Arbor Mist

From the Sheng and Shou TTB.

Blech. This one is just not for me. The dry leaf was really pretty…twisty sheng leaf with a nice sheng smell. The brewed liquor, however, tastes like a really vegetal green tea, with some smokiness and bitterness. I’m not a fan of this kind of green tea flavor. So weird. Oh well, now I know! That’s what TTB’s are for, right?

mmmm thanks for sending this my way kimquat (along with the grasshopper cheesecake and coffee & cigarettes, since i may forget to thank you for adding to my stash of those later.)

This one is not for me. something in the way that this one tastes is too reminescent of roasty oolongs. I went through a few steepings to see if it ever turned into something i’d enjoy and it never quite landed anywhere i was in love with. However, that’s all good, since that’s the point of swaps! not to mention that i likely would have picked this one up myself someday so now i don’t have to! woot woot!

I cracked this out again, yesterday (which lasted me into today) – my goodness does this tea have some staying power! By the end of 12 infusions, it was still going pretty strong!

I’m still not sure this one is a favourite, yet. The savory, vegetal flavour are really intense – it’s not unpleasant, for sure. It is very much drinkable and I kept coming back for more. But, at the moment, it isn’t one I reach for with the same keenness as some other teas in my cupboard.

I read somewhere that sheng puerh mellows, and becomes smoother, with age. If that’s the case, perhaps I ought to let a little bit of air get to this and just try it again in a few months (I also read that loose puerh, such as this, ages faster so maybe this’ll be a nice one to “test” such things out on).

Either way, I did enjoy this tea and will continue to enjoy the rest of my bag!

Brewed this western style this morning not even remembering it was a loose puerh. It is quite tasty and very slightly bitter. This would be excellent brewed Asian style but I mistakenly thought it a green. I forgot what I had. I am getting the note of cedar mentioned in the tea write up. I am also getting the note of honeysuckle. Overall this is an excellent tea.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 4 tsp leaf and 190 degree water for 1 min.

My first tea of the day, and the last of samples (mj) sent me. The dry leaves smell pretty foresty. After I brew, I get some more floral scents. There is a tangy, and kinda creamy flavour. Not really what I was excepting, but good on a rainy afternoon.

Thanks to ost for this sample!

This one is pretty smokey, but it does have some lovely fruity flavors and no bitterness. I guess I didn’t realize it wasn’t a blend, and just a straight sheng, or I would have done it gongfu. I still have enough for another round, so yay!

I’ll do a gongfu session later with more notes!

This is interesting sheng. Nice woody qualities. I am getting a little bitterness/sourness, but it could just be me. I never seem to do as well with mao cha as I do with sheng cakes. Perhaps I just prefer cakes? Or I haven’t got the brewing down on mao cha yet. Either way, not bad, but with as many other shengs I have found that I REALLY love, I probably won’t seek this one out again. I will definitely re-steep this a few more times and see if anything else interesting comes into play flavor wise. I do really prefer ones with a little sweetness/fruitiness!

Thanks for the opportunity to taste some of it, Cheri! I really appreciate it :)

I’ve drank this one quite a few times now since I received it and I just wasn’t sure about posting my review because it kinda differs from the others and the tasting notes on site, like the lime and cashew and i don’t think I even know what Miso is, not sure lol,
but hey we all taste things differently right?? :)

The dry leafe aroma is sweet and slightly smokey, wet leafe aroma is vegetal and hay-like, it smells like breakfast in the country.
The Tea flavor is nice and delicate with vegetal and woody notes, a little nutty and somewhat savory in general. At times the flavor has some smokey notes as well as an earthy kind of note like woodsy or mossy and a slight sweet pine/cedar type note with floral undertones.
This one also has a nice creamy almost buttery mouth-feel with a slight cooling sensation on the end that is very nice.
This one is quite pleasant to drink and it makes me feel pretty good, i think it has good energy.
I also like this one cold, as it cools the smokey notes increase and a slight pleasant bitter is present, it has an almost completely different profile when cooled.
If you like raw puerhs or green teas or even smokey teas then you’d like this one.

I do think this one makes me high or tea-drunk, it gives me that nice funny, hapy, giddy almost spaced out feeling if i drink enough, hehehe (cloud 9)

mj sent me a surprise sample of this tea. She is awesome.
Sample is super generous .

I decided to do gongfu. It works all the time.
But today i wasn’t lucky
4g 100ml 205F
rinse/5/5/5/10sec, its hay, mellow, some sweet paprika. some bitterness, nothing major. no sweetness (hui gan) . bummer

i thought that maybe i should try WP parameters
1tbsp 8oz 190F 3min ( i did rinse it, i always do)
Nope. Very bitter for my taste.

Came back to my gaiwan. read some previous notes. TTF made it with low temp like 175F and short steeps. Tried that and i think its my favorite parameters. as it cools completely i notice some slight sweetness.

Thank you so much, mj. you gave me big sample to play.

I love to drink sheng. I’m a fa-sheng-ista!

But sheng is not my favourite tea to review cause I always get taken by it, in the moment. It’s hard for me to analyze and think about anything…Just want to let the tea take me to wherever it wants to…

I love Mao Cha, what cakes are made of…

I won’t comment on each steep cause that’s not the way I review my tea. But because some have requested I write details on the way I brewed it (cause apparently it can be a little finicky) here are my parameters. I actually counted the seconds this time :-)

7g, 5oz gaiwan, water temp. 175F

Steep 1) 20 sec.
Steep 2) 30 sec.
Steep 3) 40 sec.
Steep 4) 60 sec.
Steep 5) 90 sec.
Steep 6) 90 sec.
Steep 7) 120 sec.

This type of tea is light in weight and takes a lot of room. The leaves are so long, they barely fit in the gaiwan. First, the dry scent. Smells like some kind of smoked lemonade. Yes, smokey and citrusy. Interesting. When I say smoke, let’s be clear: it’s very subtle.

Oh, the first few steeps are very sweet and “melony” juicy with a fresh mouthfeel. I find some echo of yesterday’s campfire wood if that makes senses. You know, that scent you get in the air the next morning when you camp? It renders a light smoked dampness in the mouth.

It’s creamy and a little salty and nutty. In some ways, it does remind me of high mountain oolong.

I must talk about the fragrance exuding from the wet leaves. It triggers memories of late August summer nights after a hot afternoon…when the warmth of the day collides with the coolness of the night. Yes, this tea smells like August, and it leaves an imprint of late summer nights as I drink it. I do realize it must sound plain weird to you,but it means a lot to me…that’s how cha qi kicks in for me. Memories.

The later steeps are not as sweet, a nice light astringency is building up. I say nice, cause to me, the right dose of astringency in sheng is a good thing. It’s bright and awakening.

What I identified as being melon earlier is now morphing into grapefruit. I also get more saltiness, a “brothy” feel, umami.

Cedar and camphor are present at the end of the sip.

I’ll be stopping here, cause I just want to enjoy the rest peacefully and stop taking notes.

This is a special one. It made me feel something…that’s what I seek when I drink sheng.