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Alex Zorach

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Member since Sep. 1st, 2009. Reviewed 1448 teas.

Reviews of Teas & Herbal Teas from China

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Picture of Choicest Hairpoint Organic

Choicest Hairpoint Organic from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: China

63 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Jul. 29th, 2011

The aroma of this tea is weak, even when I use more leaf than recommended, or a longer steeping time. I've experimented a bit with brewing and it always comes out weak for me. The tea has a strong savory flavor but is rather thin too.

Aroma is odd. Fairly strongly peppery, but with little complexity. Although th...

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Picture of Se Chung

Se Chung from Imperial Tea Garden

Style: Se Chung Oolong – Region: Anxi, Fujian, China

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Jul. 18th, 2011

Greener character, with an aroma that is simultaneously smoky, woody, and floral. Flavor surprisingly clear and clean. However, aftertaste is muddled and slightly more smoky than I like. Medium-bodied. I find it less fruity than the description suggests, and less than a number of other oolongs.

When Se Chung ool...

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Picture of Ying Ming Yunnan

Ying Ming Yunnan from Imperial Tea Garden

Style: Yunnan Red – Region: Yunnan, China

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Jul. 11th, 2011

This is a classic, high-quality Yunnan red. Dry leaf contains some golden tips, more than the picture on the website suggests.

Rich, malty, and with the characteristic aroma of Yunnan black teas. Fruity tones. Very full-bodied and rich, but smooth. Pleasing and not too tannic, much smoother than typical among te...

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Picture of Pai Mu Tan

Pai Mu Tan from Novus Tea

Style: White Peony Tea – Region: China

53 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Jun. 24th, 2011

Produces an amber brew with a light, floral aroma, and underlying tones of caramel and autumn leaves. There's also a noticeable fishy quality to the aroma, however, which I find unpleasant. Flavor is surprisingly metallic, although not necessarily in a bad way. Clear, clean, a bit crisp.

I recommend a longer stee...

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Picture of Dragon Well Green Tea

Dragon Well Green Tea from Novus Tea

Style: Dragon Well (Long Jing) – Region: China

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Jun. 23rd, 2011

I tend to not like these high-end tea bag teas, and I tend to find them overpriced, but this one is surprisingly good. On par with some loose-leaf dragon well / lung ching that I've had, but with its own unique twist.

I found this tea to be surprisingly chamomile-like in aroma, but obviously with a caffeine kick, a...

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Picture of China Dao Ren Special Organic Green

China Dao Ren Special Organic Green from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Green Tea – Region: China

83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Jun. 13th, 2011

I greatly enjoyed this tea. Brewed as instructed, this tea produces a rich, strongly aromatic cup.

Interesting and quite different from other Chinese green teas I have tried. At first I thought it a bit odd: while this is a very intensely aromatic and flavorful tea, the flavor and aroma are both oddly muted; it's ...

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Picture of Hubei Province Keemun Ji Hong

Hubei Province Keemun Ji Hong from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Keemun – Region: Hubei, China

70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 5/5
Jun. 12th, 2011

The second Hubei Keemun I've tried, and it is immediately recognizable as a Hubei Keemun: the same aroma of chicken soup, the earthy and fruity Keemun tones weaker and taking a back burner, and a slight usually edginess not present in Anhui Keemuns.

Flavor is overall very sweet, there are even some tones of honey in...

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Picture of Panyang Tippy Golden Needles Imperial

Panyang Tippy Golden Needles Imperial from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Panyang Congou – Region: Fujian, China

87 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
May. 28th, 2011

Aroma toasty and caramely, like the crust of a pastry. This tea is so reminiscent of pastry that if I close my eyes, I almost picture there being a baked good, rather than a cup of tea, in front of me.

Dark, rich, but with a pleasingly smooth flavor. Finish leaves a surprisingly lightness on the palate, and a fain...

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Picture of Organic Gyokuro

Organic Gyokuro from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Gyokuro – Region: China

77 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
May. 13th, 2011

I was eager to try this one to see what a better Chinese attempt at gyokuro could produce, and I must say, this tea impressed me a fair amount, and was definitely worth trying.

Dry leaf has a pleasing aroma of a typical, good Japanese green tea. Bold green color.

I brewed this with a lower temperature, 160, typi...

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Picture of China Congou Panyang (Panyong)

China Congou Panyang (Panyong) from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Panyang Congou – Region: China

67 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
May. 2nd, 2011

Clean tasting, mild, with a slightly bitter caramel-like quality. A bit flat, simple tasting, but very pleasant. Has a cooling quality, even when hot, and I think it would make a very classic iced tea.

I was expecting this tea to be similar to Upton's ZP20, Panyang Congou Select, because of the similar name, but i...

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Picture of China Green Sencha

China Green Sencha from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Sencha – Region: China

20 / 100 Aroma: 1/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 1/5
Apr. 24th, 2011

I never thought I'd say this, but I encountered the first truly bad tea from Upton. The dry leaf had a stale smell, none of the fresh grassy tones that sencha usually has. I would not recognize this as sencha from the aroma of the dry leaf, nor from the brewed cup. The leaf and the color of the cup looks more like b...

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Picture of Panyang Congou Select

Panyang Congou Select from Upton Tea Imports

Style: Panyang Congou – Region: Fujian, China

87 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 22nd, 2011

A delightful and complex black tea. Very robust and full-bodied, moderate bitterness, but not overly caffeinated. Aroma simultaneously a little smoky, fruity, and malty, with no one quality dominating the others. Very balanced. Very pleasing.

I can see this becoming a favorite everyday black tea for me: it is mu...

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Picture of Tie Guan Yin traditional charcoal roast Master Grade

Tie Guan Yin traditional charcoal roast Master Grade from Life in Teacup

Style: Tie Guan Yin – Region: Anxi, Fujian, China

100 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 6th, 2011

(2009 Harvest) This is an impressive tea, and the first perfect rating I've ever given here. Life in Teacup provided me with a sample generous enough to experiment a bit with brewing.

This tea is so intensely flavorful and aromatic, that I settled on using a little less than 1 teaspoon of leaf, and brewed four infu...

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Picture of Wild tea Orchid Fairy Twig, first day harvest

Wild tea Orchid Fairy Twig, first day harvest from Life in Teacup

Style: Green Tea – Region: Wuyuan, Jiangxi, China

83 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 24th, 2011

I have only tried one other green tea from Wuyuan, but there was something very distinctive about this tea that reminded me of that first tea, Upton's ZG36, as soon as I took the first sip. Both teas share a particularly distinctive grassy aroma, with both floral and vegetal tones.

This tea, on the other hand, has...

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Picture of Mt. Wu Dong Mi Lan (Honey Orchid) Dan Cong

Mt. Wu Dong Mi Lan (Honey Orchid) Dan Cong from Life in Teacup

Style: Dancong Oolong – Region: Guangdong, China

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 15th, 2011

I often find Dan Congs to be fascinatingly complex teas, and this one is no exception. This tea I also found a bit easier to work with, in that it was easy for me to bring out the qualities that I enjoy most. It was a little more like a Wuyi oolong in overall character than other dancong I've tried. The dry leaf is ...

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Picture of Frosty Spring Yunnan Roast Green

Frosty Spring Yunnan Roast Green from Life in Teacup

Style: Green Tea – Region: Yunnan, China

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Mar. 13th, 2011

This is an interesting tea. I tried brewing two different ways: with longer, and shorter infusions. Both ways, it brews a clear, pale green cup.

With a 3-minute infusion, the cup had a toasty aroma, with hints of cooked vegetables. Very clean flavor, but with an extremely pleasing, mild bitterness in the aftertas...

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White Tea from Trader Joe's

Style: White Tea – Region: China

50 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Mar. 8th, 2011

Brews an amber color. Trader Joe's recommends brewing 1-2 minutes and then discarding. I brewed 5 as I like a stronger cup. The tea was not too strong for me--still milder than many greens or blacks.

Not terribly aromatic, but flavorful. Aroma is like a bai mu dan, but much weaker: mostly of soft grain, with a h...

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Picture of Pure White Tea

Pure White Tea from Twinings

Style: White Tea – Region: Fujian, China

20 / 100 Aroma: 2/10 Flavor: 1/5 Value: 1/5
Mar. 7th, 2011

Among my least favorite bagged teas that I've tried. Aroma very weak: vaguely floral and then dissipating into a stale, tea-like aroma. Pale cup has a muddled flavor, with a little bitterness and more astringency than I'd like, and a little sourness too. I would not drink this again.

My advice is to stick to Twin...

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Picture of Huang Shan Yun Wu (Yellow Mountain Cloud)

Huang Shan Yun Wu (Yellow Mountain Cloud) from Life in Teacup

Style: Clouds & Mist (Yun Wu) – Region: Huangshan, Anhui, China

83 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 3rd, 2011

Another sample from Life in Teacup, this is my kind of tea: a classic Chinese pan-fired green tea wild a bold flavor. This tea looks typical at first, but as I started experimenting with brewing it, I found it had a lot of personality.

After a few trials, I found that I achieved the best results for my tastes by us...

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Picture of Green Ginger

Green Ginger from Tazo Tea

Style: Flavored Green Tea – Region: China

47 / 100 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Feb. 27th, 2011

Strong gingery aroma: dried ginger, not particularly fresh. The aroma is also suggestive of licorice. Lemongrass is noticeable in the aroma. Not much green tea presence. Spicy overall. Flavor is muddled. Color is a rich golden orange. Peppery aftertaste.

While I've had a lot worse, this one just didn't do it ...

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Picture of Jing Mai Moonlight White

Jing Mai Moonlight White from Life in Teacup

Style: Moonlight White – Region: Lancang, Yunnan, China

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 23rd, 2011

This is a strange tea that requires proper brewing if you want to appreciate it. It's not even remotely like any other white tea I've ever tried.

I received a generous amount of sample of this tea from Life in Teacup. I experimented brewing three different ways, using many infusions, starting at 1-minute and gett...

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Picture of Yunnan Golden Bud

Yunnan Golden Bud from Life in Teacup

Style: Yunnan Gold – Region: Yunnan, China

70 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5
Feb. 15th, 2011

The initial aroma is malty and deep, typical for a Yunnan gold, but with more fruity qualities, especially of dried fruit. Upon drinking the cup, the aroma becomes more fruity and vegetal, sharing some of the wine-like qualities of a Keemun with some of the vegetal qualities of some Darjeeling, even Darjeeling oolong ...

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Picture of Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha

Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha from Rishi Tea

Style: Ripened (Shou) Pu-erh – Region: Yunnan, China

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 2nd, 2011

I'm not crazy about Shu Pu-erh; this one was better than average though. The single-serving size of these tuo cha's is very convenient.

Brews a blackish brown, like black coffee. Aroma is earthy, but with more nuance that I'm used to in shu Pu-erh. There's a creamy quality and a hint of a savory, chicken-soup lik...

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Picture of China Green Tips Filterbag

China Green Tips Filterbag from Tazo Tea

Style: Mao Feng Green Tea – Region: Zhejiang, China

57 / 100 Aroma: 5/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Dec. 7th, 2010

Served in a Starbucks. I was impressed with this for a tea bag, but it really did not compare to the majority of the loose-leaf green tea I buy.

Aroma was a bit muddled, vaguely toasty, fairly vegetal, and with only a hint of grassiness. Warmer, and less crisp and refreshing than I like. I like Zhejiang greens an...

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Picture of Schizandra Berries

Schizandra Berries from Rishi Tea

Style: Fruit (Herbal) Tea – Region: Heilongjiang, China

53 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5
Nov. 18th, 2010

These berries produce an almost transparent infusion: I can hardly tell that I have infused anything at all by looking at it. But the cup is strongly aromatic and the flavor is intense.

Rishi describes these berries as producing a "very tart" infusion. It is tart, and I want to point out that I often find drinks l...

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