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10 Tasting Notes

Morning Rise Breakfast Blend from Numi Organic Tea

Not bad, but undistinguished, especially compared to their Yunnan Breakfast.

Chinese Breakfast Yunnan Black Tea from Numi Organic Tea
75

One of the few decent Yunnans available in tea bags (individually foil-wrapped). I take a few along when camping or travelling (or any time I can’t brew loose).

Pi Lo Chun (Green Snail Spring)  (ZG92) from Upton Tea Imports
75

One of my personal favorites – very delicate, and slightly sweet. Almost straddles the gap (cup?) between budset white teas and greens. Upton often carries both this version, which is grown in the PRC, and also Taiwanese teas in the same style (which are cheaper, and typically good, if not quite as good by my standards).

South African Green Rooibos Superior Organic from Upton Tea Imports
75

Supposedly even better for us than red rooibos, this unoxidized version is mild-tasting and faintly grassy. I like it, but I prefer red rooibos, all in all.

China Yellow Jun Shan Yin Zhen (ZG53) from Upton Tea Imports
75

Delicious stuff – quite a bit like a white, but subtly different. Rare primarily because it requires very special preparation, and number of tea masters who have the skill is dwindling.

This was Chairman Mao’s favorite tea, allegedly.

China Guangxi Gui-Hua Osmanthus Tea from Upton Tea Imports
75

I don’t generally like flavored teas, but I’ll make a small exception for this one. The base tea is undistinguished, but the osmanthus would overwhelm anything it was paired with anyhow. It makes me think of the huge osmanthus in Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden, which is so fragrant when it blooms that it scents the whole neighborhood.

Organic Tea Forest Green from The Tao of Tea
75
Sei Mee from Sei Mee Tea
75

A bit like a less heavy-duty matcha, I drink this ground OG sencha in cold water as an alternative to iced tea.

Ali Shan High-Mountain Oolong from A Tea Cup Dropped
75

This is their ‘entry-level’ version, which is perfectly good for everyday drinking (I’d love to drink the fancier Taiwanese oolongs every day, but I can’t afford such luxuries).

Hong Bi Lo Chun from A Tea Cup Dropped
75

This is a very tasty tea – I love normal, green bi lo chun-s, and I love malty Yunnan-style blacks. This is the best of both worlds!

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