526 Tasting Notes
I pulled this tea out at random. This tea has an identical aroma-to-taste. More so than I’ve ever seen, haha!
Steam from the cup – Warm honeyed peaches with light cinnamon and roast barley! interesting combination but perfectly distinct.
Tastes from the cup – Warm honeyed peaches with light cinnamon and roast barley… Exactly! very amusing and pleasant experience. Dancongs I’ve never been able to pull more than one exquisite steep, and this brew was no different. However, the steep was quite tasty and perfect little pick me up while I was working outside.
Flavors: Honey, Peach, Roasted Barley, Spring Water
Preparation
The weather is beginning to turn, and my garden is slowly starting to wither. We had a light rain, and I try to spend time with them before they all disappear. Each year is always bittersweet for me to say goodbye to my friends. Weird; I know.
I decided to sit out in the soil and brew this alongside my plants and the little critters about. This shu is partially fermented, so it’s on the dry side. the leaves are very well done and invite a unique experience. I was welcomed with stable notes of red oak, petrichor, and spiced rye. The finish introduced a subtle sweetness, fungus, and warm earth. These leaves carry a vibrant energy that builds with each steep; truly invigorating. I sat among my green survivors, with soft music, and warm tea. This brew wrapped the experience warmly and delivered soft gentle kisses among the rain.
Flavors: Cherry, Drying, Earth, Mushrooms, Oak, Petrichor, Rye
Preparation
You know those happy little tea samples that make their way to your table, and you break it open and begin steeping, and by the first sip you grab your phone and look up if it’s still for sale and how much you can afford to buy?? No?? … me neither….
Lol, this was that tea for me! great stuff; a beautiful blend!
The sample was a small edge of cake loosely thread with a lovely array of colors. I wasn’t pay too much attention, but I lowered it into my yixing and began steeping while listening to some tunes. The first sip grabbed ahold of my attention. Pungent, smooth, sweet, and nourishing. A complex fascinating array of feelings and tastes. if you’ll allow, I’ll ramble on for a minute, I’m reaching the point in my puerh journey where my horde is out of control and not many cakes peak my interest. I can categorize teas into just a handful of categories. It’s an attitude I’m recently working on adjusting. To circle back, this brew helped with that attitude adjustment. Simple yet refined, no frills, marketing tactics, single origin or terroir specific notes. It was straightforward with intriguing qualities for those wanting more. This is a tea i could comfortably serve to friends and families alike. This is an early Sunday morning brew, or an after-harvest pick-me-up, or even an evening broth to melt the stress off from the chores of the day. It opens with soft vegetive tones and a nourishing spring water background. The movement continues to watercress, lily pads, and bamboo shoots. The gulp ends with a mild tannin on the tongue and returning sweetness that lingers in the throat. You can expect Menghai fruitiness, Lincang clarity, and Yiwu tenderness.
Flavors: Alfalfa, Almond, Bamboo, Grass, Limestone, Powdered Sugar, Spring Water, Stonefruit
Preparation
I was one of the lucky ones that received a generous horde of various teas from iTeaworld. This was among the pile.
I find most common dianhongs to be really heavy and tannic. I’ve learned to usually eat something with the tea, for it can cause some heavy stomach irritation. This was not the case with this brew! The leaves carried the popular malt, oak, and vanilla scent from red teas; the broth was quite similar. I brewed this outside with a thick-walled shibo with boiling water and about 15sec steeps. The tea was perfect for the cooler morning! I was greeted with smooth warm laps of sweet tea with a dry hardwood finish. There was plenty of softer notes mixed in the background… malt, vanilla, and maple. I was able to pull about 3 pleasant steeps from the leaves. Very nice and great way to start the day.
Flavors: Drying, Malt, Maple, Oak, Vanilla
Preparation
I was very disappointed with this tea. I had an unpleasant experience with Teabox this year due to some shady advertisement tactics. This tea did not help that experience and I won’t be supporting them any longer, but I digress. The leaves were quite pretty with a pleasant typical aroma of lily, unripe mango, butterscotch, and a strong background of geranium. I brewed this in my Wedgwood teapot along with some bone china cups for a pleasant afternoon tea time; however, I was severely let down from the contents of the cup. This tea was plain with a flat and stale demeanor. I picked up zero complexity and depth of flavor; it was also lacking in any mouthfeel. I’ve had tea from Badamtam for numerous years, and this tea is drastically lower in quality. The leaves run for $1.50/gram which is a steep price to demand for a western style tea. I understand that the pandemic is largely influencing the market these days; however, I feel that most companies have done a great job at operating within these limits. It seems that the corporate giants don’t have much interest in integrity…
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Drying
Preparation
First Flush Darjeeling has become very tricky to acquire this year; however, I was lucky to acquire this early harvest Rohini! I’ve been working with a few purveyors to try and sneak in a some packages of tea, but they may not arrive until mid May or possibly June. This tea slipped through and proved to be an amazing start to the first flush Darjeelings. The leaves are everything you want in an early spring harvest. You’re immediately greeted with a fresh floral and toffee aroma. It’s a delicate but encompassing aroma that easily filled the tearoom. I brewed this in my wedgwood for a nice clear and clean brew. The cuppa is full with a syrupy sweetness and fruit blossom exhale. You can pick up a clarifying pine tone that works well with the sugared background. It’s a straightforward brew with pleasant tones and aftertastes. This is not an overly complex leaf, it does fade quite quickly after the first infusion; however, this is sold for a bargain at $8.50/oz! Honestly, I don’t think you’ll find a readily available first flush that matches up to this tea at that price. I’ll be stocking up ;)
Flavors: Floral, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grass, Honey, Pine, Powdered Sugar, Toffee
