white2tea

I think the vendor description of “Thick-bodied, rich, and herbaceous” is quite accurate and succinct. There’s this mild astringency, and a sweetness that I expect from a black tea, though certainly more herbaceous than of a more typical stonefruit.

It’s fine. Not necessarily the flavor profile I look towards when it comes to tea

(7g mini)
This tea is super interesting. It actually tastes like really crappy, bitter coffee. There’s this thinness of flavor that a poor quality cup has, similar to something out of a Keurig. There’s this very pronounced bitterness that only a crappy diner cup could spit out. There’s this bitterness and slight roast that are lingering and last very long after sipping.

Honestly, in terms of effort and accuracy, this is certainly waaay up there. However, because they were accurate, I rank this much lower since I probably wouldn’t want to drink this, just as I wouldn’t want to drink sh*tty diner coffee.

I’m curious how adding cream/milk and sugar to this would affect it.

FLAVORS: Lightly floral and vegetal/grassy flavor. There’s also this prominent sweet richness to it, similar to cotton candy, though more so an herbaceous sweetness than of sugar. The sheer richness can almost verge on bitterness, which I notice at the corners of my mouth. Mildly astringent.

AROMA: Smells rich in some indistinct way. Like sweet grass. Like a grass dune waving in the wind // Maybe collard greens and sweet pea.

(7g mini)

It’s an old forest. The bark of the trees are dark and wizened with age and tempered by the elements. Much of it has been decayed, some by moisture and rot, and some by fire.
~
Super punchy, very earthy and woody with some sort of light smoke element. It’s like W2T’s Lumbersl*t’s older brother. The one that’s in a biker gang and beats people up.

Grandpa style! Obviously.

I was definitely caught off guard by just how vegetal this brew tasted in addition to having an expected strong earthy and woody character. The top notes really made me think of cucumber skin and raw zucchini or butternut squash before dipping into forest undergrowth, molasses, and just a bit of a savory broth. Very, very different from the ripe pu’erh I’ve been drinking as of late.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCXiGGPSJ5_/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxcKHEHo6gk&ab_channel=merci%2Cmercy

I’ve been on the shou train for a few days now. I finished off TWO samples from The Steeping Room, where I had purchased 3 samples, after which drinking them too quickly, I decided to go for a cake. White2Tea didn’t have any on their site, so it was nice to see that it could be found elsewhere.

This is one of those cakes that wouldn’t, and likely won’t, last long in my possession. During the winter months, I’m typically obsessively sipping on shou, Lapsang, roasted oolongs, and aged sheng. However, the obsession has been more shou heavy thus far, and this one is easily one of the best shou puerh teas I’ve sampled. The tea soup is thick (motor oil thick), oily, cocoa heavy, earthy, and molasses sweet. I’m sure I’ll be back in a few weeks, or months, with the final thoughts.

After a month of rest the reek of fish food dissipated and the cake became inviting. Sticking my nose in the bag brought hallucinations of gingerbread men wearing lederhosen managing a German bakery. Evidence that branding works. They seemingly do both savory and sweet, not shy with their use of salt and cinnamon. Definitely a bakery worth returning to.

Now the basket of dried berries that emanate from the leaves pre steep will certainly please most noses, it’s the complex gastronomic spoon of creamy autumnal vegetable soup when the leaves get wet that will bring forth the fullest pleasures. A medium mouthful that gets things right.

Imagine you are walking through a forest and stumble across a large beehive. You step closer, and then closer. When suddenly the smell of the most complex honey drifts towards, you question, to quote Tom Waits, “What’s he building in there?” I will be returning to find out.

Dried apricots before the water touches the good stuff. Floral cherries and mild astringency when wet. Don’t let your shaky hands drop the gaiwan like I did during my session. Breathe.

Pretty simple ripe, heavy on the dark chocolate and earth. On some steeps, something like dried figs and nuts is peeking through. I’m not getting much vanilla or caramel, which I usually get from ripes.
The best part of the tea is definitely its body, which is very thick and has a nice slick texture.

Is the nose of dried grapes and visions of gyrating California Raisins influenced by the purple wrapper? Possibly. But once rinsed it won’t matter because the memories of grandpa’s cheap cigars and grandma’s cheaper black tea will take over. And this ain’t entirely a bad thing! The tea for the children is the tea for the future, no?

A dark and heavy mouthful that keeps the gongfu going and going and going. Bready, sweet dough. A molasses ale that bakes well in the oven. The longer those later steeps go might just be what the innards need.

Gongfu!

This unique tea that is somewhere between a white tea and a black tea started off softer with warm, buttery and slightly savory notes that intensified over the course of the session into a well juxtaposed mix of brothy miso, green beans, and artichoke and rich butterscotch and English toffee. I love that sweet but salty and umami rich blend. It’s hard to say I’ve tasted another tea quite like it! It’s a good thing I’m working at sipping down some of these minis because I just placed quite a large Shulloween order!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBj4vZKStz8/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJHViRxPIGE

Gongfu!

It’s officially Shulloween, which means peak ripe pu’erh weather, and it’s a good thing too because I just grabbed SO MUCH new ripe pu’erh in my last order. Pretty Girls is always a gem when you brew it up, though! Thick as mud with a semi-sweet earthiness and, dare I say, bit of a buttery taste and texture. The real star is the dark and fruity undertones of raisins and jammy, cooked down black cherries. As far as shou goes, it’s very indulgent and great for looonnggg steeps stacked one on top of the other!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBo1xCVyQyi/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwCiODcHafY

Sip Down

Sometimes with gongfu’d sessions, I get lost in the moment with the tea (or my ADHD kicks in, and I’m simply lost. Ha-ha). I noted that this was a 72/100 (I’m not sure why I added the 2%, on the account I like to rate on the 5% scale (e.g. 70, 75, 80, etc.)…), which means I had enjoyed the tea enough to rate it over 65%.*

I’m giddy that I have 5 days off from work! 2024 has truly blessed me with more time to take off work than any year prior. Sure, I appreciate my job, but I need a better grasp on the work-life balance, you know? I love life way, way, way, way, way more. Ha-Ha.

Wet Leaf: Melon rind, menthol, medicinal (Nyquil cough syrup).

1st thru 8th infusion: Lotus flower, floral, old honey (such as the one that is placed far back into a cupboard, forgotten, and starting to crystalize), black pepper, & medium-to-heavy mouthfeel.

*After attempting to edit my profile, to no avail, anything beyond 70% is superb, and has the likelihood of me obtaining more. No tea will reach 100%. If it did, then I’ll say good-bye to all other teas, and stock up on that one tea alone. 65% is standard; right in the middle of the road. It’s not bad, but nothing I’d purposely try again, unless offered, or pushed to try it again to reconsider my thoughts.

Aroma: Beefy, BBQ sauce, and smoky.
Taste: Smoked meat, teriyaki sauce, BBQ, campfire smoke (on clothes…and if it had a flavor. Lol).

Backlog

Petrol, whiskey/scotch, & a lot of body from the mouthfeel.

Backlog

Notes: Floral, dried grass, foliage, barnyard, & hay.

Backlog

1st Infusion: Floral, lilacs.
2nd infusion: Hay with lilacs.
3rd Infusion: Edging toward bitterness, a bit of astringency.
4th infusion: Bitter in a good way?
5th infusion: Astringent; bitter in less of a good way.
6th infusion: Called it. The flavor was lost.

Sip Down/Backlog

I didn’t take too many notes on this one.

Notes: Typical fu flavors – wheat, grains, nutty, oats, corn flakes, cereal, & plain rice cakes.