Daylon R Thomas Send Message

This one is interesting. I definitely get the nutty finish and tangerine body that Alistair mentions with a savoriness that I did not expect. Like a mineral, green tea savoriness. I’m thinking seaweed like other reviews wrote. It was a tad bit salty, but still pretty good. I can adjust for that through shorter steeps, but not too much since it worked out for me.

I’m glad Alistair was nice enough to offer this sample. Samples make my world go round.

I’ve guzzled quite a few samples of my What-Cha order. I could not resist opening every package and then smelling every bag.

This one spoke to me the most so far. Oh so creamy, and oh so fruity and floral.

If any one reading this has ever had a good Li Shan, I don’t need to preach to you, the choir. This is a representative of that calibre. It is light and full bodied. I will update the full details later, but know that I enjoy it.

As it turns out, oh so cream, and oh so fruity and floral are the only real description this needs. I did it western again to savor the sample. I brewed it about at 170-180 F and noticed more of the lovely sugar cane sweetness, but again, creamy and floral. The florals popped out more with higher heat for the last session. This tea is a little bit grassy to me, but not as grassy as other gaoshans I’ve had.

I do wish I got more of this along with the Taiwan Milk Oolong Alistair has. I would recommend this is as a solid starting point for someone getting into Li Shans, and it is by no means as terribly expensive as others I’ve seen. Still pricy, but its worth it. I think my more experienced friends would think it’s a solid standard. I’m still not sure how it do Gong Fu since I’m savoring the sample western. However, the western began with a rinse and a steep of one minute. That is one good indicator at least.

So happy that my What-Cha order is here!

Well, this would be a decent daily drinker. Very floral. Imagine the mega floral profile of a Tie Guan Yin with the bitter after taste of green tea. I’m also getting the lemon in the aftertaste that another review described. The body is interesting because it is very, very watery. Like a water chestnut.

My only complaint that it was not as sweet as I thought it was going to be. It’s still good, and could make a good blend. I would recommend a try of this for sure, but Alistair has some better options of the many he offers.

Brewed this the same timing as the previous note, but more leaves at 4-5 grams and more water at 6 ounces. I get a lot of the same things mentioned in that note with the added complexity I hoped for. This still has the astringent/bitter apricot taste that I associate with sheng and some green teas, but it really does come close to a unflavored Jin Xuan in its creaminess along with its vegetative qualities. Compared to other Shengs, this is also loads sweet.

I’m personally not the biggest fan of this Pu-Erh, but this really would be a decent introduction for someone getting into sheng, especially a green tea drinker or a green oolong drinker. Someone newer to tea may or may not like it, so I personally would not recommend it for a newbie.

I am very glad to have sampled this tea because it gives me again a better understanding of how differently shengs can taste. I will have to try the Da Xue Shan and the other samples I have, but so far, I’m really not a huge Pu-Erh person. They are worth swapping and trying, but I don’t think I want to own a cake anymore.

Good lord, I would not mind having a few cakes of this twinofmunin. This is one of those “chocolate note” Dianhongs to the max.

I’m getting a sweet, sweet malty chocolate taste to this tea, which I can only say for a few Dianhongs that I’ve had before. The kind of malt is on the border of sweet potato that you normally get in this variety of tea, but it is there. The chocolaty profile is also there and pretty obvious compared to the others that dared claim the taste. The sweet black base for Thai Iced tea is the only other thing that I can realistically compare it to since it is so “sugary” for a straight tea gong fu.

I brewed this starting at 15 sec with lord knows how many grams-probably 4-5 in 6.5 ounces, but darn it is good. The flavor overall is not super complex, but again, it’s that sweet malty chocolate goodness that you normally get from an Alishan black or a Laoshan in Dianhong cake form. If only this were released sooner when I was looking for a daily black.

I have a lot more to say, but I’ll leave it at this.

Or I don’t. Steep five and six are purely malty. A good malty black, but just that. I’m still impressed.

This one was unusual. Definitely green with a bit of the bitterness that I associate with a sheng, but a lot sweeter with the kind of sweet woodsiness you get from a clove cigar. It does not taste like clove exactly, but that’s one of the few things that I thought of. Definitely more approachable for a newbie with the sourness that you may or may not get from apricots (which could just be me). Interesting.

Thanks again to twinofmunin!

I’m very glad to have sampled this instead of purchasing it. It’s definitely a lot more complex than other shengs I’ve had. Throughout brewing it, I whiffed and tasted zucchini, pepper, and grape skins. Still a bit on the bitter side for me, but a lot sweeter than other Pu’s I’ve had.

I brewed 3 grams in less than 3 ounces at 200 F, beginning with 15 sec and going up in 15 second increments. I got about seven cups before I gave out. The rest of the brews were just vegetal and bitter at that time. Oddly enough, I wasn’t really tea drunk. I got a euphoric buzz of clarity, but that’s it. It could be due to how I brewed it and how much of it I drank, or maybe a tolerance. Who knows.

I enjoyed the experience.

Backlog thanks to twinofmunin.

Well, I need to yet again try this tea again. I used a very light gram amount producing something that needed longer steep times, beginning at 45 seconds.

Throughout the session, I got the same apricot vegetal taste that I usually do with shengs, but in a lighter focus. I did not quite get the vivid pastry tastes that others have described, but I did occasionally taste a spinachy vanilla. Otherwise, it was on the sweeter lighter side, pretty floral, a little bit bitter, and fairly vegetal.

I’m looking forward to trying this again to see if its a little bit more complex.

It’s been a while since I visited this. Brewed it up Gong Fu, 190 F, Lord know’s how many grams, and began with 15 sec, and another 15 sec. I get the same thing that I did last time with a little more of a rosy floral quality. I otherwise taste a clean, creamy, and herbaceous white tea. I do get the hay, melon, and cucumber qualities as well.

Considering that I’m not plowing through other white teas in comparison, and only have a few myself, I’m enjoying this more. Again, thank you Andrew!