What-Cha

The idea of Russian tea has intrigued me ever since I discovered some of the popular Russian blends on the market. I suppose it could even be said that I have become a budding Russophile at some point within the past couple of years. While I was well aware that there were quite a few Russian inspired blends out there, imagine my surprise when I discovered that a few tea estates exist in contemporary Russia! This particular tea comes from the Matsesta Tea Estate in Krasnodar Krai near Sochi. It is composed of stems and a few stray leaf pieces.

I prepared this tea using a one step Western infusion process. In the past, I have tried a two step infusion process, but I found the results to only be passable. For this session, I steeped 3 grams of loose material in 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes.

The dry stems and leaf material did not give off much of an aroma. After infusion, I picked up scents of straw and autumn leaf piles. In the mouth, there were leaf and straw notes up front. These flavors were chased by notes of wood, malt, cream, toast, date, and raisin before a brief, yet smooth finish.

This was a simple, refreshing tea, and quite frankly, I am struggling to say much about it. Overall, I found it to be decent for what it was, but it was not exactly the kind of thing to which I would be in a rush to return. I would say check this one out if you are looking for a simple tea that does not require much analysis.

Steeped a full 10g sample of this in my largest gaiwan, and it’s proving to be the perfect treat to the palate after something that wasn’t quite to our liking.

This one has a fairly delicate aroma, and the first steep comes out a nice, reddish gold. It’s smooth and has just the right amount of sweetness. Really enjoying this one. Sweet honey and creaminess for a good few steeps. I’d like to have gotten more steeps out of it, but it was good while it lasted.

My schedule was weird yesterday due to an appointment, so I skipped having green tea and drank the rest of this sample. Seriously, it’s just like drinking very dark, liquid chocolate. So good.

Gongfu’d this jjm the other day, and while I had no idea what to expect, I got a great combination of flavors to enjoy.

Very fine-looking leaves with a strong aroma that is a blend of cocoa and tobacco. This tea was malty and dark chocolate with a hint of dried fruit, and had a very strong, concentrated flavor until I accidentally oversteeped it. After that, it got weak pretty quickly.

Thick on the tongue, with a blend of subdued earthiness, malt, and semi-sweet cocoa. The cocoa lasts quite long in the finish, which is smooth and very slightly chalky in texture. Simultaneously rich and mellow, this tea is a unique one that I found enjoyable.

I have finally done it. Here is the review/tasting note for tea #200. As I eclipsed the 150 mark, I began to wonder if I could manage to find the time to try 200 teas this year. I then challenged myself to do so. Though I am cutting it close, this review marks #200 for me.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I have tried multi-step infusions for this tea in the past, but I have not liked the results quite as much as those obtained from a single extended infusion.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted gentle, pleasant aromas of toffee and raisin. After infusion, the scents of toffee and raisin were joined by malt and cream. In the mouth, gentle, superbly integrated notes of golden raisin, toffee, malt, cinnamon, nutmeg, pistachio, and roasted almond washed across the palate. The finish emphasized a lingering balance of the flavors described above plus a note of steamed milk. Overall, the flavor reminded me a lot of kheer, the Indian rice pudding.

This was a very sweet, mellow, resilient tea that seemed to adapt easily to a number of different brewing styles. There was absolutely no tannic bite or any astringency whatsoever. One thing I’m beginning to notice about a lot of these Georgian black teas is that their mild, balanced flavor and smooth texture give way to an extremely robust, flavorful, and long-lasting finish. With this tea, I was continually impressed by how much flavor lingered in my mouth after the swallow and how wonderfully soothing the afterglow was. Due to this tea’s lack of bite, astringency, and immediate caffeine jolt, I would not recommend it as a breakfast tea or as a tea to be paired with heavier foods. I would, however, strongly recommend it as an afternoon or evening tea to be consumed on its own or paired with lighter, sweeter fare.

I reviewed an earlier harvest of this tea back around the end of 2016. I think that version was either a 2015 or 2016 production. I greatly enjoyed it then, but at the time, I was not used to autumn flush Darjeeling black teas and had not reached a point where I was fully comfortable identifying subtle aroma and flavor components. Fast forward to the spring of 2018 and I ended up with a free sample pouch of the 2017 version of this tea with a What-Cha order. I then set aside some time at the end of July to try it. I found this more recent production to be more complex and challenging than the earlier version, but of course, I think a lot of that was probably due to me simply being more used to Gopaldhara teas and autumn flush Darjeeling black teas in general.

I prepared this tea in the Western fashion. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I neither rinsed the tea nor attempted any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced subtle aromas of raisin and prune that were underscored by ghostly hints of cocoa. After infusion, I noted new aromas of roasted almond, butter, malt, toast, rose, and Muscatel. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of herbs, straw, malt, butter, cream, toast, lemon zest, Muscatel, orange, rose, dandelion, black cherry, and wood that were balanced by subtler impressions of cocoa, prune, grass, and raisin. The finish was very pleasant, offering lingering impressions of orange, black cherry, Muscatel, dandelion, rose, and toast that were chased by fleeting herbal notes.

Overall, I found this 2017 production to be just as enjoyable as the earlier version of this tea. It was fruitier and more complex, but again, I likely feel that way because I have gotten much better at picking out aromas and flavors over the course of the past two years. Much like the other teas I have tried from the Gopaldhara Estate, this one had a ton to offer, though it was often subtle and hinted at specific impressions more than it actually presented them. I’m sure that experienced autumn flush Darjeeling drinkers would love this tea, though I also think that newcomers to such teas should probably start with some of the more robust and accessible autumn flush black teas. The more of these teas I try the more I concur with the general consensus that the Gopaldhara teas are probably not ideal starting points for beginners.

I’m continuing to clean out the backlog with this one. This was yet another of the samples from What-Cha that I had accumulated since the summer. I cracked it open this past weekend and finished it last night. Overall, I found it to be a nice Darjeeling with intriguing aroma and flavor profiles.

Since I only had a 10 gram sample packet of this tea, I made a point to get as many sessions out of it as I could. For the first session, I performed a two step Western infusion by steeping 3 grams of loose tea leaves in just shy of 8 ounces of 203 F water for 3 minutes, and then followed that up with a second infusion of 5 minutes. For the second session, I again performed a two step Western infusion. This time I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in just shy of 8 ounces of 205 F water for 2 minutes, and then followed that up with a 3 minute infusion. The third and final session was a familiar one step Western infusion. I steeped 4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. Of the bunch, this final method was the one I preferred. I feel like it provided the best results overall.

The first method detailed above initially produced a liquor with a strongly fruity, herbal aroma. In the mouth, I detected notes of toast, Muscat grape, lemon balm, honey, butter, peach, apricot, and straw. The second infusion produced a mildly toasty, fruity liquor with something of a mineral tinge in the mouth. The second preparation method produced a milder liquor all around with pronounced butter, toast, and mineral notes throughout. The final preparation produced a rich tea liquor with pronounced aromas of Muscat grape, apricot, butter, lemon balm, honey, and toast. In the mouth, I noted flavors of Muscat grape, golden raisin, apricot, honey, peach, lemon balm, butter, toast, and straw with a fleeting mineral note on the finish.

This was a very nice and very unique Darjeeling. I feel that most of the brewing methods I attempted did not really do it justice, but I could still detect enough to realize that this was a quality tea. I hope to acquire more of it in the future.

Another of the What-Cha samples I am just now getting around to reviewing, this Nilgiri was advertised as deriving a unique fruity character from exposure to winter frosts. So, this tea was not supposed to be your typical floral Nilgiri. Well, score one for truthfulness in advertising because it was not.

To prepare this tea, I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 194 F water for 4 minutes. Honestly, I was preparing this tea in a rush and easily could have used up to 5 grams in the cup. I did not have time to attempt any additional infusions, but considering that I rarely reinfuse teas of this type, I do not see that as being all that big of a deal.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves gave off a wonderfully fruity scent. After infusion, I picked up wonderfully pronounced apricot and nectarine aromas. In the mouth, this tea was very smooth and mild, offering pleasant notes of apricot, golden raisin, nectarine, toast, butter, and malt. I also detected faint undertones of straw, dried flowers, mango, and papaya. The finish was exceptionally smooth, rich, and fruity, emphasizing a swell of honey, apricot, and nectarine underscored by a subtle malt presence.

This was a very nice Nilgiri. Not only did it smell and taste great, but it had a nice body with wonderful texture in the mouth. I can only imagine how much better this would have been had I not ever so slightly underleafed it, but at least I was still able to enjoy this tea and get enough out of it to provide a detailed review. With any luck, What-Cha will be able to bring this one back in the near future. I would love to be able to spend more time playing around with this tea.

Steeped this up yesterday alongside the Vietnam Light Roast Jin Xuan High Mountain Oolong Tea. They’re both about 20% oxidized or so, so I thought I would be fun to taste two high mountain jin xuans from different countries.

These dry leaves are rolled—though not as tightly as the Vietnamese jin xuan—and green, and have a mild sweet fragrance that becomes more vegetal and floral after a quick wash. The liquor of this one started out a clear yellow that became deeper and more golden over subsequent steeps.

It starts out smooth, floral and vegetal, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel. It takes a while for the creaminess to really become prominent in this one, but the floral flavor eventually gives way to a taste that is creamy overall, with the texture becoming even thicker and more viscous throughout the session.

I feel like this one stands up to resteeping quite well, and offers an interesting and enjoyable session. It definitely has distinct differences from Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese oolongs that I have tried thus far.

Steeped this up yesterday alongside the Thailand #12 Jin Xuan High Mountain Oolong Tea. They’re both about 20% oxidized or so, so I thought I would be fun to taste two high mountain jin xuans from different countries.

These fairly green leaves are tightly rolled and have a very sweet fragrance that evolves into a more roasted aroma after a quick wash. It steeps out to a very clear yellow liquor with a smooth texture and a sweet taste with hints of roasted nuts. I can tell the roast helps bring out the sweetness early in this one, and with subsequent steeps, the texture becomes thicker and the flavor more vegetal.

Got many good steeps out of this one before the flavor started fading, and the profile remained enjoyable throughout the entire session. Definitely has the potential to be a good daily drinker.

Beautiful tea. Super sweet and lovely. It reminds me very much of the honey black I was drinking the other day.

Summary: Sweet and fruity medium roast oolong with a long slow aftertaste and syrupy thick texture. Still trying to unlock this one.

Prep: Tried gongfu parameters: boiling, full pot of leaves, 10s steep then increasing time slowly. Also tried recommended parameters: 1 tsp per cup with 190F water and 2 minute infusion.
Sessions with this tea: 4

Taste: Sweet like cherries. No astringency, no minerality, only hints of roastiness. Floral and fragrant. Slightly sour aftertaste, seems to fit with the cherries. I don’t get any pear.

Body: Thick slurpy mouthfeel. Thick slurpy swallow. Mellowing rather than energy-giving.

I need to update this review when I have more sessions and get a better sense of the GABA feeling.

Sipdown (243)!

Finishing this one off after having had it in my cupboard for a long time.

Against my better judgement I actually followed the package directions to a tee this time: 95 degree Celsius water, four minute steep. Honestly, that seems way to hot to me for both a Darjeeling tea and a yellow tea, but what do I know?

Anyway, it was ok. Like other times I’ve drank this one it had the same sort of grassy and nutty combination of flavour, but it’s a bit more astringent than I’ve experienced with it before – almost to an unpleasant point. I mean, it’s totally tolerable but I’m not loving the dry mouthfeel here at all. Now, is that ’cause of the hotter water/long steep time? Probably? So, maybe I should have just trusted by gut.

Oh well, regardless I’m done with this one now and it’s not something I’m going to order again so it’s a bit of a mute point.

Had a nice midday cuppa of this one today after some light grocery shopping!

Mostly I found this faintly nutty with a touch of sweetness and some really mild vegetal/grassy notes. The nuttyness reminded me a little more of the nutty notes you’d get in a Dragonwell rather than the sweeter nutty notes I’m used to seeing in yellow teas.

Now that I’ve had this more than once, I can definitely say that I don’t mind it overall but it’s definitely lower on the list of yellow teas I’ve had the pleasure to try.

This is a queued tasting note.

Arguably not the freshest tea in the world; though I did only just open up the vacuum sealed sample package of it – and I’m sure that helped a lot in maintaining the freshness of this one. Regardless though, I still really enjoyed it.

- Sweet/fresh with notes of Spring flowers/dew
- Honey??
- Nuttier finish; more of a hazlenut or other sweet nut note
- Hay undertones
- Lighter body overall

I’m still working my way through a lot of the samples I have accumulated over the course of the year. I ended up with a 10 gram sample of this black tea over the summer, put it on the back burner, and then broke it open last night. I find that I dread Christmas more and more every year, and as usual, I had difficulty sleeping last night, so I ended up staying up late and drinking tea. When I finally did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning, I paired this tea with a late breakfast. I found this one to be a very smooth, enjoyable black tea overall.

I prepared this tea Western style. Rather than shortening my initial steep time and attempting multiple infusions, I decided to keep my approach simple and performed a single extended infusion as recommended by the vendor. I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes.

Prior to infusion, I noted that the dry tea leaves emitted a mild aroma of raisins. After infusion, I immediately noted smooth aromas of apricot, raisins, sweet potato, and brown sugar underscored by faintly herbal, woody scents. In the mouth, mild notes of malt, wood, sweet potato, brown sugar, herbs, raisin, plum, and apricot gave way to a wonderfully smooth finish dominated by notes of raisin and brown sugar that lingered for a substantial amount of time.

As mentioned earlier, I really liked this black tea. Its aroma and flavor profiles are unique compared to many of the more widely available black teas on the market. While it may not have the most robust flavor, the aftertaste is simply heavenly and worth the price of admission alone. My limited experience also indicates that this tea can lend itself to pairing with food, so it is not a tea that is necessarily limited to being consumed on its own. I think that I can safely recommend this one to fans of smooth, fruity black teas or those looking for a rather unique drinking experience.

Here’s to my other insatiable desire for ‘chocolate note’ black tea!

And backlog. What-Cha describes it having a carob profile, and I agree for the most part. I was surprised at how much this tea reminded me of an Assam in its smooth quality. The carob like notes are closer to an Assam. It also has a fruity, chocolate covered raisin aftertaste. Oddly enough, I’ve had the same taste in some coffee from Java. Could be my imagination. More carob and malt in the overall body. It’s a little too strong for my tastes, but I will again play around with the sample. When don’t I play around with the brewing parameters anyway?

This is the last post of the year! I realize that a combination of the ‘just married’ giddiness, general holiday craziness (Ben’s side of the family is very big into LOTS of events for holidays) and the sad crushing realization that I am coming down with some sort of sniffling/coughing/everything tastes and smells weird bug means my focus is just not in my writing. I really do try to limit the amount of my derp you all have to put up with! Also I promise this has nothing to do with the Minecraft update that dropped today (that I have been waiting anxiously for) though I probably will play it (a lot) during my little vacation. I shall return after the new year, either blogging Monday-Friday or Wednesday-Saturday to match Ben’s schedule…still trying to decide that one. Happy (insert your holiday of choice) everyone!!

Ok, enough announcement stuff, tea! You know what I haven’t done in a while? Had a What-Cha Wednesday, so let’s look at Thailand ‘Red Tiger’ Oolong. This particular tea is a Jin Xuan varietal made in what appears to be a Hong Shui style, meaning it is heavily oxidized but only lightly roasted. Oh man, I knew from the first sniff that I made a serious mistake not getting this, as it was included as a sample in my recent order. I waffled between it and the Royal Pearl, I should have just gotten both! The aroma is very similar to a Gui Fei, very fruity and nutty, like a stone fruit compote with a touch of tropical fruit. Notes of cherries, papaya, apricot, and peaches, it is very sweet and the underlying note of walnuts is very welcomed. This is truly an immensely sweet and fruity tea when dry, and is about to become stronger.

I decided, since the aroma is so similar to a bug-bitten Oolong that brewing it in my smaller bug-bitten Oolong pot would not be a terrible mistake, though it does remind me I need to get a Hong Shui style Oolong pot soon. The aroma of the now soggy leaves is pretty impressively sweet, strong notes of plums, apricots, papayas, peaches, cherries, and an undertone of plumeria and walnuts. The aroma of the first steep is like someone took those fruits, stewed them in brown sugar and orange blossoms, and sprinkled a bit of walnuts on the top…and this is a dessert I really need to make now. It is very sweet, bordering on decadent

The first steep is surprisingly thick, it coats all the mouth and is dense, very buttery and smooth. You know me, I love my Oolongs thick and juicy! Like the aroma, the taste is immensely sweet and fruity, starting with brown sugar stewed plums and peaches, moving to papaya and cherries, and finishing the fruity cocktail with a bit of apricot. There are also notes of flowers amid all the fruit, gardenia and orange blossom being the main notes with a touch of plumeria in the aftertaste. And that aftertaste, oh how the apricot and plumeria nectar lingers.

Ugh, this tea is so good!! Sadly (if you consider this a sad, I do not) there is not really any variation between the steeps note wise, the variation comes from intensity of the notes. Considering it tasted so good in the first place I am ok with that. I am also really glad I took the tasting note for this tea before my taste/smell went all wonky. I really want to get more and try this tea grandpa style, I love drinking darker unroasted oolongs in that way, especially when I feel ick or I am gaming and just want to chug something tasty. I got seven solid steeps out of this tea, it was awesome.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-cha-thailand-red-tiger-oolong-tea.html

The SO wanted oolong this morning, so we decided to try out two gui fei oolong. This was one of them. The leaves are tightly rolled with white fuzzy bits all over them. Despite being a light roast, the roast becomes immediately apparent upon washing.

These leaves take a few steeps to really unfurl, but the flavor is strong from the first steep. This oolong has reportedely undergone medium oxidation which makes sense, as there are still a few hints of green on the leaves here and there but it’s got much more depth than a greener light roasted oolong. After several steeps, I also get hints of some of those citrusy notes that leaves can develop with oxidation.

Good drinking experience, but the flavor profile is not quite to my preference for an oolong. I think it’s definitely worth giving a try, though!

Sipdown.

I enjoyed this tea while I had the sample. Cherry roasted tea against wicked below zero winds. I need to focus on non-attachment. Better yet, balanced attachment. It applies to people and to tea, but I will focus on tea, a thing.

I want more tea and I don’t. I want jade oolongs but I don’t want to spend a lot more money on more tea. I ordered 50 grams of a Da Yu Ling for $20 on discount, but I desire more jade oolong, but I don’t know if I want a flavored or an unflavored. I want to get some chai for my tumbler, but I do not want a lot more black tea. But I would like more Darjeeling. I want to order more tea from What-Cha, but I also want to order from Hugo Tea, Liquid Proust, Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co., and Quarter to Tea. But I want to cut down on my caffeine to help with my attempts to hide my anxiety. Stimulants pumping blood into your forehead and brain does not exactly help one be cool and collected.

Oh well. I’ll give myself a break about it. TMI

Thank you Alistair for this provision! This is one of the best Brandy or red style Jin Xuans I’ve had of late. Alistair picked this tea becaue of its similarity to the Red Buffalo. Incidentally, Andrew recommended the Red Buffalo when I was exploring the world of red oolongs. I find myself a little more partial to the Red Buffalo, but if I had this tea prior, I think I would have bought a considerate portion.

This had a very clean and sweet honey note with the roast and cherry pie crust going on more in the background. The roast was stronger than the cherry for me personally, but I dig that honey. I Gong Fu’d this tea, though I need to try it again Western. What I really need to do is a side by side comparison to the Red Buffalo to see if I pick up on distinct differences and if my preference for it is even fair. Compared to other red oolongs, though, this tea is so much cleaner in its profile and so much more balanced. It was not overwhelmingly sweet or filled to the brim with char. The texture is also not too thick, which is a little bit of a problem that I have with darker Jin Xuans.

Again, the description is spot on: “A smooth sweet grassy tasting Sencha, produced from the Taiwanese cultivar Qingxin Da Pa, which is usually reserved for Oriental Beauty giving the tea a smooth sweetness which isn’t found in other Senchas.”

There is no doubt that this tea is a Sencha Green tea though. Unlike others, it has a very clean tropical taste that is more breezy than seaweed like. So highlights are clean body, a sweet healthy green taste, and great re-steepability. Of course I brewed this gong fu. Sencha lovers rejoice :)

This is not the same English Breakfast that What-Cha had before, but this tea is doubtlessly English Breakfast in taste. I tried to Gong Fu it, but my attempts didn’t work. It did however have a nice malt and cherry aftertaste going on. It was more suited for cream and sugar, however. I will probably try it again to see if I missed something straight. I had high hopes given the varieties of teas blended in this particular breakfast, but it is still a very English tea. At least to me. What-Cha is an English company, so you would have to ask them.