Tea Side

Gongfu!

Many thanks to Tea Side for kindly providing this tea sample for me to try and review!

I made this one at work during a particularly quiet and calm afternoon when I knew that I could really take the time to fully immerse myself in the tea and experience. I often share what I’m brewing Gongfu with anyone who’s around in the lab, but I knew right away from the smell of the dry leaf that this was going to be a particularly interesting tasting oolong so I made a special point to let my coworkers know that I’d be brewing some aged oolong up in the afternoon and encouraged them all to come and experience the tea!

It’s always a really cool experience to try tea that’s as old or older than you are – and honestly I know that the first time most of us experienced that it was something that you got a little giddy about (or at least I’d like to think that was most of us and not just me), but I really do think that’s something a lot of people take for granted. How insanely cool is it that we have access to this amazing plant that in many cases continues to be delicious years and years after it’s been harvested!? That’s partly why I requested this tea; I just love aged teas and the whole idea around them. Another part was that this is from my birth year – and, with as many aged oolongs as I’ve had, I think this is actually the first that’s actually from the year I was born. I know, I know – I’m young…

5g/70ml and about ten steeps in total shared between myself and everyone else in the lab!! Dry leaf smells sweet; like taking a big inhale from a jar of dried apricots! After the rinse, the fragrance coming off the leaves is sweeter but more raisin heavy. Overall this was a very pleasant tea; the top of the steeps tended to have a fleeting sweetness, like the burst of juices from biting into the flesh of a white peach. The body of the sips are more drying and astringent; notes of cinnamon, allspice, & dried out wood/bark and sap. I didn’t personally experience any cocoa notes, but a couple coworkers said they tasted some sweet and light cocoa in the middle of some of the infusions.

There was one steep in the middle of the tea session that was a little rough in it’s dryness, but I slightly backed off my steep time and it was resolved. The finish transitions back into more of that sweetness that was coming off the rinsed leaf aroma – cooked down stonefruit syrup and the sweet raisins that come in those little red boxes (very nostalgic)! This was such a lovely experience, and because Tea Side was so generous with their sample it’s one that I’ll be able to have again!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5DSuQkgU1Q/

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

This is a “border tea” that I had received a little bit ago. I use the term border tea to define those that are made as puerh; however, they are made outside of Yunnan. The dry leaves are a bit curled and give off subtle scents of earth and dry leather. I warmed up my gaiwan and scooped some inside. The leaf opens up and gives off some stronger aromas of dark chocolate, espresso, and black cherries. I can already tell that this is going to be a heavy hittin’ Shu! The flavor was pretty consistent with the scent of the gaiwan, for it was punchy and bitter. The flavor began with dry cacao and moved into salt and mineral with lasting tannin. This was a chewy and sharp broth. The later steeping brought on some semi-sweet choco. chip flavors, and the qi was smooth and warming. This was an interesting tea, but it was a bit too aggressive for me. I would categorize this leaf as the “espresso” of puerh.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxFrISpHobN/

I’ve had this tea for a couple of years and have reviewed it before but not here, so since I just re-reviewed it I’ll add some notes (it’s still being sold, but of course the price goes up as years go by). I think it might be picking up some more fruit and overall complexity since I’ve first tried it. I live in Bangkok so it’s being stored in a relatively warm and humid environment; I suppose that should be a good thing.

This tea starts out with aspects close to dark wood and spice, and moves into really pronounced dried fruit, with lots of prune on the second infusion, shifting into more balanced and broader range dried fruits on the next round. After that earthiness picks up for balance, maybe a touch of tobacco. The body is fine, not as structured as it might be, but with some depth to the feel, and decent aftertaste. It brews a large number of positive infusions, transitioning less after those first few rounds, settling into a balanced version of the same aspects. More details and pictures follow, along with comparison with another 2006 Thai HTC version:

http://teaintheancientworld.blogspot.com/2018/05/potential-separated-at-birth-versions.html

This tea is quite good! When I started with tea, I found that I enjoyed the darker and more predictable tastes of ripe puer. Aswell, I didn’t have patience for bitterness. Only now, am I finding my way back to raws, and really appreciating what they have to offer, but I think it’ll be a little bit before I turn to young raws as a daily drinker, though I’m getting there.

This tea is wonderfull, I’ve never tasted a puer from anywhere other than China, so this was a welcomed change. It doesn’t taste too different to a chinese raw, but I would have had to have drank raw puer for years before I could tell you the actual differences in taste and mouthfeel that I found. However, what I can tell you was that it was a very good tea.

I was reading while drinking this, so I don’t remember many specifics, however, this is a very fruity puer, light, and with a little bit of bitterness. The bitterness in this tea is not unpleasant at all, it’s there and noticable, but works well with the flavours in the tea. The specific fruits, hmm… i’d say a tiny bit of pineapple, mellon as sort of a base note, and just a hint of stone fruits.

This tea was wonderful, and I’m so happy to finally have time to drink tea once more. School is out until the first of january, and since I finished my semester it’s a break without worry, so I’ll deffinately be taking lots of time to catch up on tea and reading, haha.

Setup: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTxFprIAQc7/

Tea: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTxFvA0A36f/

Verdict: Incredible thick, dark, and a taste that lingers for a good half hour.

Very enjoyable tea in which I would gladly trade 20g for others to try since it is a $100 cake.

I was about to start saying that this one’s really different from the rest of the thai oolongs, but this is from myanmar! So I guess that makes some sense. This is a lot like a baozhong crossed with an anxi tie guan yin. It starts out really perfumey and floral, with a little astringency and bitterness at 100C, and nice green tea sweetness. Notes of asparagus, broccoli, spinach, seaweed, lots of umami, and a nice thickness to the brew. This isn’t really a profile that I would tend towards and this one isn’t making me reevaluate that at all. But in a certain mood it’d be nice. It’s definitely not a bad tea by any means. I’d recommend.

right when I opened this vacuum sealed package, I took a sniff and the dry leaf is just like those mint chocolates they give you at some asian restaurants with your cheque, like a warmer mint chocolate chip ice cream. I gave it a sniff in my bamboo scoop too and it smelled like banana/mango with some mint. 22 year old Thai oolong from a farm that doesnt even exist anymore? What could be better

Brewing at 100C, in my thick walled glazed 100ml easy gaiwan – 100% full of wet leaf,

In the warm gaiwan is one of the most complex smells. It’s like a whole flurry of spices I cant even begin to get into, and all of the mint chocolate and tropical fruit from the dry leaf over like a nice bed of soil.

After the rinse, the leaves still smell of all of the above, with lemongrass and soapiness added. Above all, there are smells of root vegetables, earth and spices.

With my low profile glazed cup,

The soup is very thick and sweet, a bit of tingle on the tongue, with almond butter, earth, and wood in the taste and lovely dark, rich stonefruits in the aroma. There’s something very pastry-like resembling pie or danishes, the soup is a vibrant lemon-yellow

In a mid-profile porcelain cup, I get a more soapy and tingly texture, predominantly apricot in the aroma, less thickness on the tongue, earth in the taste, with the same pastryness.

(I love comparing cups – low profile wins)

As the tea develops and i go back to the low profile cup, I get Brown sugar, the aromatics move towards cherry/mango, licorice, the pastry moves towards more of a boring bagel than a nice danish.

Anyway, my stomach is feeling a bit unsettled and gross. I don’t think it’s from the tea, but who knows. I feel like I just ate a huge bar of dark chocolate

This is very young shou, it’s not really drinkable right now. While the fermentation is evidently quite light, it does not taste good. It tastes a bit alcoholly, wheaty, salty, and some sort of .. I want to say it tastes like bleach a little, also with hints of raspberry in the aroma. its still thick in the throat, but as of April 2017 it does not taste good. I forced my tea pets to drink most of this session. Uck

Dark, anxi-looking balls of oolong, dry leaves smell of hay/grass, slightly alcoholic.

In the warm gaiwan, Smells a lot like the red tea from a couple days ago, that Roanji Red tea, dark mango notes, with some woodiness, but really floral, kinda rose-like?

After the rinse, the leaves smell of dark earth, bread, rose, sugars, peach

Brewing 96C, 60ml Gaiwan ~90% full of wet leaf.

It’s weird.
So first the sip hits with this sorta dirty, messy taste in the mouth that’s rather unpleasant but then after the swallow the aftertaste overcomes with an intense sugarry sweetness, with notes of rice, rose and peach. after a few sips I couldn’t really taste the messy dirtiness anymore. Tastes very similar to the Red Tea Roanji

It’s becoming more sweet and floral, less dirty and less full feeling as the steeps go on, it has a nice tingly mouthfeel. The flavours have faded a lot by steep 4, the aromatics move to a nice sweet .. fruity floral melody I can’t really describe, the badness is gone now (steep 5)

Around steep 8, it starts tasting kinda like hot apple cider, delicious :)

Overall not as good as the previous two, but still thoroughly enjoyable

Dry leaves are matte black, no buds, irregular picking, big leaves, smell sort of dark fruit and alcohol

In my warm gaiwan it’s like a peach cobbler, it brings me back to my childhood, to my Nana’s pies

60ml gaiwan half full of wet leaf, 100C.

There’s some of that peachy fruitiness in the taste, a bit of roughness, and a sweet, doughy pastryness. It has a similar syruppyness to last night’s Jin Xuan, and it’s just as fruity, I am loving Thailand rn. This has completely taken over my palate now, several minutes after finishing the cup, every breath is powerfully peachy and apricotty and so sweet.

I think this is listed as “Red Tea Assam #AA” on the website, which is absurdly only $5/50g, this is comparable to verdant’s Feng Huang Wuyi Black, which is like 5x as expensive. I think I prefer this honestly. Both of these Thai teas I’ve had so far have had the powerful sweetness, but it’s more of an artificial sweetness. Not sugary, which I think is really nice here but may objectively be somewhat of a flaw.

In any case this by far exceeds its price point.
my goodness

So many new things for me in this one tea, first Thai harvest tea, first winter oolong, plus its been a long time since ive had one of my first tea loves, Jin Xuan. The leaves are tightly balled, more closely resembling an Anxi style oolong than a taiwanese one. Not super bright coloured.

In my warm gaiwan, it smells like a mi lan xiang, mango/lychee, with some darker tones.

After the rinse, it’s become even more like a dancong, mango, deep cherry, strawberry even, its just a fruity delicious, vibrant smelling tea and I can’t wait to drink it.

Brewing at 95C, 60ml gaiwan full of wet leaf.

Okay picture a flavour profile somewhere between a ya shi and a mi lan xiang, with a smooth creamy mouthfeel, and then a lingering aftertaste of like rich caramel. Wow. Okay honestly, I chose this one to do first because I had the least hope for it out of all of them, if this is this incredible I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the samples tea side sent me, it’s coated my entire palate in this amazing caramelly, cherry, strawberry vanilla beautiful fruity mess. There’s a throat feel that’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. it’s really syrupy and like a.. diet coke feeling, just.. after its gone flat and such. Anyways this is beautiful. This is one of those teas that.. every time I swallow, coats my entire throat in its oils.
The smooth, creamy mouthfeel is probably coming from the Jin Xuan varietal, and it feels a tad out of place, but that’s probably just because I’m essentally thinking of it as though it is a dancong and it’s.. not being one.

As the leaves have unfurled, the flavours are smoothing out, it has a slight astringency and a bit of a minerally greenness

I’ve never had anything like this. It’s breathtaking

Time for my daily update on my dear friend the Flu, it seems our friendship is dwindling slowly. Last night my fever broke and has not come back (yay!) and I am starting to feel more like a person and not a ghost. I hope this means I am able to enjoy the snow we are supposed to get tonight and maybe, just maybe, use my sweet 40% discount at Michael’s to get a clay roller. Yes, dear tea friends, I am getting back into making things with polymer clay, I used to be quite obsessed with it. When I decided to get back into sculpting I wanted to mostly use it as a way to make monsters but decided to go back to my real love, which is making things using techniques like Mokume Gane and Mica Shift, something I really need a clay roller (aka a pasta machine) for. I plan on making a lot of Chahe to display tea on the blog!

Today it is time to look at another tea from the region of Thailand! Tea Side’s Red Tea Jin Xuan, basically instead of taking the leaves to make a Jin Xuan Oolong it was processed as a Red Tea, as is well known I have a mild addiction (read: not at all mild and very obsessed) with red teas made from Oolong material. It can make some of the tastiest and most unique tea, retaining some of its Oolong sweetness with its own character. The aroma of the curly leaves is quite intriguing, notes of cranberry and persimmon giving it a fruity sweet character while also having a bit of woody briskness. There are also notes of sandalwood, distant magnolia blossoms, and a touch of freshly baked chocolate bread. I really liked the tart notes of cranberry, not something I run into very often, so I spent quite a while sniffing the dry leaves.

I decided to brew this tea in my little green shiboridashi, and after steeping the leaves the aroma is strong, definitely not a subtle tea this one! Notes of malt and persimmon blend with cooked cranberry bread and woody sandalwood, the cranberry notes are definitely mingling with bready notes really reminding me of freshly baked cranberry bread. It is sweet without being too sweet, and woody without being too brisk, my nose is happy by the reveal. The liquid is bready and sweet, like chocolate cranberry bread with a side of freshly sliced persimmons and honey. It is very sweet and rich, mouthwatering in its sweetness!

Ok, this is a unique tea, truly! It starts with notes of persimmon and cranberries, very rich and sweet with just a hint of tartness (think more cranberry jelly than straight up cranberries) and it blends really well with the distinct sweetness of persimmons. The midtaste is a combination of coconut water, papaya, and honey that fades into a very light yeasty chocolate bread. It has a very strong start but a fairly light and faint aftertaste and finish, with a smooth mouthfeel that has a touch of dryness at the finish.

On to the next steep! Surprisingly light in both taste and aroma, it is not lighter than the first steep but roughly the same. Like the previous steep it starts with persimmons and cranberries, however the cranberry is joined with a yeasty bready quality being more like a cranberry bread, the faint tartness from the first steep has gone and is replaced with all sweetness all the time. The midtaste to finish is also similar, coconut water and papaya with a gentle wildflower honey and chocolate bread. The aftertaste is fairly faint persimmon that lingers a bit longer than the first steep, and the mouthfeel is all smooth all the time. Almost velvety in its smoothness.

And on to the third steep, sadly, the tea is already fading I was able to get this steep and one more before it gave up the ghost. Its fading was one of sweetness, like a delicious bready pudding made from persimmon and honey bread. I decided to give this tea a try bowl/grandpa style and it was quite a treat, very sweet and long lasting, going for several refills of the bowl. My only complaint about this unique tea is how it didn’t have a ton of longevity, I still recommend giving it a try though because the flavor notes present are worth it not lasting too terribly long.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/01/tea-side-red-tea-jin-xuan-tea-review.html

Just finding this tea in my cupboard after receiving it in a swap with Lion a few months back.

When sitting in my warmed gaiwan I picked up roasty coffee like scents with a hint of honey sweetness behind it.

First steep of 30 seconds and the flavor reveals a slight sweetness to it. Maybe a lychee? I’m not as versed in that flavor but I think that is what it reminds me of. The leaves have lost much of the coffee note. It still is a bit roasty but now a fruity roast with what I imagine to be lychee as the upfront fruit scent. I asked my wife what she tasted (without knowing what kind of tea she was drinking) and she said she gets honey.

Steep 2, 30 seconds. Roasty seems to be the upfront flavor on this steep. Which is just fine by me as I love roasted notes in my oolongs. There certainly is a bit of smooth sweetness still there but it has taken a back seat to roast.

Steep 3, 45 seconds. Yup, roast is still the flavor here. No complaints. A fruit tangy flavor lingers on my tongue after sips.

And on and on it goes. This is a solid tea with a really nice flavor. There is some mild complexity here. I wouldn’t mind getting and drinking this again.

Ah spring, I love you so, the windows are open and the trees are blooming, the air is full of pollen. And I can’t breathe. This allergy season is off to a wonderful asthma filled start, yay. The real annoying thing is my inhaler has always made me super jittery and just unbelievably derpy, so much derp in my brain. I no longer have a brain I have a head full of pollen! But, so far my sense of smell and taste has not been screwed so I still have lots of tea to enjoy while sniffing the flowers. Joy!

Today I am looking at a tea from Thailand tea company Tea Side, their Dong Ding (Tung Ting) Oolong Tea #AA. This tea comes from the high mountain region of Chang Rai Province and is the Chin Shin varietal (TTES #17) which was imported from Taiwan which in turn was originally imported from China. So this tea is said to be for those who are fan of heavy roasts, and we all know that I am all about those roasty teas! Sniffing time and the aroma of the leaves is definitely roasted with notes of barley, toasted walnuts, bamboo, honey, and an underlying and very distant honeysuckles. It has a strong char note that is very woody reminding me of bamboo coal, though it is also very sweet, and I like the blending of sweet and roast.

The brewed leaves have notes of char and barley, a little bit of burnt barley along with gently toasted. There is also a touch of narcissus and honeysuckle and a hint of sweetness that is fairly faint. The liquid of the first steep is gentle, sweet notes of honey and barley with walnut shells and a touch of baking bread and mineral, it is pleasantly sweet and toasty.

The first steep is light in both mouthfeel and taste, it has a slight smoothness and mineral slipperiness that has the promise of future thickness. The taste starts off with a gentle mineral and light sweet barley note with underlying freshly toasted bread. Then the taste retains its bread notes and adds a bit of honey giving me a real great toast taste. The finish has a distinct distant squash blossom note that lingers.

Onward to the next steep, the aroma is sweet and char with burnt barley and a slight hint of smokiness with the char notes. This steep manages to be both drier and smoother, with a surprising cooling finish. The taste is sweet, smokey, and fairly rich. Strong notes of barley, toast, and char with undertones of bamboo and smoke. This steep has no sweetness, it is all about the char and grainy notes which have a little bit of a pleasant nutty bitterness to it.

This steep is both light in taste and aroma, with the same barley and toast notes of the previous steeps, but also with an undertone of plums. It starts with mineral and juicy plum with an undertone of honey smothered toast made from very grain heavy bread. The finish is walnut shells and a touch of mineral with a lingering sweetness. My only complaint with this tea is it lacked staying power, it was really potent and then pitters out pretty early, and didn’t really last past steep five.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/03/tea-side-dong-ding-tung-ting-oolong-tea.html

This red tea says it is from old tea trees. I haven’t looked into how old yet, as I prepare to taste the tea with a neutral understanding of it, but already, “old” is an impression I’m getting from the dry aroma of the leaves in a warm gaiwan. It has some of the musty and leathery notes of aged or shu Puer. There’s a bit of cocoa and wood coming through too. It reminds me of the profile I have experienced in a lot of purple leaf teas. The leaves are very big, long, twisty. I filled my gaiwan pretty generously with them since they aren’t too dense. After an infusion, the wet leaves give off a damp loamy scent with some muscatel grape. What I taste from the first infusion was really surprising, initially very woody, then malty, then finishing somewhat bitter. This tea has some similarities in flavor with Shou. There is a vaguely raisin-like flavor in the mix, and mushroom. The lingering taste is not only bitter it is really savory/umami faintly echoing gyokuro.

My first infusion was nearly red and my second is more orange, as I brewed it a little more lightly. This time I’m getting a bit more of the muscatel flavor, still some mushrooms and wood underneath, a bit of earth. The aroma has notes of spices.

The third infusion is much more malty with spice notes in the flavor and a really woody finish. This is quite a unique tea. I get a grounding feeling from the very idea of it being from old trees, and from the very down-to-earth flavor profile, yet it is giving me a decent jolt of caffeine so i feel a bit uplifted. I feel like I’m being pulled in two directions at once. You can call this tea-drinking lion Stretch Pawstrong (drum, hi-hat, and dad-joke buzzer).

Fourth infusion is a little bit sweet and more grape, though still very prominent wood and earth notes. The early infusions had some pretty considerable bitterness in the finish, but that is a lot milder in the later ones.

This is a unique tea among red teas I’ve tried. I’m not really sure if it’s my thing, but I think it is refreshingly different.

The first aromas from the dry leaves in a warm gaiwan are of cocoa and apricot. After the first infusion, the wet leaves are much more fragrant with fruit aromas or white grape, nectarine, and lychee. The pale yellow first infusion is quite sugary and light with a flavor reminiscent of lychee, both fruity and floral.

On the next infusion I’m getting more white grape flavors, more of the flowers and lychee, and a lot of honey-like sweetness. More of the same flavors in infusion three. This tea has a very thick, velvety, quenching texture, and there isn’t a hint of bitterness present. The sweetness lingers on your tongue like honey. There are spice notes and autumn leaves in the aroma. I’m on the fourth infusion and the flavor has been pretty consistent so I think the most helpful words I can share are to compare this to other Oriental Beauty oolongs I’ve had. This one has really nothing I’d describe as an earthy flavor. It stays well on the floral, honey, and fruity side of things (descending in that order), while some others I’ve had add a layer of earthiness or woodiness beneath all that. This one should delight those who like their Oriental Beauty oolong sweeter, especially if you like floral tones.

I mostly smell honey and fresh flowers from the dry aroma of this tea, a little bit of grass. The wet aroma of the leaves smells sweet and grassy with floral notes and hints of warm oats.

The taste of the first infusion is pretty complex. At first I get oats and cream and some evergreen. The finish evokes cinnamon and camphor.

On infusion two the tea liquor has a really nice floral scent, and in the second and third infusions it has that nice foresty, floral kind of familiar taste that you get with classics like Tie Guanyin. Hints of camphor in the finish.

The fourth infusion is similar. This is overall a pretty commonplace green oolong by my book. Good, reliable, not particularly special. Well priced in that regard.

The dry aroma of the leaves is rich, creamy, and buttery with lush green notes of evergreen forest and flowers. The wet aroma is the same but more vibrant.

Brewing in a gaiwan, the first infusion tastes subtle, green, and buttery, though there’s a surprising tang in the finish. I’m moving ahead to the next infusion as this one turned out a bit too subtle to really analyze. The second infusion is again buttery, green, this time a lot more floral, and there’s a somewhat bitter finish. Third infusion quite similar.

Fourth infusion I’m getting more floral than anything, reminds me a bit of Jasmine.

I anticipated really enjoying this tea from the aroma, but there’s something missing. There is no sweetness to it at all, and not enough umami to balance the floral tones. The finish comes off rather dry, and at times bitter. I don’t detect a lot of complexity and overall i feel this tea is sour.

I went ahead and checked their description to see what I’m supposed to be getting here and I’m not getting any of the sweet berry tones (unless we’re talking pretty tart berries), I can see the safflower and crysanthemum references they made though. Definitely not getting sweetness or a caramel taste even by the fifth brew. I did find that it was subtler and more flavorful on the fifth brew though, with less tartness.

Of course, I don’t mean to speak badly of this tea. It’s just not one that leaves a great impression on my palate. I have this problem with certain varietals of green rolled oolong, particularly Alishan. This one reminds me of that. Others might like this more than I do.

Shout out to Amanda Soggyenderman Wilson for adding this tea to Steepster. I have been having to add a page with each of my TeaSide reviews lately as no one else has reviewed them yet!

The scent of this rolled highly-oxidized oolong after the dry leaves have rested in a warm gaiwan is rather sweet, honeyed, fruity, and a little floral. I am already reminded of Guifei oolong. The wet leaves after the first infusion are bursting with aromas of plum, fig, and subtle flowers.

The taste is rather honey-like, with a bit of plum and subtle floral. I’m reminded of those little plastic honey-tube candies that are often flavored, where you cut off one end and suck the flavored honey out. The aroma of the golden tea liquor smells a bit like spiced oatmeal. Despite the aroma of the leaves reminded me more of Guifei, the flavor of the tea reminds me more of Baihao if we are talking bug-bitten teas. I have no idea if Hong Shui is a bug-bitten tea (will have to read up on that in a minute, I like to review with a neutral mindset), but it has the same sweet qualities as one.

The second infusion tastes more floral to me, and reminds me of clover honey. There’s a subtle fruitiness but it’s a bit tough to describe. Plum might be the closest idea still. Maybe fig.

By the fourth infusion I’m tasting more floral and it’s kind of tangy, with lingering notes that remind me a bit of autumn leaves and spices.

I’m pretty excited to try this young sheng because the scent from within the bag they sent me a sample in is just awesome. Notes of plums, flowers, rain, and loam. I call myself a noob to Puerh, though that’s probably just in comparison to the fanatics. I have probably tried at least 50 kinds, so I mean, I don’t think that’s too few to get an impression of the nature of Puerh, but I will say, I don’t have a firm foothold in what I really like in Puerh, and I think over the last year it may be becoming evident that I’m more into the flavor of young cakes than aged ones. Hmm.

The aroma of the wet leaves after a hot rinse in my gongfu teapot is difficult to describe. It’s got a pretty strong smell of loam and stream water, and reminds me of a forest fresh with summer growth. Lots of leaves, hints of flowers and decaying fruit on the forest floor.

I did a really light first infusion but it already made me say “woooow!” out loud. It’s very floral, but not in a tone that I’m used to with tea. Reminds me of lilacs, fading into a subtle sweetness. The flavor lingers nicely, and the bitterness expected in young sheng is very subtle. There’s a really subtle peppery note in the finish and a lingering honey sweetness.

The next infusion is a bold yellow and the wet leaves still smell sweet and mild, floral. I swear I need to switch toothpastes because I brushed like an hour ago and still feel it is messing with my taste perception a little bit. Overall, this infusion has a rich and more bold flavor, a rich mouth-filling sweetness that to me doesn’t have a really distinct flavor. The bitterness in the finish is more prominent now, but it is a welcome type of bitterness.

The third infusion’s taste reminds me of grapefruit, but in a good way. I can’t stand grapefruit because of its acidity/bitterness, so I don’t really eat them, but I love the smell. I guess this tea tastes like what a grapefruit would (and should) taste like if wasn’t acrid. It has more of a floral than fruity tone to it though, so maybe grapefruit tree flowers, and maybe even a bit like lilac still. Again, there’s a prominent bitterness in the finish, but it is not a harsh kind.

I took some leaves out. Admittedly, I think I was brewing this a lot stronger than I prefer Sheng. On this fourth infusion the flavor is a lot less bold and a lot more sweet and subtle. We’re back to subtle fragrant flower bush territory with just a hint of bitterness.

I really like this tea, especially brewed lightly. It is very rewarding, sweet, and tasty when brewed that way. I would strongly consider purchasing this, but the price for a cake is a bit outside my budget, sadly.

I added the entry for this on Steepster, and pictured here is their Sheng 0801, but it is listed together with 0802 for sale on the website using the same image, so I imagine the teas have a similar wrapper.

This tea has a rather mild aroma to it. The leaves after the rinse smell like dry fruit and manure. The infusion is a honey gold, and the taste is mild and woody with a hint of smoke and white pepper in the finish.

The second infusion is rather sweet, with a golden raisin and honey flavor, and still wood, smoke, and a bit of pepper in the finish. The sip starts mild and sweet, then transitions into the more sharp flavors in the finish. Fortunately it isn’t bitter. It’s just a bit sour. The flavor that lingers on is pepper and wood but moving the tongue around reveals hints of sweetness lingering as well.

The third infusion is even sweeter and more rich, an interesting blend of dried fruit, plum, and again strong wood and pepper notes. It’s a balancing act, as you taste all of these flavors at the same time now, creating a unique contrast. The tea feels warming and invigorating to the body as I drink it. It’s noticeably potent.

The fourth infusion is less sweet and more toward the woody flavors. And on the fifth infusion, we’re back to more sweet, so this tea I think teeter-totters a lot based on how you brew it. It’s really interesting.

I’m not sure if I’ve written the name right for this tea, as I can’t find it on the website and I’m going on the handwritten tag on the sample here.

This sheng is produced in Thailand, not Yunnan, and will be the first sheng I’ve tried from Thailand, so I’m eager. The dry leaves in a preheated gongfu pot smell like wood smoke, wood, and a bit of must. After an initial infusion, there’s a bit of dried fruit and leather in the scent. I am still somewhat new to Puer so I often taste the rinse infusion just to see what it’s like (while many discard it, especially with aged sheng and shou). I am going to skip my impressions of the rinse because I think this tea is better after the rinse, so skipping the rinse, the first drinking infusion is a light amber with a thick mouthfeel. It mostly tastes like dried fruit, maybe Medjool dates and golden raisins, also wood, and there is a hint of pepper in the aftertaste.

Second infusion , more woody and leather notes and a more woody, peppery finish.

Third infusion is a good medley of all the flavors mentioned so far.

This sheng is enjoyable. It’s more on the peppery and woody side than what suits my tastes, but I think the quality is good.

This Red Tea Roanji from Tea Side says (new) on the little handwritten label on my sample packet, and I can’t find this tea on their website (tea-side.com) so I believe it is not yet for sale but may be soon. Straight out of the bag, these long, broad twisty black leaves smell intensely of cinnamon, with a background of raisin and plum. After a moment in a prewarmed gongfu teapot, they smell like fermented fruit and cherries. After the first infusion, the scent of the wet leaves is rather similar but more intense.

This infusion’s liquor is a vibrant apricot orange. The aroma of the liquid is like cinnamon and dry autumn leaves, while the flavor is kind of like spiced stone fruits (plum, apricot), rather light and reminding me quite a bit in taste and feel to Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) tea.

The second infusion tastes quite similar, a little bit sweeter too, and the spice notes really linger. The color of the tea is still apricot, despite I thought it might get darker after the initial infusion. Again, the taste is surprisingly lighter than I expect from red teas.

On the third infusion I let this sit a little longer than usual to draw out more flavor. I may have used less leaf than I usually do Gongfu style because these leaves are so big and not very dense. I think it looked more full than it was. Anyway, this infusion is really lovely. It has a nice slightly perfumed note like the aroma of plum skin. The flavor is rich and more sweet than the first two, pushing into lychee territory with its fruity-floral combo. The spice notes mostly remind me of cinnamon stick (common cassia cinnamon, not ceylon cinnamon), and add a really comforting layer to the tea. The texture is light, airy and slightly dry.

I’ll tell you what, I was enjoying this tea but not necessarily feeling impressed by it until that third infusion. After that I was impressed. It’s a very nice flavor, so light for a red tea and lacking the cocoa, malt, or tobacco notes you might expect in one. The fruit flavors are so great when its brewed more intensely. I’m glad to say these teas from Tea Side have made me realize that Thailand is a place that produces some great teas!

This oolong tea from Chiang Rai Province in Thailand has been aged since 1995, making it just over 20 years old.

Out of the bag it has a strong and distinct aroma of blue cheese, so much so that I imagine I could convince the folks who think other folks take too much liberty with tasting notes that I’m not taking liberty at all just by putting it under their noses. “Wow, that really does smell like blue cheese,” they’d say, blutterbunged. And after the first infusion in a gaiwan, that note is still there in the aroma, but it is intertwined with a much more complex array of aromas, sweet grass, fig, and and plenty of must.

The taste of the first infusion is really complex too. I’m definitely getting fig. The liquor’s a beautiful honey gold color. Raw honey and dried fruit notes dominate the flavor as it cools, but there are musty wood notes underneath. This tea is complex in the way that an aged red wine is.

On the second infusion I’m getting more savory flavors. I can taste some char and roast now, and the flavor reminds me of cooked okra, but I still taste fig too. The mouthfeel is thick and just a bit dry.

By the third infusion, the flavor is already waning significantly despite a longer infusion time. There are some hints of vanilla bean but they are tucked away under the savory flavors mentioned before.

On the fourth infusion I infused it a good bit longer to draw out more flavor and overall the taste is more mellow now with subtle clove notes.

I find this tea very satisfying, in the way an advanced craft beer, wine, or cheese is satisfying. I am ready to go shamelessly highbrow with this tea some drenched thundering night, put on some slow jazz and a fire and just kick the world to the curb. I feel like this tea would comfort me when I’ve had a rough day. Purr away.