What-Cha

I made it strong today (5 grams) and it indeed lost its subtle flavours. It is nicely malty and floral, but somehow generic floral — maybe hints of muscatel there, but that’s it.

This stronger brew have different mouthfeel though. It is well coating the tongue, like honey + even some honey taste. Slight astringency lingers for quite long.

Needs light brew indeed. Rating may change.

Interesting colour of the leaves from Alistair, behalf of White Antlers. They are brown, black, bit yellow of them; quite long and wire-like, some are more compressed, some are opened a bit. Looks indeed hand-made :) Two of them weren’t same.

I went rather carefully with tea (and I haven’t read Daylon R Thomas’s tasting note before) and haven’t used water directly off the hob as well. I have added tea bag to hot cuppa.

It wasn’t steeping rapidly. Well, I have used 3 grams only, so I have steeped it for 5 minutes.

Aroma I have expected malt, but it rather produced floral notes. Hints of sweet ones as fruit tree flowers. Daylon’s note says orange blossoms, but I never sniffed them, so I have no idea how they smell like. He says red grapes, while I would rather say white ones.

Anyway, the taste, even after that long steep, is light. Light, fruity & juicy, fresh notes of citrus fruits (but not strongly, rather hints of their peels) and in the end some very light malty and muscatel aftertaste.

Need to dig more to rate it properly.

Tried to gong-fu it today and it was bit better.
4 grams — 85 ml.

It was still quite malty, but noticed more — some hints of sweet cherries, raisins, pear, cinnamon. The last one was prounced as well in something like aftertaste, but it wasn’t much strong. I had much stronger aftertaste in other teas.

72 → 80

Another grandpa attempt of oolong today. Two teaspoons were too much though for my 300 ml glass cup.
April 2020 harvest

Tea from White Antlers again though, so THANK YOU :)

This tea tasted pretty much medicore to me. I mean, certainly it’s not bad, but I only noticed its malty profile, bit sweet notes. Haven’t noticed any stonefruits, but maybe as prepared grandpa it was lost in the malt?

As others said, it is tea that haven’t got any flaws, but overall it is just quite okay oolong without much complex flavour profile. Good for times, when you want an oolong, but you don’t want to care about all the notes that could be in.

Thanks though White Antlers and Alistair who selected it for me :) Not every tea is tea for special occasions. I haven’t expected anything, so it will be good tea for upcoming fall, when I would like to drink tea, but won’t have time to enjoy it fully!

Autumn 2016 harvest

Age is doing these dragon balls well. The white tea delicacy is transforming into a more robust, tonal character. Red fruits, wood and a hint of malt fill out the deeper tones, supporting an otherwise bright, almost tangy-sweet taste with a mix of apricot-melon-honey-straw-oats, minerals and a little floofs of vanilla marshmallow and caramel. Very mild bitterness adds some depth. Good strength to the aroma, decent aftertaste and even some returning sweetness. This tea makes me long for autumn.

I’ve brewed a few of these dragon balls by stewing them in my work thermos with 200F water. A few others I’ve brewed western with water off boil and three flavorful steeps. Robust and woodier when stewed, sweeter with western. Both methods satisfying and caffeinating.

A tea I have from derk, but haven’t tried it yet and probably nor she? Eastkyteaguy have it in cupboard as well apparently, but I am the first one to write down some impressions.

My taste buds are well, muted somehow today. I know, I prepared it grandpa (2 grams/300 ml) but only I have noticed it is roasted and quite mineral. Smooth and thick as it is written in description from What-cha.

But that was it. It was just nice afternoon drink.

I have posted a question in discussion boards. I am thinking about making a group buy to buy tea from Azores. Check out more here: https://steepster.com/discuss/42083-tea-from-azores-group-buy

I have completely no idea what is this tea. I just know I have received it (order on my address) from White Antlers. So thank you a lot, hopefully Alistair pop in here and tell us bit more, as it is not available on What-cha website at all!

So, moreover it doesn’t have even the typical white label that all What-cha teas have! It is handwritten, saying name of the tea and vintage 2019.

I took water when first bubbles started to appear. That is my rule of thumb while making temperature sensitive teas, as it is usually green teas.

I took 5 grams for my 300-400 ml mug. Bit untypical set-up but perfect for cold (around 16°C) morning. Steeped for 3 minutes which wasn’t too much but it was quite exact for perfect cup.

The tea was somehow simple in flavour, grassy/grass seed, vegetal, overall indeed typical cheap green tea without any off notes. Hints of astringency. But the palate was amazingly smooth, little bit bitter (but I think I have over-leafed & maybe too long steep). Certainly a nice tea, which I will gongfu for sure, as leaves are big and wonderful! Preparing it western, even in a big tea bag instead of strainer, is bit contempt.

Western brewing

I have received a huge box just before my getaway. Lovely White Antlers decided to send me some teas. Ordered from What-cha, delivered here. And this tea is sample from Alistair himself. THANK YOU both!

3 minutes steeping brews wonderful golden colour tea. The aroma is indeed very sweet as it is in the description, (dry) tea was very similar to picture. Long wire-like leaves, with hints of golden colour.

Brewed… aroma was already described, as well the colour. The taste is bit drying, but sweet. Maybe sweet potatoes a bit? Hints of malt for sure. Maybe it is not one of the most complex black teas, but certainly very nice and the price is very nice as well.

For now 90/100. But it may go up or down as I am, naturally, tired. And maybe another preparation method will make the tea better. How to spend remaining 3 grams? Should I brew it gong-fu?

April 2015 harvest, sealed pouch.

Flattened, unbroken olive green leaves are still quite fragrant with roasted chestnut and what reminds me of the sunflower butter swirl brownies a friend made recently. Very light yellow liquor has a taste kind of citrus-bright and nutty with typical dragon well roasted nuts-chestnut as well as dry grass and clean, mouthwatering minerality. Wet leaf has a leek-beef umami aroma. The second cup isn’t as flavorful but it does have a much stronger aroma. This old leaf would probably take some playing with parameters to get the most of what it has to offer.

It’s been interesting trying a handful of green teas with 4-6+ years of age. While not optimum, they could serve in a pinch.

Sealed bag, Spring 2014 harvest.

Delicate, brittle leaf in colors faded grey-brown-green. Smells spicy, dry and pungent — desert earth and green bell pepper without sweetness underpinned by muscatel and strawberry.

First steep had a dry grass-desert earth aroma and a light golden color with a tinge of green. Viscous and smooth finishing dry with minerals and salivation. Mostly tastes of dry grass, barely noticeable apricot aftertaste. Feel mintiness in chest and in the sinuses. Second steep was basically hot water.

I would say time hasn’t been so kind to this green tea but RahRahSan’s review 6 years ago suggests that it was never remarkable to begin with. At least it had a nice mouthfeel.

The Great Un-Steepstering of 2020 Review #6 (08/15/20)

Today is the one year anniversary of me buying this house! Which was around the time I fell really behind on reading Steepster reviews, hense the year-or-so backlog I have to get through. It will also be the one-year adoptionversary for my kitty Chiya in a few days (PRIORITIES… bought the house to get a cat!) and sadly, I have to get her booster shots. I will certainly make it up to her with a special treat and I already replaced her favorite mouse that she went Mike Tyson on by ripping its ear off (and it probably won’t be long until she destroys this one… she’s a little black death machine!)

Still trying to get through my 2017 teas, which are my oldest (I got into tea late in 2016 and did a lot of bulk orders in 2017 in my enthusiam!) I especially have a lot of pure origin teas from that time, which is sad I let them get so old, but c’est la vie… Here is another from that old What-cha order, and it was a big bag! Oof, this will take a while to sip down… I’ve already made one cold brew batch and will probably be doing that a lot to work through the bag, but right now I have a warm cuppa to sip with my classy microwave eggroll lunch. 2g in 175F water, 2 minute steep.

I have tried other Bi Luo Chun’s in the past. The aroma of this one smells very floral, which my (admittedly poor) memory doesn’t recall any of the others I’ve tried being particularly floral (they were always a very savory vegetal flavor with a strong beany note, with some variances on that between the different ones I tried). I’d have to look through all different iterations to see if any of them struck strongly floral… I do smell that “beany” quality as well, though. First sip, and this definitely does have a florality to the flavor… smooth, a bit like the lilac/orchid flavor in green oolongs, not heavy or perfumy. The vegetal quality is there, and I am definitely getting that bean note lingering on my tongue after the sip. The vegetal flavor is a bit like peas/pea pods, green beans, and black beans, and comes across very savory/umami. I know I’ve had a few Bi Luo Chun that had a “meaty” taste in the past, but I’m not getting that here from the umami quality… perhaps because of the florality of the tea.

It’s a nice tea, I probably don’t need 50g of it, but it is pleasant.

The Great Un-Steepstering of 2020 Review #5 (08/07/20)

My What-cha teas are all really old now (it was a 2017 order) so I’m trying to move those to the forefront. I know green teas are not prime for aging but I really like greens, whites, and oolongs as cold brews, so I opted to cold brew this one. 5g in 32oz of water, steeped overnight and strained to make ice tea.

This is a delightful cold brew. I’m getting a very nutty flavor from the tea, with notes of roasted nuts, particularly chestnut and walnut. There is a brisk and refreshing vegetal background, that is sweet and subtly spinachy. The flavor reminds me a bit of genmaicha… a sweet grass paired with toasty rice, even though this has no genmai in it.

Very tasty and a refreshing cold brew tea! I was going to use the rest of the sampler as a warm cup, but now I think I’ll just make another cold brew batch with it.

The land we call home burns once again. I’m holed up in the house, safe in my town. A few of my coworkers have had to evacuate. The smoke is thick in the valley today. Since I’m staying in, I might as well put a dent in this massive gift box of tea, recover from the madness of work this week as 5 counties of people scrambled to our store for emergency supplies. I think a lot of people still have PTSD from the massive, devastating fires of the past three years. Not to mention the stress of this year has been relentless! Life is resilient, though.

This was one of many unopened green teas from White Antlers. July 2015 harvest.

Dry leaf is very dark brown and hard, wiry and twisted spindles that smell of smoke and leather-tobacco, rounded out by mango skin and with a thick bottom sweetness of brown sugar and papaya.

First steep produced a clear, pinkish yellow cup with a light mango skin aroma and a touch of smoke. Light body and tastes with a hay mid/base note, a hint of smoke and a mango skin-apricot mid/high tone. Mineral on sip with a very drying finish. Very light fruity aftertaste. Following a second steep, the leaves were still not unfurled so I went for a third which was tasteless. The spent leaves revealed a pick of nearly all 2 leaves and a bud.

Based on the dry leaf aroma and TeaNecromancer’s experience (who picked up on remarkably similar notes as myself) with this tea 5 years ago, it seems like this green tea would have been a delight when fresh. It’s still drinkable, likely due to being stored in the original sealed pouch.

Another sealed bag from White Antlers :)

September 2015 harvest had grandpa. Dry leaf smells like floral perfume. A deeper sniffing reveals candylike melon and a pleasant, clean animal fur. I don’t remember the liquor aroma. Has the silver needle velvety thick mouthfeel with a dominant honeysuckle-nectar-straw-smoke taste and a background melon that becomes stronger in the aftertaste. Grandpa may not be the best method for this tea since it can get bitter. Pretty enjoyable and I’ll try the next round western style.

From White Antlers. I’ve always wanted to try this, so thanks unto you.

Sealed pouch of Summer 2015 harvest. The green tea has seen better days. It is vegetal. The lotus scenting is still strong. I can’t imagine how much more so when fresh. It’s such a complex fragrance, like juicy grapes, anise seed, hyacinth and sassafras. Intriguing, definitely. I might set some of this aside for kombucha before passing the rest forward.

June 2018 harvest.

I only had one go at this old sample forwarded my way, so perhaps not a great assessment. It was a nice Assam, more in line with my tippy tastes than some of the malt-heavy leafy picks. It was bright and dark, tangy and vibrant with a cherry-rose theme: tart cherry candy, rosewood and rose florality, only some malt and a hint of chocolate if I went searching. My only quibble was the lack of a grounding bass note. It was kind of zippy?

1,000 Tea Note!!!!! Yay! Of, course it’s during Interesting Times. lol (Edit: “‘And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head.’” – Terry Pratchett in “Maskerade”)

Spring 2020 Harvest

This is currently one of my favourite teas of all time. I don’t know a lot about this type of tea or Japanese teas in general, and have only had a couple Kabuse Senchas in the past (I’ve loved them all). If anyone has recommendations of their favourites give me a shout!

There is a hint of citrus on third steep, after the marine has become diluted and the citric and sweet qualities of the green peaks through (comes across as mostly yuzu or kumquat, or citrus leaves). Its profile also often overlaps with matcha, which is how this tea variety hooked me in the first place. I had a cup with Chinese food the other day and it sure cut the grease.

I love how clean and savoury this tea is. While the beach isn’t really advisable right now, these verdant leaves provide similar sensory input and make me feel relaxed and at peace. It may be sappy, but it’s true and a reliable effect!

Rating: 95 Love, love, love. Essential repurchase with same or similar tea.

Steep Count: 3, at aprox. 30s each

June 2014 harvest

Little rolled balls of whole and chopped green tea leaf. Dry leaf aroma is light citrus blossom-grass-vegetal. Wet leaf aroma is strongly brothy with vegetal, roasted chestnut and anise notes. Light yellow, viscous brew. Taste is refreshing and mimics the dry leaf aroma. With the second steep, it becomes more vegetal-chestnut with a hint of anise on the sip. A pronounced lemon taste and a whisper of smoke follow, giving way to a tangy feeling after the swallow. A bit drying with a happy and floral, white peach-like aftertaste. Very nice quality for a green tea 6 years old. Somebody who’s not me has the fortitude to not open their tea packages when they arrive.

2.5g, 250mL, 175F, 3 steeps.

A sweet oolong with a clear but very well balanced charcoal taste that’s extremely forgiving to brew.
Well priced too, after tasting a sample I immediately bought a bigger bag (bigger than I usually do).

Taste: honey sweetness, smoke, little bit of grape in the aftertaste. Nice full texture. Astringency is noticeable but not distracting.

I wouldn’t call it a particularly interesting tea, but more of a nice, comfy, “daily drinker”-type. 90% of the time I end up brewing it grandpa-style (just leaves in a big cup), and it’s perfect for that. Unless you really over-leaf it, the taste doesn’t get too strong. Doesn’t even matter if you forget your cup, it’s still tasty when cooled down.

Thanks for the freebie in my latest order. November 2019 harvest.

More aromatic than full of flavor. Aroma notes of baked fruits, lychee, peach, blueberry, strong woody-floral cinnamon, nutmeg, apricot, brown sugar, golden syrup, rose, wood furniture. Most notable is the sweetness, very much like asian pear with a thinned, almost watery simple syrup. Cooling. Tastes and aftertaste are more retronasal than on the tongue, possessing the same notes as the aroma; very little evolution of flavor when prepared gongfu.

This is a very friendly tea. I would recommend it to those looking to explore oolong!

2.5g, 50mL, 195F, starting at 10s after short rinse

My last teabox oolong (this one came from the Discovery Teabox, so thanks to Skysamurai for coordinating and all who contributed!), and also my last milk oolong from my cupboard (booooooo!) until I restock one.

My sample was just the right size for about the leaf-to-water ratio I use when I cold brew a litre of oolong, and I have never tried milk oolong that way (though I have done other green oolongs cold brewed, and typically love them that style!) so I figured I’d go for it. 7.5g of leaf (I usually use 8g but eh, close enough!) in about 946ml of water in a mason jar, left to brew in the fridge overnight, and then strained the next morning. I’ve been sipping it out of a cold thermos throughout the hot (too hot!) day.

Refreshing, still with buttered vegetable notes. I’m getting a bit of a fresh cucumber/zuccini note, which is the first time I’ve tasted that in a Jin Xuan… not sure if it happens to be this particular variety and harvest or the cold brew preparation, but it is very pleasant. The florality feels a little more muted to me prepared this way… It’s coming out a bit as a floral sweetness at the back of the throat toward the end of the sip, but not as a strong flavor. It tastes a bit more green or herbaceous… like a very sweet grass rather than blossomy/perfumy. The butter note is still quite present, and on some sips it really lingers on the tongue.

I’ll certainly miss having a milk oolong around, but know it’ll never be too long before another will make its way back into my cupboards… I love the stuff! Thanks for allowing me to sample this one!

I’m loving this matcha. Thank you so much, Derk. I’ve had it both as a latte and the traditional way. 2-3 chashaku scoops, through a sieve. ~2 oz water to make a paste, then whisked another 2 oz. (175°F). A bright green powder, finely ground, full-bodied grassy aroma… And when prepared in a syrup form (koicha) no bitterness, pure umami, very smooth, foamy, silky, light lingering sweetness.

Note: My local USPS isn’t delivering packages anymore even though we have a locker. In fact, they are just sending packages back… So much for buying any tea online for now especially international. I hope all of you are safe and happy.

Essentially nailed it! Who knows what it tasted like. I gulped it back in about two mouthfuls and followed it up with a fruity macaron. Now, off to make myself another bowl because this stuff is addictive.

Spring 2019 Harvest, Winter 2020 Grind

Oh, man. I haven’t whisked a bowl of matcha for over five years and it shows. And I thought I could get away without sifting and winging the portion ratios/whisking motions? Nope. Waaaay too many clumps.

Thankfully, this matcha is a tasty forgiving kind. It’s mellow and grassy (bitter and sweet like dark chocolate), with a banana sweet finish. Today I tried it directly as powder (when it coated my fingers, don’t ask), as a hot whisked cup (strong but smooth), before dumping most of that cup over ice cubs and adding milk (mellow, grassy, gentle, savoury herb and sweet banana finish). It was tasty and flavourful in all forms. Looking forward to drinking this up and, hopefully, treating it with more respect!