Cory Schmidt Send Message

The Leaf: Nice, deep, dark green hue throughout the leaves, with a certain sheen to them. They are rolled very tightly. Each leaf is very thin and long, like a needle, average length is about 3-4cm. Some of the leaves are bent back around themselves making them look almost like tiny hair pins. The scent is deep and grassy, almost with slight nutty undertone.

The Brew: The liquor is a light pale green-yellow. It is clear, but with a large amount of leaf hair suspended making it seem slightly cloudy. The aroma is bright and fresh. The overtone is of fresh cut grass, while I detect an undertone of citrus rind. The taste is fairly astringent with a full, bright, crispness. With this, though, there is an underlying umami flavor, making the full flavor have a certain richness. The mouthfeel is very dry, due to the astringency and possible the high concentration of leaf hair. Long after the flavor is gone, there is a certain tackiness left on the tongue.

Note: I brewed this tea by putting the leaves in a glass carafe along with cold water, then setting it out in the sun for approximately 4 hours. This is known as sun tea. The temperature of the water only becomes warm, probably less than 40 degrees Celsius.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Very dark with a mix of both curled and semi-flat leaves. sizes of the broken leaves range from a few degrees above fannings to almost whole intact leaves; quarters and halves. there is a small percentage of stems also present. The scent is fairly strong and bright, with apparent maltiness; nice but flat.

The Brew: The liquor is a nice golden brown, clear, and with very little leaf hair. The aroma is not unlike the scent of the leaves, bright and slightly malty. There is almost an herbal undertone to it as well, but I can’t quite place it. The taste is bright and fairly dry. There is a slight sweetness, but mostly I get brisk, slightly malty, and bitter or sour flavors; almost that of a lemon. The mouthfeel is quite dry leaving a slight feeling on the tongue for a while. The flavor and aroma reminds me most of a Ceylon tea, perhaps Kandy.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Dark brown to black throughout the pile. medium curl, leaving most of the leaves long and straight with only slight bends; a few are curled almost into balls. The scent is nice and strong, having a roasted, sweet, creamy smell.

The Brew: The liquor is a nice golden brown; bronze. The aroma is bright with the same roasted sweet smell of the leaf. It almost is metallic smelling; it has a certain clip in the aroma, if that makes any sense. The taste is definitely creamy, partially from the mouthfeel and partially from the flavor. It’s very soft on the tongue and has a roasted character, making it seem like a caramelized cream-based drink; the flavor and sweetness are much lighter of course.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Nice dark green and light green mixed leaves. The scent is quite strong and very nice; sweet, slightly flowery, and fruity. well curled and rolled up.

The Brew: The liquor is a nice whitish-green, but crystal clear. The aroma is quite apparent with fresh sweet notes and almost a melon character to it. The taste is not strong, but not light either. It’s almost as if I’m drinking very light, less sweet, melon juice, maybe with a hint of cucumber.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Nice dark green with a marbling of light green throughout the leaves. Each leaf looks like it didn’t quite make it into a ball, being curled and twisted; very gnarly. No loose stems and the pile looks nice. The scent is light, but typical of a less oxidized oolong; very sweet, flowery, and fruity.

The Brew: The liquor is very light green; almost white in appearance. The aroma is a bit unexpected, as well as the taste. Both are slightly vegetal in character. The aroma is light, but slightly sweet, and almost has a note of lettuce to it. The taste is also very light, but has a green vegetable overtone. Very little hint of fruit or flower notes can be detected.

Note: While I found this tea interesting, I’ll admit that I didn’t find myself enjoying it. I felt more preoccupied with trying to figure out what I was drinking.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: all black, twisted and curled, with a mix of loose stems. The scent is very strong and, of course, smokey. The smell is too concentrated and overpowering; it smells like a forest fire.

The Brew: The liquor is surprisingly light-pale golden brown. The aroma is definitively smokey, but the harsh edge from the leaf has been cut and is at a good level of intensity. Still, the smell is a bit off in that it has almost a burnt rubber character to it. The taste is not bad but flat, with just a basic smokiness to it. The mouthfeel is dry and the aftertaste is light and fleeting.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: The pile is nice and dark black, semi-curled, with a sprinkling of golden buds and stems throughout. The scent is, of course, smokey, but not overpowering and also has a kind-of pine resin quality to it.

The Brew: The liquor is a golden brown, almost with a reddish tinge. The aroma is light, and almost identical to the smell of the leaves; smokey and piney. The flavor is surprisingly light. There is a definite smokey quality to it, but also some of the maltiness of a black tea comes through. The mouthfeel is quite dry and leaves your tongue tacky for awhile afterwards. There is a slight aftertaste as well of the smokiness.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Very dark leaves compressed together with fairly light brown leaves spotted throughout. The scent is typical of a pu-erh, earthy, soil, and slightly woody. However, I detect a slight musty or moldy tone; it’s very faint, but still there.

The Brew: The liquor is a golden brown. The aroma is faint but has tones of wood and walnut. The taste is also very earthy, woody, but quite nutty as well. I get a very distinct walnut essence from this tea. The mouthfeel is nice and light with very little aftertaste, mostly nutty as well, and no dryness really.

The Spent Leaf: The spent leaf was the most interesting of this tea. Just after brewing the leaves present a very strong undeniable scent of walnuts. Walnut was the overtone, while there were undertones of wood, and earth.

I drink all of my teas cold. *my comments are from the first brewing

The Leaf: Each curled leaf ranges from a deep dark green to a much lighter, almost pale green color. Only found one lose stem in the pile, but otherwise all leaf. The scent is light, sweet, and fruity.

The Brew: The aroma is clean, sweet, fresh, slightly grassy, and fruity. The liquor is extremely light green; almost clear or white looking. The taste is medium-light in intensity. There is a slight astringency, possible due to the high temperature water. The mouthfeel is somewhat thick while drinking, and there is a slight dryness left on the tongue. I taste fresh grass, mineral, and grape skin.

I drink all of my teas cold.

The Leaf: Multicolored, with black, brown, light-brown, tan, and red leaves throughout. Very nice but light scent much like a black tea; not too earthy like some pu-erh. It is a mix of malty and earthy tones. Most of the mass is leaf, but there are some stems present.

The Brew: The liquor is very lightly colored; a greenish brown tinge. The aroma is very unlike the dry leaf; fruity and grassy. The taste is an amplified version of the aroma with an added slightly sweet note. The flavor is much stronger on the back of the tongue, and it reminds me of standing in a greenhouse. The mouthfeel is soft while drinking, but leaves a bit of a dryness in the mouth. There is also a very long, and very light, aftertaste that has more of a nutty or roasted overtone to it. The brewed leaf scent has an even stronger impression of a greenhouse atmosphere.

I drink all of my teas cold.