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I am a big fan of Yunnan Sourcing’s black teas and Imperial Gold Needle is one of my favorites.

The dry leaf is aromatic and pretty, it brews up sweet and malty.

Simply a delicious tea.

Pu-erh is a teacher, now I can pick up on the character of some teas, such as Menghai for this one.

Rinsed twice, it was cloudy at first so I used a strainer, this was a sample with some bits. The soup was smooth and sweet and I enjoyed the session. I didn’t sense any fishiness.

If I purchased the mushroom it would be for a pleasant daily drinker with some interesting notes.

After trying a cake of Cloudy Days, it wasn’t long before I re-ordered it as my first tong.

Clean, creamy, smooth, nutty, sweet and earthy. The tea is a well balanced very enjoyable Shou.

The cake is lightly compressed with beautiful color.

I often use boiling water or off the boil and found this tea held up well with quick steeps in my Ruyao Xishi Teapot.

Dates, thick, sweet, a little drying toward the end of a long session when some bitterness crept in, expected because of the hot water. A pink grapefruit aroma throughout.

I found this an interesting white, nothing boring about it. Apparently it was a small production.

BF 2017: Ordered another cake.

White and black tea together is an interesting concept, the leaves are pretty.

Steeped grandpa style and in a Qinghua Porcelain teapot.

My sample was pleasant but I felt I was searching for something that wasn’t going to happen. I did get a hit of caffeine and picked up on a fleeting scent of brandy.

Perhaps it needs to age.

Another nice tea from What-Cha.

The malt was very present, thick mouth feel yet smooth with chocolate notes.

It isn’t a complex tea, rather reminds me of a strong British cuppa people enjoy in the afternoon.

This is the only Jasmine tea I have liked so far, some Jasmines taste artificial but not this one.

It is sweet and floral balanced perfectly with the Oolong.

I’ve had two samples, one free with an order and another gifted by a friend.

I have yet to meet a Hung Pian I didn’t like and this one was no exception.

Before finishing the second sample I ordered a brick which I think is a good buy especially for the quality.

In a 160ml gaiwan half full of dry leaf I did a quick rinse and steep, gradually increasing the length of the steeps over the course of a long session.

My scale is rarely used as I prefer to eyeball the amounts used, having samples first is a good trainer.

Although my palate for puerh isn’t developed yet I did note the stone fruit, sweetness, camphor and full body. There was some bitterness as I raised the temperature of the water and I enjoyed that too.

I let the tea rest for a few months then removed the wrapper.

The aroma was strong and I thought whoa glad this tea was inexpensive.

However, the one I received was not at all fishy, it was a pungency I can’t define other than I kept thinking of petroleum.

I broke up the ball and kept it in a stoneware jar for another month. The strong scent has mostly dissipated leaving a sense of old books.

As with my Lao Cha Tou Ripe nuggets, after rinsing the tea twice I steeped it in a Banko-Yaki Houhin. For my cakes I use Jian Shui teapots but I like experimenting with Banko.

I found the tea mellow, creamy with nice spice from the peel.

Not at all what I expected when I first unwrapped it.

Update: In my second and last session with this tea there was a lingering nutty taste.

I’ve been meaning to try Ruby 18 for some time and finally ordered this one from Floating Leaves.

The tea has a strong note of sweet potato which I really like and a thick somewhat malty mouth feel.
The cooling sensation was just the ticket as I burnt my tongue last night on hot soup.

It is an interesting tea, I will look for other samples of Ruby 18 to experience the differences.