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This was another June sipdown. I’ll eventually get through all of them. I know I had initially intended to drink and review this tea back in May, but I took a little extra time with a few other teas and then took an extended break from reviewing, so I did not get around to drinking this tea until June, and now I’m finally getting around to reviewing it. Like most of the other Jin Jun Mei carried by Yunnan Sourcing, this one was rock solid if not truly exceptional.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 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, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds emitted aromas of baked bread, malt, sweet potato, pine, cinnamon, and cedar. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of dark chocolate, sugarcane, honey, and roasted peanut. The first infusion introduced aromas of vanilla and cream along with a subtle banana scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of baked bread, malt, cream, cinnamon, honey, pine, sweet potato, and dark chocolate that were balanced by hints of smoke, sugarcane, lemon zest, brown toast, and earth. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of minerals, moss, earth, grass, toast, and orange zest, though I also caught some very subtle green olive scents as well. Stronger and more immediate impressions of earth, brown toast, sugarcane, and lemon zest appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging notes of roasted peanut, vanilla, and cedar and fleeting hints of banana. I also noted impressions of minerals, grass, ginger, moss, and orange zest that were accompanied by hints of leather and green olive. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, cream, brown toast, baked bread, and earth that were backed by hints of sugarcane, vanilla, grass, pine, lemon zest, roasted peanut, and dark chocolate.

This was a very nice and very drinkable Jin Jun Mei, but it peaked quickly and faded even more quickly. I really had to push myself to get the number of infusions out of it that I did. As a fan of relatively lengthy gongfu sessions, I found that disappointing, but I also appreciated this tea’s approachability and the fact that it offered some aromas and flavors that I do not normally get out of Jin Jun Mei. Overall, this one was a mixed bag, but I found much more to appreciate than to fault.

This was yet another of my June sipdowns. It was also the tea that convinced me to take a short break from Yunnan black teas. Prior to trying this tea, I had worked my way through a number of Yunnan black teas close together and was starting to burn out on them. Despite my boredom with such teas at the time I started drinking this one, I was still able to enjoy it a great deal and found it to be a very nice, very solid Yunnan pure bud black tea. Unfortunately, I have tried a number of quality Simao pure bud black teas over the years, and this one did not rank among the best of those teas, but it was still a very nice offering worthy of one’s time.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 17 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, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds emitted aromas of malt, cream, pine, sugarcane, earth, and eucalyptus. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of baked bread, black pepper, camphor, green bell pepper, and chocolate. The first infusion introduced aromas of cinnamon, roasted almond, and vanilla as well as some subtle scents of plantain. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of sweet potato, molasses, baked bread, cream, malt, sugarcane, pine, green bell pepper, and eucalyptus that were chased by hints of chocolate, black pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, roasted almond, and plantain. The subsequent infusions brought out aromas of sweet potato, clove, and orange zest. Notes of orange zest, lemon zest, plum, green beans, minerals, clove, and marshmallow came out in the mouth along with belatedly emerging earth and camphor notes as well as stronger and more immediate impressions of chocolate, vanilla, black pepper, and cinnamon. As the tea faded, the liquor settled and emphasized notes of minerals, malt, cream, baked bread, earth, sugarcane, and lemon zest that were chased by hints of chocolate, pine, orange zest, camphor, clove, eucalyptus, and black pepper.

Overall, this was a very nice Simao pure bud black tea. It did not really offer anything out of the ordinary, but it was very nice nonetheless. Fans of such teas would likely be pleased with it.

People, have you ever bought a tea that you are pretty certain you’ll dislike simply for the hell of it? That’s what I did here. In all honesty, I cannot stand turmeric. It is literally one of my least favorite things. I bought this tea basically because I had already purchased the India Nilgiri First Flush Black Tea and India Nilgiri First Flush Green Tea. This was the only other Nilgiri offering in stock at the time, and I had a little more money to spend, so I just said “screw it” and purchased it too. It was literally nothing more than an impulse buy. Upon deciding to work my way through my pouch of this tea, I was kind of hoping it would change my mind about turmeric, but alas, it did not. My hatred of turmeric remained strong throughout my time with this tea and still burns brightly as of the present. Fortunately, the black tea base was nice and went a long way toward balancing out the infernal, vile turmeric.

I prepared this tea gongfu style (not recommended). After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of the loose tea leaf and turmeric blend in 4 ounces of 197 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 18 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, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. I stopped at the 15 minute mark simply because I had to throw in the towel. The tea base seemed pretty much spent, but that damned tumeric just wouldn’t die!

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea and turmeric blend emitted powerful aromas of, well, turmeric. There were some earthy and smoky scents too, but really, it was mostly just turmeric. After the rinse, I noted more turmeric and a little more smoke and earth with some subtle aromas of wood, brown sugar, and apple. I did not pick up any new aromas on the first infusion. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of turmeric, earth, smoke, pine, brown sugar, cream and butter that were backed by hints of tomato and apple. The subsequent infusions brought out subtle grassy scents with some aromas reminiscent of chili leaf, green bell pepper, toast, oats, and malt. Subtle green bell pepper and grass notes came out in the mouth alongside impressions of minerals, chili leaf, blueberry, oats, toast, and malt. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized mineral, earth, turmeric, chili leaf, and green bell pepper notes that were balanced by subtle, belatedly emerging orange zest notes and hints of oats, malt, cream, and toast.

Well, this ended up being about what I expected it to be, which is to say that it most certainly was not for me. I’m sorry, but the turmeric was just too much for me, and I could not consistently convince myself to overlook it and focus on what the tea base had to offer. That was a shame too, considering that the black tea used in this blend displayed some really nice fruity and vegetal notes. I’ve yet to try it, but I’m willing to bet that it would shine on its own. Fortunately, I have some and plan on reviewing it prior to the end of the month. Overall, this was not the worst thing ever; it just wasn’t for me. People who are into turmeric will very likely dig it. As for myself, I’m glad I got this one out of the way. I also doubt that I will be reviewing many more blends like this in the future.

This was another of my June sipdowns. I’m generally a huge fan of the Assam black teas sourced by What-Cha, but this one did not do as much for me. It was far from a bad tea, but I found it to be temperamental and a bit challenging, which, to be blunt, are qualities I do not look for in Assam teas.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. For my review session, I did not rinse the leaves, and I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, baked bread, honey, sweet potato, and pine. After infusion, I detected aromas of molasses, caramel, cream, green bell pepper, tomato, blackberry, and wintergreen as well as some subtle scents of prune. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of malt, cream, baked bread, honey, sweet potato, caramel, molasses, blackberry, chocolate, orange zest, blueberry, pine, roasted almond, tomato, wintergreen, roasted walnut, and kumquat that were underscored by hints of grass, green bell pepper, minerals, black cherry, black pepper, anise, cinnamon, and prune prior to an astringent finish.

This tea had a ton to offer, but it also presented a very challenging drinking experience. The liquor was very brisk and astringent, sometimes a little much so for my tastes, and some of the more unique and appealing flavor components had a tendency of getting buried amidst the wash of more typical Assam flavors. As mentioned earlier, I also experienced some difficulty dialing this tea in, as I found it to be very sensitive and easy to oversteep. Truthfully, I am still not certain that I was able to find ideal brewing parameters for it. Overall, though, this tea was a mixed bag. There was a lot to like about it, but it most certainly had its flaws. Thankfully, there was more to like than dislike about what it had to offer.

Here is another oldie, coming to you likely from either late May or early June. Quite frankly, I have stopped even roughly dating my sipdowns in my review notebooks, so all of my notes are out of order. I just seem to vaguely recall finishing what I had of this tea around that time. Clearly, organized is one thing I am not. Anyway, I found this to be a quality Tieguanyin, and actually, I enjoyed it more than the premium offering from the same producer.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 8 seconds. This infusion was chased by 18 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, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of lilac, gardenia, vanilla, orange blossom, baked bread, cream, and custard. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of butter, sweetgrass, honey, watercress, and coriander. The first infusion brought out aromas of violet, pastry, and orchid as well as somewhat more amplified sweetgrass, coriander, and watercress scents. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of sweetgrass, watercress, coriander, butter, cream, violet, baked bread, and pastry that were chased by pear, green apple, spinach, orange blossom, tangerine, honey, and sour apricot hints. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of cinnamon, tangerine, sour apricot, and orange zest. Notes of cinnamon, orange zest, minerals, plum, lemon zest, sesame, white peach, and white grape appeared in the mouth alongside belatedly emerging custard, orchid, lilac, and gardenia notes and hints of vanilla and plum. I also noted more prevalent impressions of sour apricot, pear, green apple, spinach, and tangerine. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, pear, sweetgrass, coriander, butter, orange zest, white grape, green apple, cream, and watercress that were backed by subtler, thinner notes of spinach, tangerine, sour apricot, sesame, honey, baked bread, and violet.

This was a ridiculously flavorful, satisfying Tieguanyin. While I also enjoyed the premium Changkeng Tieguanyin that What-Cha offered, I found this one to be deeper, livelier, more memorable, and more textured overall. I would definitely be willing to recommend it to fans of jade Tieguanyin.

This is a review for which I’ve had notes lying around since either May or June. Normally, I’m a huge fan of Feng Qing black teas, but this one I found to be just pretty good. That struck me as odd too, considering that I loved the Spring 2017 Feng Qing Black Gold Pearls that I also purchased from Yunnan Sourcing and that this was probably the same or a very similar tea formed into a different shape.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped approximately 7 grams of formed tea leaves and buds in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 10 seconds. This infusion was chased by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 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, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea cones produced aromas of malt, cream, earth, eucalyptus, chocolate, and molasses. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of baked bread, vanilla, butter, sugarcane, and roasted almond. The first infusion introduced aromas of marshmallow, honey, and roasted peanut. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, earth, vanilla, baked bread, and sugarcane that were balanced by hints of marshmallow, oats, butter, roasted almond, molasses, sweet potato, and eucalyptus. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of oats, cinnamon, black pepper, camphor, orange zest, and pine. Stronger and more immediately noticeable impressions of oats, butter, roasted almond, sweet potato, and eucalyptus came out in the mouth along with belatedly emerging chocolate notes. I also picked up impressions of orange zest, pine, cinnamon, camphor, black pepper, and minerals as well as hints of honey, roasted peanut, grass, and cooked green beans. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized lingering notes of minerals, baked bread, malt, cream, earth, roasted almond, cinnamon, and eucalyptus that were underscored by hints of chocolate, camphor, molasses, black pepper, pine, sweet potato, orange zest, sugarcane, and marshmallow. I also noted hints of horehound in the aftertaste of the two longest infusions.

This was not a bad Feng Qing black tea, but I did find it to be a bit boring compared to some of the others I have tried. In my opinion, the tea liquor was a little too smooth in the mouth, and it lacked variation in texture over the course of a gongfu session. I also found this tea to not vary its intensity much. Honestly, it was little more than a very even-tempered, pleasant black tea that offered few memorable quirks during a lengthy review session. It was basically just there and was only going to do what it was going to do. I could not coax any intrigue out of it. Still, it was a flavorful tea that was easy to drink. One would likely not regret giving it a shot.

Yep, I’m back. I just couldn’t stay away any longer. I figure I’ll ride this Steepster thing out to the end and find a new platform for my goofiness afterwards. More than anything, I realized that I once again had a ton of unposted reviews just sitting around and nowhere to put them, so I figured I would become active on Steepster again just to get them posted and to avoid losing them. After making that decision, I realized that if I were going to come back to Steepster, I may as well just stay. I’m primarily a tea reviewer, and Steepster, even in its current woeful state, still works for me since there is not really another tea community or site out there that meets my needs.

Okay, let’s move on to talking about this tea. It was a weird one. Apparently, aged tea in Taiwan was not all that big of a deal until recently. If what I have read is true, the market collapsed back in the ‘80s, resulting in a great deal of unsold tea just sitting in storage. The black tea market was hit particularly hard, and the increased emphasis on oolong production as the market recovered left a considerable amount of aged black tea behind. I’ve noticed that almost every seller specializing in Taiwanese tea seems to offer at least one or two aged blacks from this period every now and then. In many instances, I find aged teas incredibly difficult to deal with quite simply because I do not often think they smell or taste all that good. My previous reviews of aged teas reflect this feeling. Check them out. It is obvious that I find aged teas to be very hit or miss. I don’t know whether or not I have done it here, but I do recall once offering the opinion that aged tea is almost like a hipster thing in the tea world. It’s expensive, usually only available in small quantities, and difficult to appreciate, meaning that a lot of people who claim to be into it probably only reach for it to show off their spending power and lord their supposed sophistication, knowledge, and discerning taste over others. With all of that being said, one would be forgiven for expecting me to rip this tea apart, but, ya know, I actually kind of liked it.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose leaf material in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 19 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, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material emitted strong aromas of old paper, must, mushroom, moss, and forest floor. After the rinse, I picked up aromas of green bell pepper, autumn leaves, malt, and raisin. The first infusion introduced a subtle prune aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of old paper, must, mushroom, autumn leaves, moss, forest floor, and green bell pepper that were chased by hints of raisin, cream, malt, and prune. I even picked up some subtle impressions of menthol after each swallow. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of pine, smoke, tobacco, and damp hay. Notes of damp hay, smoke, pine, caramel, burnt toast, minerals, and tobacco appeared in the mouth alongside hints of cinnamon and baked bread. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to offer up notes of minerals, pine, old paper, moss, damp hay, forest floor, autumn leaves, mushroom, and malt that were backed by hints of raisin, prune, baked bread, smoke, cream, and menthol.

This was a very earthy yet rich tea that was simultaneously reminiscent of both shou pu’erh and an aged sheng pu’erh but with a little remaining Sun Moon Lake black tea character to set it apart. Storage aromas and flavors were definitely prevalent here, but honestly, I did not find them to be too off-putting. They were a little much at first, but I found that they soon softened to reveal a number of unique and appealing quirks. I could see pu’erh fans being into this tea, but I could also see it appealing to more adventurous black tea fans. Though this tea is no longer available, there are several other vendors who stock Taiwanese black teas from the ‘80s, so teas like this one are still out there. Don’t be afraid to give one or two of them a shot if you are up for a challenge.

This was another sipdown from earlier in the month. I only had 25 grams of this tea to work with and finished them up last week. Drinking this tea reminded me that What-Cha tends to do a great job of sourcing from Darjeeling. It was an excellent first flush Darjeeling black tea, one that I feel could hold its own against just about any other similar tea on the market.

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

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, hay, malt, straw, and fennel. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of grass, lemon zest, and dandelion greens accompanied by subtler scents of spinach and pine. After infusion, I noted aromas of apricot, orange zest, orange blossom, honeydew, violet, and rose as well as some very subtle scents of toast. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, malt, hay, straw, roasted almond, lemon zest, white grape, orange zest, orange blossom, dandelion, dandelion greens, plum, rose, apricot, and grass that were chased by hints of pine, toast, roasted peanut, violet, spinach, fennel, sour cherry, honeydew, and watermelon.

Overall, this was just an incredibly likable offering. First flush Darjeeling black teas can sometimes be a little astringent, grainy, and/or vegetal for my liking, but this one was well-balanced with absolutely gorgeous nut, fruit, and flower aromas and flavors. Fans of first flush Darjeeling black teas would be wise to check this one out in my opinion. I doubt it will disappoint.

Here is another sipdown from earlier in the month. I think I finished what I had of this tea back around the start of last week or the end of the prior week. I can’t be sure at this point. Anyway, this was yet another excellent Guizhou offering from What-Cha.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 167 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 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, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, hay, zucchini, cucumber, baked bread, and chestnut. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of sugarcane, straw, honey, butter, and toasted sweet corn. The first infusion introduced aromas of lettuce and bamboo. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, hay, grass, zucchini, lettuce, bamboo, chestnut, and cream that were chased by cucumber, sugarcane, butter, and toasted sweet corn hints. There were also some hints of plum in the aftertaste. The subsequent infusions brought out aromas of minerals, green olive, pine, yellow plum, snap peas, and spinach. Impressions of honey, straw, and baked bread emerged in the mouth alongside stronger and more immediate notes of toasted sweet corn, butter, and sugarcane. There were also more prominent and immediate yellow plum notes. Notes of minerals, spinach, green olive, lemon, snap peas, pine, and green beans appeared as well, and I even noted some faint umami, apricot, and peach impressions here and there. At this tea’s peak, each swallow seemed to bring out honey, yellow plum, lemon, toasted sweet corn, and sugarcane notes that lingered for a considerable amount of time. As the tea faded, the liquor became somewhat astringent and emphasized notes of minerals, green beans, cream, malt, pine, cucumber, snap peas, hay, green olive, spinach, and chestnut that were underscored by hints of lemon, grass, zucchini, sugarcane, honey, and toasted sweet corn.

This was a ridiculously aromatic and flavorful yellow tea. Though I am certainly nowhere close to being an expert on yellow tea, this was easily one of the better yellow teas I have tried. It struck me as being both more accessible and more drinkable than some of the more celebrated and traditional yellow teas on the market. Overall, this was a more or less excellent offering. I could see it being a great introduction to Chinese yellow tea or a tea that fans of Chinese white and green teas could use to branch out to other types of tea.

Alrighty, I’m back at last. This week was so hectic on my end. I’m just glad it’s over. Now, I can finally relax a bit. This was one of my sipdowns from earlier in the month. I had kind of been meaning to post this review sooner, but I was trying to mix up my reviews a bit and not post black tea review after black tea review, so I skipped over it and ended up forgetting about it. Anyway, I’m remedying that oversight now. This tea was supposed to be a slightly lower end version of the 2nd Flush Gopaldhara ‘China Muscatel Gold’ Black Tea that was also offered by What-Cha. Honestly, I found it to be a very enjoyable tea in its own right, and in terms of aroma, flavor, and drinkability, it was pretty much neck and neck with its somewhat more expensive sibling.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions for the review session I am detailing here, but I did attempt a second infusion of 7 minutes a couple of other times and got pleasant results.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf material produced aromas of Muscatel, baked bread, malt, and fig. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of wood, roasted almond, grass, marigold, and dandelion. After infusion, the Muscatel aroma faded somewhat, though new aromas of cream, rose, and orange blossom appeared. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of grass, dandelion, earth, marigold, dandelion greens, straw, violet, rose, smoke, roasted almond, baked bread, raisin, fig, Muscatel, wood, cream, and malt that were backed by hints of apricot, orange blossom, orange zest, peach, cherry, and pear. The finish was somewhat astringent, yet it also retained a good deal of fruity, woody, malty, and nutty characteristics that lingered in the mouth and throat after each swallow.

This was yet another nice second flush black tea from the folks at Gopaldhara. It was a little rougher and earthier than the China Muscatel Gold, and I could tell the leaf quality was not quite as good, but this was still a very respectable and enjoyable offering. Truthfully, I very much enjoyed its pricklier, more rough-cut character, and I was not exaggerating earlier when I stated that I found this tea to be about as enjoyable as its more expensive sibling. If it is still available, consider checking it out if you are a fan of second flush Darjeeling black teas and looking for a very good one that won’t bust your budget.