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Whether these mini tuocha came from White Antlers or from Mandala Tea, I don’t know. Either way, they were a gift of kindness :)

This morning, I stewed a 4.5g tuo in my work thermos to pour into a special mug. The mug is dedicated to shou and has an image of Prague on it, all in earthen tones. It makes me think of Martin Bednar and his benevolence.

Zendo is fresh and has very little leftover fermentation funk. I mostly notice it as that kind of nutritional yeast flavor I sometimes pick up on in shou. Barely cheesy, barely bready, entirely welcome. Zendo is like drinking smooth, wet rocks with a hint of sweet dark earth. Not getting chocolate or fruit like Mandala.

I really like Zendo as a daily drinker (I finished both mini tuo within 24 hours). It’s so easy and smooth, clean and mineral. Ah, comfort.

Dittany tea from Crete, also known as dictamus or diktamo. Fresh and fuzzy whole leaf with random twigs and a chunk of dirt-encrusted wood. Used as a culinary herb, though I believe more often as a tea with medicinal benefits. Brought to our house this week from somebody who visited the motherland.

I’ve only ever had dittany in teabag form where the leaf was pulverized. This is so much more aromatic and flavorful. I brewed a pot for us, pretty strongly and it’s magnificent. Floated a dried lime slice in my own cup and it’s providing a hint of lime florality and tartness. Dittany is very soothing for me, with an aroma and taste much like Greek oregano: somewhat savory, mildly bitter and sweet, not as pungent or spicy… but also refreshing. It has that cooling feeling from thymol, which is a compound in other herbs like thyme, oregano and marjoram.

The small jar is going to go quickly. I wish we had enough for me to send out a few samples.

Wow, am I in the minority here. The dry leaf smells decadent. I feel like this had no flavor, though, probably because the base teas are very light. This tasted mostly like raspberry essence, and light malt and tannins. Not much cocoa. For something called Cocoa Truffle, I would’ve expected more chocolate and body, both from the black tea and the puerh. Then again, they used a Ceylon black and those typically underwhelm me in blends.

A weird thing about this tea, and this happens sometimes with flavored teas like this one, is that the raspberry essence aggravated my lungs, like I could feel them tightening up. It’s not an allergic reaction. The best way to describe it is the feeling of inhaling a chemical irritant, like cleaning agents.

I want to love this one because the raspberry and cocoa aromas smelled so damn good but the liquor itself just didn’t have any oomph. And, yeah, the lung thing.

It’s been a few years since I’ve had one of these mini tuocha that Kawaii433 sent in a swap (I hope all is well out there, miss!). I received a few of these as a freebie in my most recent order with Mandala and brewed one gongfu tonight so I figured I’d give another review.

This is the mellowest, most potentially inoffensive shou I’ve ever tasted. Dark in color but not in taste. Earthy but never overbearing; hay, leather, still getting a touch of autumn leaf. Light sweetness and bitterness. Stable, simple and pleasant through every steep, of which I got a good amount. Very low caffeine. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to purchase these, but it’s a nice break from some of the strong shou that I gravitate toward.

[Initial rating 74]

Tried the last of this brewed at 1g:30mL instead of the usual 1g:20mL and at 195F to attempt to mitigate the overwhelming roast.

I did enjoy it more, even though it wasn’t as complex and had a thinner body and very mild aftertaste. It was still very nutty with supplemental notes of thin wildflower honey, vanilla, sandalwood, ginger, orange zest and orange blossom. The roasted taste was much lighter. The taste-texture devolved pretty quickly into this very particular astringency and bitterness, neither of which sits right with me.

Revoking the “Not Reccomended” status. It’s not a bad tea for the price (of the newest lot), just the nuttiness is too much for my tastes. Also, maybe I’m spoiled but I do expect more longevity before encountering the impassable astringency and bitterness.

From Ontario to California, this must be a record — 6 days to receive a tea package from the wonderful Leafhopper :)

My housemate requested last night a cup of peppermint tea, so I used the opportunity to break into the box of goodies. It’s a sweet, herbaceous peppermint with plenty of menthol kick. I thought it must be that NW US peppermint and reading the description, it is! Peppermint grown in Washington is my favorite because it never tastes muddy or stewed even with boiling water and long steep times.

Thanks for the nightcap, Leafhopper.

Plowing through the teas from White Antlers. This order was ‘Processed on 11/2015’ so it’s at least 5 years old.

The dry leaf is aromatic and smells of orchid and burnt, roasted peach. Prepared close to the directions on the bag which called for 1+tsp, 212F, 4-5min. One+ teaspoon for me ended up being 3g, so I went for my usual 1g:100mL and brewed the tea in 300mL of water off the boil for 4min.

Wow, that is strong! I can’t imagine brewing 1+ tsp for a standard 6oz cup for 5 minutes. Wow, bitter and tannic! Let it cool for a bit. Strong aroma of orchid, malt, complex dried fruitiness like cherry-peach-muscatel; wood, soy sauce, soft cinnamon. The taste is bitter, brisk, biting and tangy with malt, rosewood, oak wood, walnut skin, autumn leaf, mild earth. Finishes a touch umami with complex… long-lingering… slightly perfumey… aromatic tastes of orchid and bitter lavender, muscatel and buttery dried orchard fruits — blackberry, cherry, peach and apple; a hint of soft cinnamon. Second steep is much lighter and lemony!

I recently had a sample of What-Cha’s summer 2019 Benifuuki black tea from Martin Bednar. In comparison, this one hasn’t lost a step in it’s 5+ years of existence. It’s just as strong in presentation and a very unique tea, though too much for me. That said, I wouldn’t search this out but I do recommend it to experienced people who are comfortable with bitterness and playing with brewing parameters. I have another ~3g left and don’t know if I can be fussed to bring this closer to perfection.

April 2016 harvest.

Dry leaf smells like rich chocolate syrup with undertones of black raspberry and faint wood. I went for the maximum recommended brewing parameters since it’s old: 2tsp (3g), 300mL, 180F, 45s

Steep 1, 45s: thin and watery with a hint of licorice root. Let’s go longer.
Steep 1.1, 90s: brisk with faint wood and malt. Let’s go longer.
Steep 1.2, 180s: fuller body, brisk, mostly wood, a little bit more malt, fleeting grass, hints of black raspberry and chocolate, lightly cooling. Aroma is noticeable now, with chocolate and black raspberry undertone like the dry leaf. I think I’ll stop here.

This was my first Korean black tea and I have no reference with which to compare. It reminds me a bit of Japanese black teas. Based on my limited experience with Korean green teas and tisanes, I would’ve expected a simple warm and roasty flavor profile. It has nailed simple; I’m guessing age hasn’t favored this tea. I’d be interested in trying a fresh harvest.

Thank you, White Antlers, for the opportunity :)

And yet another tea courtesy of White Antlers. Thank you :)

The session starts with a thin, brown sugar sweetness and a hint of vanilla. Really strong roast, so much that most of the time I taste mostly roasted nuts, roasted barley and brown toast. Past that I can taste apricot, peach, orange blossom honey, and orange zest. Strong mineral taste and tingles, light apricot and orange blossom aftertaste. In subsequent infusions, the fruitiness and sweetness are overtaken by malt, wood, straw, astringency and bitterness tasting much like a washed-out black tea.

Unlike LuckyMe, I didn’t find this oolong to be easy-drinking. The roast easily dominated the session for me. The leaf seems temperamental, unforgiving. Then again, I don’t have a finessed hand. I thought with the level of roast aroma in the dry leaf that I would brew this with water off the boil; based on the unfavorable results, the next session I will try with lower temperature.

Not recommended… for now.

Another one from White Antlers. This one’s fresh-e-fresh. I saved 3 grams from the pouch to make a western cup. I wonder to whom I forwarded the rest.

When I travel (oh COVID, when will you depart), my packings are minimal. When I house-sit, the amenities here are never sparse (I could get by as I would on vacation by bringing only a toothbrush, medication and a few days worth of clothes), yet I brought 6 bags with me. Today is the final day of house-sitting for my work father. The place is a mess even though I’ve occupied only the bedroom, bathroom and barely the kitchen. In this whirlwind moment of cleaning and gathering my belongings, I steeped up what little I saved of this tea and of course forgot about it for 10 minutes.

Luckily, my folly didn’t ruin the tea, which means it’s a solid tea. The dry leaves smell strongly of roasted peanut and cocoa. Steeped up, it has a full, smooth body with a heavy malty-sweet overtone and complex undertones of leather, peanut, cocoa, baked bread, stonefruit, caramel, banana, tannins and flowers. Lingering malty-stonefruit-peanut aftertaste. It lacks a little kick to adequately grab my attention (perhaps the long steep time muted some quirks) but it’s a satisfying brew regardless.