Author: Oolong Owl

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August 2018 White2tea Club feat 3 years of Milan Dancong

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August 2018’s White2Tea Club is three Milan Dancongs, each a different year – 2016, 2017, and 2018. All three teas are spring material, processed, and roasted closely the same. There are no re-roasts on the older teas. This month is to serve as a fun comparison, but also to figure out what one likes in terms of age. Steeping Method I like my Dancong leafed into another dimension, so I used enough to fill the gaiwan, which was 1 gram of tea per 11ml of vessel size ratio. The high ratio is one I’m comfortable with, so I didn’t do… Continue reading, hoot!

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2013 Xiaguan FT Love Forever Sheng Puer

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Today’s review is the 2013 Xiaguan FT Love Forever Sheng Puer made by Feitai.  LOL this wrapper! Like.. what is this tea? Of pretty tea wrappers of the factory variety, most have a young woman on it, zodiac, birds, or flowers, not hot pink with hearts all over the place. Despite tea here in North America seems more of a gal thing, puer is heavily male drinkers. Heck, I know my blog stats and the majority of you readers are male. I guess the target for this Xiaguan Love Forever tea is a gift for a loved one, as I… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Forgotten Nebula from Crimson Lotus Tea

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Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2018 Forgotten Nebula is a Sheng Puer blend of 2018 Spring material.  What stands out immediately is that this puer cake has a killer wrapper so this tea is mighty tempting to get and frame. This wrapper is done by Jones Pitsker. Crimson Lotus Tea described Forgotten Nebula as a “mouth-watering sweetness that keeps on giving. It will surprise you how many steeps you can get from this tea.” Alas, I just have a sample of this tea. Another reminder of how awesome the Crimson Lotus Tea’s sample packaging is. These packets are perfect for the pumidor.… Continue reading, hoot!

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Hooty Tea Travels – 2018 Northwest Tea Festival

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I seem to say this every year for the Northwest Tea Festival – it is an action-packed tea event that is a must visit. Like last year, it felt even busier than the previous year. I heard, unofficially, there were 25% more people on the first day than last year, but don’t quote me on that. To me, the floor traffic felt busier than that. I was able to walk in early because I have a presenter badge, and used that opportunity to do most of the photos before the crowd was unleashed and I got too tea drunk. I… Continue reading, hoot!

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Brewista Artisan Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle

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I saw the Brewista Artisan Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle in the prototype stage at the 2017 World Tea Expo. I wanted this kettle so bad as it looks so amazing! I tried to get one, but ending up waiting for months and preordering, paying a lot of money just so I can have a rainbow kettle ASAP. I’ve been playing with this kettle for around 8 months and have gotten used to it. Brewista Artisan Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle Specs The Brewista Artisan Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle is a straight-up luxury kettle. There are a lot of features, brace yourself! 600ml/20oz… Continue reading, hoot!

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Significance of Resting Young Puer feat Bitterleaf Teas Bitter End Lite

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From experience, I let puer rest as the flavor changes quite a bit. The best rule of thumb that you hear from many tea sellers is to let your puer rest a few weeks after shipping, about as long as it took to ship to you.   After a few weeks, I generally put the tea into the pumidor. I used to drink new teas right away but I have so much and notice tea changes so much, I tend to wait a bit. Shipping does weird things to tea, especially with longer transit times. In the warmer months, I open… Continue reading, hoot!

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Minto Island Black Tea – Oregon USA Grown Tea

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I am excited to show you all today some Oregon grown tea! Minto Island is a tea farm in Willamette Valley in Western Oregon that produces small batch teas, as well as tea plants for purchase. They have an assortment of different teas, but I went with the Minto Island Black tea. Right on the box, it says when it was harvested – June 4th, 2018. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves are quite light and full, taking a lot of space in the gaiwan. The leaves oddly smell like pumpkin spice. I used 1 gram of leaf to 15ml… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Myanmar White Tea

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I got this amazing White Tea from Myanmar at the 2018 World Tea Expo. This was one of the best teas I had at the whole tea expo. This puppy was expensive too, at $55 for 75 grams as it is old tree “secret garden” material. Leaf and Steeping Method The material is gorgeously fluffy. I used 1 gram of leaf to 20ml of vessel size. I prefer thickly walled gaiwans or dedicated high-temperature retention/fired teapots for white teas. I did not rinse the tea here. The hot wet leaf smells like daffodils. The tea is ultra clear and pristine… Continue reading, hoot!

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HeHuan Shan and Lishan High Mountain Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

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I’m late to the party on 2018 Spring Oolongs. I got quite distracted by the lure of new white and puer teas, while in the background I’ve gathered some banging oolongs. Let’s go with one of my favorite oolong places, Floating Leaves Tea. These 2 oolongs were pointed out as favorites – HeHuan Shan as the owner favorite, and many friends saying the Lishan is good. Sadly, no ShanLinXi this season, which is my usual go-to High Mountain oolong. Floating Leaves Tea’s HeHuan Shan High Mountain Oolong The dry leaf smells of sweet creamed butter with a touch of grassy… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Jade Rabbit Sheng Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

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Here is a tidbit of info that pushes the CAKE IS A SAMPLE agenda if you are into blended regions/grades vs single origin puer. I’m sure you notice this with buying a sample, then getting a cake, or drinking through a cake or two, that there is some variability between sessions. Sometimes it is the weather, water, or the fact you forgot to brush your teeth that morning, but sometimes it is the blended material. One day you get a gaiwan full of stems, other days it is leaf shreds, whereas other days are beautiful. Maocha is weighed out in… Continue reading, hoot!