2078 Tasting Notes
I have a very little left from 100 grams pouch I bought last year; as i have shared it with others and drank it quite rapidly myself as well.
Sadly, I can’t tell it is great tea. Fine enough, yes. But something is lacking; the complexity of flavours and aromas aren’t here, rather it tastes, as others mentioned, like a simple Darjeeling with its floral / muscatel note.
It was smooth, but as Inkling have written, it misses oomph note. Definitely a good daily drinker and the price is worth that; but not for enjoying hiqh quality tea with lots of to explore.
Its 2019 harvest was better than this one. I have tried different steeping times, lower temperatures, nothing made me wow.
Preparation
So, finally, I have decided to try this tea. I have received 5 grams sample and half of it I sent to derk who enjoyed it greatly.
I tried to follow vendor suggestions, starting with 20 seconds steep and rather small increments like 5 seconds only. Using 95°C hot water. That seems steep to me, when it is a white tea.
If you want to read more about this Dutch-grown tea, they have updated its description and it is available for reading here: https://moychay.nl/products/exclusive-dutch-white-tea
The harvest year isn’t written on the pouch, but I assume they have only one and that’s 2021. Don’t get fooled, this tea isn’t stale and weak… instead I have received a strong, complex and unique tea I will try to describe.
The leaves look amazing on their own. Large, autumn-like leaves; I didn’t sniffed to them when dry, but now, when they’re damp, they release interesting fruity notes, that remind me berries, maybe raspberries and forest berries, shortly followed with faint, but noticeable autumn leaf piles, because of stems I believe
Flavour after two steeps I made so far, while writing those lines… is mouthcoating, strong, sweet-berry like somehow similar to the aroma of the leaves, but in extra, I consider it a bit spicy, like there was a cinnamon and nutmeg hidden in the leaves. Especially strong in the second session, 25 seconds long. Mouthfeel is not fading, coats well; with sweet aftertaste. It’s not cloying though, and complements well the fruity-spicy flavours.
Long steeps doesn’t hurt this tea. Well, to wrap it up; Dutch-grown tea seems to be good enough to drink; naturally a bit more expensive than their Eastern counterparts, not mentioning Georgian; but equally delightful.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 5 Y: 45)
An office sipdown and honestly while it’s not bad, it’s not anything I would reach for again and I mean that for all 4 Earl Greys from Basilur; while I have sipped down only 2 from 4 and you can read my notes for these today. The remaining two will follow shortly.
This seems to be best somehow, the orange is fruity and juicy, and its combo with bright bergamot works quite well. Sadly, I can’t tell that about base tea, that one was / is probably same for all 4, tasting very flat and tannic; something I don’t come across often when drinking teas by Basilur.
That’s a pity about the base tea. You’d think with all their fancy lab equipment and wharehousing and quality management and lovely riparian setting (all pictured on their website), that they would seek out a solidly impressive base upon which to build their blends. Pretty packaging, too, which is sometimes a warning flag. Good to know their other teas do meet your standards!
A sipdown! (M: 4 Y: 44)
Another bagged tea sipped down and my stash of black tea, especially bagged seems on its historical minimum. And as of plain black teas… it’s so hard to find any.
This tea is good enough for mindless drinking if you would like something less common and savoury. But sadly, as mentioned in previous note, it fades very quickly.
I have decided to gongfu 4 grams of this black tea from Bhutan; steeped as suggested by vendor, that’s 85°C water; 30, 40, 60, 90 seconds and followed by longer steeps with unknown time.
Sadly, this time I don’t notice any flavours that vendor suggests, see below:
Fresh and rich fruit note, mostly orange, peaches, rosehip, hints of cinnamon and light astringency in aftertaste.
Yes, it is fruity somehow, definitely more than I would expect; and some astringency saying this is a black tea is there for sure. But overall it tastes a bit flat…
I wonder if it is because hard water I have at home, but on the other hand I know this water well and I am used to it.
There are a few of you that tried green tea version; and I would like to compare both side-by-side. Sadly, the black tea version was a dismal for me. At least its spring 2023 harvest.
Preparation
I took another Mini, probably my last one to steep.
At first I did a long rinse, I believe it was about 30 seconds long; and steeps were starting on 30 seconds too. I tossed the rinse out and let it absorb the humidity for about 10 minutes.
After first steep, the dragonball was already broken up. And taste wise it was mellow sheng, with stonefruits taste, a little astringent, like unripe stonefruits are. There were hints of bitterness.
Next steeps were equally tasty, with similar flavour profile; but somehow there wasn’t much to focus on this tea. It was just a good, basic sheng. When steeping long, astringency was a little lingering; but that’s pretty much expected I guess.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 43): prompt: an herbal tisane
Thank you Kaylee, finally I have drank the other session of this tea- First of all, it looks just wonderful. Small citrus slice, lots of buds and flowers and that’s it. Smells wonderful too.
After approx. 10 minutes steeping, it is nice, mellow and flowery tea. Flowery also in the taste. A little refreshing, I assume because of the lime.
I mean, it is totally fine caffeine-free blend, but nothing I need to have again.
I have promised more detailed note, but I just couldn’t pick up more thoughts.
Preparation
A sipdown! (M: 2 Y: 42): prompt: your freshest green tea.
I have used remaining 2 grams in my teapot; which was a maybe too little; but 90°C water (which is in my opinion a bit too much) and 3 mintues steeping time produced a good cup.
My impressions were pretty much same like last time, nice grassy sencha without a note of seaweed. It has faded a bit and it’s past its time of “freshly cut” grass, it is “just grassy”. A huge change of flavours for me as I got it after I finished my gongfu session I wrote about in my previous tasting note.
