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I really enjoy Korean green tea; they have wonderful aromas. I don’t remember where I got this, but I discovered it a little bit ago. The leaves are vibrant and loosely rolled with a warm scent of dried seaweed, roasted chestnuts, almonds, and kale. I warmed my kyusu and scooped some inside. The directions said really light and really short steeps, but I disagreed. The drink was a nice pale jade with a roasted aroma. The taste is very very thin and sweet. The brew lasted about two steeps and yielded a cup of light grassy notes and slight florals. The base was starchy and roasted corn, but it was very faint. This is a very easy drinker, and it is nice for night time sippin, but I wouldn’t get any more of this.

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I’ve had this for some time, so I picked it out of the rucksack to steep out. The leaf has long delicate tendrils with no discernible scent. It was incredibly light, so I couldn’t quite place what I was sniffing, but I would say a light hay-y aroma. I brought out one of my English tea pots and brewed away. The taste was nice and subtle. I am not a huge fan of white tea, but this one was decent. The liquor is a rusted orange with a slight earth green aroma. The taste is smooth, light, and sweet with tones of hay, cane sugar, vanilla, and wood. Also, this brew has a delicious base of lemon grass that follows to the nose. I liked this tea, and it was an interesting steeper.

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Yabao has always interested me, for the colour of the liquor is IMHO the most beautiful. These buds are large with a lemon zest scent. They have sharp herbaceous tones and hay with some oats mixed in. The mixture is a pleasantly sharp sour. I warmed my shibo and placed them inside. The tones open up to heady floral and zesty herbs alike thyme, rosemary, and tarragon. I washed the buds once and prepared for brewing. The stepped white nubs give off a fragrant scent of granola drizzled in honey with some nutmeg spice. The taste is smooth and filling with prominent lemon basil, tulsi, and soft wood. The next steeps bring on hay and sugar water with the same flux of herbaceous medley. This is a great easy sipper. The liquor is the classic translucent aquamarine color that stuns me. I was not able to pull too many steepings, and yabao always leaves me unsatisfied, but it was a nice and peaceful session.

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This piqued my interest solely on the fact it was from Hawaii. The leaf is very pretty, for it is a cross between gunpowder green and bi lou chun. The leaf is rough yet vibrant. The small dark emerald curls have a scent of fresh spinach leaves, roasted chestnuts, and almond. I warmed my kyusu and tossed some in. I steeped this away as the bag instructed me, and it yielded a clear jade soup. The flavor is a sweet rough grassy. I grab at some asparagus, roasted veggies, and a good base of sugar water. That is about as interesting as the tea became. This is a very easy drinker. The leaf is basic and plain. I feel this best depicts the “starbucks” of tea. A tea that is smooth, sweetish, and plain, so as to suit the masses tastes.

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I’m going to keep this one short. The leaf is heavily compressed and carries a bbq briquette scent. The tone is brown sugar sweet with a smoky waft. I warmed the yixing and put em in. The scent was still smoky but sharper, more of a mesquite smoke. I washed the leaves twice and brewed away. This tea is decent. It reminds me of a well done soft zheng shan Xiao shong. The smoke is present, but it is not bitter or overwhelming. Rather, the smokiness is meaty and savory. The smoky profile comes in waves and the tea performs in a woody, smoky, black tea manner. The tea took forever to fully open up, and even after the whole session it was still pretty compressed in some spots. I didn’t find this incredibly complex or great, but it was interesting and cheap. This really is a smoky lee.

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This is the orb from the Sheng Olympiad.

I thought this was damn good. I was pretty impressed. The ball is not too tightly rolled and gives off a Sichuan pepper, peppercorn, and some sweetish savory notes. I seem to always smell Sichuan peppers on tea balls, not sure why. I warmed up my pot and threw it in. The aroma does a backflip and becomes very sweet with a thick green background. I can pick up an underlining bite that sifts through the brown sugar and maple fog. This is a very nice and inviting scent. I washed the ball twice and prepped for brewing. The taste begins light and grassy with some jasmine. The next steep is similar with dandelion floral qualities. Afterwards, the floral qualities truly bloomed and spread out on top of a nice bitter green base (bok choy/kale?). A punchy background of fruits follows throughout the session. The taste is really nice. The later steeping caused the floral and green qualities to reverse, so it was a base of floral and a hint of bitter greens. Personally, I thought this to be a floral bomb; it was packed with dandelion, jasmine, and iris. The tea gives off a crisp cooling sensation that sits at the tongue. The tea softens out and soothes with the fruit tones. The qi was noticeable but relaxing. This was a major kickback tea for me. I just put on some tunes and leaned back from my tea table. It was a good vibe-y tea. While drinking, I was trying to pull from memory how last years was, and I believe this one is softer and thicker; a more pronounced tone to it. I will have to look back through my notes.

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There are two options to pick from to review, but this choice had more tasting notes.

The leaf is dark and nicely threaded together. A nice note of smooth sweet wood and light musk lift from the leaf. I’ve heard good things about this tea, so I am excited to try. I warmed my lil pot up and prepared for brewing. The leaves, once warmed up, give off a fruity spice aroma. I pick up plum mixed with an extremely pleasant tobacco scent. I washed the old timers once before steeping. The taste is incredibly smooth with a bit of tannic. The huigan is thick, full, and filled with dates. This tea is motor oil thick and silky smooth. The later steeping yields a pleasantly sour tobacco note, but the drink still ends with a candy like sweetness. A light floral orchid lifts from the tongue by the third steeping. This is a stellar tea. I’d also like to note the leaves give off an inquisitive herbaceous note that fills the tea room. The qi begins head clouding and clears to warming uplifting of the body. This is a nice “cruising” tea; I can just drift along with the brew, enjoying the ride. The brew leaves me calm and collected with a nice easy goin vibe. I really like it, almost a bit too much.

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I like the name of this one; it made me excited to try it. The leaves are slightly darkened with some light tobacco tang with some sweet greens. I washed the leaves and placed it in my pot. The warm aroma carries some notes of smoke and pipe tobacco with a familiar fruity bitter greens. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste begins thick with a molasses sweetness; however, I do not note any depth. The tones seem to be very upright and in your face (mouth?). The next steep yields some heavy peppercorn spice with a grassy (ish) base. The brew continues in this manner with a good kuwei and a nice honey aftertaste. The qi is fair with back of the head sensations and vibrating buzz, but I didn’t notice any depth in each subsequent steeping. I tasted this a few times after and noticed the same. I have never been too much of a fan for fall teas, maybe this is a reason why.

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I’m a big fan of Hekai. It’s bite-y and crisp. This one lays right in those tones, and it’s great. The leaves are long, twisted, and shiny. An intoxicating aroma of warm honey, dry grass, and some light floral lift from the leaves. The fragrance is fresh, pleasant, and lasting. I warmed up my pot and placed a chunk inside. The scent opens into what I would describe as fibrous. A ton of oatmeal with nectar and maple wood. This is a rustic breakfast tea, haha. I washed the leaves and prepared to brew. The taste begins with a sharp bitter bite and instant power qi that washes over the body. Afterwards, a light sweetness calms the palate. I had to wrestle with this tea a little bit, for the bitterness continued to bite, and the qi was overpowering. I continued flash steeping, for I like a challenge, and it paid off. The calms down and presents a flavor profile of light white grape tang and dry sweetness. This is a nice solid tea with bite and soon after soothing qualities. I peek into my pot and notice the heavy bud usage and small stout leaves. I enjoyed the pulsing qi and thick sweet lingering taste in mouth for long after the session.

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The leaf I received was very brittle and somewhat broken up, but a little cosmetic damage doesn’t mean too much to a tea. I warmed my gaiwan up as I took a sniff of the small black slivers. They gave off a nice aroma of dry maple with some char. These are pretty roasty, and I hope it was a successful firing. I scooped my leaf inside the gaiwan and gave them a swirl. The roast scent mixed in with some slight leather and dark fruit, The leaf portrays a common aged oolong profile with the dry raisiny tones. I washed the leaf once and prepared for brewing. The taste was smooth and lightly sweet. A calm brew with wooded tones and raisin with a base of mineral and spice. The drink is nice, but it is relatively plain. However, the odd sweet and spice mix does excite the palate somewhat. A harsh astringent tone hastily presents itself soon after the first couple steeps. I did not notice any qi from this drink.

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