98 Tasting Notes
Surprisingly good Shou Puerh. After quick rinse and letting leaves rest for 2 mintues
Steep 1 < 10 seconds: Thick with a taste of autumn leaves. Aftertaste a tiny bit bitter.
Steep 2 = 10 seconds: About the same as previous. Bitter aftertaste barely discernible.
Steep 3 ~ 15 seconds: Taste brightens a bit. Slight tobacco note apparent. Bitter aftertaste gone.
Steep 4 = 20 seconds: Autumn leaves, mellow with a bit of sweetness. So good
Steep 5 = 30 seconds: Same as previous. Lighter. Maybe 1 or 2 steeps left.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Straw, Tobacco
Preparation
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this tea was amazing and stands up well to multiple steeps. After the 4th or 5th I increased the temperature to 205°F for an additional steeping or two. If I can catch this tea on sale I’m going to load up big time.
Preparation
This was a surprisingly good white tea! Far more body than I ever would have expected in a white tea with pronounce peach flavor. The aroma is a wonderful, gentle floral and fruit combination. So good! This is the first time I’ve ever come across a white tea I want to keep in stock at home.
Flavors: Apple, Peach
Preparation
This is a young sheng puerh, but it is hands down my favorite puerh thus far. The first couple of steeping (after rinsing the leaves) are very fast at under 10 seconds. Then I extend it from there. The astringency to this tea has this amazing sweet note in the background that I absolutely love. As with any sheng puerh if you oversteep it will be pretty harsh (bitter), but get it right and you can get a solid 10 steeps out of these leave. I have a dedicated YiXing teapot for sheng puerh teas (220cc I think).
Preparation
This tea is a little sweet, but the aftertaste of that sweetness sort of reminds me of wheatgrass. While it’s hot it’s quite good, but as it cools that aftertaste becomes more pronounce although I may just be using too much tea in each steeping. None the less, it’s a good tea that I keep in stock at home. The dried leaves have an aroma of dried apples that actually carries over to the tea a bit.
Note: The seller ShopStreet88 also goes by GoShopStreet and GOARTEA on eBay and they are a phenomenal tea seller! Highly recommend them. I’ve branched out, but much of my early tea exploration started with huge sample buys from this seller.
Flavors: Apple, Licorice
Preparation
As stated by someone previous I’m really surprised that this tea is rated so low. It makes a great alternative to coffee in the morning for really waking you up and the flavor and aroma is amazing. I agree that it smells more of almonds than of chestnuts, but for an early morning tea it’s really hard to beat. My wife also loves this tea so this is one of very, very few teas that I buy by the pound. If nothing else try a sample.
Flavors: Almond, Caramel, Chocolate, Cocoa
Preparation
I’ve only tried 2 or 3 Tie-Guan-Yins and this one is by far my favorite. As long as you don’t oversteep this tea it has no bitterness though it does have a sort or astringent/dry finish that you’d experience with red wine. There is a pronounce woodsy caramel note to this tea, but I usually can’t steep it more than 4 or 5 times as the flavor has faded too much by then. Brewed in a 250cc Hei Liao YiXing teapot.
Flavors: Caramel, Wood