white2tea

Gongfu!

Though the aroma of the dragonball wasn’t giving off anything particularly distinct, this tea really sprang to life after the rinse! What caught me most off guard was how naturally sweet tasting this shou was. Like a rich yet bright Sticky Toffee Pudding or, as W2T describes it, a Creme Brulee – but with a smooth, earthy undertone to anchor the session. Admittedly, I was skeptical about how accurate the description would be when I ordered it, but dang! It’s not pretty freaking spot on and I’m having a fantastic time drinking through this tea while working from home this afternoon. 10/10 would recommend for fans of sweeter leaning or less forest-y and camphorous shou pu’erh!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0ChdnKOP2x/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3neYD17Hrjk

After how many years, I’m back :)

I found a sample of this in my humidor and decided to break it out! It was sweet, acidic, and thick. This tea really blew my mind, and after 5 years, I can’t believe I was sitting on something so remarkable.

Received as a freebie with my last order — thank you!

This tastes just like persimmons to me complete with cinnamon and vanilla undertones. Syrupy liquor with typical sheng astringency that’s somewhat drying; bitterness is at a good level. Easy to drink.

It is good now. How would time treat this leaf?

Yum, yum, yum. Grabbed one of these minis from a TTB this year and I’m enjoying it on this slow Friday morning as I do some schoolwork. Such a deep and lovely pine smoke layered on top of the smooth, rich shou. It’s a thicc one!

Gongfu!

I always forget how sweet and syrupy this black tea is, especially in the early steeps. Though it does taper off into something a little more herbaceous leaning, I really love the initial mix of roses, buckwheat honey, and bright jammy red fruits. There’s quite a lot of complexity to this tea, which makes it a fun one to explore!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8DLxtFOXXL/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD-iSyTirmM

Gongfu!

Steeping this tea up for the first time this afternoon! I’ve had a migraine for the last two days, so my tea drinking has been mostly soothing mints and other herbal blends – not a lot of proper tea sessions. However, I got my most recent White2Tea order in just a few days ago, and the box of shiny new tea goodies has been staring at me begging to be brewed, so I finally caved and picked out a tea for session…

Based on the name of the blend I had anticipated this black tea would lean a little more floral and I’m happy to say that those expectations were met. At first steep, this is a very smooth yet thick and syrupy tea with a really aromatic and potent rose taste and scent. It’s coupled with darker notes of sweet honey and a bit of lush, deep fruit note bordering on something just a bit medicinal. Black currant jam, in a way. The whole thing makes me feel like I’m walking through a rose garden at midnight. It’s enchanting but in a broody sort of way, with surprising complexity.

I’m sure I will appreciate this more when I don’t feel as though someone is driving a nail into my temple, but it’s been a delightful momentary respite before I return to my next pot of soothing peppermint tea.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzzOXILO5JJ/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMf3s_CuCM

Gongfu 6.6gr in 100ml gaiwan. 85°. Rinse 10s then 10s first infusion +5 fot the next ones.

Avendo provato precedentemente il 2018, devo dire che il profilo di aroma e gusto è lo stesso, sebbene ho trovato questo 2017 un po’ più “scarico”. Sento le note di frutta e legno al profumo, mentre al gusto come per il 2018 vira verso gusti da ripe puerh (quindi legno e terra), accompagnato da frutta e frutta secca.

Bianco che non dispiace, adatto per chi vuole un qualcosa che sia a metà tra bianco e ripe puerh.

Sipdown. I don’t remember anything striking about this tea. It was okay, but not a repurchase.

I really liked this and am sad that I have drank it all. Pretty sure this came in one of the club boxes. Solid black tea would order more if available.

Gongfu!

I seem to recall there was a lot of hype surrounding this white tea when it was first released as part of the W2T Club and I have to say that, based on this tea session, I totally get it. It’s a bit on the lighter bodied side of things with a very smooth but delicate creamy profile. Notes of vanilla custard, sweetened condensed milk, and just a smidge of a lightly floral white grape freshness that weaves throughout the sip. Makes me think quite a bit of White Rabbit candies, which is honestly so nostalgic and delicious. It was not the experience I expected to have this morning when I pulled this sample out, but it was a very welcome one!!

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlw0BLzppUM

First time I try an heicha, it’s strange this tea reminds so much of a bi luo chun green tea, but not a fine ones.
It is a bit aggressive and astringent maybe I brew it at an high temperature?

I want to experiment more with this tea

Wow, such a beautiful and original tea.
It tastes like the best part of a white and black tea, the flavour changes at every infusion, gitfing me with fruity sweetness, honey, malt.

Gongfu 7g (dragon ball) in 100ml. Rinse of 15s. First infusion of 10s, then 5s every next infusion (15 infusions in total).

Costs: 0.17$/gr

It’a decent puerh, but nothing else or original.

I want to taste it again to understand more of it’s potential

Costs: 0.26$/gr

Gongfu!

I’ve been enjoying a lot of tea and food pairings lately – this one was paired with some wax apples!! It won’t be outdoor tea session weather for much longer, but with Halloween fast approaching it seemed like the oerfect opportunity to steep up this particular shou. It’s such a smooth, rich ripe pu’erh and the crunchy, pear-like wax apples pair with it quite nicely, bringing out some of the fresher and more bright red cherry top notes of the tea before dipping back into a sweeter but more grounded body. Caramelized sugar, praline, milk chocolate, and carob but also elements of rich garden soil. Just not quite as dark, camphorous, and petrichor heavy as I’ve maybe experienced with this tea in the past. That chocolate and cherry vibe is so good, though!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBw2bJ5S7E8/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rzUJg0Rdc8&ab_channel=littleimageVEVO

Grandpa Style!

This was the first tea I steeped up this morning – just something dark, dense and full bodied to dip into before fully launching into full blown Halloween mode. I love the bitter, earthy edge. Raw cacao powder, beets, potting soil. However, most striking is the almost bright red fruit note at the top of each sip. So fleeting and cherry-like. Blink and you miss it.

Would have loved to spend more time with this tea in the morning, but I had many others to get through over the course of the day.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE927Gulv0/?img_index=1 (5th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88wHgiUAKoI

Gongfu 85°C, rinse 5s, prima infusione 10s, successive +5s. (Infusioni totali: 10)

Secondo assaggio, sto dubitando che il te precedente sia lo stesso (ho due mini cakes diverse).
Questo a differenza del primo è molto più delicato, le note di frutta come albicocca, pesca e un pizzico di ciliegia ci sono, sono invece totalmente assenti le note di terra, astringenza non pervenuta.
Anche al corpo è molto diverso e ha una durata di infusione molto più bassa.

Costs: 0.1$/gr

E’ un tè strano ed interessante, a partire dal colore in tazza, ambrato tendente al rosso, probabilmente dovuto all’invecchiamento.

Il profumo delle foglie ricorda leggermente un bai mu dan, ma con note leggere di frutti di bosco.

Metodo gongfu, 6gr su 70ml, 85°C, un lavaggio poi infusione da 5s e successive +5s. (Infusioni totali: 14)
All’assaggio si apre lentamente, 2°-3° infusione sono molto forti. Un bianco che sa esprimersi!
Tutt’altro che delicato, presenta tutti i sentori classici della sua tipologia, con qualcosa in più che gli dona complessità.
Dopo la 7-8 infusione comincia ad avere sapori di legno o terra che ricordano vagamente un puerh, di solito i bianchi giovani si lasciano andare dopo questo numero di infusioni, mentre qui c’è un cambiamento interessante.

Sono molto curioso di compararlo con il suo fratellone del 2017.

Non ho provato chissà quanti ripe puerh, ma posso dire con abbastanza sicurezza, che questo è uno dei migliori che ho provato, e se penso al suo prezzo non riesco a far a meno di pensare che sia uno dei ripe da avere sempre in casa. L’acquisto di una cake è doveroso.

Provato con metodo gongfu, ho lavato le foglie due volte per 10s, dopodichè sono partito da 10s per la prima infusione ed ho incrementato di 5s, sono arrivato fino a 12 infusioni, prima che il sapore cominciasse a perdere di intensità.

Il profumo è quello tipico di un ripe puerh, al sapore è dolce quasi cremoso, mai amaro
o astringente, sopratutto nelle infusioni centrali è molto denso.

Costs: 0.13$/gr

Gongfu!

This was my first time cracking into this intensely smoked cake of sheng pu’erh! Intellectually I know that it’s the same material in both the cake and minis, but I swear this one has even more bite to it. Really snappy, tobacco forward flavour with a peat-heavy finish. Real strong “sipping whisky and watching the world burn” post-apocalyptic kind of vibes. In, like, as good a way as that can possibly be…

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyy0io6OSvX/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWD5pLXGNhY

Gongfu!

It’s been a while since I had a white tea session, so this morning I brewed up one of these charcoal roasted white tea minis! Admittedly, so far I haven’t been a fan of any of W2T’s charcoal roasted sheng so I did go into this session rather cautiously. That heavier, almost smoky notes of tobacco and char were a bit coarse and heavy-handed at first, but they did slightly soften out as the session progressed. That, or I just acclimated to them surprisingly quickly. The finish was really captivating to me. Ever so slightly creamy in texture with a gradually building fruity sweetness. A bit like plums, with an ever so slight floral undertone.

I thought this was a step up from W2T’s charcoal roasted sheng productions but, as such an outspoken lover of smoky and roasted teas, it makes me just a bit sad that I don’t enjoy this more. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good session overall – something I think is worth trying for the very unique experience. However, I wouldn’t reach for this over most other sun dried white teas or roasted oolongs in my assortment. The biggest question mark in my mind is how this will age. If the roast softens over time, I could see my opinion shifting pretty dramatically!!

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyR0HdUh5z0

Earthy and smooth, with lots of light mineral notes. Maaaybe a hint of molasses sweetness as it cools? Fairly satisfying but unremarkable. It’s been nice on this chilly, breezy Sunday morning.