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Sipdown

Second session of the night…I really liked this one…I had 5 grams remaining, so I brought forth my ‘special pot’ (made by Inge Nielsen) for black teas. It’s about 80-90 ml, so I figured it’d be the best piece to use for the remaining leaf.

The tea really started out strong—malt, cocoa, caramel, and sweet notes—however, after the sixth steep, the notes backed off, a lot. I tried raising the water to boiling point and over steeping the leaf, but it didn’t do much. I remember this brewing much stronger in the past, but I also used A LOT more leaf per water volume, then. Heh.

Decided to drink a couple of teas tonight. First one was this Tai Ping Hou Kui. I wanted to drink Dragonwell a few months back with a few tea folks, but had no idea what to choose, considering I’ve had a single Dragonwell in my life. I spoke with the clerk at OTC—my local pu head—and they suggested to go with the ‘large leaf varietal.’

It’s difficult measuring the leaf out, mostly on the account that it’s massive. I eye balled it into my gaiwan, giving what I thought to be a heavy portion, but ended up having to add more after the first rinse/steep.

I noted that the tea was very much like turnip greens, buttered broccoli, salty, and at one point reminded me of cooked spinach. I liked it…Which is good, since I typically stay clear of green tea…

I needed to take some headache medicine. I found this at a gas station. I figured I’d give it a try…

Very watered down. Slight apple notes, but not really strong.

There, I noted it. :P

I got this in a package from a friend a while back. I finally got to it this morning. What a nice morning pick me up! It’s strong, sweet, creamy, chocolate-y, and strong notes of chrysanthemum. I was surprised to find such notes in a bagged tea, but I sipped it down and rebrewed the bag, allowing it to sit in the cup while I drove around.

I may have to add this to my list for when I need more tea for my work desk.

I had a cup of this while out shopping for my wife’s birthday. I had access to some bags of this at work (sometimes folks will leave tea for the general break room population). I made a cup before heading out for the day. It wasn’t anything special. I guess there was a peachy note throughout, but I didn’t taste any ginger whatsoever. It was a good cup for a cold, rainy day, but I’d not go out of my way in getting any for my inventory/desk.

It baffles me a bit that this is listed as a ‘puerh’ on their site, yet it’s a white tea. Eh. It is what it is, I suppose.

I should probably write another review about this one down the road. It’s very clean, sweet, ‘fluffy’ (I took these notes a little late last night), and smooth. The session lasted quite a while. I got roughly 14 steeps in, before I called it a night. I dried the leaf out to see what I can make of it after dinner, but I’m sure there’ll be some activity with the leaf tonight.

I will most likely drink this cake down, but I might pick up a couple more, when I’m all out of my samples from years past. I’m considering getting one to drink and one to age. We’ll see. I’m exhausted, so I’ll keep this short.

We decided to start a new tradition by eating at a lovely Indian restaurant. I drank three cups of their Masala Chai. Strong notes of ginger, cinnamon, rose, and cardamon. It paired well with the vegan/tofu curry. Both hit with such spice, that my mouth was a bit numb, but it was excellent, overall.

Sipdown

It’s snowing, so I’m bringing out the ripe puerh. I’ve been drinking this one for a bit…I ran out of water twice already.

It has a thick body, lot of mushroom/wood notes. Definitely getting a strong head high from it, which is odd with a ripe puerh. I wish it had more depth in the flavor. I just get the same notes throughout the session (at least that’s all I noted during the first round of the tea—I was in the middle of deep discussion during the session). It’s good, but I’m glad I only got a sample of it, rather than a full cake.

I’m happy that I left my work teapot at home. I wanted to drink coffee or a black tea, but my wife had this lying on the counter. I’m tired today, but I’ve a lot to get ready for tonight. We’re not planning on going anywhere or having folks over, but I want to get the cleaning/organizing out of the way, so we can maybe have a bit of peace with that, and maybe get some food thrown into the oven for the next two days.

This tea finds a regular place in the house. My wife loves the heck out of the blend. I, too, will make a cuppa now and again, when the mood hits. The dry leaf reminds me of a lemon meringue pie-very prominent citrus and tart notes on the nose—and makes the mouth salivate.

I boil the water, fill an empty sachet, and let it sit while I drink it down. I give it an initial 3-5 minutes to steep before taking the first sip. I mostly taste lemons, with a hint of whipped egg white (meringue). I’m sure if I added sugar, there’d be a stronger sweetness to it, but I like it as is. I’ll have to try it when my wife makes a pot, to see what it’s like. She normally adds a sugar cube or two to the pot.

Song(s) Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkbzCTggD80

I was diggin’ the blues today. Can’t go wrong with Grateful Dead. ;)

I’m happy to have found this one still around on the internet. I didn’t see it on the YS website, but I’m 100% that’s where I picked it up a while back. It’s a beautiful tea. I had two full cakes, but the first came and went within a couple of months. It took me nearly two years to break into the second, but I’m nearly to the end of this fantastic blend. I’m happy that Moylor has it in stock; however, I’m trying to go until Fall 2020 before I buy anything else…

It’s a special puerh for two reasons: Firstly, it was one of the first young sheng blends that stood out; secondly, it was the first that I drank an entire cake. It’s sweet, mellow, astringent (only when pushed, but not even that much), and goes on for some time. I’ve turned this into a bi-weekly tea, since it’ll last me longer. Unfortunately, I’ve maybe two or three sessions left until this is tea dust and wrapper.

One last thing—despite the ‘age’ of it, I’m finding it to still have a reasonable price tag. And if I’m lucky, I may pick one cake up down the road…On the account that four remain on the Moylor website. ;)