Lochan Tea Facebook Online tasting

[woozl]

not forwarded, returned to origin, not acceptable item. ???
at least some of you will get some tea soon.

222367196 that's the # to see the info

[Victoria]

Oy. Not good. Sorry Wooz. Better tell them right away.

[Tea and coffee]

great .. we have 13 people now... congratulations to everyone ... 37 more to come and one week's time is what we have left.. we shall start posting samples on 19th of this month..

I just sent an email.
Just read of this today,so hopefully it is not too late for me....
I actually do not drink much Indian tea, mainly because the stores I shop at either sell Japanese tea or Chinese teas.

But I am curious about Indian teas other than Chai and orange pekoe.
I didn't send my address though, will do that when I hear back!

[woozl]

Lochan is looking into the rogue package

[ankitlochan]

Vivek is coordinating the error .. It will be in line .. Sorry for the confusion.. We are in touch with the courier company also.. Will keep ypu posted.. Most of you should have the samples by monday or tuesday at the latest.. Have a nice day!

[vlochan89]

Lochan is looking into the rogue package

the error has been found. the tracking number given to you was wrong, the correct number is - 222367176.

the package is on it's way to USA via Fedex and should be delivered to you sometime tomorrow

[geeber1]

My package was delivered to my house a while ago. Yay!

[ankitlochan]

Great .. The posting on fb of the tasting starts from Monday.... Looking forward to your views.. Please rate the teas also...

[Victoria]

I got the dreaded slip when I got home - Hopefully they will deliver tomorrow. I usually don't have to sign for Fed Ex. I see my delivery luck didn't last long.

[woozl]

They tried to deliver when I was in the shower. ARRGGHH
Also says it was the 2nd attempt, but the slip either was lost or not left yesterday.
Anyway should be Ok for tommorow

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I got mine. They left a slip yesterday for me to sign so I got the package today. Despite it being 9:30pm, I may just have to try one tonight. Yay!

[Victoria]

Wasn't home yesterday, so I signed the slip and left it on the door this morning. And today ... I get another slip. ????? I can actually feel my blood pressure rising.

At least I got my tea bowl from Japan, that I had sent SAL so I wouldn't have to sign for it, then it ended up having to be signed for ANYWAY. So of course they didn't leave it Friday, or bring it Saturday or leave it Monday. Very frustrating!!!!!

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I was incredibly impatient and decided to try the Castleton FTGFOP. It happened to be on top of the pile of samples.

I followed the directions given, which was to brew it for 3 to 4 minutes with boiling water. I will give a more thorough review on the actual tasting group, but I have to say that I am very impressed. The aroma is incredible, like autumn leaves and caramel and the taste is a smooth, silky sweet raisin with something else that I can't quite pinpoint that finishes with a pleasant astringency. Whatever it is, I am severely disappointed that my cup is now empty. To me, this is what a Darjeeling should taste like.

[shah82]

So far the Castleton was the best of the bunch for me as well, followed by the Margaret's Hope.

The assams, though, are merely an afterthought to what I have (TFOP Hattialli, Kagorijan, Jutlibari) anyways. The Harmutty is very smooth and round for an assam, but it's a whole lot like a foody-type Yunnan, and a good yunnan beats it easy. Said Yunnan would cost a good bit more than what Lochan is selling it for. Hattialli is a more typical assam flavor--good aroma of chocolate and fermented fruit, flavor is intense and tannic--suggest a very slight touch of milk.

Doke Silver Needles are okay silver needle types. Remember, these you CAN rebrew multiple times, but unlike the Houde one I got a while ago, they can get bitter if you cook 'em at too high temperature, so don't go above 175F. Now, I don't think it's fair to compare with the Bei Pu Bai Hao YinZhen, but Doke is not bad at all ( I can't find 2009's doke for sale at Lochan) and it's a zillion times cheaper. I also suspect that the brewing instruction of 6g/8oz*3min is a tad heavy-handed. I would go with an assume a light first brew with 4g/8oz*3min and go for the money second brew 6(or a bit more)min.

Castleton was an easy brew and completely on the money. It's not very sweet, but it is very rich, honey-nutty, with a spicey-kick at the end. It's tough on your tummy though, and 12oz (my custumary gulp) is quite a bit to drink of it at a time.

Thurbo is a touch astringent for me, but it was okay...dollop of maraschino cherries over a fairly standard darjeeling base. I'll back off on time just a tad...

Margaret's Hope Muscatel was very nice. Classical muscatel taste with just a touch of astringency, and has a mouth feel and ease of swallowing that makes it a pleasure to outright drink instead of sip.

I still have the Jungpanas, Meghma, Korakundah, and masala chai to go...

[vlochan89]

nice to see that you are enjoying the teas sent to you..

would please request you to post your comments on our Facebook page too from 2nd of November onwards.

also, we would please request you to go according to the list - from top to bottom - one tea per day. this way, all participants can taste the same tea each day and then compare notes.

any suggestions and comments are invited.