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Another intro to hongcha sampler tea. This is actually the only golden Yunnan tea in the bunch, so I probably should have picked up another one. Oh well, they tend to offer the pricier, bud-heavy teas in 50g increments on the US website anyway, so I can always grab some others when I run out of this one.

This is nice – not necessarily a fully “gold” tea but definitely very tippy, maybe one leaf per bud? I wish they gave more information in their tea descriptions over at Yunnan Sourcing, something like a bulleted list with specifications like specific origin, harvest date, cultivar, and pluck (just buds, bud and one or two leaves, etc.). But obviously that’s neither here nor there… All that to say, this tastes like it has some leaves in it to me ha ha.

Still quite a light tea, but with a gentle mineral/earthy, malty foundation. Very smooth with those characteristic sweet potato and tangy stonefruit/apricot notes. There is an interesting hint of black pepper in the finish, which lingers nicely. A subtle, clear sweetness like honeysuckle nectar appears at the end of the sip as well.

Not sure I would specifically order this, as generally I would go for one of the pure bud varieties, like the biluochun or mojiang, or I would go for a less tippy Yunnan tea. But I will certainly enjoy drinking through my 25 grams!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Picked this one up in the Summerween bundle they recently offered, along with Boo To You.

It’s nice enough, quite similar to Forever Nuts I would say. Sweet and apple-y with buttery toasted nuts and caramel notes. Just a hint of warning cinnamon as well. I don’t specifically get pumpkin, it reminds me more of some kind of lightly spiced apple muffin or loaf cake.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it, but it’s very pleasant and still quite autumnal despite not necessarily matching its name.

Single serving.

I’m honestly not sure why I picked this up, since I’m not generally a fan of honey flavoring. (shrugs)

It’s perfectly pleasant though – peppermint is the strongest note but it’s not overwhelming. I can taste a bit of ginger, but mostly I feel the warmth and tingling sensation on my tongue. The honey flavor is on the subtle side, happily for me, and then there’s a touch of apple in there as well.

It’s fine, but not one I would purchase. The peppermint has that generic herbaceous flavor with a touch of wet rag, and there’s a bitter note coming from something. Plus with an herbal tisane like this, I would prefer to just add my own honey to it and have it not taste artificial.

From the intro to hongcha sampler!

It’s been a bit since I’ve had a Laoshan hongcha, I think the last time was Umber from Chroma a few years ago. Who knows how long it’s been since I’ve had it plain. So it was time, ha ha!

This is delightful. Very bready and chewy with that caraway note that I usually associate with Fujian teas. Oodles of malt and grain, and yet it’s not heavy somehow. Very smooth, slightly creamy texture that fills the mouth and feels very satisfying to drink. And, of course, plenty of unsweetened roasted cacao notes, along with a clear, lingering sweetness with a hint of clover nectar. A bit of starchy potato in there somewhere as well, mixed in with the malt. I see they mention yam in the description, but I’m getting more of a standard potato or yuca fry note.

Very enjoyable, satisfying enough for the morning yet light enough for the afternoon. I am curious about the classic version as well, will have to try that one at a later date!

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Sipdown! (8 | 130)

The last tea from the summer subscription box, woohoo!

This was just an okay mint tisane. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, just not preferable to a nice Pacific Northwest mint or the mint I have stocked for my own herbal blends. There’s a tiny bit of a wet rag thing going on. I mostly mixed it with other things to sip through it, and this time I added chamomile and a bit of ginger, as I was feeling a little burpy.

Fine and does the job, but I just prefer more “premium” mint these days, for a crisper taste. Also, I felt like the peppermint far overpowered the spearmint here, and it could’ve been more balanced.

Single serving sample.

I only used 6 ounces of water for this sample, but I guess I should’ve used even less, because it’s very light. I definitely taste the ginger, especially at the beginning, and then the citrus notes come in a bit later. Not sure if my sample is just not representative of the blend, but it has a stronger ginger/earthy flavor than I would expect given the description. Definitely not noticing any vanilla, though there is a sweetness to it.

It’s fine, but mostly tastes like light lemongrass and ginger to me.

I recently ordered from Yunnan Sourcing’s US website, and picked up their Intro to Chinese Black Tea sampler along with the fruit aroma zheng shan xiao zhong and this tea. They don’t offer smaller sizes in their more affordable teas on the US website, but I didn’t want to wait for shipping from China, hence the sampler. It includes 10 teas and should be a nice variety for my hongcha-starved cupboard. I figured if I enjoy and drink these regularly, I’ll go ahead and order from their main site to try more teas in 25-50g sizes.

I sprung for the 100g of this tea because it sounded like something I would like, and is described as being processed similarly to Taiwanese blacks. And I can definitely see that, it has that fluffy bread flavor going on with touches of creamy honey, cinnamon, and tangy fruit. However, it’s also reminding me of dancong in that there’s a noticeable floral note that I am not loving, and a slight cannabis flavor. I’m not sure what that specific floral is that I don’t like, but I find it to be characteristic of dancong. It’s almost a bit soapy to my palate?

Anyway, it’s perfectly nice, but I will probably try to rehome at least half of it since 100g is a lot to get through, especially when I find myself suddenly hongcha rich ha ha. So let me know if you’re interested in taking some off my hands (for free)! :)

(Spring 2025 harvest)

Sipdown! (4 | 126)

Finished off my tin from 2023, woohoo! I’ve been drinking this one almost daily, so I guess my seasonal tea basket is paying off. Enjoying it in my haunted castle Halloween Nordic mug today!

Still probably my favorite Lupicia tea, though that’s a tough race. Will definitely order this year’s tin when it’s available, to continue my collection. But for now, will work on my 2024 tin next! :)

This is delightful. It’s the same as their traditional chai, but with the addition of star anise. The description says “subtle licorice notes”, but to me the anise flavor is the strongest one here. I like licorice in general (though not licorice root), so I think it’s delicious iced with oat milk and maple syrup! Will definitely need to pick up a tin of this one. :)

Cold steeped overnight.

Even with the shorter steep, still getting that perfume/flowery flavor… Honestly I’m so sad, the muscat grape flavor is so good, and the flavor I was most looking forward to.

Sigh. I guess I’ll put this in the rehoming box for now, though I can’t imagine anyone enjoying it. I can’t bring myself to throw it out though. T.T