white2tea

Gongfu!

I never tried the original pressing of this tea. To be honest when it was first released I wasn’t a huge raw pu’erh drinker so I pretty much just skipped it over. I almost did the same with this year’s since one of my tea goals this year was to be more discerning with my Spring orders; but W2T’s tasting descriptions of this sheng as sweet, thick and floral really piqued my curiosity. I’m glad I went for it because this was a very lovely session to end the weekend on. Syrupy liquor with just a hint of astringency on the finish and, true to description, quite sweet. I get a lot of honeycomb, completely with subtly waxy undertones. It’s complimented with a hint of floral lilac overtones and just a bit of appleskin. That sweetness, though still super appealing on its own, is kept a bit in check by that astringency as well as a bit of a snappy vegetal undertone that started to peak out after the third steep or so. I would like more honey, if I’m being honest – something a little thicker and golden without the beeswax note. However, I still find this tea pretty pleasant with it’s slowly unwinding complexity and rewarding mouthfeel! I think with age that bite might soften and get closer to what I’m looking for taste wise.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9ans2-hC7M/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtlP-mkucaI

Grandpa Style!

I’m quite enjoying the well balanced sweet and savory profile of this hong cha, though I’m sure the flavours will settle in different ways both with time/age and alternative brewing methods. The liquor is smooth and full bodied with golden-leaning overtones of sweet potatoes, treacle, candied pecans, and fresh baked caraway bread – very much my speed. The undertones, while much more subtle, as a tinge herbaceous with the most memorable tasting notes being Thai basil or tulsi. Very slick, and coating on the palate. Super excited to get to know this tea a little better!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9H9A-cO-lI/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC7AZKDrZW4

1st Steep (15s):
Light and Sweet

2nd Steep (20s):
Vegetal and it starts getting bitter for no reason

3rd Steep (25s):
Ouch, too bitter for me.

This is probably not gonna get any better, I know where this is going…

- Flavor Complexity: 15/30
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20
- Quality Across Infusions: 10/20
- Overall Enjoyment: 10/30

- yaro

Oooh this is a tea I’ve been waiting for.
One of the cheaper offerings from w2t, yet it sounds like one of the most interesting ones too.

Flash steeps ? Bitter ? God knows I hate those flavors, and that makes me all the more curious. Knowing my bias for bitter teas however, please take this review with a grain of salt.

15s wash.
Before anything, already regarding the smell I feel like we’re going for that everlasting vegetal bitterness that I oh so dislike. From the get go it’s already not a good point for this tea but I’m looking to be surprised.

1st Steep (5s, 93C):
5s is quite short, but this tea although compressed is already starting to reveal itself, now this is really interesting.
The taste is deep, that vegetal smell isn’t showing anything too spicy for now. This is a good steep.

2nd Steep (15s, 95C):
Again, not much, no bitterness, just some really nice character and depth, some things in the front and none of the vegetalness I’ve expected. Well balanced tea and the soup is light, this is very interesting.

3rd Steep (20s, 95c):
Oh, okay now it’s starting.
The bitterness is in the front, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced something like this.
This is definitely a “feature not a bug” situation, the bitterness builds up and then hits suddenly and in the very front as well, while the after-taste isn’t long lasting, the back of the taste is definitely deep, and the soup is so light too huhhhh ? Incredible.
But I know the next steep is were things are gonna hit.

4th Steep (30s, 95C):
That’s bitter, now everything is bitter. It’s so bitter on every level, I’m fascinated by how good this is. I have bitterness but I’m pleasantly surprised.

- Flavor Complexity: 30/30
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20
- Quality Across Infusions: 20/20
- Overall Enjoyment: 12/30 – While I really enjoy this tea, in the sense that I find it very interesting, I don’t think I could drink this more than once.

- yaro

New Nightlife review, let’s see what how this year’s batch holds up.

1st Steep 30s:
Nice and light, not any difference with the 2017 Nightlife for now. It’s really nice.

2nd Steep 20s:
Not much to say, it’s a nice tea for sure but there isn’t anything interesting more to say compared to the review I’ve already made of the 2017 nightlife.

3rd Steep:
Same thing again, nothing very interesting to say.
I love this tea, it’s a classic.

Knowing that, I’ll just go ahead and copy the review conclusion i made for the previous version of the Nightlife:

- Flavor Complexity: 25/30 – Offers a delightful range of flavors, particularly in the early steeps.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20 – Can become bitter if brewed incorrectly, but generally performs well with proper care.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – The flavors evolve but maintain a coherent profile.
- Overall Enjoyment: 20/30 – Highly enjoyable in initial infusions, but becomes predictable and less exciting.

Gongfu!

After hearing all the hype surrounding the original pressing, I’m finally taking W2T’s 2024 Moon Bear Mini for a spin – and of course I had to do it in the matching teacup!! I know this tea sits somewhere inbetween being a white tea and a sheng pu’erh, but personally I found it a little more white tea-like. Once the dragonball started to more fully open up the liquor became quite viscous and creamy. Hard to sum up the overall taste profile, but in its sweet spot I found it somewhat at the middle point of when you take sweetened condensed milk and cook it stovetop to make dulce de leche – but with a more savory and brothy backend. One thing that did surprise me was how prone to bitterness this tea was; a few times I lost focus on infusion times while snacking on dragonfruit and the resulting brew definitely had some punch to it. Very interesting, very complex. I definitely get why there was so much demand for it!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C89zwqnOrHa/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko-DAwsi83U

I lost almost all my energy and usefulness yesterday to a stomach virus and today my buttered English muffin did not sit well. It sat and sat and sat in my stomach feeling like a brick. I decided a pot of puerh for all day sipping was in order.

Since I am behind on cleaning I was busy vacuuming and dusting and polishing and forgot to check the tea, and this big flat cube had opened right up and I had a pot of almost inky black tea.

No worries, puerh almost always forgives, so I added some extra water. Then I was puzzled. There was puerh smell and…something else? Fruity? I decided the jasmine incense burning in another room may have infiltrated the kitchen. But this didn’t smell like jasmine, or like puerh. I poured a cup and sniffed.

It’s just the tea. If someone else made this tea I would swear it was a flavored puerh. Trying to wrack my brain for what the aroma was, I think blackcurrant describes it best. There is camphor as well. Minty tingle on the tongue while the tea is hot that fades as it cools. Overall, the broth is very creamy.

Second steep (these are big steeps) was very dark as soon as the water hit it, so it probably had a 30 second steep at most. Now the initial aroma was quite expected “horse-y” puerh aroma. As I poured it into a second pot, the horse barn was subdued and stronger camphor came forward but there is still a fruity note here, much weaker than the first steep and horse and camphor lead.

White2Tea says it has molasses notes, and I suppose I get molasses and maybe some molasses has this fruity taste which they do not mention at all. I think it is fabulous, and this would be a really great choice for introducing people to ripe puerh tea.

I will ice part of this and keep drinking it for the next day or two, as Ashman is now feeling a bit off in the gut and will also benefit from puerh’s tendency to calm the gut when food feels heavy.

Bottom line: I like it very much and would definitely order more of this.

Gongfu!

Very smooth with dense, dark, and surprisingly coating and sweet notes of potting soil, forest undergrowth and decaying wood, beetroot, oatmilk, molasses, Okinawa black sugar, and malt or golden biscuits. Like a cross between some kind of mysterious and broody feeling forest-y profile and a really nice milk tea!? I sort of feel like some kind of bog witch chilling in the darkest part of a forest swamp just drinking a boba and brewing potions. Where did this witch get the boba? Who knows and frankly who cares. This shou is evocative in a weird and fantastical kind of way, clearly. But that’s not a complaint. It’s actually a very fun energy to invite into the rest of my Sunday.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C82gcWnuXis/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ZhcpNUkY8

Sweet, lightly floral , very smooth with low underlying bitterness. Mild astringency. Strong but comfortable Chi, good viscosity. Makes me want to sit on the patio and feed little animals. I could use more of this kind of chi in my life. Humble but powerful tea. There is a marzipan, breadiness and hint of almond that may develop further with age.

I got this mini as part of a giant purchase of samples from white2tea’s newly released teas ! (https://skoomaden.me/posts/teas-arriving-in-july/)

I actually got two of this mini by mistake lol, nice to note I also got a free 2024 nightlife mini ! (yay)

20s wash 95c

1st steep (15s):
Very bland vegetal green tea for now, nothing note worthy, no bitterness for now.

2nd steep (20s):
Boring, bitter green tea that I know is going to inevitably evolve into a bitter mess of vegetal astringency.
I can’t feel the “blend” part for sure.
Not great.

3rd steep (10s, 87C):
I don’t see where this is going at all, I’m sure a bigger fan of green teas could probably explain to me what’s going on but to me this is just not pleasant. While I admit it’s far from the worst green blend I’ve ever had, this is simply not good.
Bitter, boring, vegetal, the same traits we find in bad japanese greens, I didn’t like this one.

- Flavor Complexity: 10/30 – No complexity I could find at least.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 12/20 – Probably okay forgiveness overall.
- Quality Across Infusions: 10/20 – I mean it’s just boring throughout, and it got worse with time
- Overall Enjoyment: 12/30 – Boring (zzz).

- yaro

Gongfu!

This ripe pu’erh is really full-bodied, with a thick and syrupy feeling mouthfeel. The top notes are surprisingly sweet with a really nice balance of soft, somewhat woody bamboo and just a really clean earthiness. I get undertones of steamed milk, white rice, and molasses as well, which add quite a lot of coziness to this tea session. The bamboo comes back in the finish, with a very subtle herby quality. I feel like this is the type of pu’erh that would make a fantastic base for a milk tea or boba, as slightly blasphemous as that sort of feels. Maybe if you simmered the spent leaves from the end of a session on the stovetop for a long time (like laochatuo) to make a concentrate…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAeY75yyYgp/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chKy6KLeokA

Gongfu!

This ripe pu’erh is pretty tightly pressed, and was kind of a pain to break up into a session sized piece. Well worth the effort, though. In many ways it reminds me of the Zong Zi Keemun I had yesterday – both share a sort of creamy, starchiness. Makes sense though, as they each incorporate bamboo leaves in different ways. This is so full bodied but also super smooth, with a really approachable rich earthiness. Just a little sweet, but a little savory too. I’m about three steeps deep now and all I can think is how much I want to be drinking this tea with sushi!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8h5TQCuKU8/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKfD8d3XJok

I’ve only had this tea a handful of times now, and all of those times have been gongfu, but I vaguely remembered the website blurb for this tea specifically mentioning it was also really good Western style so I wanted to give it a go. Though there’s maybe a little less nuance to the cup, I definitely think this is still a very rich, full-bodied brew with a ton of those darker, lightly sweet stonefruit and red berry notes I’ve observed with other steeping methods. Very, very plumb heavy in particular with undertones of buckwheat honey and malt. Super jammy.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBM1o8vSRCl/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Se1-n_hdI

Gongfu!

Enjoyed this tea paired with some of the sweetest and most melt in your mouth haskap berries I’ve ever had!! This was definitely a complimentary pairing, as this black tea is also quite sweet, aromatic, and fruity. Deeply jammy notes of stonefruits and plump red berries, but with a thick, ever so slightly brisk full body and lots of maltiness. It matched the intensity of the haskaps very, very well. W2T specifically calls out that this is a good tea for breakfast, and I 100% concur. Also, a total steal for the quality to cost.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8R8zKUugr_/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGd3Xk1dtS8

Notes of leather and stonefruit.
The fruitiness is more prevalent in the aftertaste.
Smooth mouthfeel, relaxed body feel.
Lots of activity going on in the liquor.
Its color shifts from a pale amber in the first few steeps to a rich, plummy gold in the later ones.

6g/100ml
10/5/5/5/10/15/30/45/60/120/240/480 = 12 steeps
95°C for the first 5 steeps, boiling for the rest.

My go-to daily drinker.
Lighter profile than the 2022 version.
Fleeting sweetness, light huigan.
Fruity, flowery, lightly astringent, bitter if pushed.
Notes of strawberry and stonefruit.

Would score 65 but due to the affordability, bumped it up to 70.

6g/100ml
5/5/5/5/10/15/30/45/60/120/240/480 = 12 steeps
95°C for the first 5 steeps, boiling for the rest.

I admit this is where my knowledge of Black Tea stops, Lao Chuan Hong is a supposed well know hongcha but I admit, reading the description we got, I cannot stop being curious about what I possibly await with this one.

This tea was part of the June 2024 Tea Club

Paul wrote:
“Brewing Instructions- Boiling water, even for the very fresh raw Puer. Use gongfu style brewing if you can. If you’d like a softer experience, drop the temp to 85C – 95C, this will lessen the harsher notes of the tea. 90C-95C for the black tea will coax out different aromatics and favors, but will still prefer boiling.”

Wash (15s)

Smell is… just filled with Umami I can’t describe in any different way, like how Beef noodles would smell like, with a very light tint of cinamon.

1st Steep (15s, 95C):
Yellow
It tastes exactly how it smells like, Umami with cinnamon, very very tasty ! I love it !
Nougat, Cinnamon

2nd Steep (10s, 95C):
Deeper Red this time color-wise
Dough, Toasted Bread, Cinnamon.
This is probably the best alternative to a “flavored tea” that could ever be.
It’s not too sweet, it’s just perfect.

3rd Steep (10s, 90C):
Mahogany red
Now the Nougat is overpowering, for my greatest pleasure.
Truly, this is the most enjoyable tea I’ve had in a whiiiiile, First time I genuinely cannot stop drinking !

4th Steep (15s, 85C):
85C is where it’s calmer, much calmer, yet oh so delicious.
I think this is the best w2t I’ve ever had hahah.

- Flavor Complexity: 30/30 – A very complex and full tea ! So Many different layers, Nougat, Umami, Cinnamon.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 20/20 – This can be probably withstand any temperature change (which I’ve tested extensively, trust me !)
- Quality Across Infusions: 20/20 – Layers and layers, different levels to how good this is, The hotter the water is the more we get that Umami note, then as the kettle cools down we get Cinnamon Toasted Bread to end in a sweet fruity melon taste, with no bitterness whatsoever, this is a chef d’oeuvre for sure.
- Overall Enjoyment: 30/30 – This is the tea. I’ve never enjoyed a Black Tea ever like this, most of them can’t withstand boiling water on the long run, end up being bitter and then fall appart, some have artifical fruity notes, that overpower each other in a horrible mess. The few Black Teas I’ve successfully enjoyed weren’t part of the better ones, I seem to have consistenly rated them around the 50-60s/100. This is a whole other level though, and seeing how cheap it is on w2t’s website, I absolutely will be ordering more ! I don’t give my 100s easily, and this will be my proud 1st one.

Congrats Lao Chuan Hong !!!

100/100
- yaro

Okay, Round 2.

95C, 15s Wash.

- First Steep (20s):
Very light, transparent so it probably didn’t open up correctly, I’m getting some very vegetal notes not unlike a very light japanese green tea (?), I mean I admit I’ve only tried Palais des Thés’ Sencha Ariake but I guess that reminds me of that. Maybe that’s because of how young this sheng.

- Second Steep (15s):
Oh oh so bland, yeah this isn’t going anywhere, tea still hasn’t opened up and this tastes very generic, this next Steep I’m gonna try longer times with colder water, I wanna avoid bitterness as much as possible because this tea feels like it’s just waiting to become earwaxy bitter.

- Third Steep (35s, 90C):
It didn’t become that bitter, but it’s definitely not good.
Now, this could be due to me putting a minimal amount of tea in (3.5g) but I sure didn’t feel like this tea gave me anything interesting :(
That being said the tea isn’t unpleasant.

- Fourth Steep(40s, 95C):
It’s starting to get bitter and I already see where this is going.
The vegetal notes are gonna keep become more and more bitter and there is no complexity in this whatsoever.

N.B:
I’m not going to rate this tea, mostly because I’m scared I don’t know enough about this tea category to give a formal opinion.

The Hype is one of the if not the most well know w2t tea with “This is”, definitely one of my Spring favorites that I was shocked to see arrive in the mail. This is probably the most value we got out of a w2t tea Club, it’s just amazing and I cannot wait to review it here soon.

Let’s see if it lives up to the hype, all puns intended.
Wash: 15s.

1st Steep (10s):
Faint but very floral, this is pleasant and very well rounded.
We get some Lavander, sweet middle taste, mellow fruity after-taste.
This is amazing, would be a great morning tea.

2nd Steep (1min20):
Okay, I f-ed up and didn’t look at the infusion time correctly (I’ll definitely review this properly a later time), but this could be a happy accident.
The bitterness is not a violent one in any shape or form, it compliments rather well the fruitiness, this could be an oolong in its oxydation-like bitterness, but it truly isn’t unpleasant.

Alright, you guys don’t worry I’m going to review this properly tomorrow !

95C

1st Steep (15s):
Light but sweet, with some lemony undertones ? Other than that nothing too interesting about this first steep, very light color.

2nd Steep (25s):
Nice and still, the citrusy taste is still pretty present, I admit this isn’t what I envisioned this to taste like.

3rd Steep (30s):
Some mild bitterness is starting, but for now it’s not prevalent, the citrus notes now fuse with that bitterness, giving a well-dimensioned taste, although most is at the front.

4th Steep (40s):
Not much difference to note

5th Steep (45s):
Now the bitterness is overwhelming, the citrus taste is gone

6th Steep (60s):
Completely bitter, gross.

- Flavor Complexity: 5/30
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20
- Quality Across Infusions: 5/20
- Overall Enjoyment: 20/30

- yaro

Preparation:

- Temperature: 185°F / 85°C
- Time: 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 3 oz / 100 ml

I brewed this tea using the Gong Fu style, hoping to explore its depth through multiple short infusions.

- Color: White wine
- Flavor: Very superficial, with hints of wool and mustiness without much definition.

- Flavor: The mustiness is now complemented by a very subtle sweetness that appears only in the aftertaste. There’s also a faint earthiness that requires careful attention to notice.

- Flavor: Similar to the previous steep, with pronounced notes reminiscent of pungent meat and wet wool. Despite these strong flavors, there’s no bitterness.

- Flavor: No significant change from the third steep. The same musty and wool-like flavors persist.

- Flavor: The flavor profile remains unchanged, continuing with the same musty and wool-like notes.

In conclusion, the 2018 Turtle Dove by white2tea was not an exceptional tea. While it had consistent flavors across the steeps, these flavors were not particularly enjoyable or memorable.

- Flavor Complexity: 10/30 – The tea lacked distinctive or exceptional flavors.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 14/20 – The tea’s flavor did not evolve significantly with different steeping times.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – The tea was consistent, but consistently unimpressive.
- Overall Enjoyment: 10/30 – The tea was drinkable but not enjoyable or exciting.

- yaro

After much anticipation, I’ve finally had the chance to dive into white2tea’s 2020 Nightlife. Here’s my detailed review of this intriguing white tea:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 203°F / 95°C
- Time: 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s (progressive infusions)
- Tea Amount: 5 g
- Water Volume: 4 oz / 120 mL

1st Infusion (10s): The tea starts with a golden hue, hinting at hazelnut notes. The flavors are still finding their feet at this stage.

2nd Infusion (15s): The color transitions beautifully from amber to copper. This steep unveils a delightful sweetness akin to caramel candy, leaving a pleasant, lingering taste that ranks this among the best white teas I’ve ever tasted.

3rd Infusion (20s): As the tea deepens to a rich copper, it starts to lose some of its initial charm. The once prominent caramel taste shifts to the background, with a slight bitterness beginning to creep in, thankfully not yet overpowering.

4th Infusion (25s): With the tea cooling down, the anticipated bitterness mellows, although the sweetness begins to retreat as well.

5th Infusion (30s): The liquor takes on a mahogany color, with no bitterness in sight. It pleasantly returns to the caramel and hazelnut profile experienced in the second steep.

6th Infusion (35s): Maintaining its mahogany color, the sweetness starts to fade once again. It seems this cycle might repeat through the 11th infusion, suggesting a predictable continuation with little new to explore.

2020 Nightlife by white2tea is a complex tea that offers a journey through evolving flavors, especially recommended for those curious about the nuanced transformations in high-quality white teas. Keep the brewing temperature at 95°C to avoid any undue bitterness, which this tea is prone to at lower temperatures. While it showcases moments of brilliance, particularly in the early infusions, the experience might feel cyclic and predictable as you progress through multiple steeps.

- Flavor Complexity: 25/30 – Offers a delightful range of flavors, particularly in the early steeps.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20 – Can become bitter if brewed incorrectly, but generally performs well with proper care.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 15/20 – The flavors evolve but maintain a coherent profile.
- Overall Enjoyment: 20/30 – Highly enjoyable in initial infusions, but becomes predictable and less exciting.

- yaro