What-Cha

Sipdown (455)!

Finishing this one off tonight as a pot of tea; it’s been a peaceful Christmas day in the house. We celebrated earlier in the week, so it’s just been a day off for us all. I’m embracing the serenity of it all because the crazy that is Boxing Day tomorrow…

It’s rare that I find a green tea that I really enjoy but this is one that I’ve found really consistent, and peaceful. It reminds me of sticky rice scented teas, but a little greener/fresher. Kind of a sticky rice and bamboo sort of thing? I’d actually probably order this one again just to keep some diversity in my cupboard for when I want that sort of sticky rice/calming sort of tea but don’t want to deplete my Sticky Rice Oolong stash.

Hard to explain how soothing I find these pandan/sticky rice teas but I just… do.

Morning cuppa!

This one was nice to start the morning with; very smooth and delicate which was great to just ease into the day alongside. The bulk of the sip is comprised of pandan notes, which are eerily similar to sticky rice. Very starchy and glutenous, with a soft delicate natural sweetness. I also found that the green tea itself was pleasantly grassy and light with a crisp finish that reminded me of bamboo.

Overall the cup was really good, but definitely better when it was hot! My last third of the cup was pretty cool (like room temp) when I got to drinking it, and it tasted nice but definitely not as good; had a very light astringency to it that it didn’t have when it was hot/freshly made.

Still, nice to drink this one again!

Evening cuppa.

It’s been a long time since I last had a tea with pandan in it, and prior to that tea I don’t think I’d ever tried anything with pandan so it’s a flavour I have a very limited familiarity with. That said, this does have a faint sense of familiarity to it.

It’s a soft, delicate flavour with a very smooth, silky mouthfeel. There’s an overall grassyness that’s sweet and refreshing, I think probably partly from the green tea base and partly from the pandan? Like in the company’s description, this does have a sticky rice sort of flavour to it but it’s also not quite that simple. It’s got a bit of a vanilla kind of flavour to it, but also not vanilla? It’s like some sort of sweet confection or bread too. Citrusy finish; but very light and refreshing without any acidity to it.

I really, really like it! It’s incredibly peaceful and relaxing, and I appreciate that it has this beautiful, subtle flavour to it that separates it from the typical green tea.

Yet another excellent tea that I really like that I should want more of, but don’t buy more of. The fruity notes are very pronounced, bordering on honeydew melon or melon in general. Maybe pear. Either way, it is fruity and noticeable at the front and ends of lightly brewed sips. It also has something that reminds me of cucumber in its fresh green quality. I got more fruity flavors in shorter steeps between 2 and 3 minutes starting off, and then slowly increasing the time for the rebrews. The florals are also incredibly strong and leafy, reminding me of peony. The tea could become a little bitter if steeped to long, or if the tea got a little cold, but they were pleasant. This was the only detractor for a great tea.

What-Cha has changed my mind about First Flushes as the ones I’ve tried from this company had been excellent. They are usually too grassy and bitter for me, but the balance of these is spot on. I’m still impressed with the unusual flavor combo this had, making me think of a white tea or even an oolong rather than a black, but the liqour’s light malt and the label remind me otherwise. I’d buy more if I wasn’t such an oolong head. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this tea other than for people trying out first flush, people who want to experience difference in black teas, or those who know what they are looking for.

Recently finished up my sample of this that I’d slowly been working through over time. 2014 sample.

I was initially drawn to this tea because I was interested in trying Malawian tea and because of the unique shape it is rolled into.

I am a white tea fan, and I feel like this is one I definitely would like to try a fresher harvest of and that I would stock up on for the future, as these three year old leaves made for a fantastic sipping experience.

The liquor of this tea steeps out smooth and thick with a nice viscosity. The flavor is sweet and fresh to start, with notes of crisp melon, and as it opens up it becomes more bold with notes of chocolate and malt—not uncommon for white teas to take on some black tea characteristics after time. A nice sweetness lingers on the nose as you sip, and the color settles out to a nice gold. Definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Received some of this from a tea friend and had it a bit over a week ago. 2016 harvest. The leaves of this tea have a nice, nutty aroma and produce a yellowish liquor.

I get light notes of beany, roasted chestnut in the first infusion that really upon up in the second and third steeps. The mouthfeel is also quite appreciable on this one, which is something I really look for in a green tea. Mouth-filling and somewhat viscous.

Thanks for this one, Hoálatha!

It took a while for me to add this, especially now I am half way through it. I like Long Fengs, but in small quantities because they are thickly green. These oolongs have the pineapple skin taste strong in every steep. That is the same for this tea, and I had a hard time not comparing it to the Shan Lin Xi. I preferred that one ever so slightly because it was a little more crisp, BUT this one is fairly creamy and can brew nice cups if treated delicately.

It was fairly consistent from brew to brew gong fu either beginning with a 15 sec rinse, 30 sec, then 20 sec or even beginning 47 seconds and then going 20, 35, 55, 75… There is a rise from a generally jasmine rice like beginning with a lemongrass background with the rising pineapple skin and tropical florals rising through the middle steeps like a bell curve, especially in steeps 3-5. Steeps 6-8 being 3 min, 5 min, 7 min, were just generally creamy floral, and slightly sweet. It’s creamiest when it’s hottest, and more floral and grassy when it cools off.

I’m having a hard time picking up the florals for this one other than the lemongrass. Maybe honeysuckle, but there was a slight spiciness that reminded me of ginger. Ginger lily? Don’t quote me on that. I’ll have to figure out what they are.

I would not recommend this tea to someone newly getting in to teas because it might just taste like slightly sour, mega creamy green tea to them. It’s more up oolong snob ally. In terms of quality this would at least be a 90, but I personally prefer the Li Shan just because of its more delicate character and I’m not sure how often I’d buy this. I’d rank it 86 based on what I like, but it deserves a higher rating on this website. This one is robustly green, but still excellent. I’m going to try it with less leaves western, but I’ve been happy Gong Fu with the slight nuances and watering mouthfeel it has…despite being a little bit like a semi sweet to dry white wine.

So yes, I recommend this tea, but I recommend it for experienced oolong snobs or for those looking to chart the elevations of Shan Ling Xi.

Very interesting tea and unlike everything else! Very sour, citrus and fungus notes as well as soy-sauce.
Images and more at https://puerh.blog/teanotes/2015-bancha-goishicha

The description was pretty spot on. A lighter black tea. Good flavor. I enjoyed it.

Wow, this makes for an excellent grandpa style tea. The tea was like drinking dew on top of fresh linens near a lemon tree. As in, it was a typical white tea with a fresh, pure, sweet, and floral profile. I continue to recommend this one for white tea lovers, and it is something that I will continue to try to bring to work-because it is relaxing.

On the same note, What-Cha has MANY new offerings that I am highly willing to try; it’s just difficult because I need to minimize my finances to essentials, and hopefully investments and new skills…and following through on those efforts. I gotta admit that this week was not great, but pretty average for a teacher. Let’s see if I can get through a year.

I tried all the new teas I got in the same day, and I am fairly happy with them. This was a must try sample I had to splurge on. It’s been a little bit since I’ve had a good light Bai Mu Dan, and the Elvish silver and green quality of the leaves sold me.

Glad I got a sample, and a generous one at that. The leaves were just as they looked in the picture, and they were fairly long with some being pretty big and fuzzy. Fuzzy silver is always a good sign.

I’ve tried it Gong Fu and Western, and I prefer western. Gong fu brought out the typical qualities of the variety with a soft mouth feel-the leaves were still fuzzy when I accidentally chewed a few. Notes were bound to a light flux of herbs, cucumber, peony, and a soft sweetness gong fu. Western at 2-3 minutes had the more pronounced lemon after taste that Alistair described, and the one I was looking for all the while being soft and almost creamy. I got four more cups that I could say the same with more of a light flux, and the liquid getting sweeter despite getting lighter and daintier with one more minute each time. I should also note that the last steep was Grandpa Style for 7 minutes, and it was not astringent whatsoever.

This tea is quality. It has all the right notes that you would expect from a white tea, but the basics of what makes a Bai Mu Dan good shine. It is also INCREDIBLY forgivable for the steeping, and I found it barely getting bitter when I accidentally stagnated the leaves. I can see this for regular grandpa as well, and the natural sweetness shines more in longer steeps, or at the 2-3 min recommendation.

I’m not sure if I’d buy it again and again because I’m desperate for some Li Shan, but I’d recommend it for light tea lovers and white tea lovers. I’m also rating it a 90 because it meets most of my targets for a tea: naturally sweet, complex enough to pay attention to, light enough to Grandpa Style it, flexible enough to drink every season (though Winter and Summer would be my picks: lemony florals= good for the sun or for a setting covered in snow), and set a price that competes with other companies for the same high quality. It might be harder to sell to some one newly experienced tea because it tastes like cucumber detox flower water, but the groovy detoxers might be the people to sell it to other than drinkers who know what they are looking for.

noms. mmmm so good. Thanks again for sharing this one with me crowkettle. It’s a happy delicious tea :) love that sticky rice flavour…the smoothness…just yum.

Noms. This was a delicious afternoon treat courtesy of Crowkettle I can honestly say that i’d almost be willing to keep this in my cupboard – which says a lot. I have a bit more, but this was just a tsty cup, even when it had cooled on me while work got in the way.

A light, mild, fragrant tea. Light but fruity and a little bit sweet. Very nice.

“This tea has heavy-hitting notes of fruit. I’m getting a very sweet raisin.

It reminds me a lot of Sun-Maid raisin boxes my mom used to throw in my lunch when fruit wasn’t on sale.

(Did you know that honeycrisp apples are around $3.99/pound right now? Even crappy apples like Red Delicious can get costly for a family of four. Raisins are a steal, friends.)

I loved those boxes of raisins. I loved how the beautiful Sun Maid lady was in a circle-halo like the Virgin Mary. I enjoyed pulling the stems out of the raisins. I liked their squishy pop. I was super-into digging into the bottom of the box to get the last raisins that were stuck down there. Raisin-scraping was just as satisfying as picking my nose, but socially acceptable. Every box was a project unto itself. No raisin was left behind."

full review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/12/28/georgia-mr-ramirezs-hand-made-black-tea-from-what-cha/

Another tea that i’m happy to have tried. I might consider picking this one up with my next what-cha order.

Glad i have more of this from crowkettle to have later. Busy verdict – i like it! It’s not too green oolongy and has a really nice finish to it. I’d call it slightly floral but i wouldn’t want to scare those of us who don’t love floral away. :)

First thing first, I did not enjoy this tea hot. I thought it was relatively mediocre and tasted like a generic black tea. The second stipulation would be that this tea is no longer available so I don’t know what to tell people who want to try this tea. This tea is absolutely delicious flash iced. It has a massive amount of sweetness that did not show up in the hot brew. It has a delicious maltiness that although commonly found in black teas has an extra kick to it that makes it almost taste like a darjeeling. This is a perfect summer tea and something to either make a big pitcher of or flash ice it and have it around throughout the day.

The smell of the wet leaf from this tea smells a lot like lychee and the first steep tasted as such with quite a bit of mouthfeel. There are honey notes and a quite of ashiness. This tea’s theme is lychee with some nice floral notes in the background. There is a lot of mouthfeel on this tea. Towards the end of this tea’s life it developed into a quite honey sweetness. I would recommend this tea for people who are new to tea. I think it is easily approachable and probably much better at a lower temperature then what I brewed it at.

The dry leaves of this tea smelled strongly of lavender and refined sugar so I was extremely excited to brew this up. First steep had quite a few notes that I have more commonly found in black teas. There was a lot of lavender in this tea and with what seemed like a bit of lemon juice with a sweetness at the end. As I continued steeping there was a certain amount of bitterness and astringency and lemon flavor cooled down. There was a lot more maltiness on the later steeps as well. The sweetness of this tea died down to 0 sweetness. This tea had a nice mouthfeel and coats the tongue nicely. Definitely and interesting tea considering that it is from Kenya and most of the teas that I have seen from Kenya are CTC black teas.

The first time I brewed this tea I didn’t quite know what to expect. I had heard much about how this tea was processed and I was excited to try something that was pretty unique. Along with being from Taiwan which is probably my favorite tea making region. The first time I steeped this I went crazy and went with a 6g/70mL ratio. The first steeps were incredibly sweet. The front notes just taste like deep baked cherries that were shoved in a pie with a bunch of spices like cinnamon. It reminds me a lot of my mom’s kitchen when she would back in the winter and let me have some warm cider (non-alcoholic). I’ve had this tea many more times and bought a pretty large amount after receiving the small sample I got from my first order at What-cha. Every time I make it those strong baked cherry notes transport me back in time. This tea is delicious at almost every temperature but I think 195 is the best for me. A little cooler you get more fruityness but like smokyness and less spices. Hotter and there is not enough fruitiness and a lot more smokiness.