white2tea

Day 18 of the Tea Thoughts winter countdown box. I gong fu’d this, at 205f with short steeps for the first three steeps. I just might not have a palate for appreciating pu’erh. All I got was dirt, leather, a bit of roast, and a faint but noticeable hint of fishiness. At that point, the leaves had opened up so I switched to 175f to see if I’d enjoy it more at a lower temperature. Nope. Although it got rid of the fishiness, still getting dirt, leather, and roastiness. 160f and a very short steep gets me less dirt, but it’s still not enjoyable. And I know these are not the notes that I’m “supposed” to be tasting. I gave up after the fifth steep. Next pu’erh, maybe I try short steeps at 160f from the beginning.

Adventageddon Day 18

Grandpa Style!

This tea, which is the one from Tea Thoughts for the day, was my standout today. I think this is partly because of the weather today which was very cold, clammy and right on that awkward middle ground of not being snow but not being rain either. So, having a cozy mug of something grandpa-style brewed was just well timed. But I’ve been craving a good raw pu’erh for a couple days now as well as, and even though I haven’t loved a lot of these more experimental roasted pu’erhs from W2T I still thought this was very interesting and it scratched the sheng itch I’ve been feeling.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDvFf6my37O/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK16atZKLWM&ab_channel=Tommy%26Roy

2021 Tiltshift

7g mini in my 8oz pot steeped western with boiling water
First steep is very light. I let it steep for longer than I would normally and the ball had barely started to break apart and was still floating on the top.

Flavor is light as expected with an interesting sweetness in the aftertaste that brings to mind fruit, though not a specific fruit. Maybe a bit of a hay flavor as well. Its difficult to say.

Second steep, now the mini has broken up and I’m getting a lot more flavor, though its still delicate. Sweetness is now in the back of the sip as well as in the aftertaste. The maybe hay like flavor is also stronger. The mouth feel has a bit of viscosity. Its not heavy, but it is noticeable.

I’m not as fond of the direction the flavor goes as it cools. It does get stronger and drying and not so much sweetness in the back of the sip. The scent in the cup is absolutely hay like.

I’ve been looking through notes from others to see if they can kick start a vocabulary for what I am tasting. I don’t know if I would agree with cucumber, but maybe green melon might in the aftertaste.

Third steep and loosing flavor now. Dryness is now the dominant sensation and its lost that viscous mouth feel. It literally feels like all moisture is being sucked out of my tongue. Sweetness is down to an aftertaste. Might be some hay in the scent, but flavor is mild. The green melon vibe is also missing in flavor and scent. I don’t think this resteeps well, at least not for western style.

Aroma gives me the impression of cereal. I’m smelling it even as it sits on my desk beside me.

As I’m sipping, there is another scent that comes out stronger than the cereal, but I can’t put a name to it.
I’m having a lot of trouble describing the flavor.
As it cools, that cereal scent dies away. The flavor also becomes a little more harsh I think. Still can’t really describe it.

Second steep. Cereal scent not as noticeable. The other that I can’t identify/name stands out more.
Flavor is definitely better when its hot. Kind of reminding me of a keemum I had once.

By the third steep, flavor had really rounded off and became more muted. Doesn’t have the harsher notes I had noticed in previous steeps.

Sadly this is when work got hectic, its quitting time and its still half full

This note is for the 2024 Moon Waffles sample. I’m too lazy to make a new database entry.

Had this for the first time yesterday, but the day got so hectic I never had a chance to cleanup and post my notes.

I used one square for my 8oz pot. Steeped western style with full boiling water.

First steep and I noticed a lightly sweet aroma that seemed quite pleasant. Flavor was delicate with that hint of sweetness. As it cools, its a little more dry in the mouth with a hint of a flavor that I just can’t quite identify.

Second steep the dryness came out significantly more. I’m not sure if this is the tea itself or because I had broken the square in half to see how easy that might be and so had a lot more leaf fragments.

Still has that delicate sweet flavor. It gives me fruit kind of vibes, though I could not identify any specific fruit type. Maybe also honey notes? This is difficult for me to say since its been a decade since I have tasted honey. The sweetness in the aftertaste gets more pronounced as I go. I still get the hint of another flavor that I can’t quite identify.

The second steep ended up going cold due to meetings. At room temp the sweetness seems to diminish and that unidentified flavor stands out more. Maybe hay? I’m unsure on that. I might just be suggestable after reading the notes of others.

I did try a third steeping, but by then the day was almost over and I didn’t get much of a chance to drink it or think about it.

I’m glad I have enough to try a few more times. Overall I think I am pleased with it, though not yet sure if I am buy a whole cake pleased or not.

I think the vendor description of “Thick-bodied, rich, and herbaceous” is quite accurate and succinct. There’s this mild astringency, and a sweetness that I expect from a black tea, though certainly more herbaceous than of a more typical stonefruit.

It’s fine. Not necessarily the flavor profile I look towards when it comes to tea

(7g mini)
This tea is super interesting. It actually tastes like really crappy, bitter coffee. There’s this thinness of flavor that a poor quality cup has, similar to something out of a Keurig. There’s this very pronounced bitterness that only a crappy diner cup could spit out. There’s this bitterness and slight roast that are lingering and last very long after sipping.

Honestly, in terms of effort and accuracy, this is certainly waaay up there. However, because they were accurate, I rank this much lower since I probably wouldn’t want to drink this, just as I wouldn’t want to drink sh*tty diner coffee.

I’m curious how adding cream/milk and sugar to this would affect it.

FLAVORS: Lightly floral and vegetal/grassy flavor. There’s also this prominent sweet richness to it, similar to cotton candy, though more so an herbaceous sweetness than of sugar. The sheer richness can almost verge on bitterness, which I notice at the corners of my mouth. Mildly astringent.

AROMA: Smells rich in some indistinct way. Like sweet grass. Like a grass dune waving in the wind // Maybe collard greens and sweet pea.

(7g mini)

It’s an old forest. The bark of the trees are dark and wizened with age and tempered by the elements. Much of it has been decayed, some by moisture and rot, and some by fire.
~
Super punchy, very earthy and woody with some sort of light smoke element. It’s like W2T’s Lumbersl*t’s older brother. The one that’s in a biker gang and beats people up.

Grandpa style! Obviously.

I was definitely caught off guard by just how vegetal this brew tasted in addition to having an expected strong earthy and woody character. The top notes really made me think of cucumber skin and raw zucchini or butternut squash before dipping into forest undergrowth, molasses, and just a bit of a savory broth. Very, very different from the ripe pu’erh I’ve been drinking as of late.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCXiGGPSJ5_/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxcKHEHo6gk&ab_channel=merci%2Cmercy

I’ve been on the shou train for a few days now. I finished off TWO samples from The Steeping Room, where I had purchased 3 samples, after which drinking them too quickly, I decided to go for a cake. White2Tea didn’t have any on their site, so it was nice to see that it could be found elsewhere.

This is one of those cakes that wouldn’t, and likely won’t, last long in my possession. During the winter months, I’m typically obsessively sipping on shou, Lapsang, roasted oolongs, and aged sheng. However, the obsession has been more shou heavy thus far, and this one is easily one of the best shou puerh teas I’ve sampled. The tea soup is thick (motor oil thick), oily, cocoa heavy, earthy, and molasses sweet. I’m sure I’ll be back in a few weeks, or months, with the final thoughts.

After a month of rest the reek of fish food dissipated and the cake became inviting. Sticking my nose in the bag brought hallucinations of gingerbread men wearing lederhosen managing a German bakery. Evidence that branding works. They seemingly do both savory and sweet, not shy with their use of salt and cinnamon. Definitely a bakery worth returning to.

Now the basket of dried berries that emanate from the leaves pre steep will certainly please most noses, it’s the complex gastronomic spoon of creamy autumnal vegetable soup when the leaves get wet that will bring forth the fullest pleasures. A medium mouthful that gets things right.

Imagine you are walking through a forest and stumble across a large beehive. You step closer, and then closer. When suddenly the smell of the most complex honey drifts towards, you question, to quote Tom Waits, “What’s he building in there?” I will be returning to find out.

Dried apricots before the water touches the good stuff. Floral cherries and mild astringency when wet. Don’t let your shaky hands drop the gaiwan like I did during my session. Breathe.

Pretty simple ripe, heavy on the dark chocolate and earth. On some steeps, something like dried figs and nuts is peeking through. I’m not getting much vanilla or caramel, which I usually get from ripes.
The best part of the tea is definitely its body, which is very thick and has a nice slick texture.

Is the nose of dried grapes and visions of gyrating California Raisins influenced by the purple wrapper? Possibly. But once rinsed it won’t matter because the memories of grandpa’s cheap cigars and grandma’s cheaper black tea will take over. And this ain’t entirely a bad thing! The tea for the children is the tea for the future, no?

A dark and heavy mouthful that keeps the gongfu going and going and going. Bready, sweet dough. A molasses ale that bakes well in the oven. The longer those later steeps go might just be what the innards need.

Gongfu!

This unique tea that is somewhere between a white tea and a black tea started off softer with warm, buttery and slightly savory notes that intensified over the course of the session into a well juxtaposed mix of brothy miso, green beans, and artichoke and rich butterscotch and English toffee. I love that sweet but salty and umami rich blend. It’s hard to say I’ve tasted another tea quite like it! It’s a good thing I’m working at sipping down some of these minis because I just placed quite a large Shulloween order!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBj4vZKStz8/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJHViRxPIGE

Gongfu!

It’s officially Shulloween, which means peak ripe pu’erh weather, and it’s a good thing too because I just grabbed SO MUCH new ripe pu’erh in my last order. Pretty Girls is always a gem when you brew it up, though! Thick as mud with a semi-sweet earthiness and, dare I say, bit of a buttery taste and texture. The real star is the dark and fruity undertones of raisins and jammy, cooked down black cherries. As far as shou goes, it’s very indulgent and great for looonnggg steeps stacked one on top of the other!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBo1xCVyQyi/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwCiODcHafY