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Today I woke up and didn’t want to drink ANY of the tea that I’ve been happily sipping on over the last couple weeks. I wanted something new and exciting, alas, all I could find are a couple of these shou tuos (which I had buried at the back of my cupboard for emergencies as I was really not overly fond of this tea when I first bought it). I clearly need to buy more tea.

Anyway, to my happy surprise I liked these little tuos far more the second time around!!! I’m starting to think I happened to drink an off cake last time because there’s absolutely no compost/fishy smell today. This brew is woody, earthy, and slightly sweet when you drink it, but I will be honest — it smells like a barn. The scent of hay or wheat is strong, although not as prevalent in taste. My gaiwan is still stinky after rinsing it! There’s also a very nice leather/smoked flavour that I find is more common with shengs. The liquor is thick, rich, and pure black like coffee for the first four or five brews. Excellent re-steep value and mouth feel.

All in all, I’m now kind of wishing I bought more of these as they were very inexpensive at the time. I hope my third and final tuo tastes like this and not lacklustre/borderline disgusting like the first round. Fingers crossed!!!

I love this sheng so much that I have officially purchased my first full bing! I’ve never explored aging tea at home before, and I’m not sure if I really wan’t to become a collector who lives the whole lifestyle. All I know is that I just can’t get over how complex and delicious the flavours of this tea are, and I think it would be fun to watch it evolve over a couple years as a little project.
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I always brew this tea gong-fu style. I think when I first purchased a sample I used boiling water which was a mistake as it helped the astringent and bitter notes to shine rather than the more desirable ones. For this tealog entry I’ve used water that’s 95°c which seems to be the sweet spot. 20 second rinse followed by a 20 second first brew and we’re off!

The first thing I notice is how sweet, fruity, and leathery the leaves smell after waking up. The shift in aroma between the dried and wet leaves is stark, the dry material smells extremely grassy in comparison. The taste of the tea itself has notes of cherry, sweetgrass, and a soft leathery/camphor which all work well together to create rich flavour that ends with some desirable bitterness. The mouth feel is great, creamy and silky on the tongue and roof of the mouth (very similar to a milk oolong). The liquor is not very thick despite the creaminess which is an odd contrast. I also salivate a bit before that nice astringency takes its place.

While the flavours may be nothing terribly unique when individually compared with other pu-erhs, the combination and balance just makes me melt with happiness. My whole body relaxes and my mind calms down, sometimes I even feel tea drunk with some euphoria and caffeine. Excellent qi. These are the feelings I chase with tea and I’m just happy to have found one that resonates with me on this level.

This organic black tea is fairly typical, malty and sweet with a burnt honey or molasses taste. There are no flavour notes that jump out at me as special, but I find it pleasing that it has such a strong flavour. I find organic teas can sometimes be more bland. The caffeine content seems to be somewhat high, unless I’m confusing it with a energizing cha qi (unlikely). Seems like a typical Assamica type tea despite coming from Yunnan.

This is the first black tea that I’ve brewed gong fu where the aroma from the wash made me want to drink it! It almost reminds me of cooking or baking a pie. I think this will be a nice harvest to drink through winter as it evokes a nostalgia that instills cozy feelings of quiet snow days and a full belly. This is probably the only reason I’m giving it such a high rating, otherwise it is a fairly average tea.

Brewed gong fu at 90°c
Rinsed once, followed by brews of 10 seconds, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 1 minute

Amendment:
After drinking a few more pots of this tea, I like it more than I said in my initial review. The malt evolves into a lighter caramel flavour or perhaps slightly burnt toffee when you get up to the fourth or fifth infusion. Changing my rating from 76 to 80.

This is an excellent oolong. It hits all of my favourite flavour notes and invites you to take a sip with a lush aroma. None of the flavours are overpowering. I can taste wildflower honey and nutty, milkiness for sure. The floral aspect to it isn’t quite as in-your-face compared with, for example, the King of Duck Shit Aroma which probably would make this a great daily oolong. The mouth feel and after taste is great, makes me salivate before finishing with a light astringency. 10/10 you can’t go wrong!

Always love a classic Chinese green tea. This tea is slightly floral and sweet, with astringency at optimal levels — not quite mouth puckering but not without bite either. There is a distinct umami flavour that arises in later infusions. The leaves smell of soup broth in the gaiwan which is interesting. Nothing about it is memorable enough to purchase again, but it is delicious.

Absolutely lovely ripe pu-erh cake. If there are any unpleasant flavours from fermentation the chrysanthemum does an excellent job masking them. This blend tastes sweet and earthy, much like an aged raw pu-erh, with notes of leather, wood, flowers, and smoke. If shou is supposed to emulate aged sheng, this is the perfect example of it done correctly.

This tea brick was only about $10 for 100 grams of tea, so my expectations were not very high. Going to order much more next time as it’s great for an everyday pu-erh considering the price. I will say that the re-steep value isn’t great, I got perhaps three or four strong brews in a gaiwan before the flavour quickly dropped off. The cake has a loose compression which I love, I could easily pry off a portion with a butter knife and hardly any pressure.

Wow, this is the first aged raw sheng I’ve tried that came anywhere close to the taste of a shou—except this is far better than any shou! It has all the lovely aged earthy notes to it that I enjoy. Soil, leaves, tobacco, leather, and a vegetal sweetness all swirl together in balance while there is no gross compost/fishy smell like with many shous. The liquor is thick, dark red, and coats the mouth and throat. There’s a very very slight bitterness at the end of each sip, perhaps nodding to what this tea tasted like prior to being stored.

Mmm, this is a perfect oolong for winter. It has a really pleasant roasted, nutty flavour that comes close to a coffee when you brew it strongly. There are more subtle hints of maybe burnt sugar or molasses, and a slight woodiness that reminds me of a bonfire. The liquor steeps thick and makes the mouth salivate. Really great feeling while drinking this, I just get super cozy and sleepy-stupid-happy.

Not a bad white tea, although not as unique in flavours as some other moonlight white teas I’ve tried. It’s possible I am not brewing this properly, will try adding more leaf next time to see. There is a definite a sort of sweetgrass flavour that comes through which is quite nice, and only adds to the already thick liquor.

Like many other teas with chrysanthemum, these dragon balls have a honey-like sweetness accompanying the delicate white tea flavour. An additional peppery flavour makes for an interesting brew that altogether reminds me of a spicy chamomile, perhaps with light notes of mint. Definitely an interesting tea. The liquor is a beautiful golden orange colour and coats the entire mouth and throat leaving me salivating.