Tag: oolong tea

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Incense and Tea Testing – featuring Totem Tea

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If you didn’t know, incense and tea is a thing. There are cool tea and incense photos on Instagram, or maybe you have seen it at a gongfu session with all the fixings. Early on, I was put off as I bought a teapot from a tea shop that lit incense and it took work to get the smell out of my pot. That reason alone, I do not recommend lighting incense around your tea. I am big on scent – I think my sense of smell is the majority of my skill and enjoyment in tea drinking. I’m no supertaster… Continue reading, hoot!

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Qi Lan Process and Roast Tasting – Old Ways Tea

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Today is a special comparison tasting between  Old Ways Tea‘s Qi Lan Maocha, Unroasted, and Roasted Qi Lan. This set is great as it is the same tea but in different parts of the process of Qi Lan oolong.  Maocha is the unfinished tea. Old Ways Tea says in the tea description: The fresh leaves arrive at the factory and need to be processed into tea. Once the basic processing is complete the product is called maocha. Maocha is then separated into its components: stems, yellow leaves, and tea leaves. Buyers will come to the factories and try the maocha.… Continue reading, hoot!

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Huang Guan Yin Roast Comparison from Old Ways Tea

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Back at the 2017 Northwest Tea Festival, I saw the Tea Bar doing a 5 minute taste comparison of electric vs charcoal roast tea. I sadly missed the tasting, but Old Ways Tea, who supplied teas for that tasting, sent some my way to do my own comparison. Getting my own to try is much better as I can write in depth. So what I have is Old Ways Tea’s Huang Guan Yin Wuyi oolong. I have an electric roast and a charcoal roast, same year, harvest and batch – the only difference is the roast. Some might think the… Continue reading, hoot!

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2016 Organic Chingjing Hong Shui Red Gaoshan Oolong from Tillerman Tea

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One of my current tea obsessions is Hong Shui oolong. There is something about a more oxidized and old style of oolong that just sings to me. Hong Shui also seems to be harder to find and if you do find them they can be expensive. I own a couple Hong Shuis at $25/oz ~ $1 a gram, which is insane to drink all the time. I was excited to see Tillerman Tea has a new 2016 Winter Hong Shui and priced at $19.50 for 2 oz ($0.35 a gram). It is organic, grown in Chingjing, and of the Qing… Continue reading, hoot!

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October 2017 White2tea Club feat. Tieguanyin

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When the October 2017 White2Tea club arrived I was not excited. Inside is 5 tieguanyins and these days I personally dislike nuclear green tieguanyins. Modern tieguanyin is the most commonly found basic oolong these days that tastes super green, vegetal, maybe floral flavor. I find there’s not enough depth, say compared to a high mountain oolong and traditional tieguanyin. That said, this is the thing of monthly tea clubs – you can’t please everyone. I felt I got great personal value for what I got in November and December 2017, so I’m okay with whatever October throws at me. It did… Continue reading, hoot!

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Dark Oolong Teas from TeaBento

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Continuing on from my review of TeaBento’s Black Teas, here are reviews of their Oolongs! As with their other teas, each tea is paired with an animal. Today we will be reviewing Little Dog Red Oolong and Scared Boar Shuixian. I have even more oolongs to review, but for simplicity I’ll just be reviewing the darker, more oxidized ones I have. By the way, TeaBento‘s steeping instructions are the complete opposite of what I do. TeaBento leafs a lot lighter and goes lower temperature (195f/90c). I found with the black teas it was worth dropping the temperature. I will not budge for oolongs as they… Continue reading, hoot!

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2016 vs 2017 Oriental Beauty Comparison from Floating Leaves Tea

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Last year I passed on 2016 Floating Leaves Tea Oriental Beauty oolong. It sounded good, but there are plenty of other oolongs I like more, so my money went to Floating Leaves Tea’s Dong Ding, High Mountain oolongs, and Red Peony. When the 2017 Oriental Beauty came out, Floating Leaves Tea’s Shiuwen told me this year’s teas is darker in flavor. A darker flavor Oriental Beauty sounded interesting, so I purchased an ounce. She threw in a sample of the 2016 so I can compare them. With both teas in my possession, I might as well drink them side by side… Continue reading, hoot!

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2017 Baozhong Comparison from Floating Leaves Tea

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Multiple Taiwanese tea sellers and farmers have told me this year is the year for good Baozhong. Today’s review is a comparison between Floating Leaves Tea‘s Farmers Choice and Competition Baozhong. One of Floating Leaves Tea’s popular oolong is the Farmer’s Choice Baozhong. Year after year, Farmer’s Choice Baozhong is a high body and reliable oolong, that is much cheaper than the Competition grade, which makes it a great buy. With killer Baozhongs this year, Competition Style Baozhong might give Farmer’s Choice a run for its money. To be honest, I find Baozhongs just too green for me, so I usually… Continue reading, hoot!

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Tennessee Oolong from Steven Smith Teamaker

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I purchased a box of Tennessee Oolong during my trip to Portland and the Steven Smith Teamaker shop. I didn’t know about Tennessee Oolong until Lazy Literatus informed me that it was released recently and I needed to check it out… if it was still in stock. I’ve tried a couple Steven Smith Teamaker creations, all through friends who either made the trip or were kind enough to spare a bag. I recall the Ice Cream Oolong quite fondly. I was excited to see Tennessee Oolong was still in stock when I made the pilgrimage to the headquarters. Tennessee Oolong was… Continue reading, hoot!

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Spring 2017 Organic Chingjin Gaoshan Oolong from Tillerman Tea

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It is time to check out Tillerman Tea‘s 2017 Spring teas! First up, Spring 2017 Organic Chingjin Gaoshan Oolong. This tea is an unroasted Qing Xin oolong from Chinjin Mountain and grown at 1800m. Dry Leaf and Steeping Method Well, this is gorgeous leaf. The oolong is emerald giant lumps of leaves with a floral buttery scent. I went with a fast pour tea pot and 1 gram of leaf to 15ml of vessel size. To not mess around, I started with flash steeps with boiling water. Tasting of Tillerman Tea’s Spring 2017 Organic Chingjin Gaoshan Oolong First and Second Infusion: Tillerman Tea’s… Continue reading, hoot!