What-Cha

At some point in the past year in my reading about Baozhong oolong tea, I think I remember reading that roasting the leaf was a traditional part of the process. Recently, a trend for greener oolong emerged and dominated the market, perhaps a reason why I haven’t come across this style of tea before. Thanks to Kawaii433, I was able to try a roasted Baozhong for the first time.

I drank this while grinding away on homework a few nights ago and managed to jot a few barely legible notes in the margin of my graph paper.

4.3g, 100mL teapot, 212F, rinse plus 5 steeps at 30/40/30/45/60s. I probably could’ve gotten another few infusions but since it was near midnight, I opted for sleep.

Dry: plenty of roastiness but calm. Roasted barley, roasted almond, roasted coffee bean, sour, very dark chocolate, orchid?.

Rinse: bamboo shoot, polenta

Liquor pale straw color. Thick, soft and round with high note gardenia bouquet in nose and mouth on top of a lightly sweet base of toasted corn meal, chestnut, straw, light mineral. Tart bamboo shoot in back of mouth after swallow. Persistant, sweet and airy gardenia aftertaste. Butter later. Never once bitter and only slightly astringent late despite using boiling water.

This was actually a great, calming tea that complemented night work with its cool, soft florals and warm, comforting grain/nut taste. The floral finish stuck around so long that I had naturally spaced out the infusions which let me focus on my work instead of solely on the tea. Really impressed!

Another tea that never made it into my Steepster cupboard, still it’s a sipdown.
Western, 2min, 200F
Floral, smooth, buttery. I re-steeped it with the same flavors. Overall, not that memorable and not a re-purchase.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this tea, but thanks to Kawaii433 I was able to melt into its comforting embrace this evening. This tea has already been reviewed most excellently. Whoever decided to mix Sticky Rice Herb with tea deserves a place in the history books.

Fantastic aroma and tastes. Toasted rice, popcorn, butter, cream and vanilla in the nose. Cucumber, seaweed, grass, starch, sticky rice, vanilla and cream in the mouth with an aftertaste heavily emphasized by butter and at times a hint of ripe banana. Medium to light-bodied with a satisfying swallow. Sugarcane returning sweetness.

Light and refreshing enough to drink in warm weather, comforting enough to drink when it’s cold outside, like rolling yourself into a sticky rice burrito blanket. Good western and gongfu, though I can’t attest to grandpa.

This is a lifelong sidekick tea. A good friend, that one you can call no matter what. Lends a listening ear, ready at a moment’s notice for adventure. I’m pretty sure if you have this tea with you, you can commit crimes and get away because this tea has your back.

Okay, I know I said that I would post a review or three back in my first review of the day, but there’s nothing wrong with going over the max by one, is there? I finished a 25 gram pouch of this tea late last week, and I figured that I may as well take the time to review it while I was still sitting at my computer. You do not see a ton of Zhejiang black teas on the Western market, probably because a great deal of Zhejiang tea production and tea culture seems so focused on green teas. Still, the Zhejiang black teas one does occasionally stumble across are often very enjoyable. This tea was certainly no exception as it was very much worth a try.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of roasted almond, cinnamon, honey, pine, and chocolate. After the rinse, I detected an aroma of roasted peanut and a subtle baked bread scent. The first infusion brought out a stronger baked bread aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of roasted almond, cream, honey, chocolate, cinnamon, and pine that were chased by hints of roasted peanut, pear, rose, and nectarine. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas of rose, orange zest, cream, pear, and brown sugar. Baked bread notes came out in the mouth alongside stronger impressions of roasted peanut, pear, and rose. New notes of minerals, sweet potato, brown sugar, and orange zest were also present as was an interesting wintergreen note that lingered in the mouth after each swallow. As the tea faded, the liquor offered mineral, roasted almond, baked bread, pine, and orange zest notes that were underscored by hints of roasted peanut, pear, sweet potato, and brown sugar. Naturally, there were still notes of wintergreen in the mouth after each swallow, though they were much subtler at the end of the session.

This was a very pleasant, likable black tea. I could see it serving as a great introduction to Zhejiang black teas or as a no fuss daily drinker. Sadly, this tea is now out of stock, and it appears that What-Cha will not be offering it again in the near future if at all. For those who are intrigued by the idea of trying a Zhejiang black tea, I will state that several other vendors do offer at least one or two on a fairly regular basis; Harney & Sons immediately springs to mind.

Swap Sample Sipdown! (33)

I was thrilled to find a great selection of unflavored oolong samples in my swap package from Kawaii433! I’ve been digging straight oolong lately for some reason, so it’s amazing to have so many to try. Thank you Kawaii, you’re the best! ❤

Of course, I have to try this one first. I absolutely love the sticky rice oolong from David’s Tea, and that’s saying something, as I don’t generally find David’s blends to be all that good. So I’m very excited to try another sticky rice oolong from a source that specializes more in straight teas!

As expected, this is friggin’ fantastic! It has a splendid sweet and sticky rice flavor that makes my heart go pitter-patter. But there’s also more complexity than just that. There’s lashings of butter and cream and even sweet corn and popcorn notes. Of course it’s deliciously silky smooth, which when combined with the sweet and creamy notes makes it almost custard-like in flavor. I would even go so far as to say I taste a hint a vanilla in here, though that’s probably just the sweet cream flavor tricking me!

And, of course, that’s not the end either. There’s a satisfying nuttiness that goes beyond rice, perhaps suggesting cashew or macadamia nut. And underneath all of the luxurious, almost dessert-like flavors, soft floral and gentle stonefruit notes that linger on the tongue long after the end of the sip.

So rice! Much wow!

Now that I have cleared out the December 2018 backlog, I can move on to my first official sipdown of 2019. I finished a 25 gram pouch of this tea on either the second or third day of the month. I wanted to start 2019 out with something light and floral, so this ended up being the tea I selected to fill that role. Though it most certainly served its purpose, I have to say that I have had somewhat better Shan Lin Xi oolongs in the recent past. In general, Shan Lin Xi teas are incredibly hit or miss for me; I either freak out over them and love them, or I end up respecting and appreciating them to a certain extent before moving on to teas from terroir that I find more consistently appealing. The latter was kind of the case with this tea. It was very good for an unroasted Shan Lin Xi oolong, but like a lot of the Shan Lin Xi oolongs I have tried in the past, it was more savory and more vegetal than I would have preferred.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of rolled tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of cream, butter, custard, and gardenia. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of cinnamon and vanilla as well a meaty umami presence and vague vegetal hints. The first infusion introduced an even stronger umami scent and new aromas of grass, violet, and zucchini. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented brothy, meaty umami notes as well as impressions of zucchini, grass, cream, custard, and butter. I also picked up some subtle hints of gardenia before notes of vanilla, spinach, green apple, and daylily shoots took over on the swallow. Subsequent infusions introduced subtle aromas of pear and stronger scents of spinach, green apple, daylily, and baked bread. Stronger and more immediate daylily shoot, green apple, and spinach notes emerged in the mouth along with subtle impressions of cinnamon and violet. New notes of sweet corn, hyacinth, pear, seaweed, daylily, minerals, baked bread, and orange zest also appeared. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized lingering impressions of minerals, umami, zucchini, grass, spinach, daylily shoots, and pear that were chased by hints of green apple, cream, and custard.

This was a very good Shan Lin Xi oolong, but it leaned a little too heavily on its vegetal and savory characteristics for my liking. I prefer Shan Lin Xi oolongs that are creamier, fruitier, and more floral, and while this tea displayed plenty of cream, fruit, and flower aromas and flavors, it often seemed to place more emphasis on its other characteristics over the course of my review session. Still, this was a very good tea. I am willing to bet that fans of teas that are more savory and more vegetal would get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it.

This was my final sipdown of December and thus 2018. This was also the last of the What-Cha Zhengyan oolongs I got around to trying. I tend to be a pretty big fan of Wuyi Fo Shou, and this one did not disappoint. Overall, I did not quite enjoy this tea as much as the Zhengyan Qilan and Shui Xian, but it was still an excellent offering.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 18 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of black cherry, blueberry, cinnamon, cedar, and blackberry. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, orange zest, cannabis, smoke, and rose. The first infusion introduced aromas of rock sugar, vanilla, and some sort of melon. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted almond, roasted peanut, cream, black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, rock sugar, and orange zest that were backed by hints of smoke, melon, and vanilla. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of cream, earth, grass, and mushroom. Notes of rose, cinnamon, and cedar came out in the mouth along with hints of cannabis and new impressions of minerals, earth, grass, baked bread, caramel, malt, and mushroom. Clearly defined watermelon notes also emerged. As the tea faded, the liquor settled, emphasizing lingering notes of minerals, rock sugar, watermelon, earth, malt, cream, and baked bread that were underscored by hints of grass, roasted almond, roasted peanut, caramel, and orange zest.

Compared to What-Cha’s other Zhengyan oolongs, this one was not quite as deep and was also much more front-loaded. A lot of its most appealing qualities came out at the start of the session, and it did not reveal much more or change significantly as the session progressed. Still, this was a very satisfying Wuyi oolong, one that would probably be able to satisfy even some of the most discriminating Wuyi oolong enthusiasts. It can be hard to find good Zhengyan Fo Shou on the Western market, so if you are looking for one, definitely consider snapping up some of this tea if What-Cha ever restocks it.

But this is for 2018, 2nd Flush version (a sample):

Western, 3 grams per 350 ml, 4+ minutes

I had no idea which tea to make this afternoon, so I picked up a sample I have received with last order. It smelled wonderful, full-bodied black tea. After 4 minutes and something I have removed the strainer. The colour of infusion was wonderful clear and golden. In aroma it was still nice, black tea. But in taste it was massively malt. I don´t mind it and expect it in black teas. But this was bit overpowering all other tastes so I haven´t enjoyed it as much as few other Assam teas I had. A little, almost imperceptible there were fruit notes.

So, as for strong and bitter tea it´s certainly good one. But it wasn´t so awesome for me today.

I have to agree with everything said by derk.

Wonderful easydrinking tea, with fruity notes with little (if some) bitterness.

SIPDOWN

Well, this tea I have finished. Finally?
Prepared grandpa; result was very nice — mostly roasted nuts, honey, smooth overall, hints of baked bread, raisins.

For rainy morning — good choice. It was quite sweet, although not sugary like.

Hmm, sadly I ran out. But there are another oolongs to try! Let’s brew some!

Tomorrow I have last exam. If I fail, I can decide if I will go to resit on 8th or 15th. I am super nervous as I haven’t prepared much, rather not at all. New semester is just around the corner and I don’t want it at all. I feel completely numb today, don’t want do anything, just sitting with nice book (reading The Last Kingdom now) and instead of that I am looking into two screens, trying to do some programming and enjoying some teas. Just another terrible day.

Another review of this one? Okay I guess. 4 grams / 85 ml gaiwan.

I made really long first steep. 40 seconds. Why? I was cleaning the kitchen after I prepared this tea.

Wet leaf aroma is really nice, but I can not came up with it what it smells like. But it is pleasant.
When poured into my tea cup the aroma changes rapidly to cinnamon buns, roasted nuts, pecans.
In taste it is very mouth-watering, as well cinnamon, nuts, pear. Enjoyable combination!

2nd steep,
again 40 seconds. It became bit more sweet in aromas as well in taste. Sticky feeling on tongue. On all other fields super. I like it, because it is so full of flavour.

3rd steep
I did 50 seconds. It loses lots of distinctive notes and it is nice and mild now.

4th
One minute. Last one. I notice it is really weak in aroma. I did too long steeps probably. I killed it. Please forgive me. Yeah. It is watery and nothing distinctive. It has got generic roasted taste and aroma. And woody. Sad :/

Few hours backlog and I don´t remmeber everything. I did not even wrote something down.

Grandpa, 3 grams for 300 ml. Almost boiling water; I guess around 90 °C it can be.

The brew was very nice. Smooth, not bitter at all. Some notes of roasted nuts, pecans, but also some notes of fruits – mainly a pear. Lingers for long and I liked the taste during it.
I also acknowledge that it remains same all the time. You can brew it differently, but is still same. It do not turn bitter, yet it is still complex tea.

Enjoyed this simple cuppa in the afternoon.

I prepared it today in a gaiwan.
3 grams of tea, 85 ml vessel, 30 seconds rinse, steeps: 30 s, 30 s, 40 s, 30 s(first noticed slowly going bland), 40 s, 50 s, 60 s (7 steeps total)

I must rate this tea higher than last time.

Strong roasted pear flavour with first steeps. Liquor clear and golden. Taste roasted fruits (pear) and lingering. Little notes of hay though, bit caramel flavours. But I like it, it´s quite complex taste.

Grandpa, 3 grams for 350 ml of water.

Nice oolong (and my first roasted). I really had promised pear notes; roasted and smooth taste – maybe bit of liquorce or genmaicha?

I like its smooth taste, no astringency; bit sweet as well.

This was another of my most recent sipdowns. I finished a 25 gram pouch of this tea towards the end of last week. As autumn flush Darjeeling black teas go, this was a very unique and interesting offering. After last year’s strike was ended, the Darjeeling tea estates reopened for business, and this was the first Darjeeling tea Alistair was able to source from the folks at the renowned Gopaldhara Tea Estate. Now, Gopaldhara’s autumn flush black teas are usually very crisp, light, and subtle, but owing to the unique circumstances surrounding this tea’s production, it ended up being a much darker, fruitier, and heavier tea. Ultimately, I found it very enjoyable, though I am much more partial to the lighter, smoother autumn flush offerings from Gopaldhara.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I neither rinsed the leaves nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced aromas of wood, hay, raisin, and earth. After infusion, the tea liquor revealed aromas of malt, brown toast, orange, plum, cherry, and rose. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of earth, wood, hay, malt, grass, smoke, and dandelion greens that gave way to impressions of orange, brown toast, rose, cherry, raisin, and plum. Underlying impressions of minerals, Muscatel, butter, and tobacco eventually became detectable as well. Malt, brown toast, and earth notes took over on the finish with more assertive butter notes and a slight astringency also appearing.

This was a very enjoyable Darjeeling black tea, but it was also not really what I have come to expect from Gopaldhara’s autumn flush offerings. To be honest, fans of earthier and heavier Darjeeling black teas would probably get more out of this one than I did. Still, I am glad I took the opportunity to try this tea and would not caution others to avoid it. If you are familiar with Gopaldhara’s offerings and are a fan of autumn flush Darjeeling black teas, it is very much worth a try simply because it is so different from Gopaldhara’s regular autumn offerings.

Another cup of this one. Apparently it is a while when I had it last time. I have not slept well, so green tea sounded quite good for me. I feel so weird recently, I hope it will be much better ASAP. I am already tired of that.

Anyway to the tea, I took a mug, added some leaves in, filled with +- 80 degrees water and sipping. Today it turned out quite vegetal, with hay notes. Also remained very smooth and without bitterness. Maybe bit of spinach.
I did not cared about colour and aromas this time.

Nice tea which made me feel bit better this morning.

Another rating, higher one.

I didn´t measured the mass of dry leafs and used completely random mug that was at home.

Something has happened to this tea. It was much more delicate and better. Maybe colder water. Or hotter water? No measuring again; just first bubbles coming out of stovetop kettle. I think it was about three or four grams of tea.

Nevermind; the tea was amazing. Liquor hay green and clear; full of hay aroma with notes of jasmine. Not mentioning that it was like “full-bodied”. I don´t find that in green teas very often.

Taste was great too; more jasmine notes, but also lots of fresh hay. Leaves were really big and nice. That changes my opinion maybe too!

As I said, certainly higher rating than last time. 80/100, and I wonder if I get higher!

Gong fu, 2.5 grams, 85 ml of +- 75 °C water. Multiple steepings, each about 40 seconds.

Colour of tea is nice green to yellow, with golden reflection, leaves are indeed bit more purple than usual.

In scent I think it´s hay and bit of cut grass (interesting), later more and more sweet.
In taste it was sweeter than I have expected and smooth on my palate. Good though, but not phenomenal. I am bit disappointed.

I finished this tea today. I really enjoyed it – it is nice black tea with lots of malt. Little fruity notes, but today I noticed new scents and tastes: It was somehow spicy! Good though, everything was nice together and my previous tasting notes are right too.

Western, 2-3 grams; about 3-4 minutes brewing time; boiling water.

Another review of same tea; just prepared it gong fu, 3 grams for 85 ml of water. Mulitple steepings, each for 30-40 seconds.

And it´s completely different! Finally I got jam notes, with slight of malt. Then malt is becoming stronger and jam weaker. Weaker jam – stronger citrus fruits after taste and smell.

Wonderful and complex tea!

P.S.: It has got probably good amount of caffeine – it woke me up a lot.

Western style, 3 grams in strainer, 4 minutes in boiling water.

Dry tea smells very nice, lots of “tea smell”, bit of malt.
When brewed, bit of fruit tones appear, mostly I think it is orange and tangerine aromas, later more malty.

In flavour it is mostly malt tea with slight of oranges.

In colour it´s mostly brown-orange, clear and nice.

Smooth and nice malt black tea, I can suggest it to everyone. I didn´t notice jam notes.

Sipdown (284)

This is one of the oldest teas in my stash, dating back to November 2017.

I had a warm cup of it last night and finished off the last serving today, though it got cold by the time I got around to drinking it.

It is definitely better hot. Smooth and milk. It also is nicely creamy without being an actual milk oolong.

It’s funny because this review starts off by saying something along the lines of “I may have gone a bit overboard when ordering teas this past Black Friday”. Except, this past Black Friday I ordered no teas. The Black Friday in question is from 2017. I wrote the review in April 2018. Sometimes Sororitea Sisters takes forever to post reviews and then you get weird discrepancies like this one.

Anyways, I quite enjoyed this tea. It is somehow light and rich at the same time and dessert-y without being a dessert-inspired blend. I really should drink this more often.

Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2019/01/07/vietnam-gui-fei-oolong-from-what-cha/