261 Tasting Notes

72

Harvest Year: 2022
Date Drunk: 2023-04-14

5g in 100ml porcelain gaiwan
Dry leaf smells sweet, fruity, grassy and floral – stunning. Nectarines, chestnuts, and almost a cotton-candy-like note.

1st infusion: (85˚C, 0:15)
- Wet leaf smells incredibly nutty and lovely. I’m getting Longjing vibes.
- Liquor itself smells way more grassy/vegetal, slight common floral. Ok the liquor is decent but falls far short of Longjing, not as complex. Not sweet at all when hot, has some chestnut-like sweetness when cooler. Tastes sweet and delicious with my oatmeal. A nice fresh subtle Chinese green tea. Slight flat aftertaste.
- Rating: 74
2nd infusion: (85˚C, 0:30)
- Wet leaf still gives me Longjing vibes, and this time the liquor smells more like Longjing too.
- Liquor tastes more flavourful and nutty now than the first infusion. A bit bitter and flat-tasting – probably overbrewed. Doesn’t pair as well with my oatmeal.
- Rating: 73
3rd infusion: (87˚C, 0:30)
- Ooh that is really bitter and astringent now. Would probably pair well with sweets…
- Rating: 69
4th infusion: (88˚C, 0:45)
- Mellowed out now. Quite nice and less bitter than previous.
- Rating: 73

Verdict: A daily drinker if anything.
Rating: 72

Flavors: Bitter, Chestnut, Grass, Nectarine, Vegetal

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 100 OZ / 2957 ML
ashmanra

Glad to see this. I will stick with their longjing instead.

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69

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME: Use 5g to 100ml water OR Yixing clay pot

Date drunk: 31 Mar 2023

4g in 100ml gaiwan

This section of the sample had quite a few large stems. Dry leaves smell like raisins, slightly musty, wood. Rinsed once. Wet leaf smells like yellow honey jujubes and sweet fragrant wood.

1st infusion (100˚C, 0:15):
Subtle sweet flavour – jujubes, white fungus, mineral-y, chestnut, unidentified floral (maybe lotus?), sweet rice and lotus leaf notes. Reminiscent of cheng tng. Not much body, quite thin but still enjoyable. Bit of sharp metallic aftertaste.
Rating: 77

2nd infusion (100˚C, 0:15)
Wet leaves smell of Asian pear. Stronger, starchier notes of jujubes and sticky rice. A bit astringent / bitter now. Not as sweet as previous. I get some tangy and fruity notes when liquor cooled – notes of apricot or pomelo. Body still quite thin.
Rating: 74

3rd infusion (100˚C, 0:20)
Flavour is smoother but even more muted now. I think these leaves aren’t very strong, or maybe it’s because of the stems in this portion. Still getting jujube faint sweetness, floral. Astringent, dry aftertaste.
Rating: 73

4th infusion (100˚C, 0:45)
Stronger now but still has this dry papery note to it, probably from the ageing. Unfortunately not my favourite. It’s a not a good sign when I feel like ditching these leaves and switching to brew a new tea for the rest of the day. Oh man it reminds me of the tea that Gong2’s relatives gave us in Guangdong – now I realise that was probably an aged raw Yi Wu pu-er as well. But well, still don’t like it.
Rating: 65

Flavors: Apricot, Chestnut, Raisins, Sticky Rice, Sweet, Tangy, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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86

Date drunk: 10 Mar 2023
4g in 100ml gaiwan

Warmed dry leaf this time gave me super strong scent of Thanksgiving––roasted chestnuts, pecan pie, toasted almonds––and matcha. This smell is divine.

1st infusion (80˚C, 0:15)
Notes of really delicious vegetables––lemon butter asparagus. No astringency this time.
Rating: 86

2nd infusion (81˚C, 0:20)
Wet leaves have this syrupy sticky-sweet scent, like kumquat/yuzu jam, on top of the fresh-green-tea smell.
Liquor is just wonderful, mineral floral and sweet like the freshest mountain spring water, with a hint of umami vegetable broth and mushrooms. This tea is performing even better than the first time when I opened the bag fresh.
Rating: 87

3rd Infusion: (82˚C, 0:30)
Wet leaves smell like roasted sweet corn and buttered green beans, along with a whole host of other things I couldn’t parse.
Steeped for a tad longer than I wanted to, so some astringency came out. Liquor is still sweet, toasted-nutty, and scrumptious.
Rating: 84

Overall Rating: 86

Flavors: Almond, Asparagus, Butter, Chestnut, Lemon, Mineral, Mushrooms, Nuts, Pecan, Spring Water, Sweet, Syrupy, Yuzu

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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81

I have the 2022 Spring harvest of this from Yunnan Sourcing.

Dry leaf smells incredibly sweet, and tangy, like red stone fruit––i’m getting really strong dried apricots and ripe plums
When warmed, scent did not grow stronger the way most leaves do when warmed, but I did get a hint of tobacco smoke this time.

1st infusion (90˚C, 0:20)
- Wet leaf smoky note has been toned down, now smells and tastes like fragrant woodsmoke instead of tobacco.
- Liquor has some woody astringency and tiny bit of maltiness that reminds me of Taiwanese #18, I think that’s the Assamica quality of the Yunnan leaves coming through––but not as malty or chocolatey as #18, more just woody and citrusy. Still, this will be a great replacement for my Namsang Assam breakfast tea after I finish the last 10-20g remaining. The aftertaste on this tea was quite basic/vulgar, made me lower its rating a bit.
Rating: 81

2nd infusion (91˚C, 0:30)
- I noticed the leaves are really whole and large – not a single leaf fragment escapes into the cup from my gaiwan.
- Liquor is more delicious, flavourful now, getting a strong note of lemons now in the aroma and general citrus like Meyer lemon in the flavour.
Rating: 83

3rd infusion (92˚C, 0:50)
- Still flavourful, but marked astringency now. Great for pairing with food
Rating: 79

Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Citrus, Lemon, Malt, Plum, Smoke, Sweet, Tobacco, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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86

This is for the 2022 harvest of Mrs Li’s Shi Feng Longjing #43 (not 1st picking).

Dry leaf smelled kind of fruity, sweet citrus
Warmed dry leaf hit me in the face with toasted almonds and pecans, roasted asparagus, and butter spinach. I love love this aroma, want to wear it around as a perfume lol

1st infusion: (80˚C, 0:15)
Sweet and fresh but a bit light on the flavour, but already starting to get some astringency so I wouldn’t have pushed it harder
Rating: 83

2nd infusion: (82˚C, 0:30)
Stronger umami notes now––I swear I got a noseful of toasted shrimp paste (belacan)! Brothy and flavourful. Mostly savoury, there is still some sweetness that’s more prominent when liquor has cooled, and just a tad astringent.
Rating: 85

3rd infusion: (83˚C, 0:35)
Not as smooth as the others. Almost a strange hint of spice like chili powder? Maybe contamination of my cup
Rating: 79

4th infusion: (84˚C, 0:40)
Smoother than the last. But I think i should have brewed this and the previous one for a shorter period.
Rating: 81

Overall Rating: 82

Flavors: Almond, Asparagus, Butter, Pecan, Seafood, Spinach, Vegetable Broth

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Leafhopper

For me, bowl steeping seems to be the answer for green teas that turn out bitter when steeped gongfu. I use the same amount of tea that I usually would, but steep it in around 250 ml of liquid starting at around 185F.

ashmanra

Leafhopper: I have never tried bowl steeping. Must do that someday.

Sirentian

Thanks for the tip, Leafhopper! I will have to try that soon.

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85

My first Fu tea. So perfect for cold weather like we’ve been lately (I know, it’s all relative but 23˚C is cold for Singapore!)

Even though this tea is sort of grouped with other post-fermented teas like pu er, I feel that the flavour doesn’t burst out of this as much (akin to very dry storage pu er). I find that I need 5-6g of this per 100ml (as opposed to pu er where I need 4-5g per 100ml)

Used 4.5g to 90ml today because I am leaving the house soon and won’t get many steeps out of this.
Warmed dry leaf smells floral (like chrysanthemums? I’m terrible with identifying flowers).
Rinsed once.

1st infusion (100˚C, 0:15)
- Wet leaf smells very sweet, floral and fruity––like ripe pears, or really sweet heavy-scented flowers like… (not rose, and not white florals––sweet vanilla orchids, or hyacinth? mimosa? magnolia? freesia?)
- Liquor tastes sweet like dried longans, hints of crunchy white fungus – reminds me a lot of the Singaporean dessert called cheng tng.
Rating: 85

2nd infusion (100˚C, 0:15):
- Wet leaf has a sweet, aged mustiness to it, like dried flowers kept in the yellowed pages of an old book.
- Liquor is slightly less sweet, but still has the nice rich floral + fruity “cheng tng” flavour
Rating: 84

3rd + 6th infusions: (gave 4 & 5 to my sis)
- Really nice for pairing with food like my yoghurt and granola. Still has sweetness and fruitiness coming through, reminds me a bit of an aged raw pu er or a medium-roasted oolong (like bai hao or dancong).
Rating: 85

Flavors: Chrysanthemum, Floral, Fruity, Musty, Pear, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 90 ML
ashmanra

You are so right! Some relatives from Minnesota visited when it was 20C here once. We stood outside with our teeth chattering and they wore short sleeves and rejoiced in the balmy weather. But we had been accustomed to temperatures around 34C, so very chilly to us and delightfully warm to them!

Sirentian

Haha yes I totally get it. That sounds like an adorable scene, ashmanra!

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72

This is a real shame. I’m not sure which parameter here made me get such a different experience from the previous tasting.

Date drunk: 2023-02-14
- 7g in 140ml Yixing pot
- Rinsed once: wet leaves not as fragrant as the last time.
- 1st infusion (98˚C, 0:15)
- Liquor is rich golden colour but taste a bit flat, metallic. I think the lower temperature before (90-95˚C) was the way to go with this tea. After the liquor has cooled a bit, I get a bit of tangy apricot, some slight astringency, faint seaweed/marine brine.
- Rating: 80
- 2nd infusion (95˚C, 0:15)
- Liquor darker honey-brown now. Texture is so thick and syrupy. Flavour is really like green mangoes/papayas though – tangy, slightly bitter, and astringent, but without the fruity sweetness.
- Rating: 76
- 3rd infusion (95˚C, 0:15)
- Very astringent. I think I used too much leaf? What a shame, maybe I should have split it into 2x 3.5g sessions :(
- Rating: 70
- 4th & 5th infusion (97˚C, 0:20)
- Flavourless, like a diluted and astringent stale generic Chinese green tea blend
- Rating: 67

Rating: 72

Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Marine, Metallic, Seaweed

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 140 ML

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72

Date drunk: 2023 Feb 01
- 4g in 100ml gaiwan
- Rinsed once – wet leaf smells amazing. Sweet, fruity, spicy, herbal
- 1st infusion (91˚C, 0:15)
- Flavourful, some sweetness, very slight bitterness. Very drinkable, leaves were good to go and did not need “waking up”
- Rating: 85
- 2nd infusion (92˚C, 0:15)
- Mellow, sweet, very drinkable. I am put in mind of white peaches. No bitterness
- Rating: 86
- 3rd infusion (93˚C, 0:15)
- Spicy like sage. Still sweet and full-bodied but no longer as fruity. I want to pair this with a pineapple tart (to get some fruit notes) instead of with an almond cookie, if that gives you an idea. I guess that makes it like an oolong flavour profile – heavier on the mineral notes.
- Rating: 86
- 4th infusion (94˚C, 0:15)
- Floral and buttery (though maybe that’s from the pineapple tart). This has definitely transformed into an oolong profile.
- Rating: 87
- 5th infusion (95˚C, 0:25)
- This goes so well paired with pineapple tart, or with any tea snack I reckon. This tea is surprisingly good
- Rating: 88

- Verdict: Amazing value for money. Might buy this as a daily drinker.
- Rating: 86

Flavors: Butter, Floral, Fruity, Herbal, Mineral, Peach, Spicy, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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70

Date drunk: 6 Feb 2023

It’s funny how “letting go” of expectations can sometimes allow you to see the best in something. I’d made up my mind to finish off this sample as a daily drinker, and decided to just brew it casually on a fast-paced work morning – 4g in a partially-filled 140ml Yixing pot, at 100˚C (instead of my usual 90-95˚C for shengs). 1st infusion tasted a bit astringent and overbrewed when hot, but was decent when cooled down. I combined 2nd and 3rd infusions into the same cup to drink while working. Wow the liquor tastes so nice and light, breezy, yet still flavourful… puts me in mind of green mango / green papaya, and springtime. I should brew shengs in this manner more often :)

To me this tea (at this stage) is mellow and smooth, fruity grounded with astringency and a bit of spice, but still not mind-blowing. Now I get a bit more of the hype around this cake, but as it would be used as a daily drinker for me, I still can’t justify paying USD 92 for 357g of this.

Rating: 70

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Date drunk: 2023 Jan 28th

Tasted this with Mum and my brother-in-law, it was nice to get their input. This was a cute little mini-tuo, we drank half the tuo in a small gaiwan.

It surprised me – the aroma profile was unlike any young shu i’ve had! Apparently the leaves are from Lincang, I need to check whether I’ve ever had any shus from there.

Notes: licorice, herbal medicinal (like guilingao), woody

Flavors: Licorice, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Woody

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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