China Cha Dao

So. Here I am trying this one again, and I’m getting very much the same as before.
It smells like raisin, and maybe clay… which is pretty accurate to the taste.
(NB: I did “wash” the leaves with a rinse)
My first steep was very raisin like, with a round, sweet base. The sweetness reminds me of what I think honeysuckle should taste like. As it cooled, a hint of clay emerged.
My second steep: less raisin, a touch more clay but only by a hair. The profile is even rounder still. It was sweet, but there was a hint of abrasiveness at the bottom of the cup… like coarse honey on the throat.
Third steep: Wow, this is very sweet! Cloyingly so. It’s very upfront, and constant through the sip. I’m still tasting raisin, behind the sweetness. The raisin and sugary taste seem related somehow… I find it hard to separate them but I know they are more side by side than one and the same. Clay is in there somewhere but wayyyy behind the raisin.
Fourth steep: Still very sweet, hitting the back of the throat now, where the abrasiveness was… and it’s rounder still!! but lighter. I’m having trouble placing the clay-ness here.
Fifth steep: Less sugary this time but it sticks around in the aftertaste. Not so much at the beginning of the sip where I get more clay. The sweetness now reminds me of stevia, only more natural tasting. (I still haven’t gotten used to the stuff)
There is also a clay like dryness. It just showed up in this steep, so suddenly! I had to down a glass of water after this cup so that the pasties in my mouth would go away.
I could have gone for another few steeps but I didn’t like the direction it was going. Still, I’m delighted at having made it this far! I’m bumping the rating a bit.
Thanks again Jerry Ma!!

Meh. I mean, compared to the other samples, this was meh. With my faulty taste buds anyhow. I tasted raisin, the kind that I get now when I have a tea that is supposed to be malty so I suspect that there would be some malt in there!
the second steep was better, less raisiny and more sweet. The third steep was a little abrasive and I got swamped with work so ended up not going for another.
Will definitely give this one another try when I’m back to normal :)

Well, I am off with a girlfriend this weekend! shopping trip!!! :P
which also means no internet. See y’all next week!

Ahh!! I swear I didn’t touch the ratings bar… but it showed up at 54 and I thought, well I can’t leave it like that, so I deleted the post and replaced it with a new one… but apparently the server has a memory so it placed the rating back at 54! so, my apologies for throwing the scale off…

I didn’t get around to trying the very generous samples from China Cha Dao for a while after receiving them for a variety of reasons, including being overwhelmed with tea and going to the cottage a lot to enjoy the amazing fall weather and eat a lot of pumpkin baked goods. I’m feeling back in form now and started with this one.

It’s a really nice surprise. I was intimidated as I am not always fond of dark Oolongs. I’m not sure why, but the roastiness often doesn’t sit right with my stomach and my taste buds. This one smelled very dark and roasty dry. Sweet and honeyed, but dark. I thought of tar, actually. I boldly proceeded, though. Also, the leaves are gorgeous. So long and twisted.

I’ve enjoyed four infusions and counting of this in my gaiwan at around 180 degrees but for no measured steeping time. I think it’s increased slightly each infusion. It turns out to be light compared to what I was expecting. Sweet and toasty, I’m thinking roasted barley. Really nice.

Thanks to Jerry Ma for the free sample!
This tea is excellent!!
This is only Grade ‘A’, but it was better (imho) than the ‘AAA’ Da Hong Pao sample…
It was deliciously fruity – strong honey and cinnamon, along with some kind of tropical fruit (not tart-, nor berry-, nor plum-, fruit like).

The cinnamon flavor was clearly present at first, but it always ended with a really good honey-like flavor, and a nice returning sweetness. I haven’t had much Wuyi Oolong before, but this was very good.

This tea surprised me a little. I found it to have sweet taste and after taste. I did not find the flavor very strong. But I did get some astringency. I am intrigued-more than anything. I am glad that I could finally get to some of these teas.

Another lovely tea! again with the lightness… but I am now wondering how much better this would be with a proper Gawain or Asian style teapot?
So the tea… (yep, I stopped yammering on!)
When the cup was hot, I got the slightest bit of smokiness, more on the inhale than in the flavour, or maybe both but it was so quick that I barely caught it.
The base is nice and round with a hint of sweetness and a bit of a sweeter, drying finish. Now that the cup is cooling, I can see that it’s sort of a clay-like dry sensation… Did you ever eat clay as a kid? well I did it as an adult! not very bright huh. (it was a Bentonite cleanse- you don’t wanna know!)
Now, I wouldn’t say this is earthy, though you could say that clay is earth. It’s just that, well, I’ve always associated pu-erh with more of a dirt taste.
Would I buy this? I think so. I like it. I don’t love it, and again I’m still dealing with this dang bug. I have atleast two more spoonfuls left (I’d say cups but that would confuse those who resteep) so maybe it will grow on me. Of course, if this does even part of what that aforementioned cleanse was supposed to do, then heck yah I’d buy it. I wonder… hmmm. xShrugsx
Overall, I like this much more than the tea I sampled the other day though, so yay for that!
More big thanks to Jerry Ma for sending me this sample!!

Oh and for the record, I am shocked that I really am enjoying these teas. I’ve had some iffy experiences with pu-erhs and these samples have really turned my opinion around! :)

Edit: Second steep is just as good!! A little more intense on the clay when it cools.

Another I haven’t had in a while. Enjoyed 5 cups. This is a green puerh. Still haven’t figured out how to remember if that means sheng or shu. After the first steep the leaf smells like mushrooms – like springtime morels. Yum. I love green puerhs. They are so light and clean. Sweet and sticky on the lips. Seems creamy today.

I gave the third cup to a co-worker- traditionally the best cup. He grumbled, “it tastes like sweet dirt” and poured it out. Guess he is entitled to his opinion, even if he is a stupid head.

Day 2. Today I started with a 2 minute steep using boiling water. Why? I have no idea, I just felt like it. This is the best cup yet of a tea I already loved. Apparently I have a soft spot for puerh. The sip is warm, rich, and earthy, not bitter or fishy. The aroma which is a way better experience than it sounds is of hay and clay. An, I am at once transported from my office in to a sunny field somewhere far away, experience. Life is hard but tea makes it better. Only had time for 3 cups today. All smooth and sweet. The last was a beautiful deep golden color.

This is the third of five samples given by China Cha Dao. The dry leaf is beautiful. First impression is this is the longest leaf of any tea I have used to date. It smells fresh and green. The color range of the leaf is from dark green to almost white.

Used my typical western approach. 2g of tea. Water is same temp as I typically use for my greens. Heat the water to just boiling, turn off, wait until the pot grows silent. Seems to work. Did a swirling wash with a few ounces and poured off.

First drinking steep at about 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of fresh hay – a great smell to a country boy. Now that the leaf has relaxed, I can see that the length is due to the inclusion of stems. The brew is pale yellow-green and very clear. With the first sip I immediately notice that slightly sticky lip feel that I get with other puerhs. This is followed by a spectacular slightly earthy green tea flavor. Zero bitterness. I did not notice any fishiness the others mentioned. This is a light and mellow but not boring puerh. Halfway through the first cup I can tell you I love this. I could drink this all day long. Oh wait, with multiple steeps I may be able to drink it for two days! Woot!

I had 4 cups of this today and each was very similar to the last.

First steep: a bit earthily floral, if that makes sense. With a green factor.

Second steep: a Very roasted taste

Third steep: very earthy with slight fish to it

Fourth steep: a bit bitter with earthy finish

Fifth steep: eathiness is much lighter. a tiny bit astringent.

And so on.

This is a good pu-erh and much lighter than most I’ve had.

The leaf was a little hard to break off. I don’t have the proper tools for the job. Used about 2g of leaf (1 spoonful). Water heated to less than boiling (no fish eyes). 10 second wash swirling the leaf in the water and poured off. Kind of botched the first steep. I poured the wash in my drinking cup, so I was in a bit of a panic finding another cup. My first steep was maybe 45 seconds. The liquor was pale yellow green and quite clear. The aroma in the pot was a bit scary. It had that puerh smell towards the fishy side. Weird but did not have a bad aroma once poured. Must have left with the wash. The wet leaf is made up of a small broken pieces. I don’t think I did this chipping it off the cake. First sip is very light and pleasant. Not at all what I expected. The earthy taste is there but subdued. It became a bit more pronounced as the cup cooled. This is very easy to drink but for my taste lacked the character of the Nan Nuo I’ve tried. I won’t record all my steeps this go around but I did 5 today and I imagine it will go that many more. Each cup today was pretty much the same as the last. Smooth and even.

Update – Day 2. Sadly, the leaves did not survive the night well. The broken pieces of leaf deteriorated into even smaller pieces. I thought this tea would go ten cups but I only got two additional cups out of it – for a two day total of 7 – but today’s cups were weak and bland. I did notice today that my mug is not 10oz as I thought but 12oz. So I got 84oz out of the 2g of leaf. Really only 60 of it were proper strength. Still that’s impressive.

This is my third review in a series of six samples of Wuyi Oolongs from China Cha Dao

Updated 10/12/12 after doing the third and forth steepings

Experience buying from China Cha Dao: I responded to an offer on Steepster for free samples. Received exactly what was stated in the offer: fresh tea and very generous sample sizes. On their website on eBay they have a good variety of tea for reasonable prices.

Age of leaf: Stated as harvested in 2011. Received in mid-summer, brewed in very early fall 2011.

Packaging: small, clear bags with small label printed with the full name of the tea.

Dry leaf: slight roasted aroma, otherwise the same at the other Wuyi oolongs: long, slender, dark brown leaves. There were very few small broken pieces.

Brewing guidelines: four 8-oz cups of water used, leaves loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added. (I tried to keep the following guidelines as consistent as I could throughout the series)
…………….1st : 190, 2’
…………….2nd: 198, 3’ (Over a week later, tea sitting, sealed, in fridge)
…………….3rd 195, 5’ (Same day as 2nd steeping)
…………….4th: 200, 7’ (Two days after 2nd and 3rd steepings)

Aroma: mildly roasted, with possibly a hint of caramel.

Color of liquor: pretty much the same as the other Wuyi oolongs: medium brown—like a lightly roasted coffee.

Wet leaf: aroma is slightly different than the others, milder, and slightly more pleasant. Half of the leaves were on top, half on the bottom of the pot during the first steeping. All were on the bottom for all of the remaining steepings. Most of the leaves/buds are whole, many are large, and they are a dark green color, where some have roasted edges on them, and there are a few brown leaves.

Flavor: sweet and mild, with a slightly roasted flavor.

Value: Free 10-gram sample (Thank you Jerry Ma @ China Cha Dao tea on Ebay!). His regular tea is very reasonably priced, I judge ($7/125grams).

Overall I consider myself a newbie when it comes to oolongs. Based off of the first two steepings I didn’t see anything really notable about this tea other than the fact that there are very few broken pieces in the leaf—-leaves and buds are almost all whole—-and that it was a little sweeter tasting than the other two Wuyi oolongs I have tried. But the third steeping changed everything. I honestly don’t know what happened, but something did, and it tastes different, carmal-ly, like a Yunnan black. It’s good! It’s sweet, good, amazing. Since the flavor was so good on the third steeping, I decided to do a forth. Amazing, there is still good flavor in my cup! It’s good, mellowed from what it was on the 1st and 2nd steepings. Even the color is now mellowed to a clear rosy hue. I already composted the leaves, but I bet this could have easily stood up to at least a one more steeping! This is a tea I would definitely brew up and drink.

So this is my third puerh I have drank. The other two where dark in liquor color and very strong right off the bat. To my delight this was completely opposite. I put a table spoon in my gaiwan, and it opened me up to a different experience.
It is vegetal and smooth compared to what I have had in the past. Golden yellow in color and the characteristic “fish” taste and smell is subtle.

on to the next puerh in the box :)

Having this again after a long while. Turns out to not quite be what I was in the mood for, but still very good in itself. Tasty enough that it had me window-shopping the China Cha Dao eBay store for Pu’erhs to try. A nice cup.

On the first steeping the scent is very light… almost not there.

It is sweet with a refreshing quality. I’m not well versed in Pu-Erhs, but have tried a fair number and this is different from any I’ve had so far.

It is a bit grassy, but not in an over-powering or putting-off way… Just clean and vegetal. There’s a little of that earthy, almost fishy, flavor at the bottom of the sip but not At All as strong as in other Pu-Erhs I’ve had. Instead it’s gentle and rounds out the flavor some.

Second Steep: The earthy/lightly fishy scent has started to come out. A sweetness, too.

This is still green, but more earthy with that slight sweetness still there. A tiny bit of astingency is coming out, too.

Third Steeping: The scent is a bit more earthy with that light fishyness coming out. Not strong like other Pu-Erhs I’ve had. This is still a very light tea.

The flavor is lighter this time, I feel. Earthy with a touch of green. No sweetness now.

I won’t go on any further about the steepings; I think what I wrote gives a good introduction to this tea. It is a bit green, a bit earthy, a bit sweet… how much and what depending on the steep. It is a Very light and refreshing Pu-Erh, not like anything I’ve tried before.

This may be a buyer. I’ll find out after a few more steepings, probably.

Apparently, a year ago I steeped 2g of leaf about 10 times. Today I only had time for 2 mugs. First had that in your face metallic sheng thing going while this was very hot. It pretty much disappeared as it cooled. It was replaced by a creamy sweetnes that bordered on syrup. Yes I added sweetener but not enough to explain this. It was kind of honey and caramel flavor. The second cup was not as enjoyable. It was sort of bland. Wish I had time for a third to see if it came back to life.

A really rough day mentally at work but I arrived home to find three packages of tea sent to me for review. Yep, the end of the day was much better than the start.

An ‘old tree’ tea. I have been trying to drink my teas with the shorter shelf life first but I just needed puerh today. It’s been a long time since I steeped this one. Maybe two spoons of leaf (almost filled the scoop that came with the French Press). Boiled the water then decided to let it cool a bit before pouring. I steeped just over a minute. Did not do a rinse. The wet leaf has a tiny amount of seaweed smell but mostly it has the aroma of a mild green. This is still a young tea and the leaf is mostly green in color. The first cup is very mild. The main characteristics are a side tongue tingle, a bit of a metallic taste, and a thick mouth feel. Otherwise it is a very mild sheng with no nasties attached. Halfway through the first cup my tummy is singing the hallelujah chorus.

Second cup I decided to use the boiling water and steeped two minutes. The liquor is amber/green and not inky black like a shu. The leaf is a bit vegetal now but the brew hints at earthy. More flavors in the sip but they are all subtle. Metallic taste is gone, replaced by mild earth, mushroom, and maybe my imagination but a hint of smoke. Flavors intensify as the cup cools but never overwhelm. This even suggests it would develop some leather notes if it were allowed to age properly. That’s not going to happen as I have only enough left for one more adventure. Maybe I can stall it months but it definitely won’t be years. I may never know what aged sheng tastes like as I like the young stuff entirely too much to wait.

Third cup of the morning is the best yet. I will be drinking on this leaf the rest of the day, maybe longer.

10th and final steep. 7m, boiling water. Queue fireworks and thunderous applause. I’m stopping, I’m stopping. I have 8g of this left and 4 others to try. Pretty sure a brick of this stuff would last me a lifetime. I am impressed. The last cup still had a lot of good flavor in it but I’m quitting. I’m quitting. O sweet leaf, I miss thee already. Oddly, before steeping I noticed the leaf is back to brown and it has taken on the most unusual flowery scent. Good ending. Can’t wait to read other’s experience with this tea.

I just noticed the tea info says 2010. I am pretty sure I entered this as 2011 but maybe I messed up?

9th steep. 4m, boiling water. Ok its getting weak again, so I should stop while I am still enjoying it. Almost tempted to go the 10th steep just to get to 100oz out of 2g of tea leaf. More tea and less steeps might have given a more intense experience but I am really pleased with the results as I have done it.

8th steep. 2m, boiling water. Remember I am using a 10oz mug. If I were using a 6oz cup this would be the 13th steep. Increased steep time helped. This is similar to yesterday’s last steep but mellower. Just figured out what that syrupiness reminds me of – ever bought potato chips prepared with fat free Olean? Yeah, its that sticky feeling on your lips.

7th steep. Day 2. 1m, boiling water. Last night I drained all the liquid that I could, spread the leaf out on the bottom of the press, and covered. I worried how it would survive the night without me. After steeping, the leaf still looks good and smells like veggies. The liquor is clear amber. Waiting for the water to cool is killing me. I need my fix. Please, no interventions. I like the monkey on my back. First sip, aaaahhhh, sweet release. Just as I left you, my precious. Actually, it’s a touch weak. I’ll have to up the steep time! I also notice it still feels syrupy.

6th steep. 50s, boiling water. Never have got a hint of bitterness and nothing that I would consider grassy. Increasing the time helped. The clarity in the press is still very good. I only used about 2g of tea, I am on my 6th cup and this stuff shows no signs of giving up. In fact I think this is the earthiest cup yet and this is a good earthy, not fish tanky. I am impressed. This is probably the last steep of the day. Tomorrow I will start again where I left off. I have to know how far this tea will go.