Red Blossom Tea Company

I got my Steepster Select shipment and this was a pleasant treat in my box. When I opened the bag, I was surprised how sweet and floral the tea smelled. I brewed per instruction of the Steepster package (2 minutes, 180 degrees) and it came out great. The tea is very mild, slightly sweet and has a very sweet, floral smell from it. It’s very easy to drink and I can’t wait to see how many steepings I can do with this tea.

Light, slightly sweet flavor. I’ve only drank one other white tea before so I’m still finding my ground with these teas. Not bad, but not earth shattering either. May take a few times to see how I like it.

Beautiful floral bouquet in the store canister and bag. In cup, only a whisper of jasmine. Not overwhelming, clean taste, slightly sweet, very refreshing. Good for multiple steepings.

I go back to this tea every so often. Very creamy, notes of cinnamon and maybe mango or guayava.

I have steeped this tea a few different ways. But so far, my favorite is gong fu style coming out right off the boil for 45 seconds on the first brew, 20 seconds on the second steep, and 45-60 seconds on later steeps.
I really like this tea. It has some honey/nectar to it. Nice lingering aftertaste.
Very subtle. You have to be relaxed and really put the time into it in order to “get” this tea.
And I really like Red Blossom’s ability to bring us freshly harvested teas.

From tea tasting 7/3/11. Lori, Sue, Matt, Andrew, Chris
Honey, peach, vegetal, ends musky

It has been exactly six months since this tea was harvested. Amazingly, it still has that sweet syrup milkiness that it had when I had first tasted it in May. This is what dragonwell is supposed to taste like. I cannot wait until next spring’s harvest.

From tea tasting 7/3/11. Andrew, Lori, Sue, Chris, Matt
Scallops, vegetable soup, salty, vibrant, thick, syrup

My first thought: syrup. Excellent tea from Red Blossom.

Maybe it’s just today but this tea makes me sleepy. It is interesting to consider how long ago this tea was picked and processed, America had Pac-man Fever and John Lennon was shot in New York and I was in 1st grade. Now to the tea: the leaves are large and a chocolate brown color until they are infused at which point they actually turn greenish brown. Initial infusions are just plain smooth at least at first then, the the mouth feels coated with earthy goodness, and a bit of Unami. The mouth coating feel ends yet a distinct drying sensation is left in the throat, drying, almost desert like, i get the same sensation when getting into a car that has been sitting in the sun on a 100 degree F day. It makes me thirsty. And it reminds me of the scent of my first car which ironically was a 1980 Ford it has that aged pleather and dried out car feeling. As strange as this description is I really enjoyed this tea.

Definitely one of my favorite teas.
I’m a sucker for sweeter teas and this one really takes the cake with how naturally sweet it can taste.

So so good… I can’t believe how naturally sweet this black tea is! I thought of sweet potates upon tasting and as described it has absolutely zero astringency.

Delicious! My first Wuyi Oolong and I am in love. I was browsing the Red Blossom website prior to my visit and was orignally planning on taking home the much cheaper Qi Zhong but I was offered a tasting of this and had to have it. I am a fan of darker teas and this is as dark as an oolong gets at 50% oxidation (so I was told) and it is still wonderfully floral.

I also received this as a sample when I placed an order online – Tasty! I read somewhere that Tung Ting is also know as Dong Ding (?)

Not as “intense” as some other puerhs. Smooth and a little sweet. I asked the lady at the shop for a puerh that was not overly earthy or smokey – this is what she recommended. I was told the smoothness is attributed to the fact that this particular puerh is very tippy.

This is my first aged sheng that I have purchased. I’ve been drinking it every few days for about the last month and the initial rinse smell comes across as the flavor of hominy or maize which I find odd because I don’t know that corn is a component of Asian cuisine. In fact I’m quite certain it is strictly “new world”. At any rate the tea has a good number of sticks in it but as mentioned the leaves are huge and seem to be rolled length wise so that even the leaves take on the appearance of sticks until infused and they open up. The wet leaves even after a few infusions seem to feel dry, and not supple which is likely because of the the age of the leaves. The liquor of the tea is very smooth and mouth filling, and almost crystal clear amber to a darker more stout like color depending on the amount of liquid in a white cup.

Starting my day off with a cup of this. Such a fine tea and the longer I keep it, the better it becomes…
See previous note for more information.

As usual, thanks be to QuiltGuppy!

I wanted some unflavored straight green tea this morning and a generous sample from my benefactor QuiltGuppy filled the bill. The aroma before steeping was rich and almost tobacco like, not an ultra dried cigarette tobacco smell, more like a fine pipe grade. The color is a deep golden green that glows in my glass cup. Each sip is dynamic. At first there is a subtle, light, feel then the flavor accelerates to vegital and a little on the grassy side. This slowly diminishes as the tea goes down. A hint of butter and a very slight slipperyness are also present. I enjoyed this very much.

As big a fan I am of this delightful tea company, I was quite disappointed in the Keemun. I am not a fan of the smoky note, and this has it. Unfortunately, once I pick that up, it cancels out any other notes for me. If you like whiffs of smoke in your tea, then you might want to give this inexpensive Keemun a try. It has a nice deep body that I look for and could be a good everyday tea. For someone else, that is.

This is a bit too light bodied to be the tea for a work morning, but in the afternoon or on a weekend, it is excellent. It tastes like toast, in the best possible way. No bitterness or astringency, just smooth, golden toasty goodness. It makes me happy to just think of this tea. And at the price, I can afford to stock up. I get two steeps also, which is good for a light tea, making it an even more excellent value.

This is about my favorite oolong, when I want a comforting cup of no nonsense tea. This is the tea that made me understand the phrase mouthfeel. It is like your old jeans that get better and better and never let you down. Oddly, I adore the charcoal roasted aspect, and yet I can’t stand smoky teas. Lapsong, Caravan, just thinking about them makes me frown. So I would not call this smoky. It’s toasted! (Feel free to picture Don Draper giving the sales pitch).

I so appreciate that this tea co. is trying to support old traditions in tea production. I love that they are not only buying direct, they are actually controlling the process. I really respect that; this tea is superb and affordable.