1546 Tasting Notes
This tea is way more substantial than Moychay’s description implies and handles boiling water like it was born for it. Reminds me of pressed Fujian white teas so much more than I’d think. Really a treat, especially when the leaves are boiled after being exhausted gongfu.
Thanks for this awesome share, Martin!
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Cream, Fig, Hay, Meadow, Mineral, Mushrooms, Nectar, Orange, Pastries, Sweet, Syrupy, Twigs, Viscous, Yeast
Preparation
Finished a sample of this tea from my own dry storage. Quite different compared to the one that was more humid-stored from mrmopar. Depth and punch are similar but my own is notably greener, more like yerba mate — slight smoke and moderate alkaline savoriness with a strong herbaceous hay-tobacco note, but topped off with a heap of pollen, a chunk of beeswax, and later, a spoonful of apricot jam.
Flavors: Alkaline, Apricot, Beeswax, Dry Grass, Fruity, Hay, Herbaceous, Incense, Jam, Leather, Pollen, Savory, Smoke, Tobacco
An elixir, for sure. I don’t know what to think. I’m not too fond of the smell but I really like ginseng and schisandra for some reason, so I drink. This second serving from the sample packet has too much licorice root. If peppermint weren’t a part of this healthy hag recipe, I don’t know that I’d enjoy it as begrudgingly as I do.
Flavors: Bright, Cooling, Earthy, Ginseng, Hibiscus, Licorice Root, Peppermint, Roots, Sweet, Tangy
Very soft with a bright snow pea and grass taste without being overtly vegetal or grassy. A hint of butter. Thick foam. I don’t get an aftertaste; rather, this matcha produces a clean and clear feeling in the mouth. I would emphasize Breakaway’s ethereal and radiant descriptors over their tasting notes.
Certainly fitting on this sunny Easter Sunday but I definitely can’t justify the regular price of $6.97 for a serving (they call 1 serving 1 gram). With the amount of powder I use – I’m guessing 1.5g – that comes out to $10.50 cup. Whoa.
On a side note, having a regular price and a subscription price is such an annoying tactic.
Flavors: Bright, Butter, Clean, Clear, Snow Peas, Soft
2022 harvest
Been sipping on this casually at work. It does really well with the cooler-than-boiling water from the dispenser. Sweet, fruity and floral with tangy aftertaste. Mellow — it doesn’t carry the punch of flavor and aromatics of a previous year’s harvest. More oolong than red tea. Still have to try it out gongfu.
Flavors: Citrus, Eucalyptus, Floral, Fruity, Lemongrass, Licorice Root, Lychee, Malt, Pecan, Persimmon, Round, Smooth, Sweet, Tangy, Viscous
Derk, did you break the dashboard again? :P
Wuyi Origin’s Wild Lapsang is one of my all-time favourite teas.
It wasn’t me, I promise! Though I do think the stall might be related to the server receiving too many tasting note inputs in quick succession such that it gets bogged down and cranky. But I’m not a tech person, so who knows.
Did I give you any of this? I feel like I might’ve. If this tea is one of your all-time faves, have you not given it a glowing review in order to cloak its excellency? ;P Anyway, yeah, it’s real good!
A server overload wouldn’t surprise me. After all, it had to cope with the many tasting notes left over from the previous stall. Steepster’s been really glitchy lately, to say the least!
Daylon first introduced me to this tea, and I actually reviewed it under Trident Booksellers and Cafe instead of Wuyi Origin. Since then, I’ve bought many iterations and I would raise the rating substantially. You did send me some at one point and I think I left a comment thanking you on one of your reviews. :) I also thought I’d written a tasting note on the Wuyi Origin page, but either I didn’t do it or Steepster ate it.
The tech reason that derk suggested seems plausible for me, but honestly; I don’t think that we overload it in any way. It is supposed to be able to handle it.
The tea… sounds just lovely.
52teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 12
I didn’t finish this year’s advent with Kiki since she went to Ohio to see her family before Christmas. She’s a coffee drinker at heart, and winter was rather mild this year so her desire for hot tea wasn’t as strong as in winters past.
Oh this is nice. It’s almost like orange creamsicle but really subtle with the marshmallow root creaminess and with sharper, fresh and juicy-sweet mandarin/peel. Am I also getting lime? The spearmint shows more in the finish, pleasant, if a bit dry. Overall, the flavors are really well balanced and carried well by the mixed green tea base which gives a bit of an unctuous yet brisk body. Bright taste tethered by an umami and a little dry grassiness. Kinda sweet, kinda tangy, kinda comforting, kinda refreshing!
This was my first time getting the 52teas advent. Anne definitely has a touch for flavoring and blending teas. She knows what base teas work well for her ideas. Looking forward to the 2024 set!
Flavors: Brisk, Citrusy, Dry Grass, Drying, Lime, Mandarin, Marshmallow, Orange Zest, Spearmint, Sweet, Tangy, Umami, Viscous
Preparation
With all the spring grass and green growth happening here, I was inspired to buy some matcha since my cupboard has been without for too long. Based on reviews by amandastory516, and wanting to stick more local with my purchase, I bought from Breakaway Matcha.
This matcha is as lush as the spring growth under my feet. Brilliant and saturated blue-green color gives way to a smooth and silky sip. The umami blooms in the back of the mouth with the notes that Breakaway suggests: thick flavors of young peas, shiitake and sweet cream. I feel the tea’s restorative energy course through me. What a great brew to start off a rainy spring weekend!
Flavors: Cream, Creamy, Mushrooms, Peas, Rich, Savory, Silky, Soft
52teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 11
Neat tea. It bends my mind and tongue. I like how the lemon (reads mostly lemongrass to me) melds with the soft vanilla meringue flavor and smooth chai spices (heavy on the cardamom and ginger for me). A little wood and malt barely poke through to ground it all. Almost sassy but mostly a sophisticated blend.
Flavors: Black Pepper, Bright, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Citrusy, Clove, Ginger, Lemon, Lemongrass, Malt, Meringue, Smooth, Spices, Tangy, Vanilla, Wood
Preparation
52teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 9
If only this tasted like it smelled in the bag — rich sunflower seed (not peanut) butter and thick, tangy raspberry jam. Those are both there in the brewed tea but kind of both separated and smothered by the malt and toast flavors of the leaf. It’s certainly drinkable as is, but I can’t help to think there’s some kind of tweaking on my end that can really make this tea pop.
Flavors: Dark Bittersweet, Jam, Malt, Malty, Raspberry, Rich, Sunflower Seed, Tannin, Toast, Wood
Indeed it is lovely tea as much I have tried. And it was quite cheap for that amount of tea! Definitely interesting; pressed Georgian tea is something I never seen before nor after!