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I’ve been sipping this for awhile, and it’s one of my go-to daily drinkers. The cake is heavily dried and tightly compressed. I can spot some gold curls spread throughout the top. I take a whiff and inhale a dried earth and light fungal tone. I break off a hefty chunk and throw it into the warmed gaiwan. I opened the lid and take in a wonderful bunch of scents. I spot wet sage and clay right off the bat, slowly I begin to pick up some earth and a rising petrichor. I washed the leaves a few times due to its heavy compression and begin my brewing. The steeped chunk finally un-bunches and releases a sweet damp leaf and soil aroma. The scent is heavy and thick. The brew consists of a dense and dark soup. The taste begins light and sweet with a brief cocoa tone. This thick drink gives a heavy and full mouth-feel with nice lubrication. The tea expresses some distinct earth tones that move throughout the senses. This liqour is full of curbed tones. It’s a nice balanced drink with its smooth heavy tastes and a light finish. The qi is beautifully warming and begins low in the gut and slowly travels up to the mind. This offering is not overly complex, but it’s a reliable Shou. The brew is good, steady, warming, and rich. The cake is not something I’m crazy about, but I enjoy having it, and I drink it at night before bed to warm myself up.

I really like how this came out
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I’ve been drinking this at work, and it’s a fairly decent Darjeeling. The leaf includes small black clippings with some gold spotting spread throughout. The brew is a well rounded cuppa with some brief malt tones. The drink carries a sweet woody base with a smooth body and some slight spice. I was not picking up any floral or flowery tones. This is a good basic daily drinker. The cup isn’t bitter and tannic, but it wasn’t something to rave about. This is a nice basic black that helped get me through the day.

I’m super stoked that I’m the first to review!

I got this as my gift in the White2Tea Black Friday sale; because, I have no self control, haha. I’m so glad I got this freebie. First off, it’s really pretty and unique. I love how it looks, and it has a light yet sharp pipe tobacco scent. The “leaves” are incredibly compressed and require some heavy picking. I try my best to not obliterate the tuo into dust, but Pu happens. I break a chunk and fit it into the warmed Jianshui and give it a shake. The warmed leaf smells fantastic. The scent reminds me of that classic tobacco in a tin can that feels soft like moss. I can’t remember the name; it sounds like shag or something. It smells so freaking good! The tea carries that note, and it is lifted with some potent dark fruits. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The steeped leaves become heavier with notes of mahogany, leather, resin, and a sweet woody tobacco. The brew is a thick dark orange. The taste begins as a sugarcane sweet, and it moves into soft oak tones. The session progresses into a smooth dry brew with a sweet aftertaste. The later steeps become slightly astringent and thicker in the mouth. The brew is full bodied and rich with leather and drying mouth action. This is a fairly good tea, but the best characteristic is it’s qi. This small tuo gives some of my favorite sensations. The feeling begins as a spark ignites at heart center. This tea doesn’t have that slurred overheating feeling, but rather, it’s a pulsating electric vibration. The stimulation slowly overtakes the body and drives the spirit upwards. This brew gives you so much clean energy, it’s amazing. I love the nice clear headiness, the smooth blood flow, and the pulsating heart. I don’t experience slurred speech, sweats, heart throbs, or any other overwhelming qi. I just enjoy the intense focused atmosphere. It’s perfect to cleanse the mind.
My only complaint is due to the small broken leaves the teapot clogs very easily, but a small pick fixes that right quick. That’s my rant for this tea, and I’ll be trying my best to not drink the whole thing.

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I’ve been bringing this to work each day, and its fantastic! My review won’t be as detailed, for this was done while panicking from one crisis to the next. The leaves are these small delicate little curls, and they have a wonderful aroma. I can spot small gold dusting among the ebony tendrils. They give off a potent scent of dry chocolate and dark wood. The brew is nice and heavy with some decadent tones. The initial sip is thick with warm dark chocolate syrup. The flavor then moves into smooth dark wood with slight malt. This brew isn’t incredibly complex, but it is wonderfully tasty. Also, the brew is pretty durable, so I had no fear of oversteeping (even when I would forget my cup somewhere). I really like this tea, and I’m sad to see it go. I’ll be searching through the stash for another one that makes the “cut” for work tea.

This is another one of my favorites from this company. The dry leaf is incredibly fragrant. Once you open the punch you’re blasted with sweet smelling flowers and a soft woodiness. The leaves are darker than the first flush, but they every bit as tippy. You can easily spot multiple platinum tips in a handful of this sweet smelling leaf. I poured a heavy amount in my tetsubin and brewed away. The steeped leaves are still sweet, but they carry a wet wood roughness and a tangy maple aroma. The brew is thick and dark red. The initial sip begins with some smooth oak and moves into a walnut nuttiness. The drink finishes with a thick muscatel and some dark fruit in the background. This is a heavy muscatel toned beverage. I enjoy brewing this later in the day, so I may sit and unwind and pay attention to the transition of the flavors. It’s enjoying as how it begins almost rough and “bitey”, and then it softens and curbs the palette. This a great example of what a fine Darjeeling should taste like. You can also easily notice the sweet fragrant sweetness that lingers in the throat long after drinking. Personally, I enjoy both the First Flush and Second Flush Arya from this company; however, I prefer the First Flush in the morning for it’s crisp tones and Second Flush in the evening for it’s complexity and heavier tones. I highly recommend this tea, and there is not much of it left. The aroma from the liquor of this brew is something to experience. I am incredibly excited to experience this years harvest.

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I’ve had a lot of this tea for some time, and I wanted to wait to make it through all of what I had until I reviewed. The tea is beautiful! The dry leaf consists of long whole leaf curls with an array of colors. They range from brilliant green to dusted silver. These gorgeous leaves give off an intoxicating scent of daisies and winter honey. They are just sweet and flowery. I usually drink this every morning before work, and I pack my tetsubin full of this beautiful Darjeeling. This morning I did just the same. I brewed up a pot and took in the scent of the steeped leaves. They still carry that floral scent, but it’s mixed with some burnt sugar and other tannic sweetness. The cuppa is perfect. This by far one of my favorite Darjeelings to date. The brew is much darker and carries thicker tones than most First Flushes, for the tea is more oxidized. This difference in processing makes the tea a rather unique Darjeeling. The taste is phenomenal! The initial sip begins with a drying floral sweetness, and then it moves into a smooth nuttiness. I detect silky caramel in the background that moves throughout the tastes. This tea has a ton of mouth action. The brew begins with an oily base that coats the mouth and throat, and then the oil dries and leaves the mouth, throat, and belly with a wonderful cooling effect. The brew has very little astringency and carries so many complimenting flavors. The drink is crisp and cool, yet it’s also heavy and full bodied. I enjoy drinking this every morning, and I’m sorry to see it go. However, it’s getting to that time of year and I’m very excited for 2016’s harvest. I highly recommend this tea to Darjeeling connoisseurs and novices alike. You won’t be disappointed.

Also, a brief word about the company. I was recommended this tea from a friend awhile back when I was searching for the perfect Darjeeling. I looked this company up and low and behold they were local for me. If you ever in the Western New York area you must stop in. This company’s tea studio is beautiful and the owner is most hospitable. In fact, some of my most memorable tea sessions happened in that studio. The atmosphere is perfect, and the tea is top notch.

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I celebrated the full moon last night with this gorgeous tea! This is truly a unique and special tea. There is no question why it was used to catch fairies. The wrapper is yet another beautiful design from this company, and it complements well with the cake itself. The tea beeng is an array of spectacular colors of silver, ebony, and brilliant orange. Honestly, the tea’s beauty is what had me hooked on trying it. I gave the cake a sniff and took in some dry grass with a slight tang in the background. I warmed up my gaiwan and placed a hefty chunk inside. I sat for awhile and enjoyed the full moon. There was some clouds covering the sky, but it was still simply incredible. While I gazed at the moon, I could smell the magic from this tea already begin to fill the air. I lifted the lid and let all the aroma spread through out my tea room. I was picking up strong notes of grapefruit, flowers,and nectar. These platinum leaves were crisp and sweet with citrus scents and smoothed and woody with a herbaceous undertone. This was going to be a treat. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The liquor was a deep and vibrant orange. The steeped leaves moved into a sweet tang with an alcoholic white wine finish. The grapefruit scent had been replaced by a fresh tangerine. I took an inhale of the sweet liquor and took my first sip. The initial sip was super sweet with potent citrus scents filling the air. This such a good feeling tea. The flavors are crisp and sweet and remind me of a summer fruity drink. The drink begins stevia sweet and moves into a crisp sparkling tang. The tea clears the head and lifts the spirits. This brew has an almost detoxifying feeling. The drink moves progressively into a strong heavy body of syrupy sugarcane sweetness. I didn’t detect the grapefruit taste until later steeping. These silver leaves lasted for a long time, and they continued to yield a heavy orange liquor with fresh sweetness. The leaves unfolded and my gaiwan was full of a flowery arrangement. The qi was long lasting and quite powerful. The feeling was an uplifted sensation with lots of energy and giggling. This is a perfect tea for any gathering, and is likely to bring a lot of laughter. I noticed that if you add more leaf the brew becomes heavily sweet; if you use less leaf the brew moves into the more grapefruit and tangy tones. This is a wonderful tea, and it’s beauty alone is enough to show off. I’m so happy to have been able to try this.

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This a great example of a heavy roasted oolong. The leaves are tightly curled black pebbles. They carry a lot of weight in a small amount, so you don’t need too many embers. They give off a deep charcoal and roast scent, yet there is some lingering sweetness in the background. I placed them inside my warmed gaiwan and let these little guys relax. I opened the lid and inhaled a warm roasted aroma. I was picking up fresh espresso, burnt sugar, and a brief background of dark bitter chocolate. I washed these a few times;because of how tightly wound they were. Finally, the liquor began to darken, and I took in a hearty sip. The flavor is smooth and light bodied. The characteristic I love about this tea is that it’s not poorly roasted. I’ve experienced numerous heavy roasted oolongs that taste like licking a burnt out campfire. This a nice crisp roast with plenty of curbing flavors such as; caramel, burnt sugar, and underlying oak. This tea has the nice roast to warm you up, but it also carries the oolong sweetness that keeps you steeping. Personally, I like to brew this heavy and with longer steeping times, for I want a drink that packs a punch. This was really good; however it took awhile to full open up. Don’t give up on this tea; it just needs to be pushed a little. In my experience the rough brews need to be treated rough; boiling water, longer steeps. This is a nice experience, and the brew lasts for a long time. The tea offers tons of flavor and complexity for a heavy roasted TGY. I’m planning on trying the treat version of this with some heavy brewing and coconut milk. I’m pretty excited to try it!

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Comparison Shot
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My friend in Arizona loves Ginseng Oolong. He loves them so much I got him a half pound for Christmas, and he is nearly through all of it. So, as a treat, I brought this down when I visited for vacation. I grabbed my gaiwan and warmed it up. We opened the package and inspected the curly nuggets. The small rolled oolong had grown very dark with age, and it carried a slight woody and dust scent. We placed all we had inside the gaiwan and let them sit. I lifted the lid and took in the aged aroma. The ginseng was slight, but it had the sweet familiar characteristics. I rinsed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. Honestly, this was not a wow tea for either of us. We sat and tasted and relaxed in the tea, but I didn’t taste of anything all that great. In fact, I was done with the session by the third steep, but I kept going for his sake. The tea had the common ginseng oolong taste in the first step; however, the brew wasn’t stevia sweet; it was almost medicinal. The flavors were rough and dusted. There was an odd tone about this brew, and we couldn’t put our finger (or tongue) on it. I kept steeping for a little while longer until my friend held up his hand in response to “no more”. Or rather, in his own words, “I think the tea is on its last limb, best we lay it to rest”. We were both unsatisfied after the session, and we progressed unto some aged sheng. Anyways, I don’t think ginseng oolong should be aged; rather, I prefer it to be in it’s fresh state. However, I am happy to have experienced it, and I did learn from the experience. I was a little sad that my friend didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped, but I had him smashed and tea drunk in no time with the sheng, haha.

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