So, today's review is between a green tea and an oolong, but that's fine! Vital Tea Leaf's Milk Oolong is unroasted/a green oolong, and anyway it'll be fun to compare. There isn't much stuff happening today other than registration for school, so this review is happening in the morning after breakfast. Today's album is THE BEST 'Blue' by Kalafina.
Vietnam Ta Jin Xuan Green - What-Cha
Type & Appearance: Green Tea - small, dark green curls; I'm guessing it's pan fried
Recommended Brew Time, Temp., Amount: 75°C, 1-2 tsp, 15-30 sec.
Rating: A | 93/100
# of Brews: 5
Notes:
So, this tea actually really surprised me before the first brew. Once I rinsed it, there was very, very strong seaweed smell mixed with a bit of a cooked meat (pork or beef) notes. It's similar to Japanese sencha, but it has a bit more punch; it's not as grassy. As for the first few brews, it had a very bright yellow-green color and moved towards a neon green. The taste was amazing; it had the umami, yet slightly grassy taste of Japanese sencha and finished on the creamy notes of a Jin Xuan. It was very, very smooth with little to no tannins or astringency. By brew 4, the tea had begun to lose its flavor and color. It began to move from the savory flavor of sencha to the milky, lightly tart flavor of Jin Xuan with a bit of cotton candy. The aroma had somehow become what I can only describe as a fresh watermelon, with a tiny bit of seaweed. I ended at 5 brews since it was becoming flavorless and I cold brew the leaves are I finish, but it could go for maybe 1 more. Although it doesn't last as long as other teas, this tea is an amazing experience for what it is.
Milk Oolong - Vital Tea Leaf
Type & Appearance: Unroasted Oolong - small, dark green balls of oolong
Recommended Brew Time, Temp., Amount: 180-190°F, 1-2 tbsp, 30 sec.
Rating: A- | 90/100
# of Brews: up to 8 (recommended); stopped at 6
Notes:
I may have screwed this one up. I stored this tea (and actually all of the other teas from Tea Ave) next to some chai, so there is a very light cinnamon taste. I'm still getting the milk oolong flavor, but the light chai flavor is distracting. Anyway, for the first few brews, the tea, like the green tea, had a bright yellow-green color; however, I'd say this tea was more yellow than the Ta Jin Xuan. As it brewed more, it moved towards a highlighter yellow color. The aroma wasn't tainted with the chai, and smelled milky and grassy- just how I remember it. The flavor is very milky with grassy notes, like the aroma, but had a bit of tartness to it. I daresay the cinnamon actually helped the flavor a bit since it was so light, but it's good either way. By the time the Ta Jin Xuan was losing its flavor, this tea was still going strong. This began to lose flavor by brew 6, but still had a bright color. Overall, the flavor moved to a more grassy flavor with light milk notes and tart flavor. The aroma stayed a strong evaporated milk smell, and I'm more than sure you can reach the 8 brews on the box. Still one of my favorite milk oolongs.
Final Notes
Well, I think I just found one of my favorite green teas now. It might just be my craving for sencha talking, but I was just blown away by the Ta Jin Xuan's flavor. It's like two of my favorite teas combined and made an amazing flavor, with both complimenting each other very, very nicely. Kalafina helped a lot in setting the mood, heh. As for the Milk Oolong, it's still actually one of my favorite ones just because of its milkiness and green tea-like flavor, but today, the bar was just set too high by the Ta Jin Xuan. And also, a lesson learned: store smelly teas away from other teas, and pack teas in airtight bags. Today was a good day.
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