359 Tasting Notes
This has always been my favourite oolong from butuki… I just can’t get enough of it. Strangely, I don’t drink it that often, it’s like one of those “special ones”.
I get so many notes from it, I get confused sometimes.
It’s charred and roasted to perfection. I get chocolate, coffee, apple cider, deep caramel (now this is what I call caramel)…liquid crème brûlée.
It re-steeps forever, I loose count. You’ll get tired of this tea before it gets tired of you.
You do what you want, I’m no tea police, but it would be a shame NOT to have it gongfu style.
It’s one of those that morphs to something else from one steep to the next.
If you’ve never had an aged oolong before, I would definitely start with this one, the best in my humble opinion :-)
My oregano bush is in bloom, and like every year, it hosts a bumble bee party. So cute to watch them working their little butts off.
Thank you bees for all your hard work…because of you, my oregano looks like a micro forest!!
I had Sleeping Bear in the middle of the afternoon. I usually have it at night. But it was raining and this tea reminds me how rain tastes in my forest, so it was the perfect companion.
I’m on a “monthly subscription” for this tea…meaning, I buy it once a month cause it’s that good and I get to have the newest harvest every time.
Out of the three different harvests I have tried so far, this one is the best. It’s a little more piney than the others, and the jasmine is just perfect. The scent is therapeutic, it elevates me…I feel like I’m resting on a little cloud made of jasmine blossoms and soft pine needles.
So good that I re-steep it. Yes, cause Whispering Pines has made a re-steeper out of me!
This tea is available in small quantities starting on the first day of each month :-)
Usually sells out pretty quickly, so keep an eye out for it!
I am just enjoying this sencha tonight in a tetsubin pot. Not much to say really, except that every time I have this one, I feel happy and relaxed.
I’m not afraid of grassy and vegetal, and this is the perfect blend of both. I like the little bit of seaweed poke I get at the end of each sip, kind of a salty marine breeze.
Buttery sweet peas are also in the mix. Yum. Tasty.
I haven’t been very hungry lately and skipped dinner earlier….but having sencha triggered the little hungry fairy in me.
So….smoked salmon, lemon slices and capers suddenly sounded very appealing at 1am. Should I? Hell yeah!
It’s all about life’s little pleasures…
When I feel like having something new, I just fetch a pouch from my Terri Box.
She generously sent me what she had left of this precious tea. Delicious little tiny golden snails, so pretty to look at.
Of course, I was curious to compare them to Whispering Pines’s “wee snaily yums” Golden Snail Yunnan Black, already a favourite.
They do look identical, but are completely different in taste. Though I much prefer WP version, this is still yummy, no doubt.
What surprised me the most was to find some smoke in there. Don’t know if my taste buds are playing tricks on me but it’s very noticeable. In a Keemun kind of way.
It’s sweet, but it’s missing that silky barley sugar feel I get from WP.
It’s fuller bodied and maltier, not as delicate and complex. I’m missing the floral and spicy notes I find in WP.
To me, it feels like a good robust black tea, which is something I would seek early in the morning. Just not what I was expecting from what is supposed to be a more mellow and smooth kind of tea.
Maybe I over leafed? Luckily, I still have plenty to try it again.
So yes, compared to WP’s Bi Luo Chun, it looses the battle.
But as a nice breakfast tea, it’s a winner, loved it!
Thank you so much Terri Harlady for giving the chance to try so many teas from Yunnan Sourcing :-)
Thanks Sarsonator :) I love your nephews chubby little cheeks! So adorable! TeaFairy, your nephew looks so cute in that little hat :)
As I’m having a sleepless night, might as well drink something spectacular.
Using my newly green oolong seasoned yixing pot.
This tea…oh my, this tea.
It’s beautiful. Long twisted strands of jade tentacles. From the most luxuriant tea plantations, one of the greenest oolong there is.
The ultimate refinement. A gleaming Rolls Royce.
Creamy and buttery mouthfeel, French pastries with lingering lilacs in bloom. The taste creates an imprint in my mouth that stays forever. Angel breath…
Needless to say, this is a staple. Been restocking on this for a good two years now, I don’t plan on stopping.
This gets the Fairy stamp of approval!
Another quick note…
Having this with virtual friends tonight, long distance sheng party!
It’s sweet, peachy, clean and fresh with a nice light astringent citrusy finish.
Love this tea! It’s fun “shenging” with friends :-)
(mzPriss, we’ll do this again when your taste buds behave!! )
Short review, but so worth it.
Oh, this is honey sweet and so good. Bug bitten oolong goodness, rendering liquified pastries.
Cookie dough.
Floral mouthfeel, with a touch of spice, clove mostly.
I’m using a GIGANTIC 320ml yixing clay pot, so I went all in with the large sample I got from Green Terrace.
Zero astringency, so smooth and delicious.
I am impressed, thank you Green Terrace!
Whoa! Port in a little pot.
Ambrosia, liquid gold for the gods.
So I now have this little yixing clay pot seasoned especially for Whispering Pines’s Vanilla Dreams collection.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14709714692/
Though it is hard to decide, Port is probably my favourite in that collection.
It’s got such distinctive notes of eucalyptus and camphor that marry so well with the saffron and the vanilla. I love that you can definitely pick up the saffron, it brings the flavour to another level, hard to describe…almost savoury, umami…
Not easy to go back to regular stuff once you’ve experienced that. This tea is like no other, and though it might not be for every palate, it’s a must try.
Every time I have it, I’m loving it a little more.
(I’m at infusion six right now, and it keeps on giving…)
It was hooooot in here today folks!
I had cold brewed a 3 litre pitcher of this baby and it’s almost gone.
Best cinnaNOM treat ever… (Yes, Sarsonator, we call it cinnaNOM ’round here!!)
There’s a such a smooth cinnamon balance in this blend. You also get a nice earthy fruitiness from the elderberries. It taste so naturally sweet, and a little roasty and chocolaty, probably from the chicory.
What makes it such a lovely cold brew is the lemon balm. It just adds that little je ne sais quoi that makes it perfect. So good!!
Also, I know it’s getting late…but I’m listening to the Black Keys’s new album full blast, and it makes me happy :-)
Thank you friend who gave me an iTunes gift card a little while ago ;-)
Good morning Steepster!
When I woke up earlier, I had a lychee craving. I happen to have some in the fridge. And I happen to have these delicious lychee pearls, so why not create a lychee feast?
This tea is very unusual. I personally don’t know any other lychee Dragon Pearls.
They are big and fragrant, but not soapy. The taste is so juicy, just like plump lychee. I get this lovely chocolaty smooth and malty Yunnan taste which makes this lychee tea so different than all others out there. I get none of that heavy perfumed lychee after taste you get in most black lychee flavoured teas.
It’s like drinking chocolate lychees. Not that I ever had any, but I’m sure there must exist some chocolate lychees somewhere. After having this tea, I can totally see their sweet floral taste work perfectly well with dark slightly bitter chocolate.
(And I just realized I wrote the word lychee way to many times in this review)
I other news, today I’m seasoning another one of my Yixing clay pots. Fun times!
Woop Woop Woop! This is the tea police. Put down the gaiwan and come out with your hands up.
Lol, maybe that’s what we need around here, a real tea patrol!!
Maybe I’ start the Stacy birthday party with this one. I have some and I haven’t tried it yet
Missy do try it please…not many people have tried this one, want to have your opinion, am I crazy to like it so much?