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Free sample from What Cha. Yay.

I didn’t take any notes that day. I did something I normally do not do, and I didn’t weigh it. I just put the whole sample in the gaiwan. I had it a few days ago… But I wanted to make a quick note. I really enjoyed this tea, and as Daylon mentioned in his note, it lasted a long time. I literally drank it all day, and it never stopped giving out the flavor. I’ll have to get more and give it the full gaiwan treatment (timing, temperature… Etc.) to be able to get a good flavor profile next time. It is complex.

It was citrusy, slightly floral, honey-sweet, and lots of stonefruit notes throughout the day. No matter how long I steeped it, it never got bitter and that is a plus. Overall, I am really a fan of their Vietnamese oolongs.

Sipdown on this one. Been working on trying to finish all my green teas. Wrong type of tea to stock up on lol.

Quick additional note on this one (already wrote a review on it). If you like jasmine tea, these pearls are definitely the one to stock up on. Because they are so tightly rolled, they remained fresh. The tea is so buttery smooth, creamy, and full of flavor. As I said in my first note, there is zero soapy taste. No artificial nor perfumey aftertaste just the fresh taste of perfect floral jasmine. Today (gongfu style) the stonefruits, particularly apricot came out in the middle steeps and blended so well with the jasmine. Highly recommended if you’re drinking Jasmine tea for flavor or health and are turned off by the overly perfumed aroma of others.

This is my last sample of it, and I really enjoyed it the second time around much more. Less busy days equals enjoying my tea that much more. I’ve been drinking it all day. It’s a clean pu erh tea. Has light wet earth, wet wood notes, some tobacco. Tea-sipper couldn’t put a finger on the taste and neither could I but it’s really tasty. It turns out that its the taste of Jujube fruit, a Chinese date, which tastes similar to apples.

The bright reddish-bronze liquor smells of fruit, not the usual fermentation aromas one would expect from pu erh tea. It has a very calming Qi energy. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. :) It’s soft on the palate, full-bodied.

Gaiwan, 110 oz, 10g, 10 steeps: rinse, 20s, 20s, 20s, 25s, 25s,
35s, 45s, 65s, 85s, 120s… and still going strong. ^^

Very nice.

The dried leaves smelled of fresh hay. The liquor was light orangish amber with a very light floral aroma. It’s lightly oxidized, tastes like a very creamy Alishan as Daylon said and at times it reminded me of a smooth and creamy TGY without the tartness.

It is a busy day, lots of work and mid-way I fried it (cry) and put boiling water instead and well, it made it bitter >.<. Up until that point, it was lovely. Light florals notes, vegetal, smooth and creamy. Next time, I’ll be more careful.^^

Yixing teapot,
194℉, 130ml, 8g, 10 steeps: rinse, 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1m, 1m30s, 2m

First off… When I bought this taster, I thought eww, just didn’t sound like it should be a tea. Yeah, yeah. lol I do love sticky buns though, what the heck, I’ll try it. Curiosity.

I love it. I think it’s top 3 of my favorite 52Teas. It’s a mixture of “organic black teas: Yunnan, Assam & Ceylon.” and some Lapsang Souchong. It has a very light aroma of bacon but the mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pancake and maple notes just blended together so well. It was like drinking a good pancake breakfast with bacon and maple syrup. So funny but it was delicious. It’s vegan bacon bits for you vegans out there just in case you’re wondering.

I’m about as shocked as can be considering what I thought when I first ordered it. I had it last week and tried it again today to make sure. I’m sure now.

The other day I got to try 4 different 52Teas flavored teas. I had all of them as recommended (For once lol. I usually put them in a 20oz and sip them throughout the day). It’s a good genmaicha with roasted rice notes, and it was very citrusy, lime and the rind notes. There was no hint of bitterness, just a nice fruity lime taste with a creamy marshmallow background.

I bet this would taste really good iced as well. I’m becoming quite a fan of 52Teas but I admit other than them, I’m still not into trying anyone else’s flavored teas other than 52Teas (and Lupicia). I held a few boxes at the grocery store the other day, and I just couldn’t lol. I like the fruit bits, the naturalness of their teas. It always feels so wholesome when I drink them versus artificial ickiness.

I really enjoy their green Colored Species oolong but my tummy lately has been favoring roasted oolongs. Seems like the greener the tea, the more my tummy hurts. :( I was brought up with mainly green tea and matcha, basically what I drank for years and now when I drink them (unless I’m on a full stomach), it’s like battery acid. Ugh. So, having said that… I’m glad that I got into oolong and even more glad that I can enjoy roasted oolongs with no tummy aches. ^^

Back to this new Mandala tea… It’s very good. I like it much better than the green Colored Species. I’ve had it as recommended 1 tsp per 8 oz 200F, 30 sec, then add 10 sec each subsequent infusion up to 3 minutes and I’ve had it gongfu style: Gaiwan, 6g, 110ml, 200F, 10 steeps, rinse, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1m, 1m15s, 1m30s, 2m.

I prefer it much better gongfu style. The wet leaves have a very strong roasted aroma that lasted the entire time. The flavor seems to last much longer gongfu style. I get a fuller and more satisfying taste. Lots of nice notes that I favor in roasted oolongs are present… Roasted nuts, sugar cane, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and later some minerals, a little smoke. Like the green Colored Species, there is a little tartness that plays on the sides of my tongue and it has many notes of that version as the steeps progressed.

I like this. :)

Got a free sample of this :D and it came in a cute little mini disk, approximately 8g. I got the 2018 version.

I’m not the biggest fan of white tea so take that into consideration. In the beginning, it tasted like a very light sheng with typical stonefruit notes, mainly apricot along with floral notes, and some hay. As I progressed through the infusions, it got almost too sweet for me, a honey sweet finish. At the end of the infusions, it became somewhat malty, can taste the minerals, some marine but it also became bitter.

Porcelain gaiwan, 8g, 110ml, 185F, 10 steeps, rinse, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1m, 1m15s, 1m30s, 2m

I don’t think there is anything that I enjoy more than a good roasted Jin Xuan. Thank you Derk for this sample. They have been sold out of this one and I wanted to try it. There is a wonderful review on this already by eastkyteaguy so check that out if you want the taste profile. I certainly can’t add to it. lol

So often I fall in love with a roasted oolong only for it to be short-lived. This one lasted many infusions and the taste profile changed as the infusions continued. It was complex with its roasted-toasted goodness, full of fruits like berries and stonefruit with some floral, woodiness, minerals and honey sweetness.

What a really nice tea I just experienced… Thank you Derk. :D

I’ve been wanting to try this given the good reviews on it. For one, it is exceptionally smooth. I always love teas that give off a comforting mouth and throat feel as it goes down.

The amber colored liquor had the aroma of stewed sweet fruits. It has very light malt notes and light sweet potatoes in the background but that’s where it ends for me comparing it to other black teas. It is nothing like any other black tea I’ve tried. The different fruits are the stars in this one. It’s one of those hard to describe type of teas and it’s wonderfully complex. There is some sugarcane and fruit sweetness, and then some tang of fruits. It is flavorful from steep to steep, full of fruit, and then there is a sweetness and aroma that is quite different… Like the sweetness of the smell of cannabis when you’re sitting at a Pink Floyd concert. The fruits I tasted were mainly of plums and grapes, muscatel, some berries. Really enjoyed this and will look out for it.