What-Cha

I’m getting to this one later than anticipated. What’s new, right? A couple months ago, I developed a plan to do a shootout of Toba Wangi teas, but I never got around to it and that bothered me. As tea producers go, Toba Wangi absolutely fascinates me. A newer producer, they have established two estates in West Java, one producing cultivars of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and one producing cultivars of Camellia sinensis var. assamica. While Indonesia is mostly known in the West for producing commercial black teas, Toba Wangi produces a range of high quality teas and is becoming increasingly known for their green teas and oolongs. Since I still had samples of a number of their teas, I decided to revive my Toba Wangi shootout idea last week. I then decided to limit myself to two teas and ended up selecting this tea (produced from the Gambung 7 cultivar of Camellia sinensis var. assamica) and a green tea made from a cultivar of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, for which I will hopefully be posting a review very shortly. What was the verdict? Both were winners.

I prepared this tea in my familiar, personalized version of gongfu style. I often do not rinse green teas, but opted to here. After a true flash rinse (literally water on, water off), I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves offered unique aromas of lemon, grass, and something of a restrained sheng-like funk. The rinsed leaves offered stronger lemon and grass aromas coupled with emerging scents of nuts, malt, and hay. A hint of grapefruit was just barely detectable, and of course, the previously mentioned sheng-like funkiness was still present. The first infusion brought out a hint of wood on the nose. In the mouth, the liquor expressed mild notes of lemon, nuts, malt, hay, grass, and a slight funk. Subsequent infusions brought out the grapefruit on the palate as well as notes of straw, spinach, seaweed, herbs, and pine. Clearly defined notes of chestnut, walnut, and beechnut appeared, and I also caught some interesting impressions of tart cherry, sour plum, lettuce, minerals, sorghum, and artichoke lurking around the fringes. The later infusions saw a pronounced increase in mineral presence. Rather faint impressions of nuts, malt, grass, lettuce, seaweed, and spinach were there too, as was something of a subtle funk.

I tend to like green teas produced from assamica cultivars and I also tend to like quite a few non-Chinese green teas. With the previously expressed tendencies in mind, it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed this tea as much as I did. It displayed considerable depth and complexity on the nose and in the mouth, yet it was never overwhelming or unapproachable. I find teas like this to be as fun and engaging as they are challenging and would have no issue recommending this tea to fans of traditional Yunnan green teas or green tea drinkers looking for something a little exotic.

I don’t think anyone can understand just how much I have been looking forward to reviewing this tea. One of my favorite desserts is sticky rice and custard, and my love of oolong teas is common knowledge. The idea of two things I adore seemingly combined was a dream come true. But would this tea stand up to my high expectations? Fortunately, it was excellent. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

I opted to prepare this tea gongfu style. After a flash rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by infusions of 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of custard and sticky rice. After the rinse, the aromas of custard and sticky rice grew stronger. They were joined by scents of cream and fresh flowers. The first infusion released some subtle scents of grass and spinach. In the mouth, the liquor was very light, though I still detected relatively clear notes of cream, butter, grass, custard, and sticky rice. Subsequent infusions better brought out these flavors. They were accompanied by delicate impressions of lilac, honeysuckle, orchid, coconut milk, minerals, mango, and pineapple, as well as hints of pastry and seaweed. The spinach notes finally emerged on the palate too. Later infusions offered lingering notes of minerals, sticky rice, and custard that were underscored by traces of butter, grass, and seaweed.

I know I have said it before, but I am normally not one to go for flavored/scented oolongs. I may be steadily softening on that stance, however, since I have recently discovered a number of these teas that I like. I can safely count this one among that number. This was an exceptionally enjoyable oolong with a great mix of aromas and flavors. If you are a fan of similar teas and/or sticky rice, you owe it to yourself to try this tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. No subsequent infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted malty, woody aromas. After infusion, I found scents of malt, smoke, wood, roasted nuts, cocoa, molasses, and caramel. In the mouth, the liquor was fairly astringent and tannic. I noticed heavy notes of oak wood and smoked pine accompanied by notes of spruce, cedar, wildflower honey, hazelnut, roasted chestnut, and black walnut that eventually gave way to softer, subtler impressions of cream, malt, cocoa, caramel, molasses, nutmeg, and black pepper. The finish was woody, malty, smoky, and nutty, though I could still detect impressions of molasses and wildflower honey.

This was a heavy, punchy tea that had a ton to offer in the flavor department, but it was also not the most drinkable Assamica out there. I found the mouthfeel to be a bit harsh, and at times, it was a little too astringent for my liking. As much as I enjoyed getting to a try an exotic New World tea, I cannot see myself ever reaching for this over a good Indian or Yunnan Assamica. I’m still willing to bet, however, that Assamica fans would enjoy this tea on one level or another.

This was the second black tea from Pasabong that I tried this year. Back in the first half of the year, I tried the second flush Pasabong black tea offered by What-Cha and came away from it puzzled and not exactly impressed. Unfortunately, I had the exact same reaction to this tea, though of the two, I think I may have preferred the second flush tea. This just came across as being very dark and muddled for a first flush Darjeeling black tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas that reminded me of a combination of chili leaf, hay, and wood. After infusion, I found aromas of malt and orange blossom. In the mouth, the oddly dark tea liquor provided me with notes of wood, toast, malt, hay, grass, chili leaf, orange blossom, herbs, roasted almond, and raisin. There wasn’t much of a fruitiness to this tea, though I did note something of an odd, pungent floral note accompanied by hints of cooked greens and green beans just prior to the finish. Speaking of the finish, it started off rather malty, nutty, and smooth before briefly turning vegetal and then drying out almost entirely, leaving previously absent impressions of chalk, beechnut, and raw chestnut in the mouth.

Well, as stated above, this tea did not impress me all that much. It was a very up-and-down, hit-or-miss drinking experience. I found the leaf quality to be a bit lacking and also felt that this tea did not really demonstrate many of the best qualities of typical first flush Darjeeling black teas. In a sense, it was unique, but it was also not all that appealing. While I’m sure this would not qualify as the worst example of this type of tea in the world, I feel that there are better options that are very readily available.

What do we have here? Could it be another review from the endless backlog? Why yes, it is. I tried What-Cha’s India Assam Halmari GTGFOP1 Clonal Black Tea and this tea pretty much back to back and ended up surprising myself. Halmari’s GTGFOP1 clonal tea has an excellent reputation among Assam drinkers, and while I found it to be very good, I also found it to be slightly overrated. I ended up enjoying this tea somewhat more. I then discovered that this tea was also a second flush GTGFOP1 grade black tea produced from the same clonal plants as the other tea. Assuming the difference between these two offerings was the hand processing, I found this tea to be smoother.

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. No additional infusions were attempted.

Prior to infusion, I noted mild aromas of malt, wood, and molasses coming from the dry leaf material. After infusion, I found aromas of roasted chestnut, walnut, orange, and herbs. In the mouth, I noted a gentle sweetness on the entry followed by notes of wood, cream, butter, caramel, malt, molasses, golden raisin, brown toast, orange, date, roasted chestnut, walnut, and wintergreen. There was a surprising, but most welcome lack of astringency to the tea liquor. The finish was mild, smooth, and short, leaving notes of malt, cream, and roasted nuts that were underscored by subtle touches of caramel and fruit lingering in the mouth.

As mentioned earlier, I found this to be the smoother, softer, and more approachable of What-Cha’s two Halmari offerings. It was just a more pleasant tea overall. Though both were very good examples of clonal Assam black tea, I would pick this one if pressed to choose between the two.

It’s hearty and bracing. I got it as a “mystery tea” and am happy with the flavor. It’s a bit more astringent than I often drink, but still has smooth taste overall. It’s got that bready/starchy underlying flavor that I like in a black tea, and has a briskness I associate with most traditional breakfast teas. It won’t be what I reach for when I want a mellow wakeup tea, but is perfect as a hearty pick-me up, or a daily-drinker kind of straightforward tea.

I recently made an order from What-Cha to try out their rose and Earl Grey oolongs, and he threw in a sample of this tea. I was curious about it, so I am glad to be able to try it!

As soon as the water hit the leaves I smelled very distinct sticky rice aromas. The combination of the butteriness and creaminess from the Jin Xuan oolong and the rice flavors reminds me of a sticky rice made with sweetened condensed milk. Rich, tasty, with a hint of that green oolong in the background just to remind you of what you are drinking. I really like this one! May be tempted to get a quantity on a future order.

On first steep, I didn’t love this tea. The roasted flavor was definitely present, but not overpowering, which I liked. But it also had a kind of tartness, or sharpness? I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but there’s a particular flavor I’m not too fond of that I sometimes come across in green teas, and it was present in this one.

But I was up really late last night, and ended up doing many steeps. Starting on the second steep, the sharp flavor mellowed, and the tea took on a fresh sweetness that I enjoyed. Each subsuquent steep, the sweetness seemed to intensify. So, I ended up liking the tea. I don’t think I love it enough to buy more when the sample runs out, but maybe it will grow on me.

Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Seven- Tea #43
A very grassy, hay green tea in both the scent and flavor. Tasty! But the name of this tea is more unique than the flavor.

The first time I tried this tea, I gongufed it and didn’t like the musky, brothy flavor. But not every tea is made for gongfu and in this particular case, generic western steeping actually worked best. I dropped about 7 pearls into a 200ml teapot and brewed it for 3 minutes or so until the leaf began to unfurl. The tea had a lovely sweet incense like aroma. Soft, creamy flavor with a faintly floral aftertaste that reminded me of white tea.

I can see why this is used as a base in jasmine scented tea. The subtle flavor works well in many blends. I added a dried persian rosebud and the tea complemented the rose very nicely.

I’ve had this Western style and am now trying it grandpa style while I frantically try to finish a crazy writing project. It’s got a nice strong veggie flavor this way, and isn’t getting too bitter. I’m still not in love with green tea in general, and I’m not sure I’ll reorder this, but it is a good tea to keep me company on my late nights.

I’m making a reckless decision and having tea late at night. I steeped it Western style with just a pinch of leaves for about two minutes.

Green tea is usually not my favorite, but this one is really good when I’m in the mood for it. I definitely get the nutty flavor that other people mentioned.
It’s not too in-your-face with smell or flavor, but is a little creamy and it tastes more “vegetable” than grassy to me, which I like. Perfect late tea on a rainy evening.

I had a depressingly early meeting with a classmate today, so this tea sample got an unceremonious thermos sipdown. The steep time is approximate, because I wandered off to put on my shoes.
This tea has just enough astringency to make it savory. It’s nice and sweet, and is sort of rich and thick, too. It’s a cozy tea for winter and is almost, but not quite, as good as an extra couple of minutes in bed. I might buy a cake of this puerh, but I have to try some of my new puerh samples before I decide. I’m really loving puerh lately and can’t wait to taste more of it!

I totally forgot that I had this sample. I’m a pu-erh beginner, but I liked drinking it. I found it to be a really satisfying, thick tea for a chilly morning. I wandered off and oversteeped it for ages, but it didn’t get bitter or harsh. It did’t have the same kind of sharpness that I found in the Peet’s Pu-erh. It had the fermented smell that I notice in other Puerhs, but a very mild taste. It’s hard to describe since I’m new to Puerhs, but I found it comforting. It wasn’t as flavorful as I would have liked, but was enjoyable to drink. It gave me two strong Western style steeps, and the third one was a little watery, but that’s likely because I let it steep for a really long time on the second one.

I was really impressed this tea!
This tea is about jasmine. Gentle powdery and sweetness. Flowery notes are very intensive from first to 6th step. I got more hay and camphor’s notes in further steps. No bitterness at all.
I’ve started from 5 sec
10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 30sec, 40 sec, 50 sec, 1min, 1min 30 sec, 2 min
Overall, I was enjoining this tea in every step. Clear and pungent. Smooth and round. Flowery and sweet. Very notable ‘qi’ from the 3rd step and gentle huiguan. No complexity but the perfect candidate for everyday puerh.

What-Cha seems to have gone heavy on the first flush black teas from Gopaldhara this year, as this is the fourth one I have tried. In my opinion, there hasn’t been a bad tea in the bunch. This one seems to have been the consensus favorite with the folks at What-Cha, and though it was not quite my favorite (the AV2 Clonal Wonder just barely edged this one and the China Special out for me), it was an excellent tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced aromas that strongly reminded me of a combination of chili leaf and straw. After infusion, I noted emerging aromas of grass, almond, Muscatel, apricot, orange blossom, and something like corn husk. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of chili leaf, malt, grass, straw, almond, and orange blossom that were smoother and somewhat softer than expected. When I began to seriously dig, I noted subtler notes of corn husk, smoke, apricot, Muscatel, and cream lurking around the fringes. The finish was smooth and slightly creamy in texture, offering lingering notes of cream, grass, malt, orange blossom, and almond.

Though it arguably was not quite as complex as some of the other Gopaldhara first flush teas What-Cha has made available in the past year, this tea more than made up for it with an interesting and surprisingly harmonious combination of aromas and flavors and a wonderfully textured liquor in the mouth. Like the other teas, this was a quality offering, and I could see why some people would absolutely fall in love with it. If you are a fan of first flush Darjeeling black teas, this one is definitely worth a shot.

Drinking this one again, after ripping myself away from my Thailand Sticky Rice binge. I finally came up with an arbitrary rating but it will likely change with time. Also, it smells like Turkish Delights, and second steep is always better than the first steep (duh).

The pink packet it comes in is nice too, and I like it.

That’s my Deep Thought tea note for today (I drank tea!).

Steep Count: 4

(2017 summer harvest)

A year ago on this day I was in Agra experiencing amazing things (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, omg food, ALL the birds) and the less than amazing things (the fallout from the great rupee note recall, peaked emotions in our group after the American election, that scary alpha male langur who was a living embodiment of Two-Face).

I probably wouldn’t have made a note of that if it weren’t for this rose tea evoking all the rose lassis, desserts and syrups I managed to consume on that trip (I also drank it alongside butter chicken, but that’s irrelevant, I swear). Me and rose-flavoured things have a deep, unshakable bond that often drag me down memory lane, to all the other “roses” I’ve ever met in my life. A lot of those “roses” are no longer here – our dormant yellow rose bushes, my Grandmother’s old bedroom (doesn’t everyone’s Grandmother have something rosy scented?), Butiki’s Champagne & Rose Cream, etc.

Rose is a special scent and flavour. Some people abhor it, or find it overwhelming, but I’ve always embraced it. It’s also one of the very few floral notes I can pick out in a lineup, and I’m very proud of that fact (yay for distinctiveness and familiarity).

What I’m trying to say is that this tea and I have history, even though we have never met. We also have a long future ahead, although the tea doesn’t know it yet. Thank you, Daylon R Thomas, for pointing this one out to me and “reconnecting” us.

Um… a more short and serious tea-centric note, with a rating, will come in the future.

Also, here’s one of the fantastic birds of Agra.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSSGNjbBLaR/?taken-by=jeskihil

Steep Count: 4

(2017 summer harvest)

Once upon a time I drank a green-ish Darjeeling. The first cup was very sour, near unpalatable to me, reminiscent of my first time trying wine (didn’t like it). Second cup mellowed out into a floral-sweet muscatel brew, which dazzled my tongue with its complexities and “can’t exactly put my finger on what it reminds me of” notes.

Drinking the first cup of this reminds me of that epiphany of a second cup of Darjeeling. I haven’t had a good Darjeeling like that in a few years though, so I don’t know why I’m talking about that. This is just such a different tea. It makes me realize I haven’t gotten out of my tea comfort zone in a while. I wish I had more to play with and temper myself to!

Notes that remind me of my experiences with white tea: hay, sweet grass, honey, melon.

Notes that throw me off: plum (sweet and a little tart), a smooth, alcoholic-grain note like sake (anyone ever get the chance to try those limited-edition sake Kit Kats? It’s a little like that), lychee, and an undistinguished dusting of brown spice that tickles my throat (nutmeg? cinnamon?).

Steep Count: 4

(2016 spring harvest)

It seems that I am starting to reach for Vietnamese green teas more frequently when I am in the mood for green tea. I suppose that is not all that surprising since I like a lot of Yunnan and Guangxi green teas, and I find that the aromas and flavors offered by a number of Vietnamese green teas are somewhat similar. This was a tea I rushed to buy simply because of where it originated. I have had a couple of wild black teas from the tea forests of Ha Giang and I enjoyed them, so trying a green tea from there was a no-brainer. Apparently, this tea and What-Cha’s other Shan Tuyet offerings are made from Camellia Sinensis var. pubilimba, a unique tea varietal native to Vietnam. This was an interesting tea, full of vegetal, nutty, and malty notes with a hint of what I can only describe as a sheng-like funk and unexpected fruit and flower impressions.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. I decided to forego a rinse in this instance, as I do not always rinse green teas. I started with a 5 second infusion in 167 F water. This initial infusion was followed by infusions of 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

The dry tea leaves emitted somewhat pungent malty aromas with hints of vegetal character. The first infusion brought forth aromas of grass, spinach, kale, and corn husk. In the mouth, the liquor offered faint, delicate flavors. It started with a hint of sweetness on the entry before giving way to something of a young sheng funk with some brothy umami character and hints of grass, malt, and corn husk right before the finish. Subsequent infusions better brought out the grass, malt, and corn husk notes. The spinach and kale also started to impress themselves upon the palate. New notes of straw, hay, chestnut, hazelnut, asparagus, squash blossom, lettuce, wood, sour plum, tart cherry, and seaweed emerged too. At times, I even briefly detected entirely unexpected floral notes that reminded me of a combination of geranium, chrysanthemum, and marigold. The later infusions saw mineral notes emerge in a big way, though fleeting notes of lettuce, grass, chestnut, malt, spinach, and sheng-like funk were detectable until pretty much the end of the session.

Odd, yet aromatic and flavorful, this was a very satisfying green tea. Though it peaked rather early and faded quickly, it yielded a session that was more or less simultaneously enjoyable and fascinating from start to finish. I could see this tea appealing to adventurous green tea drinkers or Pu-erh fans looking to try something new.