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Splurged on this one, and figured it be good if they are keeping this vintage around for a slightly higher price. I’ve only begun drinking it tonight, but the aroma and flavor are the right mix of delicate and full. Rounded texture, and the tea opens up at an even pace after 20 seconds, slightly getting bigger, and not revealing its secrets and layers immediately.

Coconut shells and meat comes to mind every time, with some lime qualities that I’d associate with a green Qin Xin they described, with a creamy texture. There are some similarities to Camelia Sinensis Lishan, though this one is more heavy in the coconut department so far. It’s interesting they wrote caramel in the notes because I usually don’t get that for most green oolongs. I am for this one, and it’s spinachy milk water so far that I am enjoying slowly. Kinda reminds me of Irish Cream somehow…exaggeration probably. I will add more to the notes as I continue tonights session.

I saved some for Leafhopper in the trade, and I look forward to seeing what she thinks.

Adding more to this, it does fade out kinda quick after steep 4. I did it again western at 2 minutes, and it was smooth and consistent.

I’m being lazy and writing all the tea notes on one page, but I may do a detailed review of each one later. I got this with 50 grams of the 2019 Lishan, and was ecstatic. This package was my 2021 end of the year self care pick me up.

I’ve gotten through half of the teas so far, so I’ll list them based on the order I tried them in as I backlog.

No. 540 Li Shan 2021 – 1800m
15-20 sec increments, repeated a 20 second rinse 4 times, and then longer minute steeps after based on aroma and color.
Insanely good and sweet smelling, having a great mix of savory vegetable with floral, sweet, and tropical ones. It smelled like fruit loops cereal, and initial steep had a sweet corn butter taste, and later steeps got vague fruitier and more floral with some healthy buttered and sweet greens in the body, bordering on caramelized despite being a greener Qing Xin. Maybe it’s the barley note they write about? Definitely a fan.

No. 540 Li Shan 2021 – 2000m
Same methods as above, and definitely more delicate and floral. The comparison I made in my head was between the lower elevations caramelized sugar, and this one was more like soft, powdered sugar. I got baby’s breath for some of the florals, definite orchid. Zhao Zhou describes this one as greener with a goat milk density to it, and it is. Both teas are very similar, and oddly enough, carry a bit of a chamomile like milky profile. Insanely uplifting, and has a clear meditative quality that’s really nice. I prefer the lower elevation overall, but I think I would have to always get some of this in comparison for a calming afternoon or evening.

No. 547 Wenshan Baozhong 2021
Of course a bazhong was next
15 sec parameters, 20, 15, 20, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80.
LOOOOOOOOVED this one. I was surprised how complex this one was, and it meshed insane floral and fruity qualities that were more pronounced in the lishan. I’m gonna be basic and use Zhao ZHou’s description:
“It has a lily of the valley scent, which changes slightly to other flowers later, slight hyacinth, rose, chamomile. Great experience to meet this tea. Its taste is characterized by deep green notes, florality, a bit of citrus, and later some buttery biscuit. Delicate throbbing, focus. A great accompaniment to hot summer days from morning to afternoon. We hope your tasting is as enjoyable as when we first met this tea.”
It’s still green, but I was hit with jasmine, rose, citrus, butter, bready notes, and freshly steamed and sweet snap pea green. Hugged myself with it. Sad I only had 5 grams.

No. 539 Shan Lin Xi 2021 – 1400m – 10 g
I had 5 grams of it. 20 sec steeps in increments. They compared it to the 2017 vintage, which I had in the previous oolong sampler I got from them, and like that one, had a lot of coconut, butter, almond, and lots of spinachy green goodness and umami. Some gyurko qualities like they describe, but more nuanced and not quite as marine. I really like it, but Baozhong is my favorite so far because of its complexity.

Here’s what I got left to try:
No. 218 Formosa White Jade 2021
No. 341 Taiwan Primeur Green 2021
No. 546 High Mountain Gaba 2020 – 10 g
No. 648 Red Jade Ruby 2020

I know I should just make my own notes for each. However, I can just copy my drafted reviews and make pages when I have the brain power….I mean…“discipline.”

Other than that, I HIGHLY recommend this sampler for Taiwan Tea lovers. I’m a little bit dodgy about the Red Jade varietals, so it will be interesting to see how they taste. More notes soon…I’m behind.

Coming back from Florida three days ago with my Zhao Zhou order arriving!

This was gifted with another Jin Chiyabari First Flush sample with my order, and I was pretty ecstatic. I followed their parameters using 150 ml of water, 5 grams of tea, and 15, 20, 25, 15,10, 20 sec steeping time.

The tea was full bodied and herbaceous, floral. First steep had a citrusy and grainy aroma and thick viscousness. Lemon peel, herbs, hops, bread, malt. Second one was much the same beginning to lean into the beer character. The fourth steep was the most complex and full on tasted like a citrus beer with lemon and orange in a wheaty aftertaste, some grass herbs and hops from the trichomes. Thick as ever. Later steeps grew bitter and more herbaceous.

I’m definitely happy for this one. I’m not sure I’d reach for it, but it’s the kind of style white tea I like that still has enough fruity elements and texture to keep me going. There are more first flush black qualities in this tea than white qualities since it’s not delicate. It’s a little malty, but refined and zesty. The citrus and texture felt great on my throat as I am sick and recovering from Bronchitis and my booster. I wish I saved some for a cold brew, but with how cold it is in Michigan right now, I’m satisfied with my hot cup. Not sure if I’ll rate it-but at least an 80 min.

They had samples!

I was extremely curious about this one. I used to really like matcha, but moved away from it and towards oolong. When I saw this, I wanted to try it out. Like the company owner describes, it’s got the same mouth feel and flavor profile of a Lishan, but slightly fuller. The only issue I had was the texture, and the tea was significantly earthier as a matcha. I used a proper matcha bowl and whisk, 160 F hot water, and z patterns with the whisk and there were no round clumps leftover, but there was a lot of green sludge left in my bowl after I poured some into my cup. I don’t know if I used to much, but the earth and dirt taste overpowered the Lishan delicate elements making me not enjoy the tea as much. The color was a perfect dark jade green, but I think I need to got lighter with the sample next time as to not remind me of the basic truth that I am literally drinking grinded grassy leaves raw.

I’ll try it another time. Not sure if I recommend it yet or not. It’s got a different kind of umami, and somehow, I’ve had much less earthy matcha. I still prefer whole leaf lishan after my first time, yet I still want to give it another chance. It’s more complex in notes than a regular matcha, though I think I might stick to a regular matcha.

Heavy on the floral Dong Ding. I should have had this tea then the MiXiang because the leafhopper bitten version was far better than this one. Red Blossom notes are pretty on point because this one is lead by the orchid aroma and flavor overall.

I used Christmas money to finally try out Red Blossom Tea, and I ripped open this sample on new years day. Safe to say it compares more favorably to higher elevation oolongs than to other Tung Tings. Passionfruit and honey were the most prominent things about this one, and tropical floral and fruity smell. It is on the green side of the oolong spectrum having some Gui Fei similarities, but not as totally as vegetal as other tung tings-maybe squash-like? It was also full bodied from steeps two onward having a honey malt flavor until it got into floral-leaf-oil-water-leftover-tea-phase.

Either way, I was hugging myself while drinking it last night. It’s been my favorite of my Red Blossom purchase so far and something I would consider getting again, though not too soon. High cost of living in California is keeping me from purchasing it as often with my Michigan income.

Yeah, this cold brews well in Florida. Still creamy, still floral, still sweet with something my brain reads as strawberry, even though that’s probably imprecise as a descriptor. I have a cough, so the sweet violets have been an effective cough suppressant. Bumping up the rating for versatility and some medical usefulness.

I wanted to try this one, and lo and behold, a Target in FL had it. Trying it out, I don’t think the tea is nearly as balanced as other Harney and Son’s blends. They usually kick butt with their caramel flavors, but it’s overwhelmed by the Bourbon and the lapsang. I also don’t taste the vanilla. I personally would have picked a Wuyi Oolong to blend with the other Chinese black to make the tea smoother while keeping the smokey taste. It’s not as strong as other lapsangs-I think or guess it’s got some Keemum in it too-could be wrong.

I do enjoy this tea since I like booze flavored teas, but I am pretty disappointed with it and have had better Harney Teas and better bourbon teas. At least the tin is cool. I also think it would be a good for people wanting a non-alcoholic option.

This is officially a favorite and something I want to be a staple. Clearly, a few other people get it in bulk and make it their staple too because it keeps selling out. It is no wonder, though, because the tea is that good. I guess everyone wants to commit cremes. It’s pretty flexible under my tumbler, and less is more with the approach. It can actually gong fu, but western serves it well. I know the jin xuan is flavored too, but there are natural florals that blend seamlessly with the violet, and it’s not an overly spinachy base either.

I’m not sure what to rate it since I’d almost do a hundred, but I’m doing 95….for now. My friends have also deeply enjoyed it. It’s really more of an late eventing tea, but I can drink it any time.

I’m still into this one, and there’s finally an ice cream taste to it from the combo of vanilla, salt, amaretto, and milky jin xuan. I wish it were a regular instead of an overpriced limited edition.

But I’m going to go on a little gleeful ramble. I finally got to see Evanescence and Halestorm live in concert, in the flesh, and was thrilled. I’ve been obsessed with them since I was nine and have had a huge crush on Amy Lee for years, and yet, I have never been to their concerts. I had an opportunity to see them at the Machine Shop up close at a bar, but the kicker was that I was 18, not 21, and therefore not old enough to be there. This particular event was special because I have not gone out to do something for myself or with friend in three years, even before the pandemic, and I finally got to and see two of my favorite bands in person. I also got to see two of Lzzy Hale’s and Amy Lee’s duets, and both gave me goosebumps.

“Yeah, it’s perfectly reckless
Damn, you leave me defenseless
So break in
Break in”

My best friend went with me, and we both belted out the Evanescence lyrics by sheer impulse and after grueling weeks of teaching in December. Of course we were off key. Of course we got some glances, but of course, we weren’t the only ones singing our hearts out. Also, so many people broke out crying when singing My Immortal. Both my mom and I cried at the exact same time of the song, and both of us recorded our voices breaking “And I held your hand through all of these years, but you’ll still have all of me” in sobs.

So yeah, I had a cathartic weekend. I actually like Evanescence’s new album a lot. I know it won’t rival Fallen for many, yet I like that the lyrics have actually matured a little bit from stereotypical angst. The lyrics are still steeped in themes of loss, but they’ve moved in a direction towards coping. I’m going to cherish this memory as one of the most emotional one’s I’ve had in a while.