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Backlog from yesterday.

This time around, I did the tea like you’re “supposed” to – rinsed it in the gaiwan, then did little short steeps.

I do believe this might be my favorite pu-erh so far. The first steeping yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous mix of earth and wood and “atmosphere.” I also love tuochas, I’m finding. One less step to worry about!

Step 1: Finish watching the last of the Star Trek: TNG movies.

Step 2: Listen to The Supremes to reckon with your “what am I going to do now that I’ve seen all that these characters who mean so much to me are ever going to do” Fiction Feels.

Step 3: Make tea, sip it, and write about it on Steepster.

Congratulations! You are TeaKlutz.

Uhhh OK, apparently I never added this to my cupboard let alone reviewed it. Well then!

This was one of my rare green tea nights. Tell the truth, I’ve been more of a CoffeeKlutz than a TeaKlutz the past several days. Not entirely sure why, just felt like something with a thicker texture. So I’ve had enough coffee today that I didn’t want anything super-caffeinated (anything less than black tea really isn’t going to wake me up, and sometimes black tea doesn’t even do that), and besides I feel like I’m being “healthy” when I drink green teas and I sure as hell have not been eating healthy the past several days, haha!

This is my second go-round. Miraculously, I managed not to overdo it. To be perfectly honest, there’s not a whole lot to say on this one. It’s the standard crisp green tea flavor with little bit of light rosiness, almost imperceptible. Jane has a lot of shrubbery and a rose bush or two. It’s not bad. It’s too understated for my taste, but it’s still “clean” tasting and enjoyable if you like flowery green teas.

I don’t have many green teas, so it’s nice to have it as an option.

Backlog from this morning and a few hours ago.

I dialed down all the variables this time; cooler water temp, less leafage, shorter steep time. It seems to have done the trick. The tea isn’t quite as astringent or in-your-face.

I… don’t really have much to say about it though. My concentration is not the best right now, and I completely forgot to search for that evolving-flavor effect. I still think I prefer their regular Dian Hong.

Damn I’m tired. And out of it. I feel like I’ve been removed from reality for the last 52 hours and I don’t wanna go back. I think my hormones have been a little kookoo the past several days. Among other things. At least I’ve mostly been optimistic and happy and excited about stuff. Can that be a permanent change?

I think this is only the second time I’ve had this tea. It’s quite decent. Very twee kind of taste, light and garden-y. A bit more rosy “scented” than some other rosy teas I’ve tried.

Damn I’m exhausted. I’m getting ready for a trip up to the Cleveland area for the Ohio chapter convention of the International Trumpet Guild (really, I just want to go and try out trumpets.) I’m looking up directions and weather and all this stuff, oh and I have to finish packing tomorrow morning. I’m driving by myself to a part of the state I’m not even remotely familiar with and staying in a hotel overnight, and I’ve never traveled alone without having someone I was meeting on the other end. Not gonna lie, I’m kinda nervous! But excited.

Backlog from yesterday.

Had this with breakfast as it was the only sachet tea I had at home that I hadn’t been drinking a lot of. I think the novelty’s starting to wear off. Now it’s just too hot for what I’m usually in the mood for. Especially since I’m trying to get into that not-winter mindset. Might just take it to work.

This morning’s cup is dedicated to Past Me. I usually don’t like the decisions Past Me makes, but this time around, Past Me scheduled an 8 AM dentist appointment that’ll probably take about 25 minutes to get to. In doing so, Past Me got Present Me out of a 7:30 AM work meeting (which nobody in my store knew about before Tuesday) that would have been a 45 minute drive if you don’t count 7 AM rush hour on Columbus-bound route 33, which is a four-lane highway trying to handle six- or eight-lane worthy traffic.

So, Past Me, I raise this warm mug of malty cocoa-tinged perfection to you.

I really, really need to stop writing notes on this tea.

Also, I just realized I’ve had the current bag since summer of last year.

Backlog of yesterday’s sachet sipdown at work.

The more I drink this tea, the more I like it. It’s a great comfort and restorative and I will DEFINITELY be ordering some more of it in the future.

I’m working on my positive thinking. It had been going extremely well the past couple of days, then yesterday afternoon I overreacted internally to something and my mood snapped (it always happens on Tuesday afternoons!) I think I unnecessarily pissed off a customer in the wake of it. Still feeling guilty. It’s such a habit for me to think of all the stupid crap that’s going to happen today, it’s a challenge to turn that around. But I’ll keep trying!

Backlog from last night.

The latest installment in TeaKlutz’s pu-erh adventures.

Gonna be honest, I groaned when I read this one was a sheng. I’ve tried two other shengs and I haven’t been a fan. However, I’ve also discovered that the way I’ve been preparing them isn’t optimal: I’ve been doing Western style steepings of between 3 and 5 minutes, and they’ve turned out bitter as all hell. Per the instructions on the little sample baggy, I referred to Butiki’s website for steeping instructions. Nothing about a teapot, only short steepings in the gaiwan. But I’m trying to write program notes tonight and I’m already behind schedule and I don’t really have time to – sigh. Fine. Fine.

Water heated to roughly 200-205? degrees, by my estimate.

Steep 1: Somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds, when you count me fumbling around to pour the gaiwan water out. There’s the recognizable sheng brightness, but it’s not obnoxious at all. Rather, it’s a complement to the pleasantly woody, fresh-twig-like flavor that is rounded, subdued, and actually rather enjoyable.

Steep 2: 15 s. Sadly the water has cooled quite a bit, as I’ve been working a while and didn’t cover the pot to keep the heat in. This go-round, I’m getting a bit more earth… or… mist… it’s a somewhat intangible flavor. Just the tiniest bit of mineral in this one, but once again, not enough to be intrusive. (Also, program notes are coming along fairly well so far. I’m enjoying writing these more than normal.)

Steep 3: 20 s. This go-round is starting to taste a bit more like what I know as the “sheng” flavor: bright, planty-mineraly, not quite astringent but you can tell it’s on its way there. Hmm. I would have thought the flavor progression for the multiple steeps would have gone the other way, rounding out with more steeps. Hmm.

I’m done with steepings for the night, but the leaves in the cup smell really cool! There’s a heavy smoky aroma that I didn’t get in the tastings, and the trademark “sheng” note is kind of like a shining overtone. I can’t stop sniffing the leaves, trying to figure out what’s going on in the aroma!

Well, now I’m glad I took a few extra moments to create this experience. I really was not optimistic about my future with shengs, but this has completely changed my opinion of them. (See what happens when you do things the right way?) I’m eager to go back and try the ones I previously wrote off to see if my opinion of them changes as well. All in all, this is a very good tea and one I enjoyed drinking. Don’t know if it’ll be at the top of my next shopping list, but I would happily drink it again.

Thank you VERY much to Stacy of Butiki Teas for the sample!

Grr! There are beagles (from god knows where) running all over the neighborhood and yapping nonstop, and our bullmastiffs think they absolutely have to eat them and are thundering around the house bellowing.

I’ve had this sample from Butiki for forever and never paid any mind until last night, as I was working on my program notes and decided to go with a peppy black tea.

I did the 212 degrees at 3.5 minutes like Stacy said, and it was actually quite a pleasant cup. My understanding of Irish Breakfast is that it’s supposed to be quite strong (my one other Irish Breakfast was QUITE strong), but last night’s cup was rather mellow. A bit of that breakfast-tea almost-not-quite-mushroominess, but really no astringency. Not sure if it’s what you’re looking for in a breakfast tea, but no complaints from me.

I did a resteep this morning for about 5 minutes. It was a tad bit stronger at first, but with the subsequent sips it’s mellowed.

And now for one of the pieces I’m doing notes on. The third movement (the first one in this vid) took my breath away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTAMISjMLS0

So this is the second raw pu-erh I’ve had in my life.

I looked at the instructions on the little sample bag – and it said to use the entire bag! I’m kind of glad I didn’t, because this tea is pretty potent as it is.

I forgot to smell the raw leaves before I stuffed the rest of the sample back in my cupboard, but the smell of the tea reminds me of hay mingled with a little dirt. The flavor is VERY bright! Very mineral, with a little bit of that hay essence in the back of my mouth somewhere. It’s actually fairly bitter (bag said steep 3-10 minutes, I steeped it for 3-4) and it remains in the aftertaste. Honestly, that astringency is getting in the way of me noticing much else. Are you supposed to steep shengs for less time, or is that just how this tea is?

I’ll do the second steep in a separate review. No numbers for now.