derk Send Message

I said I’d write another review for western and bowl preparation but it seems I’ve lost my notes.

A temperamental lark; I never could get this tea to sing.

Happy New Year to all!

Advent Day 24, From the Depths of the Grab Bag

“The dry leaf smells like lemonade, strawberry lemonade. It tastes… Got a little black tea and it’s, uh, it’s got a flowery strawberry flavor. Maybe some red clover.”

There hasn’t been red clover in any of these, haha.

“I didn’t mean red clover… giggles It’s okay. I got that… smacks lips …tannin thing. Maybe it’s got some lemongrass in it, maybe not. cackles It’s good, it’s good, maybe a 7. Would I drink it again? Ah, yes, if I was at somebody’s house. So what is it?”

Frosted Cranberry. Black tea —

" -Oh maybe why the - smacks lips — the, uh, the tannin thing. Frosted Cranberry, alright. Well, I got the berry part.

I rattle off more of the ingredients.

“I smell the cream flavoring, kinda butterscotchy, you know, but i like the berry thing, that’s nice.”

And peppermint leaves. Do you feel any —

" —Minty? Yeah a little bit."

And raspberry leaves.

“Ahhhhh.”

Advent Day 23, From the Depths of the Grab Bag

“The dry smell was, uh, like chocolate or chicory. And, uh, wet smells like, uh, like a chicory tea, like it’s supposed to taste like chocolate or vanilla. Cinnamon. Star anise. heh heh heh All I can smell is that perfumey smell. It tastes alright. It’s okay. It’s not bad. I’d say it’s a, uh 6 to.. 6.5. Maybe it’s got some kinda black tea or some kinda tea that tastes dry on your tongue. Unless it’s got some chamomile or something in it. Let’s see, does it have any fruity in it? I can’t smell any fruity. It kinda tastes like that Celestial Seasoning one that’s supposed to taste like ‘Get up in the Morning Tea.’ Okay, so what is it?”

Maple Ginger.

“Oh yeah, ginger but it’s so overpowered by the maple.”

It’s got oolong tea which is probably giving you the—

“—black, tannin.”

Aaaand [the rest of the ingredients].

“Okay. Tell everybody out there if they have a good tea they want to send me, I’ll give a professional critique!”

This tea is very clean, smooth, full-bodied, finishing only a touch astringent. Cocoa, malt and touches of caramel and autumn leaf push this toward being a rich brew but a brilliant tangy, fruity quality lightens it considerably. The two types of flavor balance each other almost perfectly. The fruitiness is complex and difficult to parse: red grapes, muscatel, red wine, pomegranate, raspberry, peach-orchard fruit. Those notes carry through into the aftertaste with additions of rose, incense and those green Indian chillies (mirch?).

Thank you Leafhopper for sharing :) It is aptly named, isn’t it?

Advent Day 22, From the Depths of the Grab Bag

sniffs the packet “Oh, okay.”

“So, it smells like apple cider. That’s what it smells like to me. Apple cider, and it kinda tastes like apple cider with cinnamon stick. And uh, it tastes a little flat next to that black tea I had last night with lavender. It tastes a little one note. yawns It’s good. It’s not as good as the one last night though. I’d says it’s a 7. Would I drink it again? Yeah, but I wouldn’t order it. Maybe it’s got some rosehips in there. Alright, what is it?”

Hug in a Cup! I rattle off the ingredients.

“Well I guess it is kinda complex, isn’t it!” cackles

Is this the same as that? https://kingteamall.com/collections/2014-dayi/products/2014-dayi-pu-er-yuan-origin-of-puerh-cake-357g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea

I don’t know. I didn’t save the original image to my computer for uploading when I created this page. Instead, I linked the image and the link is now broken.

If this is that, then what. the. fuck. Over $1k USD for a 357g cake? I would have never bought a sample of something so expensive. Speculation is a bitch, I guess.

Because this is pretty boring. It’s balanced I guess. Rich aroma, fluffy sweetness disappears quickly as bitterness flows through but this is about as shallow as my appreciation for pop country music. Decent body. The returning sweetness is kind of sickly, like sad, not like licorice sickly sweetness. Hint of camphor, body warmth.

Idk about you, Dayi.

Sorry for cursing but I’m sincerely dumbfounded. It is developing aging flavor but is still kind of boring. Maybe I appreciate teas differently than the targeted market? I have a difficult times seeing this transform into something ‘worth’ well over 1k by the time it’s 15+ years old.

Edit: Since I started off with a Dayi tea, I’ll sample through all my Dayi/Menghai sheng.

“Trip to Changtai, vol. 8”

This is the final tea in my Changtai journey. The label says ‘2005 Changtai Lao Ban Zhang’ so it’s not really a Random Steeping but I can’t find any information at all about this tea. I’ve never had a tea claimed to be made of Lao Ban Zhang material. (Does the 2006 Changtai Lao Chen De Cha Ban Zhang contain LBZ? It’s awfully cheap if so.)

With the rinse and a few minutes of steaming, the leaf quickly separates from the chunk and opens up. I can see it’s healthy and resilient when pulled upon. When the leaf does pull apart, it reveals strings of ‘sweet fibers.’ I remember seeing those in a dragon ball from Crimson Lotus before. This leaf has similar characteristics to the Lao Man E tea I’ve had — many very fuzzy, shimmering chopped and whole leaves and buds.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about the flavors of this tea. It’s rather robust, round, clean and engaging with wonderful bitterness and tingly mouthfeel. The sweetness is evident in the calm aroma such that I get some of the flowery caramel on the sip but not once the tea has moved around my mouth, which I love. In general it’s spicy and bitter-medicinal with an initial mellow viscosity and maybe a hint of citrus zest? While I don’t notice an aftertaste, I know something is there. When I breathe out, I can tell a delicate aroma is moving from my throat and passing beyond my lips. I want to drink cup after cup in quick succession. I guess that means it’s tasty and thirst-quenching :) This tea amplifies the sweetness of bites of sauteed scallops had in between steeps.

The qi is fantastic and adds to the desire to brew successive cups quickly but not in haste. With the first steep I can feel the tea flowing in waves through me, relaxing my arms and legs. I slow down, time dilates slightly and my visual acuity both softens and sharpens such that I get lost in the steam rising from the cup, like a 2-dimensional figure being plucked and stretched into 3-dimensional wafting strands of silk. The sound of pouring water on the leaves becomes very soft and textured. I become flushed with heat in the face, neck, shoulders and chest. So comfortable.

Around the 5th infusion, I begin to notice the returning sweetness, an amount that is proportional to the other qualities of the tea. This lasts throughout the remainder of session as the the liquor becomes softer and thicker, the next day still spicy but now mostly nuts and flower nectar with wet rock/wood, kind of forest floor tastes. I lose count of the infusions as I move into minutes-long steeping times. The normally slightly loose lid is sealing to the pot because of stickiness.

The scent of the dry leaf and liquor color make me think this was fairly dry stored. I actually don’t pick up any humid notes until the end of the session. Whatever this tea is, whether it’s real LBZ or at least partial, it’s a pleasure to drink and a hell of a tea to end the journey.

“Trip to Changtai, vol. 7”

This is definitely the thickest semi-aged puerh I’ve had to date. To be honest, it’s overwhelming. The tea starts of ridiculously thick with medicinal, tobacco and camphor tastes and a balanced, aged, calm feel. It develops a caramel flavor as steeps progress and that sweetness is very evident in the aroma. It also quickly turns sandy-tongue astringent and bitter but but it’s an alkaline flatness instead of an engaging bitterness. The very thick character amplifies the flat alkaline taste and mutes the feel of the tea in general. Didn’t bother going beyond 7 infusions. It’s… interesting. Like the flat character, it left me feeling as such.

Advent Day 21, From the Depths of the Grab Bag. We’re a little behind, plus there’s more than 24 teas in the bag.

sniffs the packet "Oh. Oh boy. "

Would you like something else tonight?

“No, let’s do it.”

I brew it up.

“At least this smells similar to the candle we’re burning. (I think it’s lavender-scented) Maybe a little ginger in there? Smells nice.”

What does it smell like?

“It smells a little floral. Smells floral and a little spicy. And there’s something, um, something like ginger in taste and maybe something like lavender or something. I like it. It’s not too bad. The black tea is not real tannic. I like it. I think it’s pretty good. It smells so nice, like a potpourri. It’s got a little bite. I think it’s not these… picks up the bag of Flamin’ Hot Keto cheetohs she was snacking on I’d say it’s an 8. I could drink it again. What is that stuff the Persian tea has in it? (referring to this: https://steepster.com/teas/alvins-of-san-francisco/36266-persian-choice-royal-earl-grey). I can never remember that name. short pause Bergamot!”

It’s a simple tea. You pretty much nailed it. It’s Lavender Earl Grey.

“Alright!! OK!! Haha-HAHA! I like it, I like it. It’s a solid 8 for sure. Did it have any ginger in there?”

Nope.

“It must’ve been the cheetohs, haha!” burrrrrp

What is Laponic? I don’t know. A made-up French word?

Here’s a tin of tea, the last from a long-ago swap with ashmanra. Why did I not try this last holiday season?

This tea evokes many memories of my first job at 15, a wrap we made, specifically the pinto beans we put in it. The tea’s not at all beany, though. Basil is the strongest note for me, dried, savory. Cedar flavor provides a cool, woodsy tone. The blackberry leaf is very mellow in its flavor and sweetness. The base white tea is also mellow and slightly vegetal. There’s a very light tang I think provided by the berries.

Gentle tea, rejuvenating like a light broth. I like it. It reminds me also of Ohio and hiking in late fall through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Forest understory, maybe? Hemlock growing in secret locations atop sandstone ledges, narrow, silvery waterfalls disappearing down beech ravines, brambles lining meadows. God, Ohio has some modest beauty.

Whatever Laponic means, it’s a comforting, gentle tea to have on Christmas day as the rain falls in straight lines from the low, grey sky.

Merry Christmas :)