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Steeped a full 10g sample of this in my largest gaiwan, and it’s proving to be the perfect treat to the palate after something that wasn’t quite to our liking.

This one has a fairly delicate aroma, and the first steep comes out a nice, reddish gold. It’s smooth and has just the right amount of sweetness. Really enjoying this one. Sweet honey and creaminess for a good few steeps. I’d like to have gotten more steeps out of it, but it was good while it lasted.

Wanted to try a new oolong this morning and this ended up being the winner. I’ve never had an oolong from Japan before, so this was exciting. The leaves themselves also look completely unlike those of any oolong I’ve seen before. A blend of black and greenish leaves with wispy tan bits and stems.

Toss 6 grams of this into the gaiwan and steep without doing a wash. The roast is immediately apparent and quickly fills the nose. It’s got that salty thing going on, especially in the first sip. And it evolves into something floral and woody, with that distinct, creamy oolong sweetness rounding it out.

The next steep is too roasty, woody and sour. It tastes better cooled off than warm, when the sweetness comes through more. We give it one more steep, but ultimately this is not for us. It is not a bad tea at all, just not the flavor profile either of us prefers.

Got a free sample of this from WP in both of the orders I’ve made, so I’ve been meaning to get around to trying this. Steeped it gongfu style last night, and had to take some time to just admire the beauty of the dry leaves. Golden with a very fine down and an earthy aroma.

Each cup of the first steep tastes quite different to me. There is a hint of sweetness rounding out the earth and malt in the first pour, but the flavor is very subtle overall. The next cup tastes like whole grain cereal and has a sweet aftertaste. The last sip, from the very bottom of the cha hai, has the deepest flavor, and after emptying the cup, a bold sweetness clings to it.

I find the flavor really comes out in the third steep, which brings more depth and distinct cocoa notes. I have one more sample of this one and haven’t decided if we’ll do it gongfu again or western. Gongfu is our preference for almost everything, but I’d like to see how it tastes both ways.

This seems to be have been thrown in as a sample with the order rhinkle made for my birthday, so I’m excited to get to try it, as it was something I wanted to get at some point.

Steeped it according to the gaiwan brewing instructions on the CLT site. When I first came across this one I had some reservations regarding whether I would like it or not, as I don’t like very strong florals in my tea.

But the balance of flavors in this tea ended up being very nice. It has a fresh, fruity, floral aroma that translates well into the liquor itself. The floral is not overpowering at all, and the fruity sweetness comes through clearly. There is also a good bit of camphor in this one, resulting in a nice cooling sensation.

Overall, very enjoyable, and one I would definitely like to have again at some point!

I’ve had a sample of this sitting around for a few weeks, so I decided to use the opportunity to drink it alongside the sample of W2T’s Fuding that Roswell Strange sent me.

This came from a smaller sample, so upon washing I can tell this one is a bit more broken up, and I get a good bit of fannings and dust that come off during the session. But, as a result, I get a lot more up front flavor, and a darker liquor to start with this one.

This tea tastes of fruit, hay and spices, and has a very smooth mouthfeel with an appreciable thickness that persists throughout the session. I find this one more enjoyable from the first steep, but also perhaps a bit simpler and less complex, and it gives out sooner since it was quicker to open up.

I still find this to be quite good, and I’d be interested in seeing how different steeping parameters would affect the flavor overall. What I enjoy most about it is the immediate flavor and the persistent smoothness and thickness, and I wonder what condition I would find the leaves to be in if I were able to break this one apart myself.

I have a bit more of my sample left, so I’ll be able to play around with it some more.

Roswell Strange sent this to me as part of the Slack chat Secret Santea event, so thank you so much! I’ve been wanting to try this one. Since I also had a sample of Teavivre’s 2011 Fuding, I decided to drink these side by side.

I can tell from the beginning that this one will take a while to fully expand and steep out, as the initial steep is extremely light in color and flavor and the chunk of cake is really holding itself together. The leaves are very intact with almost no fannings come off in the rinse or during multiple steeps.

Gongfuing this, I get a delicate flavor with stone fruit and a nice fruity sourness that develop throughout the session, along with an eventual acute sweetness. I revisit it the next day and it keeps delivering, and the day after that, the cake still hasn’t fully pulled itself apart.

Knowing that this one can be steeped quite a few ways with good results, I look forward to experimenting with it some more. Thanks again, Roswell Strange!

Gongfu’d this jjm the other day, and while I had no idea what to expect, I got a great combination of flavors to enjoy.

Very fine-looking leaves with a strong aroma that is a blend of cocoa and tobacco. This tea was malty and dark chocolate with a hint of dried fruit, and had a very strong, concentrated flavor until I accidentally oversteeped it. After that, it got weak pretty quickly.

Drank this yesterday while at rhinke’s dad’s holiday gathering. Figured it would be a good idea to take something we could easily prepare western style and I was right. Brewed up a nice, deep red that was super smooth and thick in texture, with a sweet, rich taste with notes of cocoa, subtle caramel and a comforting creaminess. The flavors opened up more over a couple of subsequent steeps, which I always appreciate being able to get when gong the western route as I tend to for blends.

Definitely an enjoyable drink, and it was the perfect choice for navigating chilly kitchen conversations with new people during this time of year.

Steeped this up yesterday alongside the Vietnam Light Roast Jin Xuan High Mountain Oolong Tea. They’re both about 20% oxidized or so, so I thought I would be fun to taste two high mountain jin xuans from different countries.

These dry leaves are rolled—though not as tightly as the Vietnamese jin xuan—and green, and have a mild sweet fragrance that becomes more vegetal and floral after a quick wash. The liquor of this one started out a clear yellow that became deeper and more golden over subsequent steeps.

It starts out smooth, floral and vegetal, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel. It takes a while for the creaminess to really become prominent in this one, but the floral flavor eventually gives way to a taste that is creamy overall, with the texture becoming even thicker and more viscous throughout the session.

I feel like this one stands up to resteeping quite well, and offers an interesting and enjoyable session. It definitely has distinct differences from Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese oolongs that I have tried thus far.

Steeped this up yesterday alongside the Thailand #12 Jin Xuan High Mountain Oolong Tea. They’re both about 20% oxidized or so, so I thought I would be fun to taste two high mountain jin xuans from different countries.

These fairly green leaves are tightly rolled and have a very sweet fragrance that evolves into a more roasted aroma after a quick wash. It steeps out to a very clear yellow liquor with a smooth texture and a sweet taste with hints of roasted nuts. I can tell the roast helps bring out the sweetness early in this one, and with subsequent steeps, the texture becomes thicker and the flavor more vegetal.

Got many good steeps out of this one before the flavor started fading, and the profile remained enjoyable throughout the entire session. Definitely has the potential to be a good daily drinker.