Posts

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Roasted Gyokuro

Roasted Gyokuro by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$19.90 for 50g

20160216-davidstearoastedgyokuro1

First Impressions

Roasted Gyokuro was another one of my free Frequent Steeper rewards. It’s one of DavidsTea’s pricier green teas, which meant that I really wanted to give it a try. I haven’t tried other gyokuro teas before, so bear with me. The dry tea leaves has a saltiness to the tea, the smell of it reminds me of the smell of grass and steamed spinach. It’s an interesting combination, but not so odd that it stops me from trying it. Roasted Gyokuro is made of organic green tea from Kagosima, Japan.

20160216-davidstearoastedgyokuro2

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends seeping in 80C water for 2-3 minutes. I steeped it closer to 2 minutes since I wanted to resteep it and increase the steeping time for each additional steep.

First Taste

Roasted Gyokuro is a lovely pale yellow. It definitely has a fragrance that is unique to itself – it has a bit of saltiness, some grassy-spinach notes still. On first sip, I’m pleasantly surprised. There’s a bit of a buttery quality to the tea that mingles well with the grassy-spinach flavours. It does have a mild saltiness that I don’t find unpleasant. It adds to a different level of intrigue to the tea, which I quite enjoy because the flavour profile is different from the other green teas I’ve had in the past. The description from DavidsTea suggests that Roasted Gyokuro has a brown butter flavour to it, with a nutty aroma. While I do get some of the butter, I can’t really pick out any of the nutty smell, but it still makes for a very nice cup of tea.

20160216-davidstearoastedgyokuro3

When I steeped for just the two minutes, it made for a very pleasant cup of tea. It wasn’t bitter at all. I think 3 minutes would be pushing it and might result in a sad cup of tea. I would recommend steeping for the 2 minutes for the initial steep.

A Second Cup?

Roasted Gyokuro resteeps well! The salty buttery-grass taste is a bit more pronounced with the second steep. It does fairly well for a third and fourth steep as well. It makes for a delicious pot of tea, I think it would pair well with sushi since it has that salty taste to it that would go well with fish.

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked DavidsTea’s Roasted Gyokuro. While I haven’t tried other gyokuro teas, I found this one to be tasty! It makes for a great cup of tea. The salty vegetal taste does lend itself to an enjoyable cup of tea, although I was a bit skeptical at first. there’s a lovely buttery taste to it. I wish I got some of that nutty aroma that DavidsTea mentioned in the tea’s description because I think that would have been a nice addition to the flavour profile of the gyokuro. As it is, it’s a great cup of tea, I just wish it had lived up a bit more to the expectations I had after reading the tea’s description. It resteeps well, so even though it is a bit on the more expensive side, it has great value from the amount of times that you can resteep it.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Tea Ave’s Dong Ding Oolong

Dong Ding Oolong by Tea Ave
Oolong Tea / Straight
$12.50 for 25g

I received this sample of Tea Ave’s Dong Ding Oolong for free, a review of the tea was not requested by the company.

20160212-teaavedongdingoolong1

First Impressions

I have another shiny gold sample packet to try and share with you all! Like Oriental Beauty, Dong Ding Oolong from Tea Ave came to me in a shiny gold sample packet that has a lot of information regarding the tea itself. Dong Ding Oolong comes from Dong Ding Mountain, Nantou, Taiwan, and is a form of qing xing oolong – like Oriental Beauty.

The dry tea is little round balls, very solid feeling and is quite fragrant. Dong Ding Oolong has a very rich fruity aroma to it, it reminds me a lot of ripen lychee with that floral-fruity smell that also smells sweetened. Tea Ave’s packaging states that Dong Ding is “an approachable tea – a good choice for oolong newbies”.

20160212-teaavedongdingoolong2

Preparation

Tea Ave gives multiple steeping instructions for if you are using a gaiwan, tea bag, tea pot, or a cold brew method. I opted for the tea pot instructions because I was trying out my Tea For One. The instructions are to use water that is 95-100°C (203-212°F) and to steep for 1 minute. Dong Ding Oolong can be resteeped up to 5 times, they recommend increasing the steeping time by 30 seconds to 1 minute for each additional steep.

I steeped my tea pot of Dong Ding Oolong for 1 minute for the first steep.

First Taste

Dong Ding Oolong steeps to a pale yellow for the first steep. The tea leaves have barely opened up by the time the minute is up. The tea itself has a nice fruity taste to it, still reminding me of lychee. There’s a natural sweetness to Dong Ding that is pleasant. The tea itself is smooth with absolutely no bitterness or astringency. It makes for an enjoyable cup of tea.

20160212-teaavedongdingoolong3

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Dong Ding Oolong for 5 additional times. Each time the tea got darker in colour to a nice golden yellow. The leaves unfurl a little bit more with each subsequent steeping and you can see how large the leaves really are. The flavour of the tea gets a bit stronger with each cup, with a more pronounced fruity taste to the tea each time. The last steeping (fifth resteep, sixth steep overall), the flavour was beginning to wane.

20160212-teaavedongdingoolong4

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved Tea Ave’s Dong Ding Oolong. I think this tea is very enjoyable as each steeping gets better. The taste of the oolong is quite good and I think that Tea Ave was right with Dong Ding Oolong being approachable. The flavours get bolder with each cup, which allowed me to get used to the taste and then come back for more. Like Oriental Beauty, there may be a bit of sticker shock involved with the cost per gram, but I think it is worth it. The tea itself resteeps amazingly well and the flavours develop well with each steeping. I think as far as oolongs go, Dong Ding holds its own and makes a fantastic cup of tea. It would be a great tea stash staple for someone who wants a luxurious treat from time to time.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Oolong Supreme

Oolong Supreme by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$19.90 for 50g

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme1

First Impressions

Oolong Supreme is a tea that I had been eyeing at DavidsTea for a long time but it is fairly expensive in comparison to the less expensive options like Cream of Earl Grey or Santa’s Secret. The description of Oolong Supreme states that the tea is Dang Cong Oolong tea from the Wudang Mountains of China. It’s a bulky tea, it’s a much larger bag than what I’m used to for 50g of tea from DavidsTea. I picked out Oolong Supreme as a reward with my frequent steeper points. The tea leaves from this tea are amazing, the dry leaves are huge! They have this beautiful fruity smell, which reminds me of a mix of apricots and plums.

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme2

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping in 85°C (185°F) for 4 to 7 minutes. I did the first steep for close to 3 minutes (as per the Tea Association of Canada) instead as I felt 4-7 minutes was a long time.

First Taste

Oolong Supreme steeps to a pale yellow with a very mild aroma. It smells very much like the dry leaf – plums and apricots! It has a mild sweetness that mingles well with the taste of plums and apricots. The description of Oolong Supreme mentions notes of shea butter and “roastiness” which I can’t seem to find, but that’s okay because this is just the first steep and I will be trying at least one more steep. No bitterness or astringency to note, Oolong Supreme is a nice smooth cup of fruity oolong tea.

20160209-davidsteaoolongsupreme3

A Second Cup?

Surprise, surprise, Oolong Supreme resteeps well! I resteeped Oolong Supreme a total of five times (so six steeps with the same leaves). Each time I used water that was about 85°C and I added an extra minute or so for each subsequent steep. The flavours developed with each steep, I feel that the flavours were the boldest with the second and third resteep. There was a stronger sweet fruity taste with each resteep – definitely more apricot than plum by the end. The sweetness doesn’t get too strong that it overwhelms the fruit flavours as they develop, they grow a bit bolder together. Try as I might, I didn’t find the shea butter or roastiness in the tea for any of the resteeps. The fifth resteep was when the flavour began to be less strong.

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved DavidsTea’s Oolong Supreme. The smell of the dry leaf is just how the tea tastes like after steeping, and the tea leaves do amazingly well with resteeping – as one might expect from a good quality oolong. In total I steeped the same leaves six times and got five wonderful steeps out of. The flavours really developed with each steep as the leaves would unfurl just a little bit more and I think it’s a great time to have if you have the time to resteep and appreciate the changes in the flavour. This is definitely not the type of tea that you would steep once and throw the leaves away – that would be a terrible waste! While Oolong Supreme is on the pricier end of DavidsTea’s product collection, I think it’s a wonderful addition to your tea stash if you happen to like oolongs. If you’re unsure about oolong tea and you do live near a DavidsTea, you can opt to purchase a small amount just to try (I’ve gone as low as asking for 10g in a little baggie) or you could use your frequent steeper rewards on this tea if you’ve hit 100 points in a redemption period.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.