a little more cocoa tasting, but overall it is still a rather nice tea. That first infusion really impressed me, and I thought immediately I’d have to buy some, but the repeat infusions were more dark and bittersweet and not as smooth as I tend to go for, so I will have to think on it!

Sometimes I lose a review while typing it in here, usually because I accidentally close the browser. Oh well.

In a nutshell the first few infusions of this green tea were very sweet, with a nutty, buttery kind of taste and an undertone of asparagus. It was really smooth and enjoyable. The first infusion tasted like sweetened oats. The vegetal tones took a back seat to the other flavors and did I mention it was really sweet? I enjoyed this green tea a lot. It smelled like malt, and had just a subtle aftertaste of it.

I’ve been drinking a lot of Da Hong Pao lately to season a vintage unglazed Taiwanese clay pot I got recently. I am planning to only use it for Wuyi oolongs, probably DHP more than others.

This DHP starts with the expected aromas of roast, flowers, and spices, or what comes off more like camphor to me. Sipping the first infusion, it’s really mellow and smooth, subtle floral tones with a prune like fruity flavor.

The second infusion is more floral and lacks the fruity sweetness of the first. It’s rather perfumey, a very concentrated kind of floral taste, hard for me to put my thumb on what type of flower though. Maybe jasmine (something pungent like that) with a hint of rose or orchid?

The third infusion is much less intense again. It’s smooth with dried fruit notes, undertones of floral, and a hint of cooling sensation in the finish. A longer fourth infusion has brought out more spices in the aroma and a more rich and deep fruit flavor.

All in all, a good tea. To me, it’s a simple tea, not a complex one like some other Da Hong Pao I’ve had, so if you like simple, straightforward, dependable tea, well this one is good and hard to brew wrong. I still err in favor of more complex Da Hong Pao for this, which is largely the reason for my rating. If you are looking for really complex and striking Da Hong Pao, I’m afraid this is probably not the one to choose, but… Verdant has a 5 teas for $5 deal that currently includes this tea if you are a first-time customer. That includes shipping if you live in the US, China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, so definitely give that box a try if you are new to Verdant tea. This is my first time trying teas from them, as I just bought that box, and I’m very happy they offer it. It’s always nice to try new teas without breaking the bank.

The initial scent of these big green rolled leaves in a warm gaiwan reminds me of buttered freshly baked bread, magnolia flowers, and evergreens.

After the first infusion, the leaves have a much more intensely floral aroma with notes of strawberry jam and warm cream. The taste of this infusion was not at all what I was expecting, a metallic leafy green taste… think iron-dense greens like spinach. The finish is distinctly peachy and lingers on the tongue.

On the second infusion, the flavor is more intensely floral with notes of jasmine, cream, and even a bit of grapefruit.There’s an evergreen freshness that lays the undertones throughout the sip and the peach flavor lingers again.

The third infusion is even more evergreen and buttery. I’m enjoying this infusion the most so far. It’s rather sweet and flavorful, with just a hint of astringency and a floral finish. Overall, a fresh tasting vibrant oolong.

I try not to read vendor descriptions when reviewing a new tea, so I can have a clear mind and interpret the tea on my own, but this is a tea that I bought because I read the description and it sounded nice. I have to say the notes given by Taiwan Tea Crafts this time are actually quite on point. I do get the fresh stone fruit notes like peach and cherry. Even more so the most obvious note is the aroma and flavor of violets, which I wouldn’t even know of except that I’ve found a favorite cocktail lately called Aviation that has Creme de Violette in it, and a friend also made me some crostinis for my birthday with a violet vinaigrette on it. This tea really smells like violets, and I love that. There are some undertones of vanilla, as suggested, and a bit of a cooling wintergreen freshness in the finish, more in sensation than flavor, but perhaps a bit in flavor as well.

I’m brewing this in a small flat Gongfu Pot. I’m not going to go through many infusions in my review, so I can sit and enjoy this tea. Those previous notes were for the first. The second infusion is very rich and sweet. Makes me salivate a lot, and now the violet taste is definitely more a “candied violet” like the description said. The third infusion is still quite rich but even more smooth and a bit caramely. Flavors are similar to the first two but with a bit of malty and woody flavors in the background.

Overall i’m very impressed by this tea. It is easily among the best black or red teas I’ve had now. This one has a unique flavor profile in comparison to many others I’ve had. It’s no wonder since it is made with Qing Xin leaves from Shan Lin Xi and Jin Xuan leaves. This tea is deserving of its competition achievements. Well done, Jin Long!