Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Dian Hong black tea, also known as Yunnan black tea, is one of China’s most famous black teas. This is the highest grade Dian Hong generally available in China – called Golden Tip Dian Hong. It has lots of orange pekoe in the dried tea, and brews into an absolutely great tasting, golden coloured tea, with very rich taste and aroma.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I reviewed this tea a couple of years ago, but I’m revisiting it because it’s a new year and a new harvest! Plus, it’s a chance for me to taste this amazing tea again – how could I resist?
Because mmmmmM! So good!
Rich! Smooth! Delicious.
When I first opened the sample pouch, I could smell notes of sweet molasses. The dry leaf aroma reminds me a bit of freshly baked cookies – like rich molasses spice cookies without the strong notes of spice. I can almost smell the cake-y notes of the cookie in the leaves!
To brew this, I used my Breville One-Touch. The sampler pouch is just the right amount for my Breville, so I poured the contents of the pouch into the basket and added 500ml of water to the jug. I set the parameters for 212°F and 2 1/2 minutes – and the tea came out perfectly!
This is a wonderful, full-flavored tea. It’s nicely round. It’s got a really robust flavor with notes of earth and leather with hints of smoke and spice. And then I pick up on the sweet molasses-y, caramel-y notes with hints of cream. It’s got a really delectable balance between savory and sweet.
A truly remarkable black tea – definitely something I’d recommend to all tea drinkers who are looking for something exceptionally excellent!
Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
A cup of Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea will not only attract you by its taste, but also by its appearance: so dark and strong with tight and long tips. This tempting appearance is produced in Yunnan. While if you want to describe its taste, you can use the word elegant. It can serve you a cup of elegant gongfu tea or afternoon tea.
High mountains and proper environment produces good tea. Chinese Red has a price of high value. Its special tea tree and superb making skills make this tea carrying a unique fragrance as rich as perfumes. The top notes make you delighted; the middle notes fresh your mind; the base note of strong floral fragrance make you intoxicated.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahhh-ma-ZING! This tea is truly remarkable. Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea from Teavivre is one of those memorable black teas that I believe all tea lovers should try!
The tea brews up dark and has a thick, silky mouthfeel that seems to coat the palate with it’s full-flavored goodness. I taste notes of deep, dark bittersweet chocolate and an undertone of rich, creamy caramel. It has that “baked” quality to it, the kind of taste that evokes thoughts of freshly baked bread.
There are notes of malt and there is very little – as in next to NO – astringency to this tea. In fact, I mention the astringency only because just now I took a sip and really focused on what I was experiencing to see if I could notice any astringency. And when I’m very focused on it, I can detect a slight dry sensation toward the tail. It’s ever-so-slight and those who tend to be astringent-sensitive shouldn’t worry about this tea.
For those of you who remember Dawn from Simple Leaf and miss it (and let’s face it, if you remember the tea, you miss it!) this tea would make a really good substitute for that tea. It reminds me a lot of that tea. It is rich with notes of cocoa, sweet, caramel-y undertones and notes of stone fruit (plum-ish) mid-sip.
A really memorable, delicious tea – and it’s just as flavorful with the second infusion, too!
Fengqing Wild Tree Yesheng Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake 2013 from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This raw pu-erh cake is grown and produced in Fengqing, Yunnan, which is the origin place of DianHong black tea. This Wild Tree Yesheng Raw Pu-erh Cake is harvest in spring of 2013. Between March to May, after harvesting the fresh leaves, tea workers will process them: fixation, rolling, drying, sifting, and then store the leaves in carton boxes.
As the workers use iron pan for fixation, and roll the tea with their hands, the leaves do not have good looks as machine-made leaves. Yet regarding on quality, this Wild Tree Yesheng Pu-erh Cake is a green food from nature, in the mists and clouds on high mountains. It is a tea worth being in your collection list.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf aroma of this 2013 Fengqing Wild Tree Yesheng Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake from Teavivre is almost non-existent. This surprised me, only because I’m used to Pu-erh having some aroma, but I didn’t smell much of anything when I smelled the dry leaf.
Conversely, the wet leaves have a strong vegetal scent to them that immediately made me think of peas. Granted, peas are not my favorite vegetable (that’s putting it mildly) and because of that, they are not a food that I’m smelling on a regular basis. But when I smelled these wet leaves, green peas is what came to mind.
For those of you who are like me: timid when it comes to Pu-erh tea because of that strong, earthy and sometimes fishy taste and smell, you can rest assured that you won’t experience that with this Pu-erh. This is a very young Pu-erh, and it tastes much more like a green tea to me than it does a Pu-erh.
It has a vegetal taste, but it’s a remarkably smooth vegetal note. It doesn’t have that “crisp” or “lively” sort of vegetative taste that you might experience with a typical green tea. Instead, this has a very mellow vegetative taste. It doesn’t taste grassy. It tastes like mild steamed vegetables: like spinach, perhaps, only milder and sweeter.
There is a buttery note to this too, something I don’t typically experience with a Pu-erh. So, imagine that aforementioned extra mild, sweet spinach, topped with mushrooms that have been lightly sauteed in butter and then topped with thinly sliced almonds … only the almonds are raw. It has that sort of creamy, buttery taste that you might experience with a raw almond.
Later infusions brought out more savory flavors to the vegetal tones. Notes of salt and seaweed were contrasted by some newly emerging fruity notes. The flavor becomes deeper and more complex with each new infusion.
I like in “wild tree” teas like this that I can almost taste the “wild” in them. There is a note to these teas that I don’t often find in the more conventional farm grown teas.
I would recommend this Pu-erh to those new to Pu-erh so that they can experience some “different” Pu-erh teas, as well as fans of green tea. It’s a really unique tea experience … one definitely worth trying.
Lishan Hong Xiang Milk Oolong Tea from T-Oolong Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: T-Oolong Tea
Tea Description:
This quality Lishan Hong Xiang milk oolong tea is handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Jinxuan varietal. This milk oolong is naturally processed with no artificial flavoring. The aroma of this tea is very floral and milky, and the taste is intensively and naturally sweet, and delightful milky. The aftertaste is very sweet and long lasting. This tea stands up well to multiple infusions, and it is smooth and delectable with almost no bitterness. A healthy and pleasant milk oolong we recommend.
Lishan Hong Xiang Milk Oolong, also known as Pear Mountain Oolong, is one of Taiwan’s highest mountain oolong teas. Li Shan Mountain is located in Taichung County of central Taiwan, and it is renowned for producing the highest quality high mountain oolongs. The tea plantations of Li Shan range in altitude from approximately 1600 meters. The loose tea leaves are thick and juicy with a rich fragrance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf of this Lishan Hong Xiang Milk Oolong from T-Oolong Tea has a very strong aroma that is vegetal with notes of flower. Once brewed, the vegetative notes soften significantly, allowing the floral notes to be expressed more fully.
Ah … this is NICE! I’ve often touted my love for Lishan and Alishan Oolong teas. This one is a perfect example of why I love these teas so much. It’s so sweet and creamy.
Now, granted, sweet and creamy are two generalized tasting notes that you would expect from any Oolong touting a “Milk Oolong” identification. But, let’s face it, some Milk Oolong teas are better than others! And this is one of the very best that I’ve tried. And it’s milkiness is natural, this is not an Oolong that has been flavored to taste milky or creamy.
I combined the first five infusions in one cup, and this cup is absolutely divine. There is a lovely complexity to the tea, with a smooth, creamy taste and texture, an exotic floral sweetness (orchid perhaps?) and mere whispers of vegetal notes.
Currently this tea is not in stock, but this is one of those teas that it’s well worth the effort to check in occasionally with the company to see when it is restocked. It’s so good!
Da Hong Pao Red Robe #55 Oolong Tea from Steepster
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Steepster Select
Tea Description:
A gorgeous Wuyi Oolong with a deep rich liquor, big aroma, and a complex flavor that lasts steep after steep.
Read other Steepster thoughts on this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hooray! This month’s Steepster Select box has arrived! Five more amazing teas to sample is always something that will bring a smile to my face.
The aroma of the dry leaf of this Da Hong Pao Red Robe #55 Oolong Tea from Steepster reminds me of the smell of early evening air in autumn here in the Pacific Northwest. You step outside and you can smell the smoke rising out of the chimneys, and it smells rustic: like smoke and wood and the crisp, cool, clean air. I love the smell! It’s not overly smoky which I often find off-putting; it’s a gentle smoke scent.
After a quick 15-second re-awakening of the leaves, I steeped my first two infusions of the leaves and combined them into one cup. One of the other members of Steepster mentioned that this has a burnt hazelnut caramel sort of flavor, and I’d agree with that. There is a deep, nutty flavor to this that I find compelling, and a delightfully sweet caramel-y undertone (think dark, rich caramel!) that is keeping me sipping.
Pleasant smoky notes are in the foreground but they aren’t overpowering. A woody mid-note that plays to that rustic sort of feeling that I usually experience with a Big Red Robe Oolong. A deliciously complex cup. One thing that I’m noticing with this particular Da Hong Pao is that the finish is cleaner. It has an astringency to it that cleanses the palate, so I feel less of a heavy aftertaste. I don’t taste a “coating” of smoke that I sometimes experience from this type of Oolong. Nice!
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) brought out new flavors to explore. I still enjoyed notes of smoke and wood, however, these tones were softer than they were in the first cup. Now, I’m noticing a sweet-tart fruit-like note in the distance. It isn’t a clear or distinct flavor, but, it’s back there, waiting for me. It is as if it beckons me to brew the third cup to taste more. The nutty tones were a little clearer this time, but there is a little less of a heavy caramelized flavor. Still sweet … but more like a honeyed sweetness rather than caramel.
The third cup (infusions 5 and 6) was incredibly smooth. Similar to the first two cups – I could still taste notes of smoke and wood, and the honeyed note became more distinct while the caramel notes diminished slightly. The fruit note emerged a little this time … tasting a bit like a cross between a nectarine and a plum. Notes of tart, but mostly it’s sweet.
A really enjoyable tea. One of the nicest Red Robe teas I’ve tried.