2015 Moonlight Sonata

Sadly only one gong-fu session. So, it’s technically a SIPDOWN.

I got 3 grams from derk, who might have it from, yes, White Antlers. But maybe not. No “WA” mark there. Anyway thanks anyone who bought it.

Stale urine is indeed an aroma of dry tea. As well the dill, maybe cilantro or something of those greens. It was actually pretty bad. But I don’t want to throw away the tea based on initial contact.

I decided to use all 3 grams I get in my gaiwan. Oh well, the rinse was quick and then the aroma was… ehm… even worse. Something again like urine and dill. Quick colour changer.

I was doing 10-60 seconds steeps.
Somehow weird, foul, but tasty. I get forest floor, herbs strongly, hints of florals as well citrus (sweet ones like tangerines) zests, dandelion and dill.

Weird. But smooth. Not velvety feeling, but mouth-coating for sure. As well it had thick texture that I quite liked indeed.

That was amazing experience, but it’s tea for now and then. Not really for daily drinking. It changed my point of view on pressed whites. Would I like to try it again? You bet!

Sound pairing (only for writing the note): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tr0otuiQuU

Moonlight white tea with snow chrysanthemum flowers, the orange ones that as of late, I’ve realized can be a polarizing flavor due to pickle perception.

I’m not going to lie about what the dry leaf smells like. It’s stinky — perfume, stale urine and dill. Care to read further? Stewed in my work thermos with water off-boil, the tea is fantastic. Brilliant orange-red with a strong aroma. Aging white tea taste with a hearty melding of the snow chrysanthemum taste. Medicinal, savory, sweet, thick, tannic, tangy and tingly; tangelo, hay, forest floor, Demerara sugar, white florals, pastries, minty cooling, black pepper, ginger and yes, I finally taste the dill pickle, quite strongly actually.

More, please.

What a lovely tea! First of all the tea cake is gorgeous, you almost don’t want to chisel through. The initial aroma gave me hints of citrus and spice. The soup started out a beautiful golden and with each steep making its way to an amber. I started my steeps and progressed as follows:
1: 20 sec @170F / 2: 20 sec @170F/ 3: 20 sec @170F/ 4: 20 sec @ 200F / 5: 30 sec @ 160F / 6: 1 minute @ 140F/ 7: 1 minute @ 140F

At the last steep I was loosing flavor…I am thinking I should have gone back up to a warmer temp to try and push it…which will be my note for the next sesh with this tea.

Overall, I loved this tea, it was very very delightful….although this m y first go around with this tea it left a very good impression on me. I plan to explore this more throughout the week.

Just realized that, without meaning to, I’ve basically been “checking in” on this tea yearly – and now I’ve got a pretty cool record of the flavour progression. Only thing is that I seem to have brewed a different prep method each time… Oops…

Today’s cup was Grandpa Style at work; my general workplace steeping method ‘go to’. Definitely stronger notes coming from the florals – distinct chysanthemum, with orange-y undertones comparable to chenpi, as I’ve observed from other chrysanthemum teas as of late. Some of that same sort of dandelion profile; and malt/hay. This brewed thick, and strong – perhaps a touch stronger than I was desiring? Not a bad Grandpa contender; but I think I preferred this with other prep methods overall.

This is a really old sipdown with a sample I got from JK7Ray over on reddit.

I rinsed this 15 seconds in cold water just because its been at the bottom of my bag for a while and I didn’t know what scents it might have absorbed.

Brewed ~2-3 minutes in 600 mL of hottish water (half boiling water, half cold tap water). Once again I end up with a deep orange/amber brew that smells medicinal and fruity.

This is one of those teas where you describe what you taste and wonder why anyone would drink that (puerh drinkers get it). It does have a medicinal chrysanthemum flavour (might be osmanthus) and the white tea is light and slightly vegetal. I get an overwhelming flavour of dill and dry grass. It certainly seemed medicinal, like what you expect dry osmanthus and dill to taste like. There is only one flower and no dill, but that sums up the major flavours.

This is quite a unique tea and I do recommend people try it, but it isn’t something I’d buy/trade for again.

This tea tastes like spring. There are happy, bright flowers. There’s honey and citrus. Maybe there are some orange blossoms.

Floral is the main descriptor though.

Good tea, but not my thing. I’m just not a fan of citrus.

Backlog.
I used my new pu knife to break a chunk off this cake. It really smells of dill weed.
5g, 75ml gaiwan, 190F
Rinsed once. 20s/30/20×6/25/30/35/40/1m/1/2/5m
Long lasting tea. I eventually stopped when flavor started to fade, though my water was cooling off and I didn’t want to heat more.
Beginning steep was thick with dillweed and a slightly floral flavor. 2nd steep went a little longer and brought out savory and dillflower in addition to dillweed and thick mouthfeel. I didn’t like the savory taste, so I returned to 20s for a while.
Over the next 6 20s steeps, it returned to dillweed, but sweet. Mouth coating, thick and sweet aftertaste. Cause my mouth to tingle. Dill came out more in longer steeps. Faded toward end.
I liked this. Different but good. I’ve entertained getting another cake or two next time I order. 88

Now, white tea and myself do not always understand one another. But when Super Starling! sent some of this my way, well, who was I to refuse?
So I brewed it up this morning, and boy, if this isn’t some good stuff. It had none of the muskiness that I can sometimes get from white teas, and a lot of really lovely, almost earthy flavor. I might be forgiven for thinking this was a black tea, for a split second. Its very rich, and I really enjoyed it this morning!

This tea has flowers that you can watch open while you steep it. That’s really fun — and an inkling of what’s to come.

This is a super foresty and earthy blend. At first sip, I didn’t care for it. I was like “am I eating dandelions out of my front yard? Am I a rabbit?” (No. But I am a philistine.)

But as it’s cooled, I really like the deeper notes in here. It’s a claylike*, round taste that I appreciate.

*Disclaimer: I don’t eat a lot of clay, but it’s what I imagine clay would taste like. And, oddly, “clay” is a flavor you can pick below. So I am not the only person that’s like “it’s, you know, a pottery-in-progress kind of taste.”

As I approach the bottom of the cup, I’m really coming around. This isn’t something I would have picked out, but I’m glad I tried it.

I’m going to take this home and try steeping it before bed sometime. I think it would be a nice evening tea. As, I suppose, one would expect from something called “Moonlight Sonata.”

Gongfu brewed, Moonlight Sonata has a smooth sweet taste that is a cross between being floral and fruity. It also does very well with numerous infusions. All in all it makes an excellent light evening tea to drink at night.