2024 Great Blue Heron Minis

I recently tried the 2024 Great Blue Heron by white2tea. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 194°F / 90°C
- Time: 2-3s, 5s, 10s
- Tea Amount: 7 g
- Water Volume: 6 oz / 180 mL

I brewed this tea using my new Yixing “小西施” (Small Xishi) teapot.

Smoked goodness, very pronounced smoked taste already.

Anise, biltong, algae, and most importantly, charcoal. No astringency whatsoever, incredibly balanced tea.

New astringency, but it’s not predominant yet. What an incredible personality this tea has, it’s very complex, and it constantly evolves. I don’t see the point in going any further, this is great.

Flavor Complexity: 30/30
This tea is consistently great, with a diverse profile that dares to go rather far. This young sheng puer impresses by its ability to be as interesting as its older brothers.

Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20
I have not tested the brewing forgiveness thoroughly, as per my small sample size, however I am going to assume this is a high quality tea that can be pretty forgiving. I’d still stay around 90-95°C.

Quality Across Infusions: 20/20
The flavors evolve constantly but maintain a coherent profile, perfect mix of evolution and stability.

Overall Enjoyment: 25/30
Incredibly enjoyable tea, with lots of personality and complexity. I cannot recommend it further, I truly was impressed by it and will certainly be buying a cake, it tastes even better than the 2024 Spring Old Arbor Raw Puer by white2tea I tried recently.

- yaro

Grandpa Style!

Though I’ve been trying to be more restrained in the amount of compressed cakes I’m buying, I couldn’t resist grabbing one of each of white2tea’s new smoked teas along with a handful of their mini counterparts. This tea order smelled incredible the moment I opened it up, with just a beautiful whispy smoke aroma permeating the air. Though I’ll wait for the cakes to settle, I couldn’t resist brewing up on of the 2024 Great Blue Heron minis in the meantime – I’ve been a big fan of W2T’s other smoked sheng productions so it was an easy first choice.

My first impression of this tea was that it’s quite bold and nippy, with an intense smoke aroma that reads quite heavily of pipe tobacco, oak wood, and peat with greener, more herbal undertones that make me think of smudging. It’s quite astringent, but not particularly bitter. I found myself appreciating the burly texture. I kind of wanted to be drinking it from a rocks glass; there’s just an overall “parlor room” vibe to the tea that practically begs to be accompanied by cigars and whisky. Not for everyone, for sure, but so up my alley.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4_kRBiu834/?img_index=1

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

I haven’t finished the session yet. I’ve made it to the 5th infusion and wanted to make a note before pushing this opportunity back any further. I usually read a book and have tea before heading into the office for the evening on Tuesdays.

I will note that my fondness for Lapsang has taken a temporary step aside these days. Smoked puerh? I had assumed I’d face the same problem on account that I’ve avoid smoked teas as much as possible. However, upon drinking this, I had forgotten that I really find a smoked puerh quite fascinating! It’s less aggressive, while maintaining a strength in smokiness. It’s comparing burnt wood or BBQ (Lapsang) to burnt honey or sugar (smoked puerh). They each have their place and time, but definitely something I don’t indulge in too often.