99

Pulled my cake of this out today to see how it’s doing. My storage conditions aren’t really that great (it gets really dry in the winter especially). I wound up picking off about three times more than I intended so I thought I’d try tasting it side by side in my yixing and gaiwan. 10 second rinse, 15 second steeps.

Flavour wise, this seems to be relatively similar to how I last remembered it— slightly smokey, lightly astringent. The stonefruit is still there but it’s more melded with the rest of the flavours. I guess my “throw it in the [unplugged] minifridge and hope it doesn’t get too dry in there” method doesn’t seem to be hurting the tea too much at the very least.

Interestingly, the smoke is more prominent in the gaiwan than the yixing but I get a stronger/sweeter aftertaste from the yixing. I don’t remember the aftertaste being there before. I should probably use my yixings more often though.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Cwyn

I have a couple of these, should see how they are coming along myself.

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Cwyn

I have a couple of these, should see how they are coming along myself.

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Bio

I have far too many interests. Tea is one of them.

Background in bioethics, medical anthropology, and evolutionary biology with aspirations of eventually going into a medical field. I also have strong interests in theater, computer science, and food (which shouldn’t be particularly surprising).

Brewing
Brewing method is usually Western style for black teas (2-3 minutes at near-boiling), “grandpa style” for shu pu’ers and longjing, and gongfu (with a gaiwan) short steeps for sheng and shu pu’ers (two 5-second rinses, then 5, 10, 15-second steeps with a gradual increase in steep times to taste). The gaiwan is also used for oolongs though I sometimes use a brew basket if the gaiwan is occupied and I’m taking a break from pu’er.

Preferences
I enjoy black teas, pu’er, and oolongs (leaning towards aged, cliff/Wuyi, or roasted/dark), depending on my mood. I don’t usually drink green tea but do enjoy a cup every so often.

Ratings
My rating methods have changed over time and as a result, they’re very inconsistent. For the most part, as of 11 November 2014, unless a tea is exceptional in some way (either good or bad), I will refrain from leaving a numerical rating.

The final iteration of my rating system before I stopped (note: I never did get around to re-calibrating most of my older notes):
99 & 100: I will go to almost any lengths to keep this stocked in my cupboard.
90-98: I’m willing to or already do frequently repurchase this when my stock runs low.
80-89: I enjoy this tea, and I may be inclined to get more of it once I run out.
70-79: While this is a good tea, I don’t plan on having it in constant supply in my tea stash.
50-69: This might still be a good tea, but I wouldn’t get it myself.
40-49: Just tolerable enough for me to finish the cup, but I don’t think I’ll be trying it again any time soon.
Below 40: Noping the heck out of this cup/pot.

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