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I will probably call it a day after posting this review. I’m trying to stay on a strict exercise schedule, and I have deviated from it today. I have been very busy the last three days, and yesterday was a total nightmare. I don’t want to go off on a tangent here, so let’s get back on track. I polished off what I had of this tea in the summer of 2020. I had 100 grams of it to play around with, so it took me more than a bit to finish it all. I found this to be a very good, solid, approachable first flush Darjeeling black tea.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 fluid ounces of 185 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the loose leaf material prior to steeping nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to steeping, the dry leaf material emitted aromas of pine, almond, malt, baked bread, hay, straw, chili leaf, and green bell pepper. After steeping, I detected new aromas of apricot, plum, muscatel, peanut, orange zest, cherry, and cashew. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of pear, grass, hay, cream, straw, baked bread, apricot, pine, muscatel, green bell pepper, green apple, chili leaf, orange zest, almond, butter, cherry, and peanut that were accompanied by hints of plum, cashew, and peach. Each sip finished malty and nutty with slight tart fruit, pine wood, and grassy, vegetal impressions lingering in the mouth after each swallow.

This was actually a very pleasant, likable first flush Darjeeling black tea. Unlike some of the others I have tried, it was neither too tart nor too vegetal and offered a unique mix of aromas and flavors. The tea liquor, though somewhat thin, was nicely textured and vibrant in the mouth. Had some of the tea’s more pleasant and interesting aroma and flavor components come through a little more clearly and come off as being a little more persistent, this would have been a knockout offering. As is, though, it was still a very good one, especially for the price. I think it could have competed with some of the more expensive first flush Darjeelings I have tried in recent years.

Okay, this is going to be my second time reviewing this tea. I reviewed the 2018 version a couple years ago, but at some point in either 2019 or 2020, I ended up with a 25g pouch of the 2019 version. If I recall correctly, there was an issue with one of my What-Cha orders, and to make up for it, Alistair gave me a 25g pouch of this tea as a freebie. I didn’t get around to working my way through it until late last year, but I ended up enjoying it. I actually thought this 2019 production was better than the one from 2018.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I measured out 3 grams of loose leaf material and then steeped it in approximately 8 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaf material prior to steeping it nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to steeping, the dry leaf material produced aromas of malt, muscatel, chocolate, baked bread, and pine. After steeping, I detected new aromas of cream, rose, vanilla, black cherry, dandelion, orchid, cinnamon, and plum. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of grass, dandelion, orange zest, orchid, plum, violet, rose, cream, baked bread, muscatel, dandelion greens, peach, black cherry, chocolate, pine, lychee, pear, vanilla, malt, and cinnamon that were accompanied by hints of roasted almond and spinach. Each sip finished slightly astringent, but with pleasant cream, malt, almond, grass, muscatel, stone fruit, and floral hints remaining.

Like the 2018 version of this tea, the 2019 China Muscatel Black Tea was not the most refined second flush Darjeeling black tea one could find, but it was pleasant to drink and had a lot to offer. Normally, roughness is not something someone will enjoy in a tea, but with this one, its comparatively few rough edges actually added to the drinking experience in a mostly positive way. Also, I should note that after trying two different productions of this tea, I found it to consistently display more character than the more expensive China Muscatel Gold. Both the 2018 and 2019 productions were definitely more memorable for me than the lone production of China Muscatel Gold that I tried. Overall, they were both better offerings in terms of value.

This was another of my older sample sipdowns. It was also a tea that I struggled to rate. In general, Rou Gui and I are not the best of buddies. I often find it too woody and chewy, but for some reason, I do better with the Rou Gui offered by Old Ways Tea than that offered by many other vendors. I knew I liked this one as soon as I tried it for the first time, but I had difficulty determining just how much I actually liked it and how I would rate it compared to some of the other Old Ways Rou Gui I’ve tried.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 fluid ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 19 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of char, smoke, pine, cinnamon, blackberry, and black cherry that were underscored by a subtle tobacco scent. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted peanut, roasted almond, tar, and ash in addition to a stronger tobacco scent. The first infusion added aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, and oddly enough, celery. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of char, smoke, ash, pine, cinnamon, tobacco, dark chocolate, tar, black raspberry, and blackberry that were chased by hints of grass, black cherry, blueberry, and caramel. The majority of the subsequent infusions added aromas of nutmeg, dark chocolate, red grape, plum, baked bread, roasted walnut, and roasted barley to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of grass, black cherry, and blueberry appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, pomegranate, orange zest, celery, roasted peanut, roasted almond, plum, roasted walnut, baked bread, red grape, and roasted barley. I also found some hints of fig, nutmeg, earth, coriander, and pear here and there. As the tea faded, the liquor started emphasizing mineral, baked bread, grass, roasted almond, roasted walnut, pine, char, and roasted barley notes that were supported by a complex mix of orange zest, earth, roasted peanut, smoke, black cherry, blueberry, pomegranate, blackberry, and red grape hints. Interestingly enough, I also found a very late emerging hint of popcorn that just kind of appeared out of nowhere.

Looking back on my notes as I write this review shedded a lot more light on this tea for me. It’s really no wonder I struggled to score it because it was very deep and complex and took a few interesting twists and turns. This was a very good Rou Gui, though it was at times daunting to analyze. I am now very much looking forward to the 2019 Handmade Rou Gui that I have yet to try.

Alright, I’m back with some new reviews. This was one of my late 2020/early 2021 sample sipdowns. Starting around November of last year, I noticed that I had a miniature mountain of samples from Old Ways Tea and started sporadically working my way through it. This was one of the first samples I drew out of the pile, but at this point, I cannot more precisely date my notes from the review session. As derk noted in the only previous review of this tea, it was very similar to the 2016 Smoked Black Tea offered by Old Ways Tea. I, however, found more nuances and less of an overpowering smokiness, since my sample had been rested longer.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 19 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of smoke, pine, ash, and charcoal. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of roasted peanut, roasted almond, butter, cream, and tar. The first infusion introduced subtle aromas of cannabis and malt. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of smoke, pine, ash, charcoal, tar, roasted peanut, roasted almond, malt, and baked bread that were chased by hints of butter, cream, cannabis, and raisin. The bulk of the subsequent infusions added aromas of raisin, hay, juniper, and roasted barley to the tea’s bouquet, though infrequent scents of straw and an amplified maltiness could also be found. Stronger and more immediately detectable butter and cream notes appeared in the mouth alongside impressions of minerals, straw, grass, hay, juniper, and roasted barley. I also detected hints of caramel, vanilla, and earth. As the tea faded, the liquor started emphasizing notes of minerals, pine, smoke, malt, baked bread, tar, charcoal, roasted barley, grass, roasted almond, and cream that were chased by subtler notes of butter, raisin, roasted peanut, ash, caramel, and juniper.

This tea surprised me because I was expecting it to be less smoky than it ended up being. I would have thought that 2+ years would have been more than enough time for the smoke to fade, but that was not the case. Still, this tea was not unpleasant to drink. It was very similar to the 2016 Smoked Black Tea from Old Ways Tea, but with a deeper, stronger, and more vibrant smokiness. Fans of smoked black tea would very likely love it.

Alright, it’s time for the final review of the day. This one comes from like March or April of 2020. I actually thought I had already posted a review for this tea, but apparently, I did not. At this point, everyone here knows that I am a huge Jun Chiyabari cheerleader. I think they produce great tea. Well, this was another one.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I measured out 3 grams of loose tea leaves and then rinsed them for 10 seconds in 194 F water. I normally do not rinse teas of this type, and honestly, I have no clue why I decided to do that with this tea. I then steeped the rinsed tea leaves in approximately 8 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. As usual, I did not attempt any additional steeps.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of hay, straw, cedar, and roasted almond. After the rinse, aromas of butter, rose, orange zest, cream, and chocolate appeared. Once the leaves were steeped, I picked up new aromas of malt, black cherry, and muscatel. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of rose, malt, cream, roasted almond, baked bread, butter, violet, orange zest, chocolate, black cherry, muscatel, pear, plum, blackberry, honey, blueberry, grass, hay, black raspberry, and lemon rind that were supported by hints of cedar, straw, and pine. Each sip finished fruity and slightly astringent with particularly notable impressions of wood, chocolate, cream, and roasted almond lingering after each swallow.

This was an extremely pleasant, playful Nepalese black tea that maintained approachability and drinkability despite its complexity. The liquor was also very nicely textured and displayed just enough weight in the mouth to give it some strength and significance. I cannot really add much more at this point. I’ll wrap up by plainly stating that this tea was yet another winner from a producer that cranks them out like clockwork. If you are familiar with Jun Chiyabari, you know what you will get from a tea like this one.

Okay, here is yet another review of a spring 2018 Dancong oolong. This one comes from just a little further back in my review notebook for 2020 and early 2021. Yunnan Sourcing’s Zhi Lan Xiang is another of their Dancong offerings that I tend to greatly enjoy from year to year, and well, there weren’t any surprises for me with this tea. It struck me as being yet another more or less excellent offering of this type.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of orchid, cherry, pomegranate, cream, custard, and vanilla. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of wood, grass, sugarcane, and plum. The first infusion added aromas of coriander, violet, and orange blossom. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented pleasant notes of orchid, orange blossom, wood, cherry, grass, cream, sugarcane, lychee, and honey that were balanced by hints of plum, pomegranate, sour apricot, and vanilla. The majority of the subsequent infusions altered the tea’s bouquet with the addition of baked bread, honey, apple, pear, peach, lychee, roasted almond, tangerine, and subtle spinach aromas. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of plum and vanilla came out in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, spinach, pear, apple, violet, roasted almond, orange zest, baked bread, and tangerine. I also noted hints of custard, butterscotch, coriander, banana, cinnamon, and peach. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, orchid, grass, tangerine, wood, sugarcane, apple, cherry, violet, pear, and roasted almond that were chased by a swell of subtler, more delicate spinach, orange zest, orange blossom, honey, lychee, plum, sour apricot, and butterscotch flavors.

As mentioned earlier, this was another winner among the spring 2018 Dancong oolongs released by Yunnan Sourcing. Again, this is one of their teas that I tend to look forward to each year. This was basically a superb Dancong oolong. Teas like this continue to make me wish that there were more Zhi Lan Xiang Dancong oolongs available in the West. They’re hard to find compared to the ubiquitous Mi Lan Xiang, but in my opinion, they can be just as rewarding, sometimes much more so.

Here is yet another review of a Dancong oolong that I finished in either late 2020 or early 2021. This was actually the sipdown immediately after the Ta Ku Hou Village High Mountain Dan Cong that I just reviewed. Prior to trying this tea, I had never tried a Hong Di before. I enjoyed this one a great deal, but I found it to be a bit intense. There were times when I did not quite know what to make of it.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of orchid, peach, cinnamon, cherry, and plum. After the rinse, I detected fresh aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, pear, tangerine, sugarcane, and grass. The first infusion introduced aromas of cream, vanilla, apple, and lychee. In the mouth, the liquor expressed notes of orchid, peach, roasted almond, cherry, grass, and tangerine that were chased by hints of roasted peanut, green wood, apple, sugarcane, lychee, cream, and pear. The bulk of the subsequent infusions added aromas of rose, violet, butter, hibiscus, rock sugar, and white grape to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of green wood, lychee, cream, pear, apple, and sugarcane appeared in the mouth alongside mineral, rose, violet, butter, spinach, hibiscus, orange zest, white grape, watermelon rind, honey, and rock sugar impressions. Hints of cinnamon, vanilla, plum, earth, caraway, and wintergreen were present too. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, pear, green wood, roasted almond, orange zest, grass, white grape, apple, and watermelon rind that were balanced by lingering hints of sugarcane, cherry, violet, rose, lychee, butter, tangerine, and plum.

As mentioned earlier, this was very good tea, but it was also somewhat intense. It had a very powerful presence and a good deal of depth and complexity. I liked that this tea’s Rou Gui parentage was not totally lost. It was fairly easy for me to pick out the woody and cinnamon spice qualities so typical of Rou Gui. Overall, this was a satisfying tea. It could have been a little less bombastic and a little more balanced, but it was most certainly worth a try.

Normally, I go either walking or jogging around this time, but it’s raining here, so I’m posting some more tea reviews instead. I’m exhausted anyway. I’ve had three straight very long, very hectic days at work, and fitting in job interviews, regular errands, and the like has been an utter nightmare. Anyway, this was another of my Dancong oolong sipdowns from late 2020/early 2021. I loved the spring 2017 Ta Ku Village High Mountain Dan Cong, and I ended up loving this spring 2018 version too.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This initial infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves presented aromas of honey, peach, tangerine, lychee, cherry, sugarcane, and vanilla. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond and cream. The first infusion added aromas of orchid and orange blossom. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered up notes of honey, tangerine, peach, orchid, lychee, roasted almond, and orange blossom that were balanced by hints of cherry, sugarcane, cream, grass, and vanilla. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of pear, violet, plum, grass, caraway, and honeydew. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of grass, sugarcane, cherry, cream, and vanilla appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, caraway, pear, violet, apple, plum, nectarine, orange zest, and honeydew. I also found hints of eucalyptus, wood, nutmeg, wintergreen, and coriander. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, tangerine, cream, violet, apple, pear, and lychee alongside an amplified woodiness. These impressions were backed by lingering hints of orchid, roasted almond, sugarcane, honey, orange zest, grass, coriander, plum, and wintergreen.

This tea displayed a very unique and quirky overall profile. It was definitely among the most interesting of the spring 2018 Dancong oolongs that I tried. It also was very well put together. Nothing was out of place. I don’t know who is producing the Ta Ku Hou Village Dancong that Yunnan Sourcing stocks each spring, but in my opinion, they are doing a consistently excellent job. This was a tea worth checking out.

Alright, this will be my last review of the day. I wanted to switch things up a little bit with this one and dig a little further into my backlog. This was one of my sipdowns from mid-summer of 2020. It’s interesting to me that not only did I seem to like this tea way less than previous reviewers, but I seemed to perceive its aroma and flavor very differently as well.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I measured out 3 grams of loose leaf and stem material and then steeped it for 5 minutes in approximately 8 fluid ounces of 194 F water. I did not rinse the leaf and stem material prior to steeping nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to steeping, the dry leaf and stem mix emitted aromas of straw, hay, earth, raisin, and prune that were underscored by a subtle pine scent. After infusion, I picked up new aromas of cinnamon, grass, roasted almond, ginger, baked bread, honey, cream, and malt. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of straw, hay, grass, roasted almond, malt, cinnamon, cream, earth, baked bread, pine, orange zest, and plum that were accompanied by hints of raisin, prune, honey, ginger, pear, red apple, cocoa, roasted peanut, and smoke. The liquor turned increasingly astringent in the mouth with moderate bitterness. On each swallow, an oak presence jumped out, while impressions of fruit, malt, pine, hay, straw, grass, earth, and baked bread remained.

Compared to the other What-Cha Benifuuki black tea that I tried last year, this was a better offering overall. It was gentler, smoother, and more pleasant with better integration and balance of its aroma and flavor components. That being said, it was still a bit harsh and displayed a very strong, overbearing energy that contributed to lasting jitteriness for me. This did not strike me as being a bad tea, but I also would not place it among my favorite Japanese black teas. Overall, I guess it was pretty good. I wish I could say it was better.

I’m bored and don’t feel like doing any housework, so I may as well keep the tea reviews coming. This was yet another of my backlogged late 2020/early 2021 Dancong oolong reviews. Everyone who has ever read any of my previous reviews of Yunnan Sourcing’s King of Duck Shit Aroma Dan Cong oolongs knows that I tend to love them. The King of Duck Shit aroma oolong tends to be one of Yunnan Sourcing’s teas that I look forward to every year. This one ended up being no exception.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, cream, vanilla, cherry, orchid, orange blossom, and peach. After the rinse, new aromas of cinnamon, roasted almond, geranium, and grass emerged. The first infusion introduced a subtle banana aroma. Once in the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of grass, cream, roasted almond, orchid, and geranium that were balanced by hints of pear, orange blossom, banana, and cinnamon. The majority of the subsequent infusions added aromas of longan, steamed milk, dandelion, pear, apple, white grape, and violet. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of pear emerged in the mouth alongside mineral, longan, earth, peach, vanilla, cherry, orange zest, dandelion, plum, apple, dandelion green, steamed milk, white grape, violet, and sugarcane impressions. I also detected hints of honey and lime zest. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, orange zest, grass, apple, white grape, dandelion greens, and geranium that were chased by a pleasant swell of dandelion, sugarcane, cherry, steamed milk, violet, orchid, roasted almond, and banana flavors.

Like previous King of Duck Shit offerings, this was a pleasant, balanced tea with more than enough depth and complexity to satisfy. The thick body and creamy, milky smoothness of the tea liquor was also very enjoyable. At times, I was concerned that some of the flavor components would start clashing, but that thankfully never occurred. Overall, this was a very masterfully produced oolong.