278 Tasting Notes
I’m shenging again! Woo!
Method: 3.3 g, 3 oz, 205 degrees, rinse & 15-20-25 seconds, filigree gaiwan and Dr. Who mug
Aroma: Wow. The dry tea smells just amazing. Grapes and some other delicious thing that I can’t quite place. I bought a sample b/c the cake is pretty pricey. I kept sticking my nose in the bag!
Flavor: Smooth and sweet. This is a little fruity, but not with the apricot flavors I normally find in the shengs I have tried. This is harder for me to determine, but I really like it. It’s so pretty and comforting. It leaves my tongue tingling a bit, also. There weren’t any reviews for this one, so I think I just picked it on a whim. Go me!
Edit: And I lied! I did another set of steeps at 20-25-30 and the apricot IS there! These steeps are more brothy as well. I’m watching Sharknado 2 with this really excellent tea. Sheng happy!!!!!
Preparation
Uh oh. This is the last of my sample! Gotta get more!
I’m drinking this and watching Clue. I think I’ve seen Clue at least 1000 times. No lie. Whenever I can’t decide on something to watch, I pick Clue. I think this tea goes very nicely with Tim Curry. And that is a VERY high compliment to the tea!
it’s almost time for more SB!!!
I want it all!!!! :p
Nooooo! I want it all!!! But, no…really, i can share with the lovely ladies.
I have never seen Clue.
You’re a peach, TTF. :)
Marz: please stop what you’re doing and make immediate arrangements to watch Clue at your earliest convenience. It’s SO amazing. One of my top 5 movies of all time!!!! Ever!!!!
It’s a great movie. Somehow it was so underrated in the theatre, but it’s become somewhat of a cult classic.
Yeah, I can’t recall when I first saw it, but I know I was pretty young. It’s just brilliant. Amazing script and cast. And that house! Gorgeous! Tim Curry! Eeeee!!!!
I’m having my second resteep of this now. Soo good!
Indeed, boychik. I also did 2 steeps this time. I love this tea!!!
I’m joining you gals…first steep here. (I’m such a copy cat…and a peach. Sarsy said so).
You’re peachy keen :)
Thanks to Cameron B for the sample!
Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 205 degrees, 5 minutes, brew in mug strainer
Aroma: spicy chocolate
Flavor: I added some almond milk to this, along with a little maple syrup. I like the blend of spices here, and I can taste a light chocolate flavor. It’s quite good! Next time I make this, I will just heat the almond milk and steep the tea right in there.
Good stuff. Thanks, Cam Bot!
Preparation
Time to bust out my Yezi pu’erh samples! I’m working from home today, so I figured I could try the 3 pu’erhs they included as samples in my prior orders.
Method: The Yezi site says to use 30 sec to start, then increase by 10-15. Seemed too long, so I did – 5 g, 3 oz, rinse then 15-20-25 seconds, 205 degrees, ru kiln gaiwan. Long pu’erh steeps make me nervous!
Aroma: I’m guessing this is a ripe pu. Please correct me if I am wrong. It smells cavey and earthy. I am learning to appreciate these aromas more, but I admit that they still make me a little uncomfortable.
Flavor: I blended the first 3 steeps into one mug. The flavor is also earthy, but I do catch pleasant little hints of chocolate. I’ve had some pu’erhs with a sharp taste, but this one is very smooth. I like it, but I want to like it even more than I do. It feels very thick and substantial and the aftertaste is actually more pleasant to me than the tea itself.
Here’s pics in my brand new gaiwan:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14774513901/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14591177117
Preparation
Yep you are on the way!
I just placed some orders with YS, White2tea, and Tea Urchin. I went with small cakes and sample sizes, but I am going to be in pu’erh city soon. I got mostly shengs, but I also bought some shous to try to expand my palate there.
I’m really loving TeaUrchin Sars :)
I am loving their selection and labels, Steph. I wasn’t really loving the prices, but I do hear that their teas are very high quality. I only ordered samples from them. There’s no way I am forking over $180 for a tea cake without being completely and totally in love with it. I’m so glad companies selling pricier teas have samples we can try first.
Yeah, I’ve had a ton of samples, but never a whole cake. I’d love to have one some day, especially with a pretty label :)
Nice! Try around, some people have preferences, just don’t go overboard with samples lol (I was guilty before lol).
Ha! Yeah, I do tend to go overboard on pretty much everything. I admit it. :)
I’m hoping that out of the samples, I’ll find some lower priced teas that I can get to enjoy on a daily basis as well as some teas that might be better for aging.
I added some pics of this brewing in my new gaiwan. I am going back to do the 4-5-6 steepings now!
Gorgeous.
Thats a GREAT gaiwan!!! i loves it
Thanks! I am a sucker for things with a filigree sort of look!
Oh, and I am on steeps 7-8-9 with this, and it’s still going!
You got one the of the lacy gaiwans!!!! Yay! I had real trouble deciding which one of them to pick. Don’t you just LOVE it?
I do love it!!!! I just thought yours was so pretty, so I finally caved and bought the other pattern. Now I’ve seen that they make matching cups, so those are in my wish list too! <3
Oh hell! There are cups? I love mine very very much. Just don;t let it’s little bottom sit in any shou on your tea tray. I had to soak in Garret’s mircle stuff AND scrub with a toothbrush for a long time.
How are you this morning sweetness?
Good tip, thanks honey belle. There are cups posted on the Teaware Lust thread. They match my gaiwan, but I’m assuming there must also be cups to match yours. I’ll try to find a link for you. :)
My morning is off to a slow start. Couldn’t get out of bed, so I am late to work, oops!
I just realized I had one sample left from TeaVivre’s very generous offerings that I have not reviewed yet. Since it was time for morning tea, I figured it was time to get to it!
Method: 3.3 g, 3 oz, 205 degrees, 15-20-25 seconds, ru kilk gaiwan
Aroma: Roasty scents, with some hints of floral and fruit, and also a mineral note
Flavor: Toasty yum. This tea has some pretty floral notes, but the main show is the roasty toasty flavor. There’s also a bit of sweetness and a slightly dry finish. This has a very pleasant aftertaste that really stays awhile. I blended the first 3 steeps into a mug and I’m having some difficulty not just chugging it all at once! Thanks to TeaVivre for the sample!
Preparation
Hi Sarsonator,
This Is Tea Ave, we are about all things Oolong- www.teaave.com, we plan to launch our site on November, 1st, 2014. Here we can see that you are enjoying sipping some Oolongs yourself. (Love the way you review the teas by the way, clear and organized!!)
We are inviting you to follow us back, so we can send out an inbox message with more information on Tea Ave. We would also like to invite you to try out some of our Oolong samples including Pouchong, Tie Kwan Ying and some floral scented Oolongs before launching.
So, if you’d like, please feel free follow us back and sign up the from we will send you to your inbox , just remember to include your Steepster ID, and we can catch up from there :)
Cheers.
First, I’d like to apologize to TeaVivre. I was sent several lovely samples to review and I posted this review under the incorrect tea! So I am moving the review to the correct tea listing.
Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 208 degrees, 3 and 10 minutes, ForLife brew in mug strainer
Dry Leaf Aroma: The leaves had only a very faintly floral scent.
Brewing Aroma: Oh, THERE you are! This smells gorgeous! There’s a very strong floral aroma, like jasmine, but not exactly jasmine.
Flavor: Smooth and floral. I steeped for 3 minutes and the flavor was nice, but not that strong. I put the brew cup back in, intending to try again after 2 min, but I got distracted and another 7 minutes had passed!
The flavor was definitely stronger now. The floral is in your face, but I personally like that, so I’m happy. There was a little astringency, and a bare hint of bitterness, but nothing crazy. I will undoubtedly buy more of this to keep at work for grandpa style brewing. It holds up to long steeps extremely well!!!
Thanks to Angel @ TeaVivre for the sample!
Preparation
So this tea went down in the following way:
TTF posted about it this AM, so I made one cup made with a one minute steep time. Then I made two more cups (2 and 4 min steeps), and put them in a travel mug.
Then I promptly left the travel mug at home when I left to go hiking with Brian. We hiked and picked wineberries. We filled all of our containers and the shrubberies were still completely full. It was glorious! Here’s a small portion of our haul:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14781160523/
We saw some turks cap lillies:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14781161023
and some beautiful streams:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14574608300
When we finally arrived home, I reheated the two cups of tea. Normally I don’t like to do this, but I also hate wasting tea. Anyways, it’s still delicious. What an interesting tea! It’s very obviously sweet, and no additives are required. Perfect for a little pick me up before our friends arrive for Sunday TV night. It’s also a perfect compliment to the lovely thunderstorm currently raging through the city.
Preparation
Nice pictures! That stream is gorgeous! And now I know what a wineberry looks like heh. Enjoy your Sunday TV night :)
Yeah, they pretty much look like shiny raspberries, but they have their own flavor. Thanks! I hope we don’t lose power!
Wine berries make some good jelly. 2 gallons in the freezer already. Our season is about over though.
I want wineberries.
Oh wow! 2 gallons!!! We got closer to 1 gallon. Gotta bring more containers next year!!!
Do you guys have those in TX, MzP?
I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of them before. But they are so pretty and luscious looking.
I guess they’re a northeast thing. Originally from China, though.
Good morning, my little tea lovelies!!!
I am drinking this beautiful tea with my breakfast this morning! I was asleep by 10:30pm or so last night and the dogs and Chairman Meow let me sleep til 7:45! Wooo! I am ready to face the day!
Brian and I are going for a hike to pick wineberries which I will use to make wineberry wine, an amazing treat. It turns a beautiful dark fuchsia when done. We are down to only one bottle from last year’s batch. Time to make more!
I love the gentle jolt this tea provides, and it tastes really lovely with toast and butter. Or pancakes. Or french toast. You get the idea…
Have a wonderful day!!!! <3
(Or cherries…just saying)
Have fun berry picking :-)
:p
I should make a cherry wine…
Oh ya!!!! Booze and cherries, now you’re talking. That would be amaaaazing. I drink very little, but wine is my thing.
Maybe I will make a Foxy Roxy cherry tea wine in your honor. Oh yeah, I absolutely do make wine out of teas!!!!
the YS one is supposed to be good
apt: YS has a what?
ailaoshan black. they call it ai lao mountain black which is the same thing
Thanks, apt! I am going to get some pu’erh from them soon. I’ll add a bit of their ai Lao to try!
You’re going to get some what sarsy???
I usually make some Cherry Bounce before all the cherries are done for the season. It’s ready by Christmas!
I’m not buying any tea, if that’s what you’re implying, TTF. :p
What’s a Cherry Bounce?!?!?! HoneyBelle! Sounds fun!!!
Not a review, so skip it if you don’t care about my awesome day :p
I went to Harrisburg’s Pride Fest with my mom, my friends, and a wee little baby. We had a blast. I love the drag queens! There was one lonely protester, and I felt a little sorry for him. Anyways, after that, the crew came back to my place and we watched Mean Girls.
Then that group of friends left and two more friends came over, with two 5 year olds. We decided to go for a swim up at the swim club. That was wonderful! It was later in the day, so there weren’t many people. We went to the longest dinner ever after swimming. The food was good, but everything just took about 1000 years.
I am finally home and am very likely to pass out before Brian even gets home from work. I figured this tea would probably do the trick, since it’s pretty much just chamomile, IMO. I hope you all had a wonderful day!!!
Good food, good times with family and friends, sounds like you had a wonderful time!!!
It was a very lovely, but very long day! I am going to sleep really well tonight!!!!
There is something satisfying about a good nights sleep after a fun busy day. :))
That sounds lovely, glad you had such a good time :-)
The only thing I dislike about drag queens is that they are better at being girly than I am.
It was so much fun. I have a bunch of gay boyfriends, so I used to go to Pride all the time. I haven’t been in a few years though, so this was extra fun.
Marz: for realz. Some of those queens looked so amazing today. My fave was in this huge Elizabethan dress that looked like something out of the Ren Faire!!! It was absolutely amazing!
Thats awesome. I used to work with a guy who used to do a really good Cher and Celine Dionne.
Holy cheese doodles, I used to live in the Harrisburg area and will be going back there for my yearly three month visiting of family this late fall. Small world hehe!
Also I am sad that my entire ten years living there I never went to a Pride Day, I always wanted to but it seemed that something always happened and I couldn’t make it.
That sounded like an awesome day :)
Sars, I spent a summer in Carlisle, PA and visited Harrisburg then :). Also, almost all my friends here in Minneapolis are gay so I also have a ton of gay boyfriends. They’re the best! I went to Pride this year and we got free donuts and mimosas, plus there was a ferris wheel. Winning
Wow, I wouldn’t think so many people would be familiar with Harrisburg! I know it’s the capital and all, but it’s tiny compared to Philly and Pitts.
Amanda, you’re visiting for three months? That’s awesome. You probably know more about where to get good tea around here than I do!
Let’s see…I know there is One Good Woman in Camp Hill, and of course Wegmans has a decent supply of teas…still one of my favorite places to get decent and fairly cheap Japanese greens. Other than that, I got most my teas online (frightfully boring) but plan on hunting some more tea places down while I am there.
If you want to meet for a tea party, let me know!!! I’d love to meet and say hi. I swear I’m not an axe murderer or anything.
(She’s a pick pu’erh cake murderer though…watch out!)
Holy crap! I can’t even defend myself against that. I will indeed stab the cakes so we can drink the sheng! Too funny, TTF!!!
I did this as a tea tasting with Cameron B. We prepped the tea similarly and then compared notes. Here are mine -
Method: 3 g, 3 oz, 208 degrees, rinse-5-7-10-10 seconds (blended to one cup), ru kiln gaiwan
Aromas: dried apricot, raisins, steamed rice, something roasty
Flavor: This is a winner, fo sho. This has a lovely and very pronounced fruity flavor and a really intense sweetness that lingers. As I said to Cam: I am pretty much chugging this because it’s so good.
The 5-6-7th steeps (10-15-20) are super also. These have less fruit and more of a brothy flavor. They’re very comforting. These steeps are more buttery. Cam said she gets some specific herbs. I can’t pick out the specifics, but this reminds me of a light soup.
It’s kind of like starting with dessert and then having your dinner. Which totally works for me! Thanks to Cameron B for tea tasting with me!
Nice!! Also sheng high fives :)
High fives, eh? I thought that if I drank enough sheng, ya’ll might show me the secret handshake :p
(That’s because it’s a teacret handshake…)
Glad you’re enjoying your first YS sheng :-)
Ha! I am going to keep shenging on until someone shows me the teacret handshake! I will not be deterred!
(Been shenging for a while and still don’t hold the teacret hanshake. Some say it’s mystic, that you must reach the level of Sheng-Jedi to obtain it…)
OK, I shall forge ahead!
Have you gotten the sheng “Sweat” yet. I know it sounds crazy but the good ones will cause it.
Noooo! What phenomenon is this????
Tell us Mr Mo!
You will just kind of break into a little sweating with a powerful sheng. It usually happens in the later steepings as I think the leaf gets really hydrated and puts forth some of it’s essence.
I usaully sweat on the forehead and under the chin/neck area.
Interesting!
LOL! I freaked out the first time this happened to me. I think I was having a Lao Man E blend. It was winter, my apt(DC) has really big windows so the apartment was cold, at the end of the 4th steep I feel light headed. I was similar to getting of from the bed really fast in the morning, but lighter. Then I realized I was sweating and shaking my hands a bit and I felt hot in a cold apt. :P
Lao Man E , Bulang and LBZ seem to hit the hardest.
I’ve definitely felt some physical effects, but I don’t recall any sweating. The lightheadedness has definitely happened.
I’ve gotten a little light headed before, but not noticed sweating. Neat!
What is it in sheng that does this to us, exactly?
I don’t know what causes it but do a 10 gram steep with 10 oz. water for about 30 seconds sometime.
will do!!!!!
I’ve learned about so many scary things about pu’erh these past couple days, it’s ridiculous.
Are you talking about the “what’s in your pu?” Thread?
That too. Pu’erh is such a beast.
I just tried my first sheng. It made me feel very caffeinated for about 15 minutes and then I literally could not stay awake. I feel asleep in my chair in the middle of analyzing data at 5 in the afternoon. After 45 min or so, I woke up and felt normal. It was a weird experience.
Ooohhh… interesting mj. I haven’t experienced that before!