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The one day I took this to work last week, I happened to be speaking to the British expat who was heating a kettle for Yorkshire Tea. He commended me on my choice and now thinks I drink British teas. But I don’t, really. Holy crap, this has to be the strongest English Breakfast I’ve ever had. Two bags steeped very short, like 1.5 minutes, in my thermos. Well smack me in the face and punch me in the gullet, I had to nurse that brew for 12 hours. This is the kind of tea I imagine was dumped in Boston Harbor. I’d take Yorkshire over PG Tips any day. It’s too much for me of the ‘no dairy added’ persuasion.

Haha! I misrepresented the number of teas in my cupboard the other day. I probably have another 20-30 from a Liquid Proust group buy in late 2018. Is this really the first one I’m sampling from the Aged Oolong category? I was going to post this under Random Steepings, but I figured Liquid Proust needs some more cred on this site, especially considering his devotion to the leaf and the enthusiasm to spread teas aimed for the Eastern market far and wide.

Dry, warm and rinsed leaf aromas are fairly strong with dark chocolate with raspberry filling, modest roast, caramel, brown toast, dark brown sugar, hints of cherry and red currant. Once brewed, the aroma is mellow with berries, spice and cocoa. The taste is mostly woody and somewhat drying but there’s more going on than I can articulate. Not much change throughout the infusions, of which I was able to pull eight or nine. Late in the session I let a cup cool and a pleasant mineral sweetness came forward with salivation. The spice tone was also more noticeable, while a light unripe peach aftertaste did its thing. Roast notes were not at the forefront with this tea, more of a muted background deal.

I like it even though nothing about it stands out in particular. It’s mellow and calming enough to be a daily evening drinker without much attention having to be paid.

Song pairing: David Bowie — Heroes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5tDielKLMc

First session with this tea. I bought it a few years ago and it has sat in a sealed jar since then.

Rich and tangy dry leaf scent with impressions of oak, smoke, berries, spices, currants, dark chocolate, pine. It reminds me of both a mulled wine and a smoky scotch. The reroast is the dominant vibe once brewed, integrating well with a berry and spice tone. Taste of ash, especially in the back of the mouth. Alkaline, some umami. I noted an early aroma of caramel and hazelnut with fleeting wet wood ash.

There’s a milky feel in the mouth after the swallow that slowly morphs into a throaty astringency and a drying, unripe peach skin aftertaste that lasts the entire session. I also notice tobacco and wood cask tones. Feel good, calm, with a light camphor effect deep in my chest. The tea quickly grows into a dry woodiness. I was able to pull only 6 infusions from the leaf (really only 4 that were worth it).

Other reviewers find this to be a favorable tea. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. There’s a dominant ash taste and an alkalinity to it that are a bit grating. Maybe the reroast is too much for me despite it not being a sharp, fresh flavor. Otherwise, the tea has a balanced, mellowed profile. It is tonal rather than possessing specific tastes.

My housemate brought home a 30-muslin sachet box of this from her employer’s tea drawer. Best before 12/2012; it’s 01/2020.

It’s clearly a victim of neglect. Very light red fruit-cream aroma and taste. No discernible green tea flavor. Very drying.

Going to drop the box in the work tea cupboard. Somebody else might appreciate it or throw it out secretly.

Found this in the kitchen. This company wraps their teabags in paper. I have no idea how old it is. For reference, the oldest teas I’ve found in the kitchen were Best Before 2012. It’s January 2020.

The recommended parameters for this chopped-leaf tea include boiling water. I opted for 175F.

Very clear yellowish brown, almost shimmering in my glass. Little to no aroma. The tastes are mild and all-encompassing for a green tea. It has some nuttiness, grassiness, minerality, citric brightness, a hint of apricot and florals that come in and out. Glassy-viscous mouthfeel that finishes clean and drying.

Sub-220 teas. Finally.

Holy crap I love this tea. It fits me like a good pair of pants.

Summer 2018 harvest, gongfu.

The fragrance and the way it carries into the mouth and lingers is on point. A caramel sweetness is suspended loftily by intense creamy white floral perfume maybe with orange blossom, the kind of heady scent that relaxes you. The deeper notes of the tea are distinctly sandalwood, nuts, musk and banana leaf. Great body with mineral brightness and salivation. Later, a succulent white peach aftertaste develops as the strength of the florals subsides. The finished cup smells so strong and sweet. Initial violet floral bitterness and vegetal-woody astringency grow ever stronger with each steep, eventually numbing the tongue. While I find those qualities to add depth to the experience, if there is one thing to turn others away, it’s the combination of growing bitterness and astringency. That and the low brewing temperature, which is a necessity. And the price. And the lack of availability. Shucks.

I wonder why it’s called Moondrops.

Watery lemon and ginger and little licorice and turmeric. It wasn’t bad, just super watery for steeping 1 bag in a mug for 15 minutes. Why so weak? The bag smelled so promising.

March 2019 harvest.

The best morning/afternoon Assam I’ve ever had. Very complex and layered taste and mouthfeel yet approachable due to a distinct lack of bitterness, very light astringency and an inviting aroma. Savory and mineral backbone with plenty of berry tones and a lemony taste that zings. Emergent menthol. The leaves are alive and have plenty to give.

I would serve this to anybody entering my home.

Not for small pocketbooks but well worth a try! It’s very forgiving :)

Choking down a cup of a flavor combo I detest — lemongrass strong enough to make me snarl in disgust and licorice root. They overpower everything else except for a hint-o-mint. EuuUGUGHGH.

Too bad. The dry bag smelled lovely with a good hit of sage.

Why do I do this to myself.

Back to back Flapjacks, this time a shou cookie instead of a sheng wafer. Brought to my cupboard by Kawaii433.

My experience was strikingly similar to BrewWhatThouWilt’s, who gave this tea more justice than I could: https://steepster.com/BrewWhatThouWilt/posts/388193#likes

Dry cookie smells like brownies with walnuts, caramel, mushroom, grain.

Good body and initially oily. Savory — so much walnut, brown mushroom broth, cooked grains, rainforest floor, wet wood. Thin mineral sweetness, light bitterness. Nutritional yeast and slight wet pile show up when it starts thinning out. The aroma is similar but I also pick up on hints of spearmint, coriander seed-citrus and spicy wood.

Kind, good quality shou for anybody who doesn’t mind the lack of overt sweetness or even prefers such.