144 Tasting Notes
This one starts off somewhat brusque and uninteresting, perhaps a bit too dark and heavy for my taste. Once the initial flavor fades into a delicate malt the floral nuances are allowed to develop and linger into a deliciously spiced and subtly fruity aftertaste.
I don’t know the precise geographic location of the Singtom estate but perhaps it is in a lower elevation or in a warmer area relative to other Darjeeling estates.
First foray in to the realm of matcha . . . I like it a lot. Been drinking it every day.
Cool! Did you get a whisk and all, or just mixing by some other means? (Macguyver!)
I got the chasen and the chashaku (scoop thing). its awesome. got their noobie sampler too. they’re having a sale on some of their loose teas btw.
That’s really cool… it seems like the only way to really enjoy matcha is to do it properly, and unbelievably (considering how much I like Japanese green tea) I haven’t experienced it yet. I know! The sale is really good, but I think I can resist… I ordered their kuradashi recently, anyway.
Their noobie sampler was great, and I’m sure very effective for them… definitely made me a fan.
yeah the sampler does what its meant to do, i feel i have at least a basic understanding of the different types of japanese green tea now (houjicha, sencha, fukamushi). im liking the looks of the kuradashi a lot.
concerning matcha, the chasen is essential. its a very delicately constructed whisk. other than that im sure one could get away with using any vessel and scooping utensil. the other thing ive been using is a small seive to break up the clumps. i scoop the matcha into the seive and rub it through the screen into the bowl. its really a delicious drink and actually feels healthy. im not really a health nut (everything in moderation) but there is a beautifully rich and clean aspect to the matcha, so much so that its even perceptible in the mental and physical systems. again, i dont put too much stock into it but the feeling is agreeable.
That’s cool to know. When I drink powdered sencha, I do break it up through a sieve, but again, since I don’t have the chasen, have just used a small metal whisk. It works, but I’m sure it actually makes a difference not using the proper too. Some day, probably at a tea house, I’ll try some real matcha made the right way.
I do like how simple it is to prepare though… no timers, thermometers, etc. needed.
Brisk, forward citrus and mint. Slight roundness at the bottom gives it just enough fullness to be satisfying. The flavors are nice and clean but run a bit shallow compared to some other Darjeelings. This tea does not cloy for attention in any way and tastes exactly how a non “tea drinker” would expect. Tea.
Good for the price and perfectly adequate for a “stock” Darjeeling.
This is a very good shu. To me, this is where shu puerh begins to stand apart from aged sheng. Many lesser shu tends toward the murky and greasy in their attempt to emulate the earthiness of wet stored aged sheng. This one carries the typical characteristics of shu but elevates them to a higher level.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that this tea is not at all an attempt toward emulating aged sheng but is perfectly enjoyable by itself; dense, cooling, and hollow in that the flavors are not muddied or confused.
I personally like shu puerh so this tea is very enjoyable to me. In the past I have always preferred an aged sheng to any shu but this one definitely stands on its own merits. It’s different and “shu” enough to be, to me, a sort of paradigm. Good stuff.
Fruit forward, sweet and a little simple . . . in a good way. There is a lot of fullness up front with peachy sweetness curling in the back of the throat and mingling with the typical hay flavor found in teas of this varietal (Bai Hao, Bai Mu Dan, etc.). The aftertaste is of a perfumed caramel and the light yet distinct fruit flavors linger in the background. What this tea lacks in elegance it makes up for in playfulness and accessibility. It has a childlike character to it because of the sweetness.
What alludes to the quality of this picking are not the flavors themselves, which are good, but the clarity of the different flavors and how they travel through each sip. It is as if an artist were to use bold strokes of subtle colors. The effect is very immediate and pleasing.
