Tea From Taiwan, Zhong Shu Hu Oolong Tea

Tea From Taiwan Description:
Zhong Shu Hu oolong tea comes from the Zhong Shu Hu area of Ali Mountain (Alishan) – one of the most famous tea producing regions of Taiwan. The climate here is cool and moist with cloud cover and mists every day. These conditions are ideal for tea because the plants grow very slowly and produce tender, flavorful tea leaves and buds.

Zhong Shu Hu oolong tea has a sweet taste and refined aroma. Each brewing brings out new flavours and taste sensations. This tea has a complexity that provides continuous nuances with every cup.

Zhong Shu Hu oolong tea can be re-brewed up to six times while maintaining an excellent flavour. We recommend the Gong Fu method of preparation to bring out the best of this excellent tea.
Sample provided by Tea From Taiwan

Price: $43/150g or $0.86/3g serving

My Review:
This is my third brightly colored sample pack from Tea From Taiwan. I cut off top and sniffed. There is not much scent in the package, just a light oolong with maybe a hint of mint like notes. The leaf is rolled in typical fashion and is a darker than the other samples I’ve tasted from Tea From Taiwan. No instructions are printed on the label so I used half the packet or about 3g in my press with 12oz of heavily steaming water. My steep time was two minutes. The resulting liquor is bright yellow and quite clear. The aroma of the wet leaf is lightly buttered vegetables. The brew is an aromatic floral. I can catch the scent while the cup is sitting on the desk.

I begin the sip with out additives. While hot, like yesterday’s oolong, the flavor starts very light. Then, I think butter, no wait; it’s more complex than that. As a child I would do stupid things, like put my tongue on the aluminum window frame. I know, I know. Anyway, the sensation I get when tasting this is like the aluminum frame but with butter. Actually this is way better than it sounds. As it cools, the aluminum disappears and is replaced by a more traditional green oolong floral flavor. The aftertaste is lightly floral and not as noticeable as the previous samples from Tea From Taiwan. A nice cup.

Now I add my Splenda. Oh, wow! Definitely add sweetener to this if you don’t object to the practice. This has come alive. It’s alive! It’s alive! Now the flavor is much fuller. It is lightly nutty and floral, but the main difference is a very prominent spiciness. On one sip I think this reminds me of apple crisp. On the next, I believe it is nutmeg. Whatever, it is just good. The aftertaste is also stronger and more joyous, though not nearly as long lasting as many oolongs. This is now a really good cup. At this point, I grabbed a brownie from the break room. The flavors blended like they were meant to be together. Awesome.

Cup two also steeped for two minutes takes off right where cup one ended. I took one taste without additives and tore open the packet with even pretending I was going to drink it unsweetened. So good.

Cup three I pretty much shipwrecked. I appear to have been distracted and must have added two packets of sweetener. Wowza is this sweet. Still nice and spicy with a good solid aftertaste but wowza is this sweet.

Cup four starts slightly mushroom tasting but once it cools it picks right back in with the spicy floral green oolong flavor.

Oolong fascinates me for a lot of reasons, the main being the small amount of leaf you think you are starting with, and the massive amount that you find in the press on the second or third steeping.

This may be my favorite of the samples I received from Tea From Taiwan. The Hua Gang had the single most amazing first cup but this one stays delicious through many steeps.

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Tea from Taiwan, Shi Zuo Oolong Tea

Tea From Taiwan Description:
Shi Zuo oolong tea (wu long tea) is grown in the Shi Zuo (Stone Table) area of Alishan (Mount Ali). At an altitude of 1300 meters, Shi Zuo has a cool, moist climate that is ideal for growing tea.

Shi Zuo oolong tea is hand picked and hand processed in the traditional manner of Taiwanese High Mountain oolongs. The processing results in ball-shaped tea pellets which consist of two or three leaves and a bud. These pellets open up during brewing to release the full flavor of the tea.

In order to experience the full potential of this tea, we recommend brewing it Gong Fu style. This method of brewing brings out the sweetness and complex undertones that mark this tea as one of the best that Taiwan has to offer.
Sample provided by Tea From Taiwan

Price: $41/150g or $0.82/3g serving

My Review:
I cut open the brightly colored sample packet and was greeted with a lovely grain aroma. The nuggets are tightly wrapped and grayish green in appearance with some lighter streaks. There are no steeping instructions printed on the sample so I used half the sample (3g) in my press with 12oz of heavily steaming water. My steep time was 2 minutes. The liquor is bright and excellently clear with a yellow color. The leaf has only partially relaxed, and has a fresh light steamed vegetable scent.

I begin this tasting without additives and the disclaimer that I normally add Splenda to my hot teas, although I almost never sweeten my iced teas. While hot, the best I can describe this is to compare it to a swell effect on a guitar. Once the strings are strummed the sound starts tiny and swells in volume until it fills the room. Being unaccustomed to unsweetened tea this starts very light, almost watery and swells to a crescendo in the floral aftertaste. The breath is left cool and fresh. The taste of this first cup is similar to a tiguanyin but lighter.

Adding Splenda brings out nutty or plant notes that change to a light coppery taste only momentarily before fading into the floral aftertaste. I can’t say whether this is better with or without sweetener. It is neither. It is just different. It does turn lightly buttery as it cools. Maybe it would have done that anyway had I waited. The cooler it gets the more I like it. Room temperature it develops a sort of cinnamon note.

The second cup @ two minutes was very similar to the first but more pronounced. I found myself enjoying it a little more. I am also noticing the spice I caught in the cool cup is now more of a light clove note late in the sip. With cup three @ about 3 minutes, I am just accepting this appeals to me more the colder it gets.

This is a light green oolong similar to tiguanyin without a heavy aftertaste. It is still going strong after three mugs but I am out of time.

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Tea From Taiwan, Hua Gang Oolong Tea

Tea From Taiwan Description:
This premium-quality oolong tea is grown in the Li Shan mountain range at an altitude of 2400 meters. The climate of these high mountains is ideal for growing fine oolong tea. The cool air and high humidity produce a tea with full, robust flavor and long-lasting aftertaste.

The brewed tea has an exquisite aroma and brews to an appealing amber liquor. The leaves can can be re-brewed many times while maintaining a full flavor.

Tea grown on Mount Li (Li Shan or Pear Mountain) is the most prized oolong tea in Taiwan. It is ideally suited for gong fu style brewing.

Sample provided by Tea From Taiwan

Price: $61/150g or about 1.22 per 3g serving

My Review:
The sample packet is brightly colored and vacuum-sealed. I cut open the top and noticed an oxygen absorber packet. The dry leaf has no appreciable scent. The sample is 6g so I used half of it for this round. The nuggets are very tightly packed and dark green with some lighter colored streaks. There are some stems visible.

There are no steeping instructions on the packet so I used my normal parameters - 3g of leaf in my press with water that is heavily steaming but well below boiling. I steeped for 2 minutes. The leaf pretty much stayed near the surface. The color of the liquor is a light yellow. The wet leaf is not completely relaxed and there is already a lot of it. The wet leaf aroma is that of steamed spinach. The liquor scent is green oolong – kind of floral.

I sipped this without additives and it is the single most buttery almost popcorn flavored tea I have tried to date. Really exceptional. By mid sip it blooms with a short floral blast. It literally comes out of nowhere. Just as it almost reaches a point where it would concern me it just disappears, fading into something akin to the smell of a geranium plant mixed with the taste of dandelion. The aftertaste is lingering green oolong and floral. Ok, the more I sip the more I am sensing a spice flavor. I believe it is nutmeg or something that I associate with squash pie. What a ride!

I added sweetener so see how it would respond. I must say this is the exception to the rule as far as my tastes go. It actually tastes so delicious without the additives that I wish I hadn’t tampered with it. Trust me, that seldom happens. I love my Splenda but not with the first cup of this wonderful tea.

With cup two I noticed the leaf had expanded to the point I could not see through the press. The color of the tea in the cup is a little darker yellow with a tint of light green. The butteriness is very much reduced. This is now a highly floral green oolong. The aftertaste is somewhat like biting into the rind of a watermelon.

The third cup is much lighter in flavor. It still has a strong and lingering aftertaste.

I really like this. Highly recommend!

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Nature’s Tea Leaf, Buddha Hand Oolong

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:
Organic Iron Buddha Hand Oolong Tea are strips of tea leaves with a dark green and black bloom. The leaves are naturally withered under the strong sun, oxidized, and then tightly wrapped and rolled. The Buddha Hand Oolong, so named for the resemblance to the leaves of the fruit tree "Buddha's Hand" or "fingered citron", has a delicate aroma and an audacious flavor that is refreshing when served hot or cold.

My Review:
This sample was provided by Nature’s Tea Leaf. The dry leaf is interesting. It is rolled, but not in balls, rather more as elongated pods that resemble the cocoons I find on our cedar trees. The dry scent is grain. Once I put it in the press I thought I detected cocoa. Neither of these scents do I think of when thinking oolong. I used a half of my scoop, looked at it in the press and thought, this is not enough so I nearly doubled it. The water was heated to almost boiling. I steeped per instructions at 3 minutes.

The brew is a pale yellow as best I can tell in my dark office. The wet leaf scent is best described as green. It is not vegetable or floral, just green, with the faintest of roasted notes. The leaf has not unfurled completely so I am not sure what we have yet.

The sip when hot is a little light on the first cup. It first seems non-descript, then suddenly bam, bam, bam. It goes from tasting watery to mineral, then immediately changes to floral, followed by mellow roasted. The aftertaste lingers long and floral of green oolong with a cooling breath sensation. Pretty awesome for one sip. Yet it is so light, that gulping this, you would miss all but the roasted note and aftertaste. As the cup cools I am noticing more of a woodsy taste early in the sip. The roastiness reminds me of light genmaicha, the floral aftertaste is somewhere between tiguanyin and high mountain oolong but more subtle than either.

Steeping a second mug resulted in a press full of huge leaf - ok I didn't need as much as I thought. It is still not completely unfurled but there is a lot of it. Oddly, it stills smells just green. The brew is golden. The roasted taste has mostly gone in to hiding. It is replaced by a creaminess. The aftertaste continues to grow stronger. It is now largely tiguanyin, but the cooler the cup, the more it takes on a citrus type flavor.

I decided to try something different on the third mug. I used a cold brewing technique I have only started experimenting with recently. I poured cool water (not heated) over my leaf and set the press aside for an hour and a half. The result was the most flavorful cup yet from this tea. Seriously good. The sip was what I call geranium as that is what it reminds me of as I taste. It had the same great aftertaste as when I used hot water.

I know this has many more cups in it, as it is only improving. Unfortunately three cups is all I have time for this day.

What I really like about this one is the complexity. It morphs and mutates during the sip and through the temperature changing as well as with different steeps. The downside is I am not sure how well the first cup translates to the average western tea drinker’s tastes. I have noticed a tendency to embrace big flavors. This may start too subtle for a lot of tea drinkers and be overlooked by those more familiar with the bite of the Assam monster. The aftertaste of Buddha Hand is quite strong and delightful even in the first cup and only intensifies in later steeps. Hopefully that will be enough to grab the attention of any one trying this wonderful tea for the first time. This one deserves to be steeped multiple times.

Nature's Tea Leaf, Dragon Pearls Green Tea

Nature's Leaf Tea Description:
Dragon Pearl Green Tea is made using tender leaves plucked in early spring. These silvery buds are partially withered, lightly fired, wilted, and baked to enhance the quality and silvery-white appearance. The tea is then moistened with light steaming so the buds can be twisted and hand rolled into a pearl shape, then baked to amplify the smooth flavor and aroma. When you infuse these pearls in your tea cup, you will see the top two leaves and the bud spring to life. Dragon Pearl yields a smooth body similar to white tea with the rich, semisweet flavor of roasted chestnut. A great tasting tea to enjoy anytime.

My Review:
This generous sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. This is an unflavored green tea rolled into tiny little balls. I love the look of dragon pearls. Each individual pearl is hand rolled and I always find them amazingly beautiful. As is my habit I sniffed the pouch, and it may be my imagination, but the leaf has a minty green aroma.

The steeping instructions are printed on the package. It calls for 1 tsp of leaf per 8oz of water. I used 12oz so I guessed at 1 1/2tsp – the pearls make it a challenge to figure out how much leaf you actually need. Of course not as big a challenge as a tightly rolled oolong. This calls for a cool temperature of 175F and a one minute steep.

After steeping the brew has only the palest yellow-green tint. In fact in almost just looks like water. The leaf is only part of the way unfurled and has a nice green steamed vegetable aroma.

In the sip I notice no bitterness or astringency. There are no roasted notes. This is simply clean fresh Chinese green tea. It has a milky feel as it is swallowed. The aftertaste is lingering and pleasant. It leaves a cooling sensation on your breath. This is a nice solid cup.

The second cup at 1 1/2 minutes is very light pea green. The leaf scent reminds me of lake water which is much more pleasant than it may sound. This cup is much sweeter. Still quite good.

Cup three at 2 minutes. I can’t really comment on the taste as I had pepperoni with lunch. The leaf is completely unfurled. It is comprised of rather large leaves. I had to play with it for a moment (because I am a big kid) and it is soft and fluffy.

Cup four at 3 minutes is tasting a slightly mushroom with a metallic edge. It is still nicely flavorful, however I am going to halt steeping here on this one.

On Steepster, I called this the Sara Lee of teas. After all, who doesn’t like Dragon Pearls? This is a really solid Chinese green tea.

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Nature's Tea Leaf, Silver Needle White Tea

Nature's Leaf Tea Description:
Organic Silver Needle White Tea has exquisitely shaped buds enveloped in white down. This white tea excites with its savory aroma, rich body and a sweet flavor with rounded finish that is soft and airy on the palate. White Teas which include our Organic Silver Needle variety are known to promote weight loss and stimulate the metabolism. This low caffeine antioxidant packed tea is delicious hot or cold and can be enjoyed any time of day.

My Review:
The one ounce sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. The pouch is stuffed with beautiful white and grayish-green leaf. Not only does it smell so fresh and amazing but it also is the softest silver needle leaf I have encountered. I love silver needle. I am looking forward to this cup and trying not to get my expectations too high.

I used my wooden scoop to gather a generous portion of lovely leaf and placed it in my press with 12oz of water heated to a cool 175F. I steeped for about 2 1/2 minutes. The instructions say 4-5. This brewed up to the lightest of tinted liquors. The wet leaf still has a lot of white down in it. The smell of the leaf makes me think of a field of grain, maybe alfalfa.

The sip is a light, refreshing, white tea with a lingering fresh aftertaste. This is a nice complex cup, much more so than a white peony. I find it most refreshing when it reaches room temperature. It is kind earthy, a little fruity with some oats thrown in for good measure.

Next I added a little leaf and a little time to see how that would affect the taste.
While the second cup is steeping, I want to comment again on the aroma of the leaf in the drained press. The whole time I was sipping, this wonderful scent was rolling out of the press, keeping me distracted. Wow, this is fresh.

Ok, adding more leaf and time makes for a darker and bolder cup. It does not bring out any new flavors. I like my white tea to be delicate, so for me the shorter steep is the correct one. Either way this is a very nice silver needle.

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Nature's Tea Leaf, Fujian Congou Black Tea

Nature's Tea Leaf Description:
Fujian Congou Black Tea is a quintessential black tea that consists of long leaves rolled into slender, striped tea leaves from the Fujian province in southern China. Congou tea is made from large mature leaves and specifically does not include the bud. With its celebrated history Fujian Congou black tea has a rich and uplifting aroma and when infused has a pleasant, smooth, and rich flavor that promotes balance and harmony.

My Review:
This is my cup of the morning. The generous 1oz sample was provided by Nature’s Leaf Tea. The packaging has steeping instructions clearly shown on the front. The one thing it lacks is a description of what is inside. I don’t know if that is a plus or a minus. One the one hand, I would rather not have a preconceived notion of what I am about to sample. One the other hand, I have never had a Congou tea before and I don’t know what to expect.

The dry leaf is dark, small, sharp, and wiry. It smells of grain. I used 1 1/2tsp for 12oz of water heated to approx 195F. I steeped for 2 1/2 minutes in my press. The brew is dark caramel and still has the grain scent as does the wet leaf. The leaf is small fairly evenly cut pieces and chocolate in appearance.

There is no question this is a Fujian tea from the very first sip. It has that honey sweet, grainy goodness with more than a hint of malt. It has the yam notes. Yet there is something unique about it as well. It has what I can only describe as a darker edge way low underneath that comes out more in the sweet lingering aftertaste. The cooler the cup becomes the more I am detecting this as a roasted note or light smoke.

As the cup emptied I noticed the scent of the leaf still in the press. It was fruity with hints of chocolate or to be more exact, cocoa. I needed a refill. Cup two is similar to cup one, sweeter with less of the darker notes.

Cup three is lighter and is still very flavorful.

I read a description somewhere on the net that compared Fujian Congou to a cross between Yunnan and Keemun. Yes, I agree. It is very similar to a Bailin Gongfu I sampled but with the Congou I could not bring the chocolate notes out in the sip.

This is a very nice black tea. Fans of Fujian teas will love this. Those who generally dislike black teas, as too harsh or bitter/astringent, should give this one a try.

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