Golden Dragon

This had a light but complex flavor profile. It is sweet, with a bit of charcoal and sour taste.

This mildly bitter tea is my favorite variety of oolong. It is not too strong, not too sweet, and pairs well with most foods. It is best prepared with water just below the boiling point. This tea is from the notable Wuyi Mountains in Fujian Province, China.

Decent tea, Cheap Price.
This tea is very popular in Asian supermarkets. The cheap ($4-$5) price tag makes for a very affordable lackluster tea filled fancy tin. ( fweewh… breathe ) It’s depressing that I cannot ever find the source and cultivar of this tea. Moving on… Very nutty and high roasted notes on this one. I prefer to flash chill this oolong versus normally hot steeping oolongs.

12/23/2015 7g/20oz/212F 2 minutes

Just a nice basic black (keemun base I think?) with a touch of lychee. Nothing extraordinary, or particularly special, just a nice hot cuppa. Also nice iced in the summer.

Steeped a teapot of this for the weekly Sunday Netflix binge. I added more chrysanthemum separately to supplement the lack of it in this ‘blend’. Had a heavy turkey dinner tonight (bought 2 turkeys on sale during the holidays so this was to use up the last one…lol). This was great to wash it down, including the dessert of vanilla mochi ice cream.

A very drinkable loose leaf pu-erh for every day (as opposed to a fancy aged for years cake). Despite being labelled as a chrysanthemum pu-erh blend, this tin lacks chrysanthemum pieces. As I’m halfway through the tin already, I am quite convinced there are no more than 10 pieces altogether in this tin – like a 1/20 ratio in fact :P

It has a leather-aroma, if i may say so also a bit of wet cow (lol) but not in a bad way, its just how pu-erh somehow makes otherwise unsavoury aromas seem satisfying. There is a bit of earth to i,t but less than the predominant leather note.

Brews up brown initially, but turns amber in the teapot when left for a bit to sit. Multiple brewings possible, usually I brew this about 3x per batch.

GCTTB2

I quite like lychee’s and lychee flavoured things, including tea, but it has to be done right. There is a very thin line with delicious lychee flavour and super chemical tasting.

Like some other tasting notes on this one state, this is quite a mild tea. But it is good. There is very minimal lychee flavour but it is there underneath the black tea.I am getting a slight bitterness with the black base but it is not in a bad way. I also feel like I am getting hints of coffee bean. Not sure if it is the tea or some contamination from the box, it is most likely not contamination from my house, but who knows. The lychee flavour definitely starts to pop more as the tea cools. I would love to try this one iced.

Edit: Iced, this one is really good. It is totally different iced than it is hot. I would say not much much lychee flavour iced, to me it is almost like an apple cider but without that tart apple. Not sure if that is making sense. Lychee cider maybe, ha ha. I brewed 2 tsp tea with 1 cup water for 3 minutes, added ice to make 2 cups then chilled in fridge for about 4 hours. I added 1 tsp of white sugar. It is hardly sweet at all and I am liking that.

A light and sweet Dragonwell green tea. No signs of bitterness, grass tasting or other off flavors, so more of a simple easy drinking green tea but one that I could easily see becoming boring if one drinks it too often.

Gaiwan brewed this one. This is a lighter puerh that is slightly earthy and mellow. Very good unless you like your puerh very strong in which case I’d advice you to search elsewhere.

I have to admit – I was anxious to try Dragonwell, and bought this one because I liked the tin and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a tea I wasn’t sure about. I actually think it’s okay! It’s not as grassy as Japanese greens, which is a plus for me. I can definitely tell this is not high quality due to the sticks mixed in, but it tastes okay. The leaves expand nicely and look much happier after brewing. I will definitely try the more expensive Lung Ching at my Asian market next time. For now, I’ll just drink this not-so-bad-but-not-great version. The tin was definitely worth the $3 I spent on this tea. I will be able to reuse it over and over.

Gaiwan brewed this one. I am not sure if I got a bad batch if all of the Chrysanthemum flowers had settled to the bottom of the tin but this Chrysanthemum Puerh had a complete lack of Chrysanthemum. Regardless it was still a good base puerh that is earthy but not too earthy.

Gaiwan brewed this one and found it to be pretty impressive. A light Ti Kuan Yin that is not overly floral and a little on the buttery side from how they go. Light TKY is not a favorite of mine but I can see this one making a good ice tea. Regardless at $3.65 a tin Golden Dragon brand tea is nice for trying things out without much risk.

Gaiwan brewed this oolong which turned out to be a nice medium roast by the old standards (or dark by the new nuclear green trends). The tea is dark enough to have a slight roast taste to it but light enough to still have the extra depth of greener oolongs. Just watch out with brewing it too long as that can bring out a slight bitter edge, unless you like it that way for the bitter start and sweeter aftertaste effect. Regardless at the price range of $3.65 for a 5.3 oz tin I think it is hard to top it quality in its range which makes it great for people that like oolong enough to drink it but not enough to pay big money for it.

Very mild taste, it wasn’t unpleasant, but, at the same time, I don’t really know what Lichee tastes like. So, can’t really critique this one much. It’s from a batch of inexpensive teas I’ve bought form a local asian grocery. It’s quite drinkable for what it is.

I recently bought a tin of this, but it must have been old stock – I didn’t smell or taste any rose, it was just kind of a flat black tea. The smell was so absent that I almost thought “Rose” was actually part of the brand name. I’ve since found a black rose tea that I really like, but it’s not nearly as cheap as this was (around $5 for the tin!) Because of the positive reviews here I’ll give it another try – maybe it’ll be better if I use tea that’s buried deeper in the tin, haha

I believe the last time I had enjoyed a Yunnan tea was from Adagio. The leaves were a mixture of beautifully light and deep browns, curled and soft, with tiny hairs. I recall golden tips and a smooth and soft flavor.

This tea is rather interesting. There is clearly a musty scent, which makes me worry about the quality of this tea.

There is a mixture of dark brown leaves and stems, which is not odd. What is odd is the size of the stems, most larger and longer than the leaves. I worry some more.

The liquor is dark and cloudy, with that musty scent from the leaves. I am actually not really looking forward to tasting this tea.

And, just as I had suspected, this is a very bitter tea. The musty scent had very much shown what the quality was to this tea, which is bitter and pretty much flavourless.

It feels like I haven’t really enjoyed a good new oolong tea in a while. I’ve found interesting oolongs, as well as replenished familiar oolongs, but never stumbled upon an oolong that can surprise me.

This is definitely one of the nicer tins I’ve purchased, closer in shape and design to the first double covered tin that contained Chocolate tea. The tin is covered in writing I can’t understand, aside from the name of the tea, of course. As well, the red tin is also covered with familiar designs of landscapes and a golden dragon on the lid.

The leaves are very complex and detailed, as they are tightly rolled. They vary shades of deep green, with stems scattered about. The aroma is wonderfully flowery, with a handsome roasted body.

Steeping brings out the buttery roasted oolong scent, scaling back the floral, and making for an increasingly complex aroma. The brew is a handsome deep amber color and very clean.

The flavor is soft, mellow and a nice balance of floral and roasted tones. There are multiple dimensions with each sip, as you catch different characteristics, most faint behind the buttery and floral flavors.

The balance and complexities give quite an interesting and delicious oolong. The mellow floral flavors make this an appropriate afternoon tea, as the strong floral aroma can linger.

We have traveled China bringing to USA the finest teas. Unfortunately in the USA we purchased Lung Ching Golden Dragon Green Tea believing it was from the same farm we visited in China. Our first cup of tea was tossed out because we found a long black hair in the first pinch of the green tea leaves. The rest of the can went into the garbage. Something must be done to improve the quality shipped to USA.

I picked this one up at my nearest Asian grocery. I envisioned myself sipping this in the afternnon while wearing a flowery hat in a sunny garden. Plus, the tin was totally adorable, and the price was very reasonable, considering its 1/2 pound size.

Opening it rushed an almost overwhelming scent of rose deep into my nasal cavities. I worried that the taste would be too perfumey.

After brewing, however, the taste was more subdued than the scent had led me to believe. The smell, once brewed, is enchanting and light. The color is (ha,ha) a rosy brown. Drinking it plain did prove a bit too astringent, but the addition of a teaspoon of sugar enhanced the already present sweetness and rounded it out. After the second steeping, I added milk, and that worked out, to my surprise.

A review: Rose China Black Tea by Choicest Tea

I think I am beginning to know difference between fine gourmet tea and poorly sanitary tea as this Choicest Tea is turning out to be when compared with the London Cuppa and English No. 1.

Rose China Black Tea does not measure to them at all.

Tea is steeped for three minutes for first infusion and nothing added but 1 tablespoon of the leaves. Tea color is dark amber and smells of malt but not like the Kopili Assam tea. It is much weaker by comparison.

For the next steep, this time done for five minutes and adding a teaspoon of sugar and this makes it more palatable as coffee/tea should be taken. Except I don’t like black teas but prefer green teas with nothing added to them. With adding of sugar, the rose fragrant is more surfaces in the fragrant and when tasting the tea; closing your eyes and envisioning the fragrant aroma of a rose bouquet…not of a fresh bouquet but of a forgotten one. Kind of like remembering what a rose smelled like.

Overall, five minutes steep, boiling water and the adding of sugar does make tea a choicest cup, bliss even!

A review: Rose China Black Tea by Choicest Tea

Steeping instructions:
Place 1 tsp of tea leaves for every 8oz (1 cup) of water
Bring the water to a rolling boil about 2120F

Color: is a reddish brown

Leaves are black and finely curled, more like bits but when boiled they become full leaves and retain their black color. With three steeps the leaves still remained the same.

Tasting notes or teas characteristic: black tea with tiny flakes of rose bits, not bitter but sugary like without the sugar, and malt. When first inhaling the aroma I can smell the scented rose, more like burned smoke with a slight floral undertone.

I am enjoying this malt liquor brew as I try to envision what it might be like to add sugar and perhaps milk to this tea. It would go well if fully cooked on the stove after removing the tea leaves to add milk and honey or sugar and let cook a bit longer; this would be an ideal way for true lovers of black tea to have it.

Something about this tea reminds me of The London Cuppa tea I have been enjoying, making this similar to a Darjeeling perhaps.

This China Rose Black Tea that I have is in loose leaf; a tin full. And I wanted to see how tasting a cup of this tea would meet with having tasted several other teas of similar type but in tea bags instead of loose leaves.

For this tea, it is best to brew and steep for a lesser time. Two minutes and not a full five minutes if only fixing one cup at a time. It brews strong right away. I find this tea is closer to the Kopili Assam in strength. They are both very assertive teas. The Kopili is probably the nicer of the two teas in quality as well.

For wanting a simple cup of black tea, The China Rose tea will do nicely. Adding sugar and crème to it makes it nicer even. And with the Kopili Assam, the flavoring is a fuller roast, nothing at all weak about this tea.

This tea was given to me from a former college professor. I was very surprised to receive a full tin of tea. The tin is very lovely, I plan to keep it once finished, but not for a long while since I cannot drink the tea as fast.

Having placed 1 tsp of tea leaves for every 8oz (1 cup) of water
Bringing the water to full boil and left to steep for the first steep for 3 minutes.

I note the color of the liquor in the cup is a reddish brown
The leaves prior to boiling were black and finely curled, are now full leaves and still retaining their color black. I was able to get three steeps out the leaves and they still remain black.

In tasting this tea, it is not bitter but more sugary and round. I want to say almost malt like even with a slight floral undertone.

Overall: this is a very smooth tasting tea; reminds me of The London Cuppa tea I continue to enjoy in between tea samplings; thus making this tea like a Darjeeling perhaps.

It is nice knowing that there is plenty more of this tea for me to enjoy and experience; many thanks to my former college professor.

Brought the can with me to work because the stash is getting low at the office. I gotta say this is one of the best bangs for my buck teawise. A good daily Pu-Erh.