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I followed a sheng session with this; it’s so sweet, and the sheng bitterness hung around so long, that that this tasted like stevia! Interesting juxtaposition, except I hate stevia, lol. Looking forward to trying this again with a clean palate — even with my wonky perception, it had a lot going for it.

Aggressive little bugger, with cheeks you just wanna squeeze. Camphor, smoke, some drying astringency in the top of the mouth. Bitters that dance with the stonefruit aroma and taste, the way a martini only feels complete with a proper dash. An Altoid you found on the barn floor.

Nice blend. I am just getting familiar with the different regions and styles of puerh, so this is my first from Naka. This still tastes quite young — which I can generally take or leave — but I really appreciated the delicacy and freshness here more than most. Apricot is the one flavor I kept coming back and back and back to. Kept wanting to refill and keep sipping.

I keep this one at work. Especially vibing with it today, for whatever reason. I swear I am picking up on a cocoa note (two fresh western brews in a row now) that I’ve never tasted before in any genmaicha. It’s a nice example of the style.

ashmanra shot me this little ditty in response to my rose curiosity.

I wonder how many teas I’d care for less, if not for nostalgia. My grandmother had rose bushes growing up the side of her porch on a trellis when I was a kid — the dry leaf scent takes me back to standing in that pea-gravel driveway and stuffing my little nose into the petal pillows. Nostalgia can be tricky… but when tea trips it, I mostly just feel very lucky and very cozy.

The base is more assertive than I expected! Almost feels like the holidays, as the first sip gave me some baking spices, actually — I first thought cinnamon, but then it smoothed into more of a warming blend.

The rose is wonderful and so, so different than any florals I’ve found hiding out naturally in unflavored teas. I’m definitely down to poke around some more rosies after this example. Thank you for indulging me, ashmanra!

Bizarre little cake. The smells and the tastes are so different they get separate reviews.

Warming leaves smell of baby powder… some kind of department store perfume that reminds me of my aunt Nadine… definitely floral, but I don’t have the flower essence vocabulary to find it. Strong notes of raisin, dried fruits, sugar. I also periodically get some chlorine that resolves to alcohol vapor… kinda funny. The alcohol is rummish, like a rum and coke with the layered sugar and fruit notes. In later steeps, bread dough!

Taste is bitter as all hell. Not astringent, just bitter. Not tannic, just bitter. Green wood. And then, holy god, I forgot about a steep for a minute and it’s almost undrinkable. Doesn’t even taste like tea, more like kava… is this the “LME bitter” I’ve read about? I assume yes, and so keeping drinking to see if I can eventually get to the sweetness. The bitterness finally caves after about 16 steeps, but there’s not a lot left after that.

I wonder how much of the nose is coming from the rye barrel? What would compel a person to drink this if not for the smells?

Joke’s on me, I have 195 grams with which to answer this question. Bottoms up, buttercup!

Light and a little non-descript, like someone took the yummy steeps and dried it back out. I hate to compare it to the big L, but I wouldn’t guess Yunnan. The leaves are quite large.

2020 Dayi Laochatou: It do be shou. Nothing interesting, nothing offensive. Clean soil. This is the first time I’ve had the thought that I am getting leftovers, and all the little magical microbes took the good stuff.

2010 Dayi Laochatou (Taiwan stored): Slightly brighter and more tannic, like a shou/pekoe mashup. Deep amber to weak coffee color. I enjoy this more than the 2020. Maybe wouldn’t pick it out unless I was looking for something post-physical labor, though… an uncomplicated refresher.

2006 Dayi Laochatou (first year): Okay, now this one has a liiiittle sweetness underpinning the soil and tiny tannins. Interesting. Would it taste sweet if I wasn’t comparing side-by-side? Not sure; I don’t think so. Later steeps I’m getting some of that edgy paper flavor that bothers me. Maybe a touch of mineral/metal and bitter cocoa.

Interesting vertical to explore.