485 Tasting Notes
I tried this both on its own and side-by-side with its charcoal-roasted counterpart from Old Ways Tea. The dry leaf smelled of honey, graham crackers, cinnamon, a light cocoa aroma and maybe some floral aroma mixed in there as well. It seems the electric roast has brought out a host of aromas without really contributing a heavily roasty note to the aroma. Once wet, a slightly toasty aroma comes through, along with a more distinct floral note and dark fruit, like prunes.
The flavor was smooth, tasting lightly of honey with a bit of a fruity finish. The finish wasn’t particularly long. Before trying the charcoal roast, I had no real problems with this, but seeing what the different roast did to the same leaves, I feel this one pales in comparison. It wins out on aroma, likely because the aroma isn’t muted/covered up by a pervasive charcoal roast smell.
That is the only reason I have this marked as “not recommended.” To me, it is worth the very tiny price increase to go for the charcoal roasted Huang Guan Yin from Old Ways. That said, I would encourage folks to pick up at least a bit of both roasts and do their own comparison.
I recently did a side-by-side session with this tea and its electric-roasted counterpart from Old Ways Tea. Before trying either, I expected there to be a slight difference, but I figured the electric roast would be at least on par with the charcoal roast. Surprisingly, this turned out not to be the case at all. The electric roast was not bad tea, but it paled in comparison to the charcoal roasted tea.
The charcoal roast, unsurprisingly, had a much more charcoal-y and roasted aroma than the electric roast tea. In fact, the aroma was a little less interesting than that of the electric roast, with the roasting overwhelming a lot of the other notes present in the electric roast. Thus I was surprised when I took the first sip of the charcoal roast tea. It was immediately deeper tasting, with more fullness in the mouth and a much longer finish. The flavor transitioned during the sip from a roasty sweetness, with a bit of sharpness common to roasted teas, but was quickly followed by a sweet and juicy, fruity huigan which reminded me of plums or other dark/ripe stone fruits.
Really a delightful tea, and to my personal tastes, there is no reason to buy any more of the electric roast now that I’ve done a comparison between it and the charcoal roast Huang Guan Yin.
Flavors: Fruity, Roasted, Stonefruit, Sweet
I really enjoyed IPA. I just tried a sample of it, but I think I’ll end up with a cake. I definitely see the comparison to its namesake. Pretty intense bitter hit, sort of hoppy in character, but I’m not sure I would characterize it as such if it was named differently. What really brings it closer to IPA territory is the fruity aromatic and finishing notes that it offers. I tasted what could be pineapple, apricot, or nectarine in the finish of this tea. Pleasantly thick body calls to mind the mouthfeel of a high-ABV beer in a way as well.
I’m torn on how this might age. The bitterness could transition into something interesting, but at the same time, the higher fruity notes will probably age out of it in time. To preserve more of the original intent of the tea, I will probably end up drinking it up relatively young. Of course, that could all be empty talk when it ends up on the bottom/back of my pumidor and I forget about it for a decade – who knows.
Flavors: Bitter, Fruity, Hops, Medicinal, Pineapple, Stonefruit
Great value tea from FLT. Not an overly complex oolong, but very enjoyable regardless. Aroma and flavor are both mostly roasted nuts, coffee, and a strong caramel-sweet finish. This one does a good job of toeing the line – it tastes pretty heavily roasted, but isn’t sour or dominated completely by roasty notes. Texture is smooth and full throughout the session as well. Really pleasant daily drinker type of tea.
I was really looking forward to this one, after having enjoyed FLT’s Lishan Tie Guanin more than I have enjoyed much of any tgy previously. I was a little disappointed, unfortunately. It was certainly enjoyable, but that metallic tgy taste was quite prominent. I find it rather distracting in teas, as it is not a taste/sensation I appreciate, personally. The description of this tea specifically states that it has the “classic metallic mouthfeel that TGY drinkers love,” which leads me to believe I may have been correct in classifying myself as a non-TGY drinker.
That said, it wasn’t too overpowering, and it was accompanied by some nice ripe fruity notes and a bit of caramel roastiness. I would not personally go for it again.
Mine was the 2018 version of this tea.
Tuhao as Fuck is a pretty big and powerful tea. I pick up some wet straw and apricot in the nose. Flavor was mostly bitter, a little bit of astringency, followed by a stone fruit finish. Not particularly sweet, even in the finish, though. I found this one more about body and feels than flavor – it certainly tasted nice though. The body was thick and full in the mouth and down through the throat. I felt progressively warmer as the session went on, getting almost uncomfortably hot towards the end. Went along with a pretty relaxing feeling as well. Hmmm, I liked it better than my review indicates, but I never took particularly good notes on it or anything. This one will definitely be on my radar if I decide to buy some higher-end cakes anytime soon.
A really complex and tasty shou. More than I would normally pay for a shou, but if I was more into them overall, I could see myself going for a cake.
Aroma is woody, spicy, molasses. The flavor is definitely woody, but not the forest-floor sort of woodiness I get from a lot of shou. This one was cleaner, but definitely a bit “old” tasting if that makes sense. It brought to mind images of a well cared for antique chest and/or spiced wood. Texture is pleasantly thick, and there is zero funky pile taste or anything like that. Not musty or even particularly damp tasting.
A nice ripe puerh for sure. I’ve had a sample for a couple of years I believe, but I just got to it. Has a strong, slightly sour note in the first couple steeps that I don’t usually encounter in shou. It wasn’t bad, but certainly unexpected for the first session. After that, I got a lot of earthy notes, some dry chocolate, like a very dark chocolate, and some very mild spice notes. Good body. A solid shou for sure. I might check out one of the newer versions of this one, considering it’s sold out now.
Nice tea with a medium roast on it. I’m usually not a fan of TGY (especially green ones, but sometimes have trouble with roasty ones as well), but I ordered a few nice sounding ones from FLT. The metallic taste common in TGY is always where they lose me. Until rather recently, I thought that was the result of a fault somewhere in the processing of the tea, but in talking to teafriends, I have learned this is an intentional, often sought-after flavor in TGY. It was enlightening and helped lead me back to giving TGY another try with a more open mind. Based on this tea, I’m sure glad I did.
The dry leaf had a buttery and salty aroma with a bit of that metallic/sour character. Also maybe some fruit, like lychee. After a rinse, the leaf smelled richly fruity, with notes of raisin and honey, and a light sourness. The roasted aroma was surprisingly subdued.
The flavor started off rather light, with fruitiness and a savory brothiness. The finish reminded me of sweet melon. There was some bit of sourness to it, but not the sharpness in the corners of my mouth that I have experienced from some TGY. The mouthfeel was pretty thick, and could also be described as brothy. This tea’s flavors deepened as the session went on – fewer of the high notes. The melon-y finish yielded to more of a sticky, dark fruitiness. The sour note remained throughout the session, but I found it pleasant rather than overpowering.
I am curious whether my palate has changed from the previous time I tried TGY, or if this tea is simply a much better example of the style, and this lighter sour/metallic note is what my teafriends praised. I have a few more TGY from Floating Leaves to try, so hopefully those will help me find the answer.
Flavors: Broth, Fruity, Honey, Melon, Pleasantly Sour, Raisins, Sweet
Preparation
I have also had troubles appreciating TGY (and still do), I wonder if the reasons are similar. I haven’t tried too many though, so I will check out a few more. It’s possible that as I learn more about them, I will be able to appreciate them more, or just find the right one for me. Recently, the one I got from Tao Tea Leaf showed me that it should be possible, I quite like that one.
I’m really glad I ordered a lot of these little Planets that CLT released last year. Some people aren’t big fans of the teaball format, but I don’t find them to be too much of a hassle to deal with. Just takes a liiiitle bit longer to get opened up. The dry leaf is very sweet and floral smelling – even more so, with a bit of green veggie nose after the rinse.
This one was really a creamy floral bomb that got nicer and nicer as the ball opened up. A thick and pleasing mouthfeel that went down the throat as well. There was a small bit of vegetal astringency, but it never got particularly intense – instead just balanced the overall flavor of the tea. Good stuff in a little package.