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3.6g, 90 mL gaiwan, brita tap. Similar notes as before, but more pleasant. Light cocoa and sugar in the taste. Something borderline grassy medicinal in the wet leaf, almost vetiver-like that perfumes can have, but not as sharp. Not standout, but perfectly acceptable. Will probably stick with this 1:25 ratio going forward for these light roast oolongs.

bought one with TeaBuy Korea this year. drank quickly with someone else and gifted the rest to them later because they liked it. We had to run through it quick, but the citrus seems to have really made an effect because all I remember is it starting as a lightened version of yuja cha (the yuzu citron tea jar things that you mix with water) and ending more honeyed. Would probably buy again. the limited experience makes for a hard exacting call though.

A great work tea. The taste is more akin to black tea with all the malty notes though, than an oolong. some roasty notes. There can be some occasional sweet potato, vegetal, fruity notes, and overall it can range from soft to toasty depending on ratio and brewing. I liked it! I do have a ton of other teas to make it through, so will not repurchase for now.

this was my work tea for a good week or so. It’s an incredibly aromatic floral bomb and can withstand extended cold brewing, if one is so inclined. I pushed it for 3 days just to see before I was tired and finally tossed it. There’s also honeyed and fruity notes throughout, but those fade after a while. So why the “was”? Something about it is oddly … strong. Part of the problem is that I have no scale at work, so I’ve been guessing and have probably been overdoing it. At any rate, I was feeling a sort of dread continually in the mornings and afternoons and connected it back to this and drinking on anything other than a full stomach. And like any old gen Z loser, I am generally stressed about something or other. But I don’t generally feel strong anxiety that I can’t trace back to anything specific. Excess caffeine always brings jitters and never anxiety. I’m on hiatus with this for the time being.

Had my sample 2 separate times at work. The first time I disliked it, thinking it was too lightly roasted. Which it is, to me, but I know many lighter oolongs nowadays are even greener. That time it was fairly buttery in a green oolong sort of way and sweet. Both times, I’ve gotten some sweet potato and minty notes as well. Somewhat aromatic. All in all, it’s alright. Forgettable, but not bad. Wouldn’t repurchase.

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