1233 Tasting Notes

70
drank Young Gushu 2022 by Mei Leaf
1233 tasting notes

OH boy. There is that telltale pu erh fishiness. The dry aroma isn’t heavy or off-putting with it but just enough to have my hair stand a bit. Lots of different leaf in this sample. Single leaves, short leaves, really long leaves, silver hairy buds. Bud, first, and second pluck. Fascinating. After the rinse the wet leaves have lost the fishy altogether there was a bit of Big Island orange and star fruit and old beach wood. Flavor is resin to begin and remains that way with the first infusion. Pu erh, like many teas, really needs a deep dive to develop a palate for it. The aftertaste is very nice vanilla and tropical fruits, custard. The astringency is strong with this one is left unchecked. Whoa.

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94
drank Honeycomb Black by Mei Leaf
1233 tasting notes

This is a great tea to start the morning. A bit of briskness and a nice touch of astringency, all come together nicely with this beautiful leaf. Long leaves tightly twisted with fuzzy golden buds. This leaf is just gorgeous. The wet leaf reminds me of dark chocolate and raisin bread. Maybe a mixture of both. The flavor is very similar to the aroma with cocoa and bitter chocolate notes also a bit of malt, and some lacquered wood. The mouthfeel, as I mentioned earlier is a bit astringent but mostly it is smooth. The astringency just helps to add some depth. My first brew was bitter with a slightly overwhelming astringency. I had my dad try it first and when I tried it I felt bad that the first experience was so off, luckily the second was better. He said he still prefers coffee though… I’ll keep trying.

ashmanra

I have found that a lot of coffee lovers love puerh and can move to other teas from there!

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87
drank Swallows Nest by Mei Leaf
1233 tasting notes

Reason number 3 that it is important to inspect your tea leaves: Bugs. It is good to push around the leaf with your finger to discover all the secrets of the leaf. To find the small, the big, the few fuzzies, and whatever gifts come with. I can’t quite call this a gift, but at least he was nicely toasted.

Dry aroma: Coffee toffee, roasty, toasted pomelo, coffee husk.
Dry leaf appearance: twisted slightly, dark chocolate brown.
Flavor: Roasty, charcoal, toffee a bit burnt, slight plum/pomelo, minerality (more so with the following infusions)
Wet Leaf: Dried plum, Slight cherry-rubbed wood.
Wet, infusing leaf: Uh… latex paint? O_o Yeah. Definitely latex paint. That was the third infusion. I forgot to smell the previous.

So funny not funny story. I found out that I am one of those people who can’t stand to look at lotus seeds. Actually even saying the name kinda gives me an icky feeling. My randomness comes from the fact that it says lotus seed on the package so I was about to look up what the taste descriptors of that is but I really do not want to have that image stuck in my.

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68

Dragonwell / Longjing are not as fussy as Japanese teas but they still require some research to bring out their best. I’m starting with water at 170 F. I know it can take higher than that but I’ve already burned my mouth a few times this week… What I really need is more patience.
Dry aroma is very vegetal. Split peas soup. Overcooked peas. Slight hay.
Hay, a bit of stone fruit (mango),
Flavor is a bit of stone fruit here, some hay there, tossed around with a pile of composting leaves, and cooked peas.
There is a bit of astringency when it is left to steep too long. Overall, this is a nice dragonwell. I have had better but I do also wonder if maybe this one has just had too long of a sit time.

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47

The cardamom is strong with this one. I don’t hate it but I find it to be a flavor that reallly need to be balanced well. Like cilantro. Of course, cilantro also tastes like soap to me so… Ew cilantro tea…. gag. Anyway, this one is… okay. the rooibos is a bit subdued and I’m not really sure I like the addition of the cocoa nibs. But ultimately it’s the cardamom that keeps winding all the flavors back to it.

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55

Ooo, that’s a nice aroma. Sweet and chai spicy. Also using this one for apple chips beyond what I am drinking.
Oh man, that licorice root is out to get you and it does. It’s a big can of whoopie. I really think they should either tone down the licorice root by at least half or take it out altogether. It is an interesting flavor addition but way too overpowering. It is soft on the palate with hints of spices and bits of black tea but that licorice root is just a bully.

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67

Originally I was going to pass on this one. I am a little worried that the natural flavoring involves some sort of milk of the cow. But because it doesn’t explicitly state dairy… I am crossing my fingers. I am also using the rest of it (1tsbp) for flavoring apple chips. The dry aroma is a mix of cherry, kind of stale socks (but not the corn chip kind), hibiscus, and a bit of citrus. The flavor is actually somewhat impressive. The Tiguan yin is not covered but the other flavors like I figured it would be. There is an interesting creamy note (probably the mascarpone) and a hint of cherry. But honestly, the cherry is not nearly as strong as I was hoping it would be.

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50

The amount of butter beer copycats out there is pretty astounding. That being said not many get it right. And it makes it even more difficult for the tea community because you basically have to use flavoring in order to achieve the desired flavor. Thus far nothing has come close to the creaminess and wizarding deliciousness that is the butter beer of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal. This does a decent job of adding that bit of butterscotch flavor but it just still lacks the all-around fullness.

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19

Originally I threw this in the nope section. I scoffed and said I don’t think so. But then I thought back to a jalapeno spitzer I had that was surprisingly good. So here we are. Smells like something the turtles would try. I see Leonardo as more of a Darjeeling dude though. Either way, this should be an interesting experience.

Oh my word. The initial aroma hurts my nose. It’s like I cut up a jalapeno and then stuck a finger in my nose.
SPICY! Spicy and hibiscus? WHY? OW. That was painful to swallow. My tongue is on fire. WTFrak is going on. This is all wrong. I do like the lapsang. That is smoked nicely but the tingling of my tongue. Oh for crying out loud. I was not paying attention and took a second sip. It’s just as bad as the first. This is so unique and I really appreciate the ingenuity of the mix…. Evil smile. I’m going to have my husband try it. He likes things really spicy. XD He said “mmm spicy.” And then scrunched his face real tight.

Leafhopper

LOL. The name of this tea seems to be apt.

Skysamurai

HA! I didn’t even think about it but that’s so true. But there is no cool… only spicy

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82

This is part of my Christmas gift from my husband. I’m not sure of why they need to use superior in their name. I guess like matcha with culinary, premium, and ceremonial, it kind of plays a role for the Western drinkers who like the terminology. Either way, it’s a da hong pao. The dry leaf is highly drying. Dry desert woods with intense dry minerality. If you gong fu (and you really should!), smell the tea as you pour the water on the leaf.
I found it started with sweet floral tropical notes and then switched to charcoal. Now creamy butter. If you put the cap on right away or drink it Western style you won’t get quite the same experience. The flavor is nice. Nothing that blows your mind but still lovely to consume. Charcoal, wet rocks, lots of minerality, plum, fresh rain on rocks, Petrichor. The mouthfeel is smooth, almost buttery. As I go further into the infusions (I think 5 now) the mouthfeel is less smooth but more like you licked a rock. The wet leaf is unique, a bit of raisins, a bit of charcoal, and slightly fruity.

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Bio

If you love to discover new tea companies please check out my blog www.teatiff.com

Cupboard updated: 7/27/2023

Tea Profile:
Allergies: Almonds and Dairy.

I’m a purist but I will try a flavored as long as it doesn’t have artificial flavors.

I will drink any type and love to taste whatever I can get my hands on.

(Purple is not a type of tea it is a cultivar known as TRFK 306/1)

Location

Minnesota

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