11 Tasting Notes

82

A very lovely scented tea. You see Jasmine scented teas everywhere, but this is one of two places I’ve seen Orchid scented green tea. If you enjoy jasmine, check this tea out while the supply lasts!

I used 3.8g/235ml, 85C water, first brewing was 30 seconds +10 seconds for each additional brewing.

In the first cup you are met with a lettuce-like flavor mingled with honey, orchid, and gold raspberries. You have the honey, orchid, and gold raspberries linger in the aftertaste. The liquor is very light and smooth.

In the second cup the liquor is even more buttery and smooth. Your tongue is immediately met with a very strong flavor of honey, melon, and orchid mixed together. The lettuce from before is much lighter in flavor. In the aftertaste there is orchid, melon, and a little elderberry that mingle together.

The third cup is much milder in flavor. Butterlettuce and a hint of green beans are present in the liquor. The aftertaste is a gentle mixture of orchid and honey.

I went up to six cups and the remaining were more or less mellower versions of the third cup. Very nice!

Flavors: Honey, Lettuce, Melon, Raspberry

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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60
drank Gu Shu Yinzhen by Hojo Tea
11 tasting notes

I’ll review this tea again in the future as I don’t feel this review is totally fair. The sample I had, had a lot of broken leaf in it so that is of course going to lead to a lower quality cup. In the event a second sample I receive comes in that quality this’ll be a different story.

So based off of what I was given…

I used 5.5g/120ml, 85C water, first brewing was 10 seconds +5seconds per each additional brewing.

The aroma reminded me of jerky. Initially you are met with the jerky-like taste. In the liquor it vaguely reminded me of Lapsang. There was a slight hint of green beans. In the after taste there was hints of melon and raspberry. The liquor was incredibly buttery and smooth. There was a hint of astringency.

In the second cup most of that jerky and smokiness had disappeared. A gentle green bean flavor was on my tongue along with spinach or collard greens. In the after taste there was raspberries and melon.

The liquor for the third brewing was a lot darker. The overall taste still had the green bean flavor except it was a lot stronger. There was a tiny hint of raspberries in the after taste. Despite the fact that the after taste has been extremely weak, I liked it.

The liquor for the fourth brew didn’t have much flavor and was more astringent. The after taste remained the same. The same for the fifth so I stopped drinking.

Flavors: Green Beans, Melon, Raspberry, Smoke, Spinach

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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40
drank Lean Green Machine by Tiesta Tea
11 tasting notes

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this tea. It’s your generic Chinese “Sencha” mixed in with a whole lotta lemongrass and a little lemon and orange peel.

It doesn’t taste like green tea at all, not even the most generic kind. It tastes almost overwhelmingly of lemongrass. If you really hunt for it you can pick out the lemon and orange peel.

Terrible iced. You get a bitter mess with a hint of lemongrass. I brewed iced according to package directions (3tsp/8oz).

Flavors: Lemon Zest, Lemongrass, Orange Zest

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
MrQuackers

Seems kind of silly to put lemon in with Sencha, which is already lemony. But, then I noticed the fact that it was a Chinese knockoff of sencha. Now it makes sense lol.

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90

I used 5g/120ml with 95C water and added 3-5 seconds per each additional brewing.

I could taste orchid and honeysuckle with a hint of raspberry and melon.

The first sip of the first brewing had a light, sweet taste like snap peas or sweet grass.. Melon, raspberries, raspberry, lilac, honeysuckle, orchid, jasmine, and cream being the tastes lingered all over my tongue in the after taste. The liquor was buttery smooth and had a very long finish.

In the aroma of the second cup I could pick up on marzipan and cream mingled in with the floral notes. The flavor of the liquor was now explosive. Strawberries, sweet grass, and jasmine glided over my tongue. In the aftertaste, the jasmine was the strongest by far, lingering on the back of my pallet.

I found that raspberries had the strongest aroma for the third cup. There wasn’t a whole lot of flavor aside from the sweetgrass, but the liquor was even lighter and had become more buttery than the first cup. Jasmine remained the main flavor in the aftertaste, but it mingled with raspberry.

In the fifth cup the liquor began to become astringent but it wasn’t unpleasant. I could taste jasmine and melon at the back of my tongue mingled in with the sweetgrass. In the aftertaste it was a mixture of jasmine and raspberries once again. There was cream as well. I almost didn’t notice it.

In the 6th I primarily smelt sweetgrass with a tiny hint of raspberry. The astringency from the 5th brewing was gone. The mouthfeel was very silky now, still very full but no longer buttery. I mostly tasted sweetgrass and watercress (without the raddish-y part of watercress) in the liquor and aftertaste. At the sides of the back of my tongue and two spots on the center of my pallet I could taste melon and blueberry. I hadn’t tasted blueberry yet so that came as a surprise. Raspberry and cream was still present, but it was very hard to detect.

The tea more or less flatlined from here on out.

Flavors: Blueberry, Grass, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Melon, Orchid, Peas, Raspberry

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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60

I used 5g/60ml, 100C water, washed twice, five seconds for the first brew and an additional 3-5 seconds for each additional brewing.

The aroma is very floral, like that of jasmine and saffron. The liquor is very buttery and smooth. The first cup tasted like jasmine, vanilla, and cream. It’s greenness reminded me of Wakayanagi. In the aftertaste there was elderberry, raspberry, melon, and vanilla.

The second cup the aroma of orchid and saffron was very strong, but not overpowering. The liquor still reminded me of a bancha like wakayanagi, with hay and watercress, minus the radish-y part of watercress’s flavor profile and not astringency.

The third was more or less the same but with an even more buttery mouthfeel. In the aftertaste the sides of my tongue tasted like saffron while the back of my throat taste of elderberry and strawberry.

From here the flavor flat lines and begins to die while as light astringency appears. I did a total of 15 brewings with this. All of them past the third were basically weaker versions of each other. The liquor never became bitter and the astringency was never abrasive.

Nothing special, but very nice for the price.

Flavors: Cream, Grass, Hay, Jasmine, Melon, Orchid, Raspberry, Saffron, Strawberry, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 2 OZ / 60 ML

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70

I used 5g/120ml, 95C water, washed once, first brew was five seconds, +3-5 per each additional brewing. I managed to get eight brewings. This was a very light roasted DHP.

The aroma is very chocolatey with a hint of melon and wood. The liquor is incredibly buttery and smooth. In the first cup there wasn’t much taste but there was tiny hints of melon, honeysuckle, vanilla, and that classical WuYi minerality.

The aroma of the second cup reminded me of Kamut. The liquor tasted very much like, but not overpoweringly, like vanilla and honeysuckle. Melon and raspberry resided in the aftertaste. The third was the same except the liquor was less potent and the aftertaste was stronger. I then sipped on some water as you should after the third brewing of a WuYi and the aftertaste strengthened even more.

The fourth brewing was the best. It was all the flavors in the aftertaste and the actual taste, in the actual taste. A slight astringency had appeared, it was not abrasive.

That was the teas last legs as each cup after that was a less potent version of the third.

Not bad for the price. I’ve had much better DHP for a similar price.

Flavors: Chocolate, Honey, Honeysuckle, Melon, Mineral, Raspberry, Vanilla, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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60

Overall not a bad tea. For the price? Horrible. I too do not understand why this has been rated so highly by others. I brewed it by using 5g/120ml, 95C water, rinsed twice, first steeping was five seconds, +3-5 for each additional brewing.

I did a total of eight and these leaves never opened up all the way. How willing/able a leaf is to unroll is a extremely important part to consider in leaf quality.

It smelt of nutmeg, roasted chestnuts, and a hint of oak. Something sweet as well, perhaps melon and blueberries. The liquor has an incredibly smooth and soft mouthfeel. The first cup was almost flavorless with a tiny hint of chocolate and jasmine. The aftertaste reminded me of melon, honey, blueberries, and raspberries. I had to really sit to notice most of these, they were very subtle. The same applies to the rest of the brewings.

The second cup tasted like pine, chocolate, and evergreen mingled with orchids.

The third was very chocolatey and the liquor became a little astringent. The aftertaste was still somewhat floral and fruity.

The following brewings tasted mostly like pine mingled with vanilla and jasmine or orchid.

A very average Wuyi. Nothing to celebrate about and most certainly not worth just over $1/g.

Flavors: Blueberry, Chocolate, Honey, Jasmine, Melon, Orchid, Pine, Raspberry

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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50

I don’t have a whole lot of experience with Puerh at the moment so perhaps take this with a grain of salt. This is also my first time trying Shu. Even so, I know a good Puerh (Sheng or Shu) is more complex than this. I’ve had some very nice Sheng.

Anyway, I used 5g/120ml, 100C water, rinsed twice, 20sec first brewing +10sec for each additional brewing.

The way this tea smelt was very similar to Lapsang mingled with vanilla, jasmine, and elderberry. The taste was very similar as well but with earthy notes. They reminded me of oak and nutmeg. The liquor was astringent but not abrasive and very light.

The tea had the same profile (above) for all six cups. If it had developed I’d give it a better score. It wasn’t by any means bad. It was enjoyable, but average. I can’t complain for the price.

Flavors: Jasmine, Nutmeg, Oak, Smoke, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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86

I had both the 2015 and 2016 version of this tea.

I brewed the 2015 as the given parameters. 5g/235ml, 80C water, 30 seconds +10 seconds for each additional brewing. It was very delicate, light, and vegetale. No nuttiness like most high end Longjing that I have had. It had notes of jasmine, elderberry, melon, sencha, and lilacs. I think this tea was better than the 2016. The leaves had more fuzzies, the picking standard was higher, and the liquor more complex. It never got bitter.

I brewed the 2016 grandpa style. I used 2.5g/350ml. I used 80C water and topped up when my glass was 2/3rds full. It was sweet, lightly vegetale, and had a light nuttiness. The tea initially was very green, almost like a sencha. It then became sweet and floral like jasmine or lilacs. Fruits like melon and elderberry danced across my tongue as well. The nuttiness was like that of chesnuts. It lasted around four hours brewing this way and never got bitter.

Flavors: Chestnut, Honey, Melon

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 8 OZ / 235 ML

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50

This tea has a very robust and rasping mouth feel. It was very two dimensional and reminded me very of your typical CTC Assam. If not for the honeysuckle and orchid in the aftertaste I would’ve thought it was a full leaf second flush Assam.

I brewed this gong fu style. My first brewing was 10 seconds +5 seconds for each additional brewing. I did a total of 10 but it flat lined after the second brewing.

Flavors: Honeysuckle, Malt, Orchid

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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My name is Ian. I’m another tea aficionado trying to spread the love and keep track of my thoughts. Mostly tea and vendor reviews, brewing information, and information on tea ware. All reviews will be my honest opinion of the tea regardless of how I obtained the tea.

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