Author: Oolong Owl

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2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi and Cuifeng Oolong from Tillerman Tea

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Today’s review is some winter Taiwanese oolongs from Tillerman Tea – Shan Lin Xi and Cuifeng. Both teas I tried gongfu style, steeped at 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size in boiling water. Tillerman Tea’s 2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi Shan Lin Xi’s dry leaf smells buttery sweet and a bit floral. While I was doing the rinse, I could smell the leaves giving off a spinachy fragrance. First and Second Infusion: 2018 Winter Shan Lin Xi sips in real thick, so it is like drinking melted butter. The notes are mostly savory of fresh buttery spinach with… Continue reading, hoot!

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Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Bitterleaf Tea Sugarbomb Left-handed Kyusu

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Bitterleaf Tea’s teaware moves fast. It seems like they only have a piece or two of each variant of their product listing. Once that mass email gets sent out, the teaware disappears. I’ve had tea pets disappear out of my cart in less than an hour. That said, heck is Owl gonna talk about a teapot that obviously you can’t get your hands on? Because I like this teapot. This is the Bitterleaf Tea’s Sugarbomb Left-handed Kyusu teapot. It is 90ml. Regular readers might know that I am left-handed. I will buy anything left handed because they are rare finds… Continue reading, hoot!

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January 2019 White2Tea Club feat. Iron Arhat, Baisuixiang, Stone Milk, Dahongpao, Spice Flower, OBSX, and No.2 Rougui

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The January 2019 White2Tea club is 7 samples of their new oolongs – Iron Arhat, Baisuixiang, Stone Milk, Dahongpao, Spice Flower, OBSX, and No.2 Rougui. Last White2tea clubs like this I drank them all side by side, but I felt I lost more intricacies of each tea. That said, I’m drinking these teas one by one. I attempted to drink all the yanchas in one day but got five out of seven finished on day one, then I drank the final two expensive a few days after. For all these teas, I filled the gaiwan with leaf and gongfu steeped… Continue reading, hoot!

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Zhen Si Long 2018 Ma Hei Sheng Puer from Tea Encounter

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Today is the first time I am trying a tea from Tea Encounter – the Zheng Si Long 2018 Ma Hei Sheng Puer. This tea is old tree material from Ma Hei, which is in Yiwu. Leaf and Steeping Method The dry leaf has a soft fruity pungent scent. I used the ratio of 1 gram of tea per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The hot rinsed leaves smells of dried green herbs that have been added to a soup. Tasting of Tea Encounter’s Zheng Si Long 2018 Ma Hei Sheng Puer First and Second Infusion:… Continue reading, hoot!

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Rooibos and Purple Tea Soap from Refresh Tea & Soap Co.

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Today I am reviewing a couple soaps from Refresh Tea & Soap Co. This company also sells loose leaf tea, but I asked to review their soaps as it sounded fun. If you are interested in their teas, at the moment they carry mostly Purple tea blends. Both soaps are Vegan and palm oil free. The soap base is olive oil, rapeseed oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. Infused Youth Spa Bar with Spicy Rooibos Tea Soap The Infused Youth Spa Bar has chai spices and rooibos tea. The bits of tea is to add exfoliation. The bar smells spicy… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Smoked Black Tea from Old Ways Tea

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Today’s review is Old Ways Tea’s 2018 Smoked Black Tea, also known as Yan Xun Xiao Zhong, Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong, or Lapsang Souchong. This tea promises a traditional pine smoke job, but not being acrid. We shall see, as smokey teas and I can be hit or miss but Old Ways Tea sells amazing tea that I save for special occasions. Old Ways Tea generally sells their teas in prepackaged sizes. For this Smoked Tea, it is sold in 5 gram packets. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells smokey campfire that got treated with a round of sandalwood… Continue reading, hoot!

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Teaware TeaOwl Tuesday – Blue Clay Teapot with White Teas

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Welcome to Teaware TeaOwl Tuesday! Today I want to talk about one of my favourite teapots that I get questions about – Oolong Owl’s blue clay teapot. I have seasoned it to white teas. This little teapot has been a surprise favourite. I purchased it years ago at my first World Tea Expo, paying a wholesale price for a single pot. It is blue. Sometimes it is hard to tell, as the camera likes to shift it black. I have no idea what this clay is. It is thick walled, tight dense appearance, and retains heat like crazy. It is… Continue reading, hoot!

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December 2018 White2Tea Club feat. 2018 XXXmas Sheng Puer

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Today’s review of an exclusive tea to the White2tea club. The December 2018’s club is a 200 gram 2018 XXXmas sheng puer, a huangpian material cake. Around Christmas, I revisited last year’s White2Tea club 2017 XXXmas cake. Last year, it was very young and I felt it was too green. With a year under its belt, it is still very green and bitter, so I’m giving it another year. However, 2018’s XXXmas sheng is a different blend. My cake sat for about a month and a half before tasting. Love the wrapper art, as usual. Leaf and Steeping Method And those… Continue reading, hoot!

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2001 Aged Peony Bai Mu Dan from Silk Road Teas

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I am back with another Silk Road Teas. After the excellent showing of Golden Monkey Black and Drunken Concubine Oolong, I am really excited to try Silk Road Teas’ 2001 Aged Peony. The package says simply “Aged Bai Mu Dan” but the website goes into details that this is a high-grade Fujian Zhending Big White varietal from 2001. I have had a number of aged Shou Mei, but not as many Bai Mu Dan. The last aged Bai Mu Dan I had was a 2013 and it still has a bit of green fragility to it. Leaf and Steeping Method… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Censers White Tea from White2Tea

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2018 seemed the year I went open wallet and ask questions later on white teas. I bought White2Tea’s 2018 Censers white cake blind. Censers is a pressed Guizhou Province Bai Mu Dan (aka White Peony). Most of the white teas we find are from Fujian Province and sometimes Yunnan. That said, we are in for something a little different. There was a mess up with my order and I got a sample of censers before I got the cake. I am unwrapping to show off the cake but will be drinking off the sample to finish it off. Leaf and… Continue reading, hoot!