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Received order from Stone Leaf last night and was very excited to dig in this morning. rhinkle, shockingly, picked this one to try first.

It tastes a bit like sesame at first, and as you continue to drink, the vegetal taste of the sencha and the more distinct toasted rice notes emerge.

A very nice, light-flavored green tea and toasted rice blend, in my opinion.

Well, this is very interesting. Got 5 grams of this as a sample from someone’s stash, I believe. The dark, rolled leaves smell a bit vegetal to me, and once washed the roasted aroma emerges. Since we only had enough for one session, decided to give the wash a taste. It’s sweet. Like stevia sweet. rhinkle is not a fan.

First steep still has some of that sweetness in it. It’s smooth and light in flavor. It has a hint of something that reminds me of the aged ginseng oolong we had recently—guess it’s the age—but, overall, it tastes like diluted Throat Coat to me.

Third steep tastes like what I would imagine roasted stevia to taste like. I guess I can grab some stevia out of the garden and roast it to see if it actually /does/ taste like this. Getting a hint of something like cocoa/coffee-like, as well.

Again, very interesting. I’d drink it again.

Got 3 grams of this in a stash buy and had it with rhinkle to finish up lunch today.

Used all 3 grams and a lot less water in the gaiwan than I normally would, of course. This brews up a nice reddish amber with a deep roasted scent. Did a good few steeps and got a consistent, roasty flavor, with hints of floral. This one didn’t stand out to me very much, but it was enjoyable and rhinkle really liked it.

I forgot to submit this note yesterday and it got deleted, but I didn’t get to steep the tea for too long, so I saved the leaves to continue with today.

Yesterday’s steeps mostly brought forth woody flavors with a nice, thick mouthfeel. There was some bitterness at the beginning, and every session was quite enjoyable.

Today’s steep was sweet from the start. A bit less thick, but still nice and smooth, with no bitterness or astringency. Finished up with a long steep, in which the thickness returned. Definitely enjoyed this one!

Decided to try out some more of the Darjeeling samples we have today. I meant to go about taking notes on this the usual way, but it was so easy to drink that by the time I realized I hadn’t taken any I was nearly done with the first steep…

That being said, the first steep is smooth, full-bodied and the flavors are very balanced. The liquor has a deep, cocoa-y scent and just a hint of sweetness.

I attempted a resteep, but mostly got bitterness out of it, so I’ll finish up with this one for now.

Smells deep and smoky.

First steep is a lightish amber. It’s smooth and smoky, and I’m getting roasted seaweed and smoked salmon. rhinkle says “watery fish.” Mineral aftertaste. The empty cup has that fruity heicha scent that fades to a light smokiness.

In the second steep, I feel like the flavors both lighten up and balance out a bit more. The liquor becomes noticeably more viscous in the third steep (especially so the more I let the liquor cool), with more of that sour fruity flavor that I associate with heicha along with the deep, roasted notes.

After the fourth steep, a nice sweetness starts to come through. Enjoyed quite a few more steeps, as well. This carried me through to the end of the day and I may be able to push it even farther.

Been drinking quite a bit of white this week, mostly by way of endlessly using the same leaves. No complaints, though. I love white tea.

The leaves of this one are beautiful and they smell lightly vegetal dry, sweet and hay-like wet. Followed the recommendations and did this one western style, which resulted in a sweet-smelling, light-colored liquor.

Texture is smooth, thick and viscous, the flavor light and sweet in the first steep and just a bit bolder in the second steep. Enjoyable and easy to drink, and I definitely want to try this one gongfu style next.

I think it’s safe to say this is a totally new and unique tea experience for us. Had one sample of this and used all 5 grams of it. The dry, rolled leaves didn’t have too assuming of a scent, but as soon as I washed, the roasty, woody, tangy fruit aroma hit. The liquor is a nice medium gold.

The flavor is a bit hard for me to put into words immediately. That tangy flavor is definitely front and center for me, and there’s an interesting spiciness, both in flavor and sensation at the back of my throat. Fruity, floral (but light enough not to put me off), and I can tell there is some char in there, but it seems pretty subtle.

Second steep is nice and robust. A bit more woody with roasted nuts and rounded out by that tangy fruit. I feel like I am getting some camphor notes and, surprisingly, a bit of qi off this, as well.

More roasted nuts in the third steep, with a hint of creaminess on the tail end and a lingering sweetness.

Got a couple more steeps out of this before the day came to an end. I definitely would like to further explore this type of oolong!