Red Blossom Tea Company

I accidentally steeped twice as long today and it yielded a richer creamier taste, which is I like better.

I steeped quite a bit longer this time to see what the effect would be and this Wild Pu-erh does take on a very creamy taste and is very different but also quite nice compared to my usual lighter steeps.

This is a very nice tea. Not yet a favorite, but a pleasantly sweet subtle flavor that persists in the mouth but is not even slightly acrid. It makes a great pot to relax with at the end of the work day.

I love this tea so much that I carry it in my online store, Bon Teavant Market. Red Blossom Tea’s owner knows Taiwanese oolongs like few others do. While they recommend a much longer steeping time than I prefer, this Alishan has a deep smooth, buttery taste that is the hallmark of this rolled oolong. I still have some in stock if anyone cares to try it. The new trend is to process high mt. oolongs a LOT greener (less oxidized), which brings in a bitter bite that I have not been able to resolve with steeping so I’m hanging onto my 2009’s as long as possible. This tea is also good for aging. I have a 15-year-old aged Alishan in my personal stash, and it’s magnificent.

I love this tea made strong, so the second steep is longer. This is my ‘wake-up’ tea on those cool mornings. Very smooth roast.

Very buttery with a full mouthfeel that the Panan Supreme (which is also fantastic) just doesn’t have. The aroma is a heavenly combination of stone fruits. First and second infusions were great, but it went downhill quickly after that. It’s possible that the third infusion just needed hotter water or a much longer time; I’ll experiment in the future.

Dragonwell is probably my favorite tea to drink, and this one from Red Blossom Tea is delicious. The dry leaves have a wonderful and fresh aroma that you would expect to find in a 2010 pick.

The first 3 steepings had a wonderful buttery/chestnutty taste that was very rich, yet also very mild and delicate at the same time.

3 steepings however was about all that this tea could handle and the 4th and 5th steepings that are made tasted like lightly flavored water.

I enjoyed this tea and can’t wait to make it again!

This note if from the last of the tea from my cupboard. I still say it is one of the best teas I’ve ever had. It just taste so fresh and refreshing. As before, it has notes of roasted asparagus and a very vegetal taste to it. But I do miss the traditional roasted nut taste that the majority of other dragon well teas have.

This was more a vegetale tea like most Japanese green teas rather than a nutty taste of other Dragon Well teas I’ve had. Strong notes of asparagus and subtle notes of celery. This is the purest tea I’ve ever had. You can really taste the quality. It was smooth and had a slight sweetness to it that I couldn’t quiet put my finger on. Only wishing I would have bought more.

Toasty first infusion. Not as dry on the tongue as the darkness of the leaves would have me expect. In fact, I detect some sweetness much like the underlying taste of Feng Huang Dan Cong, but it’s a little rounder and smoother. The second infusion increases the sweetness and refreshing quality of the tea.

A really amazing tea. I can’t like it enough.

First infusion (85 degrees C/1 minute):
I sensed definite asparagus and artichoke notes with a light celery flavor. Very pure tasting without any hidden flavor to detect, but not blunt or boring at all. Aroma of freshly cut asparagus. The word that comes to mind is very “green”.

Second Infusion (85 degrees C/1 minute):
The sweet mouth taste of celery, with a creaminess and the aroma of brown sugar-roasted veggies. The flavor was really buttery with almost a salty butter flavor.

Third Infusion (88 degrees C/2 minutes):
This was more subtle, but still rich and actually more creamy with the vegetal asparagus taste pervading more.

Fourth Infusion(88 degrees C/2 minutes):
Lighter, but more like a 2nd infusion of most Chinese greens I’ve had, with nearly the same sweetness as the first infusion. Less vegetal for certain.

Fifth Infusion (88 degrees/2.5 minutes):
Very light, but still holding on with more of a Meng Ding vegetal top and the body of a Yin Zhen.

Ruddy and golden in the cup.

The first two infusions yield a dry mouthfeel with a somewhat chalky coating on the tongue that lingers long after sipping. Sweet in the back of the mouth, and surprisingly light. There is no overt charcoal flavor that I often find in Lao Cha. Instead, it’s as if the Tung Ting is trying to return to its original floral fragrance, hindered only by the immense weight of its years. The playful energy of youth is still there, gently covered by the wisdom of decades.

In line with tradition, the third infusion is the most pleasant. The dryness sensed in the first infusions is still around, but it takes a back seat to the mouth-filling flavors of caramel and heavily toasted rice. The tongue-coating nature now serves to maintain the warm rice cake-like sweetness for many minutes after it has passed from the mouth. I could really still taste and feel this cup for over 10 minutes!

The wet leaves smell of charred hazelnuts: very musty but with surprising high notes that hint at its underlying sweetness.

A good cup for deep contemplation of the past and the future.

Brewed in my aged Oolong Yixing pot.

It’s such an experience drinking a tea that’s so old. The aroma of the wet leaves was like a delicious piece of fresh toast. The first infusion was somewhat flowery and fruity, but a little light; I think that it just needed a longer time as I had only infused it for 1.5 minutes. The second cup, though, (at 2 minutes) was outstanding: floral and sweet, but with deep roasted tones. It reminded me of a full-bodied peach. The sweetness did not linger, but was replaced by a not-unpleasant chalky texture on the front of the tongue that lasted for some time. The third infusion had a little more sweetness and a little less body, and the roasted undertone became more subdued. By the fourth, the interesting chalky texture had gone and the flavor really began to remind me of a pleasant unroasted Tung Ting or a Tie Guan Yin. A fascinating tea.

Midterms are over!

I open the package to deliver a rich, chocolatelike scent, woody, earthy, and smokey. The leaf quality is large rolled leaves, very dark in colour. I decided to brew this at shy of a boil in my gaiwan. Now I really hate brewing with seconds! I HATE it. But I think the richness in the smell scared me so much in screwing the brew up that I trimmed off fifteen seconds from my regular one minute ascending ritual.

The resulting cup, was very rich in taste, sharp take with a very complex, sweet~smokey~earth taste. It was as if they smoked this teas, shoveling caramels into the smoker, to infuse the two into this beautiful deep amber cup. The finish was harsh. I think I could of trimmed off a couple more seconds to grant me a bit more forgiving taste, but yet a very tasty cup.

This tea was enjoyable satisfying treat after my midterms.

This makes a damn fine cup of tea! I consider this oolong to be a ‘tank’ as I brewed it for more than eight times, so much I couldn’t finish my last cup. The only reason why I don’t give it 100%, is because of it’s availability, it was often sold out in shop.

When you buy a Alishan/Lishan consider yourself buying concentrated tea leaves that are tanks! Kind of like how laundry detergent is concentrated to take out more loads of clothes, it is same thing, so it compensates for it’s price. I brewed this in a traditional prewarmed gaiwan. The water is prepared a little shy of boiling, or at a boil and I let it cool for a minute or two. I wash the leaves with a quick spot of the hot water, and dump. My ritual with oolongs is at one minute ascending brews. Like I said this tea is a tank, so after the fifth brew I start brewing with boiling water.

The resulting cup is aromatic with a sweet smell reminiscent of a Japanese green tea, which mirrors in it’s sweet, almost vegetably-complex taste. It has a smooth finish with a enjoyable lingering aftertaste. The leaf quality is amazing! Whole processed rolled leaves will open fully. It could rise above water level in whatever you’re brewing in.

I got this from Micah in a tea swap, and I’m not really sure what to say about it.

It was very bland.

I had enough to try a couple of cups, and I did one at the recommended 195F and one at a lower temperature of 165F. I tried resteeping for longer times to no effect. Both of them tasted like pallid reflections of what the I think the tea is supposed to taste like. Barely-there floral, washed out sweetness.

Ultimately, it felt like someone had Scrooged the flavoring in the tea. It felt like I was drinking hot water.

I’m sorry, I can type Scrooge without thinking about Scrooge McDuck. And then I think of Duck Tales. Life is like a hurricaaaaane, here in Duckberg.

And before I go off on a very distracting youtube search for my favorite cartoon theme songs, I will say that I can’t recommend this tea.

OOOH, CHIP N’ DALE RESCUE RANGERS!

Drank last night, delicious

My last of this sample – so sad. I really love this tea. Creamy, flavorful, and a sweet fruity smell. Nom, nom, nom.

I want to wax poetical about this tea, but I’m not feeling verbose today. Good tea tho.

Wow. I’m loving this tea.

I’m currently on my third infusion, and will likely get 1 or 2 more.

On first sniff of the dry leaf, you get cream and fruit tones. These continue throughout the steeping process. Each successive steep gets a little less fruity and a little more “green” but oh! is this a nice yummy tea. Definitely has a high tannic content, as it does leave a little of the dry mouth, but does it without any bitterness.

So far, my favorite oolong.

Drank last night with people. Got 3 steepings out of it and could’ve got more. Very excellent quality tea.

Drinking it some more. Have plans on finishing this up during the next several months for a variety of reasons including: it’s about 2-3 years old at this point. Kept very well (sealed, dark, etc.) but that doesn’t mean it won’t go bad fast. Husband seems to enjoy it as well. I do like it steeped a bit longer, and stronger. Had the part that I iced the other day. It was very fascinating. Too cold to really detect any flavor, and yet, felt like a really healthy drink, almost more so than water! Really enjoy this tea.

On first steeping, it was really light and there didn’t seem to be much discernible flavor. There was some left in the pot, so I iced that, left the tea leaves out over night and rebrewed it this morning, let it steep for longer. Mmm, good strong cup of tea with a smooth flavor and that beautiful gold color I like to see in my oolongs. Very good tea for morning or night.

Writing a paper about Shakespeare’s sonnets with this tea as my companion. First steep is as good as ever. On the second steep I notice some very nice floral notes and a faint buttery taste/feel in the aftertaste.

Lovely.