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I’m trying to get back into adding logs again…Life has been wild. Not the bad type of wild, but the type that catches up to you all at once (work, friends, etc.). I feel like not writing or reading reviews is like not calling or texting friends. Sure, I’m active on IG, however, Steepster is the foundation for my tea journey. It is where my thrill for tea took the further plunge into this endless abyss called “CommuniTea.” With that said, thank you to those who’ve stuck around and those who keep on with their posting – it’s giving me plenty to catch up on – and just being here to drink and share tea! :)
Tea Review Time:
My experience with aged tea is limited. I’d love to have the money to afford to drink the “older” stuff; unfortunately, my funds and taste are relevant to most of the newer/fresher teas on the market. Buy it now and save it for later, I suppose. I’m getting better at drinking every little sample sitting in my hoarded pile (hoarded might be too strong of a word, as I’m sure, most tea heads are holding onto their goodies for a long time). Ha-Ha.
Yes, yes, I’m getting into the review now.
Aroma: Leather, moss, earthy, damp paper, old books, beets, & wet earth.
Tasting Notes: The tea was quite nice. There were notes of woodiness, beets, gasoline (whatever that means), paper, a little bitterness, and eventually astringency.
Feeling: Qi so heavy I floated my way toward the end of the workday.
PS. I’m afraid to rate this too highly on the account I enjoyed it, yet, it’ll be the last of it, forever. Thank you W2T for giving me this moment.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Earthy, Leather, Moss, Paper, Wet Earth, Woody
Grandpa Style!
The more experimental charcoal roasted offerings from W2T have been really hit or miss for me, but in this case I really felt like I tasted each and every tasting note described by W2T: spiced plum, cinnamon, mulling spices. Especially the stonefruit and cinnamon notes, which were perfectly rich and cozy. I’d also add molasses, figs, dark exotic woods, and baker’s chocolate to the list of flavours. Teas with the combination of plum and cocoa notes have a special place in my heart, so this especially resonated. I also really appreciated how full bodied and thick the brew was, with an appropriately balanced tannic briskness. Just a really lovely tea that seemed to offer a little bit of everything in a really nice way.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHuBZxxyWh4/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A3OO3lsoio&ab_channel=maryinthejunkyard
This is one of the most flavorful black teas I have ever had, and my FIRST white2tea tea. It came in the monthly tea club box for March. Deliciously milky and malty, and would make a great morning beverage brewed western style, but is still a treat gong fu as well (like I did).
Flavors: Malty, Milky, Sweet Potatoes
Preparation
Gongfu!
From a taste perspective, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this tea. It comes off more like a rather thin tasting and lightly bodied ripe pu’erh with to me, and as someone who typically enjoys their ripe sessions very heavy-handed and intensely brewed, it’s hard not to immediately perceive this as somewhat watered down. The notes of the sheng is rather lost to me, as well. With that said, I came to two different conclusions the longer I sat with this session and continued brewing. The first was that there was a very strong and grounding body-feeling to this session. Taste typically trumps all for me, but I just started feeling really GOOD as I drank this despite the milder tasting notes.
The second thing I landed on was this sense that this tea would actually probably be quite accessible to a new pu’erh drinker less familiar with shou or who had been turned off in the past by really intense earthy or woody tasting notes and “funky fermentation”, as weird as that might sound for such an experimental blend. The tasting notes I did get were really, really smooth and inoffensive with a bit of a sweet brown notes I’d characterize as carob or date-like. Probably a pretty safe way to dip your toes into the pu’erh world from a flavour standpoint!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHZbpXMSLun/?img_index=2
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y993yWQUOfc&ab_channel=UnderTheRug
I had a gongfu session with this tea for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised by the texture. It felt thick and silky smooth. There were woody notes with a dark chocolate-like bitterness and a bit of sweetness on later steeps.
Flavors: Woody
Preparation
I took another Mini, probably my last one to steep.
At first I did a long rinse, I believe it was about 30 seconds long; and steeps were starting on 30 seconds too. I tossed the rinse out and let it absorb the humidity for about 10 minutes.
After first steep, the dragonball was already broken up. And taste wise it was mellow sheng, with stonefruits taste, a little astringent, like unripe stonefruits are. There were hints of bitterness.
Next steeps were equally tasty, with similar flavour profile; but somehow there wasn’t much to focus on this tea. It was just a good, basic sheng. When steeping long, astringency was a little lingering; but that’s pretty much expected I guess.
Preparation
Grandpa style, smells malty and faintly reminiscent of golden needle Yunnan, but tastes brighter, fruitier and less chocolatey than those teas. Really does remind me a bit of jam. May have to order more of this, seems like a steal.
Flavors: Fruity, Jam, Malty
Preparation
Grandpa Style!
This tea is thick and oily with a slick mouthfeel and bold aroma that’s both buttery and a little more savory and brothy. The heaviness of liquor is really satisfying with a subtle, more medicinal undertone and slight salinity to the more woody finish. However, there’s also a creeping sweetness that seeks to build sip over sip. Quite bread-like but more of a brioche or sweet bread, in the way a hot cross bun or Hawaiian roll would be with notes of honey tightly weaved in. It’s still buttery as well and combined with the aforementioned notes of brioche, it’s sort of giving laminated pastry!? Like, as if this ripe pu’erh was some type of savory leaning croissant. It’s unique, and tasty, and very well suited for a day spent cozied up indoors!!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGq_K8SS-Yh/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhP2-qYmfjg&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart
The time has come for this Man, Gingerbread Man. Tomorrow he would celebrate his third birthday (pressing date).
I used a whole mini in my gaiwan and steeped with various steeping time. Mostly around 30 seconds, with rather small increments. I wasn’t totally focused to the tea this time, but this tea is rather forgiving.
There is a thick mouthfeel; strong dark shu flavours, and while it is not gingerbread in any way, it is rich and a kind of sticky. I can’t point out any particular flavours, but it made me feel cozy and it was warming me up.
Enjoyable and easydrinking shou and off any funky and off flavours. Definitely it was worth 80 cents I paid for it. Would I get more of this? Maybe… it’s not so expensive and it’s drinkable.
Sometimes a warm coziness is just what we need in our day! I have been finding it in some shou too, knowing I can just toss some leaf into the basket and get a reliable bit of pleasure from it. No thought needed, no subtle flavors or aromas to agonize about, just a warm cup of cheer while I watch some light TV.
Maybe my expectations for this Mini were too high, maybe I was preparing it wrong…
This is fine tea, and I was steeping it with several 30 seconds steeps (including rinse), and many longer ones. The dragon ball never fell apart; but keeps releasing nice and slightly astringent flavours typical somehow for sheng. And here comes the twist; yes, it’s definitely astringent and there are unripe stone fruit notes; I would describe them as unripe apricots… but there is, in my opinion, slight smokiness (or it’s roastiness — ?). That switches the flavour a little into oolong territory. Later steeps were definitely more oolong like.
I used whole litre in my thermos and honestly, I have to say, this is unique tea but somehow I feel it should be even a bit better. Or it’s again Yancha like and it seems I am not so big fan of those.
I would like to hear other tea enthusiasts thoughts. But this tea doesn’t seems to be for me.
That’s me problem, not tea problem.
Preparation
I’m drinking it Western style today in a big ol’ mug, and it’s been interesting. A little bit of a lighter body than expected, with top notes a little on the more dark and fruity side but with a bit of molasses in the mix, too. Raisins, dates, fig jam, and jujube. The body is smooth almost to a fault, with clean earthy notes and a woodiness that makes me think of the pine-y sawdust smell of my grandfather’s workshop. It’s not bad at all, but I am finding it just a little bit flat. The fruit could be richer or more syrupy, and the earth and wood notes more dank or mineral-rich. Instead, everything comes off a touch too polished. Perhaps it’s the brewing method, or maybe it needs to keep chilling for a while before it’ll come into its own. For right now, though, this ripe pu’erh is really just leaving me rather “whelmed” feeling. Has anyone else tried this? What were your thoughts?
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGRRdTaSmlF/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1MzpV1XcI&ab_channel=IndiETrap
Gongfu!
Such a soft, silky mouthfeel with a flavour that sits on the line between creamy fresh churned butter, White Rabbit candy, and coconut milk and more cooling, crisp cucumber pulp and skins. With a bit of age on it now, I find this brews up with a bit more body and some deeper, slightly brown sugar tinged peachy and nectarine-like stonefruit notes in the mid sip. It’s still that irresistibly smooth and milky flavour that stays with you post swallow, though, and makes for such a calm way to ease into the day. But seriously, how has it been four years already!? It feels like just a few months ago that this white tea was pressed…
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGWhDJ3SSQy/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrkAfTz2iYk&ab_channel=CoolBand
Gongfu!
This is a very, very thick and slick shou pu’erh with a virtually jet black liquor. We’re it not for the faintest tinged of red at the waterline, it would essential be like staring in an opaque black hole of steeped tea. Full-bodied, of course, but also really starchy and smooth with a sticky rice like body balanced out on either side by slightly bright and jammy red fruit top notes and more darkly sweet and nutty undertones. Maple sugar, pecans, raspberry jam like what would fill a jelly donut, but also a blanket of silken, grounding earthiness and pandan. Very comforting on this cold, stormy afternoon when I want nothing more than to be swaddled up inside with a cup of something warm and predictable.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGJNL5iyolb/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD611geCXGo&ab_channel=Rubblebucket
Grandpa Style!
I was feeling a white tea today, so I spent most of the afternoon sipping on a 2024 Nightlife Mini steeped up grandpa style! Nightlife has always been one of my favourite white tea productions that W2T routinely brings back, and this brew was no exception. Crisp, vegetal and so fresh tasting at first in a way that makes me think of green melons, grapes and cucumber pulp. Sort of cooling with a pleasant bit of green snap and sweetness. As the dragonball opens up I feel like the flavours get more brown and dense. Hints of caramelized sugars blended with the crunch of autumnal leaves. Always smooth, and just really pleasant to sit and sip with over an afternoon.
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFd1ZzdyFS8/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68YcMOJ9dSQ&ab_channel=Hemlock-Topic
If there’s a tea I’ve been snoozing on, it’s almost certainly NOT Snoozefest. Today, I’m sipping on the most recent pressing, but there are eight years of W2T’s infamous sheng pu’erh cake spanning from 2017 up until last year’s 2024 pressing. The tea is very tasty and accessible given its aggressively affordable price point – if you’re fast enough to snipe one that is. Bright and snappy with fruitier top notes over a greener mid sip.
Taste aside, though, I find it ESPECIALLY interesting to look at the evolution of each year’s wrappers. If you know this cake, you probably associate it heavily with the colour pink, but it wasn’t until I was directly comparing today that I realized how soft and desaturated the shade on the 2024 wrapper is. And of course, the original feels almost naked compared to how busy others have been. My favourite is probably the 2021 wrapper, which is fifth up from the bottom in the second picture. The Peptobismal pink really speaks to me. 2019 was really great too, with the thick blue band around the center!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFgX6jFSdLt/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHX3G7BjHyI&ab_channel=KendrickLamar-Topic
2022 Mini
First couple of steeps were rather mild/delicate while the ball was still pretty compressed. Mouth feel has a nice thickness to it.
By the third steep, everything had broken up and a strong vegetal flavor comes out and its kind of an unpleasant punch you in the face flavor.
Glad its done, will not be rebuying.
