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My second tasting of the day is a high fired roasted oolong, Da Hong Pao. I started this off with a quick rinse of about 2 seconds, just letting it open up the leaves and wash off tea dust. There was almost no tea dust and I decided a second rinse wasnt needed.

The first infusion was done for about 5-10 seconds at 200 degrees and produced a light clear brown liquor, and the first thing that strikes me is a smokey vanilla aroma. Tasting it produced much the same with a slight bit of char and a hint of mint at the end. A slight cooling sensation.

The second infusion produced a slightly stronger version with a bit more sweet notes, and a slight aroma of fruity sweetness. The intense smokey vanilla sensations stuck with it. This left a long linger sweet and slightly minty aftertaste, that was absolutely wonderful.

The third infusion I did for just slightly longer at like 20 seconds and was by far the best one. Strong and bold with a mineral flavor and aroma that was just amazing. The aftertaste lasted a lot longer as well. Providing a nice cooling sensation on the back of the tongue.

I infused it another 3 or so times after that to finish the tea. I wanted to get every last drop out of this wonderful tea. It slightly got weaker, but I played with increasing temp and time to bring out a little more flavor with some excellent results. Oolong is incredibly well suited to long multiple steeps.

This is as of right now my favorite tea, and the best tea ive tasted yet. I cant highly recommend this one enough, before trying this I didnt even know I liked oolong this much.

First tasting of the day is 2003 Changtai sheng. I got this as part of the “what is pu’erh” set. I started by getting my little yixing pot and giving it a quick rinse. The rinse came back fairly clear with little dust. I decided to skip the second rinse and go right to the tasting.

The first infusion was about 10 seconds at just under 212, and I got a clear brown liquor with mild smokey and earthy flavors. I found this interesting as it felt about halfway between a raw and ripe.

The second infusion was a little darker and more intense. And that was a flash steep in and out of the yixing, basically using he pouring time as the steep. The flavor was very nice and smooth at this point. Taking on a slightly stronger earth and smoke flavor and giving up a little of the vegetal. It tasted more like a ripe at this point.

Third infusion I was a little surprised, the color, flavor and aroma stayed very similar to the second infusion instead of bursting into darker color like ripes do at this stage. It was again very pleasant smooth and easy to drink.

Fourth infusion was very similar to the third although I did a 15 second infusion this time to keep up those lovely flavors and aroma’s of the previous infusions. I was not disappointed.

I started adding 10 seconds to each infusion at this point and steeped the rest of this wonderful tea out till the end. And I got about 4 or so more infusions out of it. I was very impressed with how evenly this held up.

I highly recommend this tea, unfortunately as of this time, this tea and the sampler pack I ordered are sold out.

Second tasting of the day is the Chrysanthemum Mini Toucha Pu’erh from Teavivre. I tried one of the other pu’erh’s from this sample pack the other day, and it was lovely, so I had high hopes for this.

I started this tea like the other with 2 quick rinses. I then did a 5-8 second steep for the first real steep and got a light clear brown liquor. It was absolutely heavenly, caramel, floral, smoke and sweet and just mixing wonderfully with none of the off aromas of some ripes. This tea was well rested and ready to drink. The second infusion was a little better, and I did that one for like 4 seconds, just water in , leave it for a 3 count and then out, and it was slightly darker than the first.

The third and fourth infusions, I poured the water in and out as fast as I could, and I got a dark almost coffee colored liquor that was quite strong. This one was a little too intense for my tastes, but I expected this as this is fairly normal in compressed ripes, as the leaves open up and suddenly burst out with flavor and aroma.

The fifth infusion was slightly stronger to the second and was by far the best.. strong, but not overly so, lovely aroma and taste. Slightly sweet aftertaste at this point as well.

I havent gotten past this but I expect a slow release and even with increasing steep time, to get slightly less and less potent, but I expect to get at least 8-10 infusions , probably more if Im in the mood for a less intense tea later in the day.

I highly recommend this one for value and taste.

My first tasting of today is hidden song by crimson lotus. I started by doing a single wash, there was almost no sediment and the leaves opened up enough that I decided a second wash wasnt needed.

The first infusion produced a very clear pale yellow liquor with a mild sweet and vegetal taste. I was very impressed with it was this flavorful on the first infusion after a single wash. The second infusion however was much better, a slightly darker liquor and a more intense sensations of the flavors and aroma as well as a slight wood and smoke aroma. Not too intense.. just pleasantly mild.

Third and fourth infusions were very slightly more intense, with the vegetal flavor coming out more strongly. I know Im missing some of the subtler flavors here, I can smell and taste them but cant quite identify what they are.

Overall the tea is nice , easy to drink, and refreshing. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for young sheng to drink now. I buy teas with the intention of drinking them now, not how they will age in a few years. And this one is sweet, mellow and vegetal and is very pleasant to drink.

First tasting of today is Ripened cube mini brick 2006 by teavivre and again they impress me. Using a 110 ml gaiwan I brewed this at just under boiling, probably 208. Doing 2 rinses because the brick was having trouble opening up, the first infusion produced a nice clear reddish liquor, that smelled faintly of smoke, caramel and wood. There was no hint of the fermentation smell that can sometimes happen with ripe, just smoke, wood and caramel which is wonderful in the morning.

The second steeping was very similar, after that it got much darker and produced a dark red going into black liquor, and the smoke and caramel went up a few notches,still pleasant but a tad strong. After that it mellowed slightly, and this was with flash infusing it too, pouring the water in and right out. And its got a nice little caffeine kick as well, Im awake now.

My recommendations for this are your best brews are going to be the ones around fourth or fifth where its opened up and either just before or just after the big dark infusion. And the price is very reasonable on this too, as you will get A LOT of infusions from this, and you get 4 bags of different mini cakes and about 200 total grams of tea.

Highly recommended, for the price you cant beat this.

This tasting is Jasmine silver needle by teavivre. I was really anxious to do a tasting of this after getting the sampler pack. Ive always loved jasmine tea, and it goes so well with the light sweet vegetal taste of silver needle. Doing a very quick brew at about 20-30 seconds with 175 degree water, I got an almost clear liquor, very similar to the regular white needle.

The first thing that I get is a nice mellow jasmine aroma and flavor, then a light sweetness and just a touch of vegetal flavors. Its so sweet and mellow without overstating it, I just adore jasmine silver needles, this is going down as one of my favorite tea’s. The silver needles are a beautiful silver color, that turns a lovely shade of green.

I highly recommend this tea if you enjoy jasmine aroma and flavor, its intense enough without being overpowering.

My second tasting of the day is Lu Shan Yun Wu green tea, also known as clouds and mists, and this is awesome. The leaves are tiny, deep green and blossom when put into the water. The first aroma that hit me was an intense buttery vegetal scent that made me not even want to wait for the steep.

A 30 second steep at 175 produced a clear light yellow green liquor that has a wonderful mouthfeel and a full strong buttery vegetal aroma and taste with a hint of asparagus. It also had slight sweet, astringent and bitter flavors as well, but none of them are overpowering.

The second infusion also at 30 seconds was a bit more intense in both sweetness and astringency, Im guessing the leaves needed to open up a bit more, as I found the second infusion more pleasing, but dont get me wrong the first was good as well.

I highly recommend this tea for people who have struggled with bitter greens as the bitterness and astringency are there, but are mild enough for even the most bitter adverse person.

First tasting of today is silver needle from teavivre. I got this as part of their white tea sample pack and decided to start with the basic silver needle before moving to the scented or high quality one. I started by examining the needles and they look excellent, very few broken ones and a nice silver color. Steeping this at 175 for about 45 seconds I got a very pale white yellow color liquor. My first tasting I was a little surprised, I was having trouble picking out the flavors. This is my first experience with unflavored silver needle, and was a bit taken aback by how subtle it is.

My second steeping produced a slightly less pale white yellow liquor and a slightly stronger aroma and taste. It took a few sips but I finally got the flavor, white bread and rice, with just a tiny hint of sweetness. It also has a very pleasant mouth feel and now I understand why this type of tea is so often blended or scented, its incredibly pleasant, but the flavors and aroma’s are very very subtle.

I do recomend this tea, and since I have a second package for another steeping next week, and I want to see how it tastes on the second attempt, because I have the feeling there is more flavors here that Im missing.

Today’s tasting is Tai Ping Hou Kui from Teavivre, and no im not going to try to actually say that. These leaves are large green and luscious, and produce a very pale yellow liquor. There is a sweet grassy flavor and scent with a hint of butter, there is also a general vegetal flavor to it, and surprisingly a very mild astringency and bitterness, but it works for the tea, not against it.

The first infusion had a mild taste and the second was slightly more intense. Im incredibly impressed with my first sampling from Teavivre, and look forward to trying the rest of this order.

I highly recommend this tea!

First tasting for the day is Sencha green organic by the tea spot. I steeped this one for about 30 seconds with 5 grams of leaf in a 110 ml gaiwan. I dont have proper tools for true japanese tea brewing, so in the gaiwan it goes.

The first notes that hit me are butter, grass, asparagus, and a bit of astringency, but almost no bitterness at all. Which is really nice for a green tea. Its incredibly smooth and easy to drink.

The liquid is mostly clear with just a slight bit of cloudiness that you often see in Japanese style teas. I think this is from the way the tea is rolled in the process. This gives it a wonderful mouth feel and a nice bit of umami.

It seems to get the best brew at the second or third steeping, as the leaves need to open up a bit to really release the flavor. Though It seems to hold up even at 4 or 5.

Highly recomended, also check out jade green as it has a similiar taste profile.