What-Cha

Keeping the Nepalese tea train going, I spent last night working my way through a sample pouch of this delicious oolong. At this point, I only have 4 grams left and I intend to use those for a multi-step Western session either later today or sometime tomorrow. I will be sad to see this tea go. I have enjoyed it greatly, finding it to be a truly exceptional tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in a 4 ounce gaiwan filled with 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional 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, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of fresh flowers, butter, and wood. After the rinse, I was able to pick out distinct impressions of daisy, marigold, dandelion, chrysanthemum, and violet, as well as grass and straw. The first infusion brought all of previously mentioned bouquet components together, though I also began to pick up on a hint of rose. In the mouth, the tea emphasized a melange of well-integrated floral flavors balanced by grass, straw, butter, and wood. Subsequent infusions allowed the floral flavors to separate in the mouth as the notes of grass, straw, butter, and wood strengthened. Impressions of minerals, vanilla, malt, honey, lemon zest, orange, and herbs also appeared. The later infusions were dominated by mineral, grass, straw, wood, and herb notes, though I could still detect touches of dandelion, violet, and butter lurking in the background.

As oolongs go, this one was very straightforward, but the aromas and flavors on display worked beautifully together. Those violet and rose impressions were particularly impressive. There were times when I felt like I was consuming the liquid equivalent of a violet pastille, yet I was reminded of rosewater Turkish delights at others. It was simply breathtaking. This one is definitely deserving of a recommendation to fans of intensely floral teas.

I’m happy to report that my heavy-handed brewing didn’t ruin a subsequent attempt at an iced version of this tasty tea!

After abusing the leaves terribly I still managed to make several delicious cold infusions that tasted satisfyingly like steamed white rice. How do they get that flavor in there? I dunno. Must be magic.

I’m still new to gaiwan brewing and I botched this batch of tea pretty badly by using water just under boiling. I was under the impression that the short brew time meant most teas could be done at higher temps but that certainly is not true for this one! Delicious buttery cracker notes on the nose, horrendous bitterness on the palate. It’s like this tea is playing hard to get; I need a wingman.

This was a tea I had been looking forward to reviewing since I bought it. I am a big fan of some of the black and oolong teas produced by Jun Chiyabari, and though I was not familiar with this tea until today, I had heard nothing but good things about it. Well, I am happy to report that I found this to be a very fine black tea.

I prepared this tea two ways. For the first part of the session, I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I then conducted a second infusion at 7 minutes. For the remainder of the session, I relied on my usual single infusion (3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes).

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of chocolate, citrus, wood, and malt. After infusion, I began to detect hints of butter, brown toast, black grape, roasted grain, and cream. In the mouth, I detected rich notes of wood, chocolate, roasted grain, orange peel, lemon zest, butter, brown toast, cream, malt, and roasted almond supported by delicate undertones of brown sugar, nutmeg, and black grape. The finish was woody and malty with notes of citrus, chocolate, and roasted grain providing support.

This was a nice black tea. I was especially impressed by the fact that it did not come off as a clone of any sort of Darjeeling. The chocolate notes were particularly impressive in this one. I would definitely recommend it to fans of traditional black teas who are looking for something unique.

Brewed grandpa style with about a 1:1 grams/oz tea and water. I’m sensitive to bitterness so I typically do my grandpa style fairly cool.

The water at 175 may be a little cool for this one but the tea did come out delightfully subtle, predominantly green with a mild butteriness, a little like buttered steamed green beans. If you find this tea too popcorn-y I’d recommend it this way but if you like the strong butteriness I’d go gongfu.

gongfu brewing this with a gentler hand released more floral notes and made the umami overall less intense

Do NOT ice this tea. Don’t do it. It will come out like a salty bowl of “I can’t believe it’s not butter” and bitter, bitter regret.

gongfu brewed

Raw leaf smells extremely sweet like a caramel taffy, wet leaf has more vegetal characteristics.

The first infusion is a very light, sunny liqueur with an aroma like buttered broccoli. The flavor is overwhelmingly like lightly browned salted butter, perhaps like oversalted madeleines, with an almost coconut flavored sensation of creaminess that fades to a juicy cool. The sweetness is subtly reminiscent of peas and green melon.

Second infusion has more green notes, the butteriness softening and the overall sweetness intensifying and taking on a honey flavor as the tea cools. By the third infusion, a crisp bright character begins to rear, with a bite of kale and unripe nut bitterness along with a subtle fruity character I can’t quite place. The round butteriness remains still in the background. The fourth infusion is unexpectedly too bitter for my taste, resting in the throat a bit like bile, yet still with that buttered broccoli flavor!

I suspect this tea would be well served grandpa style with cooler water. Even with the sudden brash bitterness at the end I’d call this a top notch, interesting tea.

I’ve reviewed this one several times but I find my rating increases a little each time. I’m still relatively new to quality tea (quali-tea, hehe) so it’s probably a combination of developing taste and preference as well as refining my brewing methods for different teas. The more I drink this tea the more I find myself liking it!

After a white tea left me feeling a little meh I tossed two pearls into a preheated mug, poured over water somewhere just under boiling and let it rest with a lid on for a while. Since when did this tea get so damn delicious?! I liked it before but I’m really diggin it today. The chocolate notes are hitting me hard, the mouthfeel so very creamy and heady! I refreshed the mug and added just a little cream. This is now my black of choice.

Here is the secret to making this tea the best possible: Two pearls per about 8-12 oz, do a quick warm steep to open them up, drink up and then prepare the unfurled pearls with room temp water and straight into the fridge. If you start straight with room temp water you won’t get the cocoa notes as neatly.

I greatly prefer this tea iced! It reminds me a little of laoshan black with sweet graham and damp woody notes. The cocoa notes are much stronger, as well. This brew is delightful especially considering I hot brewed the pearls several times before the final fridge treatment!

Brewed in my glass pitcher.

The pearls are beautiful to watch unfurling. The dry leaf smells sweet and hazelnutty while the wet leaf smells surprisingly woody and vegetal in comparison.

The most positive thing I have to say about this tea is that, even for a black, it lacks any tanniny leatheriness. It’s nearly impossible to overbrew and remains light and smooth even with a good deal of brewers abuse. First steeping is relatively sweet with a soft maltiness and subtle damp hay aroma and flavor. Pleasant but subtle cocoa notes, very juicy tasting on the palate. Second steep has lost most of the sweetness and remains smooth and malty with dark cocoa tones becoming more prominent.

Overall, this is a pretty underwhelming but otherwise pleasant black tea. I would not recommend it with milk as its subtle flavors would be completely drowned out.

Edit: gave a sip to my bf, who is not a tea fanatic. I agree with his note: “It is a huge improvement from bagged black but not great for a loose tea.”

Gaiwan brewed absolutely does not serve this tea well. I should have guessed, because it’s a pearl tea and needs more time and room to unfurl. Lesson learned: brew the tea the way the tea wants, not the way that I want.

Here is my most recent sample sipdown. I was (am) still wiped out from the Georgia trip and ended up doing a long session with this oolong to wind down after I left work. I found it to be a worthwhile tea that rewarded patient, focused sipping.

I gongfued this one. After an approximately 10 second rinse, I steeped the entire dragon ball in a 5 ounce easy gaiwan filled with 194 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 12 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, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 9 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry dragon ball produced subtle aromas of wood, grass, roasted nuts, and light char. The rinse brought out hints of seaweed, brine, hay, grain, and stone fruits. The first infusion saw touches of honey, mushroom, and malt appear on the nose. Predictably, the tea liquor was very slight in the mouth. I could just barely pick up on touches of grass, hay, light char, wood, seaweed, mushroom, and roasted nuts. To be honest, this tea was not really meant for the flash steeps I favor, but I persisted anyway. Subsequent infusions saw the nut impressions separate. I was reminded of a combination of roasted almond, beechnut, and chestnut. The impressions of char, wood, grass, hay, mushroom, and seaweed strengthened somewhat. The honey, brine, malt, and fruit flavors also appeared. Shortly afterwards, I was picking up fairly distinct impressions of apricot, longan, lychee, and peach while impressions of birch, caramel, camphor, wintergreen, minerals, marigold, rose, grain, and butter began to emerge. The later impressions were smooth, offering definite top notes of minerals, hay, butter, grass, malt, and wood underscored by lingering hints of stone fruits, honey, grain, caramel, camphor, nuts, and wintergreen.

Much like the unroasted version of this tea, this was odd and somewhat tedious, but enjoyable. Of the two, I preferred this one. I enjoy roasted oolongs and the light roast that was applied to this tea added some intriguing depth.

This came as a free sample with my last What-Cha order (thanks Alistair). I’m not much for dark oolongs but this one was pretty good. It has a comforting aroma of toasted nuts and warm bread. The taste is a cross between bug bitten oolong and black tea. I got a lot of spice and toasted nut steeping it gongfu. Grandpa steeping smoothes it out and gives the tea a honeyed edge. The fruitiness here sorta reminded me of GABA oolong.
Overall, a pleasant oolong with a nice fruity flavor and no char.

This was the other tea I put off reviewing until I returned from Georgia. Again, I wrote fairly comprehensive notes pertaining to my session(s) with this tea. I found this to be an intensely aromatic, flavorful, and complex jade oolong that is incredibly reasonably priced.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in a 4 ounce gaiwan filled with 194 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 emitted aromas of butter and cream underscored by hints of sweetgrass, lilac, and violet. After the rinse, I detected robust aromas of cream, butter, sweetgrass, lilac, and violet, as well as emerging aromas of hyacinth, lily, vanilla, and honeysuckle. The first infusion saw the floral aromas intensify while scents of baguette, spinach, and custard also began to appear. In the mouth, I got notes of cream, butter, baguette, and sweetgrass accompanied by subtle impressions of hyacinth, violet, and lilac. Closer inspection also revealed incredibly subtle notes of lily, honeysuckle, spinach, vanilla, and custard in the background. I was a little concerned that such a short infusion would not yield much, but I was wrong. Subsequent infusions revealed stronger aromas and flavors of hyacinth, violet, lilac, lily, honeysuckle, spinach, vanilla, and custard. I also began to detect emerging aromas and flavors of Narcissus, magnolia, honeydew, cantaloupe, green apple, and minerals. The later infusions were dominated by cream, butter, mineral, sweetgrass, and baguette notes, though a subtle fruitiness and some lingering floral and vegetal qualities were apparent in places.

This was one of a couple of samples I finished before leaving for a campus visit in Georgia. I didn’t have time to submit a review before I left, so I wrote fairly detailed notes about the session I conducted with it and planned to review it after I returned. I got back earlier this afternoon, and naturally, I am now submitting a review. Overall, I found this to be a nice Assam with enough complexity to satisfy and an intriguing fruitiness.

I went with a single Western-style infusion for this tea. I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in about 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted malty aromas with hints of fig and prune. After infusion, I detected stronger aromas of malt, fig, and prune accompanied by emerging scents of caramel, brown toast, cream, molasses, leather, honey, raisin, spice, and roasted chestnut. I could also catch fleeting impressions of orange and chocolate in the background. In the mouth, I detected a nicely balanced mix of malt, cream, brown toast, fig, leather, prune, raisin, honey, caramel, chocolate, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, and roasted chestnut flavors. The finish was smooth, creamy, and malty, offering lingering notes of fig, prune, brown toast, caramel, and molasses underscored by a subtle hint of camphor that I did not catch earlier.

As far as Assams go, this one was commendable for its nice texture and balance in the mouth, intriguing bouquet, and complexity. I do not often get fig or dried fruit notes from traditional Indian Assams, so that was a nice touch that set this tea apart from many others of its type. I would recommend this tea highly to those looking for a reliable Assam with plenty of flavor.

This is one of the better Jin Xuans I’ve had, or one of the fruitier ones in the least. The dry leaf smell is also fruity, kinda like fruit loops cereal. I’m having a hard time picking out the fruit-so far I’ve got honeydew, maybe kiwi though not that tart, or peach. Honeydew is probably more precise. I’ll come back to it. The fruit loop general tropical fruitiness is the most accurate.

Since the tea is as light as the other review described, going a little heavier in the leafs was better-at about 5 grams. I started off with 45 sec, and first steep was creamy, slightly floral, and fruity. Every steep is lightly sweet. The second steep was closer to 50 sec, and it was a little drier that I expected-making me think of dry oats-then it immediately goes to being a little green and then again fruity. This tea does not have a strong grassy presence that a lot of Jin Xuans have, but when there is grass, it is more floral and definitely fresher. I’m digging this aspect. It can be difficult to find a light oolong that is not too grassy and not too delicate. This tea leans towards the delicate side, but the present fruitiness makes me like it.

More to come…and much of the same thing. This tea has some decent strength for three more steeps, but the profile was generally there. Steep five had a high point of fruity strength that I did not expect. There is strength for a seventh brew, but it would have to sit for a while.

I am fairly impressed with this tea. I was not a huge fan of the first Indonesian tea I tried, but the Baozhong and this tea have changed my mind. I actually liked this one a little more than a few Chinese and Taiwan Jin Xuan’s I’ve had in the past because of its fruitiness and its light sweetness. The only downside is that it needs longer steeping times or more leaves to shine. I am so glad to have a sample before it sold out, though.

I do recommend this tea generally, but I do not know who exactly would be drawn to it. It is very easy to drink, so it is approachable for a newbie, but it has enough nuance for a more experienced drinker to try. I’m not sure if it would leave an impression, except for the fact that it is a good Jin Xuan from Indonesia. I’d hope it expand someone’s sense of geography in the very least.

A solid puerh for everyday drinking. Strong bitter and earthy taste. Make sure not to overbrew it, or it will dry out your mouth and throat.

I’m not surprised I’m upping the rating. I accidentally over steeped it for about 3 minutes and 15 sec in my French Press, and the result was a sticky and sweet blackberry concoction of slightly spicy notes. How they sang from the body was incredible, making this 22-year-old virgin silently mouth carnal exclamations that he could only imagine. Go two and three did not have the same honey sweet ecstasy, though number two’s blackberry sage notes rose back up as the liquor cooled. Number three was a pale ghost of the black tea that it was – even after eight minutes steeping. Yet the memory of the first experience remained as an unfortunate reminder that it was a one morning stand. Perhaps we could meet again in the future, but what could a student teacher really afford at this time? Til the next sippin’…

Thank you, Alistair! I’ve been looking at this one for a while and glad to try it. I went with 2 minutes Western in my gaiwan with 194 F and an eyeballed amount of leaves. I used between 3-4 grams of the wiry leaves and got five brews out.

The first steep was the best, and the blackberry notes were thick and sweet followed by the greenwood honey aftertaste Rasseru mentioned, or the spiciness that Alistair described. It made me think of a few blackberry sage flavored teas I’ve had before, only it was not as malty. I could even think of the blackberry sage chocolate bars I used to hoard. The notes did not change too much in the later steeps. The blackberry-spice flavor got lighter, but the texture remained.

As prominent as the notes are, they were very balanced you could still tell that this was a black tea. It reminded me more of a Alishan black tea I’ve had before. I’m also glad that it was not as brisk or astringent as a Taiwan Assam. One review on What-Cha’s website even described it as soft, and it is on the softer side for black teas.

I would probably get this again in a 50 gram amount if I had the option of it again. If only I did not already have a lot of tea. I think this tea is good for general audiences- it has enough complexity for people to like it for notes, but it’s also easy to drink as a black tea on its own. It might be too light for cream and sugar, but I’d have to try that to be certain. I’d still prefer this straight gong fu or western. I’ll write more later.

I am finally cleaning out the backlog with this one. I had a sample pouch of this tea, and after a very long day at work, I made the time to seriously sit down and evaluate it. I found it to be an enjoyable, easy-drinking oolong that would work well as a daily drinker.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I conducted a 7 second infusion with 6 grams of loose tea leaves in a 4 ounce gaiwan filled with 194 F water. This infusion was followed by 12 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 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 pleasant aromas of cream, lilac, honeysuckle, and violet. After the rinse, I began to detect emerging scents of butter, magnolia, and sweetgrass. The first infusion brought out touches of orchid and vanilla. In the mouth, I detected mild notes of violet, cream, butter, honeysuckle, and sweetgrass. Subsequent infusions brought out the touches of hyacinth, magnolia, orchid, and vanilla. I also began to catch emerging impressions of minerals, spinach, cucumber, sugarcane, and leaf lettuce. At one point, I thought I even caught a touch of Narcissus. The later infusions were mild, emphasizing notes of minerals, sweetgrass, spinach, lettuce, and butter underscored by faint traces of cream and fresh flowers.

I did not get a ton of complexity out of this oolong, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was the sort of tea that was good to knock back after a long day, as it had a nice bouquet and enough flavor to impress, yet it also did not require a ton of analysis. I would recommend this tea to anyone looking for a solid, basic oolong. I could see it going over especially well with those looking to get into Taiwanese oolongs without jumping into the deep end and/or breaking the bank.