1379 Tasting Notes
Thank you Angel from Teavivre for sending me this sample to try.
I love the name of this tea, Moonlight Beauty sounds so pure and happy. The website says that though this tea is a raw Pu-Erh it is also similar to a white tea due to the processing of the leaves. You can see the similarity when you inspect the leaves.
In appearance the leaves are long and fairly thin with lots of downy hairs. They are a very pale green, almost white colour and they bare a soft, fresh scent of grass and pepper. Enough to smell like a Pu-Erh but living up to it’s subtle nature. The leaves are also crisp to the touch and could easily be broken into small pieces with fingers.
I will be using 5g of leaf in a 220ml teapot with boiling water.
First Steep – 1 minute
After the first steep the leaves now smell malty and wooden, a real contrast to their dry form. The tea also shares hints of wood and malt, with pepper and sweet pine. The liquid is very light yellow.
In flavour this is more subtle than it smells. The first thing I notice is the smoothness of a fresh pine and sweet peony notes. The after taste is dry and slightly nutty. It actually reminds me of a Bai Mu Dan white tea in flavour.
Second Steep – 2 minutes
More peony and slightly sweeter than the previous steep, though just as mild. More drying in the after taste too. It tastes like spring rain drops that have landed onto flower petals, that imagery is in my mind every time I sip.
Third Steep – 3 minutes
Slightly sour during this steep but with a creamy finish and just as much peony. It has to be said that the dryness is somewhat spoiling it’s subtle elegance.
Overall – I am not a fan of white tea usually and that is exactly what this tea reminds me of. It’s not very Pu-Erh like except for the peppery, wood notes in the leaves once you start to infuse it. That being said it was still a pleasant and non offensive tea. I don’t think I could drink it all the time though, it’s just too mild for my personal taste. I imagine it’s great to keep hydrated with on hot summer days though. I also imagine that the mild nature of this tea would make it rather forgiving should you over steep it. Essentially it remained very similar throughout all three steeps.
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/06/24/moonlight-beauty-raw-pu-erh-loose-tea-teavivre/
First Steep – 1 minute
The tea is red brown in colour and bares a sweet malt and wood scent.
In flavour the first few sips taste similar to it’s steeped scent, the malt is sweet but fresh and fairly light with some dry wood in the after taste. Despite the complex nature of the tea it’s smooth in this steep. Further sips reveal some soft smoke.
Second Steep – 2 minutes
More malt and more smoke in this steep, though on the whole it remains smooth and velvety. It’s a medium strength in this steep but even so it’s a light medium because it’s so smooth and easy to drink. Perhaps an increase in dryness which is moderate at this stage but even so the flavour makes up for it. Also because of the increase of strength the sweetness of it reminds me of brown sugar.
Third Steep – 3 minutes
Even softer than the first steep at this point, though the sweet malt still lingers to dance upon my tongue once more. I wish to say more about it but I’m struggling, there is no wood or smoke present, perhaps the last thing I can say is that the dryness has increased substantially.
Conclusion: It mentioned that this black tea was made using the Dianhong processing method and I can see many similarities between this tea cake and Dianhong in terms of flavour. Personally I am a lover of Dianhong and often keep it in stock so it was good news for me to have something like this that I can show some familiarity with. However, a Dianhong in cake form is a new one for me; though I have had it in tuo like buds before which I suppose is similar to a cake. Either way this tea was divine and I was upset to have finished it so quickly. I am not sure what this tea gained from being in cake form over loose leaf but it doesn’t really matter, the result is wonderful.
For pictures and more information please view my blog:
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/06/22/white2tea-club-june-2016/
First Steep – 30 seconds
The colour is light yellow and bares a fresh sweet grass scent that is very soft.
Flavour is sweet and creamy though subtle with grass and floral tones. Very easy to drink and very fresh. A touch of dryness in the after taste but not much. Further sips bring out a little bitterness.
Second Steep – 45 seconds
An increase in everything, it’s sweet yet bitter but still creamy. Floral notes that resemble sweetpea are mixed with fresh grass and damp wood. I am surprised by how quickly this steep has thickened in flavour.
Quick break since I have become tea drunk already
Third Steep – 30 seconds
This steep is much better, stronger than the first but toned down from the second. It’s thick and sweet and creamy all in one and it dances around my mouth for along after taste. Bitter in the right places and slightly dry. Grass and sweetpea tones remain but the damp wood has toned down.
This one actually reminds me of an Oolong in this steep, I remember having a Japanese Oolong that was similar.
Fourth Steep – 60 seconds
Some bitterness is present but the sweetness still thickens the tea soup and leads to a lingering aftertaste. Despite an increase in the bitterness it’s still fairly smooth and creamy, though not as much as the previous steeps. Also the dryness in the aftertaste has increased significantly.Fifth Steep – 80 seconds
Another increase in bitterness, so much so it’s outshining some of the sweetness. I would say the bitterness even gives this a sort of musty clay like flavour at this point. The smoothness has gone and so has most of the cream.
Conclusion: I have changed my steeping parameters in terms of time than I usually would, purely because of the tea. I felt the second steep was too strong and it was changed at that point to attune with the tea to try and get the best elements from it. It’s a sort of trial and error situation that occurred, but in the end I believe I did it justice and it lived up to it’s curious and impressive nature.
This teas main attributes are it’s smoothness and freshness which made for a very pleasant drink. My only negative comment would be that I was hoping for a few more steeps before it reached this level of bitterness. However, for such a young tea it did surpass my expectations. I’m torn between ageing this tea further or finishing it this year. I suppose time will tell with that question.
For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/06/22/white2tea-club-june-2016/
Not so much a tea review (it will come shortly) but just a few notes.
I have been very busy recently thanks to a new job and trying to sort my life out in general. I only work 14 hours a week but then mix in my hobbies, my tea tasting and my etsy shop (as well as house cleaning) then my time is pretty busy at the moment. It’s for the best as I have a source of income purely for me now which will help with tea supplies and goods. I have already joined White2Tea club and spent £75ish on one Yunnan Sourcing order and one Crimson Lotus Tea order. My big one from YS arrived today so I have been using my Jade handle cha hai with built in strainer and blue glaze tea cups. Super happy with them.
Along with my new bits I tried this tea, and am still going through it, in fact I’m only on my third steep. The reason I stopped is because it’s been so long since I had a rest and a decent Sheng that I’ve gotten tea drunk! My head is whirling away and I’m sat rocking myself with a smile on my face while I watch some Japanese drama on Netflix. I really needed to relax today and I am happy to have been given that chance. Thank you tea drink Gods for helping me to relax, even if you are fucking up my writing a bit.
Congratulations on the new job!
Thank you! I wasn’t looking for a job but my mother said her business needs another team member so I agreed to help. Now there is talk of me learning the family business to take over in the future which is all a bit too much to think about at the moment. For now I can enjoy spending time with my family, helping them out and earning money while I’m at it.
Sounds like a good deal!
Opening the packet I am now face to face with small Pu Erh nuggets, they are highly reflective with a lot of golden tips present. A cluster of earthy brown tones in one little nugget. They are compressed quite tightly, similar to a cake. Each nugget is unique in size and shape but they all contain the same level of golden tips.
On sniff-spection I can detect damp wood, earth, smoke and musk tones. Truthfully it’s also perhaps a little fishy but I think that is down to the age of the tea.
I will be using 3 tea pieces (roughly 4-5g) in a 200ml glass gongfu teapot vessel with boiling water. Usually I like to dedicate a lot of time for Pu Erh but I only have a couple of hours before I have to help my parents with something, so for that reason this will be across six steeps.
Rinse time of 10 seconds due to the size of the nuggets.
First Steep – 1 minute
The nuggets have not broken apart but after the rinse they are soft and giving off more colour. The tea liquid is cloudy red brown with a sweet and earthy scent. Similar to it’s raw scent but much sweeter and thankfully not fishy.
The first few sips reveal a soft and creamy base with delicate wood and earth notes. There is some dryness but not much. As subtle as it is the creamy effect is a wonderful surprise and very easy to drink. The after taste was earthy and dry clay like.
Second Steep – 2 minutes
The nuggets are still rather firm but they are softening up, I could easily pull them apart if I desired to. The scent is smokier but still rather soft.
Flavour is still soft but stronger than the first steep. The sweetness has toned down but the cream persists through the light wood, earth and smoke elements. The after taste is dry with a wood flavour. Also an element of malt that reminds me of golden tips.
Third Steep – 3 minutes
The nuggets are now breaking apart slowly but surely.
This steep is still creamy but the musky earth tone is peaking through a little more than the previous steeps. It’s now a more traditional style Pu Erh but it’s aged very nicely.
Towards the end of this steep it had some sourness coming through toward the after taste which lingered with the musk.
Fourth Steep – 4 minutes
The sweetness has come forward again among the cream, it’s almost honeyed. But the musky earth is still dry and slightly sour in contrast. It still reminds me of golden tip black tea but much more subtle.
Fifth Steep – 5 minutes
The sourness has softened and again the tea is losing the slight thickness that it began to get around the third steep. The cream is still the main flavour at this point.
Sixth Steep – 6 minutes
This final steep resembles the first, expect there is an edge of bitterness in the after taste at this point. The cream is the only notable flavour that is left.
Conclusion: It’s subtle in strength but the cream and sweet wood notes carry this into an easy to drink Shu. I prefer Sheng usually for the creamy taste but this equals a very creamy Sheng but without the grass and floral notes on the side. Also the smoothness of this worked in it’s favour for me.
Given that this tea boasts it can be steeped over 15 times I think they must mean via gaiwan as it started to lose colour and flavour around the fifth steep.
Next time I may try and add another nugget and see if it changes once it’s slightly stronger, but the colour of the tea was dark enough and I believe it’s just one that needs to be experimented with. Perhaps a gaiwan steep would bring out more flavour, but it could be even softer. I will try and experiment another time.
Please view the blog:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/05/27/supreme-aged-golden-bud-lao-cha-pu-erh-dragon-tea-house/
Some quick notes on this while I catch up on Game of Thrones. I’ve almost finished the second series (yes I’m that far back) and I’m going to storm through it over the next two weeks.
This tea is called silver bud yet it doesn’t actually have many of them in the raw Sheng. I suppose that is what I get for trying a cheap sample. It smells musty and damp, very earthy for a Sheng and rather sour.
In taste it’s at least nicer than it smells. It tastes of dry leaves and damp earth with some sweetness and astringency which lingers in the after taste. The bitterness does leave some dryness over time on the tongue.
This tea gets bitter very quickly and the astringency is getting to be too much after only a few steeps. I do like bitterness in a Sheng sometimes but I think this is a touch too much for my liking. I can drink it but honestly it will be wasted on me.
Oh well, another sample reviewed at least. I may just end up seasoning my tea pets with the rest of this, which is around 45g.
Life is too short to drink bad tea.
First Steep – 1 minute
Once steeped the tea liquid is dark brown/red with a damp and earthy scent with sweet and sharp rum taking centre stage.
The first few sips reveal a smooth and sweet combination with some damp earth and a touch of sourness, but the rum cuts through the earth and it’s taste lingers. While it’s hot it’s not as strong as the scent in terms of rum but it’s still very noticeable. It’s actually a nice combination, you have the smoothness of the golden tips with some earthiness but the rum brings sweetness but also a strength that matches the wood and damp elements from the Shu.
Half way down the cup and my mouth is completely coated with a soft and creamy rum flavour which just resembles rum ball sweets even more. Also the rum is more noticeable as the tea cools.
The raw leaves are still strong smelling, despite already having one steep.
Second Steep – 2 minutes
More rum in this steep but it remains as creamy as the first cup. The rum is not as medicinal as the first steep but it remains sweet. This cup is perhaps a little dry in comparison but it’s in a nice way.
This is a delicious steep, it has more body but the flavours remain the same.
The loose leaves still smell like rum but there is also a manure like sweetness to it now.
Third Steep – 3 minutes
This steep smells a lot less like rum, with sour earth notes now in control.
In flavour I also feel that the rum has toned down but it’s still there, just softer and less sweet among the thick cream of the golden tips.
Conclusion
This tea is rum-a-licious! A creamy base combined with sweet rum that resembles rum ball sweets brings back lots of nostalgia. The only time I would get rum balls or rum and raisin ice cream is when I went to the seaside, so for me it homes in on happy memories. Plus I like the balance between the two, being a Sheng fan over Shu I find myself enjoying this base quite a bit. The smoothness and cream reminds me of a nice Dian Hong golden tip but less malty and more earthy.
For pictures and more information please view my blog: http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2016/05/25/rummy-pu-rum-infused-pu-erh-adventure/
Flavors: Cream, Drying, Earth, Rum
Just pouring in the water created a beautiful rice aroma that was strong enough to fill my kitchen and living room. Wow, it’s making me salivate!
Once steeped a yellow tea liquid is produced with the aforementioned rice aroma. If someone were to blindfold me and ask me to guess what it was by scent I would say it was a bowl of rice. There is also the same sweetness and toasted notes from it’s raw form.
The first few sips are interesting…I can detect a toasted grass, milky, floral Oolong but by it’s side is a sweet yet thickly moreish rice flavour. The after taste is a lingering thick (almost stodgy) rice note that has coated the whole of my tongue. A few more sips and it has an added sour note though honestly it’s not for long. I have noticed a slight dryness however which becomes noticeable in the after taste which frankly feels even more like I’m eating rice.
Ok so as rice heavy as this tastes it still does not take much away from the Jin Xuan base which manages to hold it’s own. This I am pleased with, if you’re going to drink Jin Xuan then you should really be tasting it.
Half a cup in and the dryness has increased again to a point that I have a cotton dry tongue. Not pleasant but the lingering after taste is making up for it. It’s still consistent though in strength and flavour from those first few sips.
For a longer review and more information please view the blog: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/05/17/premium-cha-khao-hom-thai-rice-tea-siam-tee/
Flavors: Rice
