17375 Tasting Notes
Gongfu!
Though I have tried many different kinds of yabao, I believe this is my first time brewing any from Vietnam. If you’re familiar with this style of “tea” (and I say “tea” in quotations because even that is debatable in its own way), then you know it’s incredibly hard to classify. Sometimes called a white tea, and sometimes a pu’erh. Regardless of what you choose to think of it as, I find this one to be incredibly delicate and smooth with a more full, round feeling mouthfeel that almost seems at odds with the more nuanced and fragile profile. A little bit floral, especially in the top notes and aroma, with notes of almost citrusy tulips and magnolia but with a slightly more woody and herbaceous finish that makes me think of cedar and rosemary. This one also has a bit of a milky and whipped honey undertone and the softest and most delicate lemon notes. It is so fresh and sippable; certainly, a tea to be enjoyed during quite moments and lazy Sundays such as this one.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DK7f48bJfSk/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEsKgbYs9Mc&ab_channel=Vulf
Gongfu!
I just love the smooth, glossy look of these tea leaves. They remind me a little bit of the polished pebble you might find at the bottom of a river bed. They taste delicious too, with a very brisk and slightly bittersweet and astringent full-bodied profile. Very intense, dark buckwheat honey notes coupled with malt, toasted rye bread, and a strong woody and mineral backend of the sip. Maybe just a little bit floral with a similar orchid-like note you might get in the undertones of a really roasted and heavily oxidized Chinese oolong. It’s a pretty powerful tea, with a lot of great flavour and presence packed into those pretty little leaves!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DK-gsp6Svb0/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-YI-K2Obh4&ab_channel=ApricotInk-Topic
Gongfu!
An evening session paired with some super fresh, juicy red cherries. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve had a decaffeinated pu’erh (ripe OR raw), and I have to admit that I was incredibly skeptical about it. I have been burned so many times by flat, tasteless decaf teas, and I was curious how this one could possibly hold up to being brewed using the gongfu method. Honestly!? It wasn’t so bad. Certainly, it was not a deeply nuanced tasting session. But despite the blunt delivery of the brothy and earthy-leaning flavours, I thought the body was exceptionally thick and slick with a lot of strength to the few tasting notes that did come through. I’m glad I challenged that bias I was holding because this was definitely more solid than I had expected.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLBD9QjSLh7/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjkEbrHp3eU&ab_channel=SACS%26TheBrusselSprouts-Topic
Sipdown (2948)!
The dry leaf aroma of this is really candy-like to me and makes me think specifically of the red starburst candies, which I think are cherry flavoured? Steeped up it’s definitely more tart and hibiscus forward, but still has a very rich and deep feeling red fruit flavour that kind of ride the line between cherry, strawberry, and maybe like a fruit punch kind vibe!? Not the world’s most unique blend by any stretch, but as far as the all too common red fruit category of European teas goes I think this was a pretty nice execution!
Sipped on this one yesterday!
It does steep up a pretty pinkish red hue, and the flavour is approachable and pleasant. Red fruit and a bit of sweet apple. Fresh and juicy with a bit of tartness and sweetness but not too much of any one thing. Do I wish the red fruit notes were a bit more clear? Yeah, sure. But it was easy going and simple and I also can appreciate a blend that doesn’t make me think too hard while drinking it.
Brought this one back from Germany and, unfortunately, I can’t really remember what’s in the blend and the packaging is exclusively in German and doesn’t have a full ingredient list. Just a few ingredients called out in what looks like a bit of “romance copy”. Oolong, for example. But there’s also clearly black tea in the blend in addition to oolong…
Steeped up it’s very enjoyable, though! Really brisk and full bodied but with a bit of a creamy, buttery undertone that makes me think maybe it’s milk oolong specifically in the blend? Also very fruity and though pinpointing the exact fruits is challenging I think maybe there’s something in the citrus family like orange and then a more “red” tasting fruit too. Rhubarb, perhaps? It’s kind of ethereal but really lovely and immediately reminded me why I wanted to pick it up in the first place.
Made this on the weekend on one of those rare occurrences when I was kind of craving chamomile. Not a common thing for myself. This was smooth though, with a nice balance between the soft and floral chamomile and the slight sweetness of both the caramel and apple notes. A little more caramel than apple. Not a rich/heavy flavour though, and I do like that about this blend. Caramel doesn’t have to always be really sickly sweet.
One of the teas I brought back from Vancouver!
I love the name of this tea, and if I’m being honest I probably would have passed this one over if it had a name like “Orange Spice” that was a closer mirror to the flavour/ingredients. I do love a spiced orange blend, but I have so many of them. I did like this one a lot though – the orange note is really fresh, zesty and sweet. And cloves are fantastic, and add a nice nuance and complexity. Do I wish this was a bit more of an orange forward blend with a hint of spice, instead of as balanced as it is? Maybe a bit. But I think that’s coming from the place of just wanting something a little more different from other teas I own and less being unsatisfied with the taste of the tea. It’s a bit biased.
This was an interesting blend! It’s basically black tea, a roasted green/twig tea like a kukicha, and cinnamon leaves. The dry leaf aroma is very fresh and crisp, and at first made me think of cucumber skins? But maybe also basil? Steeped up it’s very smooth and medium bodied, and the sort of vegetal but a little bit spiced taste reminds me a lot of a blend from Dammann Freres called Dolce Riviera that can cinnamon and basil in it. This is less intensely flavoured, but tickled that same pleasantly fresh and tingly sort of note for me. Clean, mineral finish and just a bit of sweetness. I’m digging it!
Iced Latte!
Another goodie that was brought back from Japan. Always cool to see the different products carried internationally by brands that are also available domestically. Right now, North American Starbucks definitely isn’t ready to be carrying hojicha powder in stick pack form like this…
The packaging says it’s flavoured, but to be honest I didn’t really taste anything other than the notes I would normally expect from a powdered hojicha. I mean, it’s definitely sweetened but not aggressively so and I wouldn’t consider an added sugar/sweetener the same as flavouring. As an iced latte, it was fine though. Roasty in a predictable and safe feeling way, but not super strong/bold. I added in strawberry jam/syrup (current obsession) and that was VERY good with the hojicha.
