Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: China Cha Dao
Tea Description:
2012 Douji “Hong Shang Dou” Raw Puerh Tea Cake 357g
Material: Mengku, Menghai and Si Mao wild arbor tea trees leaves. Is a mixture of 80% Spring Tea and 20% Autumn Tea!
Taster’s Review:
While this 2012 Douji “Hong Shang Dou” Raw Puerh Tea Cake from China Cha Dao no longer appears available on the vendor’s website, the 2011 and 2013 examples of this tea are currently available … hopefully my review of this tea might help you make a decision about it!
This tea brewed up surprisingly light in color because I generally expect a dark color from a Pu-erh, but, then I had to remind myself that not all Pu-erh are alike! Case and point IS this Pu-erh, not just because of it’s color, but because of the flavor.
The aroma is more vegetative than it is earthy, and the flavor is reflective of that. It does have a slightly earthy taste, but, for those of you out there that tend to shy away from Pu-erh because of it’s strong earthy character, this tea will be more to your liking, I think.
My first cup is sweet and smooth and very mellow. There is virtually no astringency and absolutely no bitterness. It is just … SMOOTH. The texture is that of a light broth: very soft and comforting. It is a relaxing cup.
My second cup delivered a more intense flavor. This cup is slightly more earthy than the first was, but the earthiness is not the usual earthiness that I associate with a Pu-erh. This is more like a vegetative earthiness. Warm yet crisp. Sweet, but a little less sweet than the first cup, this is still a very mellow and smooth drink.
My third and fourth cups of this Pu-erh developed a more savory kind of taste to them: earthy, vegetative, and almost salty. There is more astringency at this point than in the first two cups, but, still it’s a very small amount. Each cup becomes a little less smooth, but more complex. It’s as though the softness lifts to reveal the layers of flavor.
Overall, a very pleasant Pu-erh experience!
1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong is a 22 year old spring harvested tea from Nantou, Taiwan. This rare tea is oxidized between 20-30% and charcoal roasted. Da Ye Oolong is uncommon today since this tea has a lower production volume. Our 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong is sweeter and creamier than our 2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong. Notes of roasted chestnut, bark, fresh butter, honey suckle, and cinnamon can be detected. Due to the age of this tea, some mineral notes may also be detected. This tea has a silky mouth feel and is sweet and buttery.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I haven’t had a lot of experiences with aged Oolong teas, but I have tried a few and I have fallen in love with the depth of flavor that I enjoy with an aged Oolong, and this 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas might just be one of the very best that I’ve tried yet.
I prepared this tea the way I typically prepare an Oolong – in my gaiwan! First, I do a quick “rinse” of the leaves by steeping the leaves for 15 seconds in hot water and then straining the tea and discarding it. Then I steeped the first infusion for 45 seconds, and added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion.
I combined the first two infusions into one cup for my first cup of this aged Oolong. This first cup I would describe as “raw” in that it had a somewhat earthy taste to it. Notes of wood … but not so much of a charcoal-y note. The chestnut flavor was just starting to develop in this first cup, as was the notes of sweet butter. It was a little lighter in flavor than the subsequent cups, but, it still was really quite enjoyable. I didn’t really notice much of the spice notes that were suggested in the above description, nor any of the floral notes.
My second cup (infusions 3 & 4) was absolutely delightful. I could really taste the roasted chestnut here. It tastes like freshly roasted chestnuts! Notes of wood and butter, with a slight caramel-y undertone that melds in a really unique and delicious way with the charcoal notes which are now really coming through nicely. The aforementioned earthy tones are still there but they have subsided quite a bit, filling out the background rather than standing in the forefront.
The third cup (infusions 5 & 6) was a little lighter than the second, but not quite as light as the first. I still taste the charcoal notes, and some mineral notes are starting to emerge now. I am also tasting the cinnamon notes that the description mentioned. This cinnamon note lingers in the aftertaste. It’s quite interesting! Still nutty, although not quite as distinctly “roasted chestnut.” Also emerging now are more of the floral tones, but they still remain part of the background for the most part, so if you’re one who avoids Oolong teas because you find them too flowery, this one would definitely be more to your liking, I think.
The second cup was definitely my favorite of the three … but the third cup was also really delightful so I do recommend taking this tea through it’s many flavorful infusions to enjoy the most of this tea exploration. I’m really glad I decided to try this tea! What a wonderfully memorable tea it is!
Wild Orange Pu’er Tea from Teasenz
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
SMOOTH, FRUITY with ORANGE AROMA: A beautiful tea for the adventurous tea drinker. Definitely a master piece resulting from aging pu’er leaves in a hollowed out wild orange (clementines). Simply a must-have for any pu’er tea collector.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though I am rarely “excited” to try a pu-erh tea, I have to admit that I was a little excited to try this Wild Orange Pu’er Tea from Teasenz. Especially after opening the foil packaging and seeing the dried tangerine casing. Maybe it’s silly (my husband would say “nerdy”) of me to think so … but these tiny dried oranges filled with pu-erh are just … so cool and clever!
But how to prepare this tea? I can imagine someone new to tea might find the tangerine casing to be a bit confounding. And to be perfectly honest, I can’t tell you if I did it “right” or not … but I’ll tell you what I did.
Since I brew pu-erh in my gaiwan, I cut away the tight cellophane wrapping from the dried tangerine, and then I took off the little “lid” of the tangerine and cut into the side of the fruit. I cut off a portion of the dried tangerine peel, and then I scooped out some of the dark tea leaves and I put the bit of tangerine peel and the scoop of dark tea leaves into my gaiwan.
Then I brewed it the way I would normally brew pu-erh: with a quick 15 second rinse, and then I started infusing. My first infusion was 45 seconds, and then I added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. I got eight tasty infusions out of this one bit of Wild Orange Pu’er.
And from someone who tends to be timid when it comes to pu-erh, I like the tangerine flavor that the casing imparts on the earthy tea. The fruit notes balance out the earthy tones without making it taste too “sweet” and without making it taste as though it’s been artificially flavored. The tangerine comes through, providing notes of sweet and hints of tart.
If I had to choose just one word to describe this tea, that word would be mellow. The flavor of the tea is sweet with notes of deep caramel, but overall, it’s a very smooth and mellow taste. There is earthy notes but it doesn’t taste brine-y or fishy. The orange notes are also mellow, but they do a little more than just mellow out the earthy tones here … the tangerine also brightens the overall flavor.
This is definitely an ideal pu-erh for someone who – like me – tends to shy away from pu-erh because of its strong earthy overtures. The fruit notes soften the earthy notes … bringing a taste that is neither too fruity nor too earthy. This is just right. Even in the subsequent infusions, as the fruit notes tend to taper, I found that the tea kept it’s mellowness and did not ever taste too earthy.
A true delight!
Five Year Aged Tieguanyin Oolong Tea from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
This Five Year Aged Tieguanyin is an exciting and unique offering in that it manages to preserve the entire spring flower and fresh grass essence of the original leaf, all while tempering the flavor with darker, more grounded notes. Most aged Tieguanyin is pan fired again and again to bring out dark caramel notes. This is not a dark roasted tea in any sense.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
An aged Oolong? I’ve had a few aged Oolongs in the past, but, I am still very interested to try an aged Oolong when it comes into my radar, as was the case the last time I ordered from Verdant Tea and I noticed this Five Year Aged Tieguanyin Oolong Tea … so I had to put a sample of this in my cart to try!
And I’m really glad I did. This is really lovely!
This has much of the flavor that I’d expect from a fresher, green Tieguanyin, and some of the rich, earthy notes of a roasted Tieguanyin. This tea is beautifully complex.
My first cup (the combination of infusions 1 and 2 following a quick 15 second rinse) has a sweet note and an exotic floral quality to it. There is a slight grassy taste to it as well, and this grassy note falls somewhere between a vegetative note of a green Tieguanyin and the hay-like note I’d notice in a white tea. The texture is soft and lighter than the creaminess I might ordinarily notice from a Tieguanyin. This is not buttery … it is light and refreshing!
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) had a similar mouthfeel … light and smooth. Here, I noticed the floral note becoming more distinct. The tasting notes on the Verdant website suggest a lotus-like flavor and I notice the lotus notes more with this cup than I did with the first cup (which was more of a non-specific floral note). A similar sweetness here, but less of the vegetative quality that I noticed with the first cup. Now, I notice a slight … fruity quality to the cup, and a bit more astringency to this cup (I noticed no astringency with the first cup).
With the third cup (infusions 5 and 6) I notice a slightly creamier texture than I experienced with either the first or the second cups. Still not quite what I’d call “buttery” … this cup is closer to that than either of the two previous cups. I suspect this is the “malt” notes that are suggested on the website, because yes, this tastes more like a creamy malt-like flavor than a buttery tone. The floral notes are less obvious with this cup, I find that the flavors seem to have “melded” in a uniform kind of way … becoming more of a singular flavor that consists of several characteristics rather than several clarified notes.
Of the three cups that I enjoyed of this tea, I would say that cup #3 was my favorite (although the first two were quite delightful also!) so this tea is definitely one you want to take on a long journey so you might enjoy many delicious infusions from it.
Another top-notch tea from Verdant Tea … I’d expect nothing less from them, and they always seem to exceed my high expectations!
2003 Reserve Four Seasons Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our aged oolong is sourced from the Dong Ding tea growing region of Nantou County in Taiwan and was harvested in the spring of 2003. The varietal is Si Ji Chuan also known as Four Season. Our aged oolong was crafted by blend master Chen Pei Wen and is re-roasted every 2-3 years to minimize moisture content. 2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong is a rich full-bodied silky tea. The charcoal-colored leaves of this smooth oolong produce notes of honey suckle, bark, and grass and has a natural sweetness with no astringency present. This tea is also low in caffeine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of the dry leaf of this 2003 Reserve Four Seasons Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas surprised me a little. Normally, when I smell an Oolong, I smell floral notes, or sometimes hints of vegetation or sometimes fruit tones. I didn’t smell any of these notes … instead, I could detect notes of earth and even a pipe tobacco-y kind of scent. My SororiTea Sister, Azzrian, described the scent as
reminiscent of a campfire, or an old library, slightly musty, with a hint of leather
and yeah … I get those comparisons as well. It definitely has an “old” kind of smell … like something I’d associate with a distinguished, elderly, well-read gentleman who smokes a pipe.
Given the hint of earth to the aroma, I expected this tea to have an almost pu-erh-ish kind of flavor to it, even though it’s an Oolong. And it does have a flavor that is vaguely similar to that of an earthy pu-erh. But it is also very Oolong-ish in many respects … like a dark, charcoal-roasted Oolong.
It is indeed earthy, but I do not find the earthy tones to be overwhelming or off-putting. I like the way these earthy tones mingle with the roasted notes, creating an almost “coffee-like” taste to me. It has a sweetness that reminds me of molasses. Very distant floral notes in the distance … these are almost overpowered by the strong roasted tones, but, if I focus on the flavors I can taste them. In the foreground, there are notes of leather, tobacco and oak. This is definitely a masculine kind of tea … very rugged and yet very distinguished.
I really enjoyed this tea … and I enjoyed taking it through its paces as it delivered many wonderful, delicious infusions. This is one tea that is definitely worth the time to get to know, especially if you’re one who appreciates a truly unique Oolong!