Author: Oolong Owl

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2019 Well, Well Sheng Puer from White2tea

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I am slowly going through all my White2tea samples I’ve bought over the last year and finally got to 2019 Well, Well sheng puer. The material is a blend of different regions, promising to be subtle, “elegant, and ruthless”. Sign me up! Leaf and Steeping Method Well, Well’s leaf scent is light and leaning floral and sweet. For this tea like other sheng puers, I went gongfu style with 1 gram of leaf per 15ml vessel size, steeped in boiling water. The hot leaf has steamed rice in banana leaf and candle wax smell but with a slight nose wrinkle… Continue reading, hoot!

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Zach’s Breakfast from Zadiko Tea Co – Tea Review

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Back when I moved to the US and had not much to do, I started writing this tea blog in 2013 but also watching a lot of Youtube. I had subscribed to Buzzfeed’s many channels and over the years watched four guys eventually form a team, The Try Guys, and become successful internet celebrities. I always had a smile seeing Try Guy’s Zach drinking tea – he even has the Tea Spot’s Urban Tea Tumbler, one of my favorite tea bottles. Recently, Try Guy Zach launched his own tea company, Zadiko Tea Co, with 2 teas. He also made a… Continue reading, hoot!

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Mauritius BOP and Organic Turmeric Truffle from Chado Tea

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LA-based Chado Tea reached out to me to try their teas. I’ve seen them when I attended the Los Angeles Tea Festival back when I lived in SoCal. Chado Tea’s carry an impressive assortment of different teas to cover all their bases. I wanted to give them a fair shot, so I sorted their massive catalog by best sellers and got Mauritius BOP. Then I took a look at their turmeric teas and selected a fun one, Organic Turmeric Truffle. I have been loving turmeric blends lately and they the most turmeric tea variety I’ve seen so far! Mauritius BOP… Continue reading, hoot!

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Chiran Matcha 2019 Limited Edition from Naoki Matcha

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Today’s matcha is from a new cultivar that hasn’t hit commercial production. Naoki Matcha’s Chiran Matcha 2019 Limited Edition is from Chiran region in Kagoshima Prefecture using the SeiMei Cultivar. Googling up the SeiMei cultivar doesn’t get too many hits, but I do find a paper dated in 2018. Matcha Powder and Preparation The matcha powder smells of mowed flowers and chestnut shells. I used 2 grams of matcha powder, usucha style, whisked in 5oz/150ml low temperature (175F/79c) water. Chiran Matcha whisks up amazingly well and high amounts of foam. I did a finger drag test across the surface and… Continue reading, hoot!

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Tea Wisdom I Wish I Could Have Told My Younger Self About Puer

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If I could go back in time, right around 2012 and 2013 when I started buying puer, I would tell myself a few nuggets of tea wisdom that I know now. There were a few things I did wrong, somethings that dragged my puer journey on, stuff I wasted money on, but also things I missed out on. Let Puer Cakes Rest After Getting Them in the Mail I used to have my kettle already on as I watch the mail person walk through my street. Once my tea package was here with shiny new puer cakes, I’d crack them… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Modern Witch Shou Puer from White2Tea

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I love everything about White2tea’s 2019 Modern Witch on paper – the wrapper has cool skulls and the description of interesting bitterness and balanced flavors. I could not resist and blindly purchasing a whole cake without sampling. Leaf and Steeping Method 2019 Modern Witch Shou has a cream funky caramel scent. The compression is quite tight on this shou cake, so you will need a good puer tea knife to get at it. I went with 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu (with 2 rinses) steeped in boiling water. Once the leaves are introduced to hot… Continue reading, hoot!

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Bitterleaf Teas’ Guanyang Baimudan Set feat 2018 Wander Through the Garden and Venture Into The Woods White Tea

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I could not resist buying Bitterleaf Tea’s Fuding Experience: Guanyang Baimudan Set. In this set is a pair of 2018 Baimudan (White Peony grade) White teas from a small area in Fuding. Wander Through the Garden white tea is from a tea garden, whereas Venture Into the Woods is from tea trees left to their own devices. My only hesitation here is 2018 white tea I consider in an awkward phase of being stale but not old enough to show aged notes. However, this set is perfect to let age and continue to comparison taste. It is too bad I… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 April White2Tea Club feat. Mao Jian and Emerald Buds Green Tea

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It is no secret, I dislike green tea that doesn’t come in powdered form. There is something about green tea’s grassy taste and chill energy that doesn’t settle well with me. White2Tea has a tea club month that is green tea and with covid scramble, I decided it was too much hassle to arranged this month to be skipped, so here I am drinking it before I ship it to a friend. Both green teas I used 1g to 20ml leaf to vessel ratio. I usually go 1g/30ml for greens but I’m feeling spicy today. The handout said to steep… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White Tea from Wang Family Tea

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I purchased two bags of this Taiwanese Shan Lin Xi white tea at the 2019 Seattle Northwest Tea Festival from Wang Family Tea. As said in the name of this tea, it is from Shan Lin Xi, and if I remember correctly, Qing Xin cultivar in Bai Mu Dan style. High Mountain Shan Lin Xi with Qing Xin cultivar is one of my favorite oolongs, so I was hooty giddy to get my hands on this white tea. Each bag had a different hand-painted art so I was able to pick the ones I like the most. Leaf and Steeping… Continue reading, hoot!

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Comparison Tasting of Masu Wild Style Black Tea from Old Ways Tea

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I have a mound of Old Ways Tea packets tempting me every time I look at it, but I also have the urge to hoard my treasure. After sorting through, I found a 3 year selection of Masu Wild Style Black tea. Storage wise, I left these packets in coolish room temperature. Is aged black teas a thing? Sort of, maybe unintentionally. I know some who dislike black tea that’s over a year old. Generally, I find pressed black teas really get good after a year. I’ve had some of my unintentional aged blacks from 2014 to 2016 and all… Continue reading, hoot!