206 Tasting Notes
Bought a cake of this just cuz it was cheap and I like huangpian. It serves its purpose well! Sweet, brews easily, calming, and no fuss. Not super complex, but it is a cheap tea and it is certainly good for the price. Some quite large leaves with big stems in this cake too.
Keep the good stuff coming, LP.
Flavors: Sweet, fruity, apple.
Flavors: Apple, Fruity, Sweet
This is the first matcha I’ve tried from MK and it’s beautiful. So smooth and soft and mild. Haven’t tried this as a koicha yet, but I think it will be phenomenal.
Not really vegetal IMO like other matchas I’ve had. Definitely get some umami, but not a ton either. Super light flavor and very easy to drink. This is much less intense compared to Ippodo’s Horai.
Harvest: 2023
Location: Kyoto
Powder smell: Smooth, thick, creamy
Flavors: Smooth, creamy, umami, buttery
Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Smooth, Thick, Umami
Another one from Sazen tea for Christmas. First Marukyu Koyamaen tea I’ve tried and I’m quite impressed. This is the most unique sencha I’ve tried, and tastes more like gyokuro than most senchas. It has less umami and more vegetal notes than gyokuro, but is similarly rich.
No bitterness or astringency brewed at 60 C. I brewed the tea side-by-side with water from my electric kettle and my new cast iron tetsubin. The tetsubin-brewed sencha had a very pleasant mild sweetness that the other brew lacked. It also had the slightly off aftertaste removed in the tetsubin version. The only drawback was a slight loss in complexity of the tesubin version. Regardless, this is the most “pure” sencha I’ve tried. Can’t reallly describe it otherwise. Lasted 4-5 infusions.
I love this tea and will enjoy drinking the rest of it quite a bit. However, I would not purchase it again for the price ($0.88/g).
Location: Uji, Kyoto
Dry leaf: Grass, umami
Wet leaf: Grass, umami, egg
Flavors: Grass, umami, egg, vegetal
Flavors: Egg, Grass, Umami, Vegetal
The last of my WFT samples to try. This one is super super fruity on the nose, less so on the palate but still with a good bit of papaya. Another really good tea from WFT. I love love love this company and they will for sure be getting many repeat orders. Best tea company. Period.
No astringency or bitterness. Mild sweetness. Lasts 7-8 infusions. Great balance of flavors. Fairly complex. Mouthfeel is nothing remarkable.
This one is the third cultivar among the batch and it is also a “dong pian,” which means it was harvested in winter. Finally, the tea is grown at 500 m. Surprisingly, this tea still tastes like a > 1000 m Qing Xin. Most similar to Shan Lin Xi teas IMO.
Harvest: Winter, 2022
Location: Bagua Shan
Elevation: 500 m
Cultivar: Siji Chun
Dry Leaf: Papaya, cream
Wet Leaf: Papaya, cream, vegetal
Flavors: Papaya, cream, fruity, sweet, vegetal, floral.
Flavors: Cream, Floral, Fruity, Papaya, Sweet, Vegetal
Interesting! I’ve always overlooked this tea because of the price. Most Si Ji Chun teas aren’t very exciting, but I’m not surprised that Wang’s is different. :)
Yes I think it’s pretty nice for the price! Can’t believe how similar it tastes to some of the high mountain teas.
This was a free sample with my Christmas-gift order of teas from Sazen. Figured I’d start with the sample cuz why not :). This one is, I suppose, a kabusecha. But I say that simply because of the price and it has been shaded for under 20 days. They don’t specify which type of tea they consider this, but it certainly has gyokuro characteristics.
For the price, this tea is really quite amazing. Absolutely no bitterness or astringency, even brewed at 70 C. Nice lingering sweetness. Fairly well-balanced with fairly light flavor profile. This would be a wonderful option for a daily drinker with my next purchase from Sazen.
Harvest: May, 2023
Location: Tongu, Tsuchiyama-Cho, Koka-shi, Shiga Prefecture
Altitude: 260 m
Cultivar: Saemidori
Shading: 18 days
Dry leaf: Umami, grassy
Wet leaf: Same
Flavor: Grass, umami, sweet, vegetal
Flavors: Grass, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal
Free sample sent with my first order from WFT. This one is a fruit bomb in the dry leaf, then becomes more floral and vegetal in taste and smell of wet leaves.
Mild sweetness, no bitterness or astringency. Flavors fairly intense for a high mountain oolong. Aftertaste lingers for a while and is mostly comprised of savory saline/vegetal flavor. The sweetness is on the front/middle of the palate. Longevity is 5 infusions.
Long Feng Xia is a mountain in the Shanlin Xi area. I’m a big fan of Shanlin Xi teas, and this is no exception :).
Harvest: Spring 2023
Location: Long Feng Xia, Shanlin Xi
Elevation: 1900 m
Cultivar: Qing Xin
Dry leaf: Papaya, tropical fruit, melon
Wet leaf: Papaya, tropical fruit, floral, vegetal
Flavors: Floral, sweet, savory, umami, vegetal, saline, cream
Flavors: Cream, Floral, Melon, Papaya, Saline, Savory, Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Umami, Vegetal
The most distinct of the WFT oolongs for sure. Very complex as others have mentioned. This is the only one that is not a high mountain oolong either. Also a different cultivar (Xue Li = “Snow Pear”). The difference is not only notable in the flavor, but in the liquor as well, which is darker yellow and not as clear as the high mountain oolongs.
Medium bitterness, no astringency. Medium-low sweetness. Aftertaste lasts multiple minutes and is salty and sweet.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Cultivar: Xue Li
Location: Gangkou, Manzhou Township, Taiwan
Dry leaf: Floral, seaweed
Wet leaf: Salt, seaweed
Flavors: Floral, seaweed, fruity, umami, mung bean, vegetal, sweet, salty
Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Mung Bean, Salty, Seaweed, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal
Interesting! I’ve never had a Gangkou oolong because I was warned away by the bitterness.
There is definitely some mild-moderate bitterness, but it’s not so bad as to take away from the tea in my opinion. And I think I’m fairly sensitive to it. I don’t drink things like coffee or IPAs (and lots of young shengs) because they are too bitter for me :).
I drink both coffee and IPAs on occasion, but don’t enjoy bitterness in my oolongs! Glad it isn’t a deal breaker in this one.
I totally agree! Not generally something I appreciate in any tea, but the occasional touch of bitterness doesn’t bother me much :).
Another very nice tea from WFT. One of my last samples. It’s okay though because I have more coming in the mail ;). This one is great, but is overall not as complex as some of their others. Certainly a nice intense flavor that lasts ~7 infusions, though.
Minimal to no sweetness. No bitterness or astringency. Mouthfeel is creamy. Aftertaste is citrusy and lasts awhile.
Harvest: Spring, 2023
Location: Qi Lai Shan
Elevation: 1900 m
Cultivar: Qing Xin
Dry leaf: vegetal
Wet leaf: vegetal, barley
Flavor: vegetal, barley, lemon, cream.
Flavors: Citrus, Cream, Lemon, Roasted Barley, Vegetal
JEEZUM this is good. WFT has the highest quality tea of any vendor I’ve tried. This one is complex beyond it’s competitors. Savory, vegetal, floral, fruity, sweet, creamy all combined. Crazy mouthfeel, huigan, aftertaste. Perfect balance.
Medium-low sweetness, no astringency or bitterness. Longevity is 6 infusions. Mouthfeel is quite buttery. Aftertaste lasts minutes. Super yummy and barely any faults.
The most unique aspect of this tea is that every steep is a bouquet of new flavors. Truly the perfect tea for gongfu.
Harvest: Winter 2022
Cultivar: Qing Xin
Location: Da Yu Ling
Elevation: 2500 m
Dry leaf: papaya, mango, tropical
Wet leaf: papaya, mango, tropical, vegetal, floral
Flavor: Cabbage, vegetal, floral, buttery, creamy, savory, sweet, sugar, salt, mist, rainforest.
Flavors: Butter, Cabbage, Cream, Floral, Fruity, Mango, Papaya, Rainforest, Salt, Savory, Sugar, Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Vegetal
Yes, Wang has some awesome teas! I had a different harvest and didn’t get those tropical flavours, but Daylon and I were also raving over those mist/rainforest/ethereal notes. I hope you got some of their FSS.
IK the rainforest notes are wild! Like you’re transported there in the middle of a foggy, cloudy afternoon.
Another sample I took home from Dobra. Have been away from my tea the last week as I am in the ICU and worked 90+ hrs last week ughhh. But today is my day off and I’m reunited at last!
This is my first Bi Luo Chun and I’m intrigued. Rolled into curls, but not balls like a ball-rolled oolong. It is primarily savory and not particularly “green” tasting like other green teas. The smallest leaved green tea I’ve tried.
No bitterness or astringency. No sweetness either. I don’t get any fruity notes as some websites say Bi Luo Chun often has. Longevity is 5+ infusions. Aftertaste is rich and creamy.
Dry leaves: Vegetal.
Wet leaves: Same
Flavor: Savory, nutty, grass, creamy.
Flavors: Cream, Grass, Nutty, Savory, Vegetal
Enjoying it as well. Cheap, solid huangpian.