Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

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2019 Gu Shu Yin Ya White Tea From Moychay

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I got a treat of a tea today – Moychay’s 2019 Gu Shu Yin Ya White tea. This 100 gram silver needle cake is from the Jinggu region and gushu (old tree) material. Leaf and Steeping Method Hot hoots, this cake is gorgeous! Gu Shu Yin Ya is also one of the best smelling white teas out of all of Moychay ones I have. The scent is a heavy heady floral bouquet to make my nose itch. I went with my usual white tea gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, infused in boiling water.… Continue reading, hoot!

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July 2020 White2tea Club feat. Gelanghe White, 2020 Demon Slayer, and Daily Jin Jun Mei

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For the July 2020 White2tea Club we have an exclusive pressed white tea, and samples of 2020 Demon Slayer sheng puer and Daily Jin Jun Mei Black tea. 2020 Gelanghe Sun Dried White Tea This 100g cake is exclusive to the White2tea club. Oooo a waffle cake! The Gelanghe cake has a sweet golden raisin scent. Each full-sized square clocked in around 4g. The compression is wicked tight, just snapping off pieces was a bit tricky. I used 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water, gongfu style. I did a long rinse and this… Continue reading, hoot!

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Traditional Oxidation Dong Ding Oolong from Tillerman Tea

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The tea for today is Tillerman Tea’s 2020 Spring Traditional Oxidation Dong Ding. This is a Qing Xin cultivar, 35% oxidized, unroasted oolong by the grower Chen Kuan Lin. Leaf and Steeping Method Holy Hoots, big leaves! Traditional Oxidation Dong Ding leaf smells lightly like tulips and lemon drop candies. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, the leaves smell like fresh laundry and floral. Tasting of Tillerman Tea’s 2020 Spring Traditional Oxidation Dong Ding Oolong First, Second, and Third Infusion: Tillerman Tea’s Traditional Oxidation Dong Ding brews… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 Spring Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

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Typically every tea season Floating Leaves Tea does blind tastings with all the new High Mountain oolongs. This year obviously group tastings cannot be a thing. A number of my friends reported Floating Leaves Tea’s 2020 Spring Shan Lin Xi was amazing this year, so I went in on 2oz. It was an easy sell as I tend to prefer Shan Lin Xi out of all the High Mountain oolongs. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves smell creamy and buttery with a slight vegetal scent. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml, gongfu style with boiling water. Floating Leaves… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Lao Chahu Shou Puer from Moychay

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On the tea table is Moychay’s 2019 Lao Chahu shou puer. This shou material is of 2017 tips, twisted, and thin leaves from Myanmar (formerly Burma), then pressed in 2019. Before I get into the tea, Moychay has been highly requested to be featured on Oolong Owl for their cool wrapper art, large selection, fair prices, and Russian mystique. They contacted me first and sent me a lot of tea try. They ship out of Moscow, and with their express delivery, it took only 7 days to get to Seattle! Leaf and Steeping Method 2019 Lao Chahu’s leaves have a… Continue reading, hoot!

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June 2020 White2Tea Club feat. 2020 Green Hype Sheng Puer

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Another year, another Green Hype sheng puer in the White2Tea Club. Every year I enjoy Hype more and more. This sheng puer house blend always tastes good and is of good value (at this time, $38 for a 200gram cake), especially if you got it through the White2Tea club ($29.99, including shipping!). This month also included a 2020 Nightlife mini, but I set that tea aside for later. Leaf and Steeping Method 2020 Green Hype’s leaves have a strong fuzzy peach aroma. As usual, I did gongfu style, 1gram to 15ml ratio, steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, the… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 Spring Alishan Meishan District High Mountain Oolong from Tillerman Tea

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The Alishan for today is from Tillerman Tea. This Alishan is a light roasted, Qing Xin Cultivar, High Mountain oolong from the Meishan (Plum Mountain) District of Chaiyi County, Taiwan. Leaf and Steeping Method Alishan Meishan District has a candied sweet floral aroma. I used around 1 gram of leaf per 15ml vessel size, steeped in boiling water. Again, I usually use a gaiwan but I’m too lazy to find one, so this fast pour teapot is my tea steeping vessel today. Steeped up, the leaves are more honeyed and floral. Tasting of Tillerman Tea’s 2020 Spring Alishan Meishan District… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan from Eco-Cha

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Our oolong for today is from Eco-Cha – a Summer 2020 Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan from Ruifeng, Taiwan. Leaf and Steeping Method Alishan Jin Xuan has a strong grassy buttery scent with some marigolds thrown in. As usual, I used 1 gram of per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, the scent of the leaves moves to hot buttered grass and floral. Yes, I usually brew in gaiwan but today I couldn’t be bothered to get up and locate a gaiwan. Tasting of Eco-Cha’s Summer 2020 Alishan High Mountain Jin Xuan First and… Continue reading, hoot!

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May 2020 White2tea club feat. 2020 The Thing Still Is & 2020 Biscuits Sheng Puer

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May 2020 White2tea club is the yearly exclusive The Thing Still Is mini cake. In addition, this club has a 12 gram square of 2020 Biscuits sheng puer, which you can buy more of. May 2020 White2tea Club – 2020 The Thing Still Is Sheng Puer The legend that is The Thing Still Is starts with an Instagram video up a mountain. I love these 50 gram cakes as the quality is crazy high, is it is a nice treat. The leaves smell of floral green peppers. I used a gongfu ratio of 1gram of leaf per 16ml of vessel… Continue reading, hoot!

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Hojicha Powder from 3 Leaf

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Finally, a vendor that has Hojicha Powder! I’ve tried Hojicha “matcha” a few times at tea industry conventions and enjoyed it. When I heard that 3 Leaf released two Hojicha Matchas – Hojicha and Banana Hojicha Powder, and I immediately purchased so I can my roast on. The instructions on making Hojicha powder is vague, even with a quick google. Overall, it seems a serving is 1 teaspoon and you add “hot” water to taste, around 8oz/ 235ml/1 cup. Hojicha Powder from 3 Leaf 1 tsp clocked in at 2.3 grams (call it 2 grams). I added a little bit… Continue reading, hoot!