White 2 Tea

If you are looking at this based on the name looking for a sweet sheng, look elsewhere (maybe a gongting grade? huangpian tastes more savory to me).
Setting that aside, this shou is not something I’d be interested in again—I leafed hard (1:10), light (1:30), and in between and I couldn’t find a spot where this was a shou I’d like to drink again without feeling like I didn’t want to waste the sample. Maybe really hard you get some thick almost molasses-y texture but this needs some more time to air out if you’re at all sensitive to wo dui and this shou didn’t particularly have a qi or something to make up for it. It wasn’t an intense wo dui, but enough that it wasn’t the greatest without a pro to balance that con out . Maybe with lots more time there’ll be something interesting to it but I wouldn’t bank on it personally. Leans more savory to me but not anything interesting. I’m sure it’d be fine if you’re the type that likes shou with food but definitely not something I’d pick up personally.

A nice hardy shu. Has a coffee thickness. Robust but mellow.

Received this as a sample a while ago, and since I’m not too often in the mood for shou I took me a while to try. I’ve had the Little O from W2T which I really liked, so thinking citrusfruit+shou fits me I enter this session with positive expectations.

After reading the first two rinses should be tossed I did so thoughtlessly, I regret that a little since I wonder how strong the manderin would’ve been in these steeps. Adjacent to others I am not getting loads of actual manderin flavors through steep 3~7. There is a certain bright note that carries the shou blend though, followed with a minty breath through the nose which is very pleasant. Smell of the Gaiwan is consistently manderin with a background of general shou woodness.

The tea is very calming and easy to drink with a nice pick-me-up from the manderin. I wouldn’t place an order specifically for these but I might add them in my next cart since they’re a nice thing to have in the cupboard for these moments that you’re craving something else.

I got about 12 steeps of it before it got too boring and flat for me.

219/365

Went with another coin today, after yesterday’s success. This one is a sheng, and since they’re not usually my thing it’ll be interesting to see how I get along.

My first thought is that this is light, bright, and unobjectionable. It’s a friendly sort of sheng, and would likely make a good introduction; I certainly wish my introduction to sheng had been this approachable! The early steeps don’t offer a lot in the way of flavour, just a light sweetness that reminds me of icing sugar with a hint of underlying bite. I’m going to take that as an indication that I should keep my steep times very low, at least to begin with. A set of"greener", slightly more savoury flavours develop around the third steep, along with more of a floral undertone. I’m reminded just a little of chlorophyll. With a steep time of around 30 seconds, it’s possible to get some light stone fruit/apricot notes, although there’s a slight increase in astringency along with that. For the most part, I went with steeps of no more than 15 seconds (some a lot shorter), and stuck with the icing-sugar-verging-on-flower-nectar flavour I got at that point and liked best.

It surprises me to say it, but I really like this one. It’s sweet, but unassuming enough that it’s not a distraction from my daily routine. It could easily be a daily drinker for me, and I don’t think I’ve ever said that about a sheng before. I stuck with this one most of the day, so it’s excellent value for money, and the coin format is amazingly brilliant from a convenience perspective. Maybe I’ve finally found my sheng happy place!

This is a very light sheng full of floral, apricot and vanilla sweetness – when brewed short. It does not distract you from what you are doing and happily lives in a background – which is rare with puerhs. Longest steepings are less interesting with floral notes turning into a typical young puerh astringency

The taste is not complex and I personally not looking for light cheerful sweetness in puerhs – my go-to teas for that type of flavor/mood are greens- thus good-but-not-great score. This tea was by no means unpleasant but I will not be getting it again.

Beenghole sample. Tastes more aged than it is. Pretty thick texture, initial creamy notes. Pretty standard bitterness with moderately fast sweet huigan. Brewed out a little quick. Pretty balanced as far as bitter to sweet but leaning on sweet over all. Long lasting and strong fruity slightly flowery huigan. No smoke, no spice, not astringent. Slight headache buzz, heavy eye lids

I like these coins for having decent material quality and they are so convenient for away from house brewing (which I do once or twice a week). This tea bites quite a bit if brewed strong. I like to be heavy on the leaf as always, so I keep brewing short, loads of 5~10 second infusions and around the 5th infusion I start increasing time to 30 and more. This way brings out some nice apricot sweetness and some spinach dry umami flavors which work well together. From the beginning to the very end this tea had a remarkable body, very thick and viscous, loved that about it. I wouldn’t buy a large cake of this tea, although it is well priced. But these small ones are a staple in my cupboard for away from home.

Starts a little bitter and rather cigarette-smoky. Fades to leather, which lingers. I feel hit by the energy immediately. After a few steeps, the tips of ears are warm and it feels like my eyes are glowing.

Later steeps turned towards apple juice with some leather keeping it interesting. Pins and needles and eventually almost numbness at the sides of my tongue. Fascinating.

Overall, hard to say? I really didn’t like the flavor of the first handful of steeps, but I liked the later steeps a lot, and the energy was strong but comfortable.

167/365

Another from my first White2Tea order. I’ve been really impressed with these; they’ve definitely changed how I think of sheng, particularly. I’m brewing this one western style at work, but keeping my steeps short since experience has told me that’s what works best.

The initial sip is very creamy, with a definite dairy/milk mouthfeel and flavour. There’s a slight brassy/sour sheng flavour, but it’s not significant – and nowhere near as prominent as it was with 2015 Poundcake. The only thing missing at the moment is the alcohol!

Second steep has a little more sourness, but I may have steeped it a few seconds too long. The creaminess seems a lot more muted, at least in terms of flavour, but the mouthfeel still has that delicious dairy-like weight and texture.

Third steep is less sour again (25 seconds is as long as I want to brew this one to find my own happy place with it; the second steep was more like 30-35). There’s a muted creaminess, but it looks like I’m not going to be able to recreate the utter yumminess of the first steep again. While the texture is mostly smooth, there are the beginnings of a low-level astringency that’s leaving me with a slightly dry mouth.

Fourth steep was very similar to the third, with the astringency just a touch more pronounced. That’s with a reduced steep time again (15 seconds this time), so I think I’m going to call a halt here for today. There’s no question that I could keep going, but I figure when you stop enjoying something it’s probably time to quit.

I’d purchase this one – or its future iterations – again. The first steep was the best, and at the very least I’d like to experience that another time!

This is an interesting tea. This has a thick and velvety mouthfeel, almost like a broth. I think that contributes to the umami character I pick up with it. It isn’t salty, but it reminds me of drinking a warm, salty broth. There are general vegetal notes to it as well—nothing specific, but just a general vegetal flavor.

Overall, I enjoy it but am not overwhelmed by the flavor. It’s the type of tea that I would have to be in the mood for in order to have again, but I can see it being very appealing for those times when I am in the mood for its unique character.

Tea Club – been sitting out since I got it.
Gaiwan 100ml, boiling water
rinse
10s – earthy and a little sweet, light orange color
After this steep I picked the ball apart, I probably should have waited or let it work itself apart, but I was impatient. Liquor went super shou dark on the next steep.
10s-earth, bit of dark, sweetness
10s – solid earth, hella dark
10s, 10s, sweetness getting longer
More steeps after this but I stopped recording notes. Nice accessible shou

152/365

Finally getting to the older White2Tea pu’erhs in my cupboard. I’m pretty sure I bought these at least a year ago, maybe longer. I gave the leaves a quick rinse, at least partly so one of the pieces would fit in my infuser basket! My first steep was around 1 minute in boiling water.

The flavour is a little lighter than I was expecting. The initial sip is a touch earthy, with notes of dry wood and a touch of camphor. It really comes alive in the mid-sip, though, with sweeter flavours of bourbon vanilla and molasses. The aftertaste is almost too sweet, in a way that reminds me a little of stevia or liquorice root; it lingers at the back of the throat in the same way those do. Hopefully the flavour will deepen a little with successive steeps!

Second steep has very slightly stronger flavours. There’s more woodiness to the start of the sip – it’s become more obviously a dry wood flavour (kind of like sawdust?), rather than the “wetter” flavours I’d usually associate with a ripe. The sweetness is there at about the same level, although there’s more sugar and less vanilla this time. The cloying sweetness in the aftertaste has dissipated a little.

Third steep is softer and more mellow, with a little more sweetness prevalent and less woody notes. The flavour of vanilla sugar flavour is foremost, with an underlying earthiness; the mouthfeel is smooth and silky.

Fourth steep is similar, although becoming less flavourful. The sweetness is starting to fade now, with just a light earthiness remaining. There’s a creaminess to the mid sip that I didn’t notice previously, but it looks to me like things are beginning to wind down. While this has been a pleasant shou, it’s not one I think I’ll find especially memorable.

Great smoky flavour with a good level of bitterness. The most bang on description of a tea I think I’ve ever read. Does well in both gongfu and grandpa brewing. I hope the smoke doesn’t fade too soon, I love this one.

Strong bitterness if over brewed or with too much leaf (found that out the hard way). With a lighter ratio and short steep times the bitterness is tamed to a good level. Subtle hints of aged flavour like liu bao or traditionally stored 7542. An underlying dustiness that continues throughout the steeps. Seems like a good candidate for further ageing.

This is the most honeyed pu erh I have ever had. From the first steep, it got more and more intensely floral and honeyed. At the 3rd/4th steep, it reminds me of Ethiopian honey wine or mead, but (obviously) without the sugar and alcohol taste.

The aftertaste isn’t necessarily sweet, just… honey-like.

I enjoyed this a lot… it felt and tasted like an elegant treat.

50/50. A good daily drinker or something for the food. Only quality/price don’t really match.

Not bad, but nothing special. Nicely packed overpriced mediocre leaves.

I brewed this grandpa style in a fairly large clay pot. Initially very sweet, later steepings were more flavourful, but it never got bitter. True to its name as a grandpa style tea Liquor as dark as coffee and super smooth. It’s hard to get me to say good things about shu pu-erhs, but I’ll definitely be buying more of this one.

Sample Session; Sipdown

Bitter notes throughout this session. Strong mushroom notes, too. I kind of enjoy these teas that, once pushed, have a solid astringency/bitterness right away; however, tend to die down after a few steeps in. I thoroughly enjoyed this tea.

I have to say this is a splendid tea grandpa’d style. Honestly, it’s a smooth/sweet blend of deliciousness. The nice thing about it is the fact that there’s no bitterness when it sits at the bottom of the cup while you drink it. Definitely loving this thick-soupy liquor today. Good rainy day tea.

Burly as a piece of whale bone