We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“I smelled this one in the shop in Vancouver and was like yes. It smelled a lot like a laoshan black in store, but since I am still in vancouver visiting family I don’t have my teawares here, I’m...” Read full tasting note
ORIGIN: Qiao Ban Village, Zhejiang, China
GPS: 30.0ºN 118.9ºE alt. 890M
TASTING NOTES: Dark fruit | Maple wood | Spice
GROWER: Wen Xingzhou
CULTIVAR: Bendi
Wen Xingzhou and his wife Zhan Zimei live in a remote village with no road access where they harvest leaves from semi-wild bushes that are 70-80 years old. The village lies high in the mountains and the altitudes and cool weather produce a very small but highly prized yield of tea leaves each year. Despite approaching his eightieth year, Mr. Wen insists on harvesting and processing all his teas by hand. The resulting teas are truly unique and some of the best we have ever tasted.
O stands for our obsession with Origin. We travel the world building strong bonds with farmers and sourcing rare tea from remote villages. We want your cup to tell the story of the earth on which the tea grew and the hands that lovingly harvested each leaf. FIVE represents Natureʼs elements: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire and Void. In harmony, these elements express tea leaves into an outstanding cup. Welcome to our tea bar! We see it as a space to host friends, share and experiment.
I smelled this one in the shop in Vancouver and was like yes. It smelled a lot like a laoshan black in store, but since I am still in vancouver visiting family I don’t have my teawares here, I’m brewing in my mom’s .. one of those all in one gongfu pitchery things, with unfiltered vancouver water at who knows what temperature, off-boil.
O5 is a bit weird, they have their tea bar as the main focus, where you sit and pay for a session that they make for you, and then also sell the teas in tins. The problem is that the tins are prepackaged in 40 and 80g tins, this is the second one I’ve gotten now, and this one was really broken leaf compared to what I saw in the stuff they would’ve used at the bar.
It was a little upsetting, however my package smelled just like those truffle chocolates, and so I wasn’t as upset.
thick, decadent taste, cinnamon or nutmeg, plus this sugary sweetness, maple and earth
It’s weird, the second steep is quite a bit mustier, still sweet, earth? I don’t know. all of that. A little dry and bitter too. Lingering aftertaste of something similar to .. I don’t know, like dragonfruit or something. It’s familiar and I can remember eating it but it was when my dad brought home some weird fruit for us to try when I was young…
I lose a lot of body in the third, very thin and light and musty and dry. Some chocolate.
4: sort of a minty chocolate covered in dirt
5: It’s almost flavourless? I don’t know man. kind of generic root vegetables, and darker sweet fruits
6: sorta stewish, more muddy, chocolatey, thick with this cooling sensation
7: bad. thin, beany, medicinal weird.. stale feeling
8: pretty much the same
It’s a familiar flavour profile, some good moments, I appreciate the dynamic flavours, overall it was decent.
Happy new year guys :) Here’s to some good harvests this year!
