Misty Peak Teas

This was a fantastic pu’er, my first REAL brewing of sheng. Unfortunately, I started with much hotter water than was recommended, and I paid for it with bracing astringency in the early steeps and relatively few steeps. Once the astringency calmed down, I was greeted with an intensely sweet and fruity tea. The huigan lasted forever, and the flavors hovered between plum and apricot. Wonderful feeling from this tea, too, nicely euphoric, with a little silliness. I may revise the rating after getting a proper temperature steeping from the beginning, because the early bitterness, while pleasant, overwhelmed the rather more pleasant stone fruit flavors.

I wrote a lot more, and it’s not really conducive to being copied! For the full review, see http://writing.drab-makyo.com/posts/tasting/2016/03/22/misty-peaks-spring-mountain-2015-puer/

First tea from the Puerh Beginners TTB!

This Tea Box arrived just two days before the start of a ten day vacation from my job. We are not going anywhere this time but just relaxing at home, so this is perfect! There is so much tea in here so I did the scientific thing and just grabbed the big bag on top and put it in my gaiwan.

I hadn’t tried anything by Misty Peaks yet, although it seems I put this on my wish list some time back. Of course I read all of the ‘controversy’ a while back, so I was curious to try this. It was immediately obvious that the leaves were of a high quality. The taste was mild but still had a lot of life force to it. I am really enjoying the later steeps. It just seems to be getting better and better. The bitterness and astringency is always accompanied by a mild sweetness. I would definitely buy some of this.

Finally, the passage of time has allowed me to out aside the drama that MP had going on earlier this year. While it is hard to drink this without a bais now due to the damage done in social media, I’m always fair in my assesment of tea reviews.

The dry leaf, just like many others, was very faint in scent to which I didn’t care about because I’ve had tea with no scent become the most aromatic offering. Upon brewing it the sixth time I was excited to open some of the lead to see it’s conditioning. These are very similar looking to that of a dancong. The viens are healthy and the lead is mostly intact, both clear signs of a nice picked harvest that was handled gently. As for taste, I’m kind of in between as the first few steeps prior to the lead opening has a semi sweet note to it but once the flavor came out I began tasting some tart notes. The liquid isn’t as clear or light as I like my sheng, however the first few steeps were quite enjoyable. The slight bitterness coming through with a tart note after the 5th steep may be something that will disapaite as this tea rest for a little. Apparence alone: This is a beautiful product worth showing off and sharing. Taste wise: I really think this tea can become something fantastic if treated right over a year to help reduce that slight tartness that I personally don’t like.

I can see why others enjoy this as it is easy to brew, not much regarding broken leaf, and the taste is in the mediocre level to which almost anyone can taste and not need much of a background in drinking sheng to critique it.

GCTTB
pulled this one from the tea box and thought i’d give it a shot this morning. I’ve been drinking it since i woke up and i’m not entirely convinced this is a sheng for me. Not surprising really, since i tend to prefer shou. I am happy for the taste though. It was a more subtle tea – hay and sweetness for the most part. nice but not amazing.

She was lovely and measured out 7g for me, which made it super easy. 7g tea, 145-ish ml water.

This is actually better than I was expecting! Yes, a little bitter, very fresh and green tasting, but it’s a sweet green rather than a spinach/kale green. More like green grape skins, actually. I’m brewing it with the lid off, since it’s such a green tea. I don’t want to overheat it.

I do prefer the ridiculous honey notes of the moonlight cake that I have. So while I can enjoy this sample, it’s not something I’d ever consider buying – and not just because of the terrible marketing tactics. (And shezza, I’m actually drinking most of every cup tonight. :D )

The number one tea, beating out tens of thousands of other teas worldwide, ranked by us experts here at Steepster, at least at some point. So, this is my third sheng ever. Is it going to give me a spiritual experience? Change my life? Make me a better person? I mean, it’s number one, after all, meaning it beats out rare teas that cost thousands of dollars. It had better be something special. Plus! It’s in this handy little ball shape, an innovation so groundbreaking that the company views it as intellectual property. Patent-pending, you guys!

Anyway, I’m even putting aside the douchebro marketing tactics for a second. You see, Misty Peaks would like me to give out its adorable little balls to all my friends who are “not a size zero” in order to fat-shame them into buying expensive teas. Because it believes all us women over a size zero are not f***able or something, and we had better do something about it!

Steeps 1 and 2, 5 seconds each: Astringent, vegetal. Blech. Disappointing because the wet leaves smell sweet and molassesy. No spiritual epiphanies yet. I like this better than a mushroom-y tea, but it’s far too vegetal for me to enjoy so far. I will withhold a number rating until I have a few more steeps, just to see if it gets any better. Why? Because I am fair, even to shitty companies that I don’t like.

Steeps 3 and 4 , 7 seconds each: Astringent, no new developments. I’m not even drinking all of it — tasting and then pouring the steeps out.

Steeps 5 and 6: And… Yep, still not tasting anything that redeems this for me. Good thing I can live without it, because I never want to purchase from this company again.

As this was going down, I kept thinking the flavor reminded me of something, but I couldn’t figure out what. Then it came to me while I was pondering the unpleasant sour aftertaste: It tastes like acid reflux. Mmmm!

I guess sheng quite this young is just not for me.

Derp, I put my note in the spring 2015, moving it over to Autumn 2015

Alright. This review took awhile. Lots of hype on this tea (so many fellow bloggers love it) and some weird “how’d this come out so soon?” drama, but I finally drank this tea. Twice. (only twice, I only had enough for 2 sessions).

Using a standard ratio I use, and temp I like for young sheng, 1g to 15ml 200F, this is super light. Lightest sheng I’ve had so far in my tea drinking days. The texture is very nice and thick, with nice floral cherry notes, wood, vegetal, avocado and butter – but super delicate light notes. I only got 10 steepings. I was unhappy.

So I came back to this tea and went insane. 1g to 10ml, so 9 grams to a 90ml teapot. Boiling water. I dumped all the leaf I had left and steeped it like IDGAF. Much better – the intensity is ballzy, an excellent sweet bitterness, nice avocado notes, and it melted my brain in 7 cups. I got 16 infusions, probably could of gotten 18 or so, but I got hungry for burritos. It’s nice, but expensive.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2015-autumn-misty-peak-sheng-puer-tea-review/

This tea is good, up to the usual standards of Misty Peaks. There was some bitterness in the initial infusions and a lot of sweetness. The bitterness soon disappeared, The sweetness remained. I would venture to say it had an apricot sweetness, perhaps stonefruits. This should not surprise anyone who has drank Misty Peaks tea. It is usually sweet with very little bitterness. This one is no exception.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.5g leaf and 190 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. Didn’t give this one a rest I wanted tea. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. This tea would keep right on going if I wanted to continue. I’ve never taken a Misty Peaks tea to where I couldn’t get any more out of it but I expect this would go fifteen steeps or so. Eight steeps is quite a lot of tea with an 120ml gaiwan.

The tea that arrived to me didnt look exactly like the photo because I ordered a sample…well, I got one for free for begging, haha.

The tea came in a silver foil bag that looked very unsuspecting. I read about this tea on a blog and had to try it, amongst many other teas. I immediately grabbed a knife and cut the bag and was hit immediatley with the aroma of freshhhh. It was as if I was somehow transported to the mountain this came from and blindfolded and asked to “smell now”.

The tea was very refreshing, much much much unlike other puerh teas I have had. It was not bitter or astringent, it was refreshing and smooth, I even noticed flavors of peaches, which I never get in other teas.

In the box was a little note that was from the owner I assume, and instructions on how to make the tea. They suggested 165 degrees which is really low, but I gave it a try and was actually surprised. So maybe try starting there as well.

Thank you for this tea. I hope on my next payday I can place an order.

I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a tea from Misty Peaks at a friend’s tea gathering before, but this is my first time sitting down alone and brewing one myself. Thank you to the staff at MPT for sending a sample to try!

The dry leaves smell abundantly like an old forest during the wet season, hints of bark and moss, flowers, fresh green leaves and hints of decay.

The wet leaves smell like roasted chestnuts and flowers in bloom. I am brewing these in a gaiwan and gave them a quick rinse infusion that I didn’t drink. The first infusion is very clean tasting with subtle dried-fruit notes, hints of orange tree flowers, and a slightly peppery, woody finish. There’s a touch of bitterness that lingers at the end of the sip, but it is subtle.

The second infusion yields a more fruity taste, like golden raisins or golden apples, something slightly tart, then I taste wood (a friend said sandalwood, and I think this is just the right descriptor), then again a lingering peppery finish. The next infusion has similar flavors, but smoother and more clear-tasting, less lingering bitterness. The fourth infusion is even more apple-tasting and the lingering taste not so peppery, more woody.

I was able to push, many many infusions out of this tea. The stand-out quality of this Puer for me is its clean taste. While some of the flavors and the balance of flavors are a bit on the woody side for my tastes, I can’t dispute how clean this tea tastes, and the bitterness, even for a freshly harvested sheng, is very low and mild throughout the infusions.

This tea came to me in one of the 30 gram boxes which I think are intended for retail use. There was no date on the packaging telling me its age, but as the same product marked 2014 is available on Misty Peak’s website I assume it’s of the same vintage.

The leaf both dry and wet carries the scent of raisins or figs, and the big intact leaves and stems are aestheticly pleasing.

The soup is thick and syrupy, leaving a strong honey aroma in whatever holds it, even long after the liquid is gone.

The taste is well balanced between sweet and sour, not unlike one of my favorite green teas, a Mao Jain from Oregon Coffee and Tea in Corvallis, Oregon. The flavor throughout my sessions is fruity, reminding me of dried apple slices. I especially noticed this when bowl brewing only a few leaves. This is one tea that will go a long time before giving up, it was a challenge almost to see the leaves to the end.

The tea is drying to the palate and gives me a very blissful energy that I savor every time I come to it.

I feel like this would be a fantastic sheng to introduce my friends to, as it really does rise to the occasion, giving and giving until you just can’t drink any more.

Many many thanks to Nicholas for sending me a sample of this tea. Just a tad over 4g in my 100ml gaiwan. Initial wet leaf aroma of cooked green vegetables, apricots and white grapes. (I know that sounds like a weird combo, but that’s my nose!) Initial steeps are smooth, soft, no smoke, no bitter, slightly sweet, lovely, & delicious. I found that I needed to push the steep times a bit after about five; later steeps are still ok but it does fade a bit and the first few steeps are the best.

This is a good starter sheng I think, because it’s so mellow. For me, not much in the way of qi, but that’s ok. I don’t need to get ripping tea drunk to enjoy a nice sheng. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked and lost count at my number of steeps, but I’m guessing I got to at least 12. This last one I steeped for 3 minutes and it was just ok. I have to say that if I had a tea friend that was interested in trying pu’er, I would recommend this tea; while not overly sweet, I can’t say enough about how easy to drink it is. I will probably purchase a bing. It would be interesting to see how it ages.

EDIT: I have a good amount of the sample left, and I think I will try brewing more like 6 or 7g in my 100ml gaiwan for my next session and see what happens.

This is without a doubt among the very best sheng I have ever drank. It was sweet with very little bitterness, just a little bitter aftertaste. It had the commonly found notes of young sheng apricots and stonefruits. In there I’m pretty sure I detected notes of green grapes too. It is my understanding that this comes from quite old tea trees. Why Nicholas doesn’t advertise it as Gushu I don’t know. I am just now starting to feel the effects of the qi of this tea after some sixteen steeps. Even in the sixteenth steep the tea was not watery. I I had the patience for five minute and ten minute steeps I’m pretty sure I could have taken this to twenty steeps. I put his in the catalog as Yiwu sheng because previous years Misty Peaks were described as such. I hope I am right and it is Yiwu sheng. I don’t think that is actually on his website. Throughout all sixteen steeps there were no negative notes, no smoke and no sour notes. This tea was processed by a master, that is for sure. I seriously wish I had bought two or three bings but at the price of this I bought just one. If these go on sale again I may find myself picking up another.

I steeped this tea sixteen times in a 60ml gaiwan with 4.5g leaf and 200 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 second rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min, 3.5 min and 4 min. Again the leaves were not spent. If I had the patience to steep it for five and ten minutes I am quite sure this tea would have gone twenty steeps. I cannot remember a raw puerh that I liked as much as this tea. I think it is better than his Spring 2015 tea.

I got a bag of this tea. Not the pictures one. Same tea tho. It is really sweet and not bitter. Thank G. I like the look of the big leaves too. This site is good for finding good teas and sharing about that. Try the loose one. Probably easier than big thing.

Decided to drink this today. The leaves even look tasty with this puerh. There are a variety of notes to this tea. There is a barely perceptible bitterness to it. There are sweet notes to this tea, the traditional descriptions of apricots and stonefruits apply. After thirteen steeps I am feeling an effect from this tea, I am feeling its qi I guess. I’m not quite teadrunk but I feel the effect of this tea. I suppose I could be feeling the caffeine but I think it is the qi. The reason I was able to give it thirteen steeps in one session is I recently bought a very small gaiwan from Dragon Tea House. They rate it at 50ml, I have been told it is 60ml. I have not gotten around to measuring it yet but I assume it is 60ml. There is a strong aftertaste to this tea. I can taste it even in between sips. No doubt I will be tasting this tea long after I have finished my cup. I don’t know if I would rate the loose Misty Peaks tea as better or worse than their puerh cakes of which I have several. This is definitely among the very best raw puerh. I don’t even think it is considered gushu but I could be wrong.

I steeped this tea thirteen times in a 60ml gaiwan with 3.7g leaf and 200 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I don’t know if ten minutes is enough time for the leaves to open up but it’s all I had patience for. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min and 2.5 min. I expect that this tea would make it to twenty steeps but I am at my caffeine limit. I might save the leaves for tomorrow, we’ll see.

I have been buying from these guys since 2012 and just found this website when I googled Misty Peak Teas. Cool to see that so many people like them also, I didnt know it had such a following.

The tea, to me, is perfect. I used to be a smoker, but since finding tea, I have been able to cut the habit. I tried probably 50 different pu’erhs the past few years, then I emailed this company and they called me right away and walked me through their teas and we ended up talking about camping somehow, and now I order every few months. Its a straight up tea, very smooth on the mouth and an easy swallow. Not a nasty bitter like most of the pu-erhs out there.

I’d recommend this to anyone starting out or experienced. It seems people describe it as “stone-fruit”, and I have to concur. It really opens up after the second steeping and after the first wash, the smell of fresh leaves takes over my loft.

Great tea. Thank you

It has been a while since I’ve had a nice puerh. Most of mine has spoiled over the dry winter unfortunately. Oh well, lets move on! I recently contacted Nicolas at Misty Peak Tea and inquired about recent products. He sent me this bing which, I must say, has beautiful intact leaves. There is a nice compression as well. The liquor itself seems to have a dark colour for its age. Definitely a good mouthfeel. General profile is very characteristic to the region… notes are on the lighter side. Nice stuff.

I have a lot of tea in my cupboard. The variety is constantly changing as my moods change. However, there is on constant: my Misty Peaks Tea… it is my very favorite. My inventory now stands at one recently opened bing of Autumn 2013 and waiting (and aging) are two bings of Autumn 2014 and one bing of Spring 2015 (after just finishing a small cake (100g) of Spring 2015. While I move to various oolongs in all their forms, and various shu puerhs, my very favorite tea turns out to be a sheng puerh. And Misty Peaks takes the trophy! I am so glad I found this tea!

This tea was my first experience to Puer tea. I tried it without any big expectations and I loved that it is smooth and easy to dink. I wouldn’t be able to describe notes yet, but the feeling of drinking this tea first thing in the morning in your body is awesome.

Thanks Nicholas for a great customer service during the purchase process, I definitely recommend you to get these lovely puer teas!

This little ball of tea was sent to me from my beloved tea sister, Sil.
I have a little time today, in between loads of laundry, students, & house projects, so I’m enjoying this tea, some time for being present, and just breathing.
This tea is perfect for this moment…and this one…and this one…
First off, I love the hand rolled ball of tea! I tend to shy away from sheng when it’s been machine pressed into touchas, they usually just aren’t that good. They tend to fall apart into tea dust, or have sticky rice taste. Not my cup of tea.
This, on the other hand, is beautiful, the real deal. Beautiful full budsets, lovingly gently rolled into a ball, they opened out to fill my yixing with a deep olive drab (my most favorite color in the world) and the aroma of clean hay with a little pot mixed in.
The tea itself is immediately a beautiful amber, & tastes of minerals, sweet grass, a little caramel, and a slight apricot tartness. There’s a pleasant eucalyptus sensation as well.
I combined 2 steepings at a time in my mug, and the first mug cured my headache, and gave me an almost immediate buzz, opening my sinuses & chakras, so energy can flow. I can especially feel this one in my shoulder blades & neck. Energy is now flowing freely down my arms, and I think I might want to go play my harp in a few minutes.
Round 2 (steeps 3 & 4…20 seconds each) is equally energizing & more tingly, slightly more bitter, & now my head is glowing from the inside out, like a light bulb. This is why I love raw puerh, and I need to stop being so busy all the time, & make more time to drink it.
I will continue enjoying this until its lost its power. I’d really like to have a beng & will add this to my wishlist. I feel fantastic! Thank you Sil!

Boychik was kind enough to send me a sample of this.

This is better than a lot of the young sheng, but still not to my tastes. The earlier steeps are pretty sweet, a little hay ish, but it’s sharp. Nit really bitter, but lots of top notes. The more I steeped it the grassier and more bitter it got. I can understand why others like this, but it’s not for me.
Thanks boychik for the opportunityto try it.

I believe this is the 2014 raw pu’erh I got a sample from for Misty Peaks:
The leaf is quite appealing as there are a few silver strands in the dark green sheng. I thought that the first few brews would be bitter since it’s a newer pu’erh. Interestingly enough this was not bitter from steep #1. Quite nicely done. Though, I’m still a shou guy for sure :/

This is not a powerhouse tea, but one of subtlety and presence. It has a gentle fruitiness I associate with Yiwu, lovely large leaves, and is relaxing and contemplative. I am enjoying it.