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This is the orb from the Sheng Olympiad.

I thought this was damn good. I was pretty impressed. The ball is not too tightly rolled and gives off a Sichuan pepper, peppercorn, and some sweetish savory notes. I seem to always smell Sichuan peppers on tea balls, not sure why. I warmed up my pot and threw it in. The aroma does a backflip and becomes very sweet with a thick green background. I can pick up an underlining bite that sifts through the brown sugar and maple fog. This is a very nice and inviting scent. I washed the ball twice and prepped for brewing. The taste begins light and grassy with some jasmine. The next steep is similar with dandelion floral qualities. Afterwards, the floral qualities truly bloomed and spread out on top of a nice bitter green base (bok choy/kale?). A punchy background of fruits follows throughout the session. The taste is really nice. The later steeping caused the floral and green qualities to reverse, so it was a base of floral and a hint of bitter greens. Personally, I thought this to be a floral bomb; it was packed with dandelion, jasmine, and iris. The tea gives off a crisp cooling sensation that sits at the tongue. The tea softens out and soothes with the fruit tones. The qi was noticeable but relaxing. This was a major kickback tea for me. I just put on some tunes and leaned back from my tea table. It was a good vibe-y tea. While drinking, I was trying to pull from memory how last years was, and I believe this one is softer and thicker; a more pronounced tone to it. I will have to look back through my notes.

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There are two options to pick from to review, but this choice had more tasting notes.

The leaf is dark and nicely threaded together. A nice note of smooth sweet wood and light musk lift from the leaf. I’ve heard good things about this tea, so I am excited to try. I warmed my lil pot up and prepared for brewing. The leaves, once warmed up, give off a fruity spice aroma. I pick up plum mixed with an extremely pleasant tobacco scent. I washed the old timers once before steeping. The taste is incredibly smooth with a bit of tannic. The huigan is thick, full, and filled with dates. This tea is motor oil thick and silky smooth. The later steeping yields a pleasantly sour tobacco note, but the drink still ends with a candy like sweetness. A light floral orchid lifts from the tongue by the third steeping. This is a stellar tea. I’d also like to note the leaves give off an inquisitive herbaceous note that fills the tea room. The qi begins head clouding and clears to warming uplifting of the body. This is a nice “cruising” tea; I can just drift along with the brew, enjoying the ride. The brew leaves me calm and collected with a nice easy goin vibe. I really like it, almost a bit too much.

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I like the name of this one; it made me excited to try it. The leaves are slightly darkened with some light tobacco tang with some sweet greens. I washed the leaves and placed it in my pot. The warm aroma carries some notes of smoke and pipe tobacco with a familiar fruity bitter greens. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste begins thick with a molasses sweetness; however, I do not note any depth. The tones seem to be very upright and in your face (mouth?). The next steep yields some heavy peppercorn spice with a grassy (ish) base. The brew continues in this manner with a good kuwei and a nice honey aftertaste. The qi is fair with back of the head sensations and vibrating buzz, but I didn’t notice any depth in each subsequent steeping. I tasted this a few times after and noticed the same. I have never been too much of a fan for fall teas, maybe this is a reason why.

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I’m a big fan of Hekai. It’s bite-y and crisp. This one lays right in those tones, and it’s great. The leaves are long, twisted, and shiny. An intoxicating aroma of warm honey, dry grass, and some light floral lift from the leaves. The fragrance is fresh, pleasant, and lasting. I warmed up my pot and placed a chunk inside. The scent opens into what I would describe as fibrous. A ton of oatmeal with nectar and maple wood. This is a rustic breakfast tea, haha. I washed the leaves and prepared to brew. The taste begins with a sharp bitter bite and instant power qi that washes over the body. Afterwards, a light sweetness calms the palate. I had to wrestle with this tea a little bit, for the bitterness continued to bite, and the qi was overpowering. I continued flash steeping, for I like a challenge, and it paid off. The calms down and presents a flavor profile of light white grape tang and dry sweetness. This is a nice solid tea with bite and soon after soothing qualities. I peek into my pot and notice the heavy bud usage and small stout leaves. I enjoyed the pulsing qi and thick sweet lingering taste in mouth for long after the session.

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The leaf I received was very brittle and somewhat broken up, but a little cosmetic damage doesn’t mean too much to a tea. I warmed my gaiwan up as I took a sniff of the small black slivers. They gave off a nice aroma of dry maple with some char. These are pretty roasty, and I hope it was a successful firing. I scooped my leaf inside the gaiwan and gave them a swirl. The roast scent mixed in with some slight leather and dark fruit, The leaf portrays a common aged oolong profile with the dry raisiny tones. I washed the leaf once and prepared for brewing. The taste was smooth and lightly sweet. A calm brew with wooded tones and raisin with a base of mineral and spice. The drink is nice, but it is relatively plain. However, the odd sweet and spice mix does excite the palate somewhat. A harsh astringent tone hastily presents itself soon after the first couple steeps. I did not notice any qi from this drink.

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Art of Darkness is an all time favorite of mine. I don’t know why, but I fell in love with it as soon as I tasted it. Then, I heard about this tea, and I had to give it a shot. I am not one for flavored teas or blends, but Whispering Pines hits these right on the nose, and they are delicious! This leaf is a long slender leafed shou with a distinct scent of Jordan almonds. Also, the small black and dusty gold tendrils smell intensely of a sweet, creamy, nuttiness, with some fluffy tones on top. I warmed my teapot and scooped some inside. The scent opens up into a whipped crème atop dry cacao with some earth woodiness mixed in. A quick wash, and its off to paradise. The brew is thick in the mouth with a flourishing marshmallow flavor. The drink is like milk chocolate hot cocoa with vanilla syrup drizzled atop. The brew continues with each steep developing into a dense chocolate with a lightly fading marshmallow. The brew lasts for an extensive amount of steeps, and it is fantastic! This leaf is a lot like Art of Darkness except more direct, smooth, and long lasting. The brew is not overly complex, and that’s fine. I am not drinking a cocoa nib imbued tea for the complexities. The taste is great; however, I do wish it was a tad bit cheaper…

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Hou de carries some killer tea, so I expected no less from this. The leaf is very dark and somewhat crumbly. A nice note of oak barrel, raisin, and spice emit from the leaves. I warmed my gaiwan and slipped some inside. The aroma expanded into some interesting tobacco, leather, and barley notes. I could pick up some tangy buckwheat honey and possible green apple (?) along with a floral background of gardenias. I washed the leaves and prepared for brewing. The taste begins very sweet and very thick. A prominent note of vanilla and crème greets my tongue along with a sturdy woody base. The next steeping brings about fresh honeycomb and a dark fruity background. The brew is quite complex and changing, for the next steeping leaves me with some spice in the aftertaste. The soup brings a nice huigan and is an easy drinker. The storage is crisp and clean, and the tea goes down rather quickly. The qi is restricted to the chest and acts as a coolant and pressurizer. I have no complaints with this tea. It was really good, but for some reason it didn’t leave a memorable impression with me. I’m not sure why; I guess we just weren’t compatible, haha.

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It took me two sessions and some time to put my notes in order. I desperately wanted to understand this tea. I heard a boom of commotion when this tea was released. Inquisitive label. Zero info. Insane price. Buzz-word vendor. Least to say, my interest was piqued. I managed to get my hands on a fair amount, and I made sure to let it settle for a bit before trying it. I planned out the session with my fancy teaware, spring water (personally harvested from the aquifer in hills), an empty schedule, the whole nine yards. I wasn’t gonna miss out on anything. I took my time, I breathed in the tea, I sipped long and slow, I gave it the attention it deserved. Now, if you want the notes on what it tastes like, skip to the bottom. If you want to hear me ramble on my thoughts and feeeelings, then you should read on. I look back of the lessons that tea has taught me, so that I can mold what my feelings are towards this leaf. I’ve experienced that when tea has a big hype, it can largely influence my thoughts. I try my best to disregard that “hype”. In doing so, I remember that high price=high material is not always true. Sometimes, it is largely due to the difficulty in acquiring the material. For instance, if I walk 10 miles for a penny, that doesn’t mean that the penny turns into gold; its still a penny. However, this tea is in no way, shape, or form comparable to the value of a penny. On that thought then, what makes this tea so high priced? I can imagine the fantastic trees of some unknown location that makes this tea magical. Logically, my mind instantly shoots to aged puerh. A semi-aged factory cake is around this price, and it is larger, so I see it as more valuable than this tea. However, the common response to this is that the material used now is far greater than before. The fact that we can drink fresh tea, and it still can carry the full texture sensation on the tongue provides that. Therefore, this tea will age immensely better than how factory tea has over the years. On the contrary, I have no way of knowing this. Honestly, I can run myself into circles with the “ageing potential” question of new boutique tea, so I digress. The next lesson I point to is to ignore marketing. This tea is marketing. The wrapper stands upright as a middle finger directed towards the “label effect”, in which this acts as a marketing tactic inclining us to want it. However, the answer to this argument is fairly simple: Stop bitching and let the tea speak for itself. After I ran myself into a maze, I decided to do just that.

I drank twice. I drank once in October and again in December. The steeping in December really solidified my thoughts towards this tea. Here is a quick synopsis:
Dry: Sweet. Mineral. Fig.
Warm: Odd. Herbaceous. Light cream? Never smelled something like. reminded of 54-46.
Steeped: Fresh greens. Milk?. Green tea chai.
Taste/Liquor: Subtle. Pale jade. Astringently sweet. Cream finish. Thick (fuck all thick).

Now, right of the bat, you do not spend this kind of money for tastes. For a poor example, I wouldn’t buy cocaine for its numbing effects when I can drink $8.95 Pharmacy Benzocaine. With that being said, this tea gives a sensation that is unusual. I wouldn’t call it the strongest, drowsing, or energizing. I have had better in those categories. Instead, I would call this the cleanest. I define clean as something that runs so in line with how my body is already functioning that I don’t feel intoxicated; rather, I would describe it as being complimented. The taste was poor (little aggressive of a word); I read a review that said “artichoke water”. I agree with that term; it does have a runny characteristic. However, the feeling was a compliment to me. I drank steep after steep, and I couldn’t really notice much. I had my pen in hand, jotting down every thought and sensation, and I couldn’t say much on qi. I would sit back and fold my arms behind my head pondering on this brew; I took in the steady vibes of my music playing in the background. Then, my friend came in and began to strike up a conversation with me. That’s when it happened; I stood up from tea table and all the time I spent sitting caught up with me. I was aligned. I forgot my friend was even there; I was in my own little world. I excused myself, and I walked outside. The frigid east coast December air felt nice on my skin. I then realized I had been sweating quite a bit. The setting sunlight seemed brighter, the breeze felt softer, the trees seemed prettier. This is the best way I can describe being complimented by tea. This is why I can understand the high price tag. To continue, I ended wandering back inside and getting back into my session. The tea lasted all day with good vibes and pleasant enough taste. I enjoyed my time with this brew. Now, to get to the bottom line. I want more info. I don’t like the idea of mystery tea that costs a pretty penny; I have trust issues. Also, to go off my trust issues, I don’t know how this will age. A factory recipe that is aged well enough can hit the $800 mark prior to reaching 15 years old. This tea is not even a year old, and it is not only smaller, but it is already halfway to that mark. I need evidence that it ages. Personally, I couldn’t spend that on a fresh tea. I may be kicking myself when this ages beautifully, and it is worth 2k in 5 years. That’s my shit, so I’ll deal. I don’t have an issue frivolously spending on a drinking hobby, but I can’t do it for this. To those that own this, enjoy the compliment; its a beautiful experience.

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I bought three of these to see how the differed, and I never posted the review.
If ya care enough for a long read, go ahead!:

Ball 1:
The balls are super tightly compressed, so I can’t get much aroma of this one. I think I smell dry wood or hay, with a dash of spice. I warmed up my gaiwan and plopped the pebble inside. The aroma opens up to vegetal, sage, and other herbaceous scents. I washed this twice and prepped for brewing. The taste is odd but sweet, heavy, and full. The aftertaste has a pepper kuwei bitterness. I described this one as “muted”, “overpowered”, or “blocked”. The taste was sweet with some tang, and it was very vegetal and peppery. However, the leaves give off an intense fruity scent. The taste was nothing to write home about. Honestly, I had trouble differentiating between the flavors. They didn’t meld well. On the other hand, the qi was incredibly heavy! It’s a definiete stoner tea; I actually almost passed out.

Ball 2:
Same case as before, but I picked up some silky greens (?) from a sniff. I warmed the brewer up and popped this inside. The character was sweet with some smoke. The leaves are darker and have a mahogany aroma. I washed them twice and brewed away. The taste was bright and airy with bitter greens and a lot of sweet fruit. The astringency was present, but it wasn’t too overwhelming. A cooling sensation appeared and it was a nice feeling at the back of my throat, and it followed down to my chest. However, a direct lemon note appeared, and the brief citrus wiped clean all flavors. The brew went dull, and a overwhelming bad qi feeling took over. The feeling was crippling, and it hurt my stomach.

Ball 3:
Same as Ball 1, except I got cooked greens as well. Again, warm pot place ball inside. The scent is sweet like an yiwu, but it also has a few flat tones. I swooshed the ball around and gave it another sniff, and I picked up an odd plain tone; it smelled off clean plastic. Another swoosh, and I picked up some dark honey, and bitter prune. Odd. I washed the ball twice and scorched away. The taste was bittersweet with a nice huigan. I could hint at some mouth dryning, but it was otherwise smooth. The taste reminded of lincang material. The brew becomes grassy and begetal bitter. The sweetness would be comparable to a green melon. The brew fades with an oak drying bitter. I didn’t hint at any qi with this one.

All and all, I didn’t care too much for these; however, they make good travel buddies.

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I got some bits of this cake (I don’t remember how), so I gave it a steep. I like CNNP, and I like aged sheng, so what the heck. The leaves are curled and frail; a good amount of darkness has grown. They give off a nice woody, spice, and cedar aroma. The leaves are very aromatic, and the scent is nice and smooth. I warmed up my pot tossed them in. The age is mellowing and dry wood tones appear. I can hint at a slight eucalyptus aroma along with the same cedar note mixed with tobacco. I washed the puppies once and prepared to steep. The taste is sweet and clean. A prominent note of oak aged whisky appears right from the start. The astringency is mild and tends to linger in the aftertaste. A smoky wisp makes itself comfortable at the tip of my tongue. The tea calms down a bit after a few steeps and gives a bassy cranberry throatiness. The aggressive tones seem to wipe away after four steepings and the tea becomes quite soft and sweet with a base of oats. The huigan becomes thicker is quite nice. The qi is very powerful with heavy chest pressure and a top heavy feeling. I was sweating like pig towards to end of the session. I liked this tea, and it was a good drinker.

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