140 Tasting Notes
I would give this 0 if I could. The worst tea I’ve ever tried by far. This is everything bad about when people talk of the “funk” that fermented teas can have. And I even rinsed this 3 times. The golden flowers just don’t sit well with me I suppose.
At least it was a free sample.
Dry leaf: Pungent, smoke
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Pungent, rotting fish, disgusting, mold, must, musk
Flavors: Fish, Mold, Musk, Musty, Pungent
Not too bad as my second to last sample from ORT. Also not worth the price IMO, but I can tell it is pretty high quality. FL’s HZLZ is better tbh. Not sure how much this being 3 years old affects the perception as well.
Moderate bitterness that lasts 2 infusions. No sweetness. Decently thick mouthfeel. Very smooth overall. Lasts 12+ infusions.
Harvest: Spring 2021
Location: Boatang, Huazhuliangzi, Mengsong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Puerh scent, grapes
Wet leaf: Same
Flavor: Puerh, hay, grapes, honey, bitter
Flavors: Bitter, Grapes, Hay, Honey
Wow this is a properly aged white! And a wonderful tea for the price ($0.13/g). Much better than the aged white from KTM, although a lot more expensive for sure. The price to quality ratio here is phenomenal, though. I am really starting to love aged whites. I will be caking this FOR SURE.
Incredibly sweet, no bitterness. Can handle boiling water. Mouthfeel is thick and oily. Hui gan is insanely long-lasting; 15-20 mins later I still have sweet honey taste lingering in my mouth. Lasts 5 infusions. Complexity is very high for a white tea.
Harvest: Autumn, 2013
Location: Diantou, Fuding, China
Dry leaf: Fermented fruit, dried apricot, fig, honey.
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Dried apricot, fig, dates, honey, sweet, vanilla, old library, cream, thick.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Dates, Dried Fruit, Fig, Oily, Sweet, Thick, Vanilla
4th sample from ORT. This one is definitely better than the Xenringxiang, but not amazing. Much more going on and more complex. Still not as good as Verdant’s Milanxiang.
Tingling mouthfeel and aftertaste that lingers for ~1-2 mins. Trace bitterness if you squint your tastebuds. No sweetness. Lasts 6-7 infusions. Probably can handle boiling water.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Varietal: Milanxiang
Location: Phoenix Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou
Dry leaves: Floral, citrus
Wet leaves: Floral, citrus
Flavors: Floral, citrus, grapefruit, tingly, sour, honey
Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Grapefruit, Honey, Pleasantly Sour
So this is Xigui…I see why it is liked so much, even though this is likely at best a moderate quality production from there. It is somewhat Yiwu-like in its softness.
Has the best mouthfeel of the three samples I’ve tried so far. Flavors are much more subtle here than the Kuanshan. No bitterness. Mild sweetness. Lasts 12+ infusions.
Overall, starting to think ORT is just okay. This is definitely not worth $1/g. Not terribly complex. And their tasting notes are just wild. “Champagne, mangos, sour skittles, IPA, spring Gardenias.” I get absolutely none of that. Nothing close. Not sure where that is coming from haha.
Harvest: April 2023.
Location: Xigui, Lincang, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Fruity
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Fruity, grapes
Flavors: Fruity, Grapes
Second sample from ORT. This one isn’t too bad. I wouldn’t turn it away if it were offered.
Lasts 12+ steeps. Mouthfeel is nothing special, but somewhat thick. Not much hui gan or cha qi. Mild bitterness that is fairly enjoyable. No sweetness.
Harvest: April 2023
Location: Kuashan, Lincang, Yunnan
Dry leaf: Apricot
Wet leaf: Same
Flavors: Grapes, cream, fruity
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Fruity, Grapes
My first sample from a new order from ORT. Mostly intrigued by their offerings, so decided to give them a try even though they are a somewhat lesser known company. This one is just okay. Overall a bit too watery for me, but what flavor is there is good. Definitely will finish the sample at some point.
No sweetness or bitterness. Thin, watery mouthfeel. Lasts about 8 steeps. Not incredibly complex as I would expect from a Dancong.
Harvest: Spring 2023
Cultivar: Xingrenxiang
Location: Zhuliu Village, Phoenix Mountains, Chaozhou
Dry leaf: Dried apricot
Wet leaf: Same
Taste: Dried apricot, watery, thin, fruity
Flavors: Apricot, Fruity, Thin, Watery
Second of two senchas from Kettl. This one is less than 1/3 the price of the Saikou, and is certainly not as good. But for $0.18/g, this one is really good! I really am liking Kettl’s teas, but I wish they would sell sample sizes. If they did, they’d be the perfect Western-facing (cheaper shipping) Japanese green tea seller. I like their subscription service as well, but feel like I should try some of their other teas before deciding on one if that’s the route I choose.
This one has a very unique aroma for a sencha that I can’t quite pin down. The mouthfeel is much thinner than the Saikou, but that’s expected given the website’s description of this tea as “light and elegant.” It is certainly that. Also the sweetest sencha I’ve tried I think. No bitterness or astringency. Lasts 4 infusions.
Harvest: Spring, 2023
Location: Uji
Dry leaf: Vegetal, umami.
Wet leaf: Same.
Flavors: Vegetal, umami, light, mineral, sweet
Flavors: Light, Mineral, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal
Decided to order from Kettl as I’ve heard so many good things from so many people about their senchas. I must say, I am quite impressed from this first sample! This stuff is the sencha most like gyokuro I’ve had, and the richest I’ve had as well. Also somewhat similar to Chinese greens in a strange way. Basically no grassy flavor like lots of Japanese greens.
It has this prominent savory vegetal note that I can’t quite place. But it’s really amazing. So smooth, with a thick mouthfeel like gyokuro. Lasts 6 infusions. No bitterness or astringency. Incredibly clean. I would guess this is a medium-steamed tea.
Year: 2023
Origin: Yame, Fukuoka
Cultivars: Blend
Dry leaf: Savory, vegetal
Wet leaf: Same
Flavor: Savory, vegetal, broth, artichoke, roasty, thick, butter
Flavors: Artichoke, Broth, Butter, Roasty, Savory, Thick, Vegetal
The last of my samples from this KTM order, and the last of the LiMing teas I have tried. The quality of their teas overall is quite variable. Some tolerable while others are great and others are pretty bad. Can’t ask for anything too crazy at the price points for their tea, and it’s certainly a lot cheaper than old Dayi or Xiaguan.
Mild-med astringency that lingers. A bit of hui gan that’s nice. Mouthfeel is pretty thick. Mild sweetness, mild bitterness.
Flavors: Sweet, smoke, fruity, apple.
Flavors: Apple, Astringent, Bitter, Fruity, Smoke, Sweet
Was this your first heicha? I’ve avoided this tea type exactly because of the flavours you describe.
No I love love love shou puerh and have had somewhat enjoyable experiences with Liu Bao and Hunan Fu Zhuan. Nothing has come close to being this horrible.
Oh dear, sorry to hear that. I’ve had maybe six teas from ORT and they seem very hit and miss to me.
Appreciate the sympathy :). Yea they are definitely hit and miss. Probably wont be ordering samples from them again unfortunately :(.
I know last year ORT had issues with some puerh molding over in storage. Maybe the same happened here? Generally fuzhuan teas should be mild and sweet.
Hmmm maybe that happened. Wasn’t aware they had issues with molding. I didn’t see any mold other than the namesake golden flowers, but maybe it was there an not super visible.