What-Cha

Got this along with a few other samples from the 2017 harvest of Kangaita teas from Kenya.
Decided to go gongfu with the first session and will probably try western next time. Dry leaves have a nice, golden needle appearance and a chocolatey, malty aroma. I found the flavor to be more mellow than I expected, as I often am overwhelmed by black teas, but this one had a nice strength and was distinctly fruity!

Though I describe it as mellow, it is not at all lacking in flavor, and I can see why it is likened to a stronger white tea. Definitely worth a try!

Lemon notes are popping, and this was especially good with almond coconut granola cereal. I so want to do another What-Cha order soon-I’m just waiting for some oolongs to be back in stock. I’d be tempted to get some more of this or the new first flush that was just released. I am also debating between the Baozhong, Jade, or Four Seasons for a daily drinker…

Nice first flush. I did not expect it to be as fruity as it was, making me think of lychee the entire way through. It was definitely muscatel in some ways, but it had the dryness of a few white wines. Darjeeling is the champagne of teas after all, and to think of it, a lot of the “tasting notes” for whites tend to be the ones I get for oolong and white teas, and some reds for Darjeeling blacks. It reminded me more of an oolong than a black in a lot of ways, but it had the woody character that I associate with teas from this region and that I associate with blacks. I got 4 solid brews western starting at about a minute and a half the first time in 5 oz of water.

I was fairly impressed. If my budget were flowing, then I would probably get another 20 grams of this. It definitely was worth the price considering I’m luke warm about most first flushes, never mind I’ve pretty much enjoyed every first flush from this company so far and I like the Gopaldhara Estate. I would recommend this tea for anyone wanting to try a good first flush, or if your in the mood to be refined for a little bit.

I’ve been looking forward to trying this tea ever since my very first order at What-cha and I must say that it was worth the wait.

The harvest date on the label of my package says spring 2016, I do believe that this is the newer version of this tea from Feng Qing.

The pearls were larger than I’d expected, and slightly varied in size but all around the size of cherry tomatoes maybe? The dried leaf smells faintly of sweet chocolate, streaked with gold and dark brown leaves. I actually only used one of the larger pearls for one mug, brewed western style for about 3 and a half minutes. The leaves unfurled to fill half the brewing basket!

The aroma of malted milk balls filled the air, and the tea was surprisingly light. No earthy tannins, just silky smooth layers of chocolate, malt and butterscotch swirling over my tongue. This tea almost had me convinced I’d liquefied a tootsie roll somehow, it was so sweet. I adore butterscotch candies and being able to taste little hints of it here was lovely.

The pearl had one more good long western steep, maybe about 6 minutes or so. The flavor was even lighter, but still filled with chocolate, and maybe a hint of leather in the background somewhere.

This tea is overall delicious, almost like a dessert tea. If you’re looking for more tannins or heavier earthy flavors this might not quite catch you, but I’d still recommend trying this tea at least once to see just what Yunnan black teas are capable of!

This is a lovely black tea and one of my personal favorites. The dry leaves smell vaguely sweet and a bit like raisin bread, and I love how beautiful they look unfurled. Wet leaf smells a bit more like woodsy pear, sips down light, smooth and woody, with malt and pear. It’s like a baked pear tart in a cup, I love it.

Finished the last of this sample up recently. I really enjoyed the sweet aroma of the dry leaf, and the overall sweet taste of the tea. Having likened it to a sencha in my first session, my last session reminded me more of a white in regards to the flavor profile. Smooth and good, I think this is definitely one worth trying, especially right after the harvest.

Grabbed myself a sample of the February 2017 harvest of this and tried it a few weeks ago. The dark, twisted leaves may not look it, but they have the sweet, vegetal, creamy aroma reminiscent of a sencha.

The liquor came out very light and violet-tinted, sweet and beany in flavor with a nice, mouth-coating smoothness. The sweetness really lingered, and after the first steep, the leaves took on an interesting aroma. Sort of a blend of roasty, umami and salt mineral.

The second steep also embodied sweetness, with indistinct fruit notes. All in all, I really enjoyed this sample, and I could see myself going to this (at least when fresh) as a daily over many of the senchas I’ve had.

Todays morning selection turned out to be perfect. It’s like breakfast in a cup, making me think of fruity cereal, pancake syrup, and juice. Again no bitterness and astringency. I still have plenty of the White Rhino to keep me at bay, but this is an excellent black tea on the light end that will keep on giving.

I’m surprised this was not on Steepster. Like the website says, this is basically a more robust version of a silver needle, namely the other white teas that is offered by What-Cha from Kenya. It has a melon taste through every brew-western, gong fu, or grandpa. Every once in a while, it was sweet enough to have a Fruit Loop soaked milk taste. It was a little malty, but barely. It is something that I definitely recommend for a tumbler.

As much as I liked this tea, I was not as impressed with it as I was with the White Rhino. The quality of the tea is still great and one that I am very happy to have purchased, but I can get the same melon flavors with more dimension in the White Rhino. This tea pretty much stays the same throughout with its melon character and syrupy body. There is never a trace of bitterness or astringency to be found, and this tea can be difficult to over brew if you use less leaves.

This is a very unique black tea with a white tea lightness, but without a white teas subtlety. What-Cha always offers high quality teas and this is no exception. It might make some people go “What?” and it might be better for some with a little bit of sugar. White Rhino continues to be my favorite.

Thank you Alistair for letting me try this tea! This is a well done black. Think a balanced body that is not too thick or too light with a zesty orange finish. The malt of the body was closer to a Chinese black than an Assam with some cocoa similarities, but it was smooth and on the sweeter side overall.

This is a traditional black tea, but I enjoyed this tea more than the previous Bitaco Black. Western is the way to go, though Gong Fu does not yield too many differences in how it brews. Even so, I got three rebrews using the website’s guidelines.

If you are looking for something like a more balanced Assam, this is the way to go. I personally am not as big of an Assam person as I used to be, but I would turn to a tea like this if that’s what I was craving. So I enjoy it and recommend it for its overall balance and its great body.

Here is another sample sipdown that I managed to squeeze in immediately after work today. I am normally not a huge chai fan, but given my overall faith in What-Cha’s range of offerings, figured this one would at least be worth a try. Naturally, it was.

I prepared this tea Western style. For this one, I went back to my trusty old one step infusion process. I steeped approximately 1.5-2 teaspoons of loose tea and spices in approximately 8 ounces of 212 F water for 5 minutes. Obviously, I did not attempt any additional infusions for this one.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf and spice blend emitted powerful aromas of ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and bay leaf backed by a hint of malt. After infusion, the spices evened out as typical Assam scents of wood, toast, malt, cream, and caramel emerged. In the mouth, there was an admirable balance of spices (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and bay leaf) and malt, cream, toast, caramel, wood, and molasses notes from the tea. The finish maintained this balance, only leaving lingering touches of cinnamon, ginger, clove, and malt on the back of the throat.

While the description above details my experience consuming this tea neat, I prepared it with an addition of milk earlier in the day. The milk really brought out the Assam base’s natural creaminess and maltiness, greatly taming the intensity of the spices. I did not add sugar or any other sweetener, however, so I have no clue how this blend would perform with any additional additives. Overall, my experience with this chai was a pleasant one. It was a little mellower than I was expecting, but that should not be read as a knock against it. Even though chai is still not quite my thing, I could definitely see those who enjoy the stuff liking this one. Just be aware that it is probably necessary to use both cream and sugar to really get the full effect from it.

I don’t think I’ve ever had straight loose oolong tea. It was a lot less bitter than some of the bags I’ve had. Just had a regular flavor, not as strong tasting as black which I think I prefer to oolong. This one had the tendency to get really bitter if overstepped so definitely watch your times. Overall, this one was nothing special. I enjoyed the black tea I got in the mystery bag much more. Also it’s a little on the weaker side. Takes more tea to get flavor.

Roasty and toasty with very Earthy tones. It reminds me of kukicha/roasted twig tea, but with the flavour of oak leaf pile. It is a very roasty/toasty (roasted barley, dry twigs, dry leaves) but I’m really digging the Earthy/dry leaf flavour. I’ll be ordering this when I order from What-cha next.

An Indian oolong! What is going on here? Sorry, I just couldn’t resist the urge to open this review by saying something silly. Still, it should be noted that I do not exactly associate India with oolong production. In all honesty, I do not associate the state of Bihar with tea production at all, despite the fact that the Doke Tea Estate has been quietly pumping out a number of innovative and generally well-regarded teas for some time. This being my first Indian oolong, I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, I could not get into it at all.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water. This initial infusion was chased by 12 additional 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 produced thick aromas of wood, black grape, malt, and spice. After the rinse, the black grape and malt scents intensified and were joined by a slight herbal character. The first infusion produced a decidedly more balanced bouquet with stronger hints of herbs and indistinct floral touches. In the mouth, the tea was initially dominated by tentative notes of wood, malt, and black grape underscored by timid nutmeg, herbal, and floral impressions. Subsequent infusions upped the black grape and malt aromas and flavors, while touches of nutmeg, anise, sweet potato, chocolate, brown sugar, violet, rose, minerals, and cooling wintergreen emerged at one point or another. The final infusions were decidedly heavy on minerals, wood, and malt, though somewhat distant impressions of flowers, herbs, and black grapes were still flitting around in the background.

As mentioned above, this tea did not do it for me. The black grape, malt, and floral notes were nice, but to me, this tea displayed such an odd and unexpected mix of aromas and flavors. It definitely did not have the sort of profile for which I typically go. Several of the early and middle infusions displayed such a pronounced sugary, fruity sweetness that a number of off-kilter juxtapositions were created when the other components were fully engaged. Table grapes and wintergreen, anyone? How about anise and chocolate? Would sweet potato and rose petals happen to be up anyone’s alley? Alright, enough of that. What I’m trying to say is that I found this one to be weird, and not entirely in a pleasant kind of way. I really tried to give it a fair shake, but I just couldn’t wrap my head, my nose, or perhaps most importantly, my taste buds around it.

I am finally beginning to work my way through some of the What-Cha samples I have been holding on to for a while (read that as I’m drinking a few teas I forgot I had). This unique green tea was today’s selection. I found it to be pleasant and intriguing, but it also was not quite what I expected it to be.

What-Cha described this tea as possessing a “vegetal taste with sheng qualities.” I found that to be sort of true in the sense that the tea demonstrated a consistent underlying saltiness and sour funk. I would emphasize, however, that there was much more to this tea than that.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a short rinse, I steeped approximately 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This initial 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, aromas of carrot, sweet corn, cream, grass, hay, elderflower, millet, and sorghum expressed themselves on the nose. After the rinse, traces of wood, briny funk, smoke, and sea salt began to emerge. The first infusion produced a nearly identical bouquet with slightly more salt and funk. In the mouth, I experienced a rush of carrot, millet, sorghum, sweet corn, wood, malt, cream, grass, hay, and elderflower notes underscored by brine, smoke, sea salt, and a hint of nuttiness. Subsequent infusions grew more intense, offering up forceful impressions of beech nut, chestnut, lemon, and at various points, kumquat and/or bergamot. The later infusions saw a mellow and comparatively restrained mineral presence merge with lingering impressions of sweet corn, hay, grass, wood, brine, smoke, and sea salt, while hints of vegetables, nuts, sorghum, and a touch of tart citrus remained in the background. The way the sweet corn, wood, brine, and smoke notes lingered on my palate reminded me a bit of a sour mash.

This was an extremely complex, deep, and interesting tea. Fortunately, it was not so busy as to be overwhelming or cumbersome. Like quite a few Vietnamese green teas, it displayed a pungency and astringency that some people may find off-putting, but to be honest, it did not bother me all that much. Those qualities could probably be mitigated by using slightly less leaf anyway. Definitely check this one out if and when What-Cha manages to bring it back, but just be aware that it is more likely to remind you of a high quality Yunnan green rather than a young sheng.

Finished this western with a small amount no more than 3 grams, no less than 2, and it was incredible. Milky florals, refreshing body, and a crisp green note with a bit of the apricot thing going on. Sad to see this one go. I’m also sad to see the Premium Floral Zhangping go, dang. I wanted to try that.

Tumbler Test: I used barely 2 grams, and that amount was slightly under what I should have used. The tea yielded a crisp, green and lightly floral bottle anyway. The temp was t 160-150 which was a little low, and the texture was slightly thick-almost like olive oil- despite the very light product. I’ll have to try it again. I say that entirely too often.

Alistair and crew nail the tasting notes every time. This is what you’d expect from a good quality Tie Guan Yin- a bouquet of greenery and florals lead by heady orchid. I got a solid six, near to seven brews Gong Fu starting out with thirty seconds. One brew was over steeped, but was overall forgiving. The tea did posses an apricot quality in the aftertaste that I’ve only seen in a few oolongs, and it help balance out the florals leading the tea. It’s more floral than veggie for me, but the greens I get remind me of fresh spinach.

I’d recommend it for sure and am very glad to have sampled it. I’m not sure if I’d get an amount personally just because of my preference for Taiwan Gao Shans, but if I were in dire need of a Tie Guan Yin, I’d totally get this. I would recommend it as a must try for a good introductory to oolong, though it might spoil some depending on their preferences, though there are some but few smoother Tie Guan Yin’s I’ve had. That means good business for What-Cha then.

I do need a tumbler test before I give this a rating. I’m also not sure how I’d rate it because I would not want a lot of it myself only because I am not as much of a fan of this variety as I used to be. Curse you Li Shan!

Guess what! I’m back again. It has been way too long. I was forced to spend the majority of last week in a caffeine-free funk due to a work-related training in Louisville. This is the first opportunity I have had to try a new tea since before I left. I, of course, had to pick an oolong.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 12 additional 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 produced lovely aromas of honey, apricot, red osmanthus, raisins, dates, and prunes. After the rinse, I picked up stronger honey, raisin, and date scents accompanied by emerging impressions of fig and wood. The first infusion produced a nearly identical bouquet. In the mouth, I detected slight notes of dates, fig, raisins, prunes, apricot, nectarine, honey, and red osmanthus with an underlying complex of malt, toast, and wood. I should have gotten thicker, more expressive flavors, so this steep was clearly too short. The second infusion offered some improvement in the flavor department, but nothing new. The tea did not really hit its stride until the third or fourth infusion in the series. At that point, I was picking up everything previously mentioned plus hints of hay, butter, cream, and eucalyptus. The following infusions grew ever gentler, milder, and more savory as malt, toast, butter, eucalyptus, cream, hay, and wood began to increasingly define the tea’s aroma and flavor profiles. Later infusions were mostly a wash of wood, hay, cream, and butter underpinned by minerals and hints of dried fruit, red osmanthus, and honey.

Let’s ignore the fact that I botched the start of this session for a moment and concede that this came across as a very smooth, pleasant, approachable tea. Unfortunately, it also struck me as being all of these things in a fleeting and superficial sort of way. Its most appealing aromas and flavors faded fast, and while they never entirely disappeared, I did not find enough to hold my interest later on in this session. Indeed, I could have probably squeezed at least one more infusion out of this tea, but I did not see much of a point in attempting it. The tea had already said all it had to say. Overall, this was a decent, likable oolong, but it was not really my kind of tea.

This is one I’ll be ordering again. So pleasant and good for many brews.