What-Cha

This came to me from Marzipan and it is nummy! Hay, molasses, lovely golden and brown leaves, faint tobacco or smoke hints. I’m not sure which but they are not unpleasant. I will probably eventually need some of this.

Thanks, Marzipan!

I get to be the first to review this. If I have ever had a green Assam before, I don’t recall it. In fact, I have had very, very, few Assams that were made of entire unbroken leaves. So I’m impressed from the start. The dry leaf smells of malt and oat cereal (otherwise known as Cheerios). The wet leaf is vegetal with an ocean breeze freshness and a hint of citrus. Now describing the taste is harder because it reminds me of a memory from when I was 12. Simplified – it reminds me of a fountain that tasted like a fresh mountain stream. Pretty sure it will not evoke the same for you – sorry. It has a touch of astringency and a light amount of bitterness that add to the experience. I also get lemony citrus notes. The aftertaste really lingers with grassy notes. The second mug had even stronger flavors. Especially while hot this had cave notes or sort of mild mushroom. It became more green tea tasting as it cooled. I am pretty certain this would go at least another mug. A neat everyday green.

Backlog:

I was so happy to try this Darjeeling Oolong tea. They’re a little less common than other Oolong teas and I’ve enjoyed every Darjeeling Oolong that I’ve tried thus far and I was certain I’d feel the same for this one.

And, what can I say? This is an awesome tea!

Delicious, sweet, fruity. I taste the promised notes of orange and spice. Notes of juicy grape. Smooth and very pleasant to sip. Earthy, woodsy, and warm.

The fruit notes really developed in the later infusions. I started picking up on notes of apple and a brown sugar sweetness in my later cups.

Here’s my full-length article: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/21/2014-darjeeling-2nd-flush-goomtee-oolong-tea-from-what-cha-tea/

I have returned to being myself! Ok, I know that sounds weird, but several years ago I took my lip piercing and nose piercing out, for some reason, I honestly don’t remember why. I have missed it terribly and said a big YOLO and re-pierced them, nose a while ago and lip today. Something about having blue hair and piercings just makes me happy, but I have always loved that style, blame growing up in the 80s and 90s and wanting to be a glam rock princess from day one. Now the real debate, do I want any more piercings, there are several I want and can’t get (scar tissue on my belly, so no belly ring) and several that I think I would look really derpy with (like my septum and dimple piercings) but I think an extra eyebrow ring could look really cool. Also need to redo my ears for like the fifth time.

It is Wednesday, meaning it is time for the What-Cha Wednesday traditional review, what can I say, I love tradition, plus What-Cha keeps introducing me to fascinating teas and terroirs. Today’s tea Darjeeling 2nd Flush 2014 Jungpana AV2 Yellow Tea definitely fits into the fascinating category, it is from Jungpana Estate in Darjeeling, and is a 2nd Flush, but it is a little different. This is no black, oolong, or green Darjeeling, this is a yellow! It is hard enough to get a yellow tea from China, but having one from India, well, that is just like finding a treasure. Sadly my searching to find out more tasty info on this unusual tea was not the most fruitful, I did find out that it won an award for its 2013 harvest, so congrats to you tea. This tea’s aroma is pleasantly transportive, not that I can really figure out where it takes my mind, but I can say it is somewhere deep in my memories and very comforting, it makes me wistful. Emotional impact aside, the notes are peppery, distant blooming flowers, sweet muscadines, and a tiny touch of sweet, warm hay. It smells light and pretty, yes, it is a pretty smelling tea, mellow and delicate while being distinct.

The brewed leaves are surprisingly complex, presenting notes that I honestly was not expecting. There are notes of sweet hay, pepper…ok those are not surprising since they were present in the dry leaves. Orange blossoms is a pleasant surprise, since it just smelled like generic distant flowers before…but whoa, sea air and wet slate, that unexpected by quite fascinating. These last notes are at the finish and very faint, they add some interesting depth to the delicate tea, and oddly enough the smell of the wet leaves reminds me of the way Charleston smells, which is pretty awesome. The liquid without its leafy friends is delicate and sweet, like orange blossoms, orange blossom honey, and a touch of freshly mown hay.

Well, my mind is blown now. Seriously, there are too many things with this tea, just wow. Ok, to put it out in the simplest terms, it starts with fresh vegetation, lettuce, and pepper, this pretty immediately transitions to sweetness. There is a blend of orange blossoms, honey, and fresh hay. The finish is grapefruit, and then the most amazing thing happens. A few, I don’t really think it is seconds, at the most two seconds pass after you swallow the tea a floral explosion happened in my mouth. So, a little side story, at the Kauffman Gardens in Kansas City, there is an observatory filled with orchids and various citrus plants (along with ferns and palms, but they are not relevant to this story) when I was there in spring all the orchids and citrus trees were in flower, it was amazing. That is what is happening in my mouth, with an added nectar sweetness, it is mind blowing.

For blog and photos (including my fancy face :P ): http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-cha-darjeeling-2nd-flush-2014.html

Check it out. I am drinking a tea grown in Russia! I find that really cool. Had I even known in my youth that tea was grown in Russia, it would have been unimaginable that I would one day get to try it. But here I sit with tea grown in one of the most northern plantations in the world. I expected a very brash tannin laced cup but this is a smooth and mellow tea with no bitterness. Amazing considering the 4 minute steep. The scent is sweet (honey) and malt with a bit of grain. The taste at first makes me think Dian Hong without the sweet potato or caramel. It is lightly malt. Then for a moment I entertain a connection to Nepal as this has a slight woodsy/raisin flavor, but the total mellowness of the cup stops the reference in its tracks. With the second mug I lose all reference to other teas. This is still very smooth but the raisin is greatly enhanced. Along with it are notes of mushroom, earth, and mineral. This is a unique tea and a unique experience that few in the west will ever have the pleasure of trying. I realized as I was writing my blog review how tea makes the world somehow smaller and more connected than I had imagined. To paraphrase Kermit, why can’t we be more tea?

Backlog:

As I mentioned in my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/14/darjeeling-1st-flush-2014-gopaldhara-silver-needle-white-tea-from-what-cha-tea/ the dry leaf aroma reminds me a bit of the smell of the air outside in the spring on Saturday afternoons: when everyone is out mowing the lawn and the smell of freshly cut grass permeates the air. There is also a bit of an herbaceous smell to it. Freshly cut grass and herbs.

It tastes delightful. Sweet and fruity. Notes of grape, subtle hints of apple and apricot. As the sip continues, I pick up on gentle spice notes. I like the contrast between the sweet, soft fruit notes and the warmth of the spice. There is some dry astringency toward the tail.

The later infusions allowed for more intense flavors. The grape notes began to emerge and I started picking up on notes of melon. Some nutty flavors also began to reveal themselves.

An excellent white Darjeeling. Highly recommended.

This is my cup of the evening, while I catalogue all my black friday teas.

I brewed this according to the package directions, 96C for 2 minutes, but I think for my next cup I’ll lower the temperature. There are lovely fruity, grape notes along with some malt, but also an ashy character that I’m not loving. Though as it cools, the ashyness mellows out and becomes much less noticeable.

This is turning out to be quite a lovely cup. I think I may have a love affair with Darjeelings, which is probably a good plan, as I have an absurd number of Darjeelings in my collection now.

Backlog:

Beautiful pearls of black tea with an aroma of earth, leather, honey and cacao.

The pearls brew a delicious cup of tea. Rich and flavorful with plenty of gusto. Robust, lots of cacao notes, an undertone of caramel, notes of earth and leather. It’s a pleasant combination of flavors. As my palate continued to explore this tea, I started to pick up on fruity tones – notes of plum with hints of peach – and a faint note of flower. I was surprised by the complexity here because it was a very rugged, robust cup. I expected that hefty quality to weigh the tea down but I found myself able to explore the depths of the tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/06/yunnan-dragon-pearl-black-tea-from-what-cha-tea/

yep i still like this one. haha that’s all i really have to say about that!

cookies sent this one my way which was great because it was on my wish list :) i am digging this cup today! it’s malty and slightly sweet potato-y and smooth and just a happy thing to be drinking on this fine morning. Thanks goodness it’s almost friday!

bumping the rating up on this one as when i ordered i didn’t realise i’d had a sample of this one from cookies and today it was like BAM HAPPY MOUTH! lol this will be a reorder for sure…it was just the perfect tea today… sharing the rest with tea friends since i have had it before and can wait on reordering..

mmmmm sample from cookies so that i could try a few what-cha teas before i make a purchase. This one IS quite lovely as others have said. It’s malty and almost sweet but not quite. I didn’t get overly cocoa notes from this one, but there is a sense of that coming through in the background. Overall, i really nice cup of tea! thanks cookies!

I have the house to myself this evening, everyone is out seeing a bloody musical. I mean that literally, they are out seeing Evil Dead: The Musical, and since they are right up front they had to wear old clothes in expectation of blood spattering. Oddly, this is not one of my moments of being terribly uncultured, the tickets were bought way before me coming out to visit was a definite, and have sold out. Not sure I would want to go anyway since I am rather uncultured and get very bored with most stage performances unless it is opera. Clearly we need to have Evil Dead: The Opera, I would be all over that, extra points for singing in German.

So, what does What-Cha Wednesday have in store for us today? If you read the title of the blog you already know, it is Yancha time! My addiction to the various Wuyi Rock Oolongs is making my yixing pot so happy, the smell and sheen it has developed is awesome. So of course I used it to brew Fujian Wuyi Big Red Robe ‘Da Hong Pao’ Oolong Tea, though I can say that brewing a Yancha in a gaiwan or even a basket Western style is awesome, so, how does this one compare to the others I have tasted? First off I can say that the dry leaves have a very rich aroma, a blend of char and sweet fruit, it reminds me of peaches and plums cooked over a grill and allowed to get that really yummy char and caramelized sugar aroma. There is also a distant aroma of orchids and a touch of tobacco, the finish has a slightly yeasty bread quality. Heh, maybe that is why I have recently taken a great love of DHP, it smells like baking bread, all glutinous and sweet.

Brewing the leaves really brings out the tobacco notes, I love when tea has tobacco notes, it reminds me of my dad’s ritual of smoking his pipe, especially during the cooler months, I would assist him by cleaning his pipe, the rich sweet and a touch fruity smell of tobacco that greeted my nose was always a pleasure. Enough nostalgic reminiscing, there are also notes of char and grilled plum. The liquid freed from its leafy companion is pretty creamy sweet, like molasses, spicebush flowers, cooked stonefruit, and a tiny hint of loam at the finish.

Ooh, this IS a rich DHP! The mouthfeel is creamy, it reminds me of the way warm honey coats your mouth, super smooth and heavy, it is almost hypnotic…or maybe that is just me being a bit tea drunk. The taste is rather sweet with notes of honey and stewed plums, this transitions to a mild char and grilled plums, a tiny touch of cherry is present as well. The finish is honey and tobacco, a rich finish to a definitely rich cup of tea.

The aroma of the second steep is a sweet blend of stewed fruit and a touch floral, like an orchid flower that is about to drop of the stem because it has reached the end of its life. They tend to get an intense sweetness with just a hint of a fermented honey aroma. Surprisingly there is no char in the aroma of this steep. The mouthfeel is not as creamy, it has an edge of dryness similar to eating a very dark chocolate bar (my personal favorite.) In fact the dark chocolate comparison is not far off since there are notes of char and cocoa, much like a marshmallow and graham cracker-less smore. The finish is a touch of tobacco and a nice touch of sweet cooked plum. This steep was not as sweet as the first, but still rich…or dare I say, robust?

Third dance with this tea, third and final. As you have probably noticed I only go up to three steeps with the teas as of late. Several can go longer, but I have been told that my ramblings are usually best stopped at three, that most people do not have the attention span for a ton of steeps, and I can totally respect that! Short attention spans unite…now what was I talking about…ah yes, tea! The aroma is sweet and fruity, again no char aroma is present in this steep. This steep is much like the previous one but much milder, it lacks the robust quality and presents the same flavor notes in a delicate fashion. A very apropos finish, it is always nice when the tea winds down gently instead of just up and dying.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-cha-fujian-wuyi-big-red-robe-da.html

Backlog:

Today, I’ve been testing out samples from various suppliers, and since I’m not writing comprehensive reviews on those teas (just taking basic tasting notes so that I can make an informed judgement on the right teas to use), I figure it will give me a little bit of time to post my backlogged notes to Steepster.

This is one of my favorite black teas of all time. I really love this tea.

Seriously. It’s an awesome black tea.

Sweet, caramel-y, notes of cacao. As I said in my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/12/29/fujian-golden-monkey-jin-mao-hou-black-tea-from-what-cha-tea/ – Those cacao notes are so well-defined that it tastes as though I might have dropped a few cacao shells in the basket before I brewed this tea.

Earthy notes, leather. Malt – the malt together with the caramel and cacao almost hint at creaminess. Quite lovely. Not bitter. Very little astringency.

Just a perfect black tea. Love this.

I had this tea rated at a 98 but I’m resetting because I’m no longer doing the numerical rating. But if I were, this would be a 98.

Enjoying this tea now. I didn’t find this tea on the website so I suspect it’s sold out for this year. Hopefully they’ll get more of it with next year’s harvests.

Because this is FANTASTIC! I’ve had quite a few different Fujian black teas – I love them because of their chocolaty notes. This might just be the most chocolaty of all! I’ve had infusions of cacao shells and this tastes a lot like I infused cacao shells with the tea – I kid you not!

So, so, so good – I’ve had the opportunity to try quite a few different teas from What-Cha and this one might just be my favorite. This one is ahhh-mazing!

I really enjoyed this tea. It has a lot going for it. Problem is, again today, my time with it was continuously met with interruptions. I am going to set the rest of this sample back and wait until I have the house to myself. It seems to attract crowds. That would be fine if they would taste the tea with me. It is amusing and annoying at the same time. What do you mean I sound grumpy? sigh. Going to my happy place… oh wait, its fully occupied…. Arrrrrggghhh! ;)

I really tried to do a serious review of this one today. I already was frustrated and had a headache from dealing with govt bureaucracy. Safety tip – don’t ever lose access to the email address you login with because you become trapped in an alternate reality without it. There is no option to change your email without your email – what? Exactly.

So then I prepare this tea, needing its healing superpowers. Unfortunately (and happily), my grown son pops in and starts going through my stash. I offer him some but he takes a sip and says not bad for green tea and then returns to asking, ’What’s this?’ to everything he picks up. During his constant chatter, my wife pops in and starts her own chatter about the mail, or a sewing project, or maybe how I don’t listen. I’m not really sure, as there were too many words in the room. Yeah, the headache is not going away :)

I’ll try again tomorrow. What I can say is I think this is the same basic type Vietnam tea that I love scented with lotus blossoms. Side by side they looked identical. Of course this one is an unscented tea. The flavor is very mellow, lightly vegetal, slightly sweet, with a hint of smoke. Pretty sure I really like it. Tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

Very delicious black tea! Thank you for the sample Marzipan!

Malty, bold, naturally sweet. Everything a good golden tips should be :D

Too smoky for me. It’s my fault, not the tea’s. I will rehome the remainder.

Backlog:

Those of you who are familiar with me are probably aware that Yellow Tea is my favorite type of tea. But it is something that I don’t really want to drink every day because I do love it so much – I want it to remain one of those special teas for me. For one thing, it’s a rather costly indulgence, for another, the tea just tastes that much more special to me when I have it once or twice a week as opposed to every day. (You can get bored with favorite teas too!)

This is a lovely, lovely yellow! Nice notes of bamboo, nutty sweetness, hints of flower and a light creaminess. A better than wonderful tea experience!

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/02/huoshan-huang-ya-yellow-tea-from-what-cha-tea/

So after my morning green tea frappe I decided to grab yesterday’s leaf for a second cup of dark tea. I steep about 3 minutes. The color is a little lighter than yesterday (caramel today – orange yesterday). The flavor is still spot on, except I am enjoying it even more so. The musty/dusty top flavor rests on top of a stone kind of taste. Beneath that is a sweet fruitiness. This is definitely wonderfully earthy. Another thing that I notice this morning is how syrupy thick this feels. Maybe my tastebuds are just ready and primed today or more likely I should have waited before posting yesterday’s review. What a good start to my day. I’m two for two!

Dark Tea! I haven’t had dark tea in a long time. This one dry has an aroma of old damp logs decaying on the forest floor. It is like the log was partially on fire the day before and the rain put out the fire and washed away the smoky ash before I stumbled upon it. Brewed up Western mug style this is orange tinted. The cup smells musty/dusty but not off in any way. The taste is old damp cedar with spicy undertones. I catch some sense of charcoal as I exhale. The earthy aftertaste lingers. I hope to try multiple steeps next time but today I a lucky I finally got to have one cup. Rather enjoyed it.