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I’ve had this a few times so far, but didn’t bother to write a tasting note.
Anyway, today used some extra leaf today (not much) and extended the steep time to 4 mins (usually I start with 3). I got a nice strengthened chocolatey flavour, floral notes, and a nice little nip of bitterness. All of those properties combined makes me think of dark chocolate while I sip.

Sometimes when I add extra leaf I dislike the results, but this one turned out favourably. Very happy with this one so far.

From the aroma of dry leaves, I picked up on a nice nutty fragrance. And with the wet leaves and liquor, muscatel and floral notes. There was also something there that reminds me of white tea scent and the “springy” nature of FF.

Onto drinking the stuff, I immediately taste strong bold flavours, astringency sensation, and bitterness (the sort within my liking). Which kind of surprised me, because the aroma from the dry and wet leaves makes me think it will taste very delicate. The aftertaste is quite mellow, with no trace of the bitterness from before.

I can definitely sense the grapefruit flavour mentioned in the description. I think it’s a combination of the bold, bitter, and astringency I’m picking up on.

The second steep was much tamer. Along with the original tea flavour, there is a nice spiciness. I especially liked the experience of inhaling the tea aroma just before sipping. A very captivating tea for the senses.

All in all, I like this experience. It turned out to pack quite a punch, but in a good way. And it was nice to taste a tea from Sikkim, an area so close to Darjeeling, and taste the difference. I may have added a bit too much leaf, so I’ll see about toning down the tiger by adjusting my tea leaf/water ratios.

The scent of dry leaves inside the pouch remind me of that Grape Nuts cereal (like wheat? barley?). Other than that, nothing else really grabbed my nose.

Onto brewing the first cup. Aroma from the liquor and wet leaves makes me think of fleshy tomato and thick wheat bread, with the liquor having more floral and “tea” notes.

Taking in the first sips, I taste notes of malt, wheat, cinnamon, pepper, honey, and “flesh” or pulpy texture in my mouth. With a lingering kind of cinnamon and sour note. Such a lot of flavours in one cup, it definitely gives my mind a lot to think about! Besides the flavour, I really like the fleshy texture combined with the otherwise light body.

In the second steep, the honey aroma really stands out. Tasting the liquor, notes of cinnamon and honey grab my attention right away. Following with the same flavours from the first steep.

At the third steep, the flavour is still staying pretty strong. Just the fleshy texture is fading.

Steeps four to five: Mostly tasting sweetness and spice

Sixth steep: Sweet, muted flavours but still going

Seven and Eighth steeps: Hardly anything resembling tea, mostly just sweet, honey water

Overall I thought this tea was a nice surprise, because I didn’t have high expectations going into this purchase. For me, it was a nice balance of sweet, spices, texture and just enough floral notes. Like a lot of black tea from this retailer, resteeping black tea is totally worth it.

Ending note: This reminds me (minus the sweetness) very much of Camellia-Sinensis’ Zhenghe Hong Gong Fu. So if you’ve enjoyed that one it’s worth checking out Huiming Hong Cha (or vice versa). Also, the sweetness (honey, cinnamon) found in this tea kind of reminds me of the sweetness you find in roasted tea. Perhaps it’s like what I expect a black tea version of Oriental Beauty to taste of. A bit of a bold claim, but at the 2nd steep onward you get a really fantastic sweet/cinnamon flavour.

Today’s tuo cha is cassia seed and ripe puerh (決明子熟沱). I’ve never tried anything with cassia seed before (that I know of), so I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to detect it here. That being said, I let my last tuo sit a while and it still turned out all right, so I’ll do the same with this one. From a quick Google search I found out that cassia seed is sweet, bitter, salty and may be used as a laxative (yikes!) among other things.

Sipping from the first steep, I noticed right away that this had a very “rounded” flavour. Dare I say, rather enjoyable? Maybe ripe puerh is just growing on me. :P Towards the end of the cup, I’m starting to pick up on a saltiness; presumably due to the cassia seed.

Second steep: pretty much the same experience as the first. Found myself sipping, not paying attention to the flavour and getting lost in the moment.

Third steep: Tea liquor is lightening up a bit, but the flavour is still strong.

Fourth steep: Tea liquor is much lighter, like amber orange. Still flavorful and a bit less pungent. Having fun getting to the bottom of this cup while chilling out and listening to DroneZone (SomaFM online radio).

Individual rating: 70ish. I would consider buying more of this to drink, but I think it is considered to be medicinal and not for regular consumption. It turned out to be more enjoyable than the other tuos, but not a favourite.

Final note: I’m starting to enjoy drinking these ripe tuos quite a bit. It’s definitely an evening/all-nighter sort of thing. Having a touch of insomnia at the moment, and I like choosing this over herbal. I like the very grounded feeling puerh gives me.

Finished off my small 25g bag of this. I was hoping to enjoy this (because its kind of cheap), but it just didn’t work out. It’s like meeting someone who looks attractive, and you both probably share the same interests, but then they open their mouth and say something incredibly stupid/insulting. :( I want to like you but I just can’t!

I probably won’t be buying any regular pouches of green tea for a while, and just work with samples until I find something enjoyable. Most of the time when I taste unflavoured teas they have at least one quality I like, but with these last green teas I’ve tried they just leave me feeling disappointed.

Looking inside the bag, I see beautiful long twisted leaves (and this is the small leaf cultivar! lol). So right from the start I decided this was a tea for the gaiwan, because it’s my favourite way (besides glass teapots/mugs) to admire tea leaves.

First sip, suddenly reminded of another Taiwanese tea I’ve tried (Hualien Feng Mi), except this is not as roasted. Then I’m picking up on a menthol/minty like flavour that I’ve heard about before with this sort of tea. There is also this soft malt flavour, but it’s not a “in your face” type of maltiness, it’s more like Ovaltine drink. It has a very smooth texture from the initial sip and an almost fuzzy, chocolatey, velvet aftertaste.

Second steep I’m picking up more of a honey flavour, with the other notes becoming more muted. Same fuzzy, chocolatey, velvet aftertaste (but muted).

At this point I examined the leaves before trying a third steep. The wet leaf is long, thin and has a hard leathery feel to it.

Third and final steep is a bit too muted for my liking. Still picking up notes of honey and malt. Enjoyable, but it can’t compare to the experience from my first steep.

This came along with a Red Jade sampler, so I can’t wait to try that as well. Also I’ll be playing around with the rating by the time I go through this bag (score might go up). So far I’m very fond of it, just not sure if I’ll become smitten by the last teaspoon. ;)

Today’s tuo cha is black tea and ripe puerh (红茶熟沱). Within the first two cups, I’m left feeling underwhelmed. The next two were a bit better, but I’m mostly tasting the ripe puerh (slight bitterness, pungent). I let the fifth and sixth steep for a long time (2 and 4 mins respectively), because I thought the black tea might be hiding in there. ;) To my surprise, it wasn’t entirely horrible at 4 mins (6th steep), but it still mostly tastes of ripe puerh. I can kinda get that “tea” flavour coming out, but it is very subtle. This assortment comes with 2 tuos for each flavour, so I may try longer steeps when I get to its twin.

Individual rating: 60 (Adequate). I would rate it lower (due to my disappointment), but it is still very drinkable.

Side note: all of these tuos are brewed in my 100ml gaiwan. I really enjoy the visual presentation of the leaves when you brew with it, and the ease of resteeping. (Plus it was really cheap! lol)

Finished the evening off with some raspberries and 6 short infusions of Oriental Beauty. A sweet treat (both the tea and the fruit) to end my weekend.

So far I’m really enjoying this tea, but I think it tastes a bit too “rich” and sweet for regular consumption. This sample size I got is working just well for special occasions.

I’ve been drinking this all year, even during the wicked heat waves in Ontario. I love Lapsang Souchong so much, but it’s always more enjoyable when it’s cold and raining outside. Each sip makes me think about sitting around a warm campfire

Smoky, malty, slightly buttery, with a pleasant soft black tea body.

Out of the few LS I’ve tried, this is absolutely my favourite. This company also sells a more authentic (?) and expensive version, but the cheap version suits me just fine. (I’ve tried the other one, and it’s wonderful.) As a plus, this is one of my favourite teas from Camellia Sinensis that doesn’t sell out right away. Finally a word of warning: you’ll either love it or hate it. If you’ve never tried Lapsang Souchong before, I recommend getting a small size (at your retailer of choice)

Today’s tuo cha is isatidis radix ripe puerh (板藍根熟沱). The aroma from the liquor smells a bit different, but upon drinking it I couldn’t detect anything that sets this apart. The puerh was drinkable, but nothing about it really impressed me. A very average/“meh” experience. I brewed it 4 times, and stopped there since it didn’t hold my interest.

Individual rating: 60ish. I’d rate it higher but I can’t taste anything beyond the puerh.

So far my favourites have been sticky rice raw puerh and lavendar ripe puerh. When I’m done going through all the tuo cha, I might buy more of those two in larger batches.