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Recent Tasting Notes

93

I drank this tea (2021 harvest) for a quick and dirty evening session without taking dedicated notes. I quickly regretted this after being just about blown away by it. I will definitely be revisiting this one in detail very soon, but seeing as this tea has no reviews as of the time I am writing this, I felt it necessary to sing its praises and offer some preliminary tasting notes. A green, grassy umami akin to sencha; above it, a layer of sweet vegetal-borderline-fruity notes; all topped with buttery overtones that remind me of shortbread (kind of like you get with some gyokuros). Held its own for at least five infusions. A really good one, especially for those fond of Japanese tea who are looking for something different, but not too different.

Flavors: Butter, Butternut Squash, Carrot, Cream, Garden Peas, Grass, Kettle Corn, Nutty, Peanut, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Umami, Vegetables

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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89

I’ve really been enjoying this tea (2021 harvest) as an afternoon pick-me-up for the past couple of weeks. Spicy, chocolatey, reminiscent of baked goods and mildly fruity, with a strong yet balanced base of malt. It’s a pleasure to watch the tightly rolled buds unfurl further from infusion to infusion, with the liquor easily keeping its golden-auburn color and punchy flavors to their full extent for six or more infusions. Full-bodied and pleasant texture with a sweet, enjoyable finish that hardly wavers as infusions progress.

Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cloves, Dates, Malt, Molasses, Saffron, Spices, Toffee, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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87

A fairly complex and rather enjoyable Darjeeling, even a year after picking. I picked up a pretty wide variety of flavors and aromas brewing gongfu style (started at 85C and worked my way up to 95C for the sixth and final infusion).
Visibly, the dry leaves are appealing, mostly green and yellow, with some brown leaves. The tea contains a notably high proportion of beautiful off-white hairy buds. It was clearly picked, processed and shipped carefully – very few broken leaves.
Smelling the dry leaves, I picked up notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, pears, cardamom pods, and maybe a bit of mint and wood.
Looking at the wet leaves, they were more uniform, predominantly yellow-green on early infusions, progressing to yellower tones on later infusions. Though the leaves are rather large and loose to begin with, they expand quite markedly as infusions progress.
Picking apart the aroma of the wet leaves was challenging due to its varied constituents and evolution through the session. A strong hoppy freshness was clearly present throughout. Particularly on the first three infusions, the leaves reminded me of Lebkuchen (that sort of gingerbread cake you can find at European Christmas markets): a heady spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom pods), dark brown sugar, and light citrus (Bergamot and lemon zest). Also, faint notes of white grapes and light wood and hay were present through all of the infusions. From infusion #3 on, a hint of candied/roasted nuts grew more prominent in the aroma.
The liquor is a very clear yellowish-green, and was even somewhat white on the first infusion (perhaps due to my having brewed it at 85C). Like many first flush Darjeelings, the liquor of this tea is more reminiscent in appearance of a white or green tea than a black tea.
The tea is light in body but very smooth and rather thick. It is all but completely free of astringency, even on long 95C infusions, barring a light and enjoyable catch at the back of the throat after swallowing.
The taste of the tea is dominated by lovely sweetness at the front of the mouth, though the citrus element certainly contributes to the taste (especially on the sides of the tongue), as do the various spices noted in the smell of the leaves. The woodier notes and hops become more noticeable as infusions progress.
The finish is relatively long, and is sweet and mildly woody/haylike (especially with later infusions).
After finishing the tea, the cup is left smelling of brown sugar and molasses; slightly gingerbread-y.
All in all, another great offering from What-Cha, and amazing value for money.

Flavors: Bergamot, Brown Sugar, Cake, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Green Wood, Hay, Hops, Lemon Zest, Molasses, Nutmeg, Pear, Roasted Nuts, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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88

A thoroughly enjoyable black tea from What-Cha.
Brewed gong-fu style. Started at 90C as recommended, but cranked the temperature up to 95C from second infusion on. Got seven solid infusions out of this tea (brewed for 2 min. on infusion #7).
Smelling the dry leaves, I picked up sweet, rich aromas of berries and honey.
The dry leaves are fairly consistent in their large size and are predominantly brownish-grey, though definitely having a noticeable purple tinge.
After a quick rinse, the berry scents are greatly accentuated, and blueberry stands out, alongside notes of polished/lacquered wood, cherries, and cocoa, as well as a faint roasted aroma.
After the first infusion (30s), the leaves became far more brown than purple. The berry aroma from the leaves came even further out into the forefront.
The liquor from the first brew was amber to golden brown. The liquor grew more golden as infusions progressed.
The tea is medium-bodied and very low in astringency, and is characterized by a very enjoyable sourness on the sides of the tongue that develops nicely from infusion to infusion.
The taste, like the aromas from the leaves, is dominated by berries and cherries with a muted honey sweetness. Grapes dominate more and more from the fourth infusion on.
The finish is relatively light but pleasant and quite long, sweet and reminiscent of berries and grape jelly or candy.
All in all, this tea certainly meets one’s expectations of a wild purple tea – it conjures up images of a leisurely forest foraging trip.

Flavors: Berries, Black Currant, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Cocoa, Dark Wood, Fruity, Grape Skin, Grapes, Honey, Jam, Raspberry, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 160 ML

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70

Thank you Alistair for the sample!

I decided that I needed to go through some samples as I went through some of my less oxidised teas. Of course I’m pulverising through my Gaoshan, but I’ve had some variety here and there. I also figured some people on the site are starting to get a little bored with how many times I’m going to use the terms buttery, floral, fruity, honey, or whatever to describe different ranges of pricy to superpricy oolong-or at least I was getting bored.

Anyway, I’ve neglected this one a little too long. I hesitated because I’m really not a big fan of Niligiri or Ceylon type teas since they are really what’s quintessentially tea to the American palette, and lean on the astringent and tannic end-never mind Alistair and What-Cha intentionally pick and market teas that are superior to their everyday counterparts. Seeing the review did change my mind a little, and gave me a little bit of hope.

What-Cha’s description is pretty spot on with the apricot. I brewed up this tea semi western using all of my sample and about 5 oz of 195 F water, going 1.5 min, 2 min, and 3 min respectively. I should have gone with regular western, but I was satisfied with the result. While I personally don’t taste the cascade that eastteaguy wrote about, I do get a healthy dose of oak, apricot, malt, and tamarind. Sometimes, it kinda reminded me of Thai Ice’d tea in the flavor despite having no additives. The first steep was heavier with the oak, but the middle steep had a little bit of honey sneaking through, and the third steep having a little bit of buttery goodness. There’s some dryness, but it’s balances out the sweeter and malty notes of the tea.

I personally don’t love this one and am still particular to Chinese, Taiwanese, and Himalayan teas, I am glad I got to try it. I think I am going to move onto my Japanese teas I’ve got left.

Flavors: Apricot, Drying, Floral, Malt, Oak

teepland

I have to admit that Nilgiri teas are some of my favorite types of tea, and your review made me add this to my wishlist. :)

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77

I bought some of this tea on a whim since I read it was a cross between a shou puerh and a houjicha. I love a good houjicha and have been meaning to dip in to the “aged wine” class of tea for a while now. My first impression of the leaf was intrigue, as the leaves were completely unfurled and had a nice sheen about them; they smelled lightly roasted and sour. The instructions said to use 4-5 heaping tsp. per cup and steep for 4-5 minutes so I did just that with a mug, tea basket, and silicone cover. What I found most interesting about this tea, is that with each steep, I felt I could pick up/taste different notes in the brew. I got 3-4 steeps out of this but I enjoyed the first 2 steeps the most. The steeps represented in minutes/steep was 5-6-10-12.

The first steep was very reminiscent of a regular sweet, caramel-like houjicha with a light roast. The roast smelled and tasted more smoky, other than what I usually deem a “toasty” flavor I get from a houjicha.

The second steep is where the notes start transforming from sweet to sour: in which it still tastes like a houjicha, but leaves a subtle sour, earthy/mushroom-y aftertaste.

The third steep required to be twice as long as usual to get the brew to the same tone as the last two. The result was a brew where the suble sour, mushroom-y aftertaste became the predominant notes with the houjicha flavor becoming much more subtle. The sourness lingers after drinking which turns in to an aftertaste taste of smoky mushrooms.

The third steep is where I stop for this tea in particular, but for the sake of logging, I tried the fourth steep a second time around. The brew is lighter than the past three, but it is still amber with a tinge of brown, albeit a weaker aroma. The body of the tea is also less smooth. As for the tasting notes, it tastes like watered down houjicha (go figure) mixed with rice & meaty mushrooms. The sourness is still present but much weaker as well.

Overall, this tea has grown on me and I do enjoy that it is like a more complex houjicha. It also holds up like an houjicha, but this one can get an extra steep in with hotter temperature and a longer steeping time, whereas an actual houjicha is much less forgiving in that aspect. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who dislikes fermented foods and drinks, as per the astringent notes that come out in the later brews, but I would recommend it to others looking for a thought-provoking tea experience.

Flavors: Caramel, Mushrooms, Smoke, Sour, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 8 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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76

This is the first “dark” tea I have tried. Alistair from What-Cha says this tea is produced like a shou pu-erh so I have no comparisons to draw with tea of that variety being my first. I have the September 2020 harvest of this tea and I do wonder what aging will do to it. This brew was definitely an acquired taste for me given its strong medicinal, clean, damp and earthy clay taste on the first couple steeps. It was nice to drink this tea in the morning to wake up, and the feeling it imparted was enjoyable. It left a warm feel in my upper chest that felt like a relaxing hug lasting for an extended duration during and after the session; a different feeling from just hot tea traveling down the gullet. On the third steep, the strong medicinal feel starts to fade into a sweeter dough-like, lighter mossy clay/ loamy taste. I would say that from the third steep to the fifth steep was where the tea shined brightest, as the medicinal taste got weaker. It feels rewarding to get to those steeps in a sense.
The body of this tea is outstanding: very thick/creamy & smooth lasting all five steeps in my session. I brewed this tea western style in a porcelain pot and tea basket, as it is the only one I have currently. I am working on getting a clay pot or two for pu-erhs and roasted oolongs for gong-fu sessions in the near future, as I do wonder how much the teaware and brewing method affects the profile of the tea experience, but I am still learning about what’s what with unglazed pots, clay, and pu-erh tea, scrounging Reddit and forums for affirmation (lol), guidance and ideas, since they all cost a pretty penny. Off that tangent…

I did a 10 second rinse before my first steep in my teacup and I did end up drinking that supercharged, clean loamy brew. My first 3 pots were all 2 minute steeps, it held up and kept its dark brown hue for those steeps. Overall my 5 steeps, represented in minutes were: 2-2-2-3-6.

Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Clay, Creamy, Loam, Medicinal, Mud, Thick, Wet Earth, Wet Moss

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 tsp 32 OZ / 946 ML

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90

This is the first houjicha tea I have tried, so I have no comparisons to draw with this review. I was pleasantly surprised by this low-caffeine dark roast for my introduction in to houjicha. The brew has a buttery smooth body, with a delightful, roasted sweet & nutty taste. (Alistair from What-Cha got the tasting notes for this tea quite spot on). This tea is now part of my everyday rotation for the evenings. It is a quick, tasty brew to unwind to and now is a staple tea for me. I would love to taste other variations of this tea sometime down the road when I exhaust my tea reserves.

I am a big fan of heavy-roasted oolongs and this houjicha reminded me of one of those, to an extent. I used to prefer more tart, fruity/astringent oolongs until I started trying more of the heavy roasted variety. I am also trying to get in to sheng & shou puerh tea, although it is intimidating given all the different “varieteas” involved with raw and ripe puerh.

I steeped this tea western style following the instructions on the stickers: 185 degrees and a steep time of 60-90 seconds, usually starting with a minute and adding 30 seconds on each proceeding steep. This tea can be resteeped 2-3 times in total, although the body and smokiness leaves by steep #3, this can be fixed by of course by steeping for a bit longer.

Flavors: Caramel, Nutty, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 0 sec 8 tsp 32 OZ / 946 ML
Jacob Waszak

This tea is from the 2020 harvest.

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93

Derk generously allowed me to take a sample of this tea during our Black Friday extravaganza. Thank you, and I promise to get to all your other samples when I’ve sipped down more of my teas! I steeped around 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 35, 25, 35, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The intoxicating aroma of the dry leaves is of honey, apricots, and citrus. The first steep has notes of honey, clover, apricot, orange, honeysuckle, gardenia, sandalwood, and sap. I find that lower-quality Bai Hao focuses on the high honey/fruit notes, while the better stuff also has lower woody/incense/sappy notes that I have trouble describing. The second steep gives me stronger fruit notes, including citrus zest, and is reminding me of an IPA. The florals become headier in the third steep, with more honeysuckle and gardenia mixing beautifully with the honey/apricot/citrus. The fruit backs off slightly in steep four, letting the honey, clover, honeysuckle, gardenia, and orange blossom come through. There’s also a tiny bit of a metallic taste. Near the end of the session, the fruit disappears and I get honey, autumn leaves, minerals, wood, and vague florals.

This is a fantastic Bai Hao that I wish I’d purchased for myself when I had the chance. As the better versions of this tea tend to be, it’s both lush and structured. This tea has made me want to revisit some of the other Bai Hao in my stash.

Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Citrus, Citrus Zest, Floral, Gardenias, Honey, Honeysuckle, Metallic, Mineral, Orange, Orange Blossom, Sap, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
derk

Sap- that’s a note I’ve seen you use hear and there. It never crosses my mind for whatever reason but I totally understand it.

Leafhopper

Yeah, I tend to pick it up in Taiwanese teas and am not always sure what to call it. Maybe it’s pine? It does kind of remind me of an IPA.

derk

Sap is apt, no?

Leafhopper

Yes, I think so. :)

Daylon R Thomas

I have more of this stuff if you want me to save it for another swap.

Leafhopper

That would be great! However, I wouldn’t blame you if you finished it. :P

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This was a much weaker/lighter cup than I expected. If I can remember, I might try adding more tea leaves and or raising the temperature next time around.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 7 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Harvest: Spring, March 2020

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Harvest: Spring, May 2020

I tried my best to scoop this with my teaspoon, but the leaves are long and gangly so I’m not entirely sure everything made it into the cup. There wasn’t a weight recommendation on the package or I would have measured, so I just went with it. The dry leaf smells to me like raisins, which I don’t like to eat but do love the flavor in tea. I taste sweet potato in the finished cup and, surprisingly, peach. I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted peach in a tea that’s not actually flavored with peach, so this was a nice surprise. I love stone fruits and black tea together. I will say that it’s lighter than I would like, not sure if that’s because I didn’t get enough on my teaspoon or if I need to increase the steep time. Compared to the Tiger Assam I had a couple of days ago, this isn’t as dark and luscious as I would have liked. Still enjoying it though, especially with that peach note.

Flavors: Peach, Raisins, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Leafhopper

This is one of my favourite black teas! It’s definitely a little lighter than Indian Assam. I also don’t mind raisin notes in tea, but avoid raisins like the plague.

Shae

Same, I honestly only like them in Raisin Bran when they’re caked in sugar. And even that doesn’t make any sense.

Leafhopper

LOL. Everything is better when it’s covered in sugar. :)

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90

One small western cup left so it’s time to write a note! July 2020 harvest.

Off the bat, the dry leaf scent recalls a memory. Pulling English ivy down from eucalyptus trees growing on steep slopes in one of the coolest and dampest forested areas in San Francisco. A gem of a place, unvisited beyond a handful of local residents and the homeless who carved caves out of the Himalayan blackberry that had overgrown the lower slope of the area.

Do yourself a favor and brew this gongfu. Western steeps for me were too fickle. Some days they’d be a little too ‘tea’-like. Another time was one of the richest, sweetest cups I’d ever had. Every other time I was like, “This is some good tea, but it’s missing something?”

Gongfu is more consistent and offers a more explosive ginger/chili/menthol heating-cooling and intense honey-brown sugar returning sweetness. I find the aroma is more complex than the taste, especially so when it comes to the retronasal activity of the aftertaste, but not to any detriment. It all works together very well. There’s a ton of bug-bitten (is the elevation too high for this to happen?) juicy richness to this tea being a summer harvest, along with some classic baking spice-cinnamon. Plenty of rosewood and a hint of smooth malt in the bottom notes and rose florality higher up. Enough tannins to keep the flavor from being a sugar bomb. The aftertaste really blooms with those spiced honey notes and fruity muscatel-grape must tones. The session ends on a bright note with plenty of lemon pulp and malt-wood to the taste. I feel like I’m drinking an actual tea bush from the misty slopes of Shanlinxi (there goes my imagination again). This tea has terroir. Sorry for using a tea snoot word, but it’s true.

Dang. Taiwan puts out some amazing black teas.

Flavors: Bark, Blackberry, Brown Sugar, Cherry, Chili, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Eucalyptus, Floral, Forest Floor, Geranium, Ginger, Honey, Lemon, Lemongrass, Malt, Menthol, Mineral, Muscatel, Nutmeg, Orange, Osmanthus, Pine, Rainforest, Raspberry, Rose, Smooth, Spicy, Spring Water, Sweet, Tangy, Tannin, Tea, Vanilla, Wood

Leafhopper

You’ve made me want to try my 25 g package of this tea!

gmathis

This does sound nice.

derk

Hope you enjoy, Leafhopper :)

Daylon R Thomas

Now you’ve encouraged me to write about this one too. I’ve been avoiding it because of the fickleness and I’m not sure how to write about it without it being boring. I personally liked the Li Shan Black more since this feels more like an early fall kindof tea than an everyday one. The tannins are a little too strong or drying for me western if I over leaf it, but works out okay if I am careful with the leaf when I tumbler it for 4 g. Gong fu was a lot more complex-I would get a mix of blackberry, honey, spices, wood and a weird “orange and purple” vibe with it-like there’s a mix of orange and purple fruits in the taste that I couldn’t peg down exactly. Either way, your note nails it and was fun to read!

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78

I bought this tea last year in my infamous Black Friday What-Cha haul. I kind of wish I’d purchased their Jin Guan Yin as well, given that I like the one from Camellia Sinensis. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of dark chocolate, peanuts, rye bread, flowers, honey, and faint, tangy stonefruit. The first steep has notes of honey, peanuts, rye bread, dark chocolate, wood, and apricot. The second is more earthy, though I also get florals, peach, apricot, and lots of peanuts and chocolate. The tangy stonefruit and slightly sour aftertaste remind me of Tie Guan Yin, though that might be my imagination. (I also need to try plain osmanthus flowers, which Derk detected in this tea, so I know what they taste like!)

The third steep gives me an herbaceous note that I could also, like Derk, describe as menthol, but is mostly honey, wood, hay, rye bread, and chocolate. The next few steeps are all about the chocolate, peanut, honey, and rye bread, with hints of peach, apricot, molasses, and florals. The body is quite viscous and the aftertaste is long. I let the seventh and eighth steeps cool to almost room temperature and I see where Derk is getting cherry, and I get more of the tangy stonefruit as well. The session ends with notes of honey, hay, peanuts, wood, earth, and minerals.

This tea offers many of the flavours I like and has the chocolate note I associate with Fujian black teas. I’m not sure why I haven’t given it a higher rating, though maybe it’s because of its woodiness or the fact that it doesn’t change much over the session. Nonetheless, I’ll have no trouble finishing the rest of the bag and would consider buying more given its affordable price point.

Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Cherry, Dark Chocolate, Earth, Floral, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Menthol, Mineral, Molasses, Peach, Peanut, Rye, Sour, Stonefruit, Tangy, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
Martin Bednář

I just get it yesterday, brewing gongfu, 5 grams/125 ml gaiwan. The lower temperature makes it indeed better than just boiled (my thermos isn’t best isulating one) and indeed I get rye bread and chocolate. I don’t recall it much, as it was rather session to keep my sanity, but certainly it is better this way than brewing western!

Leafhopper

I haven’t tried it Western. I usually enjoy black teas at slightly lower temperatures since they tend to be less astringent.

Martin Bednář

It’s just a little note that gongfu suits this tea better than western brewing :)

Leafhopper

LOL, makes sense! I have about 15 g left and will definitely keep gongfuing it.

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91

Sipdown! I took a risk and emptied the remainder in my 150 ml gaiwan. I flash steeped it preventing astringency and bitterness-just smooth jasmine, citrus, and fruity honey notes. If I didn’t have so much tea to finish, I’d pick up more now. I probably will pick more up in the future. I also hope other people get to try this one because it’s good.

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91

Yeah, I still really like this tea. If I didn’t still have my pre-apocalyptic horde of tea, including a whole pile of expensive tea that I’m not drinking at the moment because…..expensive, but I need to finish, I would have gotten more of this one since it’s a personal favorite from What-Cha’s selection.

I still love the thick heady jasmine with the deeply juicy texture and citrus finish. Gong fu is the way to go with this one, all the way. I put essentially a child’s handful of this tea and flash steeped it, and it’s incredibly fruity like Apple Jacks or Fruit Loops ON TOP of the jasmine in a sclick texture. Now, I want to see more people to review it since I tend to hype teas I really like. Objectively, this is heady yet nicely balanced with refreshing jasmine, smooth, and long lasting gong fu, and really good cold brewed.

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91

Have I seriously not written a note on this one?

Well, this is overdue by about a year. I’ve had a horde of around 50 grams of this stuff that I drank nearly daily when I first had it, but then hid it with my other teas. I had one nearly identical to this tea from Unytea, and decided I could use some more.

I’m not going to go in a lot of depth since I got to workout soon today, but I’m going to go ahead and leave a quick review. This one personally really shines gong fu, and it can be thicker western. The jasmine in the tea can get bitter grandpa/tumbler style when I over leaf it, despite the tea being relatively forgiving and not very astringent or too malty. It still works well, but I have to be careful when I brew it. I also personally notice the tea can make me a little sweaty for some reason. Qi?

The flavor notes are straightforwardly jasmine with a bit of the sweetness you get from most Fujian tea, bordering on citrusy. All the while dominantly floral and silky in its texture, it has a bit of a citrus orange blossom aftertaste in mid steeps, and a healthy dose of acidity that is close to grapefruit. The “chocolate” approximation notes sometimes come up western like intense dark chocolate orange, but the heady jasmine still leads.

I honestly did want to see how it would compare to Whispering Pines’s Alice, but the style of the tea really sets it a part. This one actually has more longevity and more citrus amidst a slicker profile, whereas Alice is more like powdered chocolate and jasmine amidst sweet potatoes. There were times where I preferred this one for it’s more elegant and “grown up” character. This is the kinda tea you want to serve in an upscale modernist room gilded with gold, black, and stone because of how sophisticated it is. I’m going to leave off the weird notes at the bottom, and I’m curious to see what other people think of it.

It is without a doubt one of the better Jasmine Blacks I’ve had.

Flavors: Citrus, Dark Chocolate, Floral, Goji, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Smooth, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes

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75

Again one of the oolongs from the mystery tea package from What-Cha.
The leaves give an immediate sweet smell with notes of dark wood, wet straw and roasted nuts, but also a bit of fruity notes like peach. Quite a strong smell. The sweetness and roasted flavour continues on to the liquor and has quite a long aftertaste.
I generally have a prejudice towards dark oolongs or light black teas, and therefore enjoy this tea.

Flavors: Dark Wood, Honeydew, Peach, Roast Nuts, Straw, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 g 3 OZ / 85 ML

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83

I got this tea in the mystery tea package from Alistair.
The immediate smell of the leaves is fresh, mildly milky, very creamy. Quite a warm scent.
First impression of the brew gives the same aromatics but definitely with a bit of floral notes. Generally very creamy; more than I am used to.
Second brew reveals the same notes but with more acidic taste/citrus.

Overall a excellent tea – especially for being a low altitude, cheap oolong!

Flavors: Citrus, Cream, Floral, Lavender, Milk

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 15 sec 3 g 80 OZ / 2365 ML

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72

A sipdown! (M: 1, Y: 9)!
Well, it’s 3 years old and I had a little left only. However it was more than I have thought. I used all 8, nearly 9 grams for gongfu steeping, however the last gram was mostly the dust (still better looking than some Czech loose leaf tea); and I did a rinse which made all the dust flow away. Or majority of it.

I just remembered about this tea saying that gongfu suited it better than western brewing method, however not even today I have been too impressed about this one.

It has got nice chocolate, rye bread, malt notes; however they were in total some kind of flat and not much complex tasting.

Happy about sipdown though :)

Preparation
8 g 4 OZ / 125 ML

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