Camellia Sinensis

It’s not the time of year where I find myself gravitating much more heavily towards brewing yancha/roasted oolongs, but Rougui is still one of my favourites so I make time for it in my rotation. This was just a Western style mug during a “work from home” day and not a Gongfu session, but I still loved those deeper woody and mineral notes and the nutty chestnut flavours mixed with hints of sweet fruits and orchids. It’s a complex, beautiful tea and maybe steeping it Western style doesn’t do it the most justice but it’s still a damn good cup!

Just a late night mug of it while binging some Game Grumps on Youtube. There’s something very hilarious, to me, in the contrast between such a warm, comforting and nuanced cup of tea like a Rou Gui when paired with two very loud, sort of sexually deviant Youtubers shouting into their microphones as they trash talk each other rather violently during an especially aggressive game of Monopoly. I think the delicate, calming elements of the tea cancel it out, though…

Tasting notes were roasted pecans and almonds, oak wood, tree bark, raisin, cinnamon, REALLY light hints of dark cherries, and a somewhat floral finish. A lot of flavours to unpack in this one; but if you take the time to focus on it in between shouting matches about unfair Community Chest rewards and immediately hitting luxury tax after passing go then it’s a really unique, interesting varietal with a lot of interesting qualities.

Made this one in a tea press.

I swear I’ve had this one before; maybe it’s just one of those very rare teas that seems to slip through the cracks that I forget to review…

Regardless; this was nice. I always sort of prefer to steep Rou Gui gongfu because I really love the typical evolution of flavour that this tea has, but I was craving a roasted oolong on this particular morning and this was the first when I saw when browsing my cupboards, and I’ve got enough of it on hand that making a travel mug of it certainly wasn’t going to tap out my stash. It has a very nice roasted barley and char sort of initial sip with more of those expected cinnamon notes coming through immediately following the initial roastyness. In addition to cinnamon, I feel like this tea also had some other spice notes such as cumin and clove. The body then rounds out to more of a sweet and malty note, with undertones of raisins and plums. Also quite woody. I feel like because I didn’t do multiple infusions I didn’t really get to tap into the floral elements or more robustly sweet fruity qualities that I generally do with a Rou Gui but the overall profile was really comforting, and I think that’s why I was craving something like this on such a drizzly, rainy day.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yLQL5m4Niw&list=PUa8Zt6zg9KNOCg41_TkX29g&index=10

Gongfu!

This is something that I made Gongfu near the end of last week to be shared between myself and my roommates over supper – I prepared the tea, one of the roommates provided the food, and the other cooked it. It was a nice trio of contributions! Unfortunately the food was really spicy; and it kind of killed my palate quite a bit during the tea session. Especially for the first part of it as well.

However, after the initial wave of heat had cleared I paced myself better and found a nicer balance between eating and drinking the tea. I think even without the wave of extremely spicy food I would have found this tea a little bit thin/light tasting, but I’m sure the spice didn’t help that feeling. It was, if nothing else, very clean and well rounded. No off notes/fermentation funk to it! Mostly tasted like a sweet woody quality; had a touch of a higher note so I’m inclined to say Cedar just because I think there’s an associated high note that Cedar has over other wood types – but it was also sweeter/smoother than I associate cedar, so maybe it was more of an oak type thing? What’s the in between/cross of cedar and oak!? Perhaps it was that. A little bit of cherry too – but only a smidge, just a hint of that sweet fruity note in the finish.

Despite feeling this was a little thin, I think I still enjoyed it more Gongfu than I have in the past when I’ve prepared this one Western style…

Something I drank during the week – Western style.

I don’t know why, but this just tasted funky to me this time around? Had to nail exactly what element was off to me as it wasn’t the “oily/muddy/fishy/dank” type of funk that is often described with unpleasant shou. What this did taste like was leathery and sweet. Maybe too sweet? I don’t know. Bottom line is that this tea wasn’t vibing with me.

Maybe next time.

Western mug of tea before bed.

Not unlike what generally happens when I have Shou before bed, I felt asleep quickly and deeply. I did make sure to really ingrain some mental notes about the notes of the tea though since this was a first time tasting for me.

This was smooth and thick, with a sweet earthy quality overall. I read the company description which used ‘licorice root’ as a descriptor, and that intimidated me because I don’t find licorice root particularly enjoyable. However, they’re totally correct… kinda. Basically, I think this tastes like licorice root if licorice root actually tasted good. I don’t know, it’s comparable but MUCH better. Also, definitely had date notes to the undertones.

I liked it. Time and more cups will help me better tell how much I liked it though, especially when sleep doesn’t play so much of a factor so close to when I drink it.

This is a great experience. Jam-packed with interesting flavors that develop smoothly and cohesively. It is an incredible combination of deep, earthy flavors and light, floral flavors.

It isn’t cheap (currently $38/50g), but given its quality and age, it’s worth a splurge. Split and share with your friends.
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Dry leaf – pond flora, decomposing wood, hints of vanilla. In preheated vessel – cream of wheat, dried hardwood, dates, some light charcoal notes

Smell – cream of wheat, floral, flower pollen, date, spicy woodiness

Taste – cream of wheat, walnut, pollen, hardwood, hints of date. Aftertaste is floral, lemongrass, berry-like tartness and sweetness

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgmihRqH6cU/?taken-by=apefuzz

Sipdown (698)!

Made this one up over the weekend as something to sip on while I shaved off all of my hair. I don’t actually own an electric razor right now so my current head shaving moment was to take a pair of scissors and cut off my hair as close to the scalp as possible, then take a thick coat of nair and use that to remove the remaining hair. Finally, after the nair treatment, I took a razor and shaved everything down completely until I got the Mr. Clean effect. It’s maybe not the most efficient way to go from shoulder length hair to bald (actually, it’s DEFINITELY not – it takes hours) but it does the trick. Definitely needed tea to keep me company during the process though…

I oversteeped this, which drew out some astringency/bitterness and more of a grassy note from the green tea base – but thankfully that raspberry/orange flavour combo is still so good and so sweet that it was still a really pleasant cup despite that fumble with my brewing.

I’ll look into picking up more of this one next Spring/Summer, I think.

The second mimosa tea that I had in one day – by pure coincidence. The same day that I drank AQ2T’s Grapefruit Rosemary Mimosa I also received a CS order in the mail and this was one of the free samples. It was a split/shared order w/ a coworker and we split the samples, but she doesn’t drink flavoured teas all that much so I took this one – I’ve had it before, and I knew I liked it a lot so I didn’t mind.

I actually had intended to buy some of this during the summer but between all the many teas I already own I never got around to it – it was a very happy coincidence that I basically just had some of it handed to me. Tastes exactly like that I remember it being like too; really aromatic and juicy raspberry notes with a hint of sweeter orange. In general, sweet is a very good descriptor for this tea – but I like it a lot. Really unique and distinct raspberry note – reminds me a bit of DT’s Frozen Raspberry but without all of the hibiscus tartness.

Excited to finish the rest of the sample.

Sipdown (514)!

Whipped this one up as a cold brew, and then kind of forgot about it for a few days. Even still it wound up being very tasty – essentially the mirror image of the sweet, smooth and juicy raspberry and orange flavour notes I got to experience with my hot cup of it only cooled down. Arguably less grassy, too? This is totally something I’d reorder in the summer; it’s one of the better chilled natural raspberry flavoured teas I’ve had in what feels like ages.

So I bought this one for a Secret Santa gift exchange at work over Christmas; my ‘giftee’ is/was a huge fan of raspberry teas and green tea and this seemed like a good mash up of both those things while also being a tea I was positive she’d have never tried.

Of course, I hadn’t tried it either so I may have stolen a couple teaspoons out of the bag of it so I could give it a whirl too. Oops…

It’s actually surprisingly good though; I’m always apprehensive towards blends with a green tea base but I found the base quite light/mild with only the slightest touch of grassy quality to it. On the flip side, the fruit notes were anything but light. Instead they were vibrant and rich, with very, very juicy flavours that popped from the moment you took a sip all the way up until the last few seconds after you swallowed. It was like the orange was just perfectly ripe, and the raspberries just a bit overripe. You know the type; so soft and juicy that they literally fall apart in your hands and practically melt in your mouth. That’s perfection right there!

I just… I get the name/inspiration and I enjoyed the flavours. A lot. I would maybe, potentially, buy some of this in the summer – I’m sure it would make a WICKED good iced tea! Or, taking it a step further, a tea pop as well?

This is a sample size I got at last year’s NYC Coffee and Tea Expo. It’s been on my mind and I finally had a little time to brew this up. I have a lot of respect for Camellia Sinensis, having gone to their shop in Montreal a couple of times and purchasing different kinds of teas from them (and begging them to open up shop in NYC). They’re completely serious about tea, so I take their recommendations to heart.

I brewed this up gong fu, with the new tea tray (yay!). A rinse, and four infusions. The liquor is pale, the flavors are on the subtle side. As others have noted, this tea is very floral. Buttery, creamy floral, actually. An aftertaste of candy sweetness that lingers. Kind of pleasant, but I don’t usually enjoy floral notes, and this one does get a little cloying after awhile. So, if I don’t like floral teas then why do I have this one? Because “trying new things.” All in all, pleasant enough, but I’m not in love. The quality is there, but the flavor profile just isn’t my thing.

Pulled this one out for work yesterday – greens aren’t my thing, but I was sort of feeling one and I’d like to sipdown some of my non-Hojicha samples that are just taking up space right now…

In all honesty, the flavour of this cup didn’t leave an impression on me – I drank it during a morning that seemed to slip away faster than I could blink and it was sort of just background noise to that. It probably does, at least, say something positive that it didn’t snap me out of that focus because it tasted bad though! I did drink the last sixth of so of the mug a bit more thoughtfully, after it had cooled, and I noted a slightly smoked vegetal note to it that reminded me a bit of, maybe, Bok Choy? That mineral greenishness? As I’ve said in the past, though, I’m shit at describing green tea flavour notes…

Had a wee little grandpa steeped moment with this tea today; it’s really not my thing but I wanted to put even a tiny little dent in working through some of my green tea samples, and I can appreciate the interesting qualities of this tea without being a fan of it personally. I find it very full bodied for a green tea, with a consistent astringency coupled with a smoky undertone throughout the sip. It’s very vegetal to me, and reminds me a lot of more bitter and mineral collard greens or kale, though something at the top of the sip is very fleetingly buttery to me.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFZwix6JGUo

I have a photo that I took too, but I haven’t posted it on instagram yet so I’ll try to remember to edit it in…

Cuppa from earlier in the week.

At this point it’s somewhat hard to keep track, but I think this is the first green tea I’ve ever had from Vietnam? Definitely not the first in general though; I think I’ve had a good handful of Vietnamese oolong and black teas.

This one wasn’t overly for me; nothing particularly bad about it but just not flavours suited to my palate either. Mostly a smoked vegetal sort of profile; kind of asparagus and snap pea like? Not a ton of overall sweetness to this one. I bet it’s perfect for some people, it’s just that I’m not one of them. At least it was a freebie though, given to me by Camellia Sinensis with a previous order.

I think I bought this Da Hong Pao in the spring of 2016 when I was just starting to explore Wuyi oolongs. I steeped about 4 g of leaf in an 85 ml teapot for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds. However, this pot has a slow pour, which tended to add a few unwanted seconds onto the first few steeps.

The first steep has notes of wood, char, black walnuts, and caramel. The underlying sweetness is overpowered by the roast. The second steep is even woodier. This tea is smooth, but less complex than I remember it being.

As the session goes on, it’s clear that wood, char, and caramel are the dominant notes. I get hints of tobacco, cream, and minerals in later infusions, but no fruit or florals.

This tea tastes like a high-end furniture store smells. It’s surprisingly good, but not something I’d drink regularly.

Last cup of the night yesterday; and delicious as it was I think the caffeine really did me in…

This was lovely taste with though; full bodied and brisk with a pleasant level of astringency. I know that astringency is generally considered a “good” quality in tea by most tea proffesionals, but it’s so easy to over do it – so I’m happy that this tea rides that line so well. Flavour wise, I was getting that sort of “trade mark” Wintergreen note that Sun Moon Lake is kind of known for, but also notes of malt, cocoa, raisins/prunes, and dark rye bread. Really interesting combo of flavours overall; but it was a good balance of sweet components with less sweet ones. I hesitate to say savory because that’s not really what they were – but you get the point, hopefully.

Tea Press.

I don’t normally do straight teas in travel mugs, but something just told me that this one would work just fine – and that gut feeling didn’t let me down. This was smooth, and full bodied with great, distinct caramel, honey, buckwheat, french bread deliciousness and undertones that were more like sweet potato, and raisin.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Gong Fu session from last Sunday!

I enjoyed this one immensely, but what made it even better was brewing out the whole session over some great conversation with a whole bunch of the Slack tea chat people on Hangouts! It made for really casual, fun tea drinking where I felt like I was enjoying the tea with friends even though I was drinking solo and they didn’t actually get to experience the tea I was drinking.

It doesn’t hurt that in general Sun Moon Lake teas tend to be something that hits all of my sweet spots when it comes to black tea. This one wasn’t an exception, after the first two or three steeps I really got that lovely sweet spot where the profile was smooth, and full bodied with sweet notes of freshly baked bread, honey, malt, cocoa, sweet potato, and raisins. It’s a lovely pairing, and coats the mouth in a way that leaves you so thirty for more.

I didn’t actually track the amount of infusions I did, but it was easily over a dozen – possibly closer to twenty. I pushed this one right up until the liquor was just coming out colourless and there was NO flavour left. I mean, I really made those leaves give me all that they possibly could. It was a delicious tea, and one I’m eager to revisit!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdqNHN7FtZk/?taken-by=ros_strange

Gongfu w/ friends!

My sample of this tea is super broken up without many bigger “chunks” from the cake. It very much looks like the little bits and pieces of teas left over form when the cake was broken down into sample portions – which is a little sad. The plus, I suppose, is that it takes no time at all for the tea to start giving flavour – though it also steeps out a bit faster too. I found this had very oily and coating liquor with richly brothy umami, decaying wood, and barley, and fig jam notes – heavier on the broth & woodier elements.

It’s a good shou, but not a favourite/something to repurchase.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBqRXA1AgBV/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRChSbFx17A