Spirit Tea

I’m still not ready to rate it. This session was better, and more forward, but not by much. Creamy overall, generally vegetal and floral moreso. The thick texture matched by the florals made it kinda custardy, edging on vanilla-leaning more into lilac. Orchid and lily of the valley are what I get more, kind of bordering on the headiness of jasmine. The spring floral creamy notes are probably the “poundcake” they write. Pineapple and longan still have yet to fully show up other than in hints, and really, the teas color. It’s a bright yellow like a young pineapple. Maybe pineapple skin like in some other Shanlinxi’s?

I’m still learning this one and do like it. I’m not raving in a vichyssoise of adjectives when I drink this, so I may be missing something. Kind of like I wrote before, this tea comes out like a muted Shanlinxi. I think if I were tasting it blind, I may have guessed it was a Cui Yu or a Four Seasons. I’ve been too spoiled by other Qin Xins. Future sessions may bring more of what I hope to get out of the tea.

Backlog:

Another Tea Nerd purchase, because I love Shanlinxi, Jin Xuans, and Qin Xin, and was curious about the development. I tried it out 150 ml with 4 grams after 3 minutes, and I didn’t get too much. The tea was generally fruity, kinda floral and a bright yellow, but not very forward. Some lily of the valley in the florals, but not a lot as it took some time to open. The tea somehow was kinda flat and soft in comparison to the nice aroma, and generally like other green oolongs. It wasn’t bad as it lasted 5 cups western, but there’s got to be more to it. I committed to 50 grams dammit, so I best make the most of it.

Sipdown! I should have kept more for leafhopper, but I could feel the time ticking on this one, so I drank it down using a really short style for 3 grams. I rinsed it for 5-10 using 2-3 oz, and kept on flash steeping 10, 15, 20, 15, 25, 30, 45, 55 (closer to a minute), 1 minute, 2 minutes, and then, I added more hot water to about 4.5 oz, , and let it sit for lord knows how long and am drinking it now. I’m not exactly sure of the temperature since I’m using primo heated water, but it’s definitely between 185-195.

All the notes I wrote earlier are still pertinent like they describe. Overall body consists of herbed compound butter leaning into cilantro and oregano, but aroma and flavor leans heavily into the jasmine florals with nectarine finish. I get more fruit in the 2 and 3rd steep, and more green apple in the very last brew. Jasmine is fairly present, though not as strong as a scented tea, it’s comparable.

I am not super strong on the rating, but it’s leaning towards a strong 92, maybe 93. $21 for 50 grams pushes it past the 90s for me, and the complexity of the flavor pushes it to be 87-90’s range minimum. The tumbler rating is holding it back a little bit. It’s also good western, but lasts significantly longer in shorter steeping gong fu. The shortened session with less water brought a lot more nuance in shorter bursts, and made the tea last a lot longer.

I highly recommend this one for tea nerds, and the fact you get a decent quality dayuling for bug bitten sweetness is pretty good. I’d also choose this one easily over the Exuding Jade I have, and it’s pretty close to the High Mountain Goddess in preference, close to their Lishan in terms of flavor.

I’ve kept coming back to this one, and can’t decide if I want more…..which is insane. Spring and fall are my spending months. Oh well.

It works western, but it’s best gong fu. I tried doing it grandpa in my gong fu 2 go tumbler, and it was crystaline grass water with some sour apple qualities, that turned into a very tart sour sheng like second and third mug after refills. I used less leaf in a more standard brewer, and I got the apricot, apple, crispness, snap peas, and grassy notes smoothened over by a little bit of honey and coconut viscosity.

It’s a forgiving tea, though the shorter steeps realise each flavor further. It’s tumbler performance makes me want to rate it a little lower, but it’s hovering between an 88-95 for me. I’m going to be very sad when I finish it off, but I don’t have the same obsession with other oolongs yet. Key word: yeeeeettttt…

Backlog:

Me, two weeks ago:
“I don’t need more tea, I need to get rid of some, drink down what I’ve got.”
One Day Later:
“OoOOOOOOOh 50 grams of Dayuling for 21 bucks? YES! AND it’s got some Jassid Action!”

Even when I downloaded the image, it was labeled as a Gui Fei. Trying it out Friday morning 150 ml, 5 grams, 15, 25, 30, 35, 45, 50, ?. ? something seconds, it’s definitely a Dayuling-floral, fruity, buttery, green, and nectary. The Gui Fei elements are not super pronounced, but the tea has a bit more of a honey profile than normal, adding more layers than typical Dayuling jasmine and lilac. Really enjoyed it, and I’m not sure what more to add other than I wish I got another 50 grams of this over the Ying Hong.

I tried again, shortening the time and…it’s still malty and bitter. I got heavy cocoa nibs in profile with a little bit more complexity, but that’s pretty much it. The malt was hitting me more. I’d be curious to see someone else’s opinion of this tea. It’s too dense for my preferences, and I didn’t rebrew it past steep 2. I still have a lot of it on hand, and I really want to get rid of it. Maybe I can cream and sugar this bad boy up to see if it works better that way.

Backlog:

A few failed attempts with this one. The site describes it as being more of a dessert like tea, noting cocoa nibs, caramel, strawberry, but I’ve only gotten the cocoa nibs with bitterness, tannin, and astringency. I’ve done it western like they recommend using 5g | 340ml water | 205° | 2:30, and 4 grams tumbler style, and it’s too much. I felt like I was drinking a Keemum or a Ceylon-essentially, English Breakfast, so looks like I gotta play with it to see what they are talking about. Maybe it’s just a more bitter tea than I was expecting?

It’s either overpowering in qi, or perfect. Had this as my first tea after some coffee. Same notes, but more oolongish. Orchid, fruit, grapefruit, citrus, light malt, grain, honey. So good. I’m going to miss this one before I send it off on it’s swap journey.

Tumbler fuel today. Same notes, heavy on the hyacinth, squash, chocolate hints, and other florals like rose in a sweet brown sugar finish. There’s more complexity and layers, though the flavor is the same throughout. Really good. Minimum rating of 90.

I’ve stared at this tea online for nearly a year and finally gave in. Qilans are my favorite Wuyi Oolongs, and I could only imagine what the varietal is like as a black tea.

I am looking forward to the fact I have 50 grams of it, and this is one of the teas I do not feel like I overpaid for or let down by. Hopefully, I will remember to write about this one again. It’s got my mark of tea nerd approval. I don’t know who’d be a fan-it’s a lighter sweet black tea that is not too forward, but it doesn’t lack body. We will see if I get more florid in the future.

A 2021 green tea and it’s held up very well!

Had as bowl tea this morning as I was looking to experience this tea at lower intensity, though I do think this session could’ve used another small pinch of leaf or hotter water.

It has a sweet and rounded taste of toasty honey-cocoa, sandalwood, millet and straw with an apricot undertone. Strong minerality in subsequent steeps.

This tea stands out from other Chinese greens in that it is not roasted nutty, floral, vegetal or umami. In character, it’s like a Japanese houjicha but with that apricot found in many Chinese green teas. A good green tea to try for its uniqueness.

Another new to me vendor, Spirit Tea, which I see Daylon has been posting notes for lately. I came across them looking for something but don’t remember what They have a gentle, relationship-building vibe about their work and marketing that I admit drew me in. If you get warm fuzzies seeing pictures of traveling tea hunters with tea farmers, one or all of them pointing at leaves or in the distance, Spirit Tea may be for you (tongue-in-cheek — they have a LOT of teas that sound fantastic). Looks like they really get around, offering landscape, production and intimate encounter photos of nearly every tea they offer, which are sourced from their travels through China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Quick cups this morning before I try to take advantage of this spring weather in January. It doesn’t feel right that the daffodils bloomed this morning or that the blueberries are fully flowering.

From Yunnan, China, this green tea is grown and processed in a Muslim-Chinese minority village.

This large-leaved green tea is rich and so satisfying, unlike any other green tea I’ve had. Sweet, viscous, a little tongue-numbing and with practically no astringency. Aroma matches the taste and aftertaste of the tea. The tasting notes of honeycomb and sandalwood are spot on. Apricot is more of a bright undertone. A comforting toasty nature rounds out the flavor flawlessly. If you want to try a green tea without the typical beany, grassy or vegetal notes, or one that won’t upset an empty stomach, I highly suggest this nourishing tea!

I’ve had no communication yet with this company and am trying to not come off as sounding like a shameless plug. Hopefully the other 3 teas I ordered are just as satisfying.

I swear I added this one. I am losing it! Oh well.

I’ve actually had this three times, one of them from Bloom Coffee Roasters-a company that I am not sure is any longer in Lansing. It’s Spirit Tea’s staple yunnan breakfast that is dense with malt and other layers, thick with the dark chocolate malt profile a lot of people look for in their tea. It’s barely astringent, but has some bitterness that is actually kind of nice, and like any good yunnan, balances the savory elements with the sweeter and darker ones.

It usually brews an intense amber orange when I make it gong fu, or a glowing red-orange black if I do longer steeps. It can do western well, but I prefer gong fu. It also survives tumbler grandpa, and when I went lighter, it was sweet savory malty-but more prominent on the chocolate.

The malt is the most overwhelming this about this tea which pushes me away from really loving it, but it’s got enough honey sweetness , apricot-y sourness, and other layers to keep me engaged and to keep it distinct from others. It doesn’t really have the same yam profile most Yunnan’s do, which is pretty interesting. Maybe sweet potato in the tannin and sweeter aftertaste, but leans more fruity.

I wouldn’t drink this one all the time, but I really like it. Any Yunnan Tea lover or malty-breakfast tea lover would highly enjoy it for its full body. I’m impressed with how malty it can get without sacrificing its complexity, and you can still taste a lot of the same things if you add some cream and sugar to it like a English Breakfast-I don’t recommend that often. It’s also $12 for 50 grams, and it’s actually not a bad price for this one. I’ve been extremely critical of Spirit before, but I am changing my mind as I try more of their teas and as they add more diversity to their collection, especially as they have less common teas like Lishan Tie Guan Yins, higher end Thai Blacks, and others.

I finished this one rather quickly after pushing it off for a bit. The supreme quality surprised, given it’s only 12 bucks for 50 grams, nevermind it tastes like a high quality Taiwanese Honey Black. Super, super good. All the notes are above, and now I just have to rate it. I will say if you check this company out and looking for good budget teas that punch well above their weight, I’d recommend this one. The hawthorne berries and baked peach flavor profile contrasted with the teas light malt make it super appealing. I might buy some more of this next time.

Thai honey style tea that tastes just as good as a Taiwanese black I had this morning. Sweet and fruity, yet not cloying or sickeningly so. The company wrote baked peach, honey, hawthorne berry, and I get them from this Rhuan Zhi black. I was able to brew 4 descent cups western, so not bad. It’s also forgiving like most teas I buy, which makes me happy. This was the other one I really hoped for in my sampler pack, and I got it. Now about the Qilan Black…

I’ve had an unopened package of this for nearly a year. It’s softened some of the fruitier edges unfortunately, but it’s still excellent, floral, nutty, and buttery. I wish Spirit still carried this one and the bug bitten Dayuling. Those were steals.

Yeah, I’m upping the rating. This is easily one of the best Tie Guan Yins with a little bit more oxidation and light roast I’ve had yet. When it gets dryer, it still is fruity and woody like a peach core. Short steeps at first are immensely buttery, and the second and third steeps blossom into gardenia and then something sweeter and fruitier. I keep coming back to it even in spring. Overall, it’s more of a winter early spring tea, but it’s so well rounded that I can see myself drinking it most of the year except summer or in a very hot place. I love perennially it either way.

Yeah, this is still a favorite. I’m getting everything I wrote before, and now I’ll go as far as write “cookie”.

Does it tumbler? Yes it does!

Yeah, I’m a huge fan of this one. I currently have 90 grams of it at the moment and do not regret it. I’ve done it western and slopfu, gong fu using 150 ml 5 grams, 25, 30,35, 45, 65, 85, 105, 125, and then whatever getting different notes, but generally the same impressive combo of gardenias and orchids buttered into light spices and toasty chestnut mid sip, in aroma, and profile. The chestnut is both like the hard nut and the water chestnut, which is impressive. Astringency will occasionally come up, but not too much showing up as a light sourness like honey and persimmon. I love this tea so much because it’s such an incredible balance between floral green and oxidation. At one point, I though this was a Taiwanese Oolong due to the viscous body and combo of floral, sweet, and buttery. I keep coming back to it, and I wish I had enough room to include it in the box I sent Leafhopper. I’m rating it so high since it reminded me why I loved Tieguanyins in the first place, and I have not had one this complex and rich in a while.

Another surprise, another difficult decision between sample, 50 grams, or 100, and of course, another insane impulse buy.

The tea was more baked than I expected. Dryleaf aroma is immensely smooth, sweet and nutty, leaning heavy onto chestnut and almond. I more or less followed their guidelines 4-5 grams, 5 oz, and some moderately hot water. I could have upped the heat. Horchata immediately emanated from the cups steam, causing my concern I had this too near my flavored teas. Guanyin, though, smiled on me again and that was just the tea. I steeped it for 3 minutes, 20 seconds letting it open up. The gardenia, butter, and chestnut notes are all apt, and the liquor is light and soft, but creamy and sweet with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in accents. The second brew, some minutes go by, maybe less than the first one as I sip-check and go by smell, is significantly sweeter and leans. Gardenia and honey coat my tongue, and affirm me throwing money at this one.

I didn’t expect a more Dong Ding style kind of Tie Guan Yin, and thought this one would be greener. It still leans more on the green side in the middle, but retains the attention catching florals in tandem with buttery and honeyed aspects of the bake. I do not regret getting 50 grams of this gem, because a high mountain (not Lishan-I was WRONG-READ DAYLON!) Tie Guan Yin is not this easy to find online. The 50 grams tops at $21, which actually is NOT bad at all. I’ve complained about Spirit Tea prices before, and I felt like I paid for what I got this time.

More notes to come of this one indeed.

Oddly enough, this pure tea reminds me of the Geeky Teas Goblin King blend. Hm. I kinda let this sit for 2-3 minutes, and the apricot is more prominent, bordering on floral with milder malt. Very comforting.

Another 3-4 minutes, and its losing some lustre. A little bit more malt, but still some butter. Apricot is leading almost making the tea kinda peachy.

I am not sure if I am going to write about the last steep because it’s probably going to be a honeysuckle apricot liquid. We’ll see. I like that this one was fruity to make it stand apart from other Jin Jun Mei’s. I’ve already got to much in my stash anyhow.