358 Tasting Notes
I ordered a sample of this in my last YS haul and am glad to finally be getting around to trying it. I easily break a smaller chunk off the chunk I have and separate it as best I can in the gaiwan. After a quick wash, a mushroom aroma hits me and I get excited. I do a few quick steeps and end up with a nice, deep red, mushroomy-smelling liquor. The taste is liqht and earthy with a hint of mushroom, not surprisingly, the texture smooth, the body very nice.
I then wait a while, as the cha qi hits me really hard, and when I do another steep, I forgot I’ve poured water in the gaiwan, take a quick stretch walk around the office and come back to remember that I steeped it and immediately pour. The color is so deep I can’t see through it and the mouthfeel is very thick and luxuriously smooth. The flavor is gentle and just slightly sweet.
The next steeps taste sweeter and creamy. Still so smooth. This tea is super easy to drink and pretty much carried me through the second half of the day. Glad I still have some more of my sample left!
Flavors: Creamy, Earth, Smooth, Sweet
This is another one that I portioned out ahead of time that’s been waiting to be consumed. Steeped with probably too much water, as it didn’t have as strong a flavor as I would have liked. The liquor was a light yellow green and did exude that sencha smell, but upon tasting the first steep, it is extremely light. Faint vegetal flavor, not much umami, actually getting a bit of nuttiness out of it, which isn’t bad, just unexepcted. But I don’t rule out the possibility that it absorbed that from another tea.
For the second steep I up the temperature to 80C, reduce the water by about half and do a quick infusion. I do get some more flavor out of it but not a ton. All in all, this is a fairly lackluster sencha in my opinion. I don’t see myself revisiting it again.
Preparation
So I made a big Adagio order back in December when I initially decided to get back into tea and, of course, shortly after I ordered from other vendors and now I don’t touch this stuff. I had a few portions that I’d separated out into baggies to take to work and they’ve just been sitting here, and this one has been making my drawer smell sweet for too long, so it’s time to drink these, but not without having some fun with it. All I really use at work is the gaiwan, so let’s give it a shot in that!
So, this tea has bits and pieces of stuff in it and smells very sweet. I’ve recently confirmed that I am definitely more partial to Japanese greens than Chinese, so the base of this tea is less on my preferred side but not bad. I let some of the leaves and stems from my kabusecha earlier stay in the gaiwan when I dumped it, because why not?
The liquor is fairly golden and smells…sweet. The added flavoring is very obvious. The taste is sweet and floral, which makes sense since it has flowers in it. I do a couple steeps of this but, eh, I don’t really feel the need to force myself to steep it much more. Fortunately some folks around me like this blend, so it won’t be going to waste.
Flavors: Artificial, Floral, Sweet
Preparation
Drinking this during our self-care evening.
The cake smells very much like sticky rice, and chunks are separated from it easily. The liquor brews up fairly dark, and smells a bit like popcorn. It tastes a bit like buttered popcorn, as well.
The second steep is even darker, and the flavor carries through. The third infusion is the sweetest yet. I don’t get to spend much time with this one since it’s approaching bedtime, but I will definitely revisit it!
Flavors: Butter, Popcorn, Sweet
Preparation
Alistair threw this in as a free sample with my What-cha oarder.
The washed leaves have a faint sweet smell that, after the first steep, transforms into something fragrant and roasty. The expand quickly during the first steep, coloring the liquor a medium dark, golden red.
The taste is very creamy with a hint of roastiness. The texture smooth and somewhat thick.
The second steep brines more creaminess, remains smooth, and introduces a nuttiness that also tastes faintly of sesame.
The liquor seems to have become redder in the third steep, which remains nutty and sweet, but is somewhat less creamy.
By the fourth steep the flavor has lightened up quite a bit, so I’m going to try another, significantly longer steep.
I was able to squeeze a bit more flavor out in the fifth steep, but I think the leaves are telling me they’ve had enough. Still have some left of this sample, so I’ll look forward to enjoying it soon and I can definitely see myself putting in an order of this!
Flavors: Creamy, Nutty, Roasted, Sweet
Preparation
So, I decided to have this while waiting for Hillary’s concession speech to start, and apparently I didn’t realize that I already had a sample of this that I got from LP, so I have already tasted this. I guess this will just be a revisiting!
The dry leaves smell faintly sweet. When wet, they smell smoky and earthy, and the first steep produces a light golden liquor with the slightest hint of a red tint.
The first infusion is very smooth in texture with a smoky, earthy taste. The second remains light in color and introduces that characteristic thickness, with a stronger smokiness. It has a floral taste that is mostly apparent in the nose, and I am starting to feel some qi.
Over my headphones, I hear applause, so it sounds like the Clintons are finally in the building. The third infusion is lighter in color, and some bitterness starts to come forth, while the flavor itself remains fairly consistent. Tim Kaine comes on stage, so it looks like this thing is about to get started!
Lunch time approaches near the end of Hillary’s speech, and I have another tea planned to have with the SO, so I set aside these leaves to finish up with later. When I get back to it, I end up emptying my kettle into the gaiwan before I realize I didn’t have enough water left in it, so I made sure to keep this steep short. The liquor came out very strong, of course, piney, thick and floral, with some sweetness starting to come through. A very nice, sweet aroma clings to the cup.
The fifth steep continues to deliver, and on the sixth steep, things start to mellow out. The mouthfeel gets thicker. The flavor gets a bit more gentle, but it continues to linger. This has carried me through the day, so I’ll keep steeping it out until it’s time for me to go.
