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I liked this scent/flavor profile some years ago, but the product was discontinued. It is therefore on my list to eventually try some sort of black tea or pu aged in chenpi.

This wasn’t bad, but I like my 칡 (arrowroot) heavily roasted. These were simply dried. The slices mom brought brewed out as a sort of incompletely dried flavor, as if it had briefly rained in the the middle of the sun-drying process, or as if they were dried indoors instead of outdoors. Who knew I had such specific expectations of arrowroot tea?

When the samples arrived, I started a spreadsheet that sorts by $/g and included brief tasting notes. I gave this one good marks, but at the time I was more disciplined and would only drink one tea at a time, focusing on it. These days I have so many half-finished teas lying around in brewing vessels, I will often get to steep 7 or 8 and then while waiting for the longer steeps, finish up the overnight kill steeps of other teas, if that makes sense. So like, over the course of a day, steeps 1-3 a raw, the penultimate steep of a ripe, steep 4 of the raw, steeps 7-8 of a black, the final steep of the raw, steeps 5-7 of the raw, the kill steep of the black, an experimental steep or two of the dead ripe, steeps 8-10 of the raw. Taken in this massively chaotic manner, Daydream loses much of its charm. So if you get this tea, maybe give it your full attention.

Site keeps losing some of my tasting notes. Oh well.

I am seldom in the mood for a greener oolong w/ lighter oxidation but today is almost leave your jacket at home weather.

Brewed in small gaiwan. One rinse. Very green. Creamy. Fresh aromas despite dryyy air so do not forget to smell this between steeps. Fun to watch the leaves unfurl.

I usually prefer roasted oolongs, but this makes me feel calm, meditative, and ready for a mental spring cleaning.

Kill steeps of this are so good the next day that I have given up counting them.

The original magical scent of the tea is gone after two years (or perhaps it’s just the much lower humidity during winter), but I was not a very diligent drinker of the 16oz bag. The energy is still good, though! Could it be… the caffeine? Those drinking bulk darj should consider buying empty disposable teabags. The amount of fine dust that floats on top even after multiple filtering sessions is distracting and can contribute to a sore throat, but can be largely solved by using disposables.

소문대로 향이 독특하다. 맛은 순하고 달콤한데 향은 도발적이고 상큼하다고 해야할까. 마시는 내내 반가운 벗에게 조용히 칭찬을 받는 기분이다.

This tea feels like getting slyly complimented by a friend who tends to deliver mild insults in a taunting yet loving tone. I think it’s because there is a scent-flavor mismatch that is not unpleasant, and really quite humorous.

I’m Korean. I love this stuff. This is the unsweetened version. Thanks, mom. The end.

Brewed in a tiny gaiwan and filtered thru a sieve. Some steeps were cold brewed as I went about my day. All in all, what you would expect from a rough chunk of wilder yiwu. The broth is robust and oily. SD made me feel imposter’s syndrome as an enlightened monk. This one makes me feel like a car mechanic with grime stains all over my jeans. There is that familiar returning sweetness. It gives me a low key headache, possibly from the caffeine. The tea is very strong. It may even benefit from a lower leaf concentration per cup.

This was just okay. No off flavors. Clean. Pretty broth color, red I’d say. A noticeable energy. To be fair, I wasn’t all that focused, and just trying to get some caffeine in me after a meal to go out. Instead, combined with sips from a separate pot with the last of the SD, I fell into a short but deep asleep. Like a drugged power nap. I woke up feeling like I had ingested too much caffeine by accident. Certain teas (and I am beginning to zero in on the regions) have this effect on me.

Gross. It is like drowning in the bathwater of 12 year old menthol cigarettes and being rewarded with tinnitis. If this is what wet storage does to raw pu, I am not a fan. Everyone says this comes across as remarkably clean tasting given its exposure to a tropical climate so I guess I should just stay far away from anything described as wet storage. Gave it two rinses just to be safe. The scent is like that of a very spent fu zhuan tea (none of the honey but just the wet dark leaf scent), augmented with cigarette butts and the drain water from a dirty busy street. I also get some musty closet. There is significant tingling on the tongue by steep 6 or 7. I imagine having more of it will get me very tea buzzed in non-calming way, which I don’t want, but even if that is what you are after, it is hardly worth drinking this crap to experience. If you are curious, you can buy a sample and use it as a hot mouth wash. Gargle and spit. Repeat. Except don’t, because it will contribute to staining your teeth, which are expensive to fix. There is nothing I can recommend about this tea, unless you are primarily concerned about getting somewhat jaggedly tea drunk. A review on the YS site compares the sensation after having this to riding a temperamental goat, and I would agree. It is definitely a dumbass goat, and not a fluffy alpaca. I have no idea how you will make this taste good enough to drink. There is not enough sugar and milk in the world to salvage this. Maybe Scott can get his whole stash powdered and put into capsules so people can try out the body feels without having to suffer the smell and taste. Skip this one if you are not a smoker who likes menthol.