white2tea

Knew this was going to be an enjoyable session from the fragrance alone. Fruity reds just instantly bring a smile to my face.

First steeping was my favorite. No bitterness and the medicinal quality was strongest. I was lazy and used only the loose bits in the sample, usually I throw in three quarters larger pieces and one quarter loose bits, so I suspect that may have front-loaded the session. Later a fruity bitterness with a steady complexity. Still pretty good. Managed to get ten steepings out of it.

Euphoric, magical energy, though the weather change and setting are likelier to be the cause of that. Windowsill gong fu at predusk with a nice fall breeze wafting through my new sheer curtains just hits different.

https://i.imgur.com/fALne5c.jpg

I haven’t had much time to write tea notes recently, I hope to come back to some more focused drinking now. This unique tea is was among the samples I received from Ros, and it is the best chenpi shou mix I’ve had to date.

It has deep and complex aromatics. Already in dry form I get a strong herbaceous and leathery scent. Throughout the session, many other notes emerge, such as those of peanuts, wood smoke, peat, cranberry, and truffles.

The liquor very clear and has a beautiful dark mahogany colour. It is medium bodied, milky, and heavy but not overly thick.

Initial flavours are in the neighbourhood of plant roots and wet earth. Second infusion a little funky with mild bitterness and strong woody notes of tree bark. The aftertaste is a little bit like mildly sour milk. Later, the chenpi comes more to the forefront with medicinal and citrusy flavours. Some of the later steeps also reminded me of coffee.

Finally broke into my first cake of this. After getting the 3 previous years’ Snoozefests, I went in for 2 cakes in 2020. My experience with these has always been positive. Notes of Strawberry and Orchid being the two that have stood out the most to me. We’ll see how this one does after hiding in my storage for 11 months.

1st impression: Aroma of tropical fruit, apricot, and strawberry. A dark minerally sweet back drop. Some floral/herbal notes in there as well. A little drywall in there as well. Taste is notably middle of the tongue bitter. Some sweetness, some fruit and floral. Compared to 2019: This has a darker aroma and is overall more vegetal and a lot more bitter. That may also be the difference of an extra year in storage. Right now the fruit on this is leaning more stonefruit than strawberry. And the orchid profile from the 2019 is coming out a lot more creamy on this one. These are all slight differences; they are still very much the same teas except this have a hard acrid bitterness that hadn’t been in previous years versions.

Bitterness. This is the first snoozefest I’ve tried where I’ve thought this could use a few more years. Long lingering bitterness. Cooling sensation at the back of the throat. Floral, fruity, and dark. Drying.

After the first 2 steeps I’m really regretting starting this on an empty stomach. This is not the same gentle crowd-pleaser of the previous years. It is settling into a more vegetal and mineral taste with some cooling and lingering bitterness.

Head rush. Some pressure on my forehead and cheeks.

Drink down: The bitterness did begin to fade about half way through. The texture is decently thick veering toward creamy, but it is hard to tell with the way this tea makes my mouth feel dry. A good caffeine head rush. Decently complex. Pleasant. More powerful than I expected from the w2t $15 sheng special.

This’ll be the young sheng I’ll drink on occasionally over the next year. The 2nd cake and anything left over at the end of the year will go in the pumidor to age a while.

Later review: Something must have been up with my water. I’ve got a new kettle and water filter system. The bitterness pretty much disappeared. This is now delightful. Soapy orchid & stonefruit.

Gongfu!

Started my morning with a deliciously slick and earthy shou pu’erh pressed with chenpi! The liquor from this tea is so thick and oily; almost jet black in appearance. The ripe pu’erh hits you first: dark and dense with strong notes of forest undergrowth and decay and a rich earthiness; like rain soaked potting soil. Brothy. However, the orange is close behind. There’s a fleeting sweetness similar to the aroma of peeling the rind on a ripe orange and releasing all those essential oils into the air. However, it passes in a moment and settles into the heavier, borderline medicinal pithy citrus that I expect from chenpi. Very coating on the throat, with an immediate soothing sensation. As soon as I finish one steep I immediately want to go back for another.

The first Big O from 2017 was one of the first pu’erh cakes I ever bought, almost on a whim. I had no idea if I’d enjoy chenpi or not. Thankfully it worked out really well for me; the balance of deep, dark ripe pu’erh with the aromatic notes of orange has become a favourite of mind (especially in colder weather), and I always look forward to any new chenpi productions that W2T puts out. I have some minis of Big O V3 on the way. I’m super stoked to explore those now that it’s getting colder out.

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

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKXC_6h4XXo

Dipping into this cake to enjoy grandpa style because there’s honestly no such thing as too much chenpi during the fall!! Super thick and smooth but with the pleasantly sweet undertones of orange throughout this more earthy and petrichor heavy pu’erh! So rich and delightful!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTiPAoJgYOW/

What a fucking STUNNING cake, am I right!?

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGiq3bxqxB0&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart

I’ve been lucky enough to get a cake of this each year it has been available. In 2019 I got my cake and stashed it for a year after my experience with the 2017 & 2018. While it is fun and interesting in the first year, its second year is fantastic.

Aroma: Peach, Strawberry, Vanilla, Orchid, Sugar Cane, Wood
Taste: slight bitterness, slight sweetness, woody (but a dry wood), orchid/vanilla, strawberry/floral. A bit of honey comes in as it steeps out.

Astringency will come out if pushed. Texture is thick and creamy. And it has plenty of caffeine. Can’t really talk much on the qi because I’m not overly sensitive to it, but this tea always yields a positive experience. Easy comfortable drinking with fair amount of complexity.

I bought 2 cakes of the 2020 and will crack that one open around Thanksgiving. The other I’m going to stash away deep in my storage for the future. If there is a 2021, I’ll be buying it again.

I loved the viscous and colloidal mouthfeel; thick, medicinal and bitter taste; as well as the spicy and savoury aftertaste with its camphor, mushroom notes and a woody sweetness.

Hmm… the things I enjoyed in this tea were so fleeting. First few steepings were nice and creamy with a fruity, juicy aroma but that just didn’t stick around long enough, not even to remember the sensation on my tongue. Later steepings were pleasantly bitter with a sweet aftertaste reminiscent of… bubblegum?

It could have been a dud session but so far not feeling this one.

Soothing smoky peaty sweetness. Later woodsy, slightly fruity. Delicate bitterness that never overwhelms. Cozy as hell.

I should have added more of this to my Black Friday order. I still have like 90g left so I have time but meh. I always forget something.

Too strong, TOO STRONG! I cracked this one open blind, totally forgot it’s supposed to be bitter smoky, shoulda used way less leaf. It’s also packed very tightly, so misjudged the amount (and nearly stabbed myself a dozen times).

Tasting notes are obfuscated by the incredible dryness in my mouth. But loving the smells throughout the session. I’ll revisit this one shortly enough anyway.

Similar caffeine effect to coffee, sans jitters. Feeling kinda groovy and wanting to dance.

This one knocked me around. More focused on the energy than the taste. But initial wet leaf smell reminded me of a steel pot after stewing cabbage, somewhat like plastic, seemingly noxious. Youthful, green taste throughout session. Steeping (1) bittersweet, thick, vegetal, notes of weed vape, head feels heavy (2) muscles relaxing deeply, bitterness ramping up, drying, somewhat astringent (3) lasting huigan beginning, floral, very dry, feel coating on my teeth (4) piercing bitterness, feel energy in my feet, vision is vibrating (5) tingling feeling on tongue (6) rounding out, feeling very content, serene (7-8) blast of sweetness (9-12) tingling in head (13-14) breathing in and out feels like I just chewed some mint gum (15) rushed to finish this steeping before heading out, felt extremely energized for a couple hours after.

Really great experience. Maybe it’d be worth buying a cake to age…

Gongfu!

Continuing to chip away at my cake. This time I’ve paired with a pint of perfectly ripe raspberries! The raspberries are so fresh and tender that they practically melt in your mouth. They’re a little bit too bright and intense to drink directly alongside this black tea, but popping a few in my mouth between infusions leaves a sticky, lingering red fruit juice sweetness on the palate that is able to match the flavour intensity and body of the tea. The tea itself is thick, syrupy and almost pungent with notes of brandied and stewed stonefruits, malt, leather, and a bit of molasses – sweet in its own right, but heavy and coating on the palate. I quite like how the raspberry adds a new, brighter layer of sweetness to the session while marrying so well with the natural fruit notes already present in the session!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrG8rlruGL8/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNqXY5_6srg

Gongfu!

Finally breaking into this cake!! The aroma coming off the compressed cake is so saturated and fruity and it very much reminds me of overripe peaches with a bit of a more mineral kind of undertone. That syrupy peach note carries into the steeped tea as well – it reminds me of peaches that are so tender and ripe that they practically melt in your mouth as you eat them. It’s also full bodied and just a tiny bit astringent/tannic with deeper non-fruity notes of bittersweet baker’s chocolate, leather, oak, and malt – but really it’s those notes of golden juicy peach that dominate the cup for me! Love how coating the liquor is on the palate, despite a mostly clean finish. Excited to get to know this unique black tea a little better!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSkMjwxL8A5/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCyp5IKjrxU&ab_channel=RareAmericans

Gongfu!

Had this session on Thursday and I’m finding it a little bit hard to put down into words what the tea taste and texture was like other than… relatively pleasantly biting!? I haven’t tried productions from past years because descriptions/reviews never really seemed to stand out to me & I had honestly forgotten I’d added a sample into my last order. So, if anyone tries this one & has also tried previous years, hit me up & let me know how you think they compare!!

Right now I’m kind of leaning towards, at least for my own taste preferences, this one not really being quite worth the money…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSNXNQkgwR3/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsw3Kdnt16k&ab_channel=TheDecemberists-Topic

Gonna need a cake of this. Brings me back to the stairwell in my aunt’s god-knows-how-old house in Poland. That perpetual wet wood and cigarette smoke smell baked into the walls. I love that fucking smell so much, and it’s here.

Just wish my esophageal spasms would go away. Sometimes tea helps, never hurts, did nothing in this case. Can’t wait to enjoy this on a better day.

Listening to Lei-tzu by Lloop.

Yummy. Got 25g of this and Lumber Slut to compare. Maybe not as camphorous as I expected it to be but still has that wet, woodsy shou profile that pleases me so.

brewed with Brita filtered tap, boiling, grandpa style in a glass. slight thickened texture. I’ve never been able to pick out distinct notes for any shou puer or ripe liu bao I’ve ever tried so I should probably stop being tempted to buy more. I think I remember reading a review of this at some point where the reviewer mentioned it tasted like sucking on bamboo chopsticks so I bought it out of curiosity. I’m slightly disappointed to report that the taste was not that of bamboo chopsticks.

Finishing off my sample. This was my drink of choice for my brief fast after Christmas dinner. The energy here is special, very mindful and sensory. The 6th steeping continues to hit like a truck. My awareness is forced toward only the thing I’m currently focused on, and everything else just barely exists. I had this in the evening and went to lie down in bed soon after ending the session to listen to some music. I was half-dreaming while still awake for a while, which isn’t totally unusual for me but was definitely influenced by Gas. I left a song on repeat for like two hours, literally had a one-track mind.

I took advantage of the free shipping sale yesterday to order a cake.

Listening to SKETAMINE by Dean Blunt.

Was intrigued by this so I got a sample. Bitterness isn’t as crazy as I thought it’d be but I like how it progresses. It’s still intensely bitter. In between cups is like honey. Well, very bitter honey anyway.

This does have a sort of noxious, mind-dumbing quality to it. Haven’t been doing too much blinking. My evening chores are delayed as I really, really don’t feel like getting up.

Duncan was very carefully watching my tea brewing. He wanted to sniff each cup.

[Photo] https://i.imgur.com/f5C6rKN.jpeg

Listening to Drop It on Em by Rimbaudian.