Anthony Bazic

Venturing into the world of tea and searching for that “Golden Fleece” can turn up quite a confusing adventure where nearly every sip and smell and taste could be the proverbial “Golden Fleece” ! Suffice to say I am writing to you all while drinking Golden Fleece, courtesy of wild tea trees of Xishuangbanna. True to its testament as the embodiment of Yunnan teas, Golden Fleece has all the attributes of Yunnan teas being velvety, a tad bit spicy, smooth, sweet and medium bodied with just a hint of minerals.
Successive brewing from five seconds to 15 gave off aromas of boiling sugarcane juice with subtle morel notes that adds a minerally vegetal note. Brewing from 15 seconds to 35 seconds raises the level of sweetness, becomes far more velvety that hugs the palate and coats the throat, a bit of molasses comes out to brings a bit of boldness in the aroma. Past the minute mark in brewing from successive brews flattens out to a linen, lightly sweet and coarse sensation, not that its actually coarse. Throughout most of the sessions not once the tea became too bitter, too faint, too astringent that prevents most of the uniqueness to shine.
This my friends is what tea is! The very height of crafts of a culture and abilities of one plant no matter how mundane it looks nor how ordinary its product bestows to thirsty mouths. The quest for the real “Golden Fleece” however maybe a fool’s errand, yet almost certainly the most simplest pleasure in life is one with kindred spirits and a beverage as historical as the world over! Do drink on steepsterites!
Cheers, Tony!

Chocolaty, Decadent, Deceivingly Sinful Laoshan Black has all the aspect of chocolate with none of the guilt of sagging waistlines save for the the guilt of running out of this stuff! A tea wonderfully composed of orange pekoe and buds that opens up with an aroma of cacao beans when brewed or luscious freshly baked brownies in dry leaf form. Brewing this finely textured curled leaves has the sensation of drinking hot chocolate in its purest form or eating baking chocolate too add a velvety touch at the end of the palate. The most memorable trait is its signature vegetal character akin that is most akin to traditional Chinese greens that gives this Black Tea, a reminder of the versatility of tea and nature. Enjoy this tea immensely dear tea lovers and do drink on!

Backlogging into another taste note this time around together with the cacao beans and intense milk chocolate like flavor that seems to caress ones palate is then followed by a youthful bean flavor much liken to green beans. Loving every sip of this tea!

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Another package arrived and this time its Dong Ding! Its a first for me to experience Dong Ding and a quite a lovely tea this is! Its wonderful nutty, faintly citric, and vegetal character has a warm and savory demeanor . The aroma and the brewed liquor describes itself as freshly ground nuts much like flax that welcomes itself into the palate and after with its grassy, intense nutty and earthiness (akin to being roasted) that shares a similar profile to Chinese greens. There is a subtle youthfulness to this Dong Ding much like freshly cooked and juicy prickly pears that adds a wonderful aromatic quality that hints of freshness of a springs bounty. A wonderful crisp but smooth citric taste accents well with its subtle flowery notes much to a reminder of orange blossoms. Just outstanding!

oh boy! Yunnan teas are my favorite and this one just got on my list for must haves to add for a yunnan collection. Balanced earthy, sweet, smooth, extremely well tempered and hardly astringent work of beauty this tea is! Made of the finest tippy unfurled shoots, with slight accents of cocao and maybe caramel that seems to be so balanced out enough to complement tastes without any conflict. A great tea to be enjoyed in its own right and the majesty that is art of simplicity.

This just another lovely tea courtesy of my lovely but finite bundles of notes hidden away…to age and mature to perfection much like this tea;) What I notice when I first opened the little dinky sample bag is the subtle but assertive eugenol aroma and maybe with hints spices that I can’t seem to identify. The standard goes with extreme earthiness, a deep metallic irony flavor, with some leather. Its quite crisp and almost velvety much like to a consistency of butter and maybe boiled vegetables, further steeping with the gaiwan yields a lighter but mellow earthy liqour with astringency on the back palate. A wonderful tea overall, though it may not compare to the bhenzang I’d just sampled weeks ago it has characteristics all to its own meant to be enjoyed in a timeless world. Cheers!

Note: I really didn’t notice the bread and apple notes from this tea as the description describes…either my tongue is all worn out and possibly numbed from those countless times i scalded my tongue or really I am not sharp enough to detail the notes. Whatever maybe the cause it still didn’t prevent me from enjoying this tea. Drink on tea lovers!

Yum! Just like a bowl of oatmeal I just had this morning,sprinkle in some nuts, maybe a touch of smokiness, and some veggies. What’s not to love? What’s so great about this that it has some resemblance to gunpowder and maybe Dragonwell because of the vegetal character that gave it depth. A really smooth tea, with very little astringency till later infusions,a creamy and masterful art of fine leaves. A quintessential tea to be enjoyed in multiple succession with a gaiwan and love for the all things simple.

Backlogging: and so I parted with the very last sip and fond memories of this fine tea! Nobody should really pass this by and by all means get a hold of some everone!

This tea tastes of roasted nuts and wrapped in banana leaves! It permeates the bag upon opening, the lovely dark brown twisted and writhed strands of leaves, and the most nurturing amber elixir that results in the finest tea. I have to say this tops off my day completely! Its a definitely a smooth tea with some astringency and has a complex flavor that unravels itself being quite nutty and roasted with a hint of sweetness. Then it transitions into a slight berry flavor mid palate and finishes off with fruity rind akin to a cantaloupe sorta like eating through one and tasting the cellulose and the hard outer husks that gives a unique almost gritty finish. Its really a lovely Oolong, soft and mellow and to those fans of all things roasted this is a tea not to pass by! Cheers!

Ever since trying Pu-Erh I never thought it I would get hooked to it! Here I’am some years later writing about it and find it so lovely! Now, this Pu-Erh came with my sample of Yunnan Black (another wonderful tea), it did not came in pressed chunks but broken down to every leaf. The leaves are finely aged to shades of brown, it has a nice earthy,woody,wet leathery, almost irony smell accented with slight smokiness that alludes to a Lapsang. The brew in succession of 4 steeps all gave a slightly astringent and sharp taste that kinda bites(in a good way) on the tongue. It has an almost starchy component almost like eating raw noodles, and it mellows out at the last steep to a plummy taste that hits the back end of the palate to give it smoothness to the minerally and earthy flavor. Throughout the the steepings there are some subtle spice notes mainly ginger and some pepper with a brown sugar like aroma. Quite a tea and Cheers!

Backlogging: I really enjoyed this tea very much so and would love to give a little bit of time as my last tasting note was quite rushed. ironically, I am short on time and would like to point out what I left out in the previous notes. I have noticed a grape like flavor and aroma when first brewed and dry leaf smell, the linen sort of smell of laundered clothes came out during steeping and at the palate. though at first I thought it was sorta like fruity canvas (if that made any sense)or to describe a sort of earthy taste and leathery feel accented with fruits. A delightful tea and highly recommended to everyone. Do buy more of this good stuff! Cheers!

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Back Logging: Okay i guess I was too harsh to judge this and saying that I’m about to part ways with the last teaspoon!:( I loved the Gyokuro and its finest aspects what it can offer a sushi and fishy like aroma and taste. I guess my taste buds has been off lately since a friend of mine told otherwise how well its damn good! It does have an umami like character that gives off a brothy and rich tea, wonderful quality and quite a tea with some astringency. Just loved it!

This tea is certainly a must for tea lovers all over steepster (especially three lucky friends)!The sample I opened up has leaves that are wonderfully shriveled and needle-like, the teas composes of mature leaves with buds that gives a wonderful youthful color and age along aromas that can entangle the senses. Its rather like tripping out and thinking you were ironing using starch spray, or gardening and smelling soil, going through an orchid smelling of fruits! I really love how it all comes together and brings a complexity that follows through in harmony, Brewing this baby had me going, the first infusion at 15 seconds smelled of lightness and youth, starch and plant starchiness with a lighter fruity tone. The liquor was awesome combination of plums and/or grapes, a Keemun likeness with a hint of smokiness that gives this tea depth of age. The second infusion at 30-40 seconds gave a similar aroma yet with a stronger starchiness of rice being cooked and taste, hints of linen starch and a slight but gradual fruity tone that seems to be combined. The last steep at a minute plus has the most starchy aroma being the most prominent, with a sweet potato like taste, hints of plum and some fruitiness. An excellent tea overall! Youth and Age goes hand in hand without a fight and contradiction, like any life’s stories there are hints of sweetness and maturity that seems to indicative of this tea.

Back logging and finding this tea more praise from such humble traditions of being a “common” black tea! I find it more to be of sipping tea than drowning in a ocean of similiar teas that is waay to astringent and brisk…in other words a great tea.

I love a traditional cuppa! whenever I want a more robust coffee like drink I tend to have Assam but in the afternoons I prefer a variety. I found this particular Ceylon tea quite crisp, not really astringent and a bit sweet and well rounded black tea. There is a bit of a fruity accents along with its traditional bold leafy taste, goes well plain and with cream and sugar! Good in the mornings and afternoons.

My first Wuyi Oolong and quite a tea for its smoky camp fire without the over powering essence like Lapsang. Its quite akin to roasted nuts maybe close to a Dragonwell but without its sweetness of chestnuts…alomost like roasted banana leaves. A light tea, not too savory, a bit like Chinese greens, certainly a tea for the late afternoon and even at night. A perfect tea to go with a delectable Phillipino/Malay dessert called “Suman” or roasted coconut sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves! Certainly a must have tea!

Another arrived this its Blood Orange on to take the pulpit or the chopping block…honestly its quite on the chopping block:( I really expected a much fuller and vibrant flavor, the tartness of fruits, smell of citrus and roses that can rival Teavana’s herbal blends. Its quite to mute, near to a gummy vitamins than kid’s aspirin , I can notice a chalkiness yet still be able to drink quite well provided it has cooled a little. Despite its shortcomings, I can say with a bit of ingenuity like an addition of a little fruit juice or some sugar can make this blend quite drinkable. I say enjoy this tea but certainly it needs a bit of work to rough out the edges!

Another tea that comes to symbolize Yunnan and importantly comes close to Pu-Erh in the boldness and richness factor! Anyone can really smell the rich soily, minerally, a tad bit medicinal spicy , and when brewed imparts a wonderful complex mixture with a prominent leathery aroma. The brew itself is a rich composition of clay-like, minerally, peppery, with a dash of honey that is fairly noticeable. Its quite a tea almost similar to Teavana’s “Temple Peaks” yunnan equivalent, but without astringency, bitterness, and fully smooth medium bodied tea.

I have not gotten allot of Golden Monkey teas apart from that from Teavivre (a mighty fine sample thank you very much!), so I got a sample from Adagio and there is quite a difference in the amount of assertion and boldness. Comparing to Teavivre, Adagio’s Golden Moneky is a bit similar to the much of their Yunnan tea they are selling, it has less of the sweet, almost lighter component of honey-fruit like flavor (faint berry-like). what it has a Cocao and mellow earthy flavor much like Yunnan teas, it lacks bitterness, smooth, and welcoming. A good tea but not on par with Teavivre take on Golden Monkey. Its quite affordable for Golden Monkey and quite a recommendable staple from Adagio.

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Anyone one can just taste the earth, time, and the many flavors of life with this wonderful and generous tea! I say its generous since it offers quite allot for a tea of its renown at a low price, wonderful for its mellow, medium bodied, richness and textures that come to symbolize time itself! A complex cacophony of soil, peppery notes, a bit of leather, a definite chocolaty aroma that seemingly crying out loud for attention. Its a must to those just getting into Yunnan teas and definitely something to admire Yunnan for!

It is gunpowder indeed! The very moment the bag is opened you get a waft of an earthy smokiness that permeates these coiled pellets of awesome! The smokiness of the tea still lingers right after brewing that goes well with its nutty, straw flavored, and mellow goodness. Its quite well taken to mint, which brews the ever refreshing and crisp Moroccan Tea that quenches the thirst out of anyone in Summer . Tannin free, non astringent, non bitter, and quite a green that has many versatile uses and enjoyment guaranteed..what’s not to like?!