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This was the last tea I drank in September as I finished my sample pouch on the last day of the month. It was also a tea that I did not really know how to evaluate, and to be totally honest, I am still not certain that I do. In terms of taste and aroma, it had more in common with some of Kangaita’s premium white teas than any orthodox black tea I have tried. Overall, it was a unique, memorable, and incredibly likable tea, but it was also so unique that I could never see myself craving it or consuming it regularly.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf buds emitted aromas of cinnamon, cedar, malt, honey, black pepper, and eucalyptus. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of cream, baked bread, molasses, and sweet potato. The first infusion then introduced scents of orange zest and pine. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, baked bread, orange zest, black pepper, eucalyptus, and cedar that were underscored by hints of pine, honey, cinnamon, roasted almond, and butter. The subsequent infusions introduced scents of lemon zest, cantaloupe, butter, and roasted almond to go with a considerably stronger orange zest aroma. Malt notes belatedly emerged in the mouth alongside more prominent roasted almond and butter notes and slightly stronger cinnamon impressions. Hints of molasses and sweet potato appeared too, but they were fleeting. New mineral, sugarcane, and brown sugar notes emerged along with subtle impressions of cantaloupe and honeydew. Surprisingly, the tea retained its delightful herbal, spicy, and fruity aromas through the very end of the session. By the time I got to the final two or three infusions, I could also still pick out lingering cream, butter, orange zest, black pepper, baked bread, and roasted almond notes that were accented by delicate mineral, cinnamon, brown sugar, lemon zest, and eucalyptus impressions.

A very refined, delicate, and complex tea with tremendous depth, this would normally be the sort of black tea I would be scoring very highly. With this one, however, I just felt that it was difficult enough and subtle enough that I would have to be in the mood for it. Some of the tea’s aromas and flavors (and the way it expressed itself overall) were very similar to both the Kangaita Rhino and Silver Needle white teas also offered by What-Cha, though it also displayed some of the aromas and flavors I tend to associate with many Yunnanese, Indian, Kenyan, and Vietnamese black teas. While it was a very fine tea, it ultimately fell into a gray area for me, and I kind of see it as a tea caught somewhere between two worlds. It was the sort of black tea that had enough in common with white teas to not appeal to me when I’m looking for a good black tea while simultaneously having just enough in common with other black teas to not appeal to me when I’m considering reaching for a white tea. Ultimately, I think this tea may best serve as a gateway black tea for regular white tea drinkers, or it might be the thing to reach for in those rare instances when something truly out of the ordinary is required. All in all, I really liked this tea, but I suppose it just isn’t the sort of thing that is fully geared toward someone like me. Still, I would not caution others to avoid it.

I’m still going through the backlog, but I’m making considerable progress in clearing it out. After I post this review, I will only have three teas left from September, and so far, I only have five teas to review from this month. It may seem sad, but I have had neither the time nor the motivation to drink much tea lately. This has been due to me kind of being on a big health kick. I’m trying to sleep more, take in fewer calories, avoid junk foods, stick to a meal schedule, and work out much more frequently. I just suddenly got sick of feeling like crap and being down on myself and realized that I needed to shake up my routine in order to improve both my body and my mind. Unfortunately, I spent the better part of the last five years settling into this netherworld of just being out of shape enough to develop a few health concerns and feel bad all the time, but not so much that I looked all that unhealthy, and I am now trying to do something about it. A lot of the time that I would have previously spent sipping tea and writing is now being spent exercising and working around my house, so the backlog is growing much more slowly than it was over the summer. Anyway, this was one of the last teas I drank in September. I only had a sample pouch of it, so I could not play around with it much, but I still found it to be a very good Wuyi black tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, peach, and tangerine. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of malt, roasted almond, and baked bread. The first infusion introduced a buttery scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of honey, peach, and tangerine that quickly faded to reveal impressions of malt, baked bread, and roasted almond. Subsequent infusions introduced subtle aromas of cream, chocolate, orange zest, and brown sugar. New impressions of minerals, cream, chocolate, and orange zest appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging butter notes and hints of sweet potato and orchid. The final few infusions offered lingering mineral, tangerine, roasted almond, malt, and orange zest notes that were backed by hints of honey, peach, and butter.

Of the black teas I have tried from Old Ways Tea, this was neither the deepest nor the most complex, but it was a very pleasant, engaging black tea with nice texture and very respectable longevity compared to some of the other Wuyi black teas I have tried. I could see it making either a wonderful introduction to the world of Wuyi black tea or a great daily drinker for those who prefer sweet, fruity black teas. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this tea and would have no issues with recommending it to curious drinkers.

This was the only remaining tea in my July backlog. I drank it alongside the Spring 2017 Farmer’s Choice Baozhong from Floating Leaves Tea, apparently finishing it a day or two after I finished its non-competition counterpart. Perhaps not surprisingly, I thought this tea was very good though slightly less enjoyable than the farmer’s choice offering.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. My brewing method mirrored the one used for the other tea. I quickly rinsed 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water and then started with a 5 second steep. I then conducted steeps of 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes before finishing with a 5 minute steep. The temperature of the brewing water was kept at 195 F throughout the session. I generally only change water temperatures when brewing certain green teas, when I am experimenting with new preparations, or when I feel the session absolutely calls for it.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of butter, custard, vanilla, gardenia, honeysuckle, and lilac. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of cream, violet, baked bread, and tangerine. The first infusion then introduced a gentle sweet pea scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, vanilla, gardenia, honeysuckle, violet, and lilac before hints of green apple, pear, and apricot appeared on the swallow. The following infusions saw subtle cinnamon, umami, grass, and spinach aromas emerge. Notes of sweet pea, tangerine, custard, and baked bread belatedly appeared in the mouth along with stronger green apple, pear, and apricot notes and new flavors of cinnamon, umami, lettuce, and grass. The final few infusions introduced very soft mineral impressions while retaining somewhat pronounced green apple and butter notes. Hints of umami, grass, and lettuce could still be identified in the background with fleeting, ghostly sweet pea and violet impressions as well.

This was yet another quality baozhong from Floating Leaves Tea, though it was not quite as enjoyable to drink as its counterpart. Both teas displayed a number of similarities, but there were also some very pronounced differences between the two. This tea was more vegetal and more pungently fruity while also being softer and less mineral-heavy in the mouth. The overall mouthfeel of this tea was neither as quirky nor as lively, and the body was comparatively lighter too. While I greatly admired this tea’s restraint and sophistication, I preferred the more engaging nature of its less expensive counterpart.

This is a tea that has been trapped in my steadily shrinking backlog for far too long. I finished a one ounce pouch of it back around either the middle or end of July, but quite honestly, I totally forgot about it until going through my review notebook. I am a huge fan of baozhong in general, and I tend to love the ones offered by Seattle’s Floating Leaves Tea. This one was yet another winner.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of baked bread, sugarcane, lilac, gardenia, and vanilla. After the rinse, I found new aromas of pineapple, tangerine, and violet. The first infusion introduced an even stronger violet aroma as well as subtle scents of apple and sweet pea. In the mouth, the tea liquor initially presented notes of lilac, violet, and sweet pea underscored by hints of gardenia before revealing impressions of tangerine, apple, pineapple, and vanilla. Baked bread, butter, cream, and subtle sugarcane notes then appeared on the swallow. The following infusions introduced scents of rose, pear, cream, butter, and custard. Stronger and more immediate baked bread, cream, and butter notes appeared in the mouth while custard, pear, honeydew, rose, lime, umami, mineral, spinach, and lettuce impressions also made themselves known. The final few infusions offered lingering mineral, apple, vanilla, and butter notes that were backed by umami, citrus, lettuce, spinach, and vague floral hints.

Like the majority of the other baozhongs I have tried from Floating Leaves Tea, this one was complex and gorgeously layered with a very appealing and smooth texture in the mouth. As these teas go, it was a knockout and further proof that the more expensive and widely revered competition grade teas do not always offer the best or most consistent drinking experiences. This tea was a winner.

This was my first sipdown of the month as I finished a mini-sample of this tea on the very first day of the month. I received the sample as a freebie with a more recent What-Cha order. As those of you who read my reviews are well aware, I am a huge, huge fan of Wuyi black teas. If I have one complaint about this specific style of tea (lapsang souchong/Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong), however, it is that teas of this type can often get a bit astringent. I did not have that complaint with this particular tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, cinnamon, roasted almond, mandarin orange, and peach. After the rinse, I found hints of baked bread, roasted peanut, and straw on the nose. The first infusion introduced floral scents reminiscent of rose and violet. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of mandarin orange, baked bread, honey, roasted almond, and roasted peanut that were underscored by hints of straw. The subsequent infusions saw aromas of cream, lemon, malt, chocolate, brown sugar, and sweet potato emerge. Impressions of rose and violet appeared in the mouth along with subtle hints of cinnamon and peach. New notes of minerals, chocolate, brown sugar, cream, butter, malt, sweet potato, pine, and lemon also emerged. The final few infusions offered lingering mineral, malt, cream, and roasted almond notes that were balanced by hints of lemon, mandarin orange, sweet potato, and brown sugar.

This was an excellent Wuyi black tea, one that should satisfy even the most demanding fans of such teas. As mentioned earlier, I especially appreciated the fact that this tea never turned astringent. If you are looking for a quality unsmoked Wuyi black tea, be sure to check out this one.

This was my next-to-last sipdown in August. Once I get this review posted, I will be completely done with my August reviews. This tea ended up being a bit surprising for me because I enjoyed it greatly. I am normally pretty ambivalent toward Huang Guan Yin, but this one was excellent.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 208 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cream, raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted peanut and smoke. The first infusion introduced earthy and mushroom-like scents to the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted peanut and tart blackberry accompanied by hints of cream, mushroom, raspberry, and blueberry. The finish was mostly earthy with a dominant mushroom note, though I also found some impressions of wood and smoke in the aftertaste. The following infusions introduced stronger berry aromas and new wood, black cherry, pomegranate, and citrus scents. New impressions of roasted walnut, beechnut, pomegranate, black cherry, raisin, minerals, dark chocolate, and orange zest appeared in the mouth alongside subtle malt notes and stronger impressions of cream, mushroom, blackberry, and raspberry. Oddly enough, I thought I also detected a hint of camphor in the aftertaste on several of these infusions. The final few infusions offered mineral, roasted peanut, cream, and wood notes that were underscored by hints of malt and orange zest.

Unlike the few Wuyi Huang Guan Yins I had tried prior to this tea, the aromas and flavors on display here did not clash too much, and this tea retained a great deal of complexity fairly deep into the session. I noted, however, that when it was done, it was simply done. Once I hit the seven minute mark there was not much left to savor. That is not much of a knock, though, considering that this tea was fantastic prior to that point. If it is still available, I highly recommend giving this tea a shot. It may change your mind about Huang Guan Yin if you are not much of a fan.

This was my most recent sipdown. I finished the last of a 50g pouch of these flowers earlier in the day. I absolutely loved the snow chrysanthemum buds offered by Yunnan Sourcing, and fortunately, the flowers did not disappoint either. Naturally, they were very similar to the buds in terms of aroma and flavor, though I found them to be a bit gentler and smoother overall.

I prepared my snow chrysanthemum flowers gongfu style. After a rinse, I steeped 6 grams of dried flowers in 4 ounces of 212 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 20 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 9 minutes, 12 minutes, 16 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dried blossoms produced intense aromas of chrysanthemum, dill, pickle brine, and bitter orange. After the rinse, I noted hints of black pepper on the nose. The first infusion introduced a subtle ginger scent. In the mouth, I found pungent chrysanthemum notes on the entry that gave way to notes of pickle brine and dill before vegetal notes reminiscent of green bell pepper and hints of bitter orange took over on the swallow. The subsequent infusions introduced a tangerine aroma. Notes of black pepper and ginger emerged in the mouth, and new impressions of minerals, caramel, tangerine, and grass also made themselves known. The later infusions offered soft mineral and snow chrysanthemum notes that were balanced by subtler impressions of citrus, ginger, dill, pickle brine, and green bell pepper.

Much like the aforementioned snow chrysanthemum buds, these little flowers were seemingly inexhaustible. I just reached a point where I could not go on with the review session and stopped there. As mentioned above, these flowers were smoother and gentler than the buds, so if the snow chrysanthemum buds were a little too pungent and herbal for you, I could see these snow chrysanthemum blossoms being more up your alley.

After having no energy and motivation for the better part of three days, I decided to finally get off my butt and get a few more backlogged reviews posted. I finished a pouch of this tea back around the middle of August. I found it to be a highly impressive Yunnan black tea, and that shocked me too, considering that I am not normally a fan of the teas Verdant sources from the Zhenyuan Dongsa Farmers Cooperative.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 208 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cedar, cinnamon, honey, malt, raisin, and prune. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of cream and roasted almond accompanied by a mild sweet potato scent. The first infusion saw the nose turn floral and a bit citrusy. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of roasted almond, cedar, cream, malt, and raisin that were accompanied by hints of honey, sweet potato, prune, and cinnamon. Subsequent infusions introduced aromas of brown sugar, orange zest, orange blossom, and menthol. New impressions of minerals, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange blossom appeared in the mouth alongside stronger honey and sweet potato notes and belatedly emerging hints of prune. I also noted subtle impressions of cocoa, date, and juniper. Eucalyptus and menthol notes made themselves known on the finish and lingered in the mouth after each swallow. The final few infusions emphasized lingering mineral, malt, and cream impressions that were accented by hints of brown sugar, date, raisin, and honey as well as even subtler touches of orange zest, eucalyptus, and juniper on each swallow.

This was an interesting and incredibly satisfying Yunnan black tea. Regardless of whether or not one trusts the folks at Verdant Tea, they do usually manage to source some very good Yunnan black teas, and this one was yet another strong offering. If you are not already a fan of teas like this, then I doubt this one will convert you, but if you are an established Yunnan black tea lover, then give this one a shot. I doubt it will disappoint.

This was one of the last tea samples I finished in September. At the time, it was one I had been looking forward to for at least a month since I had so greatly enjoyed the other old tree black teas I had tried from Old Ways Tea. Unfortunately, this one ended up being my least favorite of the bunch, but it was still a more or less very good tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of raisin, honey, cinnamon, and cedar. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, and malt. The first infusion introduced aromas of straw and brown sugar. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of honey, roasted almond, roasted peanut, straw, and brown sugar that were chased by hints of cream, raisin, and butter. Subsequent infusions introduced a strong mineral presence on the nose as well as scents of sweet potato, orange, and rose. Slightly stronger cream, butter, and raisin notes appeared in the mouth along with new impressions of minerals, candied orange, tart cherry, baked bread, blueberry, and rose. I also picked up barely perceptible impressions of cedar and cinnamon. Hints of blackberry and tobacco lingered in the mouth after each swallow. The final few infusions offered notes of minerals, malt, butter, rose, candied orange, and roasted almond that were backed by hints of cedar, brown sugar, cream, butter, and sweet potato.

This was a very complex and long-lived tea, yet it was also very dry and understated. Even for a Wuyi black tea, the mineral presence was particularly heavy both on the nose and in the mouth, and because of this quality, this tea was more notable for its sharp, crisp texture than the strength of its flavor components. Truthfully, people who love highly textured teas will probably appreciate this one more than someone like me who is more about powerful, memorable scents and flavors. I still greatly appreciated this tea, but I will go ahead and offer the opinion that this tea and others like it will likely not be for everyone.

This was another of the tea samples I finished back around the start of September. It was something of an important sipdown for me as it spurred me to finally admit something to myself: I do not generally care for Keemun Mao Feng nearly as much as I do Hao Ya A and Hao Ya B. This particular Keemun Mao Feng was nice enough, but unfortunately, the most memorable thing about it was something of an off note.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 205 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of cocoa, honey, ginger, and cinnamon. After the rinse, I noted an aroma of pine accompanied by hints of smoke. The first infusion introduced a sweet potato aroma as well as a bizarre stewed tomato scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of ginger, cocoa, honey, and smoke that were backed by impressions of sweet potato and stewed tomato. Subsequent infusions saw aromas of candied orange, malt, toast, roasted almond, and rose emerge. New flavors of candied orange, rose, malt, toast, minerals, roasted almond, leather, and caramel emerged along with belatedly appearing hints of pine and cinnamon. The final few infusions emphasized lingering notes of minerals, roasted almond, and malt that were accented by hints of ginger, sweet potato, and caramel.

For the most part, this was a decent Keemun Mao Feng, but I had trouble getting over that strange and borderline unpleasant tomato presence that was so noticeable in the early infusions. Also, this tea faded very quickly. For what it was, it was pleasant enough, but there are better teas of this type out there.