306 Tasting Notes

80
drank Hong Shui Oolong Tea by Tea Side
306 tasting notes

Shout out to Amanda Soggyenderman Wilson for adding this tea to Steepster. I have been having to add a page with each of my TeaSide reviews lately as no one else has reviewed them yet!

The scent of this rolled highly-oxidized oolong after the dry leaves have rested in a warm gaiwan is rather sweet, honeyed, fruity, and a little floral. I am already reminded of Guifei oolong. The wet leaves after the first infusion are bursting with aromas of plum, fig, and subtle flowers.

The taste is rather honey-like, with a bit of plum and subtle floral. I’m reminded of those little plastic honey-tube candies that are often flavored, where you cut off one end and suck the flavored honey out. The aroma of the golden tea liquor smells a bit like spiced oatmeal. Despite the aroma of the leaves reminded me more of Guifei, the flavor of the tea reminds me more of Baihao if we are talking bug-bitten teas. I have no idea if Hong Shui is a bug-bitten tea (will have to read up on that in a minute, I like to review with a neutral mindset), but it has the same sweet qualities as one.

The second infusion tastes more floral to me, and reminds me of clover honey. There’s a subtle fruitiness but it’s a bit tough to describe. Plum might be the closest idea still. Maybe fig.

By the fourth infusion I’m tasting more floral and it’s kind of tangy, with lingering notes that remind me a bit of autumn leaves and spices.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Fig, Flowers, Honey, Oats, Plum, Spices

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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92

I’m pretty excited to try this young sheng because the scent from within the bag they sent me a sample in is just awesome. Notes of plums, flowers, rain, and loam. I call myself a noob to Puerh, though that’s probably just in comparison to the fanatics. I have probably tried at least 50 kinds, so I mean, I don’t think that’s too few to get an impression of the nature of Puerh, but I will say, I don’t have a firm foothold in what I really like in Puerh, and I think over the last year it may be becoming evident that I’m more into the flavor of young cakes than aged ones. Hmm.

The aroma of the wet leaves after a hot rinse in my gongfu teapot is difficult to describe. It’s got a pretty strong smell of loam and stream water, and reminds me of a forest fresh with summer growth. Lots of leaves, hints of flowers and decaying fruit on the forest floor.

I did a really light first infusion but it already made me say “woooow!” out loud. It’s very floral, but not in a tone that I’m used to with tea. Reminds me of lilacs, fading into a subtle sweetness. The flavor lingers nicely, and the bitterness expected in young sheng is very subtle. There’s a really subtle peppery note in the finish and a lingering honey sweetness.

The next infusion is a bold yellow and the wet leaves still smell sweet and mild, floral. I swear I need to switch toothpastes because I brushed like an hour ago and still feel it is messing with my taste perception a little bit. Overall, this infusion has a rich and more bold flavor, a rich mouth-filling sweetness that to me doesn’t have a really distinct flavor. The bitterness in the finish is more prominent now, but it is a welcome type of bitterness.

The third infusion’s taste reminds me of grapefruit, but in a good way. I can’t stand grapefruit because of its acidity/bitterness, so I don’t really eat them, but I love the smell. I guess this tea tastes like what a grapefruit would (and should) taste like if wasn’t acrid. It has more of a floral than fruity tone to it though, so maybe grapefruit tree flowers, and maybe even a bit like lilac still. Again, there’s a prominent bitterness in the finish, but it is not a harsh kind.

I took some leaves out. Admittedly, I think I was brewing this a lot stronger than I prefer Sheng. On this fourth infusion the flavor is a lot less bold and a lot more sweet and subtle. We’re back to subtle fragrant flower bush territory with just a hint of bitterness.

I really like this tea, especially brewed lightly. It is very rewarding, sweet, and tasty when brewed that way. I would strongly consider purchasing this, but the price for a cake is a bit outside my budget, sadly.

Flavors: Flowers, Forest Floor, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grapefruit, Loam, Petrichor

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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82

I added the entry for this on Steepster, and pictured here is their Sheng 0801, but it is listed together with 0802 for sale on the website using the same image, so I imagine the teas have a similar wrapper.

This tea has a rather mild aroma to it. The leaves after the rinse smell like dry fruit and manure. The infusion is a honey gold, and the taste is mild and woody with a hint of smoke and white pepper in the finish.

The second infusion is rather sweet, with a golden raisin and honey flavor, and still wood, smoke, and a bit of pepper in the finish. The sip starts mild and sweet, then transitions into the more sharp flavors in the finish. Fortunately it isn’t bitter. It’s just a bit sour. The flavor that lingers on is pepper and wood but moving the tongue around reveals hints of sweetness lingering as well.

The third infusion is even sweeter and more rich, an interesting blend of dried fruit, plum, and again strong wood and pepper notes. It’s a balancing act, as you taste all of these flavors at the same time now, creating a unique contrast. The tea feels warming and invigorating to the body as I drink it. It’s noticeably potent.

The fourth infusion is less sweet and more toward the woody flavors. And on the fifth infusion, we’re back to more sweet, so this tea I think teeter-totters a lot based on how you brew it. It’s really interesting.

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Pepper, Plum, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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70
drank Sheng HTCh Ming Lee 2005 by Tea Side
306 tasting notes

I’m not sure if I’ve written the name right for this tea, as I can’t find it on the website and I’m going on the handwritten tag on the sample here.

This sheng is produced in Thailand, not Yunnan, and will be the first sheng I’ve tried from Thailand, so I’m eager. The dry leaves in a preheated gongfu pot smell like wood smoke, wood, and a bit of must. After an initial infusion, there’s a bit of dried fruit and leather in the scent. I am still somewhat new to Puer so I often taste the rinse infusion just to see what it’s like (while many discard it, especially with aged sheng and shou). I am going to skip my impressions of the rinse because I think this tea is better after the rinse, so skipping the rinse, the first drinking infusion is a light amber with a thick mouthfeel. It mostly tastes like dried fruit, maybe Medjool dates and golden raisins, also wood, and there is a hint of pepper in the aftertaste.

Second infusion , more woody and leather notes and a more woody, peppery finish.

Third infusion is a good medley of all the flavors mentioned so far.

This sheng is enjoyable. It’s more on the peppery and woody side than what suits my tastes, but I think the quality is good.

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Musty, Pepper, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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91
drank Red Tea Roanji by Tea Side
306 tasting notes

This Red Tea Roanji from Tea Side says (new) on the little handwritten label on my sample packet, and I can’t find this tea on their website (tea-side.com) so I believe it is not yet for sale but may be soon. Straight out of the bag, these long, broad twisty black leaves smell intensely of cinnamon, with a background of raisin and plum. After a moment in a prewarmed gongfu teapot, they smell like fermented fruit and cherries. After the first infusion, the scent of the wet leaves is rather similar but more intense.

This infusion’s liquor is a vibrant apricot orange. The aroma of the liquid is like cinnamon and dry autumn leaves, while the flavor is kind of like spiced stone fruits (plum, apricot), rather light and reminding me quite a bit in taste and feel to Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) tea.

The second infusion tastes quite similar, a little bit sweeter too, and the spice notes really linger. The color of the tea is still apricot, despite I thought it might get darker after the initial infusion. Again, the taste is surprisingly lighter than I expect from red teas.

On the third infusion I let this sit a little longer than usual to draw out more flavor. I may have used less leaf than I usually do Gongfu style because these leaves are so big and not very dense. I think it looked more full than it was. Anyway, this infusion is really lovely. It has a nice slightly perfumed note like the aroma of plum skin. The flavor is rich and more sweet than the first two, pushing into lychee territory with its fruity-floral combo. The spice notes mostly remind me of cinnamon stick (common cassia cinnamon, not ceylon cinnamon), and add a really comforting layer to the tea. The texture is light, airy and slightly dry.

I’ll tell you what, I was enjoying this tea but not necessarily feeling impressed by it until that third infusion. After that I was impressed. It’s a very nice flavor, so light for a red tea and lacking the cocoa, malt, or tobacco notes you might expect in one. The fruit flavors are so great when its brewed more intensely. I’m glad to say these teas from Tea Side have made me realize that Thailand is a place that produces some great teas!

Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Cinnamon, Plum, Spices, Stonefruit, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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93

This oolong tea from Chiang Rai Province in Thailand has been aged since 1995, making it just over 20 years old.

Out of the bag it has a strong and distinct aroma of blue cheese, so much so that I imagine I could convince the folks who think other folks take too much liberty with tasting notes that I’m not taking liberty at all just by putting it under their noses. “Wow, that really does smell like blue cheese,” they’d say, blutterbunged. And after the first infusion in a gaiwan, that note is still there in the aroma, but it is intertwined with a much more complex array of aromas, sweet grass, fig, and and plenty of must.

The taste of the first infusion is really complex too. I’m definitely getting fig. The liquor’s a beautiful honey gold color. Raw honey and dried fruit notes dominate the flavor as it cools, but there are musty wood notes underneath. This tea is complex in the way that an aged red wine is.

On the second infusion I’m getting more savory flavors. I can taste some char and roast now, and the flavor reminds me of cooked okra, but I still taste fig too. The mouthfeel is thick and just a bit dry.

By the third infusion, the flavor is already waning significantly despite a longer infusion time. There are some hints of vanilla bean but they are tucked away under the savory flavors mentioned before.

On the fourth infusion I infused it a good bit longer to draw out more flavor and overall the taste is more mellow now with subtle clove notes.

I find this tea very satisfying, in the way an advanced craft beer, wine, or cheese is satisfying. I am ready to go shamelessly highbrow with this tea some drenched thundering night, put on some slow jazz and a fire and just kick the world to the curb. I feel like this tea would comfort me when I’ve had a rough day. Purr away.

Flavors: Char, Clove, Dried Fruit, Fig, Honey, Musty, Sweet, Warm Grass, Vanilla, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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90
drank Gui Fei #AAA by Tea Side
306 tasting notes

Here is a Gui Fei produced in Thailand, like all the teas currently sold by Tea Side.

The dry leaves in a warm gaiwan have a lofty scent of tropical fruit and fruit flowers. I’m reminded of lychee and maybe passion fruit. After the first infusion, the leaves are bursting with aromas of plums, flowers, and tart cherries, while the tea liquid smells more honeyed. The flavor is bright and honeyed with a mostly pear-like flavor, a bit of apple and nectarine, and some toasty notes in the finish. The texture is thick and heavy, juicy.

The second infusion is more honey-tasting with a stronger floral presence. I’m getting more lychee this time. Flower-wise, I’m thinking it reminds me of honeysuckle.

Third infusion, also more floral, and the fruit flavor is reminding me more now of apricot.

Surprisingly, I don’t have much to say about this Gui Fei because it’s just about what you want and expect from a great quality higher-oxidized Gui Fei. Extra infusions beyond this were consistently good, just growing a bit less sweet each time.

Oh hey, this is my 250th tasting note! Guess I’ll do a little dance and enjoy some more of this fine tea!

Flavors: Cherry, Fruit Tree Flowers, Honey, Lychee, Pear

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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67

Tea-side is a new name to me. A friend brought them to my attention and I decided to request some samples for review. Google seems to only sniff out their Russian website and the English one (tea-side.com) is currently down so I can’t dig up too much info for you at the moment, but from what I understand they only sell tea from Thailand, an area I haven’t heard much from in the tea world aside from the famous and popular flavored tea know to most simply as “Thai Tea”.

This tea is made in the style of shu Puer. I’m not sure if it’s technically Puer since it’s not from Yunnan, but it’s a dark tea or post-fermented tea, nonetheless, resembling shu Puer, and the first of that type of tea I have tried from Thailand.

After leaving the dry leaves in a small preheated gongfu teapot for a minute, they smell robust and woody. I’m reminded of mesquite chips used for smoking foods. After a rinse infusion, the wet leaves still smell rather woody, and there’s a damp loamy aroma that reminds me of being near a pond in late summer time, especially one in the midst of tall cattails and grasses that are drying out, as there’s a hay aroma too.

The first infusion is garnet red. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shu quite this pretty in color and clarity before. In the aroma are notes of yeast and wet forest floor, but more than anything it smells like edamame.

The first sip is a complex one with a sweet rush coming on at the start along with wood flavors. This is quickly replaced by a nutty and date-like middle, then a long astringent finish and even some cooling sensation. It is very astringent for a very long time, much in the same way grapefruit is. I wouldn’t call it bitter or drying. It’s more acidic in its nature and taste.

The second infusion is a bit sweeter than the first, with a less complex onset. It’s mostly woody tasting. Interestingly there is a sweetness that lingers alongside the lingering astringency, which is still definitely present. The mouthfeel is wet and almost oily. The astringency reminds me of dark roast coffee.

Infusion three is more sweet and mellow. The astringency is being overtaken by a lingering sweetness this time but is still there. Maybe this is one of those shus that really benefits from two rinses because I find it becoming easier to drink after each infusion. The overall flavor is still primarily woody. Because of the astringency, I wouldn’t dare call this tea smooth, but the mouthfeel is still nice, full and soft.

By the fourth infusion I’m beginning to forget that this tea had a ton of astringency at first, or that it isn’t from Yunnan. If you gave me this tea without telling me what it is, I wouldn’t know the difference. I’d say its a tea for those who like a little bite in their Puer. Maybe a coffee-drinkers tea even. For me, the best Puers are those that are rounded and smooth. This one has some sharp edges, but is unique compared to many shus I’ve had. It demands attention, unlike most shu I’ve had. I usually find most to be subtle and relaxing, but this continues to have a complex and changing flavor through many infusions, and a lingering astringency that is hard to ignore but not necessarily unpleasant.

I did a final long infusion which was really sweet and complex with an overall wood and date taste. It still has the astringency and cooling qualities. Everything was brought to a stronger, more obvious level on this infusion and I found this one the most enjoyable.

Flavors: Astringent, Hay, Loam, Soybean, Sweet, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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100
drank Qilan Trees by white2tea
306 tasting notes

Upon opening this bag of tea and sniffing it, I was greeted generously by a familiar aroma. I think it reminded me of a graham cracker crust or toasted coconut, like a coconut cream pie or coconut macaroon, and yet there’s more to it than that. Cocoa, wet rocks at the start of rain (petrichor), forest, basement. That’s a lot of complexity for the aroma of the dry leaf. After letting the dry leaves sit in a heated gongfu pot for a minute, I get heavy notes of hay.

After the first infusion the leaves smell pretty loamy with a definite grape aroma. The tea liquid smells fruity with camphor. The flavor of the first infusion is a subtle affair, with less flavor than I expected. It’s light and airy, delicate and floral and hinting at fruit (mostly grape). It pairs very nicely with the warmer, more resin-like scent. The end of the sip has a slightly metal taste, like sticking a stainless steel spoon on your tongue. The texture is light and smooth, quenching and silky.

The second infusion is even more fruity, mostly grape with a little hint of lychee, and maybe I’ve had one too many cups of tea at this wee hour of 3AM but if I’m not mistaken there’s a warming rush across the tongue and throat after the sip… which i could attribute to the camphor-like quality of the tea, but would almost compare to the lingering feeling after eating some Red Hots (the candy). Of course, not to that level of intensity, but more than I’ve ever noticed in a tea before.

Okay, maybe I’m not losing it, because the third infusion reminds me a lot in flavor and in heat-sensation to brewed ginger, with the fruit flavors now only sneaking up at the tail end of the sip. The texture is less slick than the first couple infusions, but not drying. For me this is definitely a warming tea and gives me a warming body sensation and qi. As the tea cools down it is more fruity overall with a lingering lychee taste.

What a great tea! I am on four infusions now and the flavor is consistent. I love how light it is, and yet juicy and a little sweet. It’s a very refreshing tea with layers of subtle complexity, still a mixture of fruity and floral flavors, with little hints of mineral and forest, and now I can’t make up my mind if it’s a warming or cooling sensation (which strengthens my camphor connotation).

I am gonna bow out on this review. I think this is a perfect tea. It reminds me of mist in a mountain valley. I love teas that can take me away. If I could change only one thing, it had just a bit of lingering dryness after the first couple infusions, despite the juicy feel during the sip. It leaves a bit of traction and grip on the tongue after a drink. I would love it if it was a bit more oily, but that’s just me. I really can’t complain because it isn’t enough to make me not love this tea. Really glad I bought this one!

Flavors: Camphor, Floral, Ginger, Graham Cracker, Grapes, Lychee, Petrichor

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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93
drank Clover Patch by white2tea
306 tasting notes

I’m brewing this tea in a small red clay pot from Taiwan that I’ve dedicated to Wuyi Oolong teas. It is very young in its use still despite the pot is almost as old as me, so there won’t be much altering of the tea’s flavor yet from the pot’s seasoning. The aroma of the wet leaves after the first infusion is perfumed and floral, like the smell of a flower shop. The scent of the tea liquid itself is utterly blissful. It’s difficult to describe, but notes I am getting are of a fresh honeyed pastry like baklava, lush beds of flowers in springtime, warm heavy cream, balsam.

The taste is very floral and smooth. Not as much roast as I was expecting. The leaves are not heavily roasted, but I was expecting to taste a bit more of it. I’m tasting notes of lychee and orchid, also quite perfumey. The second infusion is quite intense with similar flavors to the first, maybe a bit more fruity in this infusion. I’m still thinking lychee in that regard, maybe a hint of grape.

Did I mention how holy the smell of this tea is? I have to admit by my book this is an aromatic tea because I’m more impressed by the aroma than the taste. Both are impressive, but the aroma has more complexity and delicateness. The third infusion tastes more floral than the last and is also a bit tart in the finish. The flavor that lingers in your mouth after drinking this tea is phenomenal.

This tea is up there with my current favorite Wuyi oolong which is Yezi Tea’s Shui Xian Da Hong Pao. It holds its flavor well over many infusions.

Flavors: Cream, Flowers, Grapes, Honey, Lychee, Pastries, Resin

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Bio

Hi there, fellow tea lovers.

My name’s Lion and I’m a Gongfu Cha practitioner, so I usually brew with a gaiwan for reviews unless there’s a more suitable brewing method, like using Japanese teawares for Japanese teas. I tend to stick to straight loose teas and scented teas in general, seldom dabbling in herbal and flavored teas. My favorite tea is Kenyan Silver Needle.

Aside from tea, I’m a generally creative person. I love to cook, write fiction, draw, decorate, garden, and do just about anything creative I can get my paws on.

Animals are really important to me. I’m a lion at heart, and I strive to better understand, respect, and appreciate other animals as best as I can. I advocate for better stewardship of wildlife and captive animals. We’ve still got a lot to learn.

For a long time I rated every tea I tried, but these days I don’t rate them unless they’re exceptional and deserving of a high rating. Here’s my rating breakdown for my reviews with ratings:

0 = Unpalatable, harsh
25 = Unenjoyable
50 = I’m indifferent
75 = Enjoyable, average
90+ = The best, would buy more
100 = Incredible, a favorite

Location

Kansas City, USA

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