485 Tasting Notes
Picked up a sample of this one a while back when I was seeking out puerh pressed with aged maocha. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. Leaves had a smoky, slightly pungent aroma. The taste followed closely, with smoky notes dominating. There was a sweetness and pleasant finish to the brew, but between the smokiness and the smaller material, this one was a bit rough.
Could be quite good once that smokiness starts to fade, though will likely retain a punchiness throughout its life due to the small material. Reminds me of a Dayi 0622 that I have. It certainly did seem a bit more aged than I would expect from 2012 material.
Flavors: Smoke
Preparation
I got a sample of this one from a teafriend during our Secret Santea exchange. It was a very tasty one! The leaves had a complex aroma – I noted a bit of humid storage scent over floral, slight leather, cocoa, cinnamon, sweet bread, moss, and a bit of nuttiness.
The flavor was a little bit more straightforward. I was impressed by the way this tea seems obviously aged, but has still kept some youthful character. It was more bitter than I would expect in a tea of this age, though it was a clean and pleasant bitterness. The tea was active on the tip of my tongue. It had a rounded woody taste – thick and pleasantly musty with a good bit of woodiness. Finish was sweet with some of the sweet bread notes I smelled in the leaf earlier.
A really good tea, and one I’m glad I got to sample!
Flavors: Bitter, Musty, Sweet, Thick, Wood
Preparation
Bought a sample of this one a little while ago. It definitely has some pretty powerful body feels. Flavor is more vegetal/savory, though there is some floral and honey going on as well. Definitely lots of bitterness as well. Pleasant enough tasting, but definitely more about the feels and texture, as seems to be true with a lot of the high-dollar white2tea offerings. This one packs a punch, but doesn’t really do it for me enough to want to pick up a full cake.
Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Honey, Vegetal
Preparation
I drank another session of this one with some dear teafriends yesterday. I am posting a separate review, as this session was from a different source than the sample I tried at a previous date. This one seems to have seen slightly drier storage than my previous sample. Still very good though – spicy notes aplenty in the first half of the session with some woodiness (cedar?) and a dry finish that reminds me of walnuts.
This sample had much more of a sourness in the corners of the mouth that I associate with dry storage than the first sample I had. It wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it was slightly less pleasant. Still a very good session, but I think this one benefits from a wetter storage.
Sample out of my last CLT order. Pleasant shou. I’d describe it as a little bit “airier” than most shou – maybe that’s in part because of the name, who knows. Texture and flavor were both smooth, moderately thick body. Sweet flavors – pastry and a little bit of woodiness. Definitely easy drinking and tasty – I think I prefer a bit more body, to my shou, but would not be at all upset to have more of this around.
Flavors: Pastries, Smooth, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Sample from the most recent puerh TTB. The name is certainly accurate. Smells quite like a basement after the rinse – I double rinsed it just to be safe. Flavor was humid woodiness and dirt (in a good way, of course). I found a bit of a nutty flavor in the finish as well. Body was thick and slightly oily – I noted a small bit of relaxing qi, though definitely wasn’t a tea that was so strong on the feels.
Definitely tasty, but I don’t think I’d go for the $89/250g pricetag on it. This one is more of a simple and smooth drinker than a super special tea for me. Though it is really good.
Flavors: Dirt, Earth, Nutty, Wet Wood
Preparation
Random sample I’ve had from Den’s sitting around for a long time. The first infusion of this one is by far the best – likely because all the matcha ends up in that cup. Relatively sweet and spinachy tasting, with a bit of that toastiness from the popped rice. Easy to drink, but the matcha gives it enough of a kick to be slightly more interesting than your average genmaicha. I do think it distracts from the overall warm and simple nature of genmaicha though – so this is nice, but I think I’d rather go with genmaicha not dusted with matcha.
Flavors: Spinach, Sweet, Toasted Rice
Preparation
I got a sample of this one from a teafriend – not 100% sure it was this exact Shui Xian, but I’m just gonna leave my note here. This tea was smooth and easy to drink. Roasty without being overroasted. Sweet roasty notes with a bit of fruit in the finish. It’s been a while since I’ve had a nice yancha, so this one was a treat!
Flavors: Fruity, Nutty, Roasted, Sweet
Preparation
Yet another Puerh TTB sample! Been busting through these I guess – trying to sip down the sample stash (at least the overflow that isn’t in the pumidor). I didn’t really take notes on this one. I recall it being vegetal and creamy – sweet and pleasant to drink for sure. There was a bit of an astringency issue for just a couple steeps when the heavily compressed chunk finally broke apart for me, but that’s more my fault than the tea’s. A bit of honey sweetness and pretty good body to this one as well.
Nice as it was, and as cute as the wrappers are, I don’t think this session has inspired me to add one to my next CLT order.
Flavors: Creamy, Honey, Sweet, Vegetal