Teas We Like

4.1 g, 90 ml gaiwan

wet: dull sweet, incense

1. aroma and taste both strongly plummy. slight bitter. Some plum sweetness to finish but thin

2. incense, medicinal and sour bitters

3. mild woody

4. mild

Quite pleasant tasting, though the 8582 has a nicer profile to me. This session was with a lighter ratio and whole leaves from my cake. No discomfort this time. I think the first time with broken bits and a higher ratio was really overkill, and I have to retract my ‘not beginner friendly’ assessment. Experiences like this are probably why people say you want more than a single session to properly assess a tea.

Needed to finish some work late tonight and wanted a caffeine boost. Some abomination blend of 7542 and dust bits from my 2001 xg yellow mark commission cake (roughly 1:2, ~4g total in 90 mL gaiwan). Surprisingly decent, flits in between medicinal and plummy. Both have been rested more now, so maybe they’re showing nicer despite the colder weather. I will make a note to revisit this Dayi soon, since this made me wonder if last time was a one-off or the ratio was just too heavy.

4g, 70 mL TWL gaiwan

This session was with a good amount of broken edge bits from my cake, but the compression overall seems pretty tight

TCM medicinal, incense aroma on the prewarmed dry leaf

Wet: slight smoke, aged notes, incense, sour woody

1. Bitter! Strong incense off the soup aroma. medicinal, and a slight floral taste. Sugar cane sweet aftertaste. Alerting.
2. Bitter medicinal. Sweetness in mouth
3. Similar
4. Bitter

Did a couple more steeps, but this is not really my favorite profile. It certainly has more room to age out the bitterness. This session showed a pretty linear profile as a whole, but I can see why it’s a standard/reference. That being said, I can’t imagine a beginner liking this straight off the bat, even with lighter ratio. TeaDB did a video recently on puerh drinkers getting too used to bitterness and losing sensitivity to tasting it, and it’s also something MarshalN has noted in old blog posts, but I didn’t realize it had also happened to me until drinking with others. All that to say, I think this is genuinely quite bitter. Lol. But not in a disgusting and unpalatable way like Lich Tears, which was a little traumatic.

Feeling wise is a bit jittery. Definitely not as comfortable as the 2005 MY 8582. This will go into the hotbox.

4g, 90 mL ZZZ

Rinse and wet leaf: woody, slight sweet, light smoke. A bit of incense when cooled
1. Strong, upfront incense. A bit beany sweet on finish. Light bitterness, a bit medicinal. Good texture
2. A bit medicinal, maybe plummy. Can see why the description says raisins and honey. Very tasty
3. A bit of mushroom finish and spices. Finish not super durable
4. Woody incense. Raisin
5. Leafy taste. Still some bitter in finish, so a bit of room to continue to change

A bit of warming, and comfortable to drink.

Thanks to a tea friend for the swap! This isn’t going to be something I would run to cake given the other teas available at this price point, but it is really really solid. In comparison to its MY stored factory brethren at TWL, I far prefer this sort of dark, more sweet, taste profile to the 2005 7542 and 2003 7532. Ranking would be something like this: 2005 8582 > 2003 7532 >> 2005 7542

Then again, I have been thinking about what I want out of teas at a certain price and maybe my standards aren’t quite realistic for 2025 given the age on this… there’s some real junk out there for much more. Many of the fresh sheng/shou offerings are total garbage, yet certainly not priced to reflect that…

6.7g, 135ml zini.

wet: incense sours, woody, barnyard, BBQ

1. bit astringent like banana. BBQ

2. smoky

3. a bit bitter, mostly generic tea taste. lacking in structure overall

4. woody, and a bit floral, like steeped out jasmine

tea 2 of a 3 tea speedrun with guests. I feel like I remember thinking it was okay before (but I want to say it’s been at least three years now since the last time…) but I think having it right after a significantly better tea did it no favors.

5.3g, 135 ml zini.

wet: medicinal sweet

rinse smells ginger-y sweet

1. ginger spiced, sweet woody. settling if not sedative. aftertaste like concrete?

2. taste is like unburnt sandalwood incense (tam dao EDP is a good representation of a narrow band of the dry sandalwood smell). also a bit ginger-y when cooled

3. rock, ginger

Was a bit distracted today. steeped a few more times but did not bother to simmer the rest since reflux has been kicking in again even with heicha and ripes.

5.4g, 90 mL duanni
lots of cobwebs, which I spent some time trying to pick out and then gave up because it was too hard to separate them from leaf bits. This is my shou pot, so I couldn’t distinguish if the wet leaf just smelled like shou because of that.

1. a bit gritty texture on finish from broken/powder-y bits. cocoa powder like taste and mouthfeel. bit of smoke? some bitter. mostly herbal. relaxing

2. grainy, herbal, slightly salty. last bit could be due to water though

3 and 4. similar. some happy feeling.

stopped here for work. Material is interesting, not really the bud-heavy or huge leaf ends of the spectrum for LB but sort of long gangly leaves on branches. kept leaves in fridge and simmered w 500 mL for 10 min the next day but have never had especially good results post-refrigeration or after sitting out. Tasted ok. anyway. Despite the price tag, enjoyed it more or less.

5.4g, 135 mL zini pot

sweet, woody, medicinal, bit of acidity when it fades. comfortable and warming. hit the spot today.

4.8g, 500ml porcelain pot

Wet: woody, shou like

Some spices, woody, sweet

Broadly a light shou like taste. Material is huge and so based on what ppl have said online too, wonder if this just needs a ton more heat than standard brewing usually gives. I guess the ratio was also very low here, but maybe will just boil some from the outset next time if I’m feeling lazy

6.7g, 135 ml zini.

woody herbal sweet with plum finish.

No other notes since this was the end to a three tea speed run when some friends visited for lunch last minute. Definitely a comforting dessert type tea, insofar as heicha fits the bill for that. in terms of personal preference, I’ve been gravitating towards darker profiles so I don’t reach for this much, but it’s nice.

5.5g, 135 mL zini

wet: medicinal, sweet, nutty

1. sweet, creamy, slight underlying bitter medicinal

2. similar. core warmth

3. slight sour note. Can see why people describe it as plummy

4 + 5: similar

moved to thermos after, since 4 and 5 were long steeps but not extracting much. after a few hours had a nice cup: grainy rice (maybe red bean paste adjacent?) sweetness, plum finish. Filled again and left it overnight but the second cup wasn’t as good.

This is pretty good, and for much cheaper than aged oolongs, scratches the same itch. While the same price as the 90s Baolan, this gives more of a dessert tea vibe. The Baolan is more woody and darker. I like both for different reasons and would be happy to own more of either, assuming the Baolan is restocked.

While fairly gentle upfront, caffeine is definitely still there. I drank around 4 PM and finished the thermos around 9 PM and then couldn’t fall asleep until after 3 AM and didn’t feel too great the next day.

4.3g, ZZZ.

One day I need to pull this tea out when I’m not feeling unrested or under the weather… but this is very comfortable to drink so I keep reaching for it on these types of days.

wet: darker floral, woody sweet, wet storage

Starts bland, straw-like, some bright sweetness in finish and in throat, some herbal medicinal hinting at bitter but doesn’t quite get to bitter. Seems sleepy today taste wise, or maybe should’ve leafed a tad heavier, but some happy feeling. By steep 6, was core leafy taste, so I was curious about pushing it and moved it to my 135ml zini. I did 4 more long steeps in the zini, and those were mostly extended root, herbal tastes, and some base sweetness.

The pushed steeps didn’t yield anything particular of note. I did this mainly because I drank with some tea friends recently, and they pushed particular older teas into late steeps which were still interesting. It made me think about whether I’m only drinking the storage and not necessarily the entirety of the tea, but I don’t think that’s true in most cases. Those were rare teas that are not often encountered or even available for purchase. But at any rate, I think the distinction is that both base material and storage has to be truly excellent to warrant the pushing, else the backbone is not going to show anything illustrative. So, it’ll still be business as usual for me going forward, since most of my teas are not quite that level.

While this note likely seems unenthusiastic, I do actually like this tea and would like to buy another cake once shipping opens back up. The storage and general profile are both very nice, though if I were to hazard a guess, I would say something like the DTH 04 actually has nicer material since the feeling is stronger and goes deeper there.

5.8g, ZZZ

Joked with friends that aging is intentionally increasing the text size on things so they’re more easily readable. Another more recent habit is no longer wishing to tend to the mountain of samples. I just want to drink the teas I know I like…

wet leaf: woody, incense, date, slight wet storage funk

broke some leaf off the cake today for the session. Cake was bone dry as usual, so I steamed leaves in the pot while I loaded the laundry. Seems to have helped, since rinse was a good color.

1. medicinal, bitter. some floral sweetness in finish, but bitterness very much on display, dominating profile and finish. A bit heavy, slowing

2. liquor not too thick, but present in throat. woody incense when cooled

3. very woody. a bit of mushroom and floral edges, a bit of cooling

didn’t take notes after but good longevity. Definitely overdid it with the ratio here. Came in very sleep deprived and left just very caffeinated and a little anxious/jittery. Still probably the best showing yet.

5.4g, 90 mL ZZZ, water mix

wet leaf: medicinal, vanilla, sweet

1. dark, fruity, medicinal. sweet finish, a bit dank. weighty feeling

2. dark woody, medicinal, almost salty. fruity finish, a bit effervescent cherry somewhat reminiscent of the recent YQHs. serious, reflective, and a bit downing

3. bland medicinal sweet

was busy and also had to pick this up the next day after refrigerating so wasn’t quite the same and didn’t note those steeps.

5.5g, 90 mL ZZZ, water mix
wet leaf: maybe camphor? Have seen some people compare it to tiger balm, but this is the first time I’ve noted this for any tea i think.

Starts w woody, baking spices, earthy notes and subtly sweet finish. Taste overall on the lighter side, but when pushed some soft bitterness. Some grounding feeling.

Overall, I’m inclined to think that there’s no issue with longevity, since for something like the BYH 04 Yiwu, the stewed leaf taste comes through after five or so steeps. Not the case here, taste is just a bit lighter overall, so sample is likely a bit too dried out/sleepy. Was looking forward to this, but fell slightly short of expectations. Given the drastic differences in experience when the liao fu san cha was dried out vs. rehydrated, I will let it rest and hydrate more before re-assessing.

4.4g 4GC LB 90s, 90 ml duanni

Mothball, beet smell

1. Kind of thin. Just a general beet taste, some powdery sweetness on finish. Light headiness, maybe from a recent caffeine break

2. Pushed a bit for thicker texture. Still beet, powdery finish. Some touch of floral in the finish that some dankly stored teas seem to get (like the changtai 03 bamboo spring/jinzhushan)

3. Steep color lightened. Beet, hint of spice/peppery, light warmth in shoulders

4. Color lightened here as well. Flatly sweet taste. Decided to simmer the rest for 5 min.

simmered mug was decent, drinkable enough. Not a huge fan of this one, since I prefer the woody profiles to the beet heavy ones

5.2g, 90 mL duanni, boiling Brita tap

dry: beet smell
wet: sweeter, almost shou like, but not sure if it’s because the pot has seen a lot of cheap shou (my latest obsession) lately.

1st: concentrated and smooth. Slight dark bitter upfront. Beet and concrete like taste in middle and then slightly sweet on finish. Slight relaxation and warmth
2nd: similar, lighter honeyed finish
3rd and 4th: lightened, somewhat woody beet

all in all ok enough. Already over a month, but maybe more rest and or a lot more time will lighten up the beet heavy taste. While it’s not disgusting or anything, for the price I would’ve preferred to own more cheap shou or just pony up for the bao lan instead.

picked this up recently since I wanted to buy a smaller gaiwan for stale greens (lol) and the 4gc liu bao. not shabby, disregarding price! haha. Who are we kidding. Still hard to divorce price from consideration for me. Should’ve just bought more of the 90s bao lan. :P

4.9g, 90mL duanni, 212f
quick rinse. overall strong beets in taste across steeps. Initial steep had a cooling, sweet, slightly floral finish but the rest had more of a unsweetened home-made soy milk finish. When pushed, there’s a slight bitterness present. With older liu bao, it’s hard without a lot of heat and I only own teaware amenable for one person brewing. So after 4 good steeps and 2 relatively pale steeps, I moved it to the stove top to gently simmer for 10 min., and that was ok. Slight warmth. Feeling is mostly relaxing, but was very sleepy today and this did not help.

5g, 90 mL TWL ZZZ, 212f
Wet leaf: smoke, barnyard, sour woody
1st: bitter, woody, cooling minty semi sweet finish. Warmth
2nd: similar. Mushroom-y floral lingering in mouth and nasal
3rd: spicy woody
4th: caramel-ish, bitter, some upper throat presence
5th: dry mushroom
6th: something nutty
7th: dead leaf taste .

overall narrow band of taste this time. Was a bit more interesting last time, but i think my sample may have been a bit dry. Will be interesting to hold onto and see how it progresses

6.3g, 90mL ZZZ, boiling Brita tap

Almost finished with my sample. just like the last two times, very irked by the effort it takes to break and brew a chunk, but a very pleasant session today. cherry, woody, light medicinal, and baked goods, with all the latter almost seeming like a nice yancha without the roasty hint. Tapered off gently, with a light mushroom and minty finish. A bit warming in core + nicely caffeinating. From this session, if it wasn’t an iron cake, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy. But since it is an iron cake, I will probably never own it… lol

Have had this twice now, with similar ish ratios (5.5 or 6.5 g to 90ml). Once with gaiwan, once in zhuni, both boiling. It’s decent, but I don’t think I’ll buy it because I hate dealing with iron cakes. It takes one rinse to open up the chunk slightly, and then another longer rinse to soften it so it’s able to be fully picked apart. Even then I have to use my fingers to separate chunks into manageable pieces which is fine for drinking alone if a real hassle, but I would definitely not do if I was brewing for others.

Wet leaf: sweet (tomato-like?), woody, light smoke, pond

Taste is mostly woody, grass jelly, herbal/medicinal, sometimes apple-like and bitter adjacent but not quite bitter in the oversteeped heizhuan/fu way. Good texture, though taste isn’t terribly exciting most of the time. Which is a good thing, i think, since it seems clean. Feeling is comfortable, slightly warming. It’s in a good spot as far as I can tell, though for price point, I think I’m leaning towards caking the 7532 TWL carries.

Thought this was gone, but found the true last leftover bits today. 3.7g, 90 mL, so a little light.

clear incense taste, cherry finish. slight feeling, but a bit shallow. I think at this price point I would prefer aged liubao, but I can see this continuing to age well. I’ve liked this more the times I’ve had it with others, but alone this never quite clicked for me.

Finished up my 7532 sample today, combined with some bits of the 2001 iron cake sample. Both show up nicely, with a clear incense note and a light cola sweetness. Was a reminder that with good teas, there’s no need to fight to have it show well. It just is.

6.1g, 130 mL zini, mixed water

wet: wood, smoke, sour, berries, medicinal

1. bitter upfront. somewhat thinner than expected, maybe ratio too low? bright sweetness in finish. dry wood, medicinal

2. similar. maybe a water issue miscalculating, or ratio is really throwing me off compared to previous times trying. fruity finish in throat and on breath

3. kind of dull. not unpalatably bad, but not terribly attention catching. too many variables switched up: pot, ratio, water. ended up moving to a mug after because I wasn’t too happy with it this time.

Mattcha quips somewhere that shah reviews teas more favorably when he owns them. I hope this is not the case for me, but this is generally a common cognitive bias and I probably have the same issue lol. I don’t think I’ll end up caking this.