A sample from White Antlers’ Swedish Death Purge — I hope you’re well wherever you are.

A good pick for a Sunday morning in which the valley is again blanketed by autumn’s marine layer. The cool weather complements the scent of the dry leaf which has pleasant aged notes of old books, forest mushrooms, bamboo grove, an old leather jacket embedded with the smoke of a long-ago extinguished campfire, remnants of dried cherry and jerky in the pocket. Overall, the leaf scent is a combination of lukewarm-dry and cool-damp-petrichor associations.

The warmed leaf smells like a dense walnut bread with brown gravy as part of maybe some kind of eastern European meat dish. TCM comes to mind as well. Rinsing mellows this aroma and brings out a hint of berry-ish wintergreen.

In terms of aroma and flavor, it is not a particularly penetrating tea. Most notable in expression are its mild alkalinity and smooth and flowing, almost creamy mouthfeel. Some gentle effects present on the tongue such as a numbing of the tip and a mild tannic rasp. The expression of flavor is a very rounded warm nutty-woody, cool limestone and gentle TCM character with steeps that range from probably 30 seconds to several minutes long. Not until the second steep can I pick up on the low-sitting aroma of dried jujube, olives and latex hidden within the liquor.

I agree with Togo’s description of the energy as sedating and would also say it is soothing in a way that wandering through a foggy old-growth forest with an old friend can feel.

It’s been a while since I’ve had aged heicha and this was a gentle re-acquaintance.

Flavors: Alkaline, Bamboo, Bark, Bread, Campfire, Cherry, Dates, Leather, Limestone, Meat, Mushrooms, Nutty, Olives, Paper, Petrichor, Round, Smooth, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Walnut, Wet Earth, Wintergreen, Woody

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. Yet I persist.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, and Nepal. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possesses off flavor/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s puerh, I likely think it needs more age.

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Sonoma County, California, USA

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