412 Tasting Notes

90

I received this tea as a sample with my 2023 Thunderbolt order. It was actually listed on the site a while after I made my purchase and I was sad I didn’t get to add it, so I was extra excited to see it in my box. I steeped my remaining 4 g of leaf in 150 ml of 190F water for 2, 3.5, 4.5, 6, and 10 minutes.

The dry aroma of these large, silver-bud-decorated leaves is of apple, muscatel, nuts, honey, and florals. The first steep has strong notes of almond, milk chocolate, apple, muscatel, butter, honey, herbs, pineapple, spring flowers, malt, and tannins. The tea is a little drying, though that’s my fault for using so much leaf. It has a lush, thick texture and a fruity and nutty aftertaste. The next steep is a little more tanic, with nuts, wood, malt, apple, muscatel, butter, herbs, and caramel. The third steep smells like caramel apples, and has florals, bread, malt, wood, and tannins along with the persistent fruitiness. The final steeps are fairly tannic, though they’re still good enough to finish.

This is a complex, fruity second flush that was a pleasure to drink. My tasting notes were all over the place because the tea was hard to pin down. My only small complaint is the amount of tannins, both in this heavier session and in a lighter one I did a couple weeks ago. Still, this tea is well worth buying while it’s available.

Flavors: Almond, Apple, Bread, Butter, Caramel, Drying, Floral, Herbaceous, Honey, Malt, Milk Chocolate, Muscatel, Nutty, Pineapple, Tannin, Thick, Wood

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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84

I apparently bought this tea in 2021 when I was exploring Jin Jun Mei. Since then, I’ve decided that unsmoked lapsang is usually fruitier, not to mention a better value, although it’s nice to revisit JJM occasionally. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma of this fuzzy Jin Jun Mei is of honey, honeysuckle, sweet potato, malt, and cocoa. The first steep has notes of butter, honeysuckle, sweet potato, honey, and faint malt. The tea is fairly thick and has a sweet, lingering aftertaste. Steep two adds more florality, honey, and starchy sweet potato, with some hints of bread and cocoa. The next couple steeps are very floral, with honeysuckle and something I’ll call violet. There’s lots of sweet potato and honey, though the cocoa has disappeared. The next few steeps offer consistent honey, caramel, bread, sweet potato, malt, and honeysuckle/violet florals, with no bitterness and a very sweet profile. By steep nine or so, the tea fades into something that’s primarily sweet potato, caramel, and faint malt, still without any bitterness or tannins. A few tannins appear near the very end of the session, when the tea is generically bready, malty, and squashy.

This Jin Jun Mei isn’t particularly complex, but the flavours that are present are nice. I particularly like the heady florality and lack of bitterness. As Daylon mentioned, this tea is all about the sweet potato, although I wish there’d been a bit more cocoa as well. This isn’t my favourite tea from Wuyi Origin, but it is representative of the high quality of the hongcha this vendor offers.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Caramel, Cocoa, Floral, Honey, Honeysuckle, Malt, Squash, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Thick, Violet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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drank Matcha Tea Henta by Nio Teas
412 tasting notes

Matcha is a taste that I haven’t yet acquired, but I’m trying again this morning. Thanks to Nio for the free sample. I cold brewed my entire 2 g in about 150 ml of water in a mason jar. I didn’t fill it to the top of the jar as I did last time, so maybe I’ll get some foam.

The dry aroma is nutty and grassy. I did get some foam when I shook the matcha! I taste notes of cream, nuts, grass, snow peas, asparagus, kale, and mild umami, with a creamy consistency and not too much dust. The matcha is sweet and has a grassy, vegetal aftertaste.

I found this tea to be lighter and sweeter than the matcha I tried last winter, although it’s still pretty intense. I think cold brewing also helps dial down the feeling that you’re drinking a spinach salad. .

For an unspecified amount of time, get a free chawan, whisk, and spoon with orders over $129. You can also get up to 69% off matcha. Take an additional 10% off with the code LEAFHOPPER10OFF (I get a small commission when you use this code). I’m not sure when any of these sales expire, so check the site to see if they’re still valid.

Flavors: Asparagus, Creamy, Grass, Green, Kale, Nuts, Snow Peas, Sweet, Umami, Vegetal

Preparation
Iced 2 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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93

I bought a few Thunderbolt teas last summer at a deep discount, and as usual, I’m just getting to them. Their moonlight teas are among their more iconic offerings, so I was excited to try this version from Margaret’s Hope. I steeped 3.5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 180F water for 2.5, 3.5, 5, and 7 minutes, plus a couple uncounted steeps.

The leaves are very large and pretty and full of silver tips. The dry aroma is of white chocolate, cucumber, honey, and spring flowers. The first steep has notes of spring flowers, rose, herbs, coriander, honey, cucumber, green pepper, pine, citrus, and mango. There’s a touch of astringency and the tea is very aromatic and strong. The next steep is more piney, herbaceous, floral, and vegetal, with hints of grapefruit and mango and more pronounced tannins. The rose persists during some sessions, while others are more herbaceous. The final few steeps are herbaceous and vegetal, with more astringency and some remaining rose florality.

This is a lovely, complex tea that kept reminding me of alcohol, either gin or an IPA depending on the session. The citrus, pine, and florals are pronounced and fresh, especially since I’m drinking this a year after it was harvested. I have a feeling that Derk would get a lot more out of this tea than I can!

Flavors: Astringent, Citrus, Coriander, Cucumber, Floral, Grapefruit, Green, Green Pepper, Herbaceous, Honey, Mango, Pine, Rose, Tannic, Vegetal, White Chocolate

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 30 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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90

Wuyi Origin usually sources their Old Bush Lapsang from Gua Dun, but in 2023, they decided to get some leaves from Ma Su as well. They warned of some bitterness, but I’ve liked their lapsangs so much that I decided to give this one a try. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of oakwood, maple syrup, honey, florals, and malt. The first steep has notes of bread, sweet potato, lemon, maple syrup, soy sauce, honey, florals, malt, and wood. The next steep adds some minerals and light tannins, and the florals resolve into orchids and violets. Like the regular Old Bush Lapsang, this tea is smooth and has a viscous, silky texture. The next couple steeps seem more like squash than sweet potato, with a sweet, floral quality and very mild wood and tannins. Steeps five and six are still sweet and squashy, I’d say almost like pumpkin. I get minerals in the tea and the aftertaste, and the lemon is less bright. After a few more steeps, the tea does acquire some woody, tannic bitterness, but it’s still balanced by the squashy sweetness. The final steeps feature bread, malt, honey, squash, wood, earth, minerals, and tannins.

This Ma Su Old Bush Lapsang has the promised tannins, but they don’t distract too much from everything else that’s going on and serve to balance the sweetness. I haven’t had their regular OBLS for a while, but this one seems even more squashy and sweet. It also has great longevity. I generally like more florals and fruit in my lapsangs, but this is a very high-quality tea that I’ll miss. The rest of it is going to Daylon and I resisted the urge to buy more during their recent sale (and am regretting it after this last session).

Flavors: Bitter, Bread, Earth, Floral, Honey, Lemon, Malt, Maple Syrup, Mineral, Oak, Orchid, Pumpkin, Smooth, Soy Sauce, Squash, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Tannin, Violet, Viscous, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Thanks to Ethan for this lovely sample, which he sent with my last big order. I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml porcelain pot using 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The first couple steeps have notes of pastry, umami, orchid, honeysuckle, and pine. Steeps three and four add butter, hints of pineapple, grass, spring flowers, herbs, and misty mountain air. The tea is smooth, a bit brothy, and without any trace of bitterness. I get hints of anise in the next couple steeps, though that may be because Ethan mentioned it when talking about this tea. Subsequent steeps are sweet, herbaceous, grassy, and slightly floral, with a nice smoothness but no distinct flavours.

This tea is elegant and smooth, with flavours that are hard to pin down. It’s one of those ethereal Da Yu Lings with Ethan’s trademark emphasis on a lack of bitterness. I tend to like teas with more upfront flavours, but this was quite enjoyable in its own right.

Flavors: Anise, Broth, Butter, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Honeysuckle, Orchid, Pastries, Pine, Pineapple, Smooth, Sweet, Umami

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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77

Given my interest in any unsmoked lapsang that crosses my path, it’s no surprise this ended up in my cart. The low price made me pause, but didn’t deter me. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of honey, peach, hay, wood, and florals. The first steep has notes of grilled peach, honey, hay, malt, raisins, tannins, florals, and wood. The next steep adds orange, sweet potato, herbs, minerals, and more tannins, with a bit of that silky, viscous texture I associate with lapsang. In the next couple steeps, I get the earthy, forest floor notes I sometimes find in unsmoked lapsangs, along with less apparent fruit, honey, minerals, malt, and tannins. This lapsang is not particularly fruity, though the honey gives it some sweetness. Steeps five and six are more earthy, with honey, sweet potato, hints of peach and orange, tannins, and malt. Subsequent steeps have notes of honey, earth, malt, minerals, wood, and tannins.

This is a decent unsmoked lapsang, especially if you want something honeyed and earthy instead of fruity. However, I admit I’m kind of a lapsang snob, and I look for those upfront floral, fruity flavours. I also found the tea a bit tannic, particularly as the session progressed.

Flavors: Earth, Floral, Forest Floor, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange, Peach, Raisins, Silky, Sweet Potatoes, Tannin, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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87
drank Chilai Shan by CHA YI Teahouse
412 tasting notes

This is another green oolong that I received in my custom tasting set. I’ve had a few Chilai Shan oolongs, but none that I remember. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of lilac, honey, and orange. The first steep has notes of tangerine, honey, butter, orange blossom, lilac, other florals, and grass. The orange and orange peel are particularly prominent in the next steep, and the florals are a bit more like the wildflowers mentioned in the vendor’s description. In steeps three and four, I get delicate wildflowers, orange, orange blossom, herbs, and grass, and the aroma at the bottom of the cup is lovely. The next couple steeps feature soft orange, honey, butter, florals, and herbs (lavender?), plus spinach and grass as the tea starts to fade. The final few steeps have a nice floral aroma, but the taste is mainly of spinach and grass.

This tea gave me a few very nice steeps, but faded quickly. The honey, orange, and florals made for an ethereal combination in this unusually cold weather. It’s a little more subtle than the Shan Lin Shi, and I’d say I enjoyed that tea a bit more.

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Honey, Lavender, Lilac, Orange Blossom, Orange Zest, Spinach, Tangerine, Vegetal, Wildflowers

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Thanks to Derk for the chance to try another black tea from TDJ! I steeped 3 g of leaf in 150 ml of 203F water for 3, 5, 7, and 10 minutes.

The dry aroma is of apple, cinnamon, blackberry, jasmine, and malt. Oof! If TDJ describes this tea as having faint tannins, I wouldn’t want to drink anything they think is stronger. The first steep has notes of tannins, wood, malt, pencil shavings, earth, apple, blackberry, jasmine, violet, butter, and cinnamon, though those drying tannins grab my attention and don’t let go. The sad part is that the apple, blackberry, cinnamon, and florals are lovely, but are totally overwhelmed. The next steep has mouthwatering aromas of baked apple, cinnamon, blackberries and other berries, apricot, and florals, but those tannins steal the show. The tannins are less aggressive in the third steep, allowing honey, malt, and florals to peak through and offering nice apple hints in the aftertaste. The final steep is fainter, with a cinnamon apple aroma and a tannic kick.

If I’d only smelled this tea without tasting it, I would have given it a high rating. As is, it’s way too harsh for me. The fruity, cinnamon, floral aroma and aftertaste don’t make up for the astringency.

Flavors: Apple, Apricot, Astringent, Berries, Blackberry, Butter, Cinnamon, Drying, Earth, Floral, Honey, Jasmine, Malt, Tannin, Violet, Wood

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec 3 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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91

When I made my recent order from Cha Yi, they had an option where you could let the owner pick teas for you up to a certain amount. I decided to go with it, and this is one of the teas he gave me. It also turned out to be a repeat from my last Cha Yi order. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of pineapple, pastry, and orchids. The first steep tastes like pineapple pound cake, just as the vendor’s notes promise, along with cream, orchid, sweet pea, and grass. The second steep tastes even more like a pineapple pound cake, with maybe some coconut mixed in. (My cup disappeared in about a second.) There’s more of the pineapple coconut awesomeness in the next couple steeps, though with faint hints of vanilla, spinach, grass, florals, and herbs. Hints of pine and freesia show up in the next couple steeps, with the pineapple pound cake starting to fade but still being the main element. In steeps seven and eight, the pound cake is more prominent than the pineapple, and the florals, herbs, spinach, and grass start taking over. The tea ends predictably with grass, spinach, and florals, with some pineapple popping out occasionally.

The last time I had this tea, it didn’t map onto the pineapple pound cake profile the vendor described, but this time, it was incredibly accurate. It also wasn’t due to the power of suggestion because I looked up my previous note after drinking the tea. This vendor doesn’t have the equipment to vacuum seal his teas, so the last batch may have been exposed to the air for too long. I have 3 g of this tea left and will be drinking it ASAP. This harvest is truly amazing!

Flavors: Coconut, Cream, Floral, Grass, Herbaceous, Orchid, Pastries, Pine, Pineapple, Spinach, Vanilla, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Bio

Since I discovered Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong four years ago, I’ve been fascinated by loose-leaf tea. I’m glad to say that my oolong tastes have evolved, and that I now like nearly every tea that comes from Taiwan, oolong or not, particularly the bug-bitten varieties. I also find myself drinking Yunnan blacks and Darjeelings from time to time, as well as a few other curiosities.

However, while online reviews might make me feel like an expert, I know that I still have some work to do to actually pick up those flavours myself. I hope that by making me describe what I’m tasting, Steepster can improve my appreciation of teas I already enjoy and make me more open to new possibilities (maybe even puerh!).

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