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im on the 3rd infusion atm.. all is going well. the liquor is a nice reddish copper color. smells kind of like brown sugar being cooked slowly on top of a piece of wood. 4th infusion, this tea has a certain syrupy sweetness for me, toffee, a brisk woodsy feel. i dont get the same “rounded” taste/smell that i get from golden snail or yunnan gold tips. i pick up a strong molasses note, and i think black cherry or plum.. nice.

the dry leaf smells similar to to the brewed aroma but add fine dark soil and also “barnyard smell” (moist hay.) the look of the dry leaf does not have that cool blueish tinge that the WP photo shows.. they are light black to dark brown and some lighter brown on the bends.. looks a bit like a frizzy beard.

inside the pot: between 4th and 5th infusion leaves have almost doubled in size and are looking helter skelter, but before this the leaves sat more uniform with each other and kind of bended around the pot together.

as for caffeine level i cant tell really, i have a kind of tolerance. im drinking this at 7:43 yet i think i’ll be alright, so it couldn’t be too high.

my steeps have been improvised (no exact timing) though ive given generous amounts of time per steep.. lots of flavor to savor.

- nycoma

i personally love this tea, i started with the sample, and recently received the tuo from glenn at CL, plus a nice sample, thank you!

i dont even designate a rinses for this i just drink every stage. im not sure how to properly describe the notes, but its definitely musty and so smooth with sweetness. i think of this as the “yoda memorial tea” because i feel like the humid atmosphere of dagobah would produce this sort of tea if aged there.. lol.

as the tea develops it actually shows a bit of bite which permeates the surface of the tongue. the qi is chill/relaxing… i really stocked my 125ml pot with 9g, and its seemingly everlasting and strong.

brew starts (if i remember correctly) a dark yellowish colour, then gets rosey, then dark reddish like black cherry, so beaut, and i just got a glass cha-hai so i can see the colour in its entirely.

regarding the qi again, it has crept up on me. after about my second cup i went into the shower, so the shower added to the calm qi feeling. now as i type this the tea is more apparent. trust me a steamy shower or bath plus this tea = not doing much for a while, lol.

i may not be too experienced in the world of tea, but its been a few years and i know enough to know i really like this tea. i rate this a respectable- 91- the year i was born haha peace.

i received this tea the other day. i open it up and i tell you the aromatics are great with the smell of the vanilla, white chocolate and i think cedar. i gong fu’d this and went about 8 infusions in, probably 2 too many, but it was still a good yield i thought. what i believe to be vanilla and cedar “dust” lines the inside of the bag and comes out fairly heavily as sediment, so use your strainer! im a big tolkien fan however i have yet to read the silmarillion or the lotr trilogy, terrible i know, but i dont mind since i have something to look forward to. ps. i’ve read the hobbit multiple times.. its a good ol book.

from what i remember the first infusion- to me, was one of the best (5 or so sec) it was light and floral and sweet in a natural sort of way. the second and third became more robust and unfortunately i lost some of that sweetness, but the tea in itself is so nice i was happy with what i got. to me it gives more natural sweetness (like a sweet water) than a floral sweetness.. i could be wrong on that, i must drink moar.

i used the recommended brewing tips provided by wp ( will have to mess with the stats.) i will try to flash brew this western style, and full infusion ws. im also coldbrewing the spent leaves to take everything out of this awesome tea.

i must add: i think there is a bit too much cedar in the mix for me.

i sit here with davids tea’s tie kwan yin. looking at it dry i see that it is med sized, tightly rolled, and appears to be highly oxidized. the tea looks dark, with slight greenery coming through in spots. stems are visible.

dry, it has a kind of cutting aroma, with hints of nut.. what kind i dont know, maybe raw almond. besides this i get an almost toxic smell like fresh paint.. its not enough to be off putting, but its there.

im using 5g with a 125ml vessel with the suggested temp of 85C or 185F. i am not pouring a rinse, instead ill start with a 5s infusion, then 10, then increase as needed.

1st- 5s, wet leaves have hardly opened at all as can be expected. leaves smell- to me atleast like a da hong pao, very heavy, musty, warming but slightly odd.. makes me feel like im in an antique store or grandparents basement or closet. lol.
the liquor is pretty much clear except for a slight tint of yellow. floral notes come from the aroma of the cup.
taste is weak of coarse, green and floral mix.

2nd- 10s, wet leaves are opening and kind of clumping up you could say. smell of leaves is bolder and rounder.. muskier. liquor is a nice light yellowish tan colour.
the heavy aroma of the leaves has transferred into the aroma of the cup, and is not the nice and friendly light brew anymore.
so far most of the experience is in the smelling of the tea.. the taste is not there yet, although i am getting a richer mouthfeel from this second brew. its hard to describe, the taste evokes the image of the tea.

3rd- 20s, wet leaves are slowly creeping up the vessel, smelling strong.
the liquor is a darker golden yellow- not so dark though. the heavy aroma is giving way to a more vegetal smelling cup… still creamy and buttery with less “antique” smell.
i had not detected any astringency until now.. its very minute though. vegetal, still rich mouthfeel.
… this is literally very warming (obviously.. hot water but) ive shed a layer of clothing plus socks, haha. the cutting sort of astringency thinly coats the mouth and tongue with an active feeling, similar to mint, cooling at times.

4th- 25s, leaves have opened up even more, coming up the vessel, going strong, still smelling roasted and “old people-like.”
in the cup the liquor is yellowish.
tastes a bit watery. mouthfeel stays with you for maybe a minute after drinking. this brew has been less bold and flavorful despite the smell of the leaves being strong.

im cutting the review off here.

over all, not one of my favorite teas,didnt blow me away, id rather just drink da hong pao… although that may be an awful comparison.. i don’t know, havnt drank dhp for a few months and dont completely remember the subtleties.

probably wont buy this tea again from davids tea, anyone else know of other good sources for this tea, or optimal temps?

have a good day.

-nycoma

hi, this is my first tasting note on steepster. for my first i have chosen the organic japanese sour cherry green tea from silk road teas.

i prepared this tea hot in my two piece tasting set (125ml/4oz), and cold brewed (first cold brew) in a 33 oz bodum french press. lets start with the hot brew..

the 1st infusion was at 71 C for 30 sec-
the cherry was present in the aroma but less so in taste. it had a tannin-y taste, slightly vegetal with a lingering bitterness that hits the tounge and cheeks and coats it with that sour, slightly citric taste/feel. not the most pleasant cup.

2nd, 45 sec, 74 C temp-
aroma was sweeter with stronger cherry. tastewise, chlorophyll was prominently picked up. this infusion as well as most of the others reminded me of the taste of a cherry flavored cough drop.

3rd, 60 sec at 75 C temp-
aroma: cherry comes at you with the vegetal smell, following is a sweetness.
still has an astringent, green taste with less fruity notes (at this pointed i suspected it’s life was coming to a end..)

..but i pushed for one more infusion- the 4th for 70 sec at 75 C-
aroma: strong smell of green (chlorophyll) with the the cherry twisted somewhere in there being harder to detect. taste: less bitter as a result of the tea slowly dieing i suspect. overall less of it’s previous notes and feel.

session duration: 1 hour

i would recommend this tea to those of you who are willing to pick this tea apart and like/love it for what it is. i personally appreciate it but would not dub it a favorite.. more of an educational experience. i believe i would order it again for one reason… cold brew.

indeed i commenced my first cold brew the same night of the hot brew. the thought that it may be the best way to brew this tea, just hit me out of nowhere.
i used 3 slightly heaping scoops with teavana’s perfect tea spoon. 33 oz of cold filtered vancouver tap water. i left it and went to sleep. 9 hrs and 53 min later i strained, decanted, and tasted it.

i love it, bitterness about 15- 20%, more of a lemony/lime taste in place of tannin. its quite sweet (as cold brew tends to produce,) and mellow. the cherry comes at around the tail end of the middle and through the last wave. unlike the hot brew the bitterness in no way dominates. i personally find it to have an almost honeydew/honey note, plus a note of sweetend grass underlying. despite the taste and aroma of the honeydew you still pick up cherry. the aroma is sort of like candied cherry instead of sour in my opinion.

will experiment with shorter cold brew times such as 2- 5 hrs for example.

i expect to brew this almost exclusively cold from now on unless the urge to refer back to hot comes up. may ice tea this also with a bit of rock sugar.

thanks for reading.

- Raswalt