661 Tasting Notes
It is so rare to have chocolate paired with green tea that I was pretty excited to get this one from The TeaCupany. In the bag it smelled so wonderful: minty, chocolatey. Brewed up I didn’t get that same strong aroma from the tea but when I took a sip it was BAM! Minty, chocolate green tea heaven. First I tasted the cool mint mixed with the vegetal green tea , followed by the chocolate notes. A wonderful mix and this one I would consider ordering again when this runs out.
Preparation
I just got my mail this morning. The postwoman dropped it off so late I didn’t even know there was anything there. Happened to check this morning and there was my monthly package from The TeaCupany! I had mixed feelings about this tea. It’s been years since I’ve had gunpowder tea. It wasn’t my favourite then but back then I never knew how to brew green tea properly either. On top of that when doing a search for basic gunpowder tea on Steepster, there were not very promising reviews from any tea company. I was curious though and wanted to give it a chance. Meant to brew this for 2 min at 185 but it extended to 3 min.
This is a very robust green tea reminding me a bit of black tea (which may have been why I didn’t like it too much then). It’s not grassy , mellow, or vegetal. It’s got a bit of a bite and the unexpected delight was the bit of buttery flavour that comes through. No doubt about it though, this tea is strong. 3 min was a bit too much. I would go for the 2 or even less for the next time I have this. This doesn’t fall into some of the really good green teas but it’s not really bad either.
I left that review before I finished my cup. At the end of the cup, the tea became so bitter I couldn’t drink it. Brewed up a 2nd infusion and steeped only 1 min 30 sec. After steeping I had something to do so left the tea for 5 min. Came back to it and it was bitter. Then I asked myself, why am I spending time with this tea? It just doesn’t agree with me. So I ditched the cup and moved on to something else.
I see on Teavivre’s website they have instructions on how to brew gunpowder tea so next time I will try that. The Teacupany did not put any brewing instructions on the package.
Preparation
Had this tea yesterday. Wasn’t picking up the lemongrass as much as the coconut but it definitely does smell Thai like. The coconut flavour doesn’t come across as tasting too artificial either. It’s a great tasting tea. I think I was a bit distracted when drinking it so I don’t have a lot to say on it. Holding off rating until I have it again.
Had this tea yesterday from the sample I bought from Mandala. I brewed at near boiling and had a few infusions for the day (4 or 5). I didn’t detect any smokiness but it did have the rich pu-er flavour combined with the lightness of the white. A really enjoyable cup of tea and I got that calm energy rush too. Definitely a good sheng to have in the cupboard.
I had this tea yesterday. This was a sample from Dexter3657. So far every tea I’ve tried from Mandala has been outstanding. This was no exception. The taste just blew me away. I just brewed with boiling water (rinsed twice) then 10 sec. Did about 30 sec on the next few infusions. It’s hard to remember clearly from yesterday but I do remember it being juicy, full in the mouth. There was a delicious sweetness that would hang on the tongue after a sip. It was a bit buttery, smooth with just a bit of astringency (which I enjoy so much with green teas). I didn’t get much smoke flavour from this one- perhaps a tiny bit in the first infusion or so. The smoke flavour is the one thing that takes some getting used to. I was using the small Chinese cups and every time I would pour I would drink it down so fast.
It was also very distracting. I was doing my work from home on the computer and every time I would take a sip, it was so good ; it took my attention away from my work. I noticed on some of the comments here Garret said he could see colours better when drinking this tea. Well, what happened to me (other then the great calm energy rush) was I could see things in a new way (like through the eyes of a child). I felt like grabbing my camera and heading out for a creative pursuit outside. Alas, I had work to do. Have to pay those bills. I’ll keep this tea in mind on a day when I plan on doing some photography. It really gets those creative juices flowing and lets me see things more creatively.
Thank-you Dexter3657 for another fine sample!
Preparation
Wow , is this tea ever different! This is a sample from Dexter3657. I didn’t really follow the brew times since it had boiling water for green tea. I infused it at 185F for 3 min.
Definitely an acquired taste for this one. Just brewed it just tasted a bit strange but not bad. As it cools down it becomes more salty and bitter. The bitterness at the end of the cup is really strong.
I have one more tsp left of this so I think I will try it with boiling water next time and the shorter infusion to see if there’s that much of a difference.
Thanks Dexter3657 for this sample. I’m glad I got a chance to try it.
Preparation
I had this tea this afternoon. I don’t have a gaiwan but did the gong fu brewing method with my tiny ceramic teapot. It’s pretty much the same thing. First brew was 10 sec. I see now with this tea I could have gone longer. It was a little on the weak side for the first infusion but I enjoyed it. I could taste the earthy pu’er along with the sweet buttery notes. I increased the infusion to 30 sec for the next one and thereafter increased just a bit more. It seemed I could taste the underlying buttery notes a little more with each infusion along with the earthy pu’er flavour. There was no smokey notes which kept this tea clean and refreshing. It did seem to clear the lungs.
Preparation
I really liked this one. Tried a sample and got a cake. Definitely worth the storage space.
This is happy tea for me.
I think so too. I only got the sample size but next time will get a full cake.
I love this tea. But then again, I’m a bit partial. Hoping to head to those same mountains again for mao cha buying this autumn! Prices of mao cha are crazy this spring, almost double what they were last year. But even at higher prices, where else are you going to get old tree tea grown with no pesticides, hand-picked and life-giving? Great teas are not always going to be as inexpensive as we have become accustomed to. And our friends who grow, harvest and process this tea should be able to make a good living. I think pu’er has long been undervalued. As a seller, I’m a little sad because so many people are wanting cheap cheap cheap prices. The el-cheapo tea will still be available but for those of us who desire more shall we say, character in our teas, we might just have to get used to paying a little more.
Completed my isometrics this morning with Tony Horton’s P90X3. I chose this tea to go along with my exercise routine even though it’s been a few hours in between. Got that idea from you Christina with your books and tea. Thanks for this lovely sample. Isometrics is about strength and balance. Balance certainly fits with this tea. I brewed for 3 min at 185. The strawberry/raspberry flavouring reminds me of jello but doesn’t come across as artificial. It’s balanced well with the green tea. The green tea itself is vegetal with a little bite at the end (which I like). It went down pretty fast!
Preparation
Out of the 3 buckwheat teas I’ve had so far , this one is at the low end of the scale. There’s a taste in it I can’t describe, that I find really offensive . I love the smell but the taste just doesn’t follow through. It’s also a weak infusion.
Preparation
Thanks for taking a bullet for the team, Ubacat! I was seriously considering buying this when I saw it at the store, but that was because of the price. Glad I resisted.
I may have to throw this out it’s so bad but will try a few different infusions before I do. When I smell it dry, I could almost swear it’s a pesticide smell. I don’t think I got that in the first infusion but I had a really short infusion for my first one. This time I made it 5 min. Oh well, I will keep trying buckwheat teas! H&S is the best so far.
Wierd , mine definitely does not have that, though it isn’t particularly nutty like some of the others. Is it kind of a plasticised smell? Perhaps it from the packaging.
Had this tea this morning before heading to work. Really enjoyable tea. It’s very light for a green- almost like a yellow tea. It’s also similar to a light oolong because it’s doesn’t have too much of a grassy flavour to it. It’s light, a bit buttery, and vegetal. I could really stock lots of this tea but want to try out some other dragon wells from other companies before I settle on one.
Interesting. To me, chocolate is a flavour that goes better with black tea.
Well, it works with this tea and lucky for me since I don’t like a lot of black teas.