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Good news everyone, my insomnia broke sometime after 2am last night and I slept until 2 in the afternoon. I am still pretty pooped, but I no longer feel like a zombie. Though I did spend the majority of the day yesterday convinced it was Friday, and then I kept thinking today was Monday. All this sleep disturbance seems to have confused my perception of time, it is still 2010, right?

Now that silliness is out of my system, it is time to visit Shan Valley again, this time to taste their Kokang Green Tea. Grown in the Kokang Region of Myanmar, which is close to the popular tea growing region of Yunnan, China. This Green is the highest quality tea available to the public, that has me intrigued. The aroma is quite umami (or savory if you are unfamiliar with the term) with strong notes of smoked mushrooms and vegetable broth. There is also an underlying sweetness with notes of honey and yeast. The aroma is interesting, it very much reminded me of mushrooms cooked over a grill, which I greatly enjoyed.

Upon brewing this tea in my gaiwan (like I do) the grilled mushroom aroma is replaced with a slightly smoky, very vegetal, aroma. There are notes of green beans, asparagus, and butter in the wet leaves. The liquid did a complete turn around from the wet leaves, with strong notes of caramel, honey, marshmallows, and a delicate hint of papaya at the end.

The first steep is fairly light and delicate, with notes of spice, smoke, and straw. These notes are present throughout the entire sipping experience, but there are also notes of caramel at the midtaste and a bit of asparagus at the finish. I am very curious to try the second steep and see if the delicate notes become stronger.

The aroma of the second steel is a blend of sweet caramel and asparagus, not gonna lie, that sounds like a delicious idea for a food dish, especially if it tastes like it smells. The taste of this steep starts out sweet with notes of caramel and papaya, this fades to vegetal with noes of asparagus and green beans. The finish is like butter and is just as smooth. I liked this tea, it had interesting notes in both aroma and flavor.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/shan-valley-kokang-green-tea-tea-review.html

Flavors: Caramel, Honey, Mushrooms, Smoke, Vegetal

SimpliciTEA

Good review. : )

I have had sleep issues myself(from working overnights). Glad to read you finally got to sleep.

TeaNecromancer

Thank you :) Oh man, night shift is rough! I thought that with inclination to be more of a night person that it would be perfect…nope! My sleep was ruined for years after working nights for a few years.

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SimpliciTEA

Good review. : )

I have had sleep issues myself(from working overnights). Glad to read you finally got to sleep.

TeaNecromancer

Thank you :) Oh man, night shift is rough! I thought that with inclination to be more of a night person that it would be perfect…nope! My sleep was ruined for years after working nights for a few years.

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I am a nerdy, obsessive, crafty, tea blogging, gaming nut. Yeah, that about sums me up! Ok, you want something more informative….

I am a Geek, hardcore fan-girl Geek. It shapes my life. I spend a large chunk of my life painting miniatures and contemplating my various army layouts. I hoard dice, get obsessed with games, and will talk about whatever fandom, game, etc that I am obsessed over until I am blue in the face. I am not just a gamer girl type Geek, I also fit in the collecting knowledge and spending way too much time reading and researching category of Geek.

But there is more to me than just being a giant nerd. I love tea, always have and have just gotten more and more obsessed as I get older. I love trying new teas and then writing lengthy descriptions about them on my blog, I love reading and researching the history and culture of tea, I love collecting tea pots and fancy tea tools.

When the weather allows it, I love to go mushroom hunting. I don’t eat them, instead I use them for photography and spore prints. I love nature and worked as a Naturalist in the Northwoods one summer, it might have been the best job ever.

I have Fibromyalgia, it sucks, but I feel people who are going to interact with me should know since I tend to vanish because of it so fair warning! I do tend to not vanish very long though. Also I have some ‘social disorders’ which basically translates to I am really awkward and bad at socializing, so forgive any lack of social graces.

I also have cats, love the ocean and all aquatic life, have teal hair, love cheese, and collect hats.

My favorite tea is definitely Oolong, but I also love Japanese greens and…ok I just love tea actually :P I am not a huge fan of lemony black teas or tart fruit teas. I also loathe hibiscus (usually)

This is my actual tea wishlist, you know that I actually update and keep track of…I tend to forget Steepster’s https://www.facebook.com/notes/amanda-wilson/tea-wishlishtshopping-list-perpetually-in-progress/10152336515414411 I use my steepster WL to keep track of teas I have had and really want more of :P

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