cultureflip

Sharp, strong and full of that fat, heavy bass we all want in an Assam. A hearty singular malt is well ornamented with flavors of brown sugar, spices and metal. Big and bestial like a bronze war elephant.

Brew it strong to pull out a goldenrod colored liquor with a creamy chamomile and sweet, faintly grassy body. Full enough in the mouth and delicately floral on the finish, this tea is elegant without any real thought provoking refinement. Perfect for a cool, quiet evening.

A bright, juicy tea with a nice malty bottom end. The “fall leaves” comparison may be a nice way of saying “slightly brassy with a middling flavor profile”. It’s actually a good tea for those who do not prefer any real pronounced flavor or characteristic. It is well rounded though just not quite enough of anything to blow my mind.

My batch is pretty good. Buttery, ever so slightly floral, distinctly vegetal, yet mild with a lingering sweet aftertaste of cucumber.

It’s a pretty straightforward green oolong, in my opinion. As long as you don’t kill it with boiling water (treat it like green tea) it should be ok.

A very stoney tea with a cedar wood bitterness. . . church pews. Florals and earthy spices and a juicy aftertaste strike an elegant balance with the rock-like character.

The aroma of the liquor is pleasantly reminiscent of that fake opium stuff some of us may or may not have ran into.

All in all, the jasmine comes through strong and somewhat soapy (soapium) over a typically mild and malty red.

S’okay.

It’s a green Earl Grey. I like it.

Don’t ask me why as I have had no good reason for not giving much thought to green teas. Yeah, that has to end.

Very rich, buttery chestnut flavor with a bright grassy finish. Full of vitality. One tea I could drink every day (as I believe we are being instructed to).

Pleasant if a little shallow. Better than some cooked puerh I’ve had that border on fish market pungency. A great introductory shu puerh; earthy, cooling, smooth though not as complex as I want it to be.

Shu+

Fresh, pungent grassy flavor with a distinct spearmint finish. A relatively bold and smooth tea for a pretty good price ($4 oz).

Earthy and austere like the well crafted, solidly built antique furniture that would be found in the study of a man worth knowing.

A translucent cinnamon bark and honey sweetness wrap around the nectar of persimmon and white grape producing a harmony of mid-range sine waves that never touch the earth yet do not peak to unpleasant, astringent brassiness.

The word of the day is “superlative”.

This one has a bite to it (not unlike some sheng I’ve had) but also provides a warming base of what comes through to me as butterscotch and bitter herbs. Softer and more welcoming than a sheng, not at all smoky, yet the comparison is unavoidable.

Smells like a bouquet of fresh cut flowers, tastes like a lush and perfectly manicured garden, and the hui gan is a slice of white peach that does not end. The florals are cooling to the point of tasting icy.

My sister says that it tastes like what we want perfume to taste like.

The dry leaf aroma alone is enough to tell that this will be a quality experience, although I was admittedly caught a bit off guard by the initial sternness of the brewed cup. However, my palette quickly grew accustomed to the sophisticated and slightly sheng-like bitterness that transforms into a long, layered, and thoroughly pleasing aftertaste. The apricot nectar apparent in the dry and wet aromas is overtaken by the structured and “big” body of the tea yet blossoms at the finish taking with it much of the dry, stately florals from earlier on.

Another winner.

Wha ‘jin fo? Delicious ripe persimmon and light cinnamon/clove spice wrapped up in a delicate piece of turkish delight , that’s what.

I am once again taken to school and instructed as to what tea should taste like. My goodness.

I implore all of you to purchase some samples from this guy. Please! Seriously, your minds will be blown. It’s that good!

edit: now that i’m a little more versed in the world of puerh, i can honestly say that this one is a cut above, like pretty much all tea from this shop. if hindsight serves me there was a distinct cleanliness and clarity to the flavors which, at this point, i won’t be able to extract from memory. they were good ones though.

Oh. OH. oh.

I understand now. . . THIS is puerh. (Oh.) There is a balance of dank earth and cooling menthol overtone that delivers a full, very palatable complexity. Not every tea has to be mystifying to be very, very good.

And I know this is weird but I actually left the wet leaves out overnight (I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away) and had something like the fifth steepage the next day. Weird, yes, I know, but still so good. One of my absolute favorites.

A perfectly balanced intrigue; bold and roasty, juicy and sweet, delightfully complex, poised, calming. The list goes on. Seriously, spend some money and try this guy’s tea. (He also has a private tea room in SoHo I’ve yet to visit.)

www.themandarinstearoom.com

Dood. Robust and alive throughout, there is nothing trifling or lackluster about this TiKwanYin. Superior.

Silky smooth going down, an unassuming everyman of tea. . . I bring it to work in the morning when it’s too early to care. Gets the job done so I can.

Ya it’s good. . . not blow your mind good but good. Like potatoes are good. Plus I got a ton of it for like seven bucks.

While it may hit the tongue sharply and distinctly grassy, the green citrus flavor of this tea transforms into a mouthful of sweetness almost like chewing on barely roasted nuts.

Immediately comforting like spiced tropical punch at sunset. With a sly flamboyance that is endlessly sippable, this is my kind of tea.