Type: Oolong
Producer: Ten Ren Tea Co.
Origin: Northern Taiwan
Brewing Parameters: 3 g, brewing to taste
Appearance: Dark brown/black, thin, rolled leaves with a few twigs
Rating: A- | 91/100
# of Brews: 5
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, yesterday, I was in San Francisco with a friend and we went around town, visiting Japantown, Chinatown, and Pier 39. While there, I picked up two teas: some Sanpin cha (Okinawan Jasmine tea; expect a review later) at Japantown, and Oriental Beauty at Chinatown. I got stuck between choosing the Oriental Beauty and a small pu-erh cake at Ten Ren since they were the same price ($9), but finally decided on the Oriental Beauty since I haven't had it in a while– the last one I had was from Tea Ave, a sampler– and it came in a large bag.
Anyway, aside from Chinatown's ridiculous tea prices (really: the average price for some Jin Xuan was over $20), let's get to my first impressions and the review. Unlike the Tea Ave dry leaf, the Ten Ren leaves are a lot more darker and smell somewhat like urine. It's a bit disgusting, yes, I know, but it's comparable to a pu-erh; it's just less fishy-smelling.
As for the brewing, I started off with a rinse with boiling water. According to the Ten Ren site, this tea shouldn't be made with such hot water, so I let my water sit to cool afterwards and then began again. The first brew was pretty short– under 30 seconds– and the liquid came out a light, golden yellow, like a tie guan yin. It smelled a bit more better: honeyed, sweet, and like ginseng (I'm saying this because it's very similar to Blue People tea). The actual drink's flavor was pretty enjoyable, too– surprisingly. The first note I tasted was fruit, apricot, a little bit of lemon, which gave it a bit of a tanginess. Immediately after, it's followed by a slight moment of smokiness, and ends with the sweet honey that's in the smell. This sweet honey, combined with the fruit, lingers in the mouth for quite a while, and is generally clean. The texture, overall, seems to be very smooth, with little astringency or bite.
Overall, I thought this was a good tea especially considering the price. I got to 5 brews, with the tea eventually losing the honey and becoming a bit fruitier (but not very sour) in the later brews. In terms of taste, I think the Tea Ave Oriental Beauty was much better, but again, the price point of this tea makes it very appealing.
Other Notes
Well, I don't really have much to say here. I just finished reading Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut (for the second time, I think, but I can't remember when I read it the first time), and am about to start to work on summer homework. Mother Night is a lot more darker than I remember it to be, but I did find that it has a strong moral message and existentialist meaning, especially considering that it's a novel about an American spy who acted as Nazi during World War 2; for example, here is the main lesson of the story: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be."
Other than that, I'll be going to San Francisco again for Competition Civics workshops on Saturday, California Extreme for volunteering and games on Sunday, and an environmental science summer camp all next week. My goal is to finish the main portion of my summer homework by next week, or the week after; I already have all of AP Chem done, almost all of AP Gov done (just need to watch the Republican/Democratic conventions), and quite a bit to do for Comp Civics, even though it looks like I'm ahead of most people. One thing, though, that I've noticed (which is unrelated) is that I've started to become disillusioned with the people at my school, and the competitive college admissions atmosphere. Honestly, it seems that everything academic that one can do isn't enough, and for those that could do enough by my school's standards are able to do it because it's all a money game. I might write a longer piece on why I'm starting to become disappointed with the people I have to associate with, but that depends on if I have the motivation to or not. We'll see.
For tea stuff, I have a few reviews coming up soon. I have that Okinawan Jasmine tea I bought at Japantown, along with a bunch of different tea bags, including: Ambiance's Earl Grey, Trader Joe's Earl Grey (might do a side-by-side review of these two), Numi's Moroccan Mint, Mighty Leaf's Organic Green Dragon and Organic Detox Infusion, Ambiance's Soothing Chamomile, and Twining's Lemon and Ginger. Since they're tea bags, I might experiment with a shorter, quick-review style since I won't be able to get an entire profile from just one bag (and I only have one bag of each).
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