2816 Tasting Notes
I’ve been neglecting my pu-erh a bit lately but I had a big meal in Chinatown and a nice shu just seems like the perfect thing to have afterwards. This is the last of this sample, sadly. Earthy and smoky, see my previous tasting notes. I hope this one does not keep me awake too long tonight. I may have to stop after 2 or 3 steeps.
I wanted something mild after lunch that I could drink, this is light and smooth with a slight nutty richness. I was hoping for a bit more flavor but I don’t know if this is a typical yellow tea or if they vary a lot in their flavor profile. This is my first and only yellow tea to date. See my previous tasting notes.
Another tea in my Shang sampler, I did not really know what to expect from a Pao Blossom but am open to new things. :)
I felt the leaf, when dry, smelled very much like a grapefruit or some kind of citrus fruits but that seemed to be where the comparison ended. I do understand why folks may think this is like a jasmine tea since it has a very floral element but it seems less strong than a jasmine in my opinion. I am, however wishing for a tad less flowers…
I steeped my little 3g sample in the gaiwan and have enjoyed drinking this very much. I tried to keep the temperature of my water very low as well, around 170 – 180 F. This seems to be so much a very relaxing and meditative tea and has a very delicate flavor. I really just want to get more so I can keep experimenting with it, so that fact alone will give it a fairly high rating in my book… It resteeps very well without any loss of flavor but it is a very delicate creature and I’m trying to treat it as such.
Preparation
I do miss drinking coffee sometimes but not the acid reflux that always seemed to come with it. It doesn’t really taste like coffee but it’s dark and satisfying with a nice barley hazelnut and date flavor. I did add some soymilk and it’s a nice afternoon drink, I had some for dessert last night too. I liked it and will probably get more and try the other flavors. Although I guess it isn’t really a tea! ;-)
I need to start drinking some of the stuff I got from Teavana… evidently I never logged this one.
The best thing about this tea is the beautiful dark red fuschia color – it also smells pretty nice as well. It’s very fruity, pretty much impossible to tell there’s any green tea in here. It also gets quite tart, I assume due to the hibiscus. I tried this over ice and then it became a bit more like fruit punch. I might have preferred it better when it was hot. You could get a similar effect from getting the Red zinger by Celestial Seasonings and combining that with some green tea. I did get a second steep out of it and that was a little less tart but still very pink.
It was horrible but I can’t say that I loved it either…. the tartness did upset my stomach a bit unfortunately. I still have some left if anyone wants to try it. :)
Preparation
I really liked this one!
It has a light sweetness that is very similar to Verdant’s Laoshan green. I’m getting a lot of sweet pea/corn type flavors here. It definitely seems to have a very clean quality as well. No trace of bitterness or astringency which is great for me. Very refreshing and quenching as well. I only wish I had more of this sample so I could try cold brewing it. I think I will be getting more of this some day!
