Featured & New Tasting Notes
This week, I decided to do a gongfu session again after a night out. I’m liking this a lot. It may be a ritual for me. It’s the one day a week that I’m not exhausted from a cumulative sleep debt and I also don’t have to be up at a particular time the next day. So I can drink tea from 2-5am if I want to :-) The perks of adulthood!
The Jabberwocky was a perfect choice for my late night steeping. I’m enjoying it while listening to Maroon 5’s “Hands all over” album, which was a gift from my dear friend Cordelia. Both the Jabberwocky and Adam Levine have a little bit of that bad boy appeal (heeeyyyy boyfriends haha) I brewed this 15/15/30/40/60/90 sec.
Steep 1: This steep is all about that bready base taste. It’s also buttery and salty with lovely caramel.
Steep 2: The chocolate is here! Cue the dancing munchkins from Wizard of Oz. It weaves between the bready, caramel-y, salty, buttery goodness that was already rocking my socks off and takes it to a whole new level!
Steep 3: The bread retreats a bit, but the chocolate and caramel step up to fill that void. Oh, ok, if it must be that way I suppose I’ll survive :-P
Steep 4: The cream finally shows up! Oh hey buddy, good of you to drop by. This steep is smooooooooth and sweet with a wonderful amalgam of chocolate, caramel, bread, butter, and cream with a light sweetness to the finish. I’ve noticed that I tend to be a 4th steep kind of girl, at least with WP teas
Steep 5: It starts tapering off here. There’s still a breadiness present, paired with a light sweetness and a cooling effect at the end of the sip.
Steep 6: The tea is played out at this point. But I’m still gonna drink this steep :). This steep is just lightly sweet and a little bit cooling. Like a sherbet at the end of a rich meal.
I do love this tea so. It’s top 5 for sure!
As you may know by now, I love taking tea and nature photos. I’m just a casual photographer with no special skills, but I like to capture life’s unexpected blissful moments. One morning this week, I checked out my window and this is what I saw:
http://instagram.com/p/rHsiYJQh_C/
The beauty in this world…simple pleasures, big rewards…such as this tea.
It’s delicate and yet so powerful. When you drink it, you are taken by its beauty.
I brewed it Laoshan Style, in a tall glass. This is reminiscent of my beloved Sleeping Bear of course, the jasmine part.
It’s fresh and floral, but not overly perfumed. The name is just right…for being in the rain and by the river quite often in my neck of the woods, I can appreciate that.
It’s so sweet and a little nutty. It’s not very grassy or herbaceous for a green tea, a thing that might appeal to non green tea lovers.
The perfect afternoon companion, while Steepstering and reading a book…
<3
Beautiful picture!
I still can’t beleive I took a pic of Bambi!
You should have rubbed its belly :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/01/baby-deer-belly-rub-cuddle-freaks-out_n_5641931.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
Omg…poor thing though, I almost cried. Hope the mother did not abandon it.
Beautiful!
Gorgeous!
Oh me too! I just thought it was cute how much it liked having its belly rubbed
So Cool! I miss living in an area where animals visited me, living in the suburbs is so not for me. Awesome photo, thank you for sharing!
Thanks guys….
and mj, no worries I’m just over sensitive, you always find cutest things :-)
Amanda, I’ve had my share of living in the big city and the suburbs, until I found my spot. hope you find yours too :-)
Bambi is cute :)
What a cutie! My mom lives down a dirt road, so I’m used to seeing Bambis and Thumpers, but I swear the Florida heat fries their brains and I’ve almost hit one more than once when they decide that the perfect time to jump across the dirt road is right when I’m driving by. My favorite though are the bears, they’re so. freaking. cute! especially the little cubs. Ugh, I miss the wild life, but I don’t miss the 8 legged freaks.
Now following you on Instagram.
WP, you must have your share of Bambis in your forest too :-)
mandy, I don’t have that many, that’s why I get so excited when I see one! And I loooove the bears!!! But yes, I do have to deal with the 8 legged beasts :-o
Donkeytiara, following back :-)
I swear, I only see the deer on the road, not on my actual property, so I get more excited when I see one while someone else is driving, because I’m the worst driver, and they always make my heart pound of my chest when they dart in front of me.
Especially since I actually hit a deer with a 4wheeler when it did that to me when I was younger. He ran off, and I was going slow enough that I don’t think I hurt him, but I was crying so hard that someone had to drive my 4wheeler back for me. I was devastated.
Also, followed you (;
Mandy that makes me think of The Gilmore Girls where Rory was hit by a deer while she was driving.
Oh, that’s so sad mandy…hope you didn’t get hurt, its very dangerous.
Following you back!
Marzipan it was very much like that, haha
TTF I was going 5 maybe 10 miles an hour, physically I was fine, just very scared that I hurt him
Yeah, i totally get that…I would have been been too.
I really need to start instagramming again…
Yeah, I’m doing it. I still don’t quite have the hang of it yet, but you can follow me here http://instagram.com/whisperingpinestea :-)
Great, I’ll follow brenden…I kind of like it now that I got the hang of it myself :-)
This tasting note and all of the comments are making me think that I need to start an instagram….
I actually started only last week clint because of this:
http://steepster.com/discuss/3958-steepster-members-on-instagram?page=1
It’s fun!
I suppose I’ll make one then! Peer pressuuuuure
Lol, Just do it!!!
Don’t forget to link us :-)
I might make one just so I can write smoochy notes to WP.
Yes, I’ll post my smoochy note there too…
I made one! Time to start following people and taking pictures! Wooo
Clint, are you paperduckins???
I heart you and your mini bambi!
Yup, I am paperduckins! I haven’t had a chance to post any pictures or anything yet though :(
No problems clint, following you ;-)
This is my sipdown of this morning…
I may have overleafed this today because it sure does seem strong, with notes of tobacco reaching almost epidemic proportions! I don’t quite remember it tasting so bitter before. I see that Verdant is not selling this anymore on their websit. I have enjoyed it…
Hope all my Steepster friends have a great weekend!
Method: 3.7 g, 3 oz, 205 degrees, rinse-2nd rinse-10-15-20-25 (blended in one mug), filigree gaiwan
Aroma: My little apricots. You’re just everywhere, aren’t you?
Flavor: Now this is interesting. This sheng is much less sweet than others I have tried. It’s also less fruity and has a strong bite on the end chomp. It also has a slightly more brothy feel.
It leaves a little burn in the throat and I think my heart is beating a little faster. Must be love?
Preparation
So cute :-)
Thanks! I added a pic, just because :p
I can never get enough of pics!
I’m really liking the Instagram. No idea why I started using Flickr instead. Instagram is way more fun!
Do you follow alecs1q on Instagram? Omg, his pics and his little pots…so beautiful!
I sure do, pookie pie. And yes, I love his pics!!!
I like the Instagram too
Filigree gaiwan? O{O
Yeah, it’s new. I love it!
I’m still scared of pu-ehrs….
Don’t be. You just gave to find the good ones.
I am cruising through my stash this morning. This one makes me sigh in happiness. Happy enough that I might go back to sleep after I finish it
Mmmmmm I’m excited to try this one, when it arrives.
I’m shenging this AM. Happppyyyy!!!!
Oh, what a great idea missy :-)
And I’m Ailaoshaning this morning….I’m in a good place.
Sarsy. My little fashengista ;-)
Good morning, my little croissant! Aila, yums!!! How is Canada looking this beautiful AM?
Canada is humid and grey…hmmmm. I don’t care, I have good company and good tea, weeeheee!!! And how is cha qi this morning, any sheng sweat yet?
No, but I did just put my review up, and I mentioned that I feel a burn and an elevated heart rate!
When a person has those symptoms, they’re either dying or shenging, I suppose :p
Oh, you are fooooney :-)
I do try to keep you entertained :p
It’s working!!
I’m back awake now and Sarsy is already shenging. I love y’all
Sarsy Fashengista. That’s a superstar name.
I love it! Shengtastic!!!!
Total Superstar
Sorta sipdown? But it really doesn’t count.
I made this one last night cold shaken into a bottle of “Milk 2 Go” vanilla milk, and it used up the last of the cheesecake matcha I got long ago from Courtney, but I still have an unopened 30g package of this from my matcha order to go through. Hooray!
I drank it while watching Big Brother with Tre (it was a good episode!). It was pretty good, but really, really sweet. Yeah, the cheesecake flavour came through but with the sugary vanilla flavour already there it became just a touch extreme. I don’t think I’ll be doing Cheesecake/Vanilla milk again; the cheesecake is better in just plain old regular people milk.
The vanilla milk is weird; some flavours work really well, and don’t taste overly sweet AT ALL, like Pineapple (and Pear, which I’m drinking now and will review in a second) but others are so cloying. Tiramisu and Cookies & Cream are both ones that became hard core sugar bombs; this one was close to that level, but not quite there.
Side note: while we were watching BB last night I had the weirdest uncontrollable tremor in my right hand all episode; my hand was like violently shaking, which was a little concerning to both Tre and I. It stopped shortly before the episode ended though, and hasn’t picked up since. I’m wondering if I should be concerned, or whether it was maybe more of a caffeine thing? Since I’d been drinking black tea, guayusa, and matcha all day on top of pop (Mountain Dew!). Though, normally I can do that with no weird shaking…
they say that 500mg of caffeine is the max one person can safely consume in one day. How much did you have?
Ok, so I just looked stuff up online. Apparently there’s 72mg of caffeine in a bottle of Mountain Dew, 135mg in 12 oz of guayusa, 63mg in the black tea I had, and 118mg in the matcha. So not counting food, I had 388mg of caffeine. I didn’t each much all day though; poptarts for breakfast, and a sub before work. That’s it…
Shouldn’t be any in Canada mountain dew
What’s the point of Mountain Dew without caffeine?
Sil, you need to check the labels now. I think there’s now caffeine in at least some Canadian mountain dew… Marzipan, in Canada only dark sodas were allowed to have caffeine! So weird, I know. :)
That could be it, not enough food, too much caffeine?
It’s also normal to have tremors sometimes.
Omg….ugh. Really? Boooooooo
The Tea fairy and Dexter inspired me to have this today. Still love it. The first steep is reminding me of black forest cake with a chocolate sacher torte, vanilla cream and kirsh vibe happening. The cinnamon is present as a warming spice which presents a certain sweetness. This tea is not as syrupy and sweet as the mystery yancha I had last night, but I still love this.
Mmmmm….Oolong just rocks! And so does this review :-)
nice! shame that they named it so sloppily though. Rou Gui and Da Hong Pao are seperate cultivars – both are Yancha aka Cliff Teas aka Rock Teas.
I know, I’m pretty sure they know that too. The tin is labeled just Rou gui. They tend to put a lot of associated names on aliexpress to maximise it coming up in searches.
DHP is super-famous compared to Rou Gui, it’s like a brand name :P
Exactly. You see dealers on aliexpress listing rock teas as Yan Chas as cliff teas, rock teas, dhp, black teas and other associated names of teas in this family. Some companies are very specific, but most tend to not be. Their are others I wonder about like this one where the heading is more or less correct but then they say the variety is Assam. Are cliff teas derived from an assamica ssp.?
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fo-Shou-Buddha-s-Hand-Ancient-Tree-Wuyi-Rock-Tea/1410428562.html
All my sources say it is Camellia sinensis. I allowed myself to wonder for a bit though because I know a lot of pu-ehr is made from var. Assamica and it made me wonder about other styles. Its probably an error in the description, this is surprisingly common on aliexpress. When I can I like Togo to company websites or Two a where descriptions are usually more accurate. I also find that they use Souchong and keemun as processing styles and not as tea types as well. Though some regions do have a sort of vqa type regulation in ASN attempt to maintain quality.
I wasn’t hungry, really. Then I read this. Now I’m raiding the dessert cupboard. Oh yzz… ;)
Had this beautiful oolong using high mountain seasoned yixing clay pot.
This is my special occasion oolong and I just realized last night that I had totally forgotten to order some more on the last Butiki sale :-(
And then a miracle. I found an unopened 1/2 ounce pouch in the butiki drawer.
So I drank some with no special occasion other than having found it…and it gave me pure joy.
This is the epitome of what clean and fresh should be. A taste of the sky.
Sweet, creamy and buttery, pudding mouth. Floral notes very present of lilac and orchid, with a fresh minty finish.
The leaves are beautiful, so I decorated my pot with it to thank it for my session.
beautiful!
Thanks stephanie :-)
Sometimes it’s a special occasion with no reason at all. And that drinking this tea gave you pure joy, that’s a special occasion and a special tea. <3
Well said cheri :-)
I like that you have a Butiki drawer, that is a level of organization I can appreciate!
Beautiful picture! I am anxiously awaiting for my butiki order to arrivr:)
Lovely! I adore da yu lings!!!!
Thanks christeana, med too can’t wait to get it, especially the mug!!!
Amanda, I only create the illusion of being organized…too much tea!!!
Sars, da yu ling is my favourite high mountain oolong :-)
No, it’s MY fave high mountain oolong ;p
It’s awesome that you have a Butiki drawer.
You deserve a miracle tea find :).
Kaylee, butiki was the first tea Co. I ever dedicated a drawer to :-)
mj, awww, thank you ;-)
Hehe. What are the other companies?
Well, i recently invested in a tin system, that means less tea in drawers! But other than Butiki, Whispering Pines and Teavivre each have their own ;-)
(So much tea!!)
Love your pic! :) Unfortunately, we just missed out on the Da Yu Ling this year. I waited a few days too long to purchase and it was already gone. :( Instead I was able to find a fantastic Fu Shou Shan in its place.
Last night I did my monthly tea count, re-organized my shelves a bit, etc.
I’m starting the month at 362 Teas, which is down from 389 last month, so progress, not perfection, right?
My first cup of the month, although my sense of taste & smell is coming back, it’s still not where I want it to be, and I’ve been avoiding all of my favorite teas (all 277 of them, LOL), because…well because! Although there is a lot to be said for mouth-feel, tea buzz, etc, I hate to miss those subtle flavors. I just remembered that Sheng sometimes seems to help with allergies, so maybe I should quit messing around & bust out a brick!
All I’m getting from this tea today is a nice milky mouth, some baked bread, maybe a little chocolate (Which I’m probably imagining, not actually tasting), & cannibis. Yeah, you heard me. It’s been over 30 years since I toked up, but you never forget that taste.
:)
yay for getting through some of your teas last month! :) i have a SMALL totally unflavoured box here that you’ll get eventually..but i’m trying to give you time to drink more heh
I have a box of awesomeness that I’m still working on for you. It was suppose to be your birthday box, & includes the teas we ordered from YS, but it’s gonna be a late birthday…
it’s ok… it wil give me something to look forward to in september when i’m nowhere and everywhere all at once.
oh..and Nicole wanted to come to st louis if she can arrange it when i’m there so that all three of us can meet…once i get final date confirmation i will let you both know
Weed, what weed….
:)
The Lovely TeaFairy was drinking this earlier and found apple and peach. She brewed it gongfu style, so I decided to go the other way and see what I found.
I steeped half the sample (about 4g) in my 10oz yixing mug with 90C water for 4 minutes.
This is an odd little tea. It is oolong, there is no doubt about that. It has subtle woody notes, a few slight mineral tones, and there is no doubt about the cinnamon. Sweet gentle cinnamon. The second steep wasn’t really woody, still a little mineral, still some cinnamon, but I was getting some fruit (more grape to me).
This is interesting – I don’t think I’ve had anything quite like it. That’s what I love about Mandala, Garret seems to be able to find unusual and interesting teas. Thanks so much for sending this sample to me. I’m going to steep the rest of the sample with short steeps and see what the difference is.
Mmm. I love Round Gui!
Rou Gui! (Autocorrect attacks again).
I have a sample of this I need to try. I’m interested to know which way you like it best Dexter
No cinnaNOM for me :-(
I’m going to short steep the rest of the sample tonight (if it’s not too hot) and see if I get the apple peach that you were tasting. Western style – definitely cinnamon.
I don’t think I’ve ever had such a fruity oolong before. This is amazing.
I thought I would be able to identify cinnamon notes, but quite frankly, my taste buds don’t seem to pick up cinnamon much at all.
What I do get is lots of apple and peach. Oh, this is oven baked apple and peach cobbler with honey drizzle!
It’s lightly roasted and nutty, smooth, sweet and creamy, no astringency present at all.I also get a faint earthiness mixed with some minerals…not strong minerals like from a giant rock or something, very gentle…like pebble minerals :-)
I really like this…pure oolong awesomeness.
Thank you so much Garret for this generous sample…
I love that your samples are always large enough to brew gongfu style.
Oh my… this sounds just yummy! Love the review!
Thanks Sars…I think I may need some of this in the cupboard…sigh.
Awesome!!! Really happy that you enjoyed it, and really happy that it’s more apple, peach than cinnamon. This was the sample that I asked for with the order I received today!!!
This does sound amazing! You always sell me on the teas you review though :), except the greens…but that’s not your fault!
Dex, how funny that we both requested the same sample! I can’t wait to have your impressions. I’m surprised I did not get cinnamon…but I don’t care, that apple taste is so good and juicy.
Mj, lol, I know you haven’t crossed to the green side yet :-)
Fairy – how did you steep this? Did you gongfu it or did you western brew it? Parameters?
Is ok mj – stay with us over here on the dark side – that green stuff is scary. ;))
Gongfu gaiwan. 4 oz water and it was perfect. Now I don’t remember how long, but I think I did 20s, 30, 60, 90, and then lost track. I’m terrible with that, sorry. Did about 6 steeps. Are you trying tonight?
Dark siiiiiide. We don’t drink grass here! :p
Lol, if you don’t drink it, what do you do with it? (Innocent face)
Mow it? :p
Lol.
You don’t know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master.
I’m an imposter…I play both sides, and I,m loving every minute of it….cause I want ALL THE TEA!!!!
I’m going to go the other way and western steep it in my yixing mug. I’m going to use about half the sample and do about 3-4 minutes – see if that gives a different flavor profile. Will be back….. (if I drink this tonight I don’t need to enter it into my spreadsheet)
Lol you know you’re addicted to tea when….?
LOL You know you are overwhelmed with tea when….
(How am I suppose to enter "from my personal stash 2006 ripe from Yong De area?)
The joy of spreadsheets :-o
OHHHH I found cinnamon…. this is odd – good but strange….
Yay, you found it!
i love that dexter really does have to “find” her teas…
I’m with you, TTF. I like both the dark and the light side. The dark is new for me, though.
This sounds really good
Krystal, it is hard to find a Mandala tea that isn’t!
I found one once!
No wait. That was something else. Nevermind. :p
See??? Lol.
Yes I am just finding this out now Tea Fairy! But bettet late than never
Better*
I’m shenging again! Woo!
Method: 3.3 g, 3 oz, 205 degrees, rinse & 15-20-25 seconds, filigree gaiwan and Dr. Who mug
Aroma: Wow. The dry tea smells just amazing. Grapes and some other delicious thing that I can’t quite place. I bought a sample b/c the cake is pretty pricey. I kept sticking my nose in the bag!
Flavor: Smooth and sweet. This is a little fruity, but not with the apricot flavors I normally find in the shengs I have tried. This is harder for me to determine, but I really like it. It’s so pretty and comforting. It leaves my tongue tingling a bit, also. There weren’t any reviews for this one, so I think I just picked it on a whim. Go me!
Edit: And I lied! I did another set of steeps at 20-25-30 and the apricot IS there! These steeps are more brothy as well. I’m watching Sharknado 2 with this really excellent tea. Sheng happy!!!!!
Preparation
Nice!! Also sheng high fives :)
High fives, eh? I thought that if I drank enough sheng, ya’ll might show me the secret handshake :p
(That’s because it’s a teacret handshake…)
Glad you’re enjoying your first YS sheng :-)
Ha! I am going to keep shenging on until someone shows me the teacret handshake! I will not be deterred!
(Been shenging for a while and still don’t hold the teacret hanshake. Some say it’s mystic, that you must reach the level of Sheng-Jedi to obtain it…)
OK, I shall forge ahead!
Have you gotten the sheng “Sweat” yet. I know it sounds crazy but the good ones will cause it.
Noooo! What phenomenon is this????
Tell us Mr Mo!
You will just kind of break into a little sweating with a powerful sheng. It usually happens in the later steepings as I think the leaf gets really hydrated and puts forth some of it’s essence.
I usaully sweat on the forehead and under the chin/neck area.
Interesting!
LOL! I freaked out the first time this happened to me. I think I was having a Lao Man E blend. It was winter, my apt(DC) has really big windows so the apartment was cold, at the end of the 4th steep I feel light headed. I was similar to getting of from the bed really fast in the morning, but lighter. Then I realized I was sweating and shaking my hands a bit and I felt hot in a cold apt. :P
Lao Man E , Bulang and LBZ seem to hit the hardest.
I’ve definitely felt some physical effects, but I don’t recall any sweating. The lightheadedness has definitely happened.
I’ve gotten a little light headed before, but not noticed sweating. Neat!
What is it in sheng that does this to us, exactly?
I don’t know what causes it but do a 10 gram steep with 10 oz. water for about 30 seconds sometime.
will do!!!!!
I’ve learned about so many scary things about pu’erh these past couple days, it’s ridiculous.
Are you talking about the “what’s in your pu?” Thread?
That too. Pu’erh is such a beast.
I just tried my first sheng. It made me feel very caffeinated for about 15 minutes and then I literally could not stay awake. I feel asleep in my chair in the middle of analyzing data at 5 in the afternoon. After 45 min or so, I woke up and felt normal. It was a weird experience.
Ooohhh… interesting mj. I haven’t experienced that before!
Another insanely good TeaUrchin sheng! Woo!
This is the last un-tasted TeaUrchin sample from my birthday gift from my husband. This is definitely not one I would have picked out for myself just for the cost alone. (30g for $17.50)
But yes, it is indeed something special. Delicious floral sweetness, nice balance with the tangy “bitter” spice notes, and amazing cha qi. I am tea drunk at work :) “One Thousand Butterflies” FTW
I’m super impressed with TeaUrchin in general and would recommend them to all fans of raw puerh!
Glad you are having a good time with this sheng! Tea drunk hehe
Sheng does almost give me a “buzz” sometimes. Maybe the Theanine? I dunno. Good stuff though!!!
Your husband must be pretty awesome!
Indeed he is, Sars! :)
I agree about Tea Urchin. And this is an incredible GFZ…
Thank you Cameron B for the Wee Snaily Yums! The dry leaf smells malty, but also a bit like bread. And they really do remind me of wee little golden snailys.
Mmm this tastes like warm malty bread drizzled with honey and molasses and a sprinkle of raisins. The next 2 steeps were pretty similar, although they became a bit more bread and malty, and less honeyed molasses. Delicious, definitely on my list for my next order.
Preparation
Ok Mandy…I can’t read this without having it, fixing myself a cup now :-)
I want some Wee Snaily tea now.
Lariel…we all want wee snaily…all the time.
Yes, wee snaily always!
Cameron B. is a Wee Snaily Yums enabler. That’s where I got my sample from, too.
I really have to pick some of this up in my next order. It sounds like an amazing tea.
It’s so good, I have to keep myself from having it again.
Do it.
Must. Resist. I dont want to finish my sample yet because I’m on a buying ban (I even resisted the Butiki sale completely). And I have two boxes plus a bubble mailer full of teas I still havent even tried, and shelves in my cabinet bursting with tea, and a whole bunch of teas in my sip down pile. And I want to get everything organized before I add more to my stash, but I’m almost afraid to come to terms with how much tea I have (counting samples I think I have close to 200). And I used to think having 20 was a lot xD
I must be strong, I must be rational, I must remember that I’m a broke struggling college student with no job and a couple thousand dollars of debt. I just need to find a sugar daddy to support my habit (don’t tell my boyfriend I said that xD)
Lol, Mandy, you be good then, I totally support your wisdom, no need for a sugar daddy : )
Being reasonable is the right thing to do, I applaud you!
Uh oh. This is the last of my sample! Gotta get more!
I’m drinking this and watching Clue. I think I’ve seen Clue at least 1000 times. No lie. Whenever I can’t decide on something to watch, I pick Clue. I think this tea goes very nicely with Tim Curry. And that is a VERY high compliment to the tea!
it’s almost time for more SB!!!
I want it all!!!! :p
Nooooo! I want it all!!! But, no…really, i can share with the lovely ladies.
I have never seen Clue.
You’re a peach, TTF. :)
Marz: please stop what you’re doing and make immediate arrangements to watch Clue at your earliest convenience. It’s SO amazing. One of my top 5 movies of all time!!!! Ever!!!!
It’s a great movie. Somehow it was so underrated in the theatre, but it’s become somewhat of a cult classic.
Yeah, I can’t recall when I first saw it, but I know I was pretty young. It’s just brilliant. Amazing script and cast. And that house! Gorgeous! Tim Curry! Eeeee!!!!
I’m having my second resteep of this now. Soo good!
Indeed, boychik. I also did 2 steeps this time. I love this tea!!!
I’m joining you gals…first steep here. (I’m such a copy cat…and a peach. Sarsy said so).
You’re peachy keen :)
When I first had this tea, I was contemplating quitting the blends club. I did, but have since rejoined (fickle, fickle, haha). It is blends like this that make me want to stay in (even though July’s box wasn’t my fave). Chocolatey, with bright berry flavor… just really tasty.
I am looking forward to next month’s box, which apparently will be vanilla themed.
Flavors: Berries, Chocolate
Preparation
I’m so excited for the vanilla teas! :D
I haven’t really been in the loop on Verdant tea lately, but do they offer the teas to buy separately after they distribute the club box? I love vanilla too, so I’m curious.
The vanilla ones were awfully tempting…
I love the Whispering Pines vanilla teas… I think they’d be hard to beat, but I guess Verdant had to try haha
vanilla ones made me want to sign up again..
Does everything still have coriander seeds in it? That’s one of the reasons I unsubscribed.
Not everything! But still lots of coriander and fennel. I end up attempting to sell one or two blends each month. My biggest wish is that I could get a blends club that didn’t have any herbal blends in it. I never like those, and I’m just not interested in herbals.
Fennel bleeeehhhh
Oh my goodness! This one is special! I’m so sad I only have one tiny sample pack!
The front of the sip is malty and sweet and rich, but the back of the sip has a long lingering dark stone fruity aftertaste on the back of my tongue, almost like a Dancong oolong or a sheng puerh. It’s crazy! So good! I wish I had gotten one of the free $10 gift cards so I could order more. Very unique :)
I also remember really liking one of TeaVivre’s Fenqging shengs, so perhaps I’m just in love with teas from there?
I love to drink sheng. I’m a fa-sheng-ista!
But sheng is not my favourite tea to review cause I always get taken by it, in the moment. It’s hard for me to analyze and think about anything…Just want to let the tea take me to wherever it wants to…
I love Mao Cha, what cakes are made of…
I won’t comment on each steep cause that’s not the way I review my tea. But because some have requested I write details on the way I brewed it (cause apparently it can be a little finicky) here are my parameters. I actually counted the seconds this time :-)
7g, 5oz gaiwan, water temp. 175F
Steep 1) 20 sec.
Steep 2) 30 sec.
Steep 3) 40 sec.
Steep 4) 60 sec.
Steep 5) 90 sec.
Steep 6) 90 sec.
Steep 7) 120 sec.
This type of tea is light in weight and takes a lot of room. The leaves are so long, they barely fit in the gaiwan. First, the dry scent. Smells like some kind of smoked lemonade. Yes, smokey and citrusy. Interesting. When I say smoke, let’s be clear: it’s very subtle.
Oh, the first few steeps are very sweet and “melony” juicy with a fresh mouthfeel. I find some echo of yesterday’s campfire wood if that makes senses. You know, that scent you get in the air the next morning when you camp? It renders a light smoked dampness in the mouth.
It’s creamy and a little salty and nutty. In some ways, it does remind me of high mountain oolong.
I must talk about the fragrance exuding from the wet leaves. It triggers memories of late August summer nights after a hot afternoon…when the warmth of the day collides with the coolness of the night. Yes, this tea smells like August, and it leaves an imprint of late summer nights as I drink it. I do realize it must sound plain weird to you,but it means a lot to me…that’s how cha qi kicks in for me. Memories.
The later steeps are not as sweet, a nice light astringency is building up. I say nice, cause to me, the right dose of astringency in sheng is a good thing. It’s bright and awakening.
What I identified as being melon earlier is now morphing into grapefruit. I also get more saltiness, a “brothy” feel, umami.
Cedar and camphor are present at the end of the sip.
I’ll be stopping here, cause I just want to enjoy the rest peacefully and stop taking notes.
This is a special one. It made me feel something…that’s what I seek when I drink sheng.
Nice review :)
Thank you tommy…i loved this tea.
I’m looking forward to having some really soon :) i can’t wait!!
I’ll be interested to read what you think of it.
I really enjoyed it, too. :)
Sounds good, but not sure about camphor taste in a tea?
Mountain tea trees often have camphora trees in the same area and their odor can get into tea leaves, and hence into the cake. It is really more of a mouth/throat cool feel.
I really like camphor notes in sheng
Ah! That’s what that mouthfeel is. Thanks!
I’ve recently braved a trip into sheng and when Brenden, that wily tea hobbit put this up for sale the same day as The Jabberwocky, I knew I had to get it.
I’m so glad I did.
Miso is right, and sweet. And cashews.
Wow.
I’m not getting lime, which disappoints me, but i seem to be missing out of some of these flavors that Brenden tells me are in the tea, when I get others so clearly.
But anyway, this tea is good.
I didn’t follow his instructions, but made up my own, lots of short infusions.
And I’m listening to Oneohtrix Point Never today, too, after apt told me I’d really missed out at the NIN/Soundgarden show. Yep. I’m loving it. It seems to go really well with this tea. I’m definitely in a hello of a mellow state. (Although I can tell I’m pretty caffeinated, too. But I find that very calming.)
And while crazy things are happening at work, I’m giving people the answers they need to get things moving again, and somehow I’m finding time to tell the Wellness Coordinator that she needs to get us all tea (thanks Andrew!), buy more tea on sale, and keep refilling the cup. And I’m not even angry that one of my co-workers made the same stupid mistake three different times. Normally, this would have me fuming.
So yeah, I guess it’s this cha qi that Brenden talks about. I’m tranquil. I’m focused. I’m relaxed. I’m on top of everything.
And it’s all good. The tea, the energy, the day. It’s all good.
Yay, tea happy!!!!
I’m definitely tea happy and it’s a wonderful thing.
I can’t wait for this one :)
sounds amazing!
oooooh
Glad you enjoyed cheri…sipping it right now for the first time. Will report later, hard to focus on anything else.
cha qi affects different people differently….for me it gives me a pretty intense head high and generally elevates my state of mind. yancha makes me focus and put in work and it also makes me serious as hell.
OPN is a good match for sheng, it’s complex and layered. glad to hear you enjoyed his music!
It was definitely a good feeling for the day yesterday, because if I hadn’t been in that kind of mood, I think I might have thrown things at someone or three.
cavocorax provide me with this sample which i’m willing to bed was the second package from samples she would have picked up from Angel heh. teavivre really is generous when it comes to their samples. I’d be happy with ONE package as a sample and they nearly always send at least 2!
This reminds me of Wild Monk from Mandala but without the smoke that i adore. this is more of a green sort of puerh than an earthy one – leaning towards coming across as vegetal. It reminds me a little of some of the green teas that i’ve had recently from teavivre but without the juiciness. Instead this is more subdued..bordering on almost nut like versus snap peas or something similar. Over all, quite lovely through a few steepings!
Time to bust out my Yezi pu’erh samples! I’m working from home today, so I figured I could try the 3 pu’erhs they included as samples in my prior orders.
Method: The Yezi site says to use 30 sec to start, then increase by 10-15. Seemed too long, so I did – 5 g, 3 oz, rinse then 15-20-25 seconds, 205 degrees, ru kiln gaiwan. Long pu’erh steeps make me nervous!
Aroma: I’m guessing this is a ripe pu. Please correct me if I am wrong. It smells cavey and earthy. I am learning to appreciate these aromas more, but I admit that they still make me a little uncomfortable.
Flavor: I blended the first 3 steeps into one mug. The flavor is also earthy, but I do catch pleasant little hints of chocolate. I’ve had some pu’erhs with a sharp taste, but this one is very smooth. I like it, but I want to like it even more than I do. It feels very thick and substantial and the aftertaste is actually more pleasant to me than the tea itself.
Here’s pics in my brand new gaiwan:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14774513901/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14591177117
Preparation
Yep you are on the way!
I just placed some orders with YS, White2tea, and Tea Urchin. I went with small cakes and sample sizes, but I am going to be in pu’erh city soon. I got mostly shengs, but I also bought some shous to try to expand my palate there.
I’m really loving TeaUrchin Sars :)
I am loving their selection and labels, Steph. I wasn’t really loving the prices, but I do hear that their teas are very high quality. I only ordered samples from them. There’s no way I am forking over $180 for a tea cake without being completely and totally in love with it. I’m so glad companies selling pricier teas have samples we can try first.
Yeah, I’ve had a ton of samples, but never a whole cake. I’d love to have one some day, especially with a pretty label :)
Nice! Try around, some people have preferences, just don’t go overboard with samples lol (I was guilty before lol).
Ha! Yeah, I do tend to go overboard on pretty much everything. I admit it. :)
I’m hoping that out of the samples, I’ll find some lower priced teas that I can get to enjoy on a daily basis as well as some teas that might be better for aging.
I added some pics of this brewing in my new gaiwan. I am going back to do the 4-5-6 steepings now!
Gorgeous.
Thats a GREAT gaiwan!!! i loves it
Thanks! I am a sucker for things with a filigree sort of look!
Oh, and I am on steeps 7-8-9 with this, and it’s still going!
You got one the of the lacy gaiwans!!!! Yay! I had real trouble deciding which one of them to pick. Don’t you just LOVE it?
I do love it!!!! I just thought yours was so pretty, so I finally caved and bought the other pattern. Now I’ve seen that they make matching cups, so those are in my wish list too! <3
Oh hell! There are cups? I love mine very very much. Just don;t let it’s little bottom sit in any shou on your tea tray. I had to soak in Garret’s mircle stuff AND scrub with a toothbrush for a long time.
How are you this morning sweetness?
Good tip, thanks honey belle. There are cups posted on the Teaware Lust thread. They match my gaiwan, but I’m assuming there must also be cups to match yours. I’ll try to find a link for you. :)
My morning is off to a slow start. Couldn’t get out of bed, so I am late to work, oops!
The roofers started at 6 am, and the cleaning lady is here. She’s really loud – one of those people who only has one volume. I think by the time they both leave today we will all be ready for bed.
I wasn’t willing to gamble this morning and needed something reliable and strong. This was my choice. Save me snails!
How much longer are the roofers going to be?
I remember many years ago when we had a very snowy early December, and then things warmed up, but not really. By the last week of December, the snow melt had iced in the gutters and we had really, really bad ice dams in them. Really bad. And then it warmed back up some, and the roof and insulation at the apartment we were living in was pretty…well, it was an apartment, so they didn’t care about my heating bills. And as the snow melted, it flooded the dammed up gutters and we had water POURING into our apartment. We were on the second floor and it was bad, but the woman living below us literally had a waterfall for a doorwall. So they hired someone to take the gutters off the buildings. Good idea. Except that they showed up at 7am on a Sunday and used sledge hammers to remove them. And they started in the corner of the building right over my bedroom. That was miserable.
I wish I had a cleaning lady! I don’t mind cleaning floors and most of the bathroom…my pet peeve is scrubbing the grout in the shower stall. Absolutely HATE doing that for some reason.
It’s something I had to do, since I work from home I really need to be off in my house instead of always working in the house, or ON the house. She’s not too expensive either. She comes every other week and does the heavy stuff, floors, bathrooms, etc. $70.
That’s not as bad as I thought it would be price wise. I guess I’d rather have a gardener though. Weedeating and mowing in this heat is the absolute worst. Maybe when I pay off my car :)
Well, we have that too.
:) living the dream :)
My house isn’t yet ready for someone to come in and clean, if that makes sense. I need to actually have things put away, I think, to get someone to come and clean.
I can’t wait to get more of this tea. I just love it!
The Snails are soo yummy, we love this one, we just ran out of it and I just ordered some more :)
LOL send up the snail signal :)
Hahaha!!! Too cute, mj
Rainy and soooo cold today!
Perfect chai day…which brings a question: Is there such a thing as a perfect chai?
If there is, I never found it. Always a little too this or a little too that…
Cause what makes a perfect chai I ask you? One question, but probably a thousand answers, I know. For me, it’s all in one word: balance. Yes, the perfect balance. But what does that mean?
I think it means that I don’t have to say “oh, it’s good, but there’s too much of this and not enough of that”. It also means I won’t have to add anything to it, unless I feel like it.
So far, I have tried El Dorado three different ways:
1) brewed according to WP’s instructions…it’s just perfect.
2) cold brewed…again, just perfect.
3) brewed in hot almond milk with a tad of maple syrup…Ghawwww. PERFECT!
The “Snaily Yums” base is brilliant, it’s sweet and mellow. Paired with “magic” vanilla bean, it prevents for any bitterness to develop from the spices.
I personally don’t like my chai too pungent, but I do want a little kick in the tushie. This classic spice blend makes the cut. It’s gingery, clovy, cinnaNOMMY, cardaNOMMY in the perfect amount…I like that it’s peppery without the addition of any actual pepper. That’s probably form the ginger.
This is everything I want a chai to be and so much more…If the perfect chai exists, i have found it in El Dorado!
Another sample from the nice Cameron B. It smells so much like malted chocolate. There is a bit of yam and maybe honey, but mostly cocoa. That comes out very in the flavour as well. Most delicious and smooth.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Honey, Malt
Yum, just had a cup of this this morning, with maple sugar! :P
Every time I read about this one, I go fix myself a cup!
You’re welcome. Where do you get maple sugar?
Lol, this question makes me laugh cause I live in the land of maple, so for me it’s pretty much everywhere and anywhere…Curious about cameron’s answer. Is it 100% maple sugar? I know they make a lot a maple stuff that has only a small quantity of actual maple…
i use only 100% maple syrup.
It’s hard to find true maple products in California. Though I did try some really candies when I was in British Columbia.
Boychik have you ever had grade B syrup? I have a place I order it from semi local (the do ship countrywide) and it is wonderful. The maple flavor is more concentrated and it is much darker. The grading system is just about translucency. Anyway, I need to get more of this tea. So good.
I’m in California and have gotten it at trader joes before.
Stephanie, I’m so glad you noticed that…my grand father had a sugar shack and we could not wait to get our hands on the darker stuff. Here, most people prefer the medium grade. Clear grade is more “commercial” and looks more golden and appealing I guess. But medium or dark are so much more flavourful!!
Lariel and TeaFairy, I don’t know if it was 100% maple sugar, I used the last piece and threw away the packaging! As for the where, I got it at the Chicago airport. :P
People don’t know what they’re missing, for reals :)
I want a sugar shack. Dang that sounds awesome.
Haven’t seen maple sugar at my Trader Joe’s, will look again.
Stephanie, grade B is my fav. its dark and more flavorful.
YAY high fives boychik :D
Awesome note!
Lovely! And yo, Wizard of Oz Munchkins!
I need to find me some munchkin tea!
Thanks MzPriss and TTF :-)
gmathis, have you tried the jabberwocky? Maybe it’s your munchkin tea too!
I’m always interested to see Whispering Pines reviews. I have just begun exploring their teas, and so far I am absolutely loving it! I’ll have to give this one a shot.
How much was in each steep? 2oz? more?
Yes, you must try this one Clint!
Cavo, my gongfu holds about 150mL for each steep. I used 3g of leaf at about 205F.