Leafhopper Send Message

It appears I haven’t posted a note on this tea, which I think is from 2016. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 200F for 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of char, roast, wood, and grain. The first steep has notes of grain, cannabis, char, nuts, caramel, roast, minerals, and wood. The char becomes more prominent in the second steep, as are roast and walnuts. Molasses, oakwood, and an incense-type quality emerge in the next couple steeps, and I can really notice the minerals in the aftertaste. Steeps five and six are more roasted, woody, and mineral, and are a bit drying. I also get a tobacco note. The end of the session has notes of roast, wood, char, wet rocks, grain, and minerals.

This is a very enjoyable Da Hong Pao whose smoky flavours don’t detract from the drinking experience. I found that it gets kind of boring by the seventh steep, although this is a minor complaint. It’s a perfect tea for this cool fall evening!

Steepster seems to be back up and running this morning. Let’s see if I break it again with my next review!

I drank this a while ago, but didn’t post a review since I thought I had another bag. That was my only one, however, so I’m basically going from memory. I remember steeping this teabag at 205F for 5, 8, and 10 minutes, plus a long soak overnight.

The tea smelled primarily of sweet mint, with a touch of lemon from the verbena. All four steeps were heavy on the mint, which was sweet, powerful, and slightly earthy, without the muddiness found in some peppermint teas. The verbena added a bit of lemon and herbaceousness, but was definitely overwhelmed by the mint.

Though this sadly didn’t make me giddy, it was a nice, relaxing tisane. Thanks, Derk, for the chance to try it.

I love the flowery, over-the-top names given to some Darjeelings (like Moonlight, Enigma, and Summer Punch), especially when the teas deserve them. I’ve enjoyed Lochan’s offerings from Jungpana in the past, so I have high expectations going into this tea. I steeped 4 g of leaf in a 355 ml mug at 195F for 5 and 8 minutes.

The dry aroma is of muscatel, pastry, chocolate, flowers, and grass. The first steep has notes of heavy muscatel, dates, raisins, pastries, butter, chocolate, rose, spring flowers, spices, wood, straw, earth, tannins, and grass. The chocolate aftertaste is pronounced. The second steep is less exciting, with autumn leaf pile, malt, muscatel, tannins, wood, straw, and earth.

This is a lovely second flush Darjeeling that is indeed a summer delight. I was advised to get 100 grams, and I’m glad I listened.

Though I don’t often opt for Jin Xuan teas, this one was recommended to me as fruity so I gave it a try. It’s from spring 2019. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of milky sweetness, grass, honeysuckle, and other flowers. The first steep has that note I interpret as cream corn, plus honeysuckle, orchid, other florals, spinach, condensed milk, and grass. The next steep introduces heady gardenia and coconut, and is great! However, this tea is almost too sweet. The next couple steeps are more balanced, with corn, coconut, cream, custard, spinach, arugula, herbs, and those heady flowers. The next two steeps are similar, though with more spinach and sweetness and sadly less coconut. The trend toward spinach, grass, and other veggies continues in the next few steeps, though the condensed milk sweetness persists.

This is a rather nice Jin Xuan whose coconut and floral notes I appreciate. The sweetness, however, is slightly overwhelming. Given its price, I’d consider buying this tea again.

I was intrigued to see this very old tea in my package from Derk. Thanks for the sample, which may sadly reflect some of the older teas in my own collection. I followed the instructions on Steepster and brewed 2 teaspoons in a 355 ml mug at 185F for 2, 4, 6, and 8 minutes.

Dry, the tea smells like orange blossom and old-lady perfume, with a strong tinge of alcohol. The first steep has some nice flavours of orange, orange blossom, flowers, malt, wood, and spice, though these are unfortunately overwhelmed by perfume and decaying lawn clippings. This tea is like Constant Comment if it became a zombie. I went through three more cups of this tea, which grew maltier and more tannic but never lost that perfumey quality.

I won’t rate this tea due to its age, as I’m sure it would have been much more enjoyable fresh. As is, it’s a warning to drink my Indian and Nepali teas before they taste like something that should have been laid to rest long ago.

I decided to give this tea a chance after seeing it described as aromatic and fruity, although I’ve had a black Tie Guan Yin before that I wasn’t too fond of. Of course, Jin Guan Yin is a slightly different varietal, though my expectations were still somewhat similar. I used the instructions given in the Camellia Sinensis Summer Session, an online event held in August that reviewed eight of their teas, as provided by Tea in Spoons:
https://teainspoons.com/2020/10/01/camellia-sinensis-summer-session-08-2020-part-3/
They said to steep 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 203F for 30, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of sourdough bread, dates, tart fruit, and sweet potato. The first two steeps have notes of sweet potato, citrus, dates, sap, caramel, and baked bread. In the next steep, the sweet potato gets even richer, the citrus resolves itself into orange zest, the tannins become more prominent, and flavours of tart rhubarb and sourdough emerge. That sourdough is especially noticeable when exhaling a few minutes after a sip and is kind of entertaining.

In steeps four to six, the sourdough starts competing with the sweet potato, and I get some earth, tannins, and wood. This is slightly disappointing since I liked those sweet potato-heavy initial steeps so much. The final few long steeps reveal mellow sweet potato, combined with tannins, wood, malt, earth, and minerals.

This tea is a lot better than my previous batch of black TGY. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves sweet potato and enjoys a dynamic gongfu session. It’s especially appropriate at the moment since it’s the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone who’s celebrating, and I hope you can connect with family virtually if not in person.

This tea is from my massive Darjeeling haul this summer. I don’t remember ever having a Singbulli second flush, as I think this estate is better known for its first flushes. I steeped around 4 g of leaf in a 355 ml mug at 195F for 5 and 8 minutes.

The dry aroma of these fluffy, generously gold-scattered leaves is of muscatel, autumn leaf pile, and hay. The first steep has notes of sticky muscatel, malt, orange, honey, flowers, autumn leaf pile, wood, hay, and tannins. It’s both gorgeously sweet and grounded by the astringency, which I think makes it a nice weekend morning tea. The second steep is lighter on the muscatel and heavier on the tannins, and adds notes of earth, grass, and minerals.

While this tea didn’t blow me away, it’s a nice second flush Darjeeling that had enough heft to wake me up. I might try steeping it a bit cooler to emphasize those muscatel and orange flavours.

I received this back in 2017 when I was an Eco-Cha Tea Club member. Thank goodness it has some roast on it and can presumably survive a few years in storage! I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

Dry, these tightly rolled nuggets smell like a floral gingersnap. The first steep has notes of sweet pea, orchid, cookie, butter, nutmeg, grass, and light roast, with a floral and grassy aftertaste. The second steep adds nuts (maybe pecans?) and even more florals, though also, sadly, more of that grassy taste. Cookie, honey, mild spices, honeysuckle and sweet pea florals, nuts, and grass persist into the next couple steeps. I find the tea to be smooth and a little viscous. In the fifth steep, herbs and spinach peek through the cookie goodness. The session ends predictably with walnuts, butter, roast, spinach, and grass.

This is a pleasant, though perhaps not extraordinary oolong with some tasty spice cookie notes. (I’m getting those a lot with lightly roasted oolongs lately.) I’ll have no trouble finishing my 75 g package, though I won’t miss it terribly when it’s gone.

Thanks, Derk (or maybe White Antlers via Derk), for such a generous sample of this tea! I remember considering it in my last What-Cha order, but went with a more affordable spring pick from Guranse instead. I steeped 4 g of leaf in a 355 ml mug at 190 for 5 and 8 minutes.

The dry aroma is of heady flowers, herbs, muscatel, and orange blossom. Right away, I realize that steeping it at 190F hasn’t entirely curbed its astringency. I get notes of herbs, muscatel, oats, plants, rose, wildflowers, lemon, orange blossom, chilli, and wood. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on and I’m having to guess at some of these flavours. (I never know whether to include only what I’m absolutely sure I taste or what I think the tea reminds me of.) The chilli, woody, and floral notes come out in the aftertaste. The second steep is more floral, with rose, peony, orange blossom, and wildflowers, and the green, herbaceous first flush characteristics are more prominent. There are also tannins and minerals.

This is a complex black tea that is worth revisiting. It certainly lives up to its floral moniker. It also shares that chilli note with What-Cha’s Guranse Spring Hand-Rolled Floral black tea, which is something I haven’t found in other Nepalese offerings.

I’ve always meant to order some of TTC’s Gui Fei, but demurred due to mixed reviews. Thanks, Derk, for the generous sample. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of honey, baked cinnamon bread, and fruit leather. The first steep has notes of honey, baked bread, grass, and stewed fruit. The next adds autumn leaf pile, apricot, raisins, and slight astringency, though the honey is still the star. In steep three, sandalwood, cinnamon, and a bit of roast emerge, and the autumn leaf pile flavour is stronger. The fourth steep is a lott less sweet, with roast, wood, pine, autumn leaf pile, grain, and honey. By the sixth steep, the roast is really asserting itself, accompanied by black tea-like minerals and malt. The session ends with nuts, honey, minerals, and roast.

While this Gui Fei is quirky and enjoyable, as LuckyMe pointed out, it’s more like a Dong Ding than a honey oolong. I might still pick this up, however, because it’s so affordable, but the strong roast detracts from it being truly amazing.