Daylon R Thomas Send Message

I waited to drink this one because I could not remember if I really liked it, or was meh. Doing it again, I really liked it. Describing it is going to be hard. Butter, sweet potato, starch, regular potato, malt, wheat, florals, caramel hints, rose hints, etc. is in it. Unlike the other teas, the first steep was nutty after about 30 seconds approaching almond. There are prominent florals, and while I have seen some reviews on the Wuyi website describe rose, I keep on getting hit with geranium instead in every cup. There are times where it approaches chamomile or buckwheat (I know, those were descriptions for other teas I’m using for this one), and then it goes back into the geranium ending in a sweet dry bread-sy finish.

The later brews are just as floral. Not loud or obvious while layering it. Oddly enough, I found the other teas more floral than this one. This tea actually had more dimension. I’m not sure I’d reach for this one again, though I do think it’s good quality and recommend it for people wanting something different.

I liked this one more than the Meizhan, but it was also pretty similar in profile in its subtlety. The leaves are gorgeous and uniform, yet not as fruity as I’d think. It’s got nice malt, texture, aroma, and great viscosity, though the flavor slowly develops. I’m writing the adjective ’honeysuckle" again, though the fruitiness is a lot more like a subtle apple and feels more floral than actually fruity for my palette. It gets more fruity after steep three and starts to taste a little bit like appleskin, maybe apple juice.

My parameters were gong fu twice and I used between 3-4 oz of water per 5 grams, starting maybe around 30 seconds and went by that in increments. After a while, the tea just got generally malty and savory. I likely am underappreciating this one, so here it goes: I think it’s good, but I prefer the Honey Style because this one was a little subtle for me.

Backlog:
I finished this one months ago, and procrastinated the other samples. I loved it in my tumbler. Honey developed more slowly, though everything else was straightforward. Malt, chocolate,caramel, rose, butter, yams, wheat, and some other things going on between starchy and floral. I really liked it, and I wonder if Alistair has the same source.

Backlog:

I tried this twice-once as tumbler fuel, and the next time in a quick gong fu session from my Jin Jun Mei sampler.

I was honestly not as impressed with the sampler overall. All of the teas were pretty subtle, and the Honey Style was my favorite. This one was surprisingly the least straight forward, and heavily resembled the Wild Jin Jun Mei from What-Cha. Extremely buttery, light, and floral headed by honeysuckle, textured by savory sweet potato, with some caramel/brown sugar hints here and there. There wasn’t more than that otherwise. No astringency or bitterness, and while it was complex, it lacked malt and some qualities that I hope for in a Jin Jun Mei. Combining all the fancy pretentious notes together, I could also describe this tasting like summer squash, and that’s it.

I do think this was a quality tea, and it’s exceptional if you are looking for something that doesn’t get bitter-I was just hoping for more considering the price tag and varietal. Since it was Meizhan, I hoped there would be some redder fruit notes like plum or cherry. Alas, honeysuckle it is.

Thank you Alistair for this sample. I decided to finally brew my 2020 sample during a cold, winter day with the mega storm passing through as I grade. Japanese blacks are always extremely woodsy for me, and are usually a strong hit or miss. This one is a happy medium with a nice bit of complexity.

I should have aimed to use more water to cut down on some astringency, but I did three flash point gong fu sessions. Eastteaguys florid description is on point. Like other Japanese blacks for me, there is a cherry wood quality to it that is pretty nice, and heavy with plum, dark chocolate, malt, drying straw, and sweet wood. It’s very earthy, and kind of feels like a darker hojicha. The texture is incredible despite the bitterness I got, and the color yields a deep red that’s gorgeous to look at.

It’s a good tea that fits a lot of what I like from most teas, though it’s a little bit woodsy and bitter for me to get more of. I could brew it more carefully next time to improve my enjoyment, but I know how Japanese blacks can be. I still recommend it for people trying out Japanese blacks. I could see this tea blending with roses pretty nicely personally.

2021 Harvest
First time trying out last night, and I was very happy with it so far. Huge, bulbous leaves heavy with intensely creamy florals. Visually, I kept on getting purple, blue, white, and yellow flowers in the taste and aroma. The flavor is extremely faint and light, but the texture is viscous while having just the right amount of floral flavor to taste like a light milky custard. Again, not straightforward in the flavor, but blooming in fragrance with some sweetness in taste.

Not rating it yet, but I like it. Only really down side is it does not last long. I only got 5cups using 1 min, 2 min, 3, 4, and 5, 5 being fiant.

I’ve had this one for a little bit, and thought it was the same as the Milk Gaba. Guess not.

Describing this one is kinda difficult. It’s sweet, and I mostly get corn, squash, heavy buttered green beans, osmanthus, apricot hints, and jackfruit(?) in the notes. Today, I’m getting kettle corn with those other notes after washing it 15 and again 20 seconds with 75 ml, 195 F. Before in my tumbler, I’ve gotten Squash, green beans, yellow malt, and corn. The vintage I have is either 2020, or 2021. I can’t remember if I got it, or if Whiteantlers gifted it.

The weird combo between sweet and savory is what gets me from the GABA funk. Sometimes, it tastes like green and yellow skittles, and other times, it tastes and smells like vegetables. It’s fun and well, obviously oolong that I am happy Andrew offers, though I’m not solid on it. I like it more than some other Alishans I’ve had despite not drinking it super often. Sometimes the GABA funk is too much. Hypocritical, I know. There are also more florals, edging on violet, but I’m not sure.

Well, I added it to expand the data base. I like that it’s closer to the style of oolong I usually drink over a more oxidized version or a green tea. Still holding off on the rating ‘cause I’m not sure if I love it.

Yeah, I’m a huge fan of this one. I currently have 90 grams of it at the moment and do not regret it. I’ve done it western and slopfu, gong fu using 150 ml 5 grams, 25, 30,35, 45, 65, 85, 105, 125, and then whatever getting different notes, but generally the same impressive combo of gardenias and orchids buttered into light spices and toasty chestnut mid sip, in aroma, and profile. The chestnut is both like the hard nut and the water chestnut, which is impressive. Astringency will occasionally come up, but not too much showing up as a light sourness like honey and persimmon. I love this tea so much because it’s such an incredible balance between floral green and oxidation. At one point, I though this was a Taiwanese Oolong due to the viscous body and combo of floral, sweet, and buttery. I keep coming back to it, and I wish I had enough room to include it in the box I sent Leafhopper. I’m rating it so high since it reminded me why I loved Tieguanyins in the first place, and I have not had one this complex and rich in a while.