From a LONG AGO travelling teabox. I was craving sheng, so I wanted to finally try this one. I wanted to split the smaller sample into two steeping sessions, so only used one teaspoon while also not filling the mug completely. Mini steeps. I must say, I haven’t tried very many from white2tea! (And seemingly the 2015 Poundcake has a MUCH higher rating than this one, if that says anything.) The flavor here has a thicker mouthfeel – is that where the “cake” in the name comes from? Very sweet, slightly starchy, very minerally, almost lemon and vanilla and cream. Certainly sounds like some sort of cake! But also with a lovely sort of tanginess. Either I haven’t had sheng in a while, I don’t usually wait 52 minutes to steep sheng, this sheng is exceptionally different, OR white2tea is simply magic, because this sheng is addictive. Hopefully it’s not my new thing because I only have a few samples of sheng in the cupboard. However, as I remember usually happening, the steeps after the first tend to lose their magic. I really should learn to steep sheng much cooler, as I thought I learned that lesson long ago. This might be my problem with sheng – I love the first steeps but then they get worse from there, probably because I don’t have patience or I oversteep. Or the Western steeps have been ruining sheng all along. That first steep though!
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon // 52 minutes after boiling // rinse // 40 second steep
Steep #2 // 35 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #3 // 20 minutes after boiling // 45 second steep
Steep #4 // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
