314 Tasting Notes

85
drank Furyu: Tosa Bancha by Yunomi
314 tasting notes

Thanks to Liquid Proust for the sample

The dry tea is interesting: perfect leaves with a bit of stem attached. They appear to have no processing other than being dried. Tastes like a green tea crossed with a white: Smells more floral than vegetal, with a predominantly grassy flavor. My favorite style of green. For whatever reason, this tea made me want to meditate. Very relaxing. I’m not a big fan of green teas, but this could make me a convert. 2nd steep was less interesting

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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84

2015 harvest from Liquid Proust’s group buy.

This tea comes in balls of roughly 2 grams. I used 2, with multiple steeps of roughly 1 minute each. The first steep was pretty much wasted, since the balls stayed solid and the tea was very weak. The balls didn’t fully break up until the 3rd steep, though the second steep was reasonably strong. Still reasonably flavorful in the 4th steep (2 minutes).

The taste is earthy, with some vegetation flavors. Not what I think of when I drink an oolong. Nothing really wrong with the tea, but it didn’t excite me.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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I’m going to combine two reviews. In March 2015 I bought a cake of this tea and tasted it twice soon after delivery. I loved it. It had a light honeysuckle flavor, with underlying depth. Similar to a white tea on top but with wood/straw puerh character adding depth. Later steeps added some vanilla flavors. It was rich and had quite a bit of cha qi.

Fast forward to Dec 2015: I have stored this with other, stronger sheng since March at 60% RH. The tea has lost the lovely floral character that made it special, though has more classic puerh flavors that make it a good but not great tea. It is quite a bit lighter than my other teas so I’m not sure how it will age.

I initially rated the tea a 93. Now it is probably an 87. I blame my storage, since I had a 2011 in late 2014 that was delicious. I suspect that the down-side of that wonderful pumidor smell is that the teas exchange flavors. In theory this imparts richness, but it may also detract from the unique character of each tea (one reason why I don’t use my yixing pot very much). In the case of this tea, it was that delicate floral flavor that made the tea special.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 g 2 OZ / 59 ML

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85
from the aged oolong group buy*

!st steep at 200F (1 m): Very sweet and smooth. Flavor reminds me a bit of a nougat candy, though not exactly. This is very good. 2nd (60s): Interesting aroma: I think I’m smelling the roast, but it’s much more complex than I’m used to. Taste is big: opens up in the mouth, then collapses into a really nice finish. The flavor is dried fruit: raisins, dates. Slightly bitter as the cup cooled. 3rd (60s): The nose is richer than before but the taste has faded a bit. Not weak; just less powerful than the second steep. The finish is still complex, powerful and long, with just a hint of bitterness. I’m also feeling some cha qi. 3 more steeps were fairly nice but not special.

Another very interesting tea. My rating is more a grade for being interesting as being pleasant to drink, though I did enjoy the flavor. I’m thinking of buying more.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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87

*From the aged Oolong group buy *

Strange: has a big hunk of gourd skin in the package ( I wasn’t brave enough to steep any of the rind, but may try it in the next sample) 1st steep: (60s) leads off with a strong roasted, almost burnt taste, almost like French roast coffee. This is quickly followed with a mellow caramel flavor that makes me think sweet, even though I don’t actually have any perception of sweetness. The caramel fades in the finish, but a hint is still present. The finish seems more like nutmeg. Decent texture in the mouth: just a bit of viscosity. Fairly consistent through tasting as the tea cools, but when it got near room temperature it became bitter.

I waited about 10 minutes before the second steep, as the tea leaves had not yet unfurled. 2nd (60 s): Very roasty in the nose, but the immediate sensation on first sip is sweetness. The taste is tar and leather. I don’t notice the caramel. Big finish. Later in the cup the tar is starting to be replaced with caramel; the taste is very smooth and mellow. I delayed about 30 minutes for the 3rd steep (60 s) to let the aftertaste of the last cup fade away. This is mellow with mild leather/caramel flavors. Not at all burnt or toasted. The finish seems almost bigger than the taste at this point. I gave the 4th steep at little extra time, but there wasn’t much left.

I really enjoyed tasting this tea, but the initial roasted flavor was a bit too much for me. I used 3 g of tea in 6 oz of 190 F water.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML
boychik

I usually brew boil with heavy roasted TGY, rinse and very short steeps. I’m getting some bitter melon TGY from YS . Hopefully it’s good

Liquid Proust

I put some skin in every package :)

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89

From the aged oolong group buy.

I am starting to love aged oolong. I usually steep oolongs with 3 grams in 6 oz with 1-minute steeps, but started out with a 20 second steep after Liquid Proust’s warning about the strength of the tea. I didn’t find it at all strong and after this first steep went back to my usual 1 minute steeps. I think it’s just that LP is a green tea drinker and I prefer blacks, though we both love puerh and oolongs.

The first steep started toasty, ended grassy, with a very long finish. 2nd (60 s): Back to my normal steep routine. Not at all overpowering. Nutty aroma, medium roast flavor with hints of nut and tropical fruit. Good finish. As the tea cooled it became much less interesting. Just a plain medium roast. 3rd (60s): This time the roast is a bit too powerful, smothering the fruit. Later steeps smoothed out, showing rich, complex flavors without the roasted component (other than a bit in the nose).

Usually oolongs peak for me in the second or third steep, but this tea just kept getting better. The early steeps had sharply defined flavors that sometimes seemed at odds with each other. The later steeps were much more integrated, with the rough edges all smoothed off. I drank this over a period of two days, with other teas in between, so lost track of the number of steeps. I think i’m on about the 6th or 7th steep and the tea shows no sign of fading, even though I’m still only doing 60 second steeps. It is just a pleasure to drink.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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88

I recently exhorted people to write reviews of the TTB teas, so realized I need to set a better example. Hence, this review. In fairness, I’ve been inundated with other teas: two group buys from Liquid Proust, and one from Emmett, and two groups of samples I wanted to get through before Black Friday. However, it is now after Black Friday, and I’m out of excuses.

This is a tea I set aside before I sent out the box. I’d never had Essence of Tea puerh before so I was looking forward to trying some of their teas. The first steep caught me unawares, as it’s been a long time since I’ve had any Bulang, and this was a really powerful example. I was initially a bit put off by the earthy, slightly meaty nose, but the taste was great: very complex with earthy/leather flavors and a long, slightly sweet finish. As the cup cooled, the aroma changed from earthy to spicy. The second steep (10 s) was similar to the first steep. Very complex. I’m really starting to notice the cha qi. I was feeling light-headed when I prepared the second steep, and now I’m feeling it throughout my body: Very relaxed and detached. The mouth-feel is thick; almost chewy. The finish is so powerful that there is no obvious change in taste when I swallow (or even a minute later). The 3rd steep (20 s) has a rich meaty nose. The taste is wet wood with slight bitterness on the tongue. 4th (30 s): Wet wood with increasing bitterness but still interesting and enjoyable. I’m still working on the 6th steep but the trend seems to be for the flavors to become more woody and somewhat bitter. I would say that the tea peaked during the second steep. It is still good now but less exciting. I realize that I need to clarify that the bitterness was not excessive and I suspect many reviewers would have referred to this as “good bitterness”. To me that’s just a contradiction in terms.

I was surprised to see that this tea was only 3 years old. I would have guessed closer to 10. I guess that’s the effect of Malaysian storage. I’m not a fan of bitter teas, and marked this down a bit because of the bitterness. However, I really loved the complexity and the subtle change of flavor from cup to cup and even within the same cup as the tea cooled. Someone who likes “good bitterness” might really love this tea.

Thanks again to David and Yingxi at Essence of Tea for contributing this tea to the travelling tea box.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 g 2 OZ / 59 ML

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89

From the Aged Oolong Group Buy I didn’t see this in Steepster, but hope I haven’t created a duplicate.

This is pretty much the exact opposite to the last aged oolong I tried. It is light and fruity, and doesn’t really seem to be aged.

1st (60 s steep): Nice floral/fruity nose. The tea doesn’t taste old at all. It has a nice texture; grassy with a hint of citrus and flowers. Very smooth with a long pleasant finish. The only signs of age are that it is very smooth, and the length of the finish. This is pretty much the opposite of my last aged oolong: very light and delicate. It has good depth of flavor but otherwise isn’t that different from a fresh oolong.

2nd steep (60 s): Spice has replaced the citrus and flowers. The grassiness is still there. As I sip, I notice a slight bitterness, and as my perception of it increases, I enjoy the cup less. 3rd (1 minute): Similar to the second steep but no bitterness. Very good, but I don’t really see the difference between this and a newer tea. 4th steep (2 minutes): smooth, slightly buttery texture. Good finish.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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This one is strange. Black as coal. Form is a strongly compressed cake that flaked and powdered under my pick. Like shou, but even darker. I wound up with 3 chunks and a bunch of dust.

The aroma is burnt, with an undercurrent of caramel. Taste is hard to describe. The burnt taste seemed to float at the front of my mouth while the caramel moved back to my throat. The burnt flavor faded then reappears in the finish (which is very long). This one is REALLY not for the light-roast crowd! I messed up the second steep and did about 5 minutes. Really strong but not bad. The flavor rivals espresso for intensity but without too much acid or bitterness. Some bitterness does appear in the finish and it became more bitter as it cooled. 3rd steep is effectively about the 5th steep due to the long second steep. Still strong. Nose very burnt but there is a sweetness developing in the taste. Drying out my throat.

5th steep is sweeter and less roasted. I’m liking it better, though it is also a bit simpler. Still smells like burnt toast. At this point I stopped taking detailed notes but kept drinking. I’m at about the 10th steep and the harsh burnt flavor is just about gone. What is left is a complex mix of tobacco and leather. The taste is still strong, and the finish is unbelievable. I’m also getting light-headed from the cha qi.

In a way, I was lucky to oversteep the tea. Otherwise I would probably have given up after about 4 steeps, as the flavor, while interesting was not all that pleasant. However, I’m enjoying the later steeps very much and while I need to stop because I’m probably way over my caffeine quota for the day this tea doesn’t want to quit. I’m not giving a numerical rating but this started out as about an 84 just because it was interesting, dropped into the high 70s because I got tired of the burnt flavors, but is now in the high 80s because it is just so darn pleasant to drink. With the exception of the second steep, all my steep times have been about 1 minute. I normally increase oolong steep times after the third but haven’t felt the need for this powerful tea. I still have a few grams so may try this with much shorter steeps next time.

Thanks again to Liquid Proust. this was a lot of fun, and a tea I never would have tried on my own!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 6 OZ / 177 ML
Haveteawilltravel

hahaha, I was going to say “this is an usual tea for you”, and then I read the last sentence. This does sound interesting.

Liquid Proust

This one smells strong and nasty but doesnt taste as strong as you’d think from the aroma. I smelled it and was upset until I drank it.

Dr Jim

I was semi-upset until the 5th steep. I had more today (lost track of steeps) and will probably be drinking it tomorrow. The current drawback is that I don’t have that many pots and this is tying one up.

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drank 2014 New Amerykah 2 by white2tea
314 tasting notes

From the Puerh TTB 3. Thanks to W2T for donating the sample

I’m furiously drinking up samples to try to figure out what to buy on Black Friday. This is a tea I’ve considered buying so was anxious to try it. The initial steep featured light straw and smoke. Astringent but not bitter. Lots of tannin in the finish. By the 3rd steep it was much more interesting: layers of wood and tobacco, with a metallic flavor on the tip of my tongue. Very astringent finish; so much so that to makes the tea less pleasant. The cha qi is overwhelming; very strong. I think the tea is in an awkward point in development. Probably needs more age. 4th (30m): Seems to be getting more bitter/astringent.

A lot of reviews talk about “good” bitterness, but I’m just not into bitter. I got the feeling that this tea was in an awkward phase, where the various components just weren’t working together. I suspect it needs aging, but just don’t know enough about puerh to know how it will turn out in 10 years (which of course depends on how it is stored). I’ll be looking for a more accessible tea to spend my allowance on.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 g 2 OZ / 59 ML

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Bio

Retired engineer/physicist.
My ratings will usually be based on multiple tastings. Oolong teas are generally 3 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 1 minute. Black teas are 1.5 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 3-4 minutes. Pu-erh is 3 grams in 2.5 oz, generally 10, 10, 20, 30, 60 sec. Since I use less tea, 6 sessions is equivalent to twice that many for people who use 7 grams of tea.

My numerical ratings are all based on how much enjoyment I took from the tea. Since I prefer blacks and oolongs, they will receive higher scores. I also give a couple of extra points to decafs, just because I can drink them in the evening without staying up half the night. I don’t dislike flavored teas, but find that they lack the complexity of finer teas.

90-100 = superior, worth a high price
80-89 = Excellent. Will buy again
70-79 = Good tea, but probably won’t buy
60-69 = Nothing really wrong, but…
Below 60 = Wouldn’t drink again. Probably didn’t finish

I am having computer problems and my password is lost. If my computer dies, I won’t be able to access my account, so will need to start a new account as Dr_Jim. This statement vouches for my new identity.

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Massachusetts

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