ReHoot Review – 2012 Qui Yun Wild Arbor Sheng Puer from Yunnan Sourcing

Welcome to the first Oolong Owl ReHoot. I’ve been interested in revisiting teas, particularly the puer I’ve been aging in my stash, on how it is doing or how my tastes have been changing. Our first ReHoot is of Yunnan Sourcing’s Qui Yun Wild Arbor of Yiwu Mountain. I reviewed this tea back in August 2013, so this tea barely had a year of age on it. Keep in mind, I had been blogging for 7 months and this was I think my 4th or 5 puer cake I purchased, so I was a complete noob. There is no product listing… Continue reading, hoot!

Sunday Tea Hoots 35 – Tea with TeaDB

I have tea with James from TeaDB once in a while since we live in the Seattle area. I met up with him soon after I moved to Seattle and learned he is a super chill and seems to not mind my gossipy hooting. If you aren’t familiar with TeaDB, James and Denny mostly do video tea review content, and you need to check them out especially if you are a puer person. Teadb.org is a site I personally have been following regularly for years as the written content is knowledgeable and thorough as well as they drink stuff I… Continue reading, hoot!

2017 White2Tea Puer $90-$100 bracket feat. Pussy, Bellwether, and Happy Anniversary Baby

Last year I just reviewed my favorites and teas of interest after trying the entire 2016 White2Tea Spring puer line. This year I am just going to review a bunch of teas in brackets, as there have been many requests, but I don’t want to write about White2tea exclusively for 2 months. I figure everyone really wanted reviews this year as there is so much to choose from and the descriptions are brief but very accurate. To spoil myself, I did not purchase samples under $89 a cake, so unless I buy more samples, there won’t be a review of Manichee,… Continue reading, hoot!

2017 Little BingDao Sheng Puer from Bana Tea Company

I was excited to see that Bana Tea Company recently released some new teas. One of the teas was 2017 Little BingDao. Every BingDao tea I’ve had I’ve enjoyed a lot, so I swooped in and did a quick order at Bana Tea Company. 2017 Little BingDao is a 200 gram cake. The fine print is this tea isn’t a BingDao, but in adjacent to but also in Lincang. The cake came packaged in a box. Not sure if the boxes come standard as this is the first time I’ve ordered online from Bana Tea Company. I do miss going… Continue reading, hoot!

2009 Menghai Dayi Yellow Box Tuocha Shou Puer

I purchased 2009 Menghai Dayi Yellow Box Tuocha Shou Puer way back in early 2013 from Mandala Tea. This tuocha and a cake of 2012 Wild Monk were my first puer cakes, believe it or not. As I am crazy and hoarder-like, I never sampled my 2009 Menghai Dayi. There is nothing special about it other than was my first shou cake. It was only $12 for this 100gram tuocha. I did open the box and examined the tea. A part of me chickened out on how official this tea looks – it’s got paperwork and holo stickers. Examining the packaging, I… Continue reading, hoot!

September 2017 White2Tea Club feat Black, White and TurtleDoves

September 2017’s White2Tea Club came with Auburn Black, Jinngu White tea buds, and three x 8 gram mini cakes of 2017 Turtle Dove. I have reviewed 2017 Turtle Dove already, so we will skip that today and drink the black and white tea. September  2017 White2Tea Club Jinngu White Tea Buds I’m drinking these teas in one sitting today, and I like starting light to dark, so the white tea is first. This white is from Jinngu, Yunnan Province and is only the buds. From my understanding and experience, bud heavy tea packs a punch! Dry leaf and Steeping Method: The… Continue reading, hoot!

White Cloud White Tea From Teabook

Today’s review is an interesting white tea from Teabook. White Cloud is from Lincang puer bushes that are too young to be harvested for puer. I tasted it at the Portland Tea Festival and was impressed enough to purchase a 50 gram bag of it. Dry Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf is ultra fuzzy and has a stale floral scent. I used 5.5 grams of tea in a 110ml pot. I wasn’t going for ratio here, more so to fill the teapot to 3/4 and steep it. I like my white teas in pretty hot water, so I used 200F/93C water… Continue reading, hoot!

2017 Nannuo Mini Mushroom Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

I had a session of 2017 Nannuo Mini Mushroom Shou Puer when I met up with Crimson Lotus Tea doing tastings at Phoenix Tea. I was impressed with the shou and was given three shrooms to play with. I was warned that one mushroom is plenty for a session, but I can try two at my own risk. I drank all three Nannuo Mini Mushrooms and had to have more. I beelined to their booth at the Northwest Tea Festival and bought 2 packages. The 2017 Nannuo Mini Mushrooms is made up of a blend of aged material, some as old… Continue reading, hoot!

Korean Pumpkin and Wormwood Tea Session

Happy Hootyween! Let’s drink some weird stuff! I got some interesting Korean herbal teas while at the 2017 World Tea Expo. When I got them home, I had to get a friend to tell them apart for me (thanks Nish!). While at Jade:Lee’s booth, he used a gaiwan to infuse all his teas, including the herbals. I honestly don’t know what the hoot I am doing to steep it, so… gongfu style it is? Pumpkin Tea This tisane looks like kibble and has a weird smell that I cannot describe. I used boiling water and 1 gram of pumpkin to 17ml… Continue reading, hoot!

Sunday Tea Hoots 34 – Kitchen Renovation

For all of October and November, I’ve been mostly DIY’ing my kitchen and flooring. I’ve spent most October demolishing and prepping everything for flooring and cabinets. November will be laying down flooring, building cabinets, installing countertops and applicances. The Tea Owls love DIY! Owl hardwood floor inspection. That is some nice maple. We took down a wall in the room. The Tea Owls were crawling up in attics. Ceiling Owl confirmed the wall that was there was not structural. I have been so busy, that I am impressed that I am still able to roll out regular Oolong Owl posts. The amount… Continue reading, hoot!