186 Tasting Notes
2 separate sessions, one yesterday and one today with different people over. 5.4g, 90mL gaiwan, Brita tap both.
The first session was from my sample from Liquid Proust, and the second was from edges of my cake. Both somewhat crushed up, but not dust. The LP sample session was a much better experience for whatever reason. Some decent florals and throatiness, slightly nutty sometimes, with some plummy notes and heat expanding and then dissipating in chest. sweet aftertaste and woody notes.
Mine felt dead by comparison. The first steep had a nice taste and aftertaste like a particularly sweet plum, but then it fell immediately downhill from there. Most steeps were totally bland, but once pushed, was slightly bitter and had some astringency.
Slight mushroominess at times from both, but not as strong as the Naked Yiwu displays.
A bizarre experience. Was quite disappointed by mine, but will give it some time and see if things change. Hong Yin is said to be an uplifting tea from what I’ve read, but I’m really bad at evaluating mood changes from teas, so no comment there.
5.1g, 90mL gaiwan. brita filtered tap. boiling.
wet leaf: natural HK/geosmin. light smoke. dry woody, sort of vegetal.
1. good texture, but taste is like salty beets, with a smoky hint. edge of floral. cold feeling. focus
2. uniquely vegetal bitterness. throaty sweetness in same floral HK trad stored vein, but almost edging on jasmine. tingling and cold in legs. slight sweat on forehead.
3. bitter, almost aspirin like. woody backdrop, with more bitter in aftertaste. mushroom after bitter recedes.
4. lightly bitter, mushroom and slight florals in aftertaste.
5. oversteeped. short lingering bitterness and cold sharp floral bitter taste.
6. fruity aspirin.
stopped taking notes past this, but was not terribly exciting. Storage seems to be lighter than the usual Yee On. drank this since I was considering caking during their 30% off the TFC line sale until the 30th of this month, but I think I’ll pass on this one. Taste is interesting enough, but I don’t have any experience with how body effects age over time and I don’t want to bet on it for now.
5.5g, 90mL gaiwan. brita filtered tap. boiling.
wet leaf is smoke and old TCM herbal medicines. light in taste initially. slight minty/vegetal edge along w bright fruitiness. slight warmth. TCM taste, and something both sandalwood and floral like about it. Agreed with Marco’s note of honey on empty cup aroma.
overall: not too durable, but tastes good. there’s a ton of seeds and sticks in my cake, and weight after rehydrating was ~239g, and after factoring in shipping was ~16c/g but I’m certain this is the best bang for buck sheng you can get from any western vendor, period. I’ve learned somewhat now to prioritize purchasing good and not necessarily “value” teas for the long term, but i wish starting out someone had just told me for value sheng to purchase twelve cent brick and for value shou, Yee on Purple mark. Or maybe someone has mentioned it somewhere and I missed it, because I was too focused on chasing value… anyway, a work in progress.
5.1g, 90mL gaiwan. wet leaf: smoky, w sourness. Initially slight fruity. good texture. woody with sugary floral background initially. buzzy, pausing feel with stomach/back warmth. also slightly humid in room today. something cherry-like in taste. borderline TCM leaven taste with fine astingency in florals that works surprisingly well to its benefit. slight lethargy. past a few steeps, moved back to the mushroom in aftertaste, which I didn’t like as much. astringency not as strong today. some throatiness and dried apple in aftertaste. kill steep was woody medicinal bitter end, but had a goji berry soup smell, which I don’t think I’ve encountered before, or maybe I haven’t noticed.
I’ve heard NY is a cake that can be very inconsistent and so sessions can be a wild card. While I haven’t really gotten a sedative feeling others have noted from either two sessions (though having slept well the night before can heavily influence perception as Phyll has noted somewhere, and it’s close to finals so…), the taste has been interesting enough to keep my attention rooted during the session. Assuming the price is same as before ($168/357g), it’s definitely more interesting than any of the YQHs I own. Will need to pick up a cake or two once TWL restocks.
5.7g, 100 mL roc zini. still quite bitter and sometimes astringent, even given that I am extremely congested today. quite warming, and I was sweating, but it was also very humid in my room. bright floral and evolving into mushroom aftertaste initially. End steeps had some jujube in the taste. leftover in a glass overnight was fruity and had a haw flake candy sort of taste that felt familiar but I couldn’t place fully
4.2g, 90 mL, boiling Brita tap. much more approachable at this ratio. smells nice. tastes like tomato and mint. aftertaste can be floral tinged mint. Moves to the base soapy notes quickly. First cup cooled at the edge has a slight bitter medicinal hint, and chocolate then minty. During session, the taste is not very exciting and while not terrible or bad necessarily, it is also not particularly special or noteworthy in any way. the aroma of the soup is enjoyable, though that is not something I value over taste. It is also not something I tend to pay particular attention to, so hard for me to judge. I will try to stop comparing price points and instead simplify my judgements to a “would I repurchase at current price?” No.
2.8g, thermos overnight. Roasty woody sense, with the usual minty vegetal background. Some dark, almost caramel like sense? remember being enamored with this at some point for some reason, but LP’s other aged oolongs are better… Even while accessible in my desk, I never find myself reaching for this one.
4g, 175mL(?) KamJove. Yeah it’s low ratio. Can’t handle too much young sheng, but still can’t help but indulge once in a while. Quick boiling rinse, w Brita tap. Sometimes boiling, sometimes not. Not focused today. Maocha is from Paul’s mystery box. This still tastes mostly young. Standard basic young sheng notes: dried apricot and peachiness, some mintiness. Some dried apple like notes. Not particularly bitter, quite sweet. Decent mouthfeel. Some warming initially, but very cold after.
Would like to do a normal ratio session run, but it might be a while before I get around to it since it’s not entirely in the sort of comfortable to drink age yet.
