What-Cha

I prefer this tea infused for 4 minutes.

Medium mouthfeel with smooth finish. Light cocoa note.

Caramel sweetness. I will try to infuse this for longer in the future.

While going through one of my tea totes yesterday, I stumbled upon a pouch of this tea. I had planned on spending my evening working on a new green oolong, but when I saw this, I just had to try it. I greatly enjoyed the other Georgian black teas I purchased from What-Cha and had to find out how this one compared to them. For me, this one was yet another winner.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions. Even though the vendor recommended a steep time around 4 minutes for this tea, I went with my usual 5 minute infusion instead.

Prior to infusion, I noticed that the dry, wiry tea leaves emitted gentle aromas of malt and roasted nuts. After infusion, the dark golden tea liquor produced lovely aromas of malt, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, straw, roasted almond, and golden raisin. In the mouth, I easily detected notes of butter, cream, steamed milk, straw, sweet cinnamon, roasted almond, nutmeg, toast, honey, malt, and golden raisin. After the swallow, pronounced impressions of cream, steamed milk, spices, honey, and roasted almond lingered on the palate.

It seems that these Georgian black teas just do the trick for me. I found this to be a satisfying, approachable, gently invigorating tea that had much to offer in terms of aroma and flavor. It also had a wonderful texture in the mouth. In my opinion, this tea compared favorably to What-Cha’s other Georgian black teas. I would definitely have no problem recommending it to anyone looking for a smooth, easy-drinking black tea with plenty of flavor.

Another sipdown for my morning cup. I liked this one straight, but I needed a latte this morning so I finished off the last of my leaves by adding milk. It doesn’t seem very flavourful, but I do get some malty (grain) notes like the crusts of whole wheat bread. Also something vaguely fruity.

Sipdown of this fine black tea. The novelty factor here boosts my rating slightly.

No bitterness at all, actually quite sweet and smooth.

While there is some complexity here, it is fairly generic. It tastes like black tea. Honey-like sweetness, tannin, molasses, raisin. It is almost like it has the flavour/sweetness of brown sugar. It is a really solid cup, but doesn’t deliver anything I can find in numerous other black teas (for cheaper prices).

Sample I bought from from JK7Ray on reddit. 2.5g leaf, 1.5 minutes, 250 mL 90 deg. C water.

It smells sweet, aromatic (cocoa, malted grain, molasses), brews an amber brown.

The flavour is typical of black teas, is slightly oversteeped for my liking (heading into overly tannic and bitter territory, but not quite there). Initial taste is savoury and sweet: molasses, honey, cocoa, thick mouth feel. After taste is sweet with notes of wheat. I would have enjoyed this more if it was less “in-the-middle” of all of its flavours. It seems to have averaged everything instead of having and particular flavours pop out. More wheat, richer/more cocoa, or maltier/grainer/creamier would have been an improvement.

Overall, it’s pretty average. I mean, it’s not a bad tea, but its very plain in my opinion. It doesn’t have a whole lot going for it other than the fact that it tastes like any other black. I still have a cup of it left, but will not be reaching for it anytime soon while I have more exciting options available.

I started working on a sample pouch of this tea prior to going to work this morning. In my opinion, there is nothing quite as effective as Assam when it comes to getting one started in the morning. Unfortunately, this one did not do much for me. I don’t feel like I was able to get it quite right.

I prepared this tea Western style. I tried to prepare this tea two ways. First, I steeped 4 grams of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I later steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 194 F for 3 minutes. Both preparations produced extremely similar results.

Both infusions produced a mellow woodsy, malty bouquet with hints of caramel, butter, and molasses. In the mouth, I mostly picked up butter, malt, and wood notes with hints of honey, molasses, cream, chestnut, hazelnut, and brown toast. There was very little astringency or bitterness, which was nice, but I didn’t find much to latch onto period.

I don’t know about this tea. I’m going to try it again later, but so far, I do not have particularly strong feelings about it either way. Normally, the so-called golden ratio of 3 grams of loose tea per 8 ounces of water (and I never fill my teacups to the brim, so I’m never really using a full 8 ounces) works for me, but I don’t feel like it did here. Looking at the leaves too, I could tell that this was a high quality tea. It just didn’t do much for me. It came across as being timid and stuffy.

ADDENDUM: I just finished the final 3 grams of the sample pouch, and I have to say that I like this tea a little more now. It had kind of a leafiness and grassiness up front that I hadn’t noticed before. It also had a touch of cocoa that I picked up on the finish. Compared to many of the Assams I have tried, this one was very light and mellow. I found this tea to be a very backloaded tea in the sense that, for me, the flavor was at its best, boldest, and most complex right around the swallow. It still wasn’t really my thing, but I could see this being good for someone who wants the caffeine punch of Assam or other strong black teas, but doesn’t necessarily want the heavy maltiness, syrupy mouthfeel, or pronounced astringency.

Winter 2016 tea

Dry leaf has a distinct floral aroma- maybe lily flower if I had to choose. Half of a cake used.

Brewed tea has an aroma of ripe bananas with a bit of a malty tone which reminds me of banana bread. The brewed tea flavour reminds me of toasted bananas. Medium-thick mouthfeel and sweet on the finish. Toasted floral notes in the background.

4 minutes seems like too long of an infusion for this one.

Dry leaf has a sweet malty aroma. Brewed tea has a creamy velvety aroma. Thick mouthfeel. Sweet on the finish. Sweet milky pudding note. A bit of grapefruit in the aftertaste.

the best tea from Indonesia because very delicious and can try at office or home..

I did a side by side with the Colombian green tea and this black tea.

The leaves are moderately sized and slightly twisted with scents of sweet dark fruit, baked breads, and caramel with a base of Hay. I grabbed my gaiwan and brewed away. The taste is odd with some wet bamboo tones along with a more general wet wood note. I could note a slightly sweet aftertaste. The next taste brought the image of roast beef stew. This was an odd one for me. I couldn’t pick up the sweet berry notes peeps were talking about; i only got roast beef stew…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRGu6Y9gjKa/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

This was an odd one.

The leaves are lightly red and tightly rolled with an odd roast tone. I can pick some starch-y cloth scents (linen?) with heavy dark fruit notes. I warmed up my shibo, and I placed what I had inside. The smell is an exact copy for run-of-the-mill hongcha. Malt. Roast. Nutty. Dark. I washed the leaves once and prepped for brewing. The taste is comparable to Bang Dong from White2Tea. The tea has some roasted tones with a bit of sweet fruit and malt. The aftertaste is nice with a succulent red fruitiness covering my throat. The tea is interesting and smooth. This isn’t something that I would seek, but it was a decent tea. It was fun to drink Vietnamese oolong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR6A7GBg-Hz/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

Dry leaf aroma: Malt with hints of cherry.
Dry leaf appearance:

Wet leaf aroma: Stone fruit and a crisp tartness.
Wet leaf appearance: https://www.instagram.com/p/BSwkUkuj_8F/

Preparation: Brewed western style in a ceramic infuser mug.

First steeping: 4 minutes at 212 degrees.
Freshly brewed, brisk tannin and malty notes are most prevalent, with a stone fruit aftertaste. A creamy mouthfeel is present at the end of the sip. As the cup cools a vibrant cherry note comes to the forefront and the creamy mouthfeel is more prominent in the aftertaste. I let this cup cool completely, after which the cherry essence truly came out and lingered pleasantly for quite a while after the sip.

Another sample from Hoalatha. Couldn’t wait to try this tea out of sheer aroma-driven curiosity. It smelled like fruit loops. Straight up. I’ve definitely had grainy and cereal-y teas before, but this was my first time having a tea that smelled of one so specific!

This tea steeps up nice and golden with a thick texture and sweet flavor that exudes fruit loops and more of that cereal graininess. In the following steep, a darker sweetness and malty, fruity flavors emerge. Really, really enjoyed this one!

I’ve never had tea from Columbia before, so this was a first!

The leaves are darkened and slightly twisted with a bean-y aroma along with some slight grass, and a minor floral. This was a rough smelling tea. I grabbed my kyusu and filled it up. The taste was different. The brew was very light and grassy with a slight sweetness. Later sipping, I could note some mineral. This was a strong or complex tea, but it was decent it smooth. The drink was light and would make a nice lazy easy drinker that requires little attention.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRGu6Y9gjKa/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

Got this along with a few other samples from the 2017 harvest of Kangaita teas from Kenya.
Decided to go gongfu with the first session and will probably try western next time. Dry leaves have a nice, golden needle appearance and a chocolatey, malty aroma. I found the flavor to be more mellow than I expected, as I often am overwhelmed by black teas, but this one had a nice strength and was distinctly fruity!

Though I describe it as mellow, it is not at all lacking in flavor, and I can see why it is likened to a stronger white tea. Definitely worth a try!

Lemon notes are popping, and this was especially good with almond coconut granola cereal. I so want to do another What-Cha order soon-I’m just waiting for some oolongs to be back in stock. I’d be tempted to get some more of this or the new first flush that was just released. I am also debating between the Baozhong, Jade, or Four Seasons for a daily drinker…

Nice first flush. I did not expect it to be as fruity as it was, making me think of lychee the entire way through. It was definitely muscatel in some ways, but it had the dryness of a few white wines. Darjeeling is the champagne of teas after all, and to think of it, a lot of the “tasting notes” for whites tend to be the ones I get for oolong and white teas, and some reds for Darjeeling blacks. It reminded me more of an oolong than a black in a lot of ways, but it had the woody character that I associate with teas from this region and that I associate with blacks. I got 4 solid brews western starting at about a minute and a half the first time in 5 oz of water.

I was fairly impressed. If my budget were flowing, then I would probably get another 20 grams of this. It definitely was worth the price considering I’m luke warm about most first flushes, never mind I’ve pretty much enjoyed every first flush from this company so far and I like the Gopaldhara Estate. I would recommend this tea for anyone wanting to try a good first flush, or if your in the mood to be refined for a little bit.

I’ve been looking forward to trying this tea ever since my very first order at What-cha and I must say that it was worth the wait.

The harvest date on the label of my package says spring 2016, I do believe that this is the newer version of this tea from Feng Qing.

The pearls were larger than I’d expected, and slightly varied in size but all around the size of cherry tomatoes maybe? The dried leaf smells faintly of sweet chocolate, streaked with gold and dark brown leaves. I actually only used one of the larger pearls for one mug, brewed western style for about 3 and a half minutes. The leaves unfurled to fill half the brewing basket!

The aroma of malted milk balls filled the air, and the tea was surprisingly light. No earthy tannins, just silky smooth layers of chocolate, malt and butterscotch swirling over my tongue. This tea almost had me convinced I’d liquefied a tootsie roll somehow, it was so sweet. I adore butterscotch candies and being able to taste little hints of it here was lovely.

The pearl had one more good long western steep, maybe about 6 minutes or so. The flavor was even lighter, but still filled with chocolate, and maybe a hint of leather in the background somewhere.

This tea is overall delicious, almost like a dessert tea. If you’re looking for more tannins or heavier earthy flavors this might not quite catch you, but I’d still recommend trying this tea at least once to see just what Yunnan black teas are capable of!