Winter Send Message

It tasted better than I expected. I’m not sure if it was this tea that took the edge off my sore throat or some other aspect, like the fact that the water was hot, or the honey I added, so I have nothing to say about that. But it is comforting. It’s tasty enough that I kind of want to buy the box of tea bags to just have as an option. For whatever reason licorice and spice are flavors I crave when I am sick. Also mint and ginger, but those are for another review.

The brewing parameters I used were not scientific. Put what appears to be a teaspoon in a tea bag. Pour boiling water. Wait a few minutes or until the tea is cool enough to drink, but still hot. I got 2 infusions out of it.

I am currently working on drinking the last few portions of a Winter 2020 pick of this tea. Storing in jars must be the way to go, because this tea is still flavorful! The first time I bought this tea, I bought a smaller amount first, realized I would want more, and immediately bought about 150g, hoping it would last me a year. It sure did, with plenty to spare!

This was one of the first oolong teas I ever tried. At the time, I was a green tea junkie and just wanted something new and different, but still definitely green tea, around. This fit perfectly. It has the staple buttery, boiled spinach green tea taste up front, with a tone of something floral in the mid and after taste. It’s the right amount of floral, not so much that I’m drinking perfume, but enough that I can almost tell what flower it is. Unfortunately, I live in succulent land, and the amount of flowers I can recognize is slim. My immediate thought is jasmine tea. This has a similar, milder floral property as jasmine scented green tea my family likes to order at dim sum restaurants.

I’ve had this tea for a while, and experimented with different temperatures. I like 185F (85C) which is the “white tea” setting on my electric kettle. (Side note, so far I prefer boiling water for white tea.) I brew 20 seconds to start, plus 5 seconds per infusion, this tends to be perfect and lasts me up to 6 infusions. I could go longer, but I don’t like to push my green tea until it’s flavorless…

The wet leaf smells like cooked and salted zucchini, boiled spinach, and flowers. The liquor smells exactly the same. It has a slippery, buttery body, and an accompanying flavor of a lightly salted stick of butter. Afterwards, there is some astringency, but no bitterness. A taste that reminds me a lot of eating or licking raw dark leafy green vegetables (swiss chard?) lingers on the tongue.

I’d say this is definitely one of my favorite green teas of last year. I will treasure every bit of it, until it’s time to rotate it out for something new. I leave here a stunning review in hopes that you might try this tea, because it’s delicious and deserves to be known.

I am testing this from a 25g sample. The method I am using is 5g:100mL. The dry leaf is shiny and has a subtle fruit smell, maybe plum. When wet, the leaves smell much stronger, like dates and forest moss. The brew is a soft golden color and smells like green tea.

I’ve brewed this a few times this week, here’s my impression so far. This is a tea to be flash steeped. If overbrewed, the astringency is overwhelming. But when I’ve got it right, it tastes simple and clean. There is a refreshing juiciness to it like biting into a white flesh fruit, maybe a pear. Other tasting notes include wood, hay/straw, and something that reminds me of the freshness after rain. It gives a calming and waking energy.

I think I want to try this tea a few more times before I decide if I like it or not. I’ve tried too many simple & clean teas in a row. The fact that I’m craving something with more depth of flavor is affecting my opinion.

I began the New Year with a challenge to finish all the spring 2021 tea I own before 2022’s first harvest! I own the 2021 version of Snow Buds, and I have around 150g to work through, 4g at a time. Since I have so much, I think it would be fun to try a few different ways of brewing white teas with it. Today, I am trying Yunnan Sourcing’s suggested brewing style for white and green tea, which you can find on their website. (Please feel free to suggest other ways of brewing white tea!) The pot I am using is 140mL (NOT filled to the top) and ceramic.

The dry leaves are long, fluffy, and chunkier than I am used to. When in a jar, under 150g is easily enough to take up the entire volume just because of the leave’s fluff. They smell like grape gummy candies when dry, and of grapes and honeysuckle when wet.

I got six infusions out of this tea. The first at 10 seconds is nearly tasteless, but with each new infusion, a bit of a stronger taste is added. White grape comes out first, followed by honey, which like to linger on the roof of the mouth. There is no bitterness unless you push the tea, which I did accidentally do on the sixth brew, but there were also no additional flavors, and the bitterness was not unpleasant. I would say this tea’s overall flavor is subtle and refreshing.

Where this tea shines is in the mouthfeel. All infusions except the overbrewed one had a refreshing jelly-like quality that coats the tongue and feels refreshing for several minutes afterwards. There is no astringency at all, except when overbrewed, there is astringency in the aftertaste. This feeling and flavor combination reminds me a lot of aloe vera beverages.

I would not place this as my favorite overall tea, but I would put this very high on my list just to enjoy the texture. I have no regrets about buying so much of this tea.

I bought a cake of this tea from the US site and have been drinking it now and then since March 2021. This is one of my go-to teas when I don’t know what to drink, or if I just “want to drink tea” but have nothing specific in mind. That means I reach for it a lot! I usually brew this at boiling at a starting time of 10s, then add 5s each steep until the color starts to fade, then brew to keep the dark red color. I wait for it to cool down and drink it at room temperature for enhanced sweetness and cooling effect.

Now, I wouldn’t say this tea has any strong flavors. It primarily tastes like nice smooth mineral water with an elegant astringency to it, and there are some stronger suggestions of of wood and earth if you brew for longer than I do. Where this tea shines is in the feeling. It gives me a calm, focused energy after 3 cups. There’s also this interesting “sweet” cooling aftertaste which gets stronger around the 5th cup. Not that it’s literally sweet. I have never tasted fruit or caramel notes. Rather, it is completely absent of bitterness. It’s also quite refreshing! This may sound silly, but drinking this tea reminds me of the nostalgia of drinking an iced cola on a hot summer day. Sometimes, I reach for it when I crave cola.

I have not tasted any wet pile, mustiness, or mushroom from this tea. I do sometimes catch the aroma of shiitake water in the smell of the leaf.

I love the simplicity of this tea. It’s really easy to drink and to brew. This is not a perfect tea only because I prefer complexity of flavor and more prominent sweetness.