298 Tasting Notes
4.3g, 90 mL zzz
wet: sour, light smoke, fruit, plum. YQH storage surprisingly not dominant.
1. savory, with Yang storage undertones. medicinal and slight downing and heat. Very light sweetness on finish, w almost alcohol-tinged taste.
2. more intensely bitter and pill-like. coppery taste and subtle Yang storage note
3. very smokey and meaty. still sth wine-like. mushroom-y bitter finish.
4. a bit watery and mushroom-y. Leafy coppery mid notes and some sour medicinal taste
5. a bit sweet
6. leafy and bitter. stopped here to leave for work.
well, what a surprise. this wasn’t half bad this time, though it’s been a couple years. Very savory overall, with a strong bitter core, though it doesn’t resolve that nicely. was very alert at work all day, so the caffeine is certainly intact.
4.8g, 500ml porcelain pot
Wet: woody, shou like
Some spices, woody, sweet
Broadly a light shou like taste. Material is huge and so based on what ppl have said online too, wonder if this just needs a ton more heat than standard brewing usually gives. I guess the ratio was also very low here, but maybe will just boil some from the outset next time if I’m feeling lazy
4.8g, 90 mL ZZZ
Wet leaf: smoke, barnyard
1st: light, quick sweetness. Had a banana beforehand so maybe not as much taste. Scalp numbing
2nd: got distracted and steeped far too long (few min). Immediate strong bitterness and a bit drying. Some sweetness after
3rd: stewed taste, bit drying still. Something like mothballs in the aftertaste. Some wall staring
Did a couple more steeps and then it fades away to a leafy WS storage taste. Basically some neutral head sensation? But also had caffeine earlier this morning too. Lackluster taste was sort of my fault. Will avoid eating bananas beforehand next time.
4.3g, 90 mL gaiwan.
wet leaf: smoky, barnyard, medicinal. WS storage note, sour, leather (?)
1. bitter/astringent upfront, some sour. smoke in aroma that reminds me of smoked kurobuta mini hot dogs at asian groceries. sweet finish, woody middle.
BBQ-y taste. quieting. did not steep for too long or take notes after since had guests over. Overall, I think it can still settle a bit. Some warmth.
Tongmu charcoal roast black tea
5/90 ml gaiwan
Wet leaf: dry smoky, sweet, fruity
Free sample from a forgotten order that I’ve been meaning to get around to… label says 2022 lol.
1. Oversteeped. Sour upfront and a little malty. Hint of bitter and florals somewhere. Tiny amount of sweetness on the finish
2. Unassuming. Probably understeeped. Just a bit sweet and slightly astringent
3. Sweet
4. Sort of dead. Stopped here
So a rinse probably wasn’t necessary here and took away from the tea. This is also 3 years old now, but certainly did not stand out here.
2017 wild LCSX
6g, 90 mL gaiwan
Wet leaf: sweet, baking spices, graham cracker, smoke. Gaiwan lid once cooled is a dark inky sweet smell
1. Having finished these cups, something in the lingering aftertaste is a dead ringer for not-sweet bland purple dragon fruit. Sometimes those are duds with a particular taste that is also here
Octagon cup: Medicinal, smoke, sour, sweet quickly after. Slight cooling and green taste in finish
Cup F: more woody sour. Not as rich, but maybe just from having cooled more?
Kangiiten tall cup: also more sour woody. Maybe taste buds just saturated now
2. slight bitter, medicinal. Drank quicker and i think previous differences are due to temp. Oops. Sugary aftertaste lingers a bit and somewhat extends to throat
3 and 4. Woody
Ended w half cup of steep one that brought back all the highlights: inky florals, minty, sweet, wood. Nice way to finish
thermos’d the leaves and ended with a nice mug. nice tea, though not quite berry forward as the notes I saw online. maybe those are fading? it is approaching year 8 after all…
5.1g, Fu San Liao cha
135 ml Zini
Wet leaf: marshmallow sweet, woody, medicinal sour tinge
1. Good texture. Woody medicinal, some sweetness and minerality (rain on concrete like?). Sleepy
2. Shou like taste. Feeling is calm and warming, mostly downwards.
3. Soft grainy sweet taste
4. Jujube/date taste
5. Woody, jujube taste, sweet grainy finish
tossed in the thermos after since was starting to die out. Despite being large leaf, tasted mostly stewed after maybe two hours?
was interviewing and wanted something comfortable but not too downing or attention grabbing. was a good choice, though remain unlikely to repurchase due to price.
finishing zipin bing hole sample to chase away the bugs after holiday travel. ended up being a bit too strong though and felt a little dizzy after.
5.3g, 90 mL ZZZ, mixed water
wet: smoky, vegetal, sweet, BBQ, mint
1. smoky, bitter, resolves to sweet floral finish but still a bit pond water tasting
2. medicinal
3. lingering fruity note but upfront pill like bitterness
was distracted after but steeped a couple more times before the tea was mostly dead. some warmth, but this was after a turbulent morning flight and was already sort of nauseous to start.
5.7g, 90 mL ZZZ
wet leaf: berries, campfire smoke, BBQ, inky sweet
1. spices. woody, fruity in throat. spaced out heady. some underlying bitterness
2. dark, medicinal, smoke, woody, grassy. something sour incense like lingering sweetness in throat
3. greener in taste. mushroom-y finish
4. indistinct woody
5. softly sweet. mugged
I like this tea, though longevity leaves something to be desired across a lot of my BYH teas. Split a partial cake with a tea friend and haven’t seen more full cakes offered by TWL since the initial offering in March. Though given the cost (1.30/g after shipping), I would not go out of my way to buy more.
5.7g, 135 mL zini.
wet leaf: medicinal, barnyard, smoke
1. root beer sweetness. sugary aftertaste, some plum
2. woody bland, a little sweet
3-5. similar
nothing too exciting, but for 13c/g can’t complain. KL’s heichas are mostly background teas and not worth devoting time to brew with care.
4.1g, 135 mL zini
smells a bit musty and minty
1. medicinal, menthol. that and TeaDB’s leather shoes a la Payless comment is 100% fitting
2. woody, same payless leather shoe undertone and a bit chocolate-y
3. payless chocolate milk. brown sugary aftertaste. cozy.
had to stop since i was pretty sick and felt awful. short changed myself here and need to stop being tempted by my best teas when I’m sick.
