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Two steeps western into the work thermos.

Smooth and full bodied with a woody, drying finish. Two layers of sweetness: one that is deep and fruity like dates, and a higher pitched floral sugar tone. Caffeine low — probably not the best tea to choose for a 6am Saturday shift but I wanted something mellow. I don’t remember much else. It’s an old tea in a stamped pouch.

Based on White Antlers’ timeline of Swedish Death Purge teas and some label handwriting sleuthing, I’m pretty dang sure this is the one.

Had a gongfu session a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Guessing age has really smoothed out the roast and intense nuttiness I’ve experienced in other dong ding.

I’m feeling crummy. The hip had me limping today. I’ve been resting in bed since I got off work. I was craving sweet liquid nourishment, so I steeped up the last 2.5g western. It’s a really smooth, nutty-milky-honey-mineral cup with floral-woody and cinnamon tones, a mild cooling finish and lingering sweetness, both of which are reminiscent of green cardamom. Perfectly mellow tea for a balmy evening.

Dong ding still isn’t a preferred oolong but this is so smooth, I do recommend.

Thanks for providing this much needed warm cup, White Antlers.

Wow, that’s the most inoffensive, generic tropical fruit flavor that’s ever graced my tongue. I’m sure this is older’n since this was from Teavana but I guess it’s held up ok… Mild, mineral, lightly fruity, barely sweet.

Finished off the packet this morning. It makes a much more interesting and boozy gongfu session than the campfire-smokey western brew. Big difference!

Wild Yiwu region sheng from the area between Wangong and Bohetang.

Soft honeyed aroma. First steep has a sweetness that spans honey-caramel-brown sugar. Creamy with hints of white chocolate-vanilla, fruity peach-apricot, spicy, bark tannins, mossy-mineral, all supported by a deep and balanced bitterness. Becomes beautifully floral and fruity later with the most vibrant and ringing apricot. Aftertaste presents late with what to me is now a characteristic Yiwu flavor: violet. Warming in the throat, quite drying and that feeling persists and eventually gives way to a dark returning sweetness. Some oily texture in final steeps. Clear mind and very comfortable.

This tea seems simple at first but has a nice depth and longevity to it. It’s very balanced for a young tea. At this time, I find the drying quality the most noticeable detractor but nothing some sips of water in between cups can’t remedy.

Swoon <3

In my mind, I’m running through clichéd polarities to describe where I sit with this brew.

Dry bag smells sickeningly sweet, dark and very spicy molasses gingerbread.

The steam is pretty similar but much brighter. Spicy ginger and fake maple (think donut icing) and something fruity like dates. I wonder how much of a role the monkfruit plays in this.

Taste is… It’s pure aroma. The only thing I truly taste is spicy, warming ginger and watery sweetness. I do taste spicy, woody cinnamon at the bottom of the cup.

Strange aftertaste kind of reminds me of Bengal Spice. Ginger burps. The aromas are stuck to my face and hair and in my nostrils.

I can’t figure out why I think I might like it. I drank two teabags in a row.

Edit: Definite nope.

Casual gongfu. White2Tea states traditional lapsang souchong is not smoked but there is a definite smokey element to this one. It has a fermented berries and dry pine smoke aroma to the dry leaf but that doesn’t necessarily push through in taste all that much. The bright and rich flavor is like a cross between apricot brandy and mildly smokey, peaty whisky. There are notes of sweet potato, raisin and pine early moving later into leather-straw with a hint of malt. Highly mineral and mouth-watering with a cleansing, balanced astringency. Boozy cream finish. Great longevity for a hongcha, as it seems a lot of the black teas coming out of Wuyi exhibit.

I took a 3-day weekend. Work has really been getting under my skin lately. Patience is very thin. Without divulging, I will say I am severely disappointed in the company’s lack of leadership and of principle in an era when both are so sorely needed. Thank glob it rained for a moment today. Wash away the bullshit.

According to mechanic friend, this humid-aged Yiwu sheng smells like an old leather BDSM hood, the kind with a slit for the mouth. One cup of this tea also miraculously got rid of the crook in his neck. Mhm. I think he likes it. It is certainly a solid tea that I would drink the hell out of if I had a cake. Worthy of a spin of dank D&B with headphones. Dance, derk, dance!

mrmopar, eternal gratitude.

Album pairing: Matrix — Sleepwalk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvZyu1n_fss&list=OLAK5uy_neV05trqA_OZEU4J8lES3SA-Gu4FeC7Wc

Edit: while drinking and listening to this record, something in my turntable picked up the air traffic control frequency from the airport nearby. I can hear pilot chatter through my headphones in the quieter moments.

I think this is a Spring 2019 harvest.

Rich with chocolate-malt-wood body. Smoothed by sunflower seed nuttiness. Rounded out by deep and warm stonefruit flavors. High floral notes. Fermenting windfelled fruit resting upon soil warmed by the autumn sun. An orchard at the edge of a forest. Good balance of flavor, aroma, astringency, bitterness and aftertaste. Feels more grounded than other unsmoked Lapsang Souchong but with plenty of complexity. The little leaves harness a wealth of power and they are not fussy in preparation method.

TEA
I guess this was a very cheap cake at one point. It is now only $58 USD for 400g. Plantation Yiwu tea from 2012 aged 3 years before pressing. It’s developing aged tastes. I wonder where the maocha was stored for those 3 years.

Appealing, appetite-stimulating aromas come from the dry leaf like beef jerky, hickory smoke, cranberry and a mild honey-brown sugar. When warmed the sweetness smells more like caramel. The aroma is of tang, smoke, strong camphor and wintergreen and a meaty umami. With the rinse I pick up on old furniture and books, steak and camphor.

Once brewed, the aroma is of marshmallow and tobacco. The main flavor of the tea is straw which displays itself in a somewhat viscous body. The tea is kind of sweet in a nectar-caramel-red fruit way with some added florals and bright tobacco, hints of leather, minerals and decaying wood, somewhat metallic. A tangy, mild bitterness penetrates the tongue, leaving it uncomfortably numbed. I feel camphor deep in my throat. The aftertaste is the strong point. It is definitely violet with very light caramel.

This is a short-lived tea with decent mouthfeel and a strong aftertaste, good for a daily drinker. It’s not a bad tea by any means but my preferences in sheng do not lean this way. It was nice to try an Yiwu plantation tea with what seems like some humid aging taste to it, so thanks for the exposure, mrmopar :) At some point, I’ll be making another note when I move into a round of tasting all the Hai Lang Hao puerh I have.

LIFE
I didn’t get any sleep. First my old girl woke me, hissing and spitting at the sliding glass door to the garden. Then I was startled awake shortly thereafter by what sounded like a massive explosion. And then again at 5am by my neighbor across the street banging on the front door. My first thought was oh-fuck-is-there-a-fire-are-we-evacuating.

Turns out some amateur lifted my motorcycle from the front yard and out into the street. Lifted — because the steering lock was on. Ran into our trash cans on the curb because amateur thief and trash night. He woke up my neighbor who chased him off several times over the course of getting ready for work before putting a cable and lock through the back wheel. The amateur totally bashed the steering lock cylinder, so now I can’t even unlock the bike to move it. And he left his hammer, which the police took. What’s amusing is that I have a tool kit with all kinds of useful things in an easily accessible compartment on my bike.

I hope the night happenings aren’t a sign of things to come today.