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Quick Review:

LP had sent me a small bundle of Sheng pu-erh a while back, but I’ve been slowly trying them, and getting the most out of the samples. Today, I tried “The Ram” which he had sent. I must say that this tea was a great one to have on a cold and rainy day, here in Ohio.

This was refreshing. It was mellow throughout the entire session. The more I brewed, though, the more of a hay (grassy?) flavor came out of it. It was smooth and delicate. There was a hint of fruit (unbeknownst to me) which added to the sweetness of the tea. I was truly impressed with this brew, and had enjoyed the total 15 steeps!

I haven’t had time to write lately. However, even with this review, I’ll be brief.

Today, after a long exhausting weekend/beginning of the week, I wanted something loaded with caffeine and delightful. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had the time to brew a thermos of tea, so I parted ways with water. When work was over, I decided to try out a new coffee shop that a friend had told me about, which had “delightful Matcha lattes.” When I was talking to the barista about wanting a nice Matcha latte, she suggested that I’d try “The Hulk” because “it’s a great for nerds like me,” she said, while assuming that I, too, was a fellow nerd—she was right.

Anyway, the tea was meh (yeah, I said “meh”). There wasn’t much in there with the 16 ounces of 2% milk. I literally watched her put a tablespoon of tea in with the milk, added vanilla, and haphazardly stirred the minimal amount of Matcha into the cup. I asked her if she could add more, but considering that it was $2.50 for an extra scoop, I let it go. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t a bad cup of milk, either. However, I’ll stick with getting up at 4:45 A.M. to make tea from now on….

I’ve been drinking this a lot lately, in order to sipdown older teas. I purchased this about two years ago at the Discount Outlet near the house. The D.O. carries overstock from Amazon and various stores around Northeastern Ohio. They often have tea priced down a lot, but it’s rare to find tea there because of people like me, who buy the stock out, and give it away to friends and family. I’m looking at the tin and I bought this at $1.99 for 125g.

Anyway, the tea is pretty basic, but it’s a good tea to have when you’re on the go, storing it in bags, or need a quick fix. It’s a tea that I put cream or sugar and/or both in, depending on the day/my mood. I’d like to drink this more often, and may make the habit of doing so in the mornings. That, or see if my father will take it for himself.

This is a nice tea for today, since it is snowing and cold outside (who has ever heard of April snow showers brings May flowers?). I’m not planning on heading to bed early tonight, nor getting up early tomorrow, so I’d figure that it’s okay to drink the “hard” stuff. Ha-ha. Then again, I’m still coming down from the drunkenness which the ’07 W2T Basic Raw Pu-erh sample that LP had given me (a review on that later).

As I stated in my review on the site: “When you’re tired and in need of a full blast of energy, this is the tea to have! Need to wake up early in the morning? Red Horse Gongting. Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Red Horse Gongting. A very nice thick tea that is smooth, dark, and sweet.”

I’m fully energized and ready to go. My students are going to question as to why I’m more energized than they’ll be today; however, it may be that I’m both tea drunk and pumped up. Ha-ha. Seriously, though, this is a nice feeling. Great tea, too!

Final sipdown of this tea. I bought this a few weeks ago when my wife, friend, and I all traveled down to Columbus, on a mini road trip. I make a note of tea houses or cafes around the areas that I travel to because I can’t go a full day without having a cup of tea.

Anyway, I wasn’t overly impressed with this tea blend. I brewed this in both an Adagio Ingenuitea (16 oz) pot and in a gaiwan. I must say that Western style brewing is more effective with the tea. I was able to extract more flavor by steeping it at a full 3 minutes at 195F water, versus the rinsing/15-25 second steep times.

There were subtle notes of oranges and cream; while the oolong came out in the aftertaste. I think this tea would’ve been better as an iced sweet tea instead. I did like the oolong aftertaste, though.

I’ve been frequently going to Muggzwigs Coffee and Tea Co. lately near my house. They have had a tendency to focus too much on the coffee aspect of their business; however, due to the popularity of tea in this area now, they are improving their skill at making cups of tea.

When I was at school a few years back, they often over steeped or burned the tea by putting boiling water into the pot—no matter the type of tea being used—so I avoided drinking tea there for a while. Recently, a friend had told me that they had improved on making tea, so I gave it a go.

The result was fulfilling.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDVxI5Ig-9s/?taken-by=sgsanders1

Anyway, since this new and inexpensive experience, I thought I’d make my way over there after work last night for a cup of tea. Out front, they had the daily special: The Golden Smoky Latte. The description of the tea was, “Lapsang Souchong with frothed milk & honey.”

I was in the mood for something sweet, unique, and tea (plus, Lapsang just sounded like a great tea to have). However, when the barista was putting the cup together, I saw him grinding coffee beans…Considering that I was the only one placing an order, I thought this to be strange. When he began to add the coffee to the Lapsang that was steamed with the milk, I asked him what the hell he was doing. He told me that it was a “Lapsang with coffee, frothed milk, whipped cream, honey, vanilla syrup, and nuts…” I explained to him that the description mentioned Lapsang and honey—nothing else—but he decided to explain that the specials just highlight the “main components” of the daily specials, rather than list everything else.

Despite that, I purchased the cup & a Peanut Butter Morsi, and called it a day. The cup was unimpressive. It was loaded with so much sweetener and coffee, that the Lapsang was covered completely. I’ve decided that when or if I return, that I’ll avoid any “special-teas” and stick with the tea itself. Because the truth is, coffee-tea drinks are horribly sweet and unbalanced…and full of lies.

My wife and I went to a local Thai restaurant where they had a Thai Tea made from Orange Pekoe. It was very sweet and loaded with cream; although, it was surprisingly refreshing and had a nice kick to it. It’ll definitely be something to have rarely due to the incredibly high sugar content. I’m glad I took a cup without ice home because it helped me get through the first half of the morning with the students.

I tried the first sample that LP had sent me. I must say that he loaded me up! For that, I’m utterly grateful!

I had this tea session this morning before heading outside on this lovely afternoon. So, I sat at table with my wife, as she had coffee, and took an hour to go at it. The sample that I had was a 11 Mao Cha; which was quite lovely.

The aroma after the first rinse was intriguing. I wrote, “Vegetal, honey, smoke (????).”

First steep: The flavor was vegetal, slightly smoky (slightly in the aftertaste), and grassy (?). The mouthfeel is a bit drying, and works itself into the throat.

Second steep: Aroma has a nice floral, “fresh leaf,” slightly smoky, and honey smell.
Flavor: Rich and soft; floral and sweet. A slight astringent aftertaste, which is left in the mouthfeel. The overall tea doesn’t have much astringency, but it’s minor in the mouthfeel. I like the dryness. Mostly sweet, though.

Third and Fourth steep: Aroma has a stronger honey, cooked leaf (?), grassy, and Spring quality to it.

Final note on the tea: Mao Cha is the tea to have when Winter ends and Spring begins. It is fresh, slightly astringent in a very positive way, and leaves a unique dry mouthfeel. Mao Cha is the type of tea that could grow into a “very pleasant Shu…Like individuals, with age, we grow (supposedly) wiser. Tea just does that with flavor.”

As you can tell, I was tired and tea drunk, so my notes came off a bit eccentric. I enjoyed the session, and my wife told me that she enjoyed hearing my thoughts on the tea. Thank you, Liquid Proust for this sample! I now understand pu-erh in a way that haven’t before; which is satisfying to know that there’s always more to learn with tea.

I got about 13 steeps out of this, but gave up on the note taking after steep # 4.

I’ve had this sample for a while, but decided to do a sipdown after work today. I wanted a break from Pu-erh, so I figured a White tea would be the way to go. I tried it out in the new Gaiwan, which I find suitable for drinking tea. I enjoy my Yixing, but I am trying to use that solely for Pu-erh (Ripe Pu-erh, mostly).
Anyway, I really like the Mutan White from H&S. It’s light, refreshing, and after a few steeps, has a smooth hay-esq flavor. It almost reminds me of a Green tea by the color of the brew after the fourth steep, but still remains true to that White tea flavor (light, hay-esq, smooth, etc.). The mouth-feel isn’t dry at all, and the tea really opens up within the mouth, as well as the throat. I could drink this daily, if I had more; this was just a sample. However, when I decide to go all out with the tea purchase (I depleted the “tea fund”), I might grab a little more than a sample.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDY3rZ8g—e/?taken-by=sgsanders1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDY54gNg-0M/?taken-by=sgsanders1

PS. I’m still drinking this tea after 8 brews (and one rinse), so it definitely is a nice tea to have a long session with. My wife mentioned that it isn’t as “heavy” as other teas I tend to drink, so it’s nice as a “before or after dinner tea…Without getting that full feeling afterward.”

Quick Review: Old leather shoe with a touch of smoke, wood, and dirt…. I could just brew it up for the aroma that’s left in the pot. Reminds me of tangerine scented potpourri.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDRe4XnA-xZ/?taken-by=sgsanders1

Revisit: Okay, I was a little harsh at first. The first steeping was awful; however, the more I drank the tea, the better it became. It was smooth, had a lot more citrus notes hidden within the tea, and was very rich as the session went on. I like it. I might have to rinse this a couple of times before diving in.