Glenburn 2013 Autumn Oolong

Can I be honest for a minute? I feel a bit silly writing a review of this tea. I'm still so new to the tea world that I feel like there isn't anything I can say about this one that more knowledgeable experts haven't already said.

But that being said, I love this tea so much I have to tell you about it! Here's what I know.

This oolong comes from the Glenburn Estate in Darjeeling. It is an autumnal flush and dried in the sun.  There's a neat little video of their processing technique here.

This is a 2013 harvest that I picked up at a local independent tea shop: Souvia. The 2014 harvest won 2nd place (dark oolong category) in this years tea tasting championship.

I love the look of this tea, all curly blacks, browns, and greens. It's got a rich woodsy sweet smell. Brewed up the sweet smell comes through even more and the floral notes really start to stand out.  The liquor is a bright orange and smells complex, combining the wet and dried leaf smells.

So how did it taste? Heavenly. It started off with a bit of tartness due, I think, to slight overstepping. However it wasn't unpleasant. I got some hints of malt and dried fruit sweetness.

This tea really started to captivate me during its subsequent steepings, shortened to two minutes. That's when the floral notes bloomed and turned into an absolutely amazing experience. I almost can't describe it. It was floral but not like the jasmines that I'm used to, it was much sweeter and I flew through the next three or four infusions.

I can definitely see why this tea won its spot in the championship; and make me really want to try the first place winner.

Have you had a chance to try this tea, or anything from Glenburn? Know any other neat tidbits about this tea? Let me know in the comments! I'm gonna go steep this since more, but before I go here's my stats:

Glenburn Autumn Oolong 2013

Temp: 195° F

Time: 3 minutes for the first infusion but then 2 min for the subsequent ones

Tea: 2.5g 

Vessel: Gaiwan (≈100mL)

Steepings: 5+

Himalayan Honey Green - Souvia Tea

I've been drinking flavored teas for quite a few years now, but it's only recently that I've begun to appreciate the orthodox teas. I think a big contributing factor to that was my recent employment by a local tea shop. It's hard to talk about a tea that you've never tried.  

Sine my appreciation is so new sometimes I feel a bit silly trying to talk about tea tastes when I consider myself, and my palate, to be such an amateur. But, I think that's a big part of the beauty of tea: it tastes different to everyone. Its what makes tea so universal. I completely believe there is a tea out there for everyone.

I think the point of my rant was: my appreciation isn't quite there yet for green tea. To me they are just a bit too vegetal and astringent. However, this Himalayan Honey Green totally rocks my green tea paradigm.

Origin: Nepal
Type: Green (20% oxidized but it seems most vendors still sell it as a Neapalese green tea)
Steep time: 2 min 30 sec
Water temp: 175°
Method: porcelain cupping set

Dry, this tea smells rich and sweet like dates/raisins.  The leaves are long, a bit curled, and just georgous shades of green.  The grassy green smell really comes out once they're steeped and the liquor comes out a very pale green.
It's a very well balanced combination of vegetal, astringent, and a mellow honey sweetness.  Since it isn't overy grassy, I think it would be a good introductory green.