Various Artists

Rasseru-this Song Zhong was awesome. I’ve had fewer teas with the sheer immensity of grapefruit taste. It was super juicy, sweet, and had just enough charcoal, wood, and florals in the background to make it incredibly satisfying. I slowly drank it at first to savor it, then finished the rest of it in three sittings because it was good western, gong fu, or even grandpa with fewer grams. Higher grams gong fu was more complex, but it was still easy going with less leaves. Gong fu was best, but man was it good. Thank you so much for letting me be a pain in the but about it because it was awesome. :)

Went over to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada yesterday and had a surprisingly creamy Strawberry Green. I was incredibly pleased with it-then again, it was brewed with about 2 teaspoons in 12 oz after steeping for nearly 3 minutes yielding more balance and less bitterness. I prefer oolongs to green teas because they are less bitter, but lately, I’m finding that is not true… never mind flavored green tea tends to be cheaper.

I love tea, and I love oolong. However; I will be an proper adult in a few years-one to be hopefully exact-and I really need to learn how to be better with money. Buying tea in bulk is smarter instead of going to a cafe every day, but going to a cafe for very special moments getting out of the house or work is smarter. So is buying specific bulks of specific slowly aging teas and seldomly drinking them, or buying smaller quantities to very gradually savor. I’m going to feel differently when my Li Shan gets here, and then again in an endless cycle. Here’s to enjoying spoiled brat-dom a little longer.

This was the Assam Oolong from the 2017 Liquid Proust Regional Oolong Group Buy( out of order).

I wondered if it would be on the greener end based on the emerald leaves online, but it was darker like I previously expected. Plum is the dominant note in aroma and taste, but I did not anticipate how thick, fruity, and juicy it would be. If I were to taste this blind, I would have thought it was an Assam Black on the light end because it had a very pronounced cocoa note in its strength, and the color of the tea was largely dark brown. I still enjoy it because it is so much closer to how I prefer my blacks anyway-light, complex, yet bold in their own right.

I will lighten up next time to see if its more oolongy, but know that this tea is great, and would make a killer breakfast or lunch tea.

This is a What-Cha Indonesia Dark Oolong a friend gave me and I have no idea which one it is. It’s either the DARK, or the Jin Xuan ’cause it was smooth like a roasted one, but it some impressive woody and fruity qualities making me think of a Dan Cong or a Yan Cha. It gave me a different and complex steeps. And of course, What-Cha releases a few batch of teas I TOTALLY want after I just ordered from him. Dang it.

I have most of the teas that I could ever want, but there’s still a few out there I want to try. Liquid Proust just released a few newbies along with my original fav. Spa Oolong, and decided to blend a Mi Lan Dan Cong with some Amacha leaves. I so happen to have both and blended a cup together.

I used what I had of Unytea’s amacha with the Bitterleaf Dan Cong hawkband1 traded with me, and the Gong Fu of it turned out nicely. It tasted like a Dan Cong overall, but with a heightened sweet and floral taste. The honey notes and the florals were really popping out. It gets ever sweeter and sugary later on. I can see why Andrew decided to put meadow on the name of his blend, making me think of sunshine in a meadow.

I am not sure I would drink something like this often though nevermind I would buy the idea of this pretty quickly. Guess I am too comfortable with what I have…though my desire for the Mordor blend is still there.

That moment when you’re college dining hall brews a loose leaf Lapsang Souchong. Pine, resin, smoke, and malt were what I got. It was not nearly as syrupy as the Gong Fu Tea Shop Laspang I have (again thank you Hawkband!), but it was an appreciated tea nonetheless.

Finishing off Andrews What the Heck Birthday Oolong. First time, it was a mess of dry, nutty pecan water, but this time, it was a floral, creamy and sweet oolong with a pecan taste along the lines of a Dong Ding. I would not be surprised if he used that for the base, maybe a jade or jin xuan, but more so on the Dong Dingy side. Oddly, it was very refreshing. Good oolong= a happy Daylon.

Rasseru Shou

Very smooth liqour with a ink quality black lightened by auburn hues. The taste is just as smooth making me think of mushroom oats: as in, something with a weird mushroom musty sweet dry quality with the dry after taste of steel cut oats. Or maybe I’m a fanciful sensualist- who knows. Very minimal astringency and a little bit of bitter sweetness like black coffee sans the acidity. It definitely woke me up and relaxed me all at the same time well settling my muscle sore stomach.

As for the first Sheng, I’m really surpised how sweet this is. Normally the green shengs have a sour quality, but this is more sweet than anything else resembling something of the smell of cut ginger. I know-a taste that resembles a specific smell. But it seriously has the dry spicy sweetness compacted into a ginger piece. There some moments that make me wonder if this is a white or green tea because the fruity notes head that direction in a tangerine, apricot, or lemon spectrum. Same profile in steep two but more of spicy ginger thing going on. The fruitiness becomes more floral like orange blossom.

I gotta remember these parameters: 5-6 oz 190 F first steep 12, second close to 13. I am really digging it. Wasn’t this one the Yiwu? Either way, i really enjoy it because I get more sweetness than a sour astringency that I usually dread in shengs. Could this be in my head? I’m glad to savor the small amount that I can, though I’ve discovered that Pu-Erhs are more enjoyable in sample sizes for me anyway.

Andrew was generous as always and handed me an Aged Japanese Black tea. I hesitated to try it being sick and sensitive to any beverage with the least amount of unsweetened tannin. So I tell myself: this will at least boost your immune system, and you can actually taste it.

190 F, 5 oz, and 12 second steep. Pure thick malt with a strong lychee after taste.

Steep 2 at 10 seconds of approximation, and the burning sticks taste is coming through. I still get malt and lychee in the back ground body, but thick smoke covers those two up. The smoke cools down as the water cools down. More tannin present.

Steep 3 at 5 seconds, and the same thing with a hint less smoke. More later.

Rasseru Number 8

I finished it last night. Oh so floral, and oh so creamy. And oh so long lasting. The profile reminded me of a Baozhong, but there was a little bit of an almond thing that makes me think of a Dan Cong. I’d guess it’s a Wu Dong due to the leaves size. I was actually surprised at how green it tasted. Like a floral grassy green.

Number 7

I had a little bit of a hard time with this tea. Definitely complex, but it was a little too astringent for me. I did the entire bag in flash steeps beginning this morning. I got a nice combo of a citrusy dried grapefruit with char, roast, burnt wood, and minerals. Yet the minerals were so strong that I felt like I was licking shea salt covered rocks. This salty profile dominated the tea and rendering me hesitant to finish.

Number 6 and I’m diggin’ the hell out of the roast. It’s taste is near a Red Jade Black or a Moon Lake Assam. It’s like a barely lighter Taiwan Assam overall. Even though I know that this is an oolong.

It does have a little bit of a potato chip aroma going around the dry leaf, but there is a little bit of a plum note sweetening the liqour’s amber body. I still get a nice roast in the taste.

And this tea paired quite well with salty pickle and dill potato chips, and lord does the combo feel great on my throat.

Number 5

I am pretty damn sure this is an OB. Maybe a Darjeeling or some sort of Nepali/Indian/perhaps Himalayan tea, but I’m still leaning OB.

I did not get a lot of taste other than peach in the first steep. Then I did not treat this tea as neatly as normal after the first three steeps and overbrewed it after being nocked out for sickness. I drank it when I woke up, and got a nice cool muscatel cup with a little bit of roastiness in the aftertaste. Otherwise peach like fruity and dry like a red wine.

Number 4

Uh-oh-a Taiwaneese jade oolong!

My love!

Well, all near 5 grams are being drank and the aroma is awesome. It reminds me of rice pudding with cinnamon. I very rarely get the cinnamon note. This makes me happy.

First steep was sweet, floral and creamy with a little bit of an edge. Second so far has more honey sweetness in its creamy texture and taste. Three is more fruity, a little bit asian pear like.

I know I said that I probably wouldn’t guess on all of these, but this one screams to me as some kind of Li Shan. It does remind me of Da Yu Ling, but Li Shan or perhaps Ali Shan is what I recognize overall. More to come.

Another steep and more of the same thing. The smell reminds me of Nag Champa somehow. Weird connection I know. Could just be another thing that my brain is playing with.

Two more cups in, and I just get grassy florals with a slight honeyed end. A part of me wanted more, but I was still pretty happy.

Backlog of Rasseru’s Number 3

I went with his advice to Flash Steep all 5 grams.

The results were pretty coo. Char, dired fruit like apricot, plum, or citrus, a hint of florals, and some smoke were what I got throughout. The taste fluctuated between those notes as sweetness. I got six cups out of it-again, all short sessions. It vaguely reminded me of a Da Hong Pao, but I could be wrong.

I’m on Rasseru’s blind #2

I do not remember the parameters well other than half the bag in my 6 ounce Xiang Fu pot. So assume that I’m gong fuing it with it some mastery.

I will keep the description short to what I noticed about the tea. For one, the smell. I loved the smell. It was a complex creamy, floral, and mildly nutty scent with pops of vanilla. Every brew was incredibly clear, with the first being indistinguishable from water until the first sip. The taste was very light with a present mouth feel. I mostly get florals with a bit of the literal flower grassy texture. Flavors were more on the creamy/citrusy side with a almond accent. I was surprised that this was more floral than nutty, but overall quite nice. Light Bamboo describes the tea overall.

I got five solid cups out and I could probably yield more bamboo water tasting tea. Cheers.

I got home on a holiday after the first week of school, and I got Rasseru’s very thorough blind tasting packages, 1-8 in two sets: one set for me, and one for Andrew.

I’m not going to guess the variety so that I can just enjoy the tastes. With the exception of number 8. I have a feeling about that one.
So…

Tea Number 1

Steep 1

I used half the package, so something less than 3 g.

40 sec first steep at a lower temp of 175 F, and grapefruit and white grapes. Citrusy.

Steep 2 at 20 sec, more fruity goodness. Like grape juice almost. It still distinctly tastes like tea, but again, fruity an citrusy

More later…

Steep 3 at about 55 sec. More or less same thing and a little grassier/lemony. Overall, this is actually a sweet tea with a little tart after taste. Is that were you get the strawberry note from Rasseru? Clean tasting overall.

Steep 4-brewing…3 min.

Well, citrusy and more tea than anything else. I think that’s all I can get for now.

Final thoughts: I liked this one. The citrus clean taste was very nice. It’s not as complex as some other Yanchas or Dan Congs with not a super long brewing life, but it is enjoyable. I would not mind having a cup of this every now and then, but something I’d gladly drink.

I’ve been trying to brew teas in a Teavana glass tumbler lately, and I’ve found that certain varieties don’t do so well. Only one of my green oolongs was tasteable, while the rest have taste like overcooked spinach. My black teas have also been really dry, and my whites have been okay. I thought the problem was the water, but I’ve changed it out several times and cleaned the tumbler itself. I’m thinking that steeping in the glass is changing the flavor. Is this just me, or is there a science to this?

I did however find a few websites that recommend porcelain almost across the board, with glass being specific to the white teas. I might give one of my whites another go.

READ THIS EVOL

I’ve written so much for random…

Well, since it is no longer on the site, here it goes.

Wicked Tea-Scottish Caramel Pu-Erh

Well, this is one of the ways that I like my teas: smooth, creamy and naturally sweet. It actually tastes like a vanilla caramel tea with a very silky Pu-Erh body. There were some tid bits that reminded me of really dark cocoa and espresso, but otherwise, it was the Pu-Erh.

This also just shows my really weird relationship with Pu-Erhs. There is a select few that I enjoy as straight teas, but for whatever reason, I tend to enjoy them as blends. I’m hoping that will change when I try something like Poundcake or a Da Xue Shan. The change really began with the Bang Wei thanks to Andrew. And thanks to you, Evol, I get to enjoy a lovely sample.

Oolong #5

Nice creamy texture with some fruitiness in the background. Steeping it in shorter seconds at a higher temperature made it a little more to my light liking. The fruity qualities were a little more obvious. Only thing bugging me is the aftertaste from the roast. There’s something woody about it-like green wood. Maybe it’s vegetal. If only my language was more precise.

It’s pretty nice, but I don’t think it be a daily drinker for me.

#7
Interesting. This one tasted sweeter to me. Almond popped up in my head with some florals and minerals. Otherwise, I just taste almond.

#8

It is smooth, but roasty. It has some more Dan Cong qualities-it’s especially nutty for me, a little sweet, but loads of mineral and vegetal. Not a Dan Cong though. Who knows, I could be making this crap up.

Well, I think that concludes it. I gong fu’d each one, and #3 appealed to me the most because of how close it was side by side to Mandala’s Milk Oolong. The main difference was the quality of leaf selection, with # 3 not discriminating the stems. I got the same tastes with the same brewing parameters by using very short steeps of like 10-15 seconds. There were a few that I liked and thought were pleasant, but only #3 and BTTC’s Golden Lily would be ones that I would actually purchase. However, I’m not even sure that I’d get more than a sample of either. #3 i want to know the price of. Maybe I’m biased to things like BTTC’s Dong Ding, Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi, or jade oolongs in general. Or just a lot more snobby than I anticipated.

#9

Yes, I’m skipping around. And this also tastes like potato chips. Gong Fu’d it and served up smooth cups after a few seconds, but I did not like it. I used to think I liked medium roast oolongs considering that I enjoy Dan Congs, but now, I’m thinking otherwise. I’m sorry that I’m writing a bad review Andrew. Or you probably didn’t like this one either since you are picky with roasts. I do appreciate the smooth, consistent body this had, but I really did not enjoy it.

That is all for now.

#6
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT READ THIS RASSERU UNTIL YOU’VE HAD IT.

LP partially spoiled this one when he recommended to let it cool. I will also guess that this is a Dan Cong. But I could be I wrong.

I’ve only had three cups so far, so I will add more details when I edit this note.

The dry leaf smells nutty, and a little bit salty. Maybe some florals. Reminds me a little bit of the Bai Ji Guan in smell and taste, though it’s not nearly as bitter, floral, or rocky.

First steep 16 seconds in my same little small vessel, 190 F, and I get nutty and again something like a potato chip, but smooth and pleasant.

Second steep 22 seconds, and some florals pop out with the nuttiness and a thing that I call grapefruit. Even when I sipped it again reminding myself its just tea, there were still those slightly different qualities. Rasseru might call the fruitiness cherry, I don’t know. Again, I could be very wrong.

Third at 30, and more fruitiness especially as this cools. More writing will come. Maybe.

I’ve had two other teas this morning and three cups of Kona. Eh…

The tea is still pleasant and light at a fourth cup after 35 seconds. My headache is too strong for another.

Verdict: One of the better teas in the OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLONG Blind Sampling so far.

#4

Well, I did not like this one. I brewed it 190 F, in my little 3 ounce vessel, slightly less than 2 grams, beginning with 15 seconds, upping 5 seconds each time. I’d guess it’s a Dan Cong because it has the same type of barely citrus fruitiness with a distinctly burned wood tea taste. Though it’s not quite fruity, grapefruit comes to mind anyway. That could just be me. Otherwise, it tasted like charred up woodsy tea. There was also a fishy astringency in the last 30 second steep. The fishiness was still there after another 15 second steep.

I’m interested to see what you get Rasseru in all of this subjective fun. :)

Onto number 6.

Every second the sun was up, my body urged me to sleep. I agreed with it once, disagreed with it twice, and acquiesced to it thrice. Yes, I used the pretentious word thrice. The word sounded better than three times.

Well, my morning started with oolong #3, which I’m still pretty confident it’s the same tea as mine with a few lower grade leaves thrown in.

I began more blind sampling for #4, but then changed my mind to #5. #5 was a greener roasted oolong, so I had some of it.

It was a light oolong that I could get decent notes Gong Fu. Mineral throughout with some of the sweet nutty finish that is typical of this oolong, but the body was light and fairly smooth throughout. Noticeable and pleasant are the words that come to mind. There was also a lingering fruit-honey after taste to describe the sweetness. It’s not something I mind having around every once in a while, but not a tea that I would want to own.

Yet my need for some semblance of order beckoned me to #4, a yancha. And foolishly, I used the same vessel that I drank the Cypress Dong Ding from. The first 15 second steep was char, wood, and cypress. Not quite as pleasant. Then I tried again, and more woodsiness with something citric and tart in the astringency. I failed to treat you properly #4. But I am in an odd mood today, reading an odd book known as Welcome to Night Vale, and thus am drinking odd-numbered teas.