China Cha Dao

Second steeping is better than the first. Taste is rounder and more mouth-filling. There is a touch of charcoal in it now, roasted seed/nut flavor has come up more.

Berry and sweetness are basically gone. This steep is a darker, richer one.

Oh and as it cools the flavor changes nicely, too. It’s becoming a touch floral and the texture is more chewy seeming. It also seems a bit darker in taste, too.

The scent is a rich and deep “oolong smell”, along with a barest hint of wood to it.

The taste is nicely roasted… it has a woodstove kind of taste to it. Lightly and not overwhelming, very nice. There is a slight sweetness to this, but it is very, very, very barely there. It’s more a thought than a taste.

There’s also something very barely fruity about this on the tip of the tongue when swallowing, but I can’t place what it is… maybe raspberry or blackberry.

I like this and would have it again. I’ll have to see what I think in the next couple steepings and on a second batch altogether, but this might be a buyer.

this s a Awesome Oolong.. I Brewed this leaf in my Ming Xiang Cup.. The leaf is long and dark, have a rice/veggy smell is the best i can describe it. I brewed for 3min at about 190f.
The color was a red brown very pretty.. The cup nose (smell) is of cooked rice and Tea but not like genmacha. Good sweet taste I get a little veg and a really nice tea and sweetness on the after taste. I will give it a second and third infusion to see if I can draw out some good tea.

I was really wanting an oolong session, but I grabbed this one and unfortunately it just isn’t doing it for me. There is a toasty, honey-like flavor, but it feels like something is missing from the flavor. Mmm.. maybe just a shower and then to bed.

This is one from the very generous samples I received the other day! Dry – this smells a bit sweet, but mainly roasty, toasty. After brewing this tea up, it is a medium golden brown hue and it is nicely roasty. I wish it were a bit more on the smoky side of things, but it is a pretty satisfying cup overall. It has significantly aided in reducing my stress levels also which is a nice bonus. I am definitely looking forward to trying the other samples I received, but first I will need to finish this tasty mug.

This has a semi-strong scent that is sort of “standard oolong” -nutty/seedy with a barely-there honey tone.

Tasting it, this one’s a little weird but in a good way. It has a good sized flavor, brown (maybe walnutty) taste around the back of the tongue, a typical oolong flavor in the center of the tongue and a slight clover sweetness. It also has a strong “something” that is good but I can’t describe.

Conclusions: I like it but doubt I’d buy it. It’s good, I’m glad I got to try it, but it’s not a wow-er. I look forward to trying the other samples as this one makes me think it’s possible there’s a “buyer” in there.

Oh, and I must add the they are very generous samples. Enough for a few cups, unlike some sample-senders, which is great as it can take me a few cups to really decide on a tea. Sometimes a second or third cup will take something from “meh” to “gotta have” or vice versa. These samples are enough to really explore the tea.

I am trying to place what I like about this oolong. It has as subtle smoky and chocolate notes. But it also has an earthiness that lingers on the tongue after the sip. It is an interesting oolong for sure.

This tea left me feeling very whelmed, it is nothing to right home about, but appranently it is something to write on steepster about. I’ve had worse yancha’s but I have definitely had better. If I was given a tin of this stuff I would drink it, unlike some others I’ve had. But this won’t be going on my wish list.

This tea is a bit dull and flat and lacked the floral subtleties that I have grown to crave in some of the better teas that emerge from the wuyi region. It held up quite well to multiple resteeps, on my third at the moment, but honestly I consider that a shame.

Again thanks to China Cha Dao for the sample but I can’t in good conscience recommend this one. 2 down 4 to go.

185F. 4min. 1g leaf per 80ml water.

I tried this one today, I received a free sample in the mail. I enjoyed the mellow flavor of this wuyi. It is always nice to see another variation of this tea.

This smells smokey, but doesn’t taste very smokey. Actually, it’s sweet.
Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the samples I received from China Cha Dao.
I think I’m going to be needing more of this.

A big thank you to Jerry Ma and the China Cha Dao tea store for the samples.

My sample tasting has gotten off to an excellent start with this tea.
It’s very very good – sweet and with a sort of woodsy kind of taste going on too.
A tea with depth.

Three perfect infusions. The current, fourth, infusion is a bit weak now, but still good.
Recommended!

Not to be selfish or anything but I’m revamping how I do tasting notes a bit. They are going to become much shorter and be more tailored to be useful to myself in remembering teas I like and dislike, rather than being a full on review.

Well its sample time, I’ve gotten a number of samples in the mail and its time to start going through them. This one is thanks to Jerry Ma and the China Cha Dao tea store.

This is the first one I tried, and I’ve got to say in the past I haven’t been much of a Wu Yi Yan Cha fan but this one is changing my mind. Delicate, sweet and pretty mellow with good flavor. Definitely would drink again.

I’m going to try all 6 samples and then buy a couple hundred grams of which ever my favorite is.

185F. 4min. 1g leaf per 80ml water.

Although a lower grade tea with twigs and 2 leaves 1 bud this tea is my daily drinking tea that brews quite a lovely floral, vanilla cookie scented cup that has nice huigan and soothing but stimulating cha qi.

Very long, individual leaves. After a short brew with almost boiling water it gives of an amber/green liquid with a very floral scent. The tea itself came out slightly bitter, but not at all unpleasant if you’re used to chinese teas where some bitterness is a desireable trait.
After varying brew times and temperatures it comes out consistently tasty. Bitterness can be controlled this way so you can reduce it if you’re not a fan.