818 Tasting Notes

From the Sheng and Shou TTB.

I didn’t really like this one, to tell you the truth. The flavors just didn’t hit me right. It’s definitely smoky, but I got a lot of bitterness, and nothing redeemable in later steeps. Good that I got to try it before buying a whole cake, because this one was on my wishlist! Now I know!

boychik

I’m surprised. If the sample was crumbled it probably got bitter.

Tealizzy

Ya, it was probably crumbs of the cake, so maybe it was just my sample.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

This tea was included in the May monthly box. It is really different than any other black teas I’ve tried. There are potato and bread notes, but it has a spiciness that I’ve never found in any black tea before. Really interesting! I think there a bit of smoke as well, similar to a raw puerh smoke. It’s extremely affordable, so if you make an order, I’d recommend trying this one out!

boychik

Yea $5 for 50g . I just put on my order. I do like it

Tealizzy

I thought about getting more, but I just got a bunch of black teas from WP, so I held off for now.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

From the Sheng and Shou TTB.

This was a pretty fantastic tea. The leaf is twisted like rope braids and the flavor is grilled smoky, buttery, smooth and just yummy! It’s too bad it comes from aliexpress, as I’m wary of ordering from that site. If it was from one of my usual shops, I would definitely pick some up.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Picked up some of this with my last order (which was spurred by the return of Art of Darkness!) This has beautiful leaves and tastes like sweet potato drizzled with honey. So yummy! It’s probably the first potato black tea that really tastes sweet potato-like to me…maybe because it’s sweet!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I had some friends over last weekend who were open to trying puerh for the first time, so I served them some of this tea. It was really fun serving them tea gongfu style. I used my Juan shui pot and my cute 1 oz. cups that I don’t normally use for myself. I realized when serving them why you want those tongs…that way you don’t handle everyone’s cup around the lip. I also realized why the presentation vessel and a tea towel are useful. I guess I might be looking into a proper serving set! Fortunately I have a sharing pitcher. :)

When they started to try the tea, one noticed a fishy smell! I never get that, but I know people who do, so that was awesome! That person also decided they liked it though after a few steepings, as it got sweeter. Aha! Then my husband, who never drinks hot tea, smelled it and said it smelled like mushrooms! Yes! I loved sharing it with them! Maybe someday I’ll have to open a tea bar. ;)

boychik

Thats awesome! Thats how i introduced pu to my contractor. Now he expects it every time he pops up LOL. and its impossible to get rid of him. i dont notice fishiness unless shou is really bad.

Fjellrev

Way to be!

Tealizzy

So funny, boychik! We gotta keep converting people!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Ya know, this tea is alright, but nothing stands out. Usually there’s a quality or a flavor note that causes me to remember a tea. I tried this the first time when I was comparing my new Juan shui clay pot with a gaiwan and it just tasted like sheng, nothing remarkable. I had it again yesterday with the same result. Perhaps my palate isn’t refined enough, but I seem to get more enjoyment out of other sheng, so maybe it’s just this tea. I guess it won’t hurt it to hang out in my cupboard for awhile, and then I’ll try again. Maybe some age will help it along. Weird, because they say such promising things about this tea, like, “we want to be able to offer this tea at least once a year.” Oh well. :/

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I’ve had this tea three times now. It is tasty. There’s cocoa, but it’s not dominant, more subtle. There’s also some fruity notes, like cherry or plum. It’s incredibly smooth. I really enjoy it but have a hard time describing the notes. Maybe my tastebuds are messed up due to allergies. Anyway, I can safely say it’s good. Go get some! ;)

boychik

i get more cherries and plums in this tea than anything else

Tealizzy

We clearly have similar tastebuds!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Whispering Pines just put out a limited batch of this new tea, and it’s already out of stock! I absolutely love his puerh and the last puerh blend he did with mushrooms, Mirkwood, was one of my faves! So, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one!

This puerh is flavored with cocoa and black cardamom. I’m not sure I’ve ever had black cardamom, although green is common in chai. I looked it up and Wikipedia said it has a smoky character, like camphor. Okay, that could definitely go well with puerh, since puerh can have camphor notes too.

I brewed it up western after shaking the bag vigorously, as recommended. It brewed up very dark. :) Verdict? I love it! It’s like drinking a dark chocolate bar that has cardamom in it. Thick, rich, and flavorful! Mmmm! I also steeped it a second time and it was almost as good as the first steeping. So good!

TheTeaFairy told me that it tasted like peppermint patties to her, and I can definitely see that. The black cardamom has a character that can be taken as minty…probably the camphor note.

Needless to say, I put myself on the notification list for when it’s back in stock. ;)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Okay, maybe not the most traditional of brewing methods, but I enjoyed this as a milk tea with boba today and it was awesome! Sweet and roasty goodness. Yum yum yummy!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

I had this tea this morning in anticipation of another whispering pines order and it was more fabulous than I remember. It was both sweet and savory, complex, and just plain delectable. Maybe I just had the perfect amount of leaf this time (5g). I dunno! All I know is that it was great!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Another profile facelift! My tastes have changed a lot from when I first discovered loose leaf tea.

I can trace my tea journey back to October 2012, when I discovered DavidsTea. Before that, I had the occasional cup and enjoyed high tea at An Afternoon to Remember, which has since closed.

I went through a period of wanting to try all the teas, and was really into flavored teas, especially dessert blacks, but my tastes have substantially changed over time.

I still enjoy the occasional flavored black or rooibos, but I’m more into unflavored black teas right now and recently, puerh. Chinese black teas are amazing…with their notes of chocolate or sweet potato, who needs a flavored tea? I had a much steeper learning curve when it came to puerh. I used to dump out cups of puerh for tasting like leather. Now, I am really enjoying them. I think it took finding good quality puerh and steeping them gong fu style to really enjoy them.

I also, on occasion, enjoy a good oolong, white, or green tea.

Favorite tea companies right now include: Mandala, Teavivre, Butiki, Golden Moon, Lupicia, and DavidsTea (for teaware mostly).

Just a note: I don’t rate my teas numerically because my iPad doesn’t like the scroll bar. Maybe someday that will change…hint hint, steepster! ;)

P.S. My profile picture is of one of my 2 cats, Holly, who is a little princess but very photogenic, and she loves boxes, including those that bring me tea! :)

Location

San Francisco Bay Area

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer