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Kindly included as a freebie in my latest order — thank you! It’s been so long so I’ve tried a young sheng, so I’m delighted to have a go at this. Prepared in a porcelain pot.

First several pours smell and taste like vanilla sugar in an astringent-sweet broth. It’s deep and clear, pleasant to drink. Buttery and nutty flavors are folded in as if they were made of silky fluff. The tea has a flowery component but it’s light and natural, not reminiscent of perfume. Bitterness is elusive — until it isn’t! Strawberry candy lingers in the aftertaste which later turns a bit acidic. That strawberry flavor is unlike hard candies; it is more oily-tasting? like a Hi-Chew, and later with the acidic aftertaste, it becomes reminiscent of the actual fruit. By the fourth steep, brassy apricot and astringency take over. That metallic taste is one I tend to get from autumn teas like this one.

The ball opens with ease, which is always welcome in this format. Poking through the leaf, I found a fully intact huangpian leaf an inch longer than my middle finger.

Lovely late morning tea.

A customer at work got the last of Earl Gold Reserve this morning, in the original bag, so if he likes it, he knows where to go!

One of these days I’ll get around to taking notes on this tea.

Lot 1308 from Spring 2024

It feels like the strength and power in this tea was expertly sealed into each leaf.

It’s a fun one. So savory, sweet and viscous. Clean, buoyant and coating. Masculine. Cool medicinal. No weak hay/straw white tea notes. Tannins do not stand out at all.

Tobacco, wintergreen, bay leaf and black cardamom mingle with a fresh vegetable stew. Don’t wrinkle your nose. Give it a try.

Billy Strings — Long Journey Home

Found in the back of my desk at work, I realized this little packet that came from my boyfriend’s brother back in January (who got it from his fiancée). It sat there for so long because:

1) It’s powdered green tea. We’ve all had bad experiences with that.
2) The blatant health claims on the packet and the healthy lifestyle marketing both rub me wrong.

Yesterday was an absolute shit day. I’m recovering slowly today. Don’t have the desire to make tea. Perfect chance to try this little gift. I opted for warm preparation over cold.

It pours out of the packet looking like turmeric powder (expires April 2025). A strange, thick white foam forms on the top after adding hot water. Looks like dark, clear apple cider. Tastes like very old oxidized green tea powder, that brown taste, you know it. Not in your face, but that taste is there. The spearmint is nice, not overdone, but my mouth is left with a sticky dry sweetness I don’t enjoy.

It’s overall not as scary is it sounds but never would I buy it and I certainly do not recommend it, not even for situations that might call for such an ease-of-use product. This is trash. My stomach hurts.

This is a dry stored tea evidenced by both the taste and the leaves which peel easily in sheets from the brick sample.

Salty, peppery TCM, spicy redwood. No dank must or earthy wet soil notes. Although it’s a bit papery, that quality melds well with the light, mineral texture. Some small burps bring back the taste. A clean and easy to drink tea. This is the shou pu’er I want after a meal, rather than having a thick, creamy or oily shou as a meal in itself. It possesses a neutralizing energy and acts as a gentle digestive.

The brew can be forgotten about in the pot and still produce an easy drink with slight caramel accent.

Even without oversteeping, this is not a durable tea. But at $0.11/g, I think it’s a good deal and would recommend for the price.

Harsh.

No surprises here. I’d rather have one or the other, though.

Big and round in the mouth, very smooth and thick. Not at all drying; I’d say it’s rather lubricating. How interesting! It’s got a sweet-rooty-earthy-tulsi-clove-spice thing going on. It tastes so Indian. Satisfying and soothing but I don’t know what to think about the mouthfeel. I happen to really enjoy the taste of ashwagandha, so if you know you don’t like it, or its effects, maybe take a pass. Of all Organic India’s tulsi teas I’ve had over the years, this one has the potential to be my favorite. Must buy a box to find out.

Another visit to my aunt’s yields another small stash of herbal teabags from her drawer! And a much needed visit with the family plus an introduction to my newest baby niece who both slept on my chest and spit up all over my hair and shirt <3

This is an interesting mix. Not sure if one teabag can tell me whether I like or dislike. I’m certainly not enamored but it’s a very different teist on both tulsi and chamomile. If I had tasted blind, I might be able to guess chamomile, but the herbal factor? I’d have no idea. It’s smooth and sweet with drying chamomile ‘hay-ish’ character and a peek of honey-pollen. The tulsi blends pretty well, giving an herbal base. Kind of medicinal overall to my palate. Leaves a long sweet and dry finish in the mouth.

Would I drink over plain chamomile? Perhaps if it were what’s available, but chamomile in general isn’t something I go out off my way to buy or drink. Tulsi alone is preferred, or even Organic India’s other riffs on the basil-like herb.

Freebie from The Essence of Tea in my last order, thank you!

Characterwise, I can tell it’s an Yiwu sheng. It has that milky kind of sweetness and a pleasant huigan. The tastes are kind of in a disjointed state with the textural components, though. It’s rather heavy and very drying. And something felt off with the energy. At first it was settling but then I became very foggy and scattered, which could just be an amplification of my current mindstate. I’m tired. This tea is not for me at this moment, or possibly ever.

Of note, I only made it 3 or 4 steeps. As the liquor cooled, it became very cloudy, the murkiest I’ve ever seen in a sheng puerh. Is that an indication of highly active fermentation?