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Alex Zorach

RateTea Editor

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

Reviews of Teas & Herbal Teas from Fujian, China

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Picture of Premium Grade AA Jin Jun Mei Fujian Black Tea of Wu Yi Shan

Premium Grade AA Jin Jun Mei Fujian Black Tea of Wu Yi Shan from Yunnan Sourcing

Style: Black Tea – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

97 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Apr. 16th, 2021

I was curious to try this higher grade of a tea (the "Classic Robust Jin Jun Mei") that has become one of my favorites for daily drinking.

The dry leaf is similar but more curly and also visibly lighter in color, with a greater portion of golden tips. The aroma is very strong, initially of dried fruit and then very ...

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Picture of Classic Robust Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Fujian

Classic Robust Jin Jun Mei Black Tea of Fujian from Yunnan Sourcing

Style: Black Tea – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

100 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 3rd, 2021

I seriously can't get enough of this tea. This is not only my favorite of the teas I've bought from Yunnan Sourcing from provinces other than Yunnan, it is among my favorite teas of all time.

The leaf is beautiful, a thin, wiry mix of golden-orange and dark brown. It's not explosively aromatic, but when I really sti...

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Picture of High Mountain

High Mountain "Tu Cha" Black Tea from Wu Yi Mountains from Yunnan Sourcing

Style: Black Tea – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

86 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 5/5
Dec. 19th, 2020

This was a pleasant, if somewhat disappointing tea that I found tasted better as it cooled.

The dry leaf is long, wiry, and grayish black, and has a mild aroma that initially is a sort of sweet chocolatey quality, underlain by a deep maltiness. It reminds me of a chocolate shortbread cookie. Overall, the dry leaf do...

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Picture of Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu

Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu "Golden Monkey" Black tea of Fuding from Yunnan Sourcing

Style: Golden Monkey – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China

91 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Oct. 10th, 2019

This was the first tea I bought from Yunnan Sourcing that was not actually grown in Yunnan province. I was a bit reluctant to order it, but also curious, because this company has been so consistently good at everything they sell, both in terms of price and quality. This tea turned out to be a little less interesting th...

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Picture of China Special Snow Dragon Green Tea

China Special Snow Dragon Green Tea from Simpson & Vail

Style: Green Tea – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China

76 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Apr. 14th, 2018

A pleasant green tea with a smooth, mild flavor that tasted a lot better when brewed more strongly. Easy to drink and I'd imagine this would appeal to a broad audience, with perhaps an exception for people who think green tea is bland or weak, because this was on the milder side.

Thank you to Simpson & Vail for the ...

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Picture of Wuyi Da Hong Pao

Wuyi Da Hong Pao from Harney and Sons

Style: Da Hong Pao – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

74 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Feb. 16th, 2018

This tea was good, but it just didn't wow me the way I would need a tea in this price range to do in order to want to buy it.

The dry leaf smells exquisite, multifaceted, and hard to describe. Although the color is dark, the smell resembles green teas in some ways. Softly toasty and bready, hinting at floral and s...

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Picture of Mutan White

Mutan White from Harney and Sons

Style: White Peony Tea – Region: Fu'an, Fujian, China

84 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Jun. 20th, 2017

I thought this was an above-average white peony or bai mu dan.

Dry leaf smells different from any other White Peony tea I've tried, notes of candied citrus peel, a sort of bittersweet smell, a slight pungency, almost hinting at camphor. I'm intrigued, and eager to try this to see what kind of cup this leaf produces...

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Picture of Rou Gui Oolong

Rou Gui Oolong from Harney and Sons

Style: Rou Gui – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

72 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
May. 5th, 2017

Overall this was more run-of-the-mill than I expected for such a high-end tea. My favorite thing about it was the smell of the dry leaf, the actual cup was good, but not as interesting.

The dry leaf smells incredibly beautiful...multifaceted too, lightly roasty, very fruity, like baked goods, suggesting sweetness, ...

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Picture of Fuding White Tea Cake

Fuding White Tea Cake from Upton Tea Imports

Style: White Peony Tea – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 3/5
Jan. 9th, 2017

I tried this together with Upton's ZW42. I actually liked this one a lot, and not the other.

Brews up a dark, full-bodied cup that, like the other compressed white tea cake, is rather bitter. I find the bitterness more blunt though, whereas ZW42 has a sharp bitterness.

The aroma is strange and hard to describe....

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Picture of Lapsang Souchong Wild Black Tea (Ye Sheng Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong)

Lapsang Souchong Wild Black Tea (Ye Sheng Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong) from TeaVivre

Style: Lapsang Souchong – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

94 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Jun. 16th, 2016

A lovely tea, mellow, and complex, among my favorite Lapsang Souchongs ever sampled. Thank you again to TeaVivre for the sample! This is a traditional Chinese lapsang souchong, it lacks the strong smoky aroma that the more widely-known style of tea popular in the West has. Compared to other traditional Lapsang Souch...

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Picture of Panyang Congou

Panyang Congou from Harney and Sons

Style: Panyang Congou – Region: Fujian, China

43 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 2/5 Value: 2/5
Jun. 13th, 2016

This was the most disappointing pure tea I've ever tried from Harney & Sons.

Dry leaf not very aromatic, but the aroma is pleasant. The leaf is pretty, with fine wiry pieces, fairly finely broken...the faint aroma suggests spice and dried fruit, like fig or date.

The brewed cup is surprisingly lacking in aroma. ...

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Picture of Golden Monkey

Golden Monkey from Harney and Sons

Style: Golden Monkey – Region: Fujian, China

94 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Mar. 24th, 2016

Truly superb! I haven't tried that many Golden Monkey teas, but after brewing this one multiple times, I think it is my favorite. Its leaf is packed with flavor and, although it had the smoothness of other golden monkey teas, I found it had a strength that was lacking from other examples of this style that I had tried...

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Picture of Superfine Jasmine Downy Dragon Pearls Green Tea

Superfine Jasmine Downy Dragon Pearls Green Tea from TeaVivre

Style: Jasmine Pearls – Region: Fuding, Fujian, China

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 3/5
Aug. 1st, 2015

This is my favorite jasmine pearls tea that I've ever sampled.

I tried this tea months ago and began writing a review but I realized that I never finished and posted it! Apologies to TeaVivre for the oversight. I had one packet left, so I brewed it up and the tea was as I had remembered it. I was surprised at how...

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Picture of Jasmine Pearls

Jasmine Pearls from The Meaning of Tea

Style: Jasmine Pearls – Region: Fujian, China

67 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5
Apr. 29th, 2015

A decent Jasmine tea, which I think is on the expensive side.

Dry leaf has a very intense aroma, with a strongly floral jasmine scent, and also strongly fruity, with a minty note.

The Meaning of Tea recommended a heaping teaspoon, but I sensed that this tea would be strong for my tastes, so I went easy, using a t...

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Picture of Iron Buddha

Iron Buddha from Simply Good Tea

Style: Tie Guan Yin – Region: Fujian, China

73 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 22nd, 2015

This is a classic example of the "modern green style" of oolong, popular in Taiwan and China these days, with no discernable roast or oxidation.

The dry leaf is an intense green color with yellowish accents, not particularly tightly rolled, and not very aromatic.

As soon as water hits the leaves though, there's a...

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Picture of Sencha

Sencha from Simply Good Tea

Style: Sencha – Region: Fujian, China

33 / 100 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 1/5 Value: 1/5
Feb. 21st, 2015

I was very disappointed by this tea. It was the only tea so far to disappoint me, from Simply Good Tea; their other teas have been consistently good.

Dry leaf is relatively dark and vibrant green in color, and has a mild but pleasing aroma, toasty, slightly vegetal, and with a unique minty note.

Upon brewing, ge...

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Picture of Silver Needle White Tea

Silver Needle White Tea from Simply Good Tea

Style: Silver Needle – Region: Fujian, China

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 5/5
Feb. 17th, 2015

I tend not to like Silver Needle teas, but I found this one more interesting than most. It was my favorite silver needle yet from China (I strongly prefer the African-grown versions).

Dry leaf is mildly aromatic, and upon brewing, the cup initially smells like a typical silver needle of good quality, with the typic...

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Picture of Silver Needle White Tea

Silver Needle White Tea from Arbor Teas

Style: Silver Needle – Region: Fujian, China

60 / 100 Aroma: 6/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 2/5
Feb. 17th, 2015

A very typical silver needle, enjoyable, good quality, and true to the style, but this is a style of tea I'm not a huge fan of, especially given its high price.

Brewed 3 minutes as recommended, this was too weak for me. I preferred a single, long infusion of about 12-15 minutes.

Very low in astringency, leading ...

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Picture of BaiYuYa Jasmine Tea

BaiYuYa Jasmine Tea from Simply Good Tea

Style: Jasmine Tea – Region: Fujian, China

77 / 100 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Feb. 3rd, 2015

A classic jasmine of good quality, very balanced.

The dry leaf is very aromatic, with a strong floral fragrance that is not too perfumey. The leaf is also quite beautiful, with lots of silvery, downy tips and a few whole jasmine flowers thrown in.

Upon brewing, takes on a much rounder, warmer aroma, a lot like b...

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Picture of White Peony

White Peony from Octavia Tea

Style: White Peony Tea – Region: Fujian, China

90 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Jan. 6th, 2015

Excellent! Another sample served at Velvet Sky Bakery.

The leaf was rather broken, but this may have been due to being packed in the small sample container: this is a very fragile, large-leafed tea.

Brews up a clear, light-colored cup that is on the delicate side for a white peony. Aroma is floral, with notes o...

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Picture of Misty Rock

Misty Rock from Simply Good Tea

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Wuyi, Fujian, China

80 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 4/5
Jan. 5th, 2015

A classic Wuyi oolong of high quality, with whole, intact leaves and a complex aroma. The dry leaf has a pleasant roasty smell, with a honey-like floral note. I find the dry leaf very pleasing to smell.

Brews up a rather clear and light cup with a light flavor. The aroma is both roasty and floral with nutty notes...

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Picture of Red Horse Black Tea

Red Horse Black Tea from Simply Good Tea

Style: Black Tea – Region: Fujian, China

87 / 100 Aroma: 8/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Dec. 21st, 2014

Very enjoyable! This is my favorite tea so far from Simply Good Tea (I've only posted two reviews so far but have tried a few more).

The leaf looks a lot like the Bai Lin Gongfu I just tried from Joseph Wesley: well-formed, very wiry, curly leaves with quite a lot of golden-orange tip. Very aromatic, suggesting dr...

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Picture of Brandy Oolong

Brandy Oolong from Octavia Tea

Style: Oolong Tea – Region: Fujian, China

97 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 5/5
Dec. 19th, 2014

Wow. This tea is pretty exceptional...buttery smooth, but incredibly rich. The dominant notes are of dried fruit, like fig, date, or raisin. It does have a brandy-like quality. It lives up to the claim of "tremendously complex flavors" although I think it's the aroma that is most complex.

Flavor is bold, slightl...

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Picture of Keemun Congfu

Keemun Congfu from Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Style: Keemun – Region: Fujian, China

97 / 100 Aroma: 10/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Dec. 15th, 2014

Something fascinating and wonderful...a Keemun of top-quality produced outside the traditional area, yet in an area with a tradition of artisanal black tea production. Seems to combine the best qualities of Keemun with qualities of Fujian gong fu / congou black teas. I saved this tea review for last, from the recent ...

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Picture of Lapsang Souchong

Lapsang Souchong from Joseph Wesley Black Tea

Style: Lapsang Souchong – Region: Fujian, China

91 / 100 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5
Nov. 25th, 2014

Excellent.

This is the traditional Chinese Lapsang Souchong, subtle, not the British-style stuff with the overwhelming smell of campfire smoke. I love it. I've only ever tried one other Lapsang Souchong on par with this, the Lapsang Souchong Superior Grade from Life In Teacup. This tea was equally exquisite, yet ...

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