Berylleb King Tea

my taste buds might be having a weird day today. This tea, which has been average at best, is rather tasty today, while my tiger assam is not quite right. on the upside, if my taste buds have changed, this is a nice cup of tea now lol

PUlled this one out again. it’s still a sort of average tea, though i am getting a few malt notes today as it cools. Not a bad tea, but pretty average.

Still not sure where i sit with this tea. I don’t dislike it, but i don’t love it. Maybe i need to try brewing it gonfu or something. There’s a sweetness to this that i don’t typically associate with my favourite keemuns, which is maybe why this is throwing me off. I’ll also have to share this one with a few folks and see what they think. :)

this was a new tea that i tried yesterday. i need to try it again in a normal mug instead of the travel mug but this one wasn’t half bad. decent malty sort of medium tea.

Way better in less time. 5-6 ounces of water with a smaller portion of leaves. I eyeballed the leaves and there were eleven balls at most, maybe less at eight. The ten second rinse was really sweet: it had the cream brulee note that a lot of ginseng oolongs are described to have. I got it again in the first steep at about 15 seconds. I steeped it again for near 20, then 30, then 45, 1 minute, two minutes. Midway, I get some herbs and woodsiness, and later I’m getting more of a peach note typical of a greener oolong. I enjoy this one more now despite my rating being but one point higher than the previous note. I will drink this one more often then before, but I think it’s more of an afternoon or morning tea. Still a great pre-workout.

Boy, the ginseng is stimulating. It also cleared up my sinuses somehow. Definitely an effective pre-workout and cold fighter.

Now, it tasted like a dark roasted Tie Guan Yin-very herbal, mildy woodsy, earthy, with a sweet after taste after a rinse and 30 seconds. It was kinda week Gong Fu, so switched to Western at 50 sec, 2 min, 2 min and 30 seconds, and 3 min and 45 sec. Only then did I get a weird, sweet stone fruit and peachy after taste. I enjoyed this tea, but I wasn’t thrilled. I can say that I tried a thing on my tea hit list, and now I possess an effective medicinal tea.
Worth a try for newbies, but might go better with sugar or honey.

This has certainly improved with age, and it improves on a humid grey and rainy day.

Eastteaguy, by your suggestion. I’ve had this for quite a while and I was tasting it to find some fruit notes if I could….while I stupidly ate green grapes with it. The pair was exceptional, but I had to cleanse my palette. On its own, my old notes stand the test of the time. It is as smooth and caramel like as ever, with the same orchid florals, the same nutty roast, the same vanilla and nutmeg spices, and the same mossy green wood and charcoal notes. Basically, I like Qilans more because they are more floral, while the Shui Xians are more woodsy. Like the taste of a plant is REALLY that different, but it is for me. Oh well, it’s enough for me to go little crazy for one over the other.

Just a pinch in 3 ounces of water-2 minutes. Vanilla oak. That’s all I have for now, and all I can drink for now.

WHAT.

Thank heavens my steeping was off from last time. I actually got a pretty strong caramel note with raw cocoa hidden in the tiniest of drops. I used fewer leaves and less water in my new Xiang Fu travel set. The pot makes SO much of a difference in brewing. Anyway, there will be a lot of back logging after this review. I recently took a midterm, wrote a paper, and now writing two more papers. I need the cha qi very, very badly. So, my orders from Berrylleb, Whispering Pines, Liquid Proust and my trade from Nichole will be the next few up. Expect around seven notes about the following eventually.

Back to this tea, I used two pinches of the leaves, not quite measuring them with accuracy. The pot I have also has a 6.5 ounce carrying capacity as it does not have a lid, and the cup in companion holds three to four sips. Petite indeed. Because I used less leaves and a Gong Fu specific tea pot, I was able to enjoy the Shui Xian so much more. I also admit that my ratings depend entirely too much on my volatile moods. This time, instead of a smoked up woody and leathery drink, I got something more nuanced, sweeter even, and complex. There is a slight floral scent now with the wood notes turning something closer to a roasted nut. Chestnut maybe? This was after a minute at most in steeping. I sipped it gradually, and the notes came in between 45 and 64 seconds. It also had a bit of a creaminess to it. Amanda, is this typical of Shui Xian’s or am I imagining it? Steep two, and even in the aroma, there’s a vanilla scent sneaking through. Sipped it, and it was even in the taste. It needs to brew a little bit longer. If only the water was a few degrees hotter.

There were even certain similarities to Whispering Pines Dark Roast Anxi Tie Guan Yin, though you could definitely tell them apart. I recently had that one today, and holy crap I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I really want more of that now, but I’m spent! This is also really good. Glad to have the amount that I do. A single dunce in steeping makes a difference. And brewing darker oolongs lighter is a must for me.

Shui Xian was on my hit list, and everything else that I tried from Berrylleb has been great. This one kinda disappointed me. I was looking for a sweet, smoky oolong with more of a caramel note, but what I got was more leathery, staunchly oak like, and smokey. This is a good, complex oolong. It’s just not what I was looking for.

Was there something wrong with my steeping? Maybe. I started with a rinse, then proceeded to soak it for 15 seconds. Too faint, so I let it sit another 15. Woodsy, and earthy with a complex shift in fog and smoke. Tried it again and again, finally turning the method into western for about 2 minutes with water closer to 180 degrees F. The sweetness really showed through this time, but again, not the best oolong I’ve had.

I’m probably going to review this one again because of how skewed I just reviewed it. I highly recommend this tea for people who like really woodsy and complex oolongs, but not for anyone who likes naturally sweet teas. If it doesn’t work out the second time, I’ll probably end up selling or trading it. Otherwise, Berrylleb is an awesome vendor that I will purchase from again. I did get this tea a day ahead of shipping predictions after all.

Another from one of my Liquid Proust boxes – im guessing this is the tea, if not, let me know and i will change it

Its a nice one – classic Dayuling aroma with a hint of candyfloss in there, or maybe sherbet something. some floral perhaps. anyway, its nice.

Taste is a bit more savoury than the aroma, but again, nice Dayuling, its quite a clear one, not too thick or veggie, and certainly no astringency or bitterness or anything bad for that matter. Weirdly i think this has a bit of caffeine in it, not what im used to.

The cup i had was a bit more subtle than i thought it would be – not that thats a bad thing, it also had a nice green aftertaste. i did my standard 3g/3mins/fisheye boil, maybe it can take a bit more of the heat, or a bit more amount of tea to kick up the flavour a bit.

not bad price too! liked it – didnt set my world on fire but i think with a bit of coaxing it could be a really good cup. certainly not throwing it out of bed :)

hmm, another nice, subtle, aged Oolong.

the main thing i get from this tea is that it tastes like coffee cake & cream. and that really is the thing i get when i drink it, it still has a medium Oolong thing going on, but doesnt scream woods or veg or smoke or roast, just coffee cake & a small dollop of cream.

:)

an amazing tea!

when i smell the leaves dry, i smell a tad bit of mustyness.

when i smell the leaves wet, i smell honey, spices and smokeyness.

when i smell the brewed tea, again i smell honey, spices and smokeyness.

when i taste the brewed tea i taste strong honey, mild spices and slight smokeyness.

the color of the brewed tea is dark orange/light amber.

i rate this tea a 100 because of all the nice smells and flavors.

many thanks to liquidproust for sharing this tea with me :D

EVERYONE. SHOULD. DRINK.THIS.TEA.

My goodness is this amazing! It reminds me of Japanaese black gyokuro :)

I’ve had three teas from Berylleb which I believe is not enough to make my opinion yet… but with AllanK’s advice/help, I did just spend $119 on only three teas.

This tea how every is funky… like a wild molded grass. I’m not really a fan of it to be honest. Green teas that look like this in general haven’t been my thing; even the one that Whispering Pines had which I blind tasted because I had no idea what it was. Just not my kind of green :/

Drinking the last of this at work today. Way more smokey than I would have thought, not at all what I was expecting. This is a strange China black. It’s harsher than I’m used to, non of the usual notes. Tea and smoke that’s what I’m getting. Weird.
The Jin Jun Mei (Golden Eyebrow) that I got at the same time as this is right up there with my favorite Jun Jun Mei – if I were to order more from them, I would get that rather than this. I’m not saying this is bad, it’s just not for me.

This tea is not smoky. It is very similar to Yunnan Sourcing’s Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong of Wu Yi Fujian Black tea. I think this one is the better of the two (at least comparing the 2015 from YS). It’s sweet and malty with chocolate notes.

When I was looking on Ebay for this type of tea it’s very confusing whether it’s this type of lapsang souchong or the smoky one. I like both but prefer this one. I just wonder why it’s called lapsang souchong when I thought the name “Lapsang Souchong” meant smoky?

I’ll be the first one again to review :)

I’ve been craving a good Sheng session, and my Berylleb order came in. I dived into this right off the bat. I opened the package and took in a deep smoky aroma. It carried a slight aged scent. The beeng was of long darkened curls with a few brilliant gold strands standing out. I broke a generous chunk and placed inside my warmed yixing to open up. The scent broadened to the charred remains of blackwood forest after a firestorm. This brew had some intense smoky tones; however, the taste was surprisingly different. The initial sip had a light oak base and a delectably sweet aftertaste. It wasn’t a nectar sweet tone, rather it was a sugar cane sweetness. This smooth taste lasted for quite awhile, and I swear I could even taste the cane itself. The qi from this brew was prominent with the first drink, but it faded soon after. I can still feel a slight subtle presence. This is a great sweet treat. It did not hit the spot though, and I will definitely be exploring my other shengs until I am satisfied, hahah.

https://instagram.com/p/4XtRPAzGaJ/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Thanks AllanK for including this in our swap.
I was just drinking a 2014 winter crop green oolong from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Company before this which is a nice comparison. This oolong is what I would consider to be brisk. The bitterness overtakes the sweetness, but it is a darker oolong which makes it acceptable. If it was a tieguanyin with these bitter notes I would rate it low, but it it is not. There is something about this tea that is enjoyable, but at the same time there is something about it that makes it a sipping tea versus a drinking tea.
I wish the honey came through more. This oolong should be brewed quickly, leaving it in for 3 minutes makes it a bit too strong for my liking. Two minute steeps seem to work for me. The is nice and dark after many brews and has a funky smell, but the taste stays strong.

Backlogging on this a bit.
This one jumped out at me and said open me up.
I got the usual 10 grams out and decided to put this one in the Yixing.
I gave a quick rinse and actually this one sat a few hours till I got to it.
I did 3 quick steeps to fill up my big old mug. The aroma of the steeped leaf was a bit floral. The brew is still a light gold as I haven’t stored this one as long. The taste was pretty nice. A little bitter some light peach notes and a pretty quick to give the sweetness up. Not too bold or strong but one that should age into a good drinker in time. It does have some pretty nice leaf in there and isn’t a rock hard compressed bing.

I did it!!! My cupboard is at 175 – yay goal achieved.

I drank the last of this at work today. It’s a really nice Yunnan Golden Snail style tea, but it’s not my favorite. This isn’t as chocolatey as I would like. It’s good, decent quality, Berrylleb is a great ebay seller and I’ve liked all the teas I got from them – but this is just more malty, maybe a little sweet potato – but not chocolate enough. Really Good – just not Fantastic for me. :))