Yunnan Sourcing

Beautiful aroma of cacao on the nose.

Liquor is a yellowy-amber colour. I get notes of tart stonefruit, similar to a Dan Cong oolong. Fruitier than Yunnan Sourcing’s regular Da Hong Pao, but just as delicious.

Initial brewing at 193˚F was not hot enough, probably should start at 197˚F for this one.

I first tried this tea steeped in a small gaiwan and it was overpoweringly bitter. Later, I tried it western style in an 8 oz mug and had a much more mellow result. The first post rinse infusion wasn’t bitter at all and I got some floral notes. There was also a pleasant aftertaste bite. I got 4 Western style infusions out of it. It can definitely be pushed to bitter easily though if brewed too long. At first I was disappointed in this tea but now I’m happy to drink it!

Probably not the best puer starting point, but got to start somewhere!

Hard to break apart. Leaves are pretty choppy. Actually I didn’t see a single whole leaf in the 5g I tried so far.

Single rinse. First step is pleasant but it’s easy to make bitter after that. Not sure if it’s my fault or the tea. I will use colder water next time; this water was close to boiling.

Even with the bitterness, it has a pleasant smokiness up front. At the end of the sip there’s a hint of a vegetal green tea taste, which I’m not the biggest fan of but that’s personal preference. There’s also a bite that lingers on the tounge.

I would like the smokey taste without the bitterness. I’m underwhelmed by this first attempt but hope that time and more brewing experiments will result in a nicer brew.

This was the second tea that came out of the sample box today. I like it. This is a nice black for me. A little sweet, a little malty, some fruit, not really chocolate but thick and sweet. Thanks Evol for sending this my way.

My head is feeling better tonight, but still icky in the throat and chest. I am not getting sick, I am not getting sick – (or at least I’m wishing it away) I’ve spent the majority of the day in front of the TV – I think that is going to be the plan for the rest of the night and most of tomorrow.

About half the people at work are sick. There is a nasty cold/flu going around and so far I’ve been able to avoid it…. until I got up this morning. Snuffly, phlegmy, scratchy throat, heavy chest. Ugggg – I am not getting sick, I am not getting sick. Spent the day on the couch with the cat watching season 6 of Game of Thrones. (Part of me thinks I should have been watching season 2 of Colony on Netflix, but that’s another story).
This was the tea that randomly came out of the sample box. Not what I normally think of as a Jin Jun Mei. I didn’t get any malt, or chocolate. Others are saying smokey – I didn’t get any of that until it really cooled and then only a hint. This is fine, nice enough black tea. I drank it Western – lots of leaf, cool water, long steep (and even longer 2nd steep). I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t anything really special. Thanks Evol for the share.

This stuff is seriously amazing. I am revisiting it today after a long hiatus (meaning it got lost in my piles of tea and I just now uncovered it again). This has a really strong savory almost smoked meaty smell today with overtones of salt. It doesn’t taste smoky though, which is good. It is very savory in flavor and very thick on the tongue. It’s almost like a soup broth. I did steep this for a really long time as well, probably upwards of 6 or 7 minutes.

Update: I’ve had this tea twice cold steeped after failing to brew it hot. Without the bitterness, it’s quite lovely. It has a crisp but mellow veggie taste up front (also what it smells like) that I’m not the biggest fan of, but then transforms into something spicy floral and leaves a tart fruit aftertaste. I keep making it for the notes after the initial veggie punch and am going to attempt to hot brew it again.

First off, I think I screwed up this brewing. I tried out a gaiwan for the first time and didn’t start with something more forgiving. I didn’t use boiling water but think it was still too hot. Started at 15s.

My main negative is some bitterness and dryness which is the part I think I’m responsible for.

Otherwise this tea was vegetal, something hay like, a little bit of toastiness, and later on a little bit of fruity sweetness. I am completely uncalibrated for green tea tasting though.

Overall pleasant.

Picked up a sample of this one a while back when I was seeking out puerh pressed with aged maocha. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. Leaves had a smoky, slightly pungent aroma. The taste followed closely, with smoky notes dominating. There was a sweetness and pleasant finish to the brew, but between the smokiness and the smaller material, this one was a bit rough.

Could be quite good once that smokiness starts to fade, though will likely retain a punchiness throughout its life due to the small material. Reminds me of a Dayi 0622 that I have. It certainly did seem a bit more aged than I would expect from 2012 material.

Forgot I had this sample sitting around. Bought a bunch of Liu Bao samples a while back and got to figuring that they all tasted like someone boiled some rotten twigs and leaves and made you lick it off a moldy basement floor…not my bag. So when I found this unopened sample I was curious I was intrigued but leery…Turns out that this tea actually reminds me of a good shou. It does have the decayed wood taste but also notes of marzipan and strangely Dr Pepper. Not sure I’d drink this daily but it is nice.

There used to be a Fujian black tea called Emperors Red that I used to get from a company called Special Teas that was tragically the victim of a hostile takeover by Teavana several years ago. This tea had a lovely Benzdorp cocoa and biscuit malt note. When Special Teas was cannibalized I could not find another to compare. I’ve had multiple golden, black and red monkeys as well as Keemun teas. A few had some similar notes but none came close to the elusive Emperors Red. Then I found this tea. It not only has everything I loved about the Emperors Red. It one ups it with floral notes that resemble the smell of the wild, invasive multiflora roses that grow in Pennsylvania and bloom in a June. This tea is not highly complex. It is cocoa, biscuit malt and a hint of multiflora rose. Special Teas Emperors Red had quite the following so if you are reading this and missed this tea . Try this stuff.

Dry leaf is typically dan cong aromatic with honeysuckle, dried hay, mint, marijuana and almonds
very vibrant palate with good concentration and minerality.
slight bitter astringency, but overall well balanced and enjoyable

9g / 190ml large gaiwan
Rinse smelled a bit fishy, so it probably could age for a while longer.

First infusion:
Fishy smell is gone. Lovely sweet aroma, smooth comforting taste. Don’t know how to describe this, but it’s almost like the best possible hot water, neutral taste but full-bodied and goes with everything. I’m eating it with fruit for breakfast and it pairs fine, doesn’t overwhelm the mild dragonfruit. Tastes good with milk too.

Second infusion:
Hmm, this infusion is not so sweet and I’m getting a bit more of that “plain water” taste, maybe due to very light mellow flavour and a slight astringency on the tongue (like when you drink too much warm water). Better than the first time I tried this (used too much leaf), but I probably won’t buy the full cake.

Increasing rating to 82.

1st infusion: Best aroma out of all the 3 Menghai Pu Ers i’ve tried so far: sweet rich earthiness. Tastes lovely and addictive on its own, not so good with milk.

Liquor is a dark reddish-brown.

Rating: 81

24 July 2020

Dancong oolongs are shapeshifters (much like sheng pu-erh) – starts off with a light fruitiness that is fairly unique to dancongs (but also reminiscent of a white tea or green tea), then evolves into the mature astringency of a sheng pu-erh and finally, an Wuyi oolong.

1st (181˚F, 15s): Wet leaf so sweet smells like prunes stewed in honey. The liquor is a gorgeous colour – clear champagne-y peach-y liquid.

2nd: (185˚F, 20s): Wet leaves already vegetal, mineral-y, not sweet anymore. The liquor aroma, though, is my happy place. Ambrosial – mangoes, sweet cream, plums, peaches, baking pastries, malt sugar, young florals. Colour is golden honey champagne with hint of redness like the inside of a plum. Tastes like perfumed fragrance, slightly sweet but slightly tart and astringent too.

3 (188˚F, 35s): Wet leaf: faraway smell of flowers in grassy meadow. Liquor smells still slightly sweet, but more mature florals. Tastes a bit vegetal and astringent, but still with some red fruit sweetness – like red grapeskins. Wonderful infusion.

4 (190˚F, 40s): Now a buttery / roasted fragrance has been coaxed from the leaves. Liquor tastes robust, roasty and nutty and bitter chocolate notes like a premium Wuyi oolong or Tieguanyin. Slight astringency and cacao nibs flavour. Liquor colour even resembles an Wuyi oolong now too – medium russet / chestnut colour. Ok a bit bitter and dry-mouth – like a sheng pu-erh.

5 (195˚F, 50s): Mineral spring water flavour and very familiar taste – OMG WHAT IS THIS. Kinda herbal and pleasantly bitter, and so smooth. Omg it tastes like a good craft beer. Has that hoppiness (flavourful but not yeasty), and amazing texture – smooth and astringent-dry and has the full body of a non-bubbly beer. I can’t believe this.

6 (200˚F, 55s): Liquor smell: More buttery goodness came out. Liquor taste: OMG suddenly more fruity sweetness has been coaxed out of these leaves from nowhere! In addition to the existing vegetal “sheng pu-erh” astringency.

7 (205˚F, 70s): Mineral-y.

7.5g in 170ml porcelain gaiwan
Rating: 99

12 July 2020

From the dry leaf already I want to give this tea a 100. Smells of incredibly fruity sweetness – expensive Japanese muscats, ripe mangoes, apricot, cherry, peach, some florals, hint of roast / baked goods good ol’ Maillard reaction.

1st (180˚F, 15s): light, fruity, sweet – yum! Wet leaves smell like golden brown baked goods (gingerbread?)

2nd: (185˚F, 25s): slight astringency, fuller flavour. Still smells fruity but tastes less so – tastes more like a vegetal sheng pu-erh.

3 (190˚F, 1 min): Astringent – I pushed it too hard.

4 (195˚F, 3 mins): Wet leaves and liquor smell buttery! But too bitter – pushed it too hard. Will try again another time.

Rating: 90

First infusion (180˚F):
Intense delicious fruity aroma, I’m getting strong passionfruit and some other very juicy fruits (apricot? nectarine?) on the nose. Flavour is very light, this was more like a rinse but the next infusion should taste great.

Second infusion (184˚F):
Still fragrant, a bit deeper honey colour but flavour is still quite light.

Third infusion (191˚F):
Flavour is still very delicate with some bitterness / astringency now. This is also not a tea that holds up to food well.

I suspect I might need to let this age for another year or so, will revisit then.

So I’m new to rock oolongs and high quality oolongs in general (have had a few taiguanyins in the past but never got big into them) having spent the last 2 decades drinking black tea and getting hooked on sheng a year ago. When I first sampled this tea, it reminded me of tree ears and smoked pine cones boiled in bong water…and not in an unpleasant manner either, just unusual. I figured it’d be a great match to a Chinese stir fry that incorporated wild mushrooms, sesame oil, and Sichuan peppercorns. I made such a meal today and paired this cha with it and I was correct. It seems that a few months have softened the roastiness and astringency of this tea. I’m left with a brothy oily umami filled cup with vegetal notes similar to braised mustard greens. Don’t think rock oolongs will become a daily drinker but on stir fry shrimp and mushroom night I know what to reach for…

I wanted to see how similar this was to the He Tao Di, since they shared a very similar description. The teas are indeed quite similar in flavor profile (see YS description…it’s spot on), but less so in structure and body feel. There is a lovely brinyness and orchid essence in both flavor and fragrance. This one, however, has more depth and saccharin-like sweetness without going overboard. It’s medium bodied while the HTD is more viscous and floral. My wife first thought she was drinking a Dan Cong oolong!

Less qi than the HTD, but still not bad at all. My whole body is relaxed after 2 cups. There’s more sweetness, a very nice, prolonged mouthfeel. and a pleasant feeling in the throat. The leaves are highly in tact and have a pungent floral/chocolaty scent. Nice structure in this tea. I can feel it in the back of the throat, yet it’s still gentle. I would describe the mouthfeel like a blooming sensation while also penetrating. It’s a very fine tea, but a little over my budget.

very obvious floral notes.
rainforest garden after rain
filling + warming
like eating a lot of flower petals
crisp waxy sap to it.

Smell
light spring sea breeze, a little bit of sweetness to it, a little oceanic

Looks
Beautiful light gold. Wet leaf is dark green with tinges of bluepurple brown.

Taste
Grape Stem, bittersweet honey, floral jasmine, light hoppy flavor. Unripe orange zest (kumquat?)

I’m so glad to see Steepster back up. I have gone through a ton of samples in the past week and have been needing to get some more reviews up for at least a couple days. I finished off the remainder of a 50 gram pouch of this tea back toward the start of the week. Though I’m still not huge on white tea, I found this one to be quite appealing.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, I found aromas of hay, dry leaves, and malt. After the rinse, I picked up emerging aromas of sweet corn and squash balanced by hints of smoke and melon. The first proper infusion brought out hints of citrus on the nose. On the palate, the liquor offered smooth and mild notes of hay, grass, zucchini, malt, and cream underscored by hints of lemon zest, sweet corn, and smoke. Subsequent infusions grew somewhat astringent while bringing out considerably stronger impressions of smoke, sweet corn, and lemon zest. I also began to find notes of butter, oats, straw, cucumber, minerals, almond, peanut, spring honey, basil, thyme, lime, and lettuce balanced by underlying notes of sour apricot, lettuce, seaweed, and honeydew. The tea washed out quickly (I still have not managed to effectively adapt my gongfu methods to white tea), as mineral notes became increasingly dominant after about the 50 second mark. However, I could still find a lingering astringency and fleeting impressions of herbs, citrus, sweet corn, hay, and lettuce on these final infusions.

Despite the fact that I went through a brief white tea phase in college, white tea has never really been my thing. I can appreciate it from time to time and would like to develop more of an appreciation for it, but at this point in time, I’m still not able to muster consistent enthusiasm for any type of white tea. That being said, I found a lot to like in this one, much more than I was expecting as a matter of fact. Aside from the fact that the way I brewed it may have caused it to fade sooner than anticipated, there was nothing really wrong with this tea.

I had this again today ‘cause i didn’t get rid of the leaves after my couple steeps yesterday. Bumping the rating up. soo good.

my dog and my husband are insane. One of them is out riding today for 2+ hours in the biting wind and the other one wants me to spend the entire morning outside throwing balls in the snow. Don’t get me wrong, i love outside and cold..but not when the wind is adding 15 degress of cold! stupid wind. insane family. Why can’t we just stay in and drink tea and play board games?!

Day 4 from Nicole’s tea adventure!

I think Terri might have sent me these before and i always forget how giant they are compared to mandala’s version. I haven’t had the spring 2017 version though, and it’s been forever since i’ve had these before. Had a couple steeps of them over the course of the afternoon because they’re so large…and delicious! smooth, malty, delicious goodness. nom.