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Tea Swap Session/Brief Notes

Unfortunately, I was mostly focusing on gaming at this point, but I noted that this was a very “nice aged, earthy tea.” I wanted to make a quick note just to make sure I have one…I may forget to make notes on the last of the tea later on…..

Sipdown

I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when drinking this late tonight…..I wanted to play Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for an hour or two, while drinking tea, and I ended up getting enough energy to play for nearly 3.5 hours…. (o_o)

Notes:

1st Steep: 2 minutes, 195 F. Light roasted notes, slight coffee taste, and a bit of a sweet nutty (almonds? pecans?) note.

2nd Steep: 3 minutes, 200 F. More coffee notes (similar to smelling a tin of coffee), thick mouthfeel, and more pecans and/or almonds.

3rd Steep: 6 minutes, 200 F. A lot of coffee flavors & roasted pecans. A bit mouth-drying, but not too terrible.

Tea Swap Sample/Sipdown

While listening to music/reading early this morning, I had decided that adding a cuppa tea would bring a bit of life to the party.

I have to admit that I hadn’t expected to enjoy this as much as I had. I noticed that it was dark-ish green/brown, so I knew that it was most likely charcoal roasted….I’ve learned that these types of teas (for myself) aren’t always satisfying. There have been a few in the day which have met my needs, but there have been plenty more that have brought me great dissatisfaction. This tea, on the other hand, was enjoyable.

Notes (overall): Light charcoal notes, nutty, smooth, mild-to-dark orange liquor, mouth-drying, & slightly sweet.

I usually try to write reviews post-tea session, but I figured that I need something else to work on while I drink tea….I’ve spent the majority of the last 3-4 hours watching Stranger Things 2, while drinking various teas throughout the episodes (no notes taken during that time). However, while my mind is still focusing on this tea at the moment, I figured I’d write my notes from the first few steeps to the last couple steeps being had at the current moment…

Notes:

Rinse: Nice fruity aromatics, forest green leaves, and slightly light-greenish/yellow liquor.

1st Steep: Light, floral, and honeydew.

2nd Steep: Creamy, floral, less fruity, & vibrant liquor.

3rd Steep: Oily mouthfeel, slightly mouth drying , heavy floral notes, and bright greenish/yellow (“Mt. Dew color”).

4th/5th Steep: Still pretty bright, more oily, however, the flavor is starting to lighten up.

6th Steep: Liquor color starting to become dull in comparison to previous steeps, less oily, less floral, and slight buttery aftertaste.

7th/Current/Final: The tea is dying down a bit. I might push it with the time (2-3 minutes) and/or cold brew the rest for tomorrow morning. I’ll add the note (maybe) tomorrow to update on the session following, but no promises. :P

Overall, this was a pretty refreshing tea. I’d say it’d be a great summer/spring tea, but on the account that the weather is officially borderline Autumn-nearing-Winter, I may save this leaf until the warmer weather (or not).

Tea Swap
“Raw Puerh from Dr. Puerh”

I started this tea later in the evening/early morning. I wanted to drink tea before bed—to help get me to sleep—so, I had randomly grabbed this from my tea sample/tea swap box. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which year this puerh was produced nor which puerh this is, exactly, but from the note on the bag, there’s the producer/tea type.

From looking at the leaf, it’s slightly greener, so I’m assuming it’s range is from 2014-2017. It’s tightly compressed (from a brick, maybe?), too.

Notes:

Rinse: Slight aromatics from the leaf. Still pretty compressed. Light-to-no color.
1st Steep: Light aromatics. Still “watery,” with hardly zero flavor.

2nd Steep: The leaf is still pretty compacted together. Light aromatics, very little flavor.

Pried the leaf apart with a pick.

3rd Steep: Slight bitterness in the mouth. Light notes of honey/floral. Smells like “sheng.” My assumption is that this is a newer year (2015-2017) due to the fragile state of the leaf w/temperature used (198 F).

4th Steep (3 hours after session began): Bitter, mouth drying, & burnt flowers.

5th Steep/Flash Steep/Final Steep (Decreased Temperature (180 F)): Bitter, bitter bitter.

5 or 6/10.

I will have to attempt to make the rest of this at a decreased temperature range. I normally brew sheng around 195-200 F, but it seems that this one may be better to start closer at green tea levels (160s-170s) and increase the temperature slightly. The leaf was pretty fragile. Upon looking at the leaves, post-session, I had noticed that they were simply “bits and pieces” of leaves, rather than a full leaf/bud. That may have had an affect of the tea, but I’m not 100% on my assumption.

Tea Swap Sample

“2013 Ripe from Heaven’s Tea”

I started this session late in the evening after work/post-workout. I wanted to have something to help me relax prior to bed. I’ve discovered that utilizing the gym in our basement after work is the best way to get energized/stretch after sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours.

Anyway, I’ve started to read/drink tea after the workout, to help ease both the body & mind, giving them the opportunity to shut down enough to go to bed at a ‘reasonable’ hour. I wasn’t paying much attention to the session last night, but after 2 steeps in the session, I had stopped drinking tea, and went to sleep.

I decided to note the rest of the session this afternoon and post on Steepster before work…

3rd-5th Steep: Dark liquor, oily mouthfeel, and earthy notes.
6th-8th Steep: Dark liquor; the earthy notes are lighter now. A bit of “spice” (nutmeg?) remaining.
9th/Final Steep: Liquor is lighter; flavor lighter; slightly spicy/earthy, but nothing really left to note…

70/100

Sipdown

I had made this Western style today on the account that I’ve been on my feet and haven’t had a lot of time to brew any other way prior to my shift tonight.

I must admit that I was expecting more from this session, but what I received from it was very unappetizing.

Cup One: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 1 minute. It was fairly bland and light. I drank the cup regardless and proceeded to make a second.

Cup Two: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 2 minutes. It was slightly astringent, bitter, and had a slight rice/seaweed combo aroma/taste.

Cup Three/Final: I set the water temperature @ 170 F and steeped it for 3 minutes. Bitter, sour, and very astringent. I had attempted to add honey to cut the sourness/bitterness, but it was slightly worse. I had dumped the remainder of the liquid from my cup….

Note: This was a sample sitting around for a while, so as far as green tea goes, it could’ve just became stale at this point.

LP Group Buy (Oolong Group Buy?)/Sipdown

I had this tea twice, on two separate occasions today. I started the first session right as soon as I rolled out of bed at 6 AM, and the other about two hours ago. I stopped and made notes on the second session, though.

Notes:

1st Steep (10s/post-rinse): Very dark in color (liquor), sweet, floral, and slightly “brisk.”
2nd Steep (30s): I noted, "If I closed my eyes and you gave me this tea and asked me to tell you what type it was, I’d say, “Aged, rose scented white tea.”"
3rd Steep (2 mins): More roses, more boldness, & slightly mouth drying.
4th Steep (3 mins): Starting to lose it’s color & flavor, but there’re still floral notes remaining.
5th/Final Steep (5 mins): Rose petals, nearly reminds me of a white/black tea mixed. Mildly malty/nutty, but no bitterness whatsoever in the flavor.

Tea Swap/Sipdown

Well, I’m back to reviewing stuff again. I went off of the social media grid for a while. I’m not sure how long the hiatus will be, but I’m okay with having some time to write, review, & drink tea naturally.

I started the past two days with this tea. I wanted to start brewing through the ever growing tea swap samples, prior to breaking into the rest of my tea via purchases. I feel that it is necessary for me to give the time to the teas in which others have so kindly shared with me; therefore, I’m finding that it is easier to review and thoroughly process these sessions again, now that I’m less distracted with my phone, and can write notes properly.

I must admit that the time away from Steepster has been fine, but I’ve completely disconnected myself from the “original” tea community that I had involved myself in. It is here that I find the most comfort—reviewing, reading, etc—and it is here that I must return.

Alright, back to the tea review….

Notes:

1st Steep (10s): Light & grassy.
2nd Steep (25s): Grassy, nutty, & buttery.
3rd Steep (40s): Slightly mouth drying, buttery, & grassy/seaweed.
4th Steep (1 minute): Buttery, grassy/seaweed, & slightly mouth drying.
5th Steep (1:30 mins): Light, grassy.
6th/Final (3 mins): Buttery, light/watery.

Tea Swap Session

I was sipping this tea for 4 days prior to quitting. When I had opened the sample bag, I saw that it was incredibly compressed. I gave it a few rinses to ‘open’ up more, but due to the compression, it mocked me by looking the same as it had when I first started the session. I steeped it a few times after the first two rinses, but nothing much happened to the compression. The flavor was a little weak, too, so I had to force the chunk apart with my fingers; which seemed to help bring the tea to life.

Day 1 Notes (4 steeps): Nothing much going on with the tea. Pretty light in flavor/color. After brewing this a few times there is still a very tight chunk of tea, so I broke it apart with my fingers and will brew tomorrow.

Day 2 Notes (3 steeps): A little more flavor. Definitely an aged tea. Has that slight basement note, but not your grandma’s basement note/smell. More like, when your mother becomes a grandma, but that hasn’t happened, yet smell/note. Nothing really mind blowing…

Day 4 Notes (Day 3 wasn’t noted; 6 steeps): Starting to lighten up again, but started out bold. Thick mouthfeel, dark liquor. Uncooked pea pods notes (?), still a hint of your mother’s basement (mildew?), and leather (?). Reminds me of a ripe (fake ‘aged’ raw).

My notes were rushed on Day 4, so I’m not really sure what I was writing/thinking. Ha-ha.