1055 Tasting Notes
This is the darkest white tea leaf I have ever seen. A mix of dark and milk chocolate browns. It says to steep for 15 minutes. Holy crap. It’s great at one minute with high floral notes, roses and gardenias. The wet leaf reminds me of the scent of a congou, woody and bread pudding notes. I don’t know if I’m going to make it to 15 minutes. But I will set Alexa and pace circles around the table trying not to pour a little sip.
15 minutes: No astringency. A sweetness like cane sugar, a very fluffy bread pudding. Slight woodsy notes. Very slight barnyard. A smooth mouthfeel and honey aftertaste.
Began with a brief rinse followed by a minute of steeping. The rinse was a bit fishy in aroma but after the first steep old civil war stone and wood house revealed itself. The mouth feel is incredibly smooth. It coats your mouth like a silk blanket. Thick. Speaking of which, satin or silk sheets are probably the hardest to sleep on. Too slippery. The liquor color is very, very dark, like coffee. Deep forest notes. Wet woods. Dry desert woods. Malt o meal?
Flavouring. Never was anything so nondescript in ingredients as this word. And flavoring can contain who knows what. And you know what? I find that really annoying. Because allergies. And furthermore, did they actually taste violets before naming this? Or are they just…. Oh. OH. Okay. I don’t know what violets taste like, raw or otherwise, but somehow the name fits. It is creamy and floral. I know I was being really negative to start but the flavoring thing always gets me. But then I smelled it and I was like Well… now I have to try it. And here we are sitting with this nice creamy cup with woodsy undertones. It coats the mouth nicely.
As a tea adventurer, I love discovering tea that is unknown to most. This tea is a gold mine for adventurers and info nerds. Before I dive down the rabbit hole of this tea, let me tell you that this is unlike any tea you’ve had before. Yes, it is a dark tea. And yes it does have notes that are reminiscent of a dark tea with musty and earthy tones but it also has intense woody and minimal varnish notes, barely any astringency, and some unique very dark chocolate aftertaste flavors. I also get a slight sensation of a homemade waffle cone as it slides down my throat.
So rabbit hole. Here we go. This tea actually comes from a company called Osada Tea. It is unique in that they are the only company that makes the tea because they are the ones that created it. “Japanese tea made with a patented manufacturing method called the microbial control fermentation method, incorporating sake production techniques to tea.” Fascinating!
Had a bit of dragonwell this morning but need a kick in the pants. Picked this one at random. The dry smell has been ruined a bit but the wet leaf aroma represents all that is good about Assam teas. slightly malty, woodsy, bread pudding, old oak chest. The flavor is a good kick in the pants. The perfect amount of astringency to wake you up but not to make you go “whoa too much”. A bit of resin and varnish but overall very woodsy and glorious. Malty and smooth mouth feel.
This is one of those green teas that benefit from proper brewing. I mean, all teas do but some you can’t appreciate without the properness. Or maybe I’m just not a fan of Maojian. I get corn notes and bitter grass notes with strips of astringency. Slight fresh squash notes and a bit of umami. But overall, this is not what I look for when I want to drink green tea. So perhaps I shouldn’t put in a score because it’s a good green, just not my taste?
Okay. Honestly not excited to try this because I’m not a huge fan of gunpowder green and the aroma from the dry leaf makes me think this has been defiled by other tea. The dry aroma is weird. Kinda smokey. Kinda cigarettey…. nose scrunch The green of the gunpowder is very apparent. Instead of Imperial soldier, I would have named this Civil War soldier. The taste is kind of bland. A little woodsy a little grassy, a little hay.
It was one of those mornings where the sausage was burning but not really cooking, people want breakfast but don’t know what they want, and I forgot about my tea. Despite that, I am still getting unique notes through the astringency and bitterness of the oversteep. Deep wooden notes with hints of vanilla. Oak barrel, maybe a bit of whiskey.
Pretty sure this is the first tea I’ve had with a gluten warning on it. With the number of people who avoid or are allergic, I feel like that warning should be on the front. The aroma is quite unique; burnt marshmallow, chickory, fresh twig (like when you are trying to build a bonfire and you go to snap a twig but it’s so green it just bends) a bit of caramel, and a slight hint of bourbon. It sucks being under the weather but I hate this canker sore more. Sorry for my random tangent. I can’t eat properly and my tea… ugh…
I can taste all the notes described. Burnt sugar, bourbon (though not as strong), and the base is a nice strong black tea.
