943 Tasting Notes

79

Thick foam, milky taste, and vegetal aftertaste that has a little bit of a bitter bite.

Flavors: Bitter, Coconut, Cream, Grass, Milk, Thick, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 g 2 OZ / 50 ML

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86

I’ve had Three Aroma Bai Mu Dan for more than a year now and it does shows definite signs of ageing. The leaves (and liquor to a lesser extent) are darker, the aromas are more subdued and woody/spicy, and there is a little hint of that sweet medicinal aged white taste. The taste is not as fresh and floral, but quite similar to when I got the tea a year ago. The only new notes I noticed are those of vanilla, spices, and orange peel. All of these mostly come forward towards the end of the session.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Cheesecake, Cream, Fish Broth, Medicinal, Metallic, Orange Zest, Orchid, Parsley, Pleasantly Sour, Smooth, Spices, Sugar, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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95

What a superb Bao Zhong this is! An almost unparalleled complexity of aromas, a well-defined yet balanced profile, and a full body make it one of the best within the category that I had a chance to try.

The dry leaves already have a great depth of aromas with notes of pastries, custard, flowers (lily), and other green plants. The bouquet changes considerably in a preheated gaiwan. There is a strong floral honey-like scent, complemented by steamed spinach and egg yolk. Finally, after the rinse I get mostly notes of freshly cut grass and honey. Later in the session, the aroma reminds me of a mix between Si Ji Chun and Qing Xin varietals.

First infusion tastes tart, buttery and grassy. It has a smooth onset with a hit of umami and flowers, and a slightly bitter finish. The aftertaste is then sweet and very floral. Second steep introduces a very interesting mix of flavours such as green beans, rucola, and orange gooseberry.

The following ones are then progressively more juicy, nutty (hazelnut), sweet (sugarcane), and floral. There is a bit of astringency around steep 3, but nothing that would detract from the overall experience. The aftertaste in the later stages of the session is cooling with a strong custard note and hints of parsley.

One of the things that elevate this tea ahead of its ‘competitors’ is the mouthfeel. It is very mouth-watering and bubbly with a velvety texture initially that gets more oily as the session progresses.

Flavors: Astringent, Berry, Bitter, Butter, Custard, Floral, Flowers, Freshly Cut Grass, Grass, Green Beans, Hazelnut, Honey, Parsley, Pastries, Plants, Smooth, Spinach, Sugarcane, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Tart, Thick, Umami

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 45 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
ashmanra

Sounds fabulous!

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90

Like I mentioned in my note for the 2015 vintage, Huang Shan Gu Shu is a tea whose qualities are not necessarily apparent at first sight. The interlayered bitterness and sweetness express themselves over the course of the whole session. The consistently pure taste and interesting mouthfeel that doesn’t fade after the peak infusion can only be properly appreciated in hindsight. On top of that, among of the main selling points of the tea are its long-lasting and evolving aftertaste as well as the creeping and relaxing cha qi.

The taste is very clean and pungent with a nutty, mineral, and buttery character. In the aftertaste, one can find more floral aspects as well. I am looking forward to tasting the 2015 and 2016 versions side-by-side, I can’t identify any major differences through individual sessions (though significantly separated in time).

Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Floral, Mineral, Nutty, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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84

With my first Farmerleaf order, I got this mini cake for casual drinking. It delivers more or less what one would expect from a Jingmai plantation tea. It is tasty, pungent and not too complex with quite a floral profile. The aroma is green and grassy with notes of dandelion among other flowers. Taste-wise, I found the tea to have a good balance of umami, sweetness and bitterness. At this young age, it is still a bit grassy and a little salty. Mouthfeel is soft and drying, and I get a warming sensation spreading throughout the body after drinking.

Flavors: Bitter, Dandelion, Drying, Floral, Flowers, Grass, Salty, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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85
drank 2018 Demon Slayer by white2tea
943 tasting notes

I really like how this tea is progressing over time. It is a very vegetal one, but it does have a good depth. The profile hasn’t changed much since a year ago. Just like Roswell Strange, I too find that each one of the sessions I’ve had with it carries that bell pepper character. It is especially pronounced in the aftertaste.

The main difference I found compared to my memory (and the previous note) is that the tea does seem a bit sweeter now, which makes it more balanced. There is a light honey flavour as well and a sort of malty finish.

Flavors: Bell Pepper, Drying, Honey, Metallic, Nutty, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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87

Another green tea I got from CS. I was intrigued by the description, and the tea didn’t disappoint – it is indeed quite unique for a Japanese green tea.
The floral aspects are very strong, mostly in the aroma and the aftertaste. At times it even reminds me of a Taiwanese high mountain oolong. However, it has lighter body and silkier mouthfeel than those tend to have.

Smelling the dry leaves in preheated kyusu produced an association of poppy seed pastries, and some flowers. The latter were then complemented by a sort of meaty aroma after the rinse. The colour of the liquor is fairly light, but still bright green as you’d expect. It tastes crisp and fresh with good amount of bitterness and very little astringency. There are notes of rapini, green apple, and distinctive sugar sweetness.

Flavors: Bitter, Broccoli, Floral, Flowers, Green Apple, Kale, Meat, Pastries, Sugar

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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83

Lin Xia Sheng Tai – last tea for the day. I found it to be an interesting mix of the unusual and the expected. It has a great texture and a layered taste, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit. The tea didn’t strike me as being overly complex at any point, yet there are a lot of associations that came up over the course of a session. However, at this price and with its specific character, it may only appeal to a fairly small set of people. I may be wrong about that though. In any case, anyone who values texture and likes their sheng bitter and herbaceous – this is a tea for you.

Dry leaves exude a sweet aroma with the characteristic gasoline note and some cranberry in the background. After the rinse, I detect more of a woody scent with a distinct root vegetable note.

The rinse starts out super thick and oily, with a metallic and honey-like taste. Soon afterwards, the bitterness appears. Even though it is strong, I never found it overpowering. The astringency is also in check. The tea taste very “clean” and has notes of camphor, ammonia, asparagus, almond skins, green wood, pear, and alcohol – quite a diverse range of flavours with some unusual suspects. There is not too much sweetness present, but I do get a light honey fragrance throughout the session.

The aftertaste is then sweeter of course, but not too much. It is throat-cooling and displays notes of artichoke, butter, ash, passion fruit, and some sort of spicy wood.

As I mentioned already, one of the main highlights here is the mouthfeel. It is thick and mouth-watering with a bubbly, slick texture to the liquor. This Jinggu tea doesn’t fall behind much in the cha qi department either. I found the energy to be all encompassing and rushy, complemented by a chest-warming sensation.

Flavors: Alcohol, Almond, Artichoke, Ash, Asparagus, Astringent, Bitter, Butter, Camphor, Celery, Cranberry, Dry Grass, Green Wood, Honey, Passion Fruit, Pear, Potato, Spicy, Sweet, Thick, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 90 ML

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86

Among my hei cha samples that constitute my initial exploration of the category beyond ripe pu’er, I still have a couple without a note. In an effort to remedy that, here are my thoughts on this Liu Bao.

It doesn’t have much aroma either in dry or wet form. However, these kinds of teas are rarely fragrance focused. The taste is sweet and savoury with a bitter finish. It is a combination that reminds me of Sugabow gyokuro karigane hojicha and dark roast coffee. The green aspect is still present, especially in the somewhat astringent, grassy, and nutty aftertaste. Later steeps are smoother with some woodiness, a warming, peaty finish and slightly sour aftertaste. There is a bit of an aged sheng note in the aroma too.

There is not that much taste complexity overall, but it is a nice tea to drink and it definitely has aging potential. I also enjoy the somewhat creamy mouthfeel in spite of the average thickness. I sense a decent amount of caffeine and a sort of clarifying energy during and after the session.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Dry Grass, Nutmeg, Nutty, Peat, Sweet, Umami, Wet Earth, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 4 OZ / 130 ML
Sierge Krьstъ

When I read dark roast coffee my immediate association was non-coffee dandelion one but roasty smell is something caramelly along lines with some nuanced oolongs

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80

This Kabusecha is a delicate and well balanced tea with little bitterness or astringency and a velvety mouthfeel. It doesn’t seem have any sharp or particularly strong characteristics, although the sweetness can be quite interesting at times – it reminds me of both Yi Wu shengs (Yi Shan Mo) and light-roasted high mountain Taiwanese oolonsg (Shan Lin Xi). It’s a great morning tea for days with savoury breakfast; my default choice for morning tea with sweet breakfast are blacks.

The aroma emerging from the preheated kyusu bears resemblance to pastries, rye bread, pollen, and cut grass. It gets weaker throughout the session though. Taste is crisp, bready, tart, and savoury, with a decently strong spinach note. It transforms into a sweet, floral, and marine aftertaste.

Flavors: Bread, Cut Grass, Floral, Marine, Pastries, Rye, Seaweed, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass, Tart, Yeasty

Preparation
5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Bio

Hi, I am a researcher in math, physics and computer science. Apart from teas and mathematics, I enjoy sports and traveling, as well as music of all kinds. Connect at https://rateyourmusic.com/~Togo

I had been drinking Japanese green tea for a while before discovering the world of tea in 2017. I rarely drink blends and generally avoid artificially scented teas. Other than that I try to keep it varied.

My rating description:
100 _ Unforgettable tea, an experience that changes your life.
90 – 100 _ Excellent tea.
80 – 90 _ Very enjoyable, I will buy again.
70 – 80 _ I enjoyed it, but I most likely won’t be buying it again.
60 – 70 _ Decent.
50 – 60 _ Average, forgettable.
40 – 50 _ I didn’t really like the tea, but it is drinkable.
0 – 40 _ I would prefer to avoid the tea.

Location

Innsbruck, Austria

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