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High quality sencha with a strong smell of freshly cut grass and somewhat bready taste.

At first, the smell seems similar to Japanese green teas, but then I notice an a floral & sweet note, a bit like honey, but not quite. In fact, it reminds me of breckland thyme to a large extent. The taste is fairly sweet and mild with only a hint of umami. I didn’t find any bitterness and only very little astringency from the third steep onwards. Next time, I can maybe use hotter water to see how the tea reacts. The mouthfeel is velvety and body is medium for a green tea.

Overall, it reminds me of some early spring chinese green teas I have had, but I like this one more because of its stronger flavour and thicker body.

This tea has a mild aroma of forest floor with some wet wood and mushroom notes, which I found very calming. The body is medium and it is also slightly mouthwatering.

In the taste I mostly noticed bread crust and a bit of mushrooms. Even though I could tell the taste is fairly complex, most of the notes were too subtle. However, I guess the fact that none really dominates enables a wider range of flavours to come to the front than what is usual for a shou tea. All in all, it has a balanced and pleasant taste, which I enjoyed a lot. Given the price that this is selling for, I would say it is a total steal! I will definitely be getting at least one cake.

I overleafed this quite a bit, but since it is not all tea leaves it didn’t present that much of an issue. The steeping times I kept very short though nevertheless.

The smell seems to be dominated by the chrysanthemum flowers, it is slightly sweet and spicy and has a strong lemon note. The liquor has a very deep brick colour and medium body.

In the first few infusions, the tea was also on the back foot in terms of the taste, but that has changed throughout the session. I found the taste to be nicely balanced in these latter infusions with considerable bitterness, a little sweet, but still very floral and citrusy. The aftertaste has mostly the floral and spicy notes, and the drying sensation seems to be limited to the throat only. It actually reminds me a bit of some chili peppers.

Overall, I think this tea presents a nice alternative to standard teas. It is sufficiently different, but still has many qualities of a decent red tea. I can imagine that with a normal amount of leaf it can be a bit mild, but the way I brewed it this time it wasn’t a problem.

Drinking this again and I have to say I am even more impressed than last time, especially in terms of the taste, which I actually enjoy as well. And as I mentioned before, the floral aroma is just incredible, like the cha qi, which put me in a very pleasant state of mind.

What a wonderful smell this tea possesses. It is very floral and sweet, reminiscent of some high quality honey.

The liquor is medium to full bodied with oily and slightly drying mouthfeel, which becomes minty and cooling afterwards. It is a very refreshing tea to drink and the taste is fairly complex. It took me a while to appreciate it though, at first I wasn’t very fond of it. There are some vegetal, buttery, floral and astringent notes, but nothing really stands out. The aftertaste transforms the sensation into somewhat fruity, sweet direction and lasts for a very long time.

One other thing to mention is a very noticeable and calming cha qi, probably my favourite among the oolong teas I have tried.

P.S. Originally I was going to rate it around 75, but with the aftertaste and cha qi kicking in, I had to reconsider the rating and change it significantly.

This is an enjoyable white tea that is very affordable. It is also very forgiving and easy to brew. As such, it is extremely suitable for a casual drinking kind of white tea.

Dry leaf smells like some pastry whose name escapes me right now. It reminds me of Provence for some reason too, I think there is a bit of lavender and dry grass in the smell. In the wet leaf I get some brandy notes as well.

As for the taste, honey sweetness is very present, as well as (phyllo) pastry, nuts and mediterranean shrubs (I can’t quite tell which one). There is literally no bitterness when brewed like this (85°C) and only a little astringency that one can control by adjusting the other parameters.

The mouthfeel is mouth-watering, bubbly, cooling and fairly light bodied overall, although it can get a little thicker and coating when brewed for a longer time obviously.

What a wonderful tea this is! I am a novice in the world of pu-erh, but I am already a big fan.

The smell of dry leaf is fairly floral, while in the wet leaf tobacco seems to be very present. The smell is very thick and sweet and induces somewhat cooling sensation in my nose.

As for the mouthfeel, the tea is medium to full bodied and oily. At the start of the session, it seems to be drying the throat only, but develops a more allround astringency later on.

Taste wise, I found it to be pleasantly sour with nice fruitiness along the lines of gooseberry and apricot. The aftertaste is very protracted with returning sweetness on the tongue and a bit more sour in the throat. It seems to have a balanced taste even when the steeping time is pushed longer, the bitterness is fairly mild generally.

The effects of the tea seem to appear very quickly, but the cha qi is not overwhelming. I found it to be slightly warming and with a numbing effect.

I love the mouthfeel of this tea, but I am not overly fond of the strong bready aspect. It’s still a very good choice for when I want something savoury and complex, but I think I will be searching for a different Gyokuro next time.