What-Cha

After trying it Western I prepared it gongfu and have to bump my rating up a bit. It is way better gongfu. To be certain, it still comes out as rather simple, straightforward tea: the taste is dominated by the bittersweet chocolate, complemented in the first couple of infusion by baked potato and starting in the 5th – by honey and sugared fruit.

There are way to many chocolaty teas to get overtly excited, but it does acquire a certain depth, balance, and pleasant aftertaste – all that I did not find when I steeped it Western style. Also, it produced a remarkably large number of infusions (8 or 10) without tasting tired: actually, I enjoyed the late infusions the most – when the bitter chocolate got muted and honey+fruit intensified.

It is a simple, unpretentious tea. The delicate fine leaves produce the brew with floral and “tippy” aroma. Th e taste is quite typical for a Jin Jun Mei: chocolate, sweet potato, clover, light fruit. Not complex at all, but clean, light and hits all the right notes for this type of tea. Regrettably, not much of an aftertaste, but at least it re-steeps well (I had it Western).

Edit: I bumped this tea’s rating up a bit after having it gongfu – it was way better that way.
After trying it I have not been neither disappointed nor excited. Given that Jin Jun Mei is the current rage and the prices it commands are often exorbitant this is not a bad deal at all for someone who wants its taste profile on a budget. I will gladly finish the ounce I had purchased but unlikely to order it again.

A Japanese black, which is an intriguing rarity for me. It is broken in tiny pieces with generous helping of stems and tinged with black around the corners: like a weird bancha trying to be rebellious and hip.

Not much of a dry leaf smell: grass, hay, roasted nuts. The wet leaf and the brewed tea itself has a very distinct smell that is hard to describe: there is certainly grass, leafy greens, but also seafood/seaweed and some kind of East Asian spices (soy sauce?). The taste is spicy, umami, pleasantly sour and pungent. Very Japanese, to be sure. It lingers in a big way.

In summary, it is quite distinct and unusual in many aspects. Memorable too. This is probably one of those love/hate teas – and I loved it.

This is a typical tea from East Africa, the only differentiating trait is its dry leaf appearance: the leaves are small and twisty, which reminded me of some Chinese reds like Keemuns.

Everything else is rather typical: not much of wet or dry leaf smell besides vague maltiness. The taste is robust but not rough: malt,bread, clear astringency. It is pretty much Lipton but how Lipton would taste if it prioritized taste and storage as much as cost-efficiency.

I agree with most of the previous reviews for this tea: it is indeed smooth, not astringent at all and full of stone fruit (plum, apricot, cherry), raisins and baked apples. The best part is the dry leaf appearance: very intricately rolled into wavy, twisty curls.

When I took a first sip (Western style) I thought “Whoa, that’s a unique taste with its combination of sweet and sour!” – but that feeling dissipated quickly: this tea does not grow on you much as you drink it . The main flavors, why pleasant, come as somewhat underpowered, and the tail of the taste is disappointingly sour. It is not a bad tea, but I had decidedly more balanced and lively teas with the stone fruit profile.

This was one of my sipdowns from September. I recall finishing what I had of this tea right before I started on What-Cha’s China Fujian Fragrant Rou Gui Oolong Tea. I have already reviewed the latter tea, and like it, this tea was also excellent. To be honest, it was actually just a little bit better than its sister offering.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves presented aromas of charcoal, pomegranate, raisin, blackberry, pine, and blueberry. After the rinse, I detected aromas of roasted almond, baked bread, smoke, rock sugar, earth, cannabis, and mushroom. The first infusion introduced aromas of rose and grass as well as a subtle vanilla scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted almond, butter, cream, vanilla, rose, blueberry, rock sugar, earth, pine, grass, baked bread, and pomegranate that were backed by hints of raisin, cannabis, mushroom, red raspberry, blackberry, red apple, and charcoal. I even picked up a barely perceptible hint of smoke in the aftertaste. The subsequent infusions coaxed out aromas of cream, red raspberry, red apple, pear, spinach, cinnamon, black cherry, strawberry, and roasted peanut. Stronger and more immediately assertive notes of blackberry, mushroom, and red apple came out in the mouth alongside impressions of minerals, pear, spinach, orange zest, roasted peanut, strawberry, and popcorn and hints of cinnamon and black cherry. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, roasted almond, grass, pine, baked bread, earth, charcoal, mushroom, and orange zest that were balanced by hints of rock sugar, roasted peanut, butter, red raspberry, blueberry, red apple, strawberry, spinach, popcorn, and black cherry.

This was a tremendously aromatic and flavorful tea, but it was also one that was consistently approachable and drinkable despite its considerable complexity. Fans of Wuyi Shui Xian would likely find a ton to love about this offering, though I think those who are put off by the more traditional, heavily roasted spring teas would also be pleased with it. It truly had something for everyone and served as proof that some of the teas produced in Wuyishan’s winter harvests have a tremendous amount to offer more open-minded tea drinkers.

I had it Western style. The dry leaf is long, remarkably wiry and gnarly, which is pleasant. Its smell is restrained, with notes of fresh hay,malt, honey and pepper. The wet leaf acquires undertones of ash, earth, molasses and overripe berries.

The liquor is pale and it takes some time for it to darken appreciably. The taste is similarly understated: baked bread, malt, molasses, smoke, dark cherries, citrus zest. It has a good lasting power and could be sipped for a long time at different temperatures. A nice and balanced aftertaste.

Overall, it is a very enjoyable restrained tea with the profile of mostly baked bread + cherry/molasses sweetness. No astringency whatsoever. It could be a reliable daily drinker.

This was the first ‘aged’ Taiwanese oolong I had ever tasted. Sixteen years old. My youngest sibling was 2 when this tea was produced. I went in with an open mind and was more than content with the experience.

This is a very complex tea that complemented my mood on this beautiful morning. From what I’ve gleaned, Green Heart is another name for the Qing Xin cultivar. I can taste the Qing Xin characteristics in a tea that I assume was low to moderately oxidized and re-roasted several times throughout the years, though the roast notes have faded away. I appreciate this because I’m generally not a fan of moderate or heavily roasted Taiwanese oolong (dark roast Wuyi oolong are a different story!).

There is a distinct herbal-sweet spice character to the dry leaf that calls to mind cardamom, which I’ve experienced once before in a wild oolong from Mountain Stream Teas. I found it strange in that tea and found it strange here but it was very welcome. I wondered how a tea so old could have such a pronounced dry leaf fragrance with other notes of floral walnut, wood, frankincense, cinnamon, sour cherry, hints of cannabis and peanut with a ribbon of raisin or prune in the undertone. The aroma of the liquor is complex and deep, pronounced yet delicate — sweet, floral and nutty.

The liquor is much the same in its flavor — floral, nutty and sweet with spice/incense of the dry leaf. Smooth and oily with no astringency, medium-bodied with a brightening mineral quality. The fruity aromas of the dry leaf come out in taste, too, though not quite cherry and raisin but leaning more toward sweet Asian pear followed by a milky finish. The aftertaste takes a minute to bloom but it does so with great length and notes of honey, pear and osmanthus. Camphor taste and feeling comes in soon after the swallow and persists into each successive infusion. It seems to dominate the sip in the following cups which then mellows into the oolong profile.

I can’t emphasize how much of a calm state this tea induced.

Really happy to have this in my collection and a great starting point for piquing my interest in aged Taiwanese oolong.

[5g, 100mL clay gaiwan, 212F, 10s rinse followed by 14 steeps starting at 10s]

Wow, so much peach in the dry leave and peach-pit in the cup. Lovely pale-green clear liquor and very light in the mouth. Will revisit when deep into the bag, and looking forward to seeing what others with better taste buds can identify.

This was one of my last sipdowns in September. I recall buying a sample of this tea during either the summer or fall of 2016. I was just getting into some of What-Cha’s offerings at the time and was experimenting with aged Tie Guan Yin, but after a number of bad experiences with aged Tie Guan Yin from other vendors, I shelved this tea indefinitely. Clearly, curiosity got the better of me late last month. I’m glad it did because this ended up being a very enjoyable tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves and dried bitter melon pieces in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 8 seconds. This infusion was chased by 19 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaf and melon piece blend emitted aromas of raisin, dried blueberry, pine, plum, cedar, and malt. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of fig, butter, cream, black raspberry, and black currant. The first infusion introduced aromas of black cherry and roasted almond. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of raisin, dried blueberry, cedar, pine, malt, butter, cream, and fig that were complimented by hints of black raspberry, black currant, roasted almond, black cherry, and earth. The following infusions introduced aromas of vanilla, brown sugar, roasted barley, baked bread, roasted hazelnut, cinnamon, and straw. Stronger and more immediately noticeable impressions of black cherry, earth, and roasted almond appeared in the mouth along with belatedly emerging notes of plum and butter. Impressions of baked bread, minerals, vanilla, roasted barley, roasted hazelnut, orange zest, and straw also appeared alongside hints of brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, cattail shoots, and peat. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, earth, baked bread, roasted barley, pine, butter, and cream that were balanced by a late popcorn note and hints of raisin, plum, straw, cattail shoots, orange zest, and vanilla.

This was a very nice aged oolong. Though I often find that aged oolongs, especially aged Tie Guan Yin, can develop something of a musty, papery profile, this one was very smooth and balanced with a nice, complimentary blend of aromas and flavors. Nothing seemed out of place. My only complaints with this tea were that it started to fade a little sooner than anticipated, and some of its more intriguing aromas and flavors faded a little too soon. Otherwise, this was a very enjoyable offering.

This was another of my sipdowns from last month. In truth, I had put off trying this tea for a while because Rou Gui is not one of my favorite Wuyi oolong cultivars, and I had always heard that the winter harvests in Wuyishan tend to yield teas of poor quality. At the time I resolved to try this tea, however, I knew that some of the recent winter harvested Wuyi teas were starting to change the overall perception of teas produced outside the traditionally highly regarded spring harvests, so I resolved to approach this tea with an open mind. It immediately shocked me. First, I was surprised by the quality of the leaves. They looked much better than expected. Second, I noticed how light the roast was. According to What-Cha, this tea was given a light-to-medium roast, but to me, the roast looked light. Light roasted Rou Gui is not all that common. Third, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this tea. It was really a great Wuyi oolong.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After rinsing, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cinnamon, charcoal, baked bread, malt, pine, red grape, tart cherry, and roasted almond. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted peanut, grass, mushroom, and cannabis. The first infusion introduced aromas of rock sugar, pomegranate, and smoke. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cinnamon, grass, cannabis, cream, butter, mushroom, charcoal, and baked bread that were complimented by hints of malt, tart cherry, smoke, red grape, and roasted almond. The subsequent infusions brought out aromas of minerals, ginger, dark chocolate, red apple, roasted barley, pear, oak, and tobacco. Stronger and more immediately noticeable impressions of tart cherry, smoke, red grape, and roasted almond appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, roasted peanut, pine, rock sugar, earth, roasted walnut, pear, red apple, ginger, dark chocolate, oak, tree bark, tobacco, orange zest, and roasted barley. There were also some very subtle hints of pomegranate here and there. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, earth, oak, roasted barley, grass, charcoal, mushroom, and malt that were balanced by hints of baked bread, roasted almond, cannabis, roasted peanut, red grape, tart cherry, tree bark, tobacco, and orange zest.

This tea was both incredibly interesting and incredibly satisfying. Normally, Rou Gui tends to strike me as being very spicy and heavy, but this tea was light, fruity, earthy, nutty, and woody. While I was drinking it, I could not compare it to any other Rou Gui I had tried. Even at this point, I find it to be a very memorable, unique tea and unlike any other Wuyi oolong I have consumed. Definitely check this tea out if you are looking for a unique Wuyi Rou Gui that avoids the heaviness of some of the more traditional takes on the style.

I’m still trying to get back into the swing of posting reviews more regularly. Time has not been on my side as of late, and I fear that it is going to be a couple months before my schedule starts to normalize. On the occasions that I do get to be active on Steepster, I will continue to primarily focus on cleaning out the rest of my backlogged reviews. This was one of my sipdowns from last month. I had meant to get to this tea much sooner (like July or August), but things got in the way, so it became one of my September sipdowns. Honestly, I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this tea. Nilgiri teas are not usually among my favorite things in the world, but this one was great. I could easily see myself coming back to it in the future.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 197 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves presented aromas of apricot, pine, prune, and tobacco. After the rinse, I noted the emergence of new malt, butter, roasted peanut, baked bread, sugarcane, and raisin aromas. The first infusion introduced something of a red grape scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of apricot, hay, pine, prune, tobacco, raisin, malt, and sugarcane that were balanced by hints of roasted peanut, butter, cream, and oats. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of cream, vanilla, hay, oats, violet, rose, and red apple. Stronger and more immediately noticeable impressions of butter, cream, and roasted peanut appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, red grape, grass, cedar, orange zest, rose, violet, red pear, red apple, and roasted chestnut. I also picked up some hints of leather, sweet potato, and brown sugar. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized mineral, malt, roasted peanut, roasted chestnut, cedar, hay, orange zest, and sugarcane notes that were complimented by amplified leather impressions and hints of raisin, sweet potato, baked bread, oats, red pear, red apple, pine, and tobacco.

This was a tremendously aromatic, flavorful tea that was also approachable, drinkable, beautifully textured, lively, and superbly balanced. It also proved to be durable and highly adaptable; I brewed some of what I had in the Western style and got great results out of it. This tea was a winner. It forced me to consider Nilgiri teas in a new light because it displayed none of the negative characteristics I tend to associate with such teas. Definitely consider giving it a try if you are looking for a Nilgiri tea with a lot to offer.

This tea is nice even if somewhat run-of-the-mill. Still, among Assam teas it is above average for sure. Apart from the standard black tea aroma, there are notes of chard, woody peat, berries and parsley. The taste is then bittersweet with main flavours being cranberry and dry wood. However, the most memorable quality is its smooth and creamy mouthfeel.

This was one of my sipdowns from either the second half of July or the first half of August. Looking back over my session notes, I kind of feel that I may have been a bit hard on this tea, but honestly, some of the criticisms I outlined still feel kind of valid. Specifically, I found this to be a bland, forgettable tea, and prior to looking back over my notes, that’s what I remembered it as being. All I could specifically recall was that I thought it would be more robustly flavorful and that nothing about it really stood out to me.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of honey, baked bread, dark chocolate, and cinnamon that were underscored by subtle hints of straw. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of geranium, raisin, prune, and roasted almond. The first infusion brought out aromas of vanilla and violet. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of honey, baked bread, raisin, and straw that were backed by hints of geranium, horehound, roasted almond, prune, and butter. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of brown sugar, butter, cream, grass, oats, green olive, and orange zest. Notes of dark chocolate and vanilla came out in the mouth alongside stronger and more immediately apparent notes of roasted almond, prune, and butter as well as hints of cinnamon and violet. I also picked up on impressions of minerals, cream, brown sugar, oats, grass, orange zest, caramelized banana, wood, and earth. There were even some very subtle hints of green olive, apricot, and malt that were just barely detectable in the aftertaste. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, earth, butter, brown sugar, and baked bread that were complimented by hints of honey, oats, raisin, grass, wood, and roasted almond. There was also a slightly enhanced maltiness present at this point, though it was far from a dominant feature.

I’m still not sure about this tea. It contained a lot of elements that I would not expect to work all that well together, yet nothing about it stands out in my mind. I mostly just recall the liquor being a muddled rush of very muted, timid flavor components that peaked quickly and faded even quicker. At this point, all I can say is that this did not strike me as being all that good of a tea. They can’t all be winners. I’ll just leave it at that.

I’m going to take a little time to try to make more progress on my backlog. I think I finished what I had of this tea in either June or July. Yeah, I’m that far behind right now. I I found this to be a very likable second flush Darjeeling black tea, one that was subtler than many other teas of its type.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose leaf material in 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaf material prior to infusion, and I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material produced aromas of straw, pine, raisin, autumn leaves, and prune that were underscored by a subtle smoke scent. After infusion, I noted the emergence of new aromas of Muscatel, toast, malt, cream, cinnamon, charcoal, and honey. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of honey, malt, cream, hay, straw, pine, toast, grass, sour cherry, earth, autumn leaves, tree bark, charcoal, smoke, cinnamon, fig, minerals, roasted almond, raisin, and prune that were complimented by hints of green bell pepper, orange blossom, and violet. The finish was as earthy, woody, toasty, and malty as I was expecting, though it was also notable because the raisin and prune notes I previously picked up unexpectedly transitioned into more vibrant, lively Muscatel and plum impressions.

This was not the most immediately impressive, attention-grabbing second flush Darjeeling black tea I have tried, but it was still a very respectable offering. I appreciated its mellow character and subtle complexities, and of course that sudden burst of fresh fruit on the finish was unique and memorable. Ultimately, I liked this tea quite a bit, though there are more elegant teas on the market. I would recommend this one for Darjeeling fans who are looking for a quirky, unique change of pace tea or who are looking to try an offering from a less heralded producer.

Okay, I’m finally back on Steepster after quite a long layoff. I always despise taking breaks from reviewing because getting back into the swing of writing reviews is so awkward for me after any time away from it. Unfortunately, my work schedule has been crazy the past few weeks, and even when I do get some free time, I am rarely alone in the house, so I end up dealing with lots of noise and interruptions. Believe it or not, I’m posting this review from my actual office. My grandmother and parents are home today, so getting any peace was out of the question, but everybody cleared out of work early, so I came back to the office to write in peace.

Anyway, this ended up striking me as a very enjoyable, high quality Assam black tea. I have not been drinking many teas like this lately, mostly because I am so familiar with what they tend to offer, but this one was not predictable or boring. As a matter of fact, it struck me as being fruitier and more floral than many of the other Assam black teas I have tried.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose leaf material in 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaf material prior to steeping, and I also did not conduct any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of malt, tobacco, straw, cedar, and sweet potato. After infusion, I noted new aromas of raisin, cream, roasted almond, and toast as well as a stronger malt aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, raisin, cream, straw, toast, butter, leather, roasted almond, cocoa, sweet potato, cedar, orange zest, earth, and caramel that were balanced by hints of orchid, rose, black cherry, brown sugar, raspberry, strawberry, and tobacco. The finish was smooth, creamy, toasty, woody, and malty, though I did note some lingering fruity and floral hints in the aftertaste.

This was a very pleasant, nicely balanced Assam black tea with just enough depth and complexity to satisfy me. It also struck me as being lacking in any harsh bitterness or astringency. Overall, this was a very nice tea that I could see working on its own or with additives. I am fairly certain that fans of Assam black teas would be pleased with it.

Another delicious tea from Jun Chiyabari! This one hits all the right spots for me as far as Himalayan FF teas go. It is complex and very well balanced with strong flavours lingering for a long time and a silky, thick liquor that induces a numbing, tingling sensation in the mouth.

Daylon R Thomas and eastkyteaguy have analyzed this one in great details, so my notes will mostly repeat theirs with an emphasis on the ones that seemed the most pronounced in this particular session of mine.

Starting with the aromas, I would pick out butter, fennel, and grass from the dry leaf bouquet. wet leaf smell is incredibly floral, reminiscent of lily flowers and thyme. The taste is very crisp and has notes of orange blossom, celery, green pepper, pine, and a lingering lemon flavour, complemented by nutmeg, apricot, and butter in the aftertaste.

[Autumn 2018 harvest]

This is a nice fairly robust and medium to full bodied black tea with a very distinctive chocolate note in both aroma and taste.

The tea indeed smells mostly of chocolate, complemented by slightly earthy and vegetal aromas, as well as a tomato scent. The taste is strongly reminiscent of cocoa beans and very sweet. There are also weaker notes of sawdust, red pepper, roasted barley and in the finish grapefruit skin too. Aftertaste is still sweet with flavours like roasted squash, strawberry, wood, and honey emerging. It is very long lasting and fragrant overall, probably the highlight of the tea for me. I quite like the mouthfeel too, which is slimy, fleeting and mouth-watering.

I felt like having a Taiwanese white today and I found this sample from derk lying around today after coming home from work. The tea is somewhat less aromatic than other related examples, but the flavours are very yummy. It is sweeter and fruitier than what I remember from other red jade white teas. The texture is very smooth and creamy and the aftertaste very cooling and menthol like with various vegetal notes.

I was also taken aback by the cha qi that gradually started creeping over me. Maybe I should have read the other reviews first, I wonder how much work I can get done tonight lol.

I will be looking to get more of this one, thanks for sharing it with me, derk :)

Here is a review from the backlog. I can’t remember precisely when I finished what I had of this tea. I want to say the sipdown came either during the second half of July or the first half of August. I recall liking this tea more than either of the previous reviewers. My notes indicated that I appreciated its complexity and depth but felt that it had a few noticeable rough edges.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of rolled tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 8 seconds. This infusion was chased by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 10 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of roasted barley, toasted rice, vanilla, cream, butter, and baked bread as well as a subtle orchid scent. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of cinnamon, steamed milk, brown sugar, and honey that were accompanied by a subtle chocolate scent. The first infusion introduced aromas of roasted almond, caramelized banana, bamboo, and grass. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted barley, toasted rice, honey, cream, butter, bamboo, vanilla, and orchid that were chased by hints of cinnamon, grass, baked bread, brown sugar, roasted almond, toasted sweet corn, and steamed milk. There were also lingering vegetal notes in the aftertaste that struck me as being reminiscent of cattail shoots and spinach. The subsequent infusions produced new aromas of parsley, spinach, cucumber, umami, apple, and white grape that were accompanied by a slightly stronger chocolate scent. Chocolate and caramelized banana notes appeared in the mouth alongside impressions of sweet potato, caramel, wood, minerals, daylily, daylily shoots, apple, pear, white grape, cucumber, and meaty, brothy umami. I also detected some hints of parsley and noted stronger, more forward impressions of baked bread, grass, steamed milk, and roasted almond. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, wood, baked bread, toasted rice, cattail shoots, spinach, grass, roasted barley, umami, and cream that were backed by hints of vanilla, butter, roasted almond, cucumber, and apple.

This tea had a lot to offer, but there were also times when certain notes overpowered and distracted from others. It also displayed a very dry, woody mouthfeel and was very heavy-bodied. Compared to some of the other Dong Ding oolongs I have tried, it was not the smoothest, and it was also not the most approachable or the most drinkable, but it was still a quality tea. I would not recommend that those curious about Dong Ding oolongs or those looking for a quality daily drinker go right for this one, but when something stronger and heartier is called for, this would be the oolong to choose.

Hey all, before I start this review, I’d like to share a major life update. I know some of you are aware that I have been waffling on going back to school, and well, I think I have finally decided to do it. I’ve spent a considerable amount of my time trying to figure out what I really want out of my professional life, and I finally came to the conclusion that a very public-oriented career was not going to be for me because I’m just not a people person. I have pretty serious anxiety issues, so something more stressful was also out of the question. I knew I needed something quiet that offered a tremendous amount of autonomy and alone time, so I have decided to become a librarian. There is a rather highly regarded graduate program in Library and Information Sciences at the University of Kentucky, which is just two hours west of where I’m living now, and since applications for the spring semester are being accepted until mid-November, I decided to go ahead and apply for it. I am in no financial shape to do this, but I also don’t have any real debts and no serious financial obligations, so I am at a point in my life where I can afford to start over from scratch. I figure I can also spend a semester going part-time and then move and work on acquiring funding over the summer when more assistantships become available. This field seems like a perfect fit for me because a good deal of my academic and professional background involves information management. I also think my background in composition and teaching will help me stand out a little from the crowd.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s move on to talking about this tea. This tea represented a step into uncharted territory for me as I had never tried a Taiwanese white tea prior to trying this one. The best way for me to describe it would be almost like a Bai Mudan or Shou Mei but with the minty characteristics of a Red Jade black tea. I found it enjoyable, though I also felt that it was a bit rough in places and packed a caffeine wallop that was a bit much. Essentially, I would have to be in the mood for this sort of profile in order to approach another tea like this one.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After rinsing, I steeped 6 grams of loose leaf material in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 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, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of malt, sweet potato, baked bread, wintergreen, and honey. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of butter and peppermint as well as a stronger wintergreen presence. The first infusion brought out subtle scents of vanilla, cream, and grass. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, grass, butter, and wintergreen that were chased by hints of baked bread, honey, vanilla, and sweet potato. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of brown sugar, autumn leaves, hay, earth, and celery as well as subtler scents of grape leaves, spinach, and green olives. I also detected slightly amplified cream and grass aromas. Notes of brown sugar, earth, hay, minerals, wood, coffee, and autumn leaves appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging peppermint notes, hints of butterscotch, and slightly stronger and more immediately noticeable baked bread and honey impressions. Impressions of green olive, celery, spinach, and grape leaf appeared as well. They were subtle at first but grew slightly stronger with each infusion until the tea started to fade. As the tea faded, the liquor settled and emphasized notes of minerals, malt, grass, hay, wood, grape leaf, butter, celery, and earth that were underscored by hints of wintergreen, sweet potato, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and spinach.

This was a very odd white tea. Its caffeine punch was reminiscent of a Red Jade black tea, and its aroma and flavor profiles were very bizarre. Still, its aroma and flavor components managed to work together better than expected. Though certain aroma and flavor components could be prickly or poorly integrated here and there, everything worked together for the most part. The mouthfeel of the tea liquor could also be a little rough in places. These are fairly minor quibbles, however, as I still consider this to be a high quality tea. Overall, it was enjoyable. There were just a few noticeable issues here and there that held it back in my eyes.

I got this tea as a free (25g!) sample and it turned out to be unexpectedly unique and delicious, thanks a lot Alistair! Despite being a low elevation tea, it’s not particularly lacking in any respect. On the contrary, it has a complex and pungent fragrance, very nice flowery taste, long lasting aftertaste and a thick, creamy mouthfeel.

As for the specific notes, I could detect notes of butter, dry grass and lavender in the dry leaf smell. On the other hand, wet leaf aroma is very fresh, green, sweet, and floral, with notes of mint, sourdough bread, green beans (and a few other vegetables).

First steep tastes of menthol and freshly cut grass. It has a slightly sour finish and a sweet aftertaste. In later infusions, the profile gets progressively more flowery with a distinctive citrus blossom note. The aftertaste is very fragrant and displays notes of various flowers such as osmanthus.

On top of being creamy and quite thick, the liquor also induces a cooling, tingling sensation in the mouth, which makes it all the more interesting to drink. I hope that Alistair can continue to source this tea at such a competitive price, when looking for a floral jade oolong, this one shouldn’t be overlooked.