221 Tasting Notes
Gunpowder. Adagio.
Lot no. 85003. F. B.: n/a.
Brewed Western, as directed, the entire 3g from a Portions pouch, in 8 oz. 180°F spring water for 2.5 min.. I’ve never been a Gunpowder Green fan, and this tea neither impressed nor disappointed me. Smooth, sweet, vegetal, non-smokey, non-astringent, and rather boring to me. No serious defects though. The leaf pellets didn’t really fully expand until the end of the second steep, which I ran for 3 min. Both steepings tasted and smelled the same to me. I’ll neither recommend nor dissuade this tea, and rate it as a 70 for being an acceptable green that you might like more or less.
Flavors: Smooth, Sweet, Vegetal
Preparation
Steeped as directed. Love it! Great with milk, too. I poured the rest of my bag of it into a small jelly jar with a screw-cap lid, so now I have a Cookie Jar! I enjoy it at breakfast and lunch and tea-time. Great aroma and flavor. Rating a 90 because drinking it makes me feel like a kid again.
Preparation
I’ve had this sheng cake in 62%RH storage for a few years, and today decided to crack open the now 20-yr-old cake and give it a try! The cake was fairly loose and I could just pull off a pinch without needing my pu-pik. The dry aroma was pleasing with notes of leather and tobacco, and a bit of malt. The appearance of the cake and infusions were just like the photos on the YS website, which I copied to this listing. Steeped Western style, 5g leaf in 8oz boiling alpine spring water serially for 30 s, 45 s, 90 s, and 120 s using a stainless micropore infusion basket. *Wow! this tastes good! With my first cup, this is already among my top raw pu-erhs. No bitterness, no astringency, just sweet and smooth deep flavors of assamica maltiness, leather and autumn leaves, with some tongue-tingling peppery spice. I did not detect any orchid or floral notes in this, but that may be due to my process. There is a bit of dampness on the tongue and nose even in the 4th infusion, probably originating with the Guangdong aging and persisting through my own humid storage. It wasn’t fishy or objectionable, though. Next day I did two more steepings of the leaf, for 3 min and 8 min, and in that final (6th) infusion the tea was noticeably petering out. I look forward to airing this cake out for six months or so, and then having a nice gongfu session to see if I can coax out something reminiscent of orchid flowers, or reveal further complexity. I will recommend and rate this as 88 for now.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Leather, Malt, Pepper, Spicy, Sweet, Tobacco
Preparation
Green Rooibos Bonita. Adagio.
Lot no. 85435. FB: n/a.
Sweet, floral, juicy. I taste and smell the orange, peach, and strawberry. The green rooibos takes a back stage role here, but still contributes. Nice finish. For some reason I got the impression of ginseng, but that’s not a listed ingredient. I steeped this today Western, as directed, because I wanted to sip something without caffeine, and this sounded good. And it is. Rating as 78 and recommended.
Flavors: Green Rooibos, Orange, Peach, Strawberry, Sweet
Preparation
Gave my stash of Adagio’s Darjeeling Puttabong Summer yet another session. Western style, 2½ g leaf in 8 oz boiling spring water for 90s, with an immediate re-steep of 30 min. I do feel this tea is unfortunately named, from the perspective of Western sippers. That aside, the first steep was smooth, malty, sweet, and with distinct honey and floral notes. The extended resteep was very astringent, mildly malty, with traces of floral notes, and no honey impressions. Still, it was drinkable in an indifferent sort of way, and my rating stands at 72. I feel the caffeine, but I still won’t be resteeping in the future. Anyone remember when sample pouches were a full ounce, for ten portions? This one was less than half that, at 11g. Someone must really think highly of this tea— but it isn’t me.
Preparation
Chocolate and Strawberry Puer 5577. Lupicia
Lot no. 605155H1 (?). BB: 03/2027.
[Ingredients: China Puer tea, India Black tea, Roasted cacao, Rose petal, Heath flower, Flavourings.]
GONGFU:
2.5 g leaf prepared Gongfu style wih 8 serial infusions of 3 oz. boiling alpine spring water (without wash), for 30s, 30s, 30s, 30s, (pause), 20s, 40s, 80s, 3m.
Like drinking a chocolate bar! Dry leaf strong aroma of milk chocolate, ripe strawberry. 1st–4th infusions with aroma and flavor of strawberry & chocolate dominating; notes of geosmin, malt and black tea, silky smooth and sweet in the mouth; no compost or fishy or seaweed or astringent or sour or bitter notes at all. Just smooth, sweet, sips with a long-lasting finish. Primary flavors began tailing off by 4th, with a note of assamic varietal slipping through now and then. In 5th, a petrichor aroma burst through the declining strawberry while the primary flavors remained balanced, if reduced. Trends continued in 6th, which had a lighter amber liquor despite the lengthened steeping. In 7th & 8th the infusions were notably weaker, though still sweet and having notes of chocolate and strawberry, so I concluded the series here.
WESTERN:
2.5 g leaf prepared Western style wih 3 serial infusions of 8 oz. boiling alpine spring water (without wash), for 1 min., 2 min., and 4 min.
The first and second were combined and tasted: delicious liquor, tasting the same as the 1st–3rd gongfu infusions above. The remaining combined tea was allowed to cool, sweetened with sugar, and iced (see below). The third infusion was sipped as-is. In the 3rd, the ripe puer nature asserted itself, among the strawberry and chocolate notes, contributing an earthy base note that rounded out the entire experience. Very satisfying, with a long pleasant finish.
ICED:
The iced preparation was outstanding, and is right up there with my favorite peach or blackcurrant iced teas. Very refreshing and the sweetness worked well with the chocolate and strawberry flavors. Unfortunately, splashing milk into the sweet iced tea seemed to quench the cocoa and berry flavors, leaving a rather dirty or earthy impression. Maybe there was just too much going on. Nevertheless, the hot-sweetened and sweet-iced preparations were wonderful and will be my choice of method for this tea, going forward.
Overall, I recommend with emphasis, no matter your choice of prep method, and rate this as 92. I guess that aligns with the notes of many others here, so I’m running with the crowd! Thanks Lupicia, for broadening my flavored-puer palate!
Flavors: Milk Chocolate, Strawberry, Tea
Preparation
Yaaaaaaay! Tea lovers hold their breath when someone is trying a tea we love in hopes that the taster will love it just as much! It doesn’t always happen as different people like different things, but it is fun when someone else shares the love!
I think you’re right, @ashmanra, which is why, after typing out a long comment a few days ago apologizing for my opinion, I edited it out an hour or two later, realizing that it merely came across as self-important. We all know the score and enjoy the game, I hope!
Pedernales. CatSpring Yaupon.
Lot no. 062125. BB: 07/01/2027.
1.5g leaf, western style, 8 oz 200°F spring water, steeped serially. Take a deep breath, because my opinion varies dramatically from those of others!
1st (6 min) resulted in a greenish-golden infusion with the typical yaupon aroma. The flavor was neutral and sweet, non-astringent, vegetal and woody. There was an interesting and subtle aftertaste. Inoffensive, but not to my liking.
2nd (8 min) infusion was deeper in color, yet softer in flavor, with only a hint of bitterness. Watery and unsatisfying. The weak aftertaste is insufficient to make me want to continue steeping, let alone sipping even this cup. I’m done with yaupon. If Cat Springs Yaupon finds a way to process the herb that substantially changes the flavor profile, I might be persuaded to try their changed product. Not recommended, rating 15.
Preparation
Sorry to give you a recommendation for a herb that you apparently do not like :/
No worries, Martin, my order was motivated by other forces. I always expect surprises and learned a while ago that my tastes sometimes vary greatly from those of others! And I always enjoy trying new things!
Lost Maples. CatSpring Yaupon.
Lot no. 062125. BB: 07/01/2027.
1.5g leaf, western style, 8 oz 210°F spring water, steeped serially.
1st (6 min) amber infusion with subtle aroma of toasted mint, notes of hay. Unique flavor combining notes of pepper, straw, wood, something close to aniseseed, with mild sweetness, and non-astringent.
2nd (8 min) steep was similar in shade and fragrance, but was immediately bitter to the extent I could only tolerate a few sips. Yuck. Dumped the remaining liquor. The olive green leaf has become nearly black in color, with only traces of green remaining.
3rd (10 min) steep was a pale greenish-amber, the color of old water from boiled spinach. If only it tasted as good. The pepperiness is gone and the aroma is receding, the flavor is slightly smokey, mildly bitter, faintly of wet cigarette ashes (don’t ask!). A few sips and I was done with this infusion, too. No further infusions, as I’m done wasting quality spring water on this miserable product. My prior rating of 10 stands, again without recommendation.
Flavors: Bitter, Pepper, Wood
Preparation
No. No maple flavor, no pleasant flavor, no aroma other than nondescript hay. Just bitter nastiness. No redeeming quality whatsoever. If it was possible to demand a refund, I would. Disgusting. I’d rather swallow a caffeine tablet, which would be cheaper, too. I do not recommend at all. This was a $19.85 mistake that I will continue to regret. Since it did not make me vomit, I will give it 10 points. This was a medium roast, but my assortment also came with a green and a dark roast, and I shall be brave and try them as well, hoping for the best! Notes to be posted in due course. :-)
Flavors: Bitter
Preparation
To be fair, I don’t think this is really supposed to taste like maple. My understanding is that it’s named for a local forest, so more supposed to be woodsy with earthy notes.
I’m curious what you’ll think of the other two, though! How do you feel about yerba mate? I find both the green and dark roast more directly comparable to the green and roasted mate counterparts.
Ros, thank you for the clarification! I did not get woody notes, there might’ve been some petrichor, but I didn’t identify it at the time I drank it. The only yerba mate (a South American relative) I’ve had was in Celestial Seasonings “Morning Thunder” which I drank in high school, some 43 yr ago, having been captivated by their marketing. I have absolutely no memory of liking or disliking it, though I did move on to Twinings Earl Grey by the time I graduated. As far as this yaupon goes, it was a foil-wrapped paper teabag that arrived with my order, so it may or may not have been the freshest. In fairness, I plan to steep from my larger bag of Lost Maples once I open it, for a final consideration, and will adjust my notes accordingly. And yes, I will also report on the other two when I have a chance! But I also have some Lupicia teas to get to….
There are no maple trees in west Texas except for a small grove around Lost Maples. Dunno if there is history about the maple trees getting there, but it is a wonderful place to hike. I find that less steep time is better with Cat Springs yaupon.
Thanks, @Michelle, for the suggestion, and if ever I find myself in the vicinity, a hike may be in order! I may try a shorter steep if I give yaupon another chance, though since I found the flavor lacking, I am not sure a shorter steep would enhance my enjoyment. And of course I mean no disparagement to the people at Cat Springs, nor the NA’s from that area!
