Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

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2022 July White2tea Club feat. 2016 Bulang Puer

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Better late than never, is Oolong Owl’s 2022 July White2tea Club tasting! This month has two teas – a 2016 Bulang 100gram sheng cake pressed exclusively for the White2tea Club and Chuan Zibai white tea. Chuan Zibai from the 2022 July White2tea Club Chuan Zibai is a purple leaf Sichuan white tea. The leaf has a sweet baby powder scent. My gongfu ratio here is 1 gram of leaf per 17ml – a little more leaf than usual but that’s how it plopped onto the scale. I used a fearless boiling water temperature. After a steep, the leaves are fragrant… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 October Old Ways Tea Club feat. Tea Master’s Set

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The theme of 2022 October Old Ways Tea Club is Tea Master’s Set, an educational tasting of teas throughout its development. It seems the 2021 October Old Ways Tea club box was also an educational box. Maocha from 2022 October Old Ways Tea Club This Mao Cha has huge long leaves with plenty of sticks. For me to make a 8g serving, I removed almost 2g of sticks. I didn’t separate the different leaves, but you could for further experimentation. The scent of the tea is strongly fruity stone fruit. The early infusions are sweet and mellow. Even as raw… Continue reading, hoot!

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Organic Black Tea Bags from Young Mountain Tea

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Today I have some more Young Mountain Tea. I’ve encountered them often at my local tea festivals and enjoyed the quality of their tea. A while back, I reviewed their Kumaon White, which is an excellent white tea that I have squirreled away to age. I also have some of their black teas in my stash. Young Mountain Tea has come out with a line of organic tea bags for easy drinking. I dislike the waste of teabags, however, Young Mountain Tea packages everything in cardboard and the packets and teabag are made out of biodegradable sugarcane. I’m trying their… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 Peak Vulture Shou Puer from White2tea

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White2tea occasionally comes out with some limited stock puer cakes at a marked-down price. Snoozefest is one that shows up every year on Black Fridays, but in March of 2022, a limited edition ripe cake landed – 2022 Peak Vulture. Very cool wrapper! I am tempted to colour it in when I’ve finished a cake. I purchased extra cakes, leaving one next to my kettle. Any time I felt like shou and didn’t want to dig around my disaster of a full shou pumidor, I’d drink Peak Vulture. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells a bit funky but chocolatey.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 Future Sailor Mengsong Purple-White Tea from Bitterleaf Teas

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The tea for today is 2022 Future Sailor Mengsong Purple-White tea. Everything about this tea is a good combo of Mengsong region, Zijuan purple leaf varietal, and white tea. I’m a sucker for Bitterleaf Teas white teas and could not resist sample buying a whole cake. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves have a peppery scent and are what I associate with other purple leaf teas. I use my white tea steeping method of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size and a ballsy boiling water temperature. After a steep, Future Sailor smells of sweet floral carnations. Tasting… Continue reading, hoot!

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Paromi Matcha with Turmeric, Ginger & Cinnamon

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Lately, the Seattle area has been horrid with all the smoke, which makes tea tasting difficult. It is not too smokey today, so I jumped on serious tea drinking. Today’s tea is Paromi Matcha with turmeric, ginger & cinnamon. The ingredients are simple – organic matcha (from Kyushu, Japan), organic turmeric, organic ginger, and organic cinnamon. I made Paromi Matcha with almond milk – this matcha commands to be in a latte. I used 1 teaspoon (worked out to 3 grams) in around 8oz of milk. The second ingredient is turmeric and the colour of the matcha is not altered… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 August Old Ways Tea Club feat. 2022 Taiping Houkui

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It is time for the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club! Finally, we have the much anticipated fresh Taiping Houkui. In addition, Jin Qian and Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne 2022 Taiping Houkui from the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club Right away, I dived into the fresh green tea. I always love Taiping Houkui as the leaves are fun, especially the high quality ones as they are massive. The leaves smell like toasted white bread and fresh grass. As much as I use a glass teapot or a thermos, I went with a nice glass and stacked the… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 Believe Sheng Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

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Today’s tea is Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2020 Believe Sheng Puer another cool young sheng with a space themed wrapper! 2020 Believe is described as “crisp IPA style bitterness”. Sadly I just have the sample pack – Believe is cool enough to own just for the wrapper – but thankfully Crimson Lotus Tea does good sample packaging. Leaf and Steeping Method The dry leaf has a soft zesty scent. My gongfu ratio is 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped at a boil. After a rinse, 2020 Believe continues the tangy scent, opening up more of pomelo citrus… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 June White2tea Club feat. 2022 Green Hype

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It is time for our yearly HYPE train. White2tea 2022 Green Hype is a bang for your buck house blend, this one with some rustic brawler young and aged material. This tea is through the White2tea Club, but you can also purchase a cake without being in the club. The leaves have a sweet fruity floral scent with a bit of a back of the cupboard vibe. I followed the instructions on the handout, going 6 grams of leaf per 100ml of vessel size (1g per 16ml). After a rinse, the leaves have a smokey bitter scent with a powdery… Continue reading, hoot!

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Van Tien Black from Atlas Tea Club Vietnam Box

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I’m back with more teas from around the world by Atlas Tea Club! This tea club sends you teas from a different country each month. I’ve previously reviewed some other Atlas Tea Club boxes, pleased with the countries being offered. Today, a tea from the Vietnam box – Van Tien Black. The leaves smell like an apple orchard and forest floor – it’s very fruity, deep, and woody. I went with a gongfu steeping style to take full advantage of Van Tien Black. My steeping ratio is 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of water, with quick infusions of boiling… Continue reading, hoot!