239 Tasting Notes
The brew smells floral, but I’m not getting a lot of that in the flavor, thankfully. It’s one of those “half black, half oolong” teas that makes me wonder if the tea isn’t having some sort of identity crisis. Since I like blacks and oolongs though, this tea is ideal for me. It’s like a black plus.
The tea is on the malty side, with a bit of bitterness an astringency, but not much. There is some tannic as well. Clearly this is the black side of the tea.
But there is also a hint of floral, which reminds me of heather—the flower, not the person. It has that darker oolong kind of flavor with a creamy mouthfeel. Pretty nice for the morning.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Floral, Malt
It’s…sheng. I’m sorry. Not bad for sheng. It’s got a nice floral and green sort of flavor to it, but there’s still a slight amount of that underlying formaldehyde bitterness.
Interesting that you get formaldehyde from sheng…what temp do you brew it at? Not saying you’re wrong of course – you taste what you taste, just curious :)
Usually 175-195, since I let the kettle cool a bit before reheating it. It got up to 205 at the end when there wasn’t a lot of water left. Obviously I’ve never had formaldehyde, but the taste reminds me of the smell of dissection day in class.
Fair enough – just wondered as some have a better time with the bitterness at lower temps. Maybe not in your case :) I only did one dissection in school and the teacher told us the froggie wasn’t preserved in formaldehyde but something else…still smelled bad though lol
Could formaldehyde be interpreted as gasoline-y or metallic?
A little astringent, but fresh and green tasting. Not as formaldehydey as most of the shengs I have been trying—pretty mild.
It’s thick, creamy, and a little sweet, but those flavors are overpowered by the bitter green flavor. Again, this is another one of those shengs I could see people enjoying if they liked sheng.
Earthy kind of green, with a little creamy butter grassy kind of flavor. The grassiness isn’t like a bright, spring green, but a darker, shadier green.
It is a little salty, in a way that reminds me of ramen broth. It becomes nutty in the 2nd steep. It’s not bad, but I still prefer Japanese greens.
Flavors: Butter, Creamy, Earth, Grass, Salty
This tea smells smoky and sweet in a way that reminds me of when we cruised the campgrounds on Sunday as a kid, looking for campfires that hadn’t been put out all the way and restarting them. There’s something a little dry and pine straw about the aroma.
I was surprised at how much the tea comes through the smoke—dark, a little sweet, and malty. It gives a nice contrast between savory and sweet, like smoky molasses? There may be a hint of cocoa in there.
The smoke is on the lighter side, but still a little too strong for me. It comes out the nose like cigarette smoke and tickles the back of my throat.
Flavors: Malt, Smoke, Sweet, Tobacco
Smoky molasses is an interesting description. I hear you, I’m sensitive when it comes to smoke, so smoky teas on the lighter side even tend to be too much for me.
If you like a light, smoky molasses flavor that isn’t overpowering, try the pure gold Jin Jin mei from YS. It’s very nice!
I fully expected this to be identical to the flavored milk oolong at Margaret’s Fine Imports, since I’m pretty sure they both source from Metro. Even the scent of the leaf is identical. But once these have unfurled, I noticed the leaf is much choppier and stickish than Margaret’s.
The flavor is more green oolong taste and less sweet. The texture is less smooth and milky. I suppose it’s still possible that these came from the same source, but perhaps this tea is older? It’s still a nice cup of tea.
Confirmed, you are crazy.