188 Tasting Notes
Crisp breeze in the air means it’s time to hit the Yunnan Sourcing pile of tea in my cupboard. Use cracked celedon pot for this tea. It brews up quickly for the first 4 steeps then added 10-20 seconds for further out brews. The flavors are so clean and spot on for what I like about Yunnan black teas. Soft flavors of malt, cherry, orange blossom and caramel, bouquet of chocolate and orange blossom; nice energy but not grating, a hint of bitter but it corrects the flavors somehow to make it more flavorful. The batch I purchased was the Autumn 2012 and I bought a lot of it.
Flavors: Caramel, Cherry, Malt, Orange Blossom
Preparation
Best tea I have ever tasted, no really. Gong fu yixing @ 175F.
I have to tell you. I did not rinse this tea, reason being, it is a bit on the expensive side, did not want any to go to waste.
Does that make me dirty? I had a 3 second pang of filth but soon got over it after I sipped the first steep which was in/out of the yixing as the rinse, but it landed in my tummy instead.
Insane tastes of vanilla, banana, caramel, madeleine, mango, roasted walnut.
3,6,9,15,20,25,30,40,50,60,80,110,130 were the steeps.
It did not end, pure bliss. The rock came in about the 6th steep but the aforementioned flavors kept strong into the 8th.
This tea has me floored, but then again I love good cliff teas.
Thank You Shunan.
Preparation
Haven’t had Mr. G in years. Like many, had way too much inferior product that it shut me down. I then got into Yezi Tea and Yunnan Sourcing black teas and forgot all about Mr. G. I shared this generous sample with a work mate and we were both floored at how good it was. Well structured black tea with a precise amount of bergamot. I wish I could find this so when I offer my friends, with less sophisticated palates, a cup of tea they will accept Mr. G, as apposed to my “crazy” teas from China.
Received this as a gift from my mother in law who received it as a gift from a friend, as she does not take caffeine in any form, I was the lucky recipient of this tasty tea. It is quite unlike any Jin Xuan I’ve ever tasted. Light, soft buttery notes, not overpowering like some others. It may be a bit too light and soft. The florals are also muted and I wonder if this is an organic tea. I perused their website yet could not find the tea I have in front of me. It is in a light brown tin where as all the teas on their site are in red tins. The brew has a decent mouth feel and a sturdy amber hue. It steeps out pretty far, probably due to the large amount I used. I really wanted this to be better, yet never look a gift tea in the bush.
Preparation
Wow the dry leaf aroma is very powerful. Cocoa Puffs, toasted almond and the whiff I get when first opening a nori package. What an amazement when those aromas presented in the tea. Not so much the Cocoa but definitely the Puffs. Made 4 steeps drinking 2 at a time. Although I tried this at work in the morning I would really like this while watching Ran.
How have you found Steepster Select? I’ve been sitting on the fence, and as you tend to also like un-flavored teas….
I like it enough, but I’m not that much interested in some of the selection they include in the box’s. There is usually one each black, green, white or non tea (rooibos) and every once in a while an oolong. I have been giving away those I know I don’t like like the lighter teas and I try the traditionals. That said, I might not do another year, I now know what I like (oolongs) and prefer to spend my time and money searching these out. Hope that helps
It does. I’ve been falling pray to peer pressure, and seeing all the teas other people are tasting. But I did try some of Select teas from Upton and kinda found them to be sub par.
I think they need to move product. The other thing about Steepster’s box is some of the teas are offered by Steepster themselves so you can not purchase them. I found a local tea shop that suits me well, no more hoarding from the internet tea shops like years gone by.
Not keen on these teas as they are so subtle I basically need someone with experience to walk me through. Mostly flavors of oat-grass and a faint hint of sweetness but that’s all I got out of it. Heading off to my local tea shop (Tea Drunk) for instruction.
Damn, love me my ooooo-longs. Used a small pot and this tea just didn’t quit with the flavors. Each sip bringing the florals and the honey. There is also a faint hint of almond in there as well. Started to fade after 7 steeps but I’ll take what I can get from this excellent sample.
Flavors: Floral, Honey
