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The White2Tea 2016:

I purchased samples of all the 2016 new line up this year, and I started at the bottom (cheapest) and worked my way up. I did this to taste the profile improvements and variances. I brewed in the same pot with same leaf water ratio. Also, this helps to hone in my palette to identify what’s a good deal and what’s not. At the conclusion of my tasting I will be placing my cake order.

I opened up the package and gave the leaves I light sniff. I can appreciate the very direct fresh and green scent. I take in a light sweetness and some hay. I warmed up my pot and threw some in. The scent moved into a sweet wood aroma with lots of fruit and honey. This is a very bright tea. The taste was something else; it was surprisingly great! I was greeted with a sweet “in your face” taste along with a thick fruit flavor. I could taste definite and clear peach tones with apricot and a fig newton base. i was appalled by how flavorful this brew was. However, the flavors were very abrupt and flat; I could note no depth to them. I still thoroughly enjoyed this brew. The huigan was nice and lasting and the qi was warming and soothing. The sensation began at my head and smoothed things out. I could feel the nice warm waves go over my temples. A nice cooling sensation began at the tongue and throat. This tea was great with crowd pleasing in your face attention. I really liked how direct the fruit tones were.

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This company has some great puerh. I’ve always enjoyed a majority of their productions, and this pressing is no different. I’ve heard a lot of noise about this tea, and the tea gods smiled on me and some ended up in my gaiwan. The cake is heavily aromatic with a sweet floral character as well as some spice. A heavy dark wood note acts as a soft but stern base. I warmed my gaiwan up and prepared for brewing. The warmed cake becomes even better by giving off intense scents of plum, raisan, juicy blackberries, honey, and the same dark wood base. This tea has a lot to give and has some unique scents. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The tate begins light and very sweet. A thick oily mouth-feel followed by encompassing honey tones. The aftertaste is a long and lasting succlent taste with a slight bitterness. The tea carries a faint mesquite flavor in later steeping, and then morphs into an intense brown sugar note. Past that, a light floral note introduces itself, I beleive it to be lily or maybe even a subtle iris. The qi is spot on with an invigorating cooling sensation that begins at heart center as well as a good head buzz. The taste has a kicker huigan and slight kuwei. This is a solid blend, and I really enjoyed it. The only fallback is that the tea drops abrutly. The flavors, huigan, and sensations falter instantly while brewing. Nevertheless, this is still a great puerh. This is one of the teas that you go to the website to buy during the session; however, the tea is now sold out. That realization of a lost tea made me rather sad. I hear the 2016 blend is going to be released soon though…

I was going to let this tea settle, but the aroma pulled me in. This tea is fragrant! The cake gives off an enticing scent of honey, warm wood, steamed greens, and heavy floral tones. I really was caught up on it. I broke off a chunk and prepared my yixing for brewing. I placed the leaf inside and allowed it to warm up. After a few shakes, I lift the lid, and I’m again enthralled by the aroma. A heavily candied texture rises into the air. I catch thick aromas of honey, wispy lilies, and caramel. I can taste a slight burnt sugar tone steaming from the pot. I imagine sugarcane, buckwheat honey, and pancakes…bliss. I wash the leaves once and prepare for brewing. Now, this tea was not bad at all, but the ’scent’sational foreplay may have gotten me a little too over-excited. The cuppa began as fresh and inviting with some lemon zest and sugarcane at the forefront. The brew soothed into a candy-like sweetness. I described the sweetness as alpine fresh, like mountain spring water, in my notes. This brew is very calm and holds only a slight bitterness. The huigan was very light and almost hard to spot. The qi began as a cooling sensation and gave slight ripples outwards from the chest. The soothing qualities were alike menthol. I enjoyed this tea, but it was very soft and very calm. Almost too calm, in my opinion. I prefer a tea with a strong back bone and some character. This is a definite crowd-pleaser, and I highly recommend it for the new puerh drinkers who wanna dip a toe in the icy sheng waters, but it is not something I would seek out. Now the scent, that’s something I could sit and sniff forever!

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I had this tea for quite some time, and I had no idea I owned it. I was attempting at some late spring cleaning, and I came across a jar of this. I decided that I should finally give it a go. The leaf is heavily compressed and gives off a smooth and sweet scent with some heavy woody base. I take in the familiar tang of tobacco common with most aged sheng. I warmed up my jianshui and placed a chunk inside. The aroma deepened into a thick candied fragrance with syrupy textures. I take in a light smokiness and some slight tobacco. The leaf gives an underlying aroma of brown sugar. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The mouth sensation consists of a full feeling thick like oil. The taste is sweet with honey syrup. A muddled grass tone lies underneath. The huigan is great and potent and lasts extensively after each sip. The later steeping brings on a slight bitterness to intrigue along with dry tones to wipe away the palette. The qi began as a wonderful cooling effect that washed over my body. The feeling proceeded to cause me to really space out. A lingering taste of sugarcane and sweet vegetables followed me. The qi began climbing and my hairs were rising. This brew was very stimulating, and the huigan was sweet and drowning. i really liked this tea. I love the teas that are not the prettiest looking and almost seem unwanted, yet they surprise you with such a memorable session. I enjoyed this tea so very much!

I have a lot of love for fresh first flush Darjeeling (Nepal) teas. The season came around, and I had to scoop a bunch up. This is the first of many. I open the package and take a soft inhale. I am surrounded by a sweet squash flower scent with dark heavy wood and sap flowers. I can note a light spice of anise and peppercorn that lingers in the background. I warmed up my tetsubin and scoop the delicate vibrant leaves in. I filled the pot up and grabbed my cast iron cup and prepared for relaxation and sippin’. The taste was spot on. My first word on my notepad is simply “perfect”. The body was thick and sweet with a slight tang in the aftertaste. The liquor flows smoothly and calmly over the palette with a heavy floral note and roasted green base. A can pin point a bright hyacinth note that blossoms out of the brew. The aftertaste is thick and lasting with a candied sweetness. The brew continues in this manner and progresses with a slight astringency that keeps the brew interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I always love what Namring brings to the table.

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I am vary wary when it comes to aged ginseng oolong, for I have never had a good experience. I prefer fresh ginseng oolong. I remember most of my sessions of aged ginseng oolong ending swiftly and with quite a lot of tea dumping. This tea makes its way to me, and I pushed myself to keep an open mind. I opened the package and was greeted with a heavy medicinal scent. The aroma was sharp and pungent with dried herbs and lemon peel in the background. I warmed up my gaiwan and placed some inside. The scent deepened and spread out with heavy oak and barley tones. A direct hot wood scent wafted up along with a very slight sweetness behind it, which I suspected to be the ginseng. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste began as heavily roasted and mouth numbing. A woody flavor lifted up from the palette and finished with a sweet aftertaste. I could hint at a hops taste. The second sip yielded a well done aftertaste of sweet wood and roasted sugar. The brew yielded some great energy that lasted for good while. The cuppa was smooth yet odd. This is my best experience with aged ginseng tea, but it still was a bit weird. I noticed that ginseng oolong does not age very well at all, which is why the tea is so uncommon; however, this brew aged nicely and was quite good. I was impressed.

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I’ve been very interested in this company. I’ve had their shou, but I’ve yet to try any of their sheng. Luckily, a small coin of this made it’s way over to me. The small puerh coin comes in a clever wrapper in a convenient 6g amount. I unwrapped the little treat and gave the tea a sniff. The small sheng chip had a nice spring grass scent with a perfume of light floral. I took in an undertone of sweet wood and possible iris. The disk was very aromatic. I warmed up my yixing and placed the coin inside, the fit was perfect (see photo). I let the tea open a little and lifted the lid to take a whiff. The scent was thick and sweet with a light woodiness. I took in some heady maple, nectar, and the same light floral brightness. I washed the coin with colder water once, then twice more with hotter water to open in up. Then, I poured myself a nice cup. The flavor was perfect! The taste begins extremely sweet and with a lasting flavor. I taste brown sugar at the forefront with confectioners sugar at the back. The tea carries a maple wood base the easily lifts these delectable flavors up and around the palette. The next steeping yields the same sweet liquor; however, the base has moved into an interesting sap and herb taste. This is surprisingly very good. I say surprisingly because I have doubts about any compressed puerh under 100g. The tea ended with some light bitterness with a lingering astringency. The qi was very slight but in the right way. This is what I consider a happy tea. I say this because it doesn’t give me that high energy, cooling sensation, fuzzy stomach, butterflies, or sweaty palms reaction, rather; this tea puts a smile on my face and makes the sun shine. I like these kinds of teas, and I usually only experience this with northern puerh and Nepalese blacks. I will hopefully be getting more.

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I spent most of the weekend outside working, and this tea called to my gaiwan and I to be brewed. I opened up the package to reveal a chaotic assortment of darkened leaves with thick stems. the leaves were incredibly aromatic with a sweet scent of crisp pears, oats, honey, barley, and a smooth graham cracker. This was a unique and enticing aroma. I warmed up my gaiwan and placed a handful inside. The scent deepened to a warm grass base with sweet raisins and light mineral aroma mixture. I sat and enjoyed this array of scents for some time. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing.. The flavor began with a full body. I tasted a nice vegetle base with a smooth spring grass sharpness. A sweet sensation flowed over my palette and progressed into an almost creme tone. This lulling sensation was followed by a light fruitiness and some buttery tones. This brew was quite good, and it was a fully encompassing experience. The brew lightened up in later steeping and moved into the grassier and sharper tones. This tea is quite good, and it would do well for a daily drinker.

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I’ve been interested in this company and this puerh made its way over to me. The brick is loosely compressed and very twiggy. I can pick up a heavy wood tone with some sweet earthiness. I warmed up my gaiwan and placed a chunk inside. The scent deepens to a smooth petrichor and some intense leather scents. I washed the leaves once and poked around to help expansion. The soup was thick but light crimson. The flavor begins dry and with a drought earth flavor. This taste progresses to an old leather and top soil. The flavors keep a consistent smooth dry bite with some wet clay and rainwater flavors arising later on. The leaf is very large and is pretty durable for a huangpian. Later steeping reflect a sweet dark fruit taste. This brew lasts for quite some time, but it was a little to dry for my tastes. This is a typical run of the mill Menghai Shu. It wasn’t terrible, but it was nothing too impressive.

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I was expecting this tea to be a little more “greener”, but this one seems pretty roasted. I gave the leaves a nice long whiff and was taken over by a sweet perfume aroma with a citrus orange tang. The leaves were very fruity and incredibly fragrant. I warmed up my gaiwan and placed them inside. With a shake, I lift the lid and take a deep inhale. I could note some roasted oats, baked bread, and orange juice. This tea smells like breakfast, haha. I could also take in some warm honey in the background. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste began perfectly! The first flavor was an intense sugarcane candy that coats the tongue; then, a nice floral sweetness that eases you down. The base of the tea is nice and roasted with some berry tones, and finally a smooth honey aftertaste. A mild tannin and bitter lingers in the very back. However, this tea completely plummets in the second steeping. This is a one steep tea. The second pour yielded a very sour and bitter tea that is unpleasant. I ended up dumping the remaining tea. So, lesson learned and if I ever have this again I know to call it one and done.

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