What-Cha

Very nice, very smooth chocolate tea. You can keep drinking this for a long time.

I’m finally getting to try the large amount of samples I ordered after having no tastebuds from a cold for almost two weeks. So happy to have them back!

So, I was curious to try a tea from Vietnam as I don’t think I’ve had one before. The leaf is small to medium in size, dark brown with a few gold leaves scattered about. It brews up nice and dark. The flavor reminds me of red wine or dried fruit with some chocolate. Very nice! I was also able to get several steeps. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. Looking forward to trying more of these teas from What-Cha!

Malty and spicy on the first steep. The spice fades in later steeps but the pleasant maltiness is still there. I might taste a hint of some kind of fruity sweetness as well.

A high oxidation oolong from Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi via What-Cha.

This quite an interesting oolong. There’s a distinctly fruity aroma on the wet leaves, but with a savory twist. It almost smells a bit like tomato paste… but not in a bad way at all. It almost smells like a tomato pastry of some sort. This is the sort of fruited-savory-sweetness that I’ve seen in Ceylon oolongs as well.

In addition, this Malawian tea has some character that is not unlike a black tea. There’s a twinge of black tea malty aroma, but it is restrained. The body of the brewed tea is full and satisfying. Beyond those subtleties, this tea oozes sweetness. If pushed too hard, or too much leaf is used, a slight bitterness can set in, but again, its mild and totally manageable.

This is a bright, floral, vegetal tea! The floral aroma is HUGE and unique relative to other highly floral teas, like jade oolongs from Taiwan. This floral fragrance is closer to the fragrance of a rose, or some other deeper, more sultry floral aroma. The vegetal tone is also quite demanding, with a slight peppery edge, but it is not overwhelming. I enjoy this most when I do shorter steeps, which keeps the intense character in balance

Well, so much for waiting for after Christmas to get a new Betta. I cleaned the tank and made sure the loach and snail were healthy and brought home a new friend. He looks almost identical to a Betta I had back in 2009 called Wraith, who was my baby, he was gloriously red with flashes of blue that were visible when he would turn and his eyes lit up teal like flashes of lightning. He was spunky and was far too smart for his own good, similar to how the late Fish Beleren was. So far this new Betta, who keeping with the Magic The Gathering naming convention is called Niv-Mizzet, also is spunky and clever. Hopefully he will last longer, but he is a petstore Betta, so who knows? I have had some live for years and others for a few days. I am going to try to not get attached to soon, but I am bad at that.

Today’s tea come from What-Cha (since it is Wednesday and the tradition must continue!) and is their India Nilgiri Teaneer Hand-Made Yellow Tea, yep, you read that right, it is a Yellow Tea from Nilgiri, which I find just super fascinating! I love when other tea growing regions borrow techniques from each other, it creates some real works of art or at the very least something unique and special. The tea comes from the Teaneer company, who is devoted to small batch teas in a sustainable manner, and the Vijayalakshmi Natural Farm is purely biodynamic, which has some very odd techniques, but hey if it makes good tea then they can be as mystical with their farming as they desire, I am not picky. The aroma of the loose leaf tea is quite interesting, unlike any yellow tea I have had before, it is very herbaceous with notes of sage and pepper, with a lettuce undertone. Notes of spicy white whine and fresh grapes with a slightly wet hay and slightly cooling note at the finish. This is a unique sniffing experience!

Into the gaiwan the leaves traveled, once they were wet the surprisingly dark leaves turned really springy green, quite the vibrant transition. The aroma of the leaves is still herbaceous with notes of sage and even a hint of basil, wet hay and broken green grass, and a finish of honey. The liquid is quite sweet, smelling of creamy honey and broken fresh hay, also a hint of wet hay, it is hay all the way down. At the finish there is a hint of sage and crushed pepper keeping that herbaceous tone.

First steeping, the liquid is pretty and golden yellow, it reminds me of the color of hay. What is it with this tea and hay! Guess what, the smooth and light textured tea tastes like sweet hay, and slightly wet hay, with strong honey notes, and a crisp green finish of sage and celery. This tea balances between green and sweet pretty well.

Second steeping time and wow, the liquid has gone from hay colored to honey golden, it is very pretty. The aroma this time around is a touch sweeter, with hay and honey, and a touch of broken straw as well. There is again a bit of sage at the finish as well. The taste is very similar to the first steep, smooth and sweet with hay notes and honey. The finish is not quite as crisp, more like cooked celery and sage, though it is still refreshing. This tea kinda piddled out after this steep, it is refreshing and light but does not last overly long, so your mileage may vary. I am not sure why, but this tea did not overly wow me, there was nothing wrong with it and it was certainly tasty, but nothing jumped out and grabbed my attention, so it turned out this was a great tea to have as a background tea rather than one that demands my undivided attention. Having teas like that, to me, are just as important as the ones that get jealous if my attention wavers.

For blog and photo: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/12/what-cha-india-nilgiri-teaneer-hand.html

I got more malty and honey qualities this time followed by a smooth smokiness. It actually reminded more of the base of a Southern American sweet tea. Still a great tea to date, but I’ve actually enjoyed the other black teas from What-Cha I’ve had a little more.

I tried it Gong Fu, but I had very few leaves, between2 and 3 grams. So western it is. And it is so, so smooth. I didn’t get quite as much flavor, but the fudge qualities remained definite. Even the smooth, disappearing sugary mouth feel was there and unmistakable. For that alone I enjoyed it. Honestly, teas that yield great results no matter how strong or weak you make them are really the best. The more fluid the brew, the better the fluids you chug.

Thick, creamy, sweet, and intensely malty fudge is what this tastes like. I steeped it for three, then five, and finally eight minutes and I am fairly impressed with this tea. I should have done it Gong Fu to get what other sweet notes are hiding.

I am also very tempted to use my last vanilla bean on this because that would make it even more dessert like. The tea is great on it’s own anyway.

The malt in it is very similar to the Sun Moon Lake Assam, but it is not nearly as astringent followed more by a slightly citrus finishing taste. As for the fudge note, it’s more like a medium milk to dark milk chocolate fudge that is more fudgey and less chocolaty.

Highly recommend.

2 more brews before I sip this down. I made some this morning and it was a pleasantly earthy wake up. Cocoa, malt, earth, and some tannin. I’ll wait before rating it again. It was in the 90’s when I first tried it, now, I’ve been spoiled with so many other teas. I need to write about the Nepal Imperial because I finished that within the week I received it.

First black tea for my Gaiwan last night. I was able to get a lot more sweetness and complexity brewing it with glass which surprised me. I’ve always enjoyed this tea anyway, but I was able to highlight the things I like about it. I did realize why I don’t drink it as often though: it’s on the rich-thicker side. Sometimes, I do not want to eat when I drink it never mind my cravings go crazy after I’m finished with it. Who cares, though. It’s good black tea.

Last night’s brew was amazing. It was a copper liqour balanced by a buttery note of yams and dark chocolate with that same bittersweet cherry aftertaste. This morning, it was just black tea with the usual black tea aftertaste. I used less leaves this time, and steeped time all over the place. It was not until steep three that the character I enjoy about this tea came back. This is just a repeat of a fact that anyone on here knows: a good tea can be altered by a bad brew.

Holy crap. This feels so good right now. OMG. Teagasm.

I used the rest of the bag. So, probably two tablespoons (the leaves are longer on this one) or 4-5 grams. 6 might be an exaggeration. And Gong Fu’d at 5 seconds. Holy crap. Chocolate and muscats. Another 10. Mooorre malty goodness. Another 15. Holy F#$(! Another five with 4 ounces. FRICK. This one is staying strong. REAL strong. Another fifteen at 6 ounces. MULTIPLE TEAGASM!

Okay, enough lewd language. I’m tasting the same notes that I recorded on here before but now in full force. It has a bit more of a muscat aftertaste which feels really great on my tongue and my throat in cold weather. And I had grapefruit before I had this, so that might be an unusually great compliment. Though what do I know about pairings? The taste has to be due to the sheer amount of leaves I used. The last cup of this had a ginger amount of leaves. This one had the leftovers. I wanted to finish this one off and I was craving a chocolaty dark tea…some vanilla might be dangerous with this.

With all that boasted, I’m not sure if I want to increase the rating. I certainly recommend it and would try more in the future. I’m just not sure how often. All of the teas from What-Cha on the chocolate spectrum have been pretty frickin’ similar and I could probably enjoy the same type of mouth feel and taste with the other teas. This one just had a dark chocolate note that I prefer because I like dark chocolate and muscats. Some of you might find a few bread notes in here too. I still place this as one of the best teas of the giant sampler I got from What-Cha. The Qi is strong with this one.

Though I really haven’t fixed a standardized rating system and it will be subjective no matter what, know that this is a good tea and my prior notes are probably better if you’re shopping for it. This was a single moment of need that you suffered reading. Or enjoyed. I don’t know; was it as good for you as it was for me?

I love dark chocolate and this is what this taste likes. There’s even a berry note that sticks out ever once in a while. It’s actually pretty similar to Whispering Pines Ailoashan, only that one has more fruitiness. This one has a greater amount of dark chocolate. I am going to have to try this again Gong Fu to discover whatever notes I missed.

…8 days later, and it is definitely good either Gong Fu or Western. Started with 30 seconds and upped by smell and impulse. Could work at 15 if you used more leaves.

This tea has a wide appeal: black tea lovers, newer drinkers, experienced drinkers, and chocolate lovers.

Really interesting. Definitely roasted with a progressive cashew nuttiness, followed by an intense sweetness. Actually reminded me of a sweeter Dan Cong with notes of riper fruits like a very ripe banana or a plantain. Some might be off put by the ripe fruit sweetness. This tea is clearly from an older plant giving it a lot of complexity that some may or may not detect. More for connoisseurs and the adventurous, really.

As for me, I’m not sure if I’m in love with it. I’d love it if I’m in the mood for it.

I was very tempted to get a larger quantity because I wanted roasty, chocolaty black teas, but after some of the earlier Laoshan’s I’ve sampled this year, I wasn’t sure. I decided to sample it and that was a good idea.

The squash notes were way stronger than the cocoa and carob, and the tea was more vegetal with a thick, buttery asparagus aftertaste. If only Alistair had the Laoshan Oolong. I was slightly disappointed, but I am still glad to have a sample of this savory tea.

BTW: most of my notes are going to be back logs and created notes for newer teas. And there are going to be MANY of them.

I understand why this is one of Alistair’s favorites. Cocoa and carob, thick and sweet indeed. It’s almost powdery in taste and smell. Very nice. It was actually fuller than Verdant’s, but not quite as complex as the one from Whispering Pines. Otherwise, deeply satisfying.

For those who kinda roll their eyes at tasting notes, it is a very savory tea that does actually taste like cocoa powder and chocolate. Still tastes like black tea, but great. I certainly recommend it.

First tea (for me) from the aged oolong group buy. 4.5g in my 100ml gaiwan. Predominant flavor and aroma is roasted corn. The tea has a very nice mineral finish and pleasant aftertaste. First three steeps of 30 secs; 3rd was a little weak so bumped it up to 1 minute for the fourth steep but the roast was so heavy that I went back to 30 seconds for the next couple of steeps.

The first two steeps were the best, after that it’s a little disappointing for me. The roast really overshadows whatever else might be going on with this tea. I absolutely LOVE a roasted oolong, but I’m missing the fruity/plumy sweetness I normally associate with the good ones. Glad I tried this one because I had been curious about it, but I will probably not purchase more.

https://www.instagram.com/p/_hX30fGgD0/?taken-by=curlygc

https://www.instagram.com/p/_hdHwKGgAh/?taken-by=curlygc

Gong fu brings out so many hidden notes. First steep at 15 seconds boiling, then another 15, 25, 10 to try it , 45, one minute and thirty, and finally at four minutes. Honey, fruit, and malt. The fruit notes kept changing. At first, it was like black grape juice. Then apple juice. Or cherry? Raisins. Cocoa. Malt again. What?! Again, Assam at it’s best. Totally upping rating.

More experienced drinkers, please comment on whether I’m just imagining these tastes or if they are plausible.

Assam at its best, and yet another accurate description. Malty tones-pure, smooth, and silky. Maybe some cocoa, but otherwise, different variations of malt. Incredibly pleasant and soothing. I think I prefer the ruby, but this one piques my curiosity. I almost described it being a simple Assam, but the different tones make me question that. I wanted a little more complexity. Gong fu would be the best method, especially at shorter steeps closer to 15 seconds. However, I’d recommend this tea for black drinkers and familiar, pure comfort.