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After a decade of love/hate with peppermint teas, I finally decided to get my shit together and find a preparation that works for me. No more gross cups of stewed peppermint, ok?

1) Never buy peppermint teabags again. Ever. Buy the freshest, largest, dried leaf I can find at the co-op.
2) Use way less leaf than what’s in the bags – half teaspoon per coffee mug, that’s it.
3) Not every tisane needs boiling water, despite the directions printed on boxes by the faceless herbal tea gurus. I’m not going to die from bacteria and fungi on dried plant matter. 160-175F is good. Bonus: I don’t have to wait for it to cool enough to drink.
4) 10-15 minute steep times? Try 1 minute, 1.5 if I want it stronger. I don’t care about extracting every last molecule of peppermint oil. I’d rather have a good tasting cup.
5) Enjoy a very light, sweet peppermint tea without the stewed flavor, burps or scratchy throat.

Next project: chamomile.

Well, this tea has been pretty much covered so I’ll add a little personification for fun.

Old Bear reminds me of a good friend I have who likens himself to a cross between a black bear and a gorilla with dark hair the color of this leaf and some red in his beard like the color of the brew. He happens to like roughing it a lot and is no stranger to a good smokey campfire and a swig of peaty scotch. Even the toughest jabs seem to glance off of him. He comes across as bold, brash, bitter and gruff with a hard to penetrate exterior but once he opens up, he’s very sweet and even-tempered. I wouldn’t call him dry, even though this tea can be at times. A solid, thick, no-nonsense beast who always delivers.

I’ll have to take this little brick with me next time we meet up in the wilderness and see what he thinks of this tea.

5g, 100mL, 212F, 20s rinse, 8 steeps at 4×20s/30/35/45/45 then lost count after that. Oh yeah, high and sustained amount of caffeine and a nice softening of the gaze. I was gifted an animal hair in my first chip off the brick. It was tan and white, coarse and wiry. Maybe pig? Who knows.

I finished this 10g sample pouch of what I think is Spring 2018 harvest. Kind of. By throwing it out.

So… this tea does not play well with long steeps gongfu. It tasted pretty good in the first steep, light-bodied and oily with minerals, salt and a playful lemon but entered bad territory very quickly in the second steep with the leaf smelling very sulfuric with eggs and peanut and butter. Tastes of florals including lilac along with some kale and fresh sugarcane. But it was weirdly bitter with a an overripe honeydew aftertaste that did NOT mix well with the sweetness and florals. By the third steep I made an audible ‘Eugh.’ and the aftertaste was like buttered, nearly rotten winter squash. Like wtf?? Into the compost with you, you bad leaf.

So… stick with short steeps. Plenty of florals in the mouth early on, and with the swallow some lemon water followed by light saltiness. There was a weird fleeting aftertaste of potting soil with the first steep, but I could look past that. The liquor continued to stay pretty light in taste with some vegetal coming forward and light astringency that lasted. The aftertastes were the most prominent part of the tea with a good mix of butter, fresh sugarcane and fresh florals (my guess would be iris) with an addition of coconut cream?, changing into light pineapple, then banana leaf and ending on light peach. Around the fourth steep, the buttery taste became quite prominent and the liquor had an accompanying slipperiness in the mouth and on my lips. The last few steeps ended with tastes of corn and light butter.

Idk man, this tea was all over the place and although it started off nicely it became totally unbalanced. I’d be scared to brew it western :x

Edit: just to add to the confusion, the dry leaf was wonderfully fragrant with a strong pine nut note I wish showed up in the flavor.

I finished the 25g pouch between last night and this morning and realized this tisane has grown on me immensely when prepared western. It kind of hits all the marks for me as a soothing evening drink without medicinal flavors: it’s vegetal, biscuity, buttery, clean, a little peppery, tart and minty with a very light sweetness that smooths the strong vegetal tone. After letting the bag sit for a while, the scent of the dry leaf matched the aroma and taste of the liquor. 3-4 grams per 8oz seems to be the sweet spot and I can get 4 good steeps. I think I’d like to keep this around. Big ol bump.

Here’s my last Laoshan black 5g sample, divided into 2 different tastings.

2017 harvest. Dry leaf smelled like chocolate syrup, caraway and red fruit.

First go was gongu with 2.5g, 60mL, 190F, no rinse, 8 steeps at 12/20/30/40s and 1/2/3/5m.
I just could not pull any significant flavor out of this tea prepared gongfu. It was nice and light with a taste and consistency of thin rice milk with some chocolate, an undertone of raspberry and subtle high notes of vanilla and honey, all drizzled on a slice of almost-burnt wheat toast. The raspberry devolved into a generic sourness. In my attempt to extract more flavor, I increased the temperature to 200F in the third steep but that turned the tea quite astringent, so back down to 190F.

I decided to do a western brew with the remaining amount. 2.5g, 8oz, 190F. Two steeps based on color. The wet leaf after the first steep smelled very strongly of raspberry and chocolate syrup. The aroma of the liquor was similar albeit lighter. The tastes were basically the same deal as gongfu but with the loss of the high notes. There were additions of mouth-watering minerals, a lingering sweetness and astringency in the throat and a very light minty effect that opened my sinuses. Definitely enjoyed it more this way. It tasted very clean. Western was the winner preparation for me.

Absolutely phenomenal, hard-hitting, electrifying qi. This tea was liquid uppers, the kind of uppers that don’t have you standing there smacking your lips all night but make you fucking move (pardon me, I’m a blue collar gal). First few steeps had me precariously perching the cup in my fingertips and staring deeply into it as my eyebrows and sinuses vibrated with pleasure.

Before I knew it, I was compelled by the HAND OF DERK to put on music. Hard, electronic music. Started off with Bjork – Pluto and I became electrified, every single hair on my body stood on end and I was simultaneously cool and hothothot, sweat streaming off my scalp. URGENT, URGENT. DERK HAS TO MOVE. Played Vitalic – Stamina for what I didn’t know was going to be a warmup to a 17 minute dance-a-thon featuring the masterpiece Planisphère by Justice. Sorry downstairs neighbor, but if I have to put up with your dog barking all day, you can deal with the ceiling squeaking for 20 minutes. I know you’re home.

So, the other qualities of the tea, right? It’s actually pretty good. I got this as a freebie with my latest White2Tea order. Woot. The sample had a few decent chunks and loose leaf but also a lot of powdery bits. Probably should’ve used a strainer. The warmed leaf smelled strongly of lemon and apricot. The rinsed leaf was very choppy in form and had additions in aroma of wood, powdered sugar, florals, straw and faint smoke. Later on this moved into full on antique store, maybe one that gets a good breeze through it. No mustiness.

The liquor was fragrant and amber-gold in color. It started off light and tart, brothy and smooth with a pleasant astringency in the throat and a complementary bitterness in the back. It went down easily with tastes of minerals and lemon, moving into an apricot-lemon-cream aftertaste. By the third steep of 10s, some herbs, pine and a cooling sensation arrived, with the lemon getting stronger. Toward the end, the aftertaste turned into a light honey. I’d say the main theme of this tea is bright, tart, and lemony but also with a kind of background gravitas.

A few days ago in another review I alluded to the fact that I split with my long-term partner a few weeks ago. Earlier today, I started feeling like myself again. I can’t even put into words how much this tea amplified that feeling for me when I had this session later in the afternoon. A tea that makes me want to move and dance at this point in my life is very much welcome. I think this would be an excellent tea had moments before a strenuous workout or run, or if you just want to dance with yourself.

Oh yes, this is better. 4g in 16oz boiling water Grandpa style makes a good chocolatey, leathery cup in aroma and taste. Less pronounced sour orange and much thicker mouthfeel. Still no bitterness but it is sweeter now. Like western, some light astringency is showing up in the throat but it’s tolerable for me and doesn’t increase despite steeping for an hour. No fuss, keeping me awake for this 4-hr-long nighttime programming class.

Edit: I took a longer sniff of the leaves and I’m getting something like spiced oatmeal cookies. They’re very fragrant but hard for me to pinpoint.

I made some bolognese sauce with old hamburger. I have ragrets. Bi luo chun always makes me feel a little better when I have ragrets.

Straight up, drinking this smooth, thick, mouth-watering tea is like eating a plate of southern style green beans with ham hock and a dash of black pepper, while sitting on some fresh spring grass with gardenias abloom. But it’s imperial grade so it’s light in flavor.

I love it.

(Western, 3g, 8oz, 175F, first steep 2 minutes, 3 total)

I was reading through last year’s harvest reviews and I can say this year’s tea is much different.

Prepared this western because assamica black. 3.5g (roughly 1T), 8oz, 212F, 2 steeps at 3 and 5 minutes. I tried a third steep and while it sill had plenty of flavor, I don’t recommend it because of a strong wet leaf funk.

Dry leaf smelled very peppery, with some malt, cedar wood, leather and faint chocolate if I went searching, lightly cookie-ish. Wet leaf smelled like moss, chocolate and light ginger?

In terms of taste, there was a black pepper spiciness on the sip and in the nose with some malt, leather, wood and earth and a sour orange background note holding it all together. In the second steep, I noticed a slight cooling ginger spicy after effect. The liquor was light-bodied but produced a heavy feeling. No sweetness or bitterness. A very light astringency showed up in the throat in the second steep.

Overall, it’s a solid tea, nothing to complain about for the price – it’s certainly affordable. I think I’ll try one long steep western, too. I’ve already had a go at grandpa but I didn’t take any mental notes, so I’ll try that again.

This is my favorite of the 3 Crimson Lotus dragon balls I’ve tried so far. It has a good range in its profile. The rinsed leaf produced aromas of powdered sugar, peach, English peas and yeast. Started off savory, sweet and mineral with some bitterness in the back that lasts throughout the session. Smooth and brothy with a honeyed aftertaste. Then came an herbal addition (definite thyme) and at this point, I picked up watermelon/rind and faint basil on the lid. This was followed by buttery, fruity peach and yeasty notes, then florals and some astringency. Last steep of 7 minutes had a nice tartness. The pure sugar smell in the bottom of the cup and the strong returning sweetness that lasted the whole session were incredible. Honestly, this tea reminded me of a chardonnay in its buttery/yeasty character. The spent leaf was very chopped and tippy. Very high in caffeine, whew. The tastes make it something I want to buy more of but the caffeine would make it a rare indulgence for me.