Daylon R Thomas Send Message

I did this one in my new gaiwan gong fu, and it just kept on delivering. The texture each time was milky and ever floral with some of the apple notes and a vast majority of liquid lilac custard ones. Later steeps were a little fruitier, more akin to mango or a sweeter apple variety like fuji or honey crisp. I actually think I’m on steep twelve right now making this a great tea for your buck at $15 for 2 oz with free shipping. I’ve had other Alishans at the same price that did not quite deliver as much.

Rock sugar vanilla goodness, you are home.

I highly recommend this GABA because very few will have the crystalline sugar notes and mineral texture this one possess, and it is one of the most flexible teas with the minimal amount of leaves used possible. Less leaves and steep time bring out the sweeter fruitier notes, and longer steeps and more leaves bring out the roast and black tea like malt notes. The tea snob rates this one as a 92-96, but my preference for sweet flavor, nuance, texture in the mouthfeel, versatility, aroma, and price makes this one of the best teas I’ve bought so far with the added benefit of the GABA. There is a little bit of funk, but that funk is easily displaced by the unusual vanilla note and lighter steeps. I hope that more people try this one because it certainly stands out as a GABA.

This has certainly improved with age, and it improves on a humid grey and rainy day.

I deeply enjoyed this one last night and this morning, for it lasted me eleven brews gong fu. Unfortunately, I was not super precise in how I drank it, so I am not going to be as descriptive as usual. I started off precise, and then I improvised the rest of it. It was immensely thick, viscous, fresh, floral and fruity. There were some definite honey, lemongrass, apple, lilac, blossom, and other green notes. I actually got something that resembled watermelon later on…weird. Expensive, but very durable. You always know that you have an awesome quality tea if it tastes good despite the abuse you put it through.

I had the opportunity to try this one in a new drinking vessel, a lovely easy clay gaiwan my Aunt sent. I was able to isolate the flavors of this Cuifeng because of it, and enjoyed this tea all the better. I think that the vessel is super small, not exceeding three ounces, perhaps less. I just used enough leaves to fill it up.

So breaking it up, I brewed this starting off with 20 sec. Not to much except coriander and sugarcane, albeit sweet and crystalline. Next was fifteen, and immensely sweet. Brown sugar, lilac, more coriander. Third was 20, and immense lilac and lavender. Four was as lovely as three, being creamier and more lavender like. Five was surprising: cedar. Yes, cedar or something spruce like and sugarcane. Six at 40 sec cucumber, and something vaguely fruity, and hyacinth. Seven-no idea, maybe 50 sec, osmanthus. Eight-one minute or more-rose. Nine- I do not know other than green oolong or cucumber, maybe mineral. A bit of a minty mouthfeel at the back of my throat. Lovely either way. Ten after five minutes: custard, but then mineral water with florals, nutmeg, and lemon hints.

The tea is still going, and it is my favorite of my Tillerman order. This is the owners favorite, and hopefully the power of suggestion is not a cause of my preference. I am going to try the others in this vessel to see how they do in my vessel. Hopefully, I’ll be able to isolate the individual flavors as I did with this one for them. I did not get the “spice” that the owner describes, but the spruce note was awesome. It is a little pricey, but not bad for a good quality Li Shan. A part of me preferred this one to the other Li Shan, nevermind that one is more fruity overall.

This is a very easy drinker, and something that I can see experienced drinkers and newer drinkers enjoying.

Note 1000!!!! Thank you, Alistair, for this lovely gem at my request! Yeah, I wish I got the 25 grams of this one.

Jun Chiyabari is officially one of my favorite terroirs, and I had to get this one for the natural citrus notes. The first time I had it was while I had conjunctivitis and some post nasal drip, and the slight acidity helped cut through the mucus and reignite my taste buds. Before I get too ahead, I’ll describe it by aroma and flavor.

The dry leaves are very pretty to look at. There are greens, blacks, small amounts of auburn, and lots of hairy silver. I would have that this was a black and white tea blend, never mind the better comparison is to a first flush tea. Smelling it, there are some hay and grain notes accompanied by the orange blossom and a savory pastry note. It kinda reminded me of sunflower or sesame seeds, but more so, like a buttery croissant….I know, pretentious.

Anyway, the same can be said after 2 minutes brewing it western. The citrus is more pronounced, but it still has the savory butter quality it had before. Tasting it was the nice part. The first thing I taste is the actual texture, which was smooth and (you’ve seen me use this adjective way too many times) creamy. The notes immediately come in as the floral orange blossom, , and it ends with grains and savory honeysuckle.

The same notes could be said in the second steep right now, but after the orange blossom, there was a citrus peel hint closer to lemon peel than orange. It was a little sour, but very pleasant and still as soft and smooth as ever. Did I mention that the citrus taste lingers on the tongue?

I’m only on steep three today as it is a sipdown, but I got as many as six cups when I was brewing it western. This tea has some good longevity, and the later steeps become softer and more of a white gold yellow, but the taste becomes a little creamier with the same orange blossom and citrusy profile. I kept on thinking of vanilla, albeit faint and perhaps confused with the lemon peel or even lemon grass as it gets creamier.

As you can tell, I deeply enjoyed this tea. It is very brisk as a black tea, but also very bright and on the lighter end of the spectrum. Like anything that resembles a first flush, the notes make me think more of oolong and white tea notes, especially the white tea like dryness, but it has enough body to make the drinker think black. Or those who have a brain and experience think black, but more so think of where the tea actually comes from.

I’d highly recommend this one to first flush lovers and white tea lovers. I think that the profile is sweet enough as a tea to welcome someone into enjoying straight teas, maybe with some lemon or sugar if they are not so easily converted. It is also very easy to drink. This is also a good fit for more experienced drinkers. The might want a little bit more complexity although this tea does not lack nuance. Either way, I might get an ounce to savor myself if not more. I personally would not drink this one super often to enjoy it once a week at minimum. I can also see myself drinking this tea season round, though I’m impressed with how much I enjoy it in the summer.

I finally got to try the tea regarded as the Taiwanese president’s choice of oolong, so I took care to follow the directions carefully, and treat this tea with well time respect. I actually took written notes for this one.

So here it went:
Water just under boiling, 6 grams to my Manual Tea Infuser of 5 oz, or 125 ml.

20 sec initial rinse
Not too much in the aroma, distant florals. The taste is nice, having something like rice milk in flavor and creamy texture with a little of greenness to it. The pectin maybe? Otherwise, some florals coming up like honeysuckle and perhaps hyacinth.

The leaves themselves had a ripe fruit smell like pineapple before I refilled the vessel with hotwater. It had me looking forward to the future.

15 sec
Lilac smell, not too much taste, so I let it cool down. Tasting after letting it sit for a little bit, intense CREAM notes, lilac, lime hint, maybe something like cucumber, and a clementine finish with a lovely and silky mouthfeel.
More cool down made the tea a little softer.

20 sec brew
Fuller flavor with a sweet lilac smell almost bordering on lavender. This steep had a bit of an fresh evergreen note with a long lasting floral finish as well. The leaves definitely opened up this time, and as it cooled down, more fruity notes popped up. It was something between pineapple and asian pear, but it was not nearly as ripe as before. It was almost like a pineapple that was a hair to young to cut, almost white in color. More cucumber flavor and texture in the cool down.

Before brewing, the leaves had an asparagus like smell.

25 second brew
Great nuanced aroma, more lilac, and an almost breeze like presence through evergreen forests before the ocean. The flavor was sweet touching on brown sugar, but more like agave. There was a floral explosion of lilac, lavender, hyacinth, and honeysuckle. I’m surprised I did not taste osmanthus.

25 sec again
The last steep was a little heavier than I wanted, so I went with a lighter approach. It was still generally the same: creamy, floral, lime, cucumber in that order.

30 second brew
Pine, more fruit notes like honeydew and light coconut milk in the texture. A little bit more nectary.

The next three more brews were pretty much the same in flavor edging on a fruitier profile towards the last steep. I got a fuller body of flavor giving me some magnolia finally, and something milky like iris. It was unctuous overall, and the last few brews were quite sweet and surprisingly my favorite.

I was going to make this my 1000th note, but I was a little disappointed with this one despite its longevity and rich mouthfeel. It was without a doubt an excellent tea with host of nuances, but I paid nearly a dollar per gram for this tea and would have liked a more forward flavor. This might change the next and perhaps last time I drink it, but I was expecting more power with the same sophistication I got since I’ve had other Lishans that were just as finessed and flavorful for cheaper. I know I am being brutal to an exceptional tea, but I’ve had better. Perhaps I do not appreciate this tea as much because it is more subtle. I do, however, still recommend it. I got this tea for the sake of experiencing it, and I am glad that I did it once, and I also know that this tea could have been much more expensive anyway.

Not a bad Lishan. I did not quite get the pine notes that were described in the smell, but I got a nice evergreen smell with a little bit of brown sugar and nutmeg. Much of the same could go for the tasting notes yesterday. It was not as fruity as other Lishans I’ve had, but it was certainly sweet with some great nuances in the viscous texture gong fu. The brown sugar, nutmeg, and osmanthus notes were fairly nice and welcoming. It was very soft overall, and I will write more about it in the future since my time right now is kinda limited.

I’ve been drinking nothing but oolongs lately that I just had to try …another oolong. But this is no ordinary one, as it is something new from Darjeeling. And I’ve had a hard time drinking it some days-not something I expected to think or write.

I was very excited about this one because it was something new. Heck, the leaves are gorgeous by having a tea rainbow of autumn and spring colors shifting from yellows, to browns, to greens, to auburns, and whites. The smell has that spicy hay floral note I associate with Darjeelings, and brewing it up lightly western, it has it too.

As for the tasting it, it is aromatically earthy, but also very acidic and slightly tart. The texture is smooth and lovely with a sweet pear note and a very pronounced cotton note that makes it a very summery tea, but there is a green spiciness like a green pepper or dryness that I am having a little bit of a hard time with. That does not really make sense considering the smooth profile and lack of bitterness or astringency, but I’ve had a hard time finishing the cup because I get overpowered by it.

I need to get to know this one a little better before I rate it. It is without a doubt a great quality tea that is very reflective of its Darjeeling terroir, and awesome for its distinctly more oolong flavor profile compared to the other Indian Oolongs I’ve had, but it this tea has a power to it that I struggle with.

I should write more about this one, but I will keep it simple until I find more original adjectives to describe this tea. I got 8 great infusions out of this one, and thank heavens it was an Alishan that had some desserty notes to its back bone. I got this one because I knew it would not be subtle, and like Dave wrote, this is a good converter tea. Drinking this easy beauty was like drinking floral custard, with some nice fruity accents like asian pear and honey crisp apples. There was some lilac, but the florals were a little bit sunnier and more tropical than that note alone. Looks like I’ll have to take my time with it. But hey, this is a tea that I have zero complaints about for its price point.