What-Cha

From my most recent What-Cha order, although this is actually one that was added into my order by Alistair and not one I picked for myself. He picked well though; I do really, really love assam teas. In fact, they’re probably my overall favourite black teas that originate from a country other than China…

When I look at the name for this one it’s a little weird; I have a coworker named Prithvi who’s family actually grew up in Assam. We talk tea often, as it’s something that was really ingrained in his childhood before he immigrated to Canada with his family. I tried googling it, but it’s still unclear to me whether Prithvi is a common name or a place for which my coworker was named for. Apparently it’s also a missile. So that’s a thing.

This was really great though; I drank it Western style as that’s my preference for a lot of black teas and it was so silky, and smooth with a thick mouthfeel. The dominant flavour note was malt which is completely unsurprising for an Assam tea. It was supported by notes of honey and freshly baked bread. Actually, this had a lot more of that sweet, baking bread flavour than a lot of assams I’ve had as of late and I was surprised just how comforting that flavour was. I didn’t realize I’d been missing it so much from other assams. The finish was a touch cocoa-y. Not rich, in your face cocoa notes like you’d get from Dian Hong, for example – but a light dusting of it. In such a small level where you’re just getting a hint of the taste it’s really refreshing and enticing. A tease, really.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnaUgSQh0BU&list=WL&index=1

My note got deleted! :(

Got this as a free sample from Alistair in my first What-cha order. Decided to steep it according to the recommendations, though I would normally do short steeps for my oolongs, jin xuans included. The first steep is a very light, transparent golden yellow, and it smells floral and milky. The taste is more floral than anything, with a milky texture that thickens to almost creamy as you swallow.

The following steeps are similar, but gradually lighter in flavor. So far I feel like I prefer What-cha’s Fujian Jin Xuan to this one, but I will see if steeping it my usual way changes that at all.

This tea is oooold…Fall 2014. As such, it has probably lost a lot of its flavors.

This tea reminded me of a green oolong. It was sweet, creamy, and floral. There was also a hint of spice that I always get out of the high elevation green oolongs. It reminds me of Christmas.

Unfortunately, all of these flavors were extremely subdued almost to the point of being undetectable. The poor thing was flat and watery. It would have been nice to try it fresh.

Let me be the ten millionth person to say that this is white tea that tastes nothing like a white. But as someone who loves sweet black teas, it was a perfect choice for me. You know who you are, thanks for the sample!

The first steep was vastly different than the rest. It was sweet peaches and honey with a pollen kind of taste that reminded me of orange blossoms. There was also a light caramel flavor, and something reminiscent of juicy fruit gum? It was bright and sweet. There was no bitterness whatsoever, but maybe the slightest, slightest hint of astringency at the very back of the throat that dissipated quickly.

The second steep on got darker in flavor, but no less pleasant. It becomes a little sweet potatoey, with some earthiness thrown in there. Maybe it was all about the butternut squash; it’s difficult to be sure.

I brewed a couple of steeps at 175 and lower, and it become mineral, losing all its sweetness. I wouldn’t recommend it that way.

Has a chocolate taste. Delicious.

I’ll elaborate once I’ve tried it a few more times. But my first impression is definitely, “Yum!”

I’m trying a sample portion of this tea and even with this small amount of leaf I am picking up a lot of that sweet smell of the dry leaf the other reviewers mentioned.

Rinse: lid smell is fresh hay and powdered sugar. 1st steep (5s): lid smell is hay and molasses. Very light yellow soup. Taste is creamy and gentle grass. Very little bitterness and practically no astringency. 2nd steep (7s): sweetness is starting to come through. Astringency rose a touch but it’s a pleasant amount. Nice aftertaste. 3rd steep (10s): Astringency still rising but not too much. Very grassy this steep, similar sweetness. Flavor is getting deeper in my throat and body is growing nicely. 4th steep (12s): About the same, astringency fading back a bit. 5th steep (15s): I need to head into longer steeps, this is pretty watery. Still getting nice grass and sweetness. 6th steep and beyond: developed really nicely. Stayed pretty light and sweet with low astringency and bitterness.

Very pleasant and inoffensive tea. I must try to stretch this tea until my partner comes home and I can prove to her that not all puer is funky fish or mouth-puckering grass clippings. At $0.15/g, this is a buy for me.

Sipdown (144)!

Sipped this down last week as well;

It made for the smoothest cup of malty, sweet potato, and fruity undertoned goodness! Seriously, next time I place a What-Cha order I think I’m going to have to get more of this one because it’s just such a unique white tea and this small sample size I picked up really made me realize how much I miss having some on hand.

Guess what guys… This is my 4000th tasting note!

Holy shit that snuck up on me; I remember somewhat around tasting note 3300 or something I was trying to plan for distant future so I could pick a memorable tea for tasting note 4000 but then BANG 4000 is here already just like that!

I think this is a good pick for 4000 though; I LOVED Butiki’s White Rhino tea and I’m really happy to get the chance to try another company’s offering. It’s such a unique and memorable varietal because it’s white tea that really ISN’T white tea. Both in flavour and how you brew it. Instead of that 70-80 degree range, I definitely used near boiling water for this one ’cause I just know that it can take the heat. Literally; in this case.

And shit guys; it’s like drinking Butiki’s White Rhino all over again. Someone catch me; I’m swooning so hard right now I may just injure myself. I wish I had in real life tea friends who could share this excitement with me. It’s both nostalgic and new and exciting!

There’s so much going on with the flavours; I’m not even sure where to start. I guess I could just list ‘em? I mean, firstly the tea overall has that same Hot Cross Bun/Easter Bun flavour that I found so poignantly distinct to Butiki’s White Rhino. It’s REALLY cool that it’s translating to this one too. Sweet sugary dough/bread, that kind of icing-y stuff and glaze, soft cinnamon, raisins, and fruity undertones? Mmmm; all there! Apart from that, there’s also thick notes of hay, some yummy malt in the finish, honey, and sweet potato! Maybe even a sliver of cocoa; but that element is quite light. It all comes together to create something so rich and smooth. Easy to finish the full mug without realizing it/even starting the tasting note you were planning on writing alongside drinking it. You know, hypothetically of course…

This was a good choice; and after a day of pretty mediocre tea overall this was a GREAT note to end on. And yeah, holy shit, 4000 tasting notes! That’s totally INSANE. And it’s only been like three years since I’ve been on Steepster, eh? Rounding a bit, that averages to like four tasting notes a day!? Man I don’t even know how to feel about that…

Also, a song pairing ‘cause that’s just sort of my thing now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbqmajdaFk0&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=3

I actually tried SUPER hard to find the perfect, meaningful song to drink with this both to fit the tea but also the landmark tasting note. I struggled doing that and then eventually gave up searching. Instead I just put my playlist on shuffle, and settled into this one. It actually wound up feeling quite fitting…

99C/99C/99C/99C/99C
20s/20s/25s/25s/30s

The dry leaves are dark and have a nice, deep, mineral-y aroma that gets even nicer once the leaves are wet.

Medium liquor that is just a bit on the lighter side.
First steep is quite mineral-y and has some bitterness. The SO describes it as being like drinking perfume, but I don’t get that sense from it. Not particularly flavorful for me, and not too much of an aftertaste, just a hint of mineral and that sensation of having consumed something salty. I would say the bitterness wanes off a bit in the second and third steeps, but the flavor is more or less the same.

It’s a busy day, so the leaves end up sitting for probably more than an hour after this before I come back to them. They don’t really seem to be evolving into anything else for me, so I’m going to call this session done and I’ll have to try brewing this tea another way next time so I can get a better feel for it!

Backlog – 190F, 2min, 2tsp
Dry leaf – hay, grass, spice
Grape spicy/spice malt. Spice note is different – almost spicy/hot w/o actual heat.
Body fairly thick, nearly no aftertaste.
2 min – sort of like dry grape skin feeling of mouth coating. More grape, less spice, malt.

Not a combination I’d want to repurchase. Grape flavor kills it for me – one of my blindspots. Rest of it went to a good home – gave it relatives who like tea. Sipdown

Dry green curls emit a toasty scent and unfurl quickly once wet to reveal their leafy form. Oh yes, my senses are going to enjoy this one.

The first steep smells sweet and creamy, a really fantastic aroma. Very light liquor, light, milky flavor—there is more strength in the aroma than the flavor for this steep—smooth mouthfeel, a sweet aroma clings to empty cup and I’m left with a creamy sensation in the mouth.

The second steep is also creamy, sweet and aromatic. I’m not getting much vegetal taste or any sourness, but that could just be my tastebuds.

In the third steep I’m starting to get those vegetal notes, and I think the sourness is just barely there. The sourness starts to come out more in the following steeps, which I had to wait a couple hours to get to. So interesting how the taste has evolved, and it still has that creamy mouthfeel that lingers after I’m done.

Light malt and faint woodsy earthiness immediately transition to a distinctive note of pear and a slight hint of toffy, which is quite sweet and lingers into the smooth finish. This is a peculiar and charming tea, and one of the standouts of my order.

Reordered this not too long ago. Though I’ve been appreciating darker oolongs most of the time lately, this is still my go to milk oolong.

Drank the last of this the other weekend to refresh my memory on how I feel about it and decide whether to reorder since it came back in stock. Still really like it! Creamy, fruity and easy to enjoy, even when I wasn’t feeling well. Glad I’ll have more coming!

99C/99C
20s/20s

I forgot I have to review and narrow down resumes by the end of the day. Time to drink something I know I’ll enjoy to try to knock this out in an hour.