947 Tasting Notes
[Spring 2020/21 harvest]
The last ingredient among the three teas that make up the blend comes from the Zhenkang area in Lincang. Its sweetness reminds me of Yi Wu sheng (Man Zhuan perhaps), while the grain-like nature is a bit like some Jinggu teas such as the Jiu Tai Po one from YS. In the end, I like it the most out of the three in the blend.
In particular, it has a very pleasent thick and creamy texture. I also like its strong taste that is close to wheat beer – sweet and bitter with grainy flavours and a sour undertone. Otherwise, I found aromas of forest and compost, as well as flavours of buckwheat and grass.
Preparation
I love this dian hong, it is delicate and powerful at the same time.
It is an aromatic tea with floral and fruity scent complementing ones more traditional for a black tea. Dry leaves smell of cookies and malt, while wet ones more like berries and fir.
The liquor is also flavourful and thick. It is at once, sweet, floral, and savoury. The aftertaste is also woody and quite cooling. Most intriguing notes include ones of black currants and moss, but the taste also has a lot in common with the classic dian hong.
Flavors: Berries, Black Currant, Chocolate, Cookie, Fir, Floral, Fruity, Malt, Moss, Sweet, Woody
A somewhat unique and really tasty ripe pu-erh. It is nowhere near the Hai Lang Hao Lao Man E ripe, but that’s a tough ask.
Dry leaves have an aroma of soy sauce, caramel, and malt, while when wet I can smell mint chocolates, barn, and coal.
The liquor is full bodied with an oily, slick mouthfeel. First infusion has a very sweet, full taste with flavours of oats, miso, as well as porter ale. It gets more bitter over time, but not too much. Second steep is also more woody and herbaceous with floral notes such as lavender and sage. The aftertaste is quite strong with an additional notes of dried fruits.
There is also quite a strong cha qi and I feel almost disoriented after drinking the tea.
Flavors: Barnyard, Beer, Caramel, Charcoal, Chocolate, Dried Fruit, Floral, Herbaceous, Lavender, Malt, Mint, Oats, Oily, Sage, Soy Sauce, Soybean, Sweet, Thick, Umami, Woody
Preparation
As soon as I smelled this one in the tea shop, I knew I wanted it. I bought all they had (which meant 30g in this case haha). The tea doesn’t disappoint, it is complex and fragrant as I knew it would be, but also well balanced.
The aroma has a mix of fruity (nectarine) and vegetal (tomato vine) notes. The taste is intense, and the aftertaste even more so. It is woody and bitter at first, with fruity and earthy hints. However, it doesn’t lack sweetness either. Flavours of moss and vanilla appear on top of the aromatics. The expansive aftertaste further adds floral touch of honeysuckle and nectar to the mix.
Flavors: Bitter, Earthy, Floral, Fruity, Honeysuckle, Moss, Nectar, Nectarine, Pungent, Sweat, Tomato, Vanilla, Vegetal, Vineyards, Wood
Preparation
mineral, nutty, sweet earthy note (beetroot), bubbly, #2 stronger, wheat, licorice root, #3 biting, #4 barley
I don’t find this tea to be quite worth the price, although I only had one session with it to be honest. It is mineral and nutty with a swee earthy beetroot note. The mouthfeel is biting and bubbly and there are also flavours of wheat and barley.
Flavors: Beetroot, Biting, Earthy, Grain, Mineral, Nutty, Wheat
Preparation
Black teas like this are great if you like them a bit more savoury and value depth of flavour and full body.
When dry, it smells leathery and woody with sweet undertones. During the session, there is a mixture of more standard black tea aromas and floral notes. I can smell malt, chocolate, but also forest floor, chrysanthemum, and lily-of-the-valley.
The liquor has a thick texture and pungent taste. There are flavours of butter, acorn, milk, and moss. At some times, it possesses a sour/bitter mixture like coffee, at others, the sweet honey finish is pronounced. In the aftertaste, additional notes of fresh wood, celery, vanilla, and caramel appear.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Butter, Caramel, Celery, Chocolate, Chrysanthemum, Floral, Flowers, Forest Floor, Honey, Leather, Malt, Milky, Moss, Nutty, Smooth, Sour, Sweet, Thick, Vanilla, Vegetal, Wood
Preparation
In today’s session, I wasn’t paying too much attention. Nevertheless, I liked the cooling floral profile, underlying bitterness as well as the numbing mouthfeel. I noticed flavours of sunflower seeds and lavender. On the other hand, the aroma reminded me rather of nuts, earth, vegetables, and sourdough bread.
Flavors: Bitter, Bread, Earthy, Floral, Lavender, Nutty, Sunflower Seed, Vegetables
Preparation
I have a soft spot for the Baozhong profile, this is a nice example thereof.
Dry leaves have a floral aroma with notes of custard, cookies, grass, and brownies. On the other hand, wet leaves smell of gai lan and mustard.
The taste is very comfortable, even with the slightly biting but warming finish. There is a mild astringency, milky mouthfeel, and a sweet grassy flavour alround.
Flavors: Astringent, Cookie, Custard, Floral, Grass, Milky, Mustard, Salad Greens, Sweet, Sweet, Warm Grass
Preparation
This one is more vegetal and savoury than most GABA teas I’ve had. The aroma is very familiar – there are notes of pear and baked fruits, as well as some toasty ones. The tea has a pleasant buttery mouthfeel with a cooling finish and it tastes of fruits, burnt food, and moss.
Flavors: Burnt Food, Butter, Fruity, Moss, Pear, Toasty, Vegetal
[Spring 2020/21 harvest]
Today I tried another part of this three-way blend, the Mangfei. It’s a very different tea. Even when brewed strong, it remains pretty smooth. There is a lot of sweetness as well as floral and vanilla notes. It has a beautiful aroma, but lighter body.
