1660 Tasting Notes
What a delight! Sophisticated and vibrant, fresh and refined. I’ve been drinking this at work so haven’t really had the time to dive into the intricacies of what is a supple, floral and gently buttery green tea, but its qualities meld seamlessly with the delicately sweet rose petals, the soft Ceylon cinnamon and the sunny-spicy Manuka honey.
For some reason, I feel like the green tea could’ve been grown where I live in northern California rather than in New Zealand. ashmanra is right, the tea has a high energy, and to me, feels very natural, very ‘blue’.
I hope to come back with a more nuanced look into the green tea used in this blend, but if I don’t, know that Lady Gatsby rates exceptionally high with me and is very much recommended for lovers of a naturally perfumed tea.
Why I didn’t multiple cake this 7542 replica when I saw it in years past on other vendors websites, or most recently on Liquid Proust’s…
Oh well. At least I know what well aged, humidish-stored puerh tastes and feels like. This brews rich and does great with less leaf and moderate steeps in a 200mL duanni pot. Taste and energy are strong enough that only 2-3 pours leaves me satisfied. This current pot is on day 3!
Flavors: Betel Nut, Bread Dough, Camphor, Dark Wood, Forest Floor, Overripe Cherries, Petrichor, Rich, Round, Smooth, Spicy, Tobacco, White Pepper
Preparation
Day 3?? That is awesome!
Wow! Yours seems very similar to my 2002 7542 replica which I coincidentally reviewed a week ago, so we may have some esp going on! And your cake wrapper is virtually identical to mine, with the same exact characters, just in a very slightly different font (mine is squished a bit). But the flavor descriptions are spot-on, and when I pulled the cake out just now to check, I got another good hit of that camphor aroma! Yeah, this is among my better sheng cakes, and I sure don’t regret $79 I spent on it. When you write “pot is on day 3” do you mean the leaf has been soaking all that while? Or you just added more hot water to the remaining wet leaf? Or the infusion has just been standing?
…forgot to paste the link: http://steepster.com/teas/beautiful-taiwan-tea-company/76558
Please, Essence of Tea, please tell me you can ship from Malaysia. You released so much of your old Malaysian-stored catalog!
Backlog of a long-ago-purchased-sample sipdown. This tea now feels like a distant dream. Oh I found the envelope with some notes written on the back:
easy to drink
very sweet, hint of smoke, foresty, light sparkling sweetness, very mineral, honey, cotton candy, cantaloupe, nutmeg, wintergreen
becoming balanced bitter/astringent
floral, perfume
I do remember Yunyun had a certain depth and mellow complexity, a vibrant, watery, fluid energy that pulled me back and eddied me forward, an aftertaste that settled in for the ride.
Currently
$18 / 25g
$120 / 200g
And there goes a lone quail, darting past me into the understory of a coast live oak, whose branches touch the ground and gather many animals into its safe haven. Happy Easter.
Listen: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/239147841
Summer 2024 harvest
A freebie from Mandala, thank you!
Strong but well balanced when prepared with care. I do suggest bowl preparation (I did a 1.7g pinch to 150mL ) and water 175F or lower.
Bracing but calming and grounding, this tea has a robust core much like young sheng pu’er. Fine sweetness weaves its way through fruity white wine notes and a somewhat earthy-bitter vegetal center with a slatey edge. Lightly rounded oily texture. Baked/stewed peachy aroma, maybe some cardamom in there. Don’t forget to refill the bowl as you sip it down — this leaf has plenty to give.
A tea worth trying, especially for us Americans with now near zero access to fresh Chinese green teas. Keep in mind that this Nepali green is a lot like a young sheng pu’er or a Nilgiri green if you’ve ever had one. It certainly stands apart from an Assam green I’ve tried.
$8 / 1oz
Flavors: Apple, Bitter Melon, Brisk, Butter, Cardamom, Earthy, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grass Seed, Herbs, Mango, Medicinal, Mineral, Oily, Peach, Peat, Stewed Fruits, Sweet, Vegetal, White Wine
Made my way through whatever quantity I ordered without gaining a solid impression.
Round flavor that’s low-toned, kind of fruity and funky. Roasty without roast. White/green tea astringency can pop out unexpectedly and ruin a pour with a mouthfeel that doesn’t match the taste. Temperamental with brewing methods and temperatures, unlike most other GABA teas I’ve tried, including other whites, oolong, greens and blacks. Gongfu brewing creates a murky, opaque cup that does not please any of the senses.
Not a fan. Much better GABA teas out there.
Flavors: Astringent, Buttery, Fruity, Roasty, Round, Strawberry
2022 harvest
Rich with malt, savory. Floral with rose which is especially prominent in the aroma. Orchid, fresh forest aromas and wood become more prominent as the tea cools. Lingering tangy malt aftertaste. Uniform tiny rolled leaves very quickly brew a clear dark brown. Strong returning sweetness emanates from palate and tonsils. Cool to lukewarm feeling in the body.
This is one of the best qimen hong cha I’ve had over the years. A very nice tea though it’s never been quite what I wanted to drink in the moment.
Flavors: Artichoke, Broth, Floral, Geranium, Lemon, Malt, Malty, Moss, Orange Blossom, Orchid, Rich, Rose, Savory, Tangy, Wood
Preparation
Only 1 cup left and I haven’t taken any notes, which seems to be the norm as of late.
The dry powder makes me happy with roasted nuts aroma. Whisked up, the tea is light in flavor and feeling. Light foam. Lightness in the body. It is not rich with umami, nor is it robust. It feels like a cool green stream which is incredibly vague (come on derk, it’s matcha, or course it tastes green and wet), but that’s what comes to mind. I prefer matcha with a more assertive personality but this is nice for times when delicacy of character is needed.
I did take my little setup to work and made a cup for a coworker who had been on a matcha Tik Tok train and was really wanting to try matcha but not wanting to buy from the grocery store. Matcha Ukitsu was of high enough quality and smooth enough in taste to not scare her away on her first try. Not having any experience with green teas before, she said it tasted softly of vegetables like soybean and bok choy. For me, the taste is firmly planted in a bed of young salad greens and wildflowers.
Flavors: Bok Choy, Floral, Light, Ocean Air, Salad Greens, Smooth, Soybean, Wildflowers
Zealong has been on my to-try list for a while, good to know it’s worth seeking out for flavor and not just novelty!