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Brewed and noted on 23 Sept. ‘24. This was a 25g bag I’d bought last year from YS, and I’d forgotten about it until looking over the comments from my review 2 yr ago of the 2020 Yunnan Sourcing “Ba Da Mountain” Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake and seeing that user looseTman had asked about it back then. I must have brewed it previously and not reported because 5g is missing.

Anyway, I did my version of a gongfu session, using 5g tea, a stainless infusion basket, 3 ounce espresso cups, and alpine spring water at 90°C. Started with 10 sec wash, discarded, then six infusions of 15 sec each, then an hours’ pause, and six more infusions, again 15 sec each. I suspect I could have done a third set for a total of 18 decent cups, but stopped. The first two of each set were very strong and could have been yet briefer. The attached photos show the dozen infusions, from right to left. The weakest ones were #11 & #12.

I was not thrilled with this tea, as I have been with my other recent ripe puer tastings of late. There was still a bit of wet-pile humidity odor and taste in the first four infusions that masked any more subtle flavors. Not astringent, not fishy, not creamy either. No bitterness. It is a decent, solid tea, and I was pleased by the camphor arising in #5 & #6, and later by the lingering finish with notes of hazelnut in 10, 11, & 12. I didn’t get any notes of cocoa or fruit or leather. Next time, I’ll cut down the leaf by half, and try to control the early infusions to produce a less inky brew. YMMV. I’m also going to transfer the remaining tea from its mylar pouch to a filter-paper-covered jelly jar in my darkened tea cabinet for 6 months, so that the wet-pile notes can dissipate before my next session with it.

Full cakes are still for sale on YS and YS.us, and I’ll leave them for others who prefer potent shou.

I bought these raw puer balls with my last order from BTTC just to try it. And yesterday I tried it. Said to be a 2015, I don’t doubt its youth—now at 9 yrs. Physically, the material consists of whole tips (2 leaves and bud) carefully rolled into a ball slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, weighing about 9g each. I used a whole ball and steeped sequentially in 8oz boiling alpine spring water for 30 sec after a quick rinse with the same water. The tea rapidly loosened, with free leaves after the 2nd steep. Their color was an olive green with brown streaks, looking very appealing. The aroma was sharp and slightly smoky. The taste, however almost made my mouth pucker! Not sour, but very astringent and bitter. Vegetal, tannic and harsh, and so rough on my throat that I couldn’t speak well after the second cup! As if my vocal chords seized up, like happens after a coughing fit. Third steeping was the same, and was the last I could tolerate. These “dragon balls” won’ be fit to drink for another 20 years at least. And I will have no interest in them by then, so they are up for adoption. My voice gradually recovered overnight. If this type of tea is to your taste, they are still for sale on the BTTC site also.

We visited Mexico, and forgot to bring tea! In desperation, I visited a local grocery and the only straight black tea I could find was McCormick tea bags, 25 per pkg. Brewed each bag western style, with 6 oz purified water at whatever temperature it came out of the hotel coffee maker, probably 190°-200° F, for 3 minutes.

The tea was not discernably an Assamica, so I would guess an ordinary generic China black. Fannings, of course. Very plain tasting. Aroma similar to Lipton bags, but less intense. Taste had some astringency, dull generic strong black tea that gave me the caffeine I wanted. Not unpleasant, no serious defects, but nothing to write home about. If standard Lipton black tea bags (a very well standardized and reproducible benchmark) earn a rating of 65, and Red Rose a rating of 60, then I would rate these McCormick Té Negro bags in Mexico at 50. Better than quaffing an energy drink or popping a caffeine pep pill.

We’ve not had a review of this in 9-10 years, so here’s mine! I bought 100g of this “1990s Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Puerh” tea way back in May of 2017, shortly after Tealux became Tealyra. And three months later I bought another 100g of it, so I must have liked it—but got distracted and didn’t drink much of it. The description from Tealux in this listing says it was harvested in 1991, so that makes it now a 33 year old shóu Pu’erh. And since this is a loose (uncompressed) máo chá, it has/had potential to age faster, although I’m not sure what that means for a ripe puer. I’ve mostly kept the first 100g in a filter paper-covered jelly jar in the dark at 55-60 %RH and ambient 70°F, as I sip along. The second 100g is unopened, in its mylar pouch. At this point, Tealyra no longer sells the stuff, instead offering a younger “1999s” successor, at almost the same price.

Today I brewed 5 g of tea in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water using a stainless steel tea strainer in a porcelain teacup for 5 successive 30-second infusions following a 10s rinse with the same water. The 6th and 7th infusions were allowed to go for 90 seconds. The resulting liquors were clear, clean, dark brown, and aromatic without any trace of fishiness, and although now a bit lighter in color, the 7th infusion is still chestnut brown in shade with a tinge of redness—quite potent in aroma and flavor. The aroma is reminiscent of my grandfathers springhouse and root cellar on his farm in winter: fresh, earthy and deeply of old wood and root vegetables. The flavor is full and satisfying, what some might describe as creamy in texture (but not taste), with a slight honey sweetness, notes of oakwood, leather, and black tea, and that indescribable taste I’ve found common to all the better shóu pu’erhs that I’ve tasted. I do like the flavor of bourbon, but unlike others, I am not getting that from this tea. There is a wholesome woodsy forest in the cup, without any rot or sourness or rancid fish. I am glad to have this, and will happily drink this on cold, lonesome, snowy weekend days to help me recall the warmth and love of long-gone relatives and the ancient farmhouse wherein they lived.

Thank you for indulging me and my drifting impressions and memories. I wish you a similar experience in your sippage!

This may or may not be the same item as sold by Tealux, a historic name of this company, and there are a couple of reviews here under that name. But since the Tealyra offering has a somewhat re-worded description, I’ve created a new listing for it, using the new company name.

The product is a fairly nondescript China Black Tea with Jasmine flavor and fragrance. It’s probably a Keemun, but is unspecified. I bought 100g some 7 years ago and have been gradually sipping it down ever since. Kept stored in a well-sealed jelly jar in the dark at ambient home temp. Brewed western style with only a single infusion of 1 tsp in 8 oz boiling water for 3-4 minutes. The jasmine aroma and flavor is quite powerful still, and I am surprised that pricing has not risen. I was amused at the description, which tells of picking of the jasmine flowers, and goes on to say “imagine watching the full jasmine flowers dance in your cup!” because there are but few visible petals in the tea, and zero full jasmine flowers. You’d better have a good imagination!

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this tea and will eventually re-stock, as I’m down to my last 15g or so. There is no sourness or astringency, no real flaws that I can detect. The base tea is most noticeable as a lingering finish, once the jasmine-forward nose abates, and I sense deep notes of caramel and keemun on the sides and back of my tongue. But jasmine is the star, and it is quite floral, a touch sweet, and not at all “artificial”. It brings back childhood memories of summertime play amongst the star jasmine bushes in our California yard, with plastic soldiers and hot-wheels and popsicle sticks. Back when July and August seemed endless, before I cared about politics and mortgages. And our cat wasn’t symbolic of anything more than a gargantuan monster threatening the assemblage of toys amongst the jasmine hedge. Gosh, tea can be so soothing!

I bought a tuo of this a few years ago, and liked it enough to buy a full sleeve. I swear I thought I posted a review of it here, but now it seems gone. The tea is still available on the Yunnan Sourcing US website, albeit now at a higher price. My working tuo has been 3 yrs in a jelly-jar with a breathable filter paper cover in my dark tea cabinet at ambient, 55-60 %RH, while the sleeve is sealed with a 60 %RH humidity pack. The large leaves in the tuo were so tightly compressed that it crumbled off as I tried to pry some out. Today I brewed 5g of leaf in 100 ml boiling alpine spring water, starting for 1 min, for each of 8 sequential infusions, going 2.5 min for the 8th. I use a stainless steel strainer and a set of porcelain espresso cups for convenience. (My goal was to achieve the same tint in each liquor, which is difficult to observe in a ceramic teapot or decorative cups.)

The tea was potent, lightly astringent, moderately bitter, very smoky still (it’s now 20 yr old!). Good tea flavor on the tongue and mouth, with notes of hardwood smoke, camphor, cardamom, and an aroma of freshly-fallen autumn leaves. Although it’s been dry-aged both abroad and here in my midwestern cupboard, there was a tinge of “humidity”. All 8 infusions had the same flavors and aromas and strength, so I might as well have brewed it western-style. Perhaps I used too much leaf, so I’ll reduce it to 1 g next time and post a followup note in the comments.

At the suggestion of Steepster user Derk, I’ve brewed this Georgia 1847 Classic Black tea with a spiking of Spanish saffron threads from a reputable supplier. Derk reported that she used “a few” saffron threads. Indeed, the resulting infusion was sweeter and more rounded in flavor, with a surprise! .

I carefully weighed 1.0 g of loose leaf tea and used a pinch of saffron threads (I count 16 threads) and infused three successive 100 ml cups of alpine spring water at the boiling point. 1st infusion 60 sec. 2nd infusion 90 sec. 3rd infusion 3 min. Each brew that resulted was a deep yellow-brown liquid, and the aroma was just of tea. The flavor was fuller, rounded and quite nice! As the first infusion cooled, I discovered a buttery aftertaste on the back roof of my mouth with each sip that was terrific! No more does the tea seem like toasted-grass water, but now a more complex, aromatic beverage, worthy of a separate review so it can be rated higher. The second infusion was the same shade, but softer in flavor, and without the buttery surprise. The third infusion was a deeper yellow shade, but no stronger in flavor.

Overall, the tea is nicely changed, but at the price of using up saffron. What I would really like to try is spiking with pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius) which is said to contain the same substance that gives basmati rice its characteristic aroma. I have not yet obtained pandan leaves but will now seek them out. Thanks Derk for the saffron suggestion!

I bought this 100g mini cake of shou in May of 2018, at a bargain price, brewing a bit of it every couple years and storing the broken-up cake in a jelly-jar with a porous filter paper cover, in the dark of my tea cabinet, at 50-60 %RH. The tea arrived in an unmarked paper wrapper and was discontinued by Tealyra several years ago. However, the cake appearance and the taste & aroma of the tea is so similar to a Yunnan Sourcing product that I believe they may be the same. See: http://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing/47144-2013-yunnan-sourcing-ripe-pu-erh-and-snow-chrysanthemum-tea-mini-cak . It appears to still be available from YS, as of Aug 2024, still rather inexpensive. Over the years the orange-color of the chrysanthemum petals has darkened quite a bit. Note these are just chrysanthemum petals mixed into the chopped tea, and it is not a “blooming” tea.

Brewed western style, the soup from 5g tea in 16 oz. boiling alpine spring water was rich, smooth, fragrant, and enjoyable. And I, too, also get the impression of dill pickles (not vinegary, just the taste & smell of dill.). I don’t know if it is intentional or if some dill inadvertently got into the mix. Dill is a large weedy plant and if the tea was mechanically harvested, it could have been picked up. It is what it is. Some folks add other herbs like sage or clove or saffron to their tea, so I won’t consider the surprise dill as a defect. No fishy or wet-pile compost flavors, no astringency. Very strong, this would give many gongfu infusions if that is your method, and a few good brews even western style. I like it as a unique shou pu-erh, and will continue enjoying it!

I’m trying this now 3 years since my last tasting note on it. In that time it has sat in my dark tea cupboard in a jelly-jar with a filter paper (breathable) cover, at 55-60 %RH. Brewed 6g western style in a 16oz teapot with mesh strainer using boiling alpine spring water. Still has some bite and freshness to it, but the bbq smokiness is essentially gone. No defects of note, and now on my 3rd infusion which is still enjoyable, if a bit weak/watery. I’ll report again in another couple years.

So, I received this tea as part of a group order organized by Martin Bednar about a year and a half ago, in late pandemic times. I did end up with COVID-19 three times (so far) and for a long while was not trusting my senses of taste and smell. Hence lack of review until now!

I was excited to support the resurgence of tea cultivation in Eastern Europe, and am pleased to see that at least some tea gardens are doing well (see https://www.fao.org/support-to-investment/news/detail/en/c/1682769/ ). I’m not sure whether the 1847 group is still active or not, as their facebook page seems quiescent. I appreciated the few photographs they sent along with the tea, and do feel a connection.

Today I have continued brewing leaves from my jar of Georgian Tea 1847 Classic Black. 2 tsp per pint (16 oz) boiling alpine spring water, Western style. I do not detect any notes of the assamica varietal in taste or aroma, so I’m assuming this is straight C. sinensis var. sinensis. The tea is strong black tea, but not at all astringent. The brewed aroma was pleasant, if unremarkable. The flavor profile is good, and grabs one from the first sip, without any sweetness or noticeable defects. The long-lasting finish is enjoyable and left a nice lingering flavor on my tongue, motivating me to brew another pot of it! Because of the neutrality of the taste, this type might be suited for blending with floral or berry. Citrus might overpower it, unless used very judiciously. Still, this is a good quality tea, having a unique story, and I would recommend it if it can be found.

As an aside, I loved the photos of their tea shop and museum that have been posted to Google Maps and, if the shop survives, I’d love to visit it some day!