143 Tasting Notes

67

Meh tea. I got this tea from my recent YS order, and it really doesn’t perform. Nice leaves albeit slightly broken, with a rich aroma in the dry and wet leaf and a vibrant red liquor. Flavour is slightly fishy with a slight storage taste, but somewhat full bodied and nuanced, texture is oily, almost a bit too oily for that matter. Character is mediocre, and finish & aftertaste is okay to decent, but not much to note of. Cha-qi is relatively noticeable, gives you a heaty sensation which was nice, but the steep longevity was poor, topping out at steep 8-9, which isn’t good by the standards of a typical 黑茶.

All in all, don’t recommend.

Flavors: Alkaline, Cardboard, Earthy, Fishy, Forest Floor, Limestone, Mineral, Oily, Rainforest, Stonefruit, Wet Earth

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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75

Decent oolong! I got the Spring 2022 harvest of this tea from my recent YS order, and it’s pretty nice. Decent leaves with slight brokennes and paleness, with a rich aroma in the dry and wet leaf as well as a vibrantly green liquor. Flavour is decent, nice acidic profile with a backdrop of florality to it. Texture is smooth, juicy and overall nice, character is average, with not much steep variability, and finish & aftertaste is decent, airy finish with a nice lingering floral-citrus note at the end. Cha-qi is slightly noticeable, a bit of buzz, and steep longevity is average to decent, topping out at around steep 10.

Flavors: Acidic, Citrus Zest, Citrusy, Creamy, Floral, Fruity, Grassy, Hay, Juicy, Ocean Breeze, Pleasantly Sour, Smooth, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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70

Meh tea. I got the 2022 harvest of this tea as the only tea I ordered from DTH to try them out. Beautiful leaves and a rich aroma especially in the dry leaf that reminded me of the spicy peanuts I ate back in Taiwan. Liquor is a beautiful slightly pale green-yellow sheen. Flavour is average, a bit too light for my taste with only a slight nuance, texture is average to decent, slightly oily and smooth. Character is mediocre, not a lot of steep variability. Finish & aftertaste was surprisingly decent, juicy finish with a lingering hay note at the back. Cha-qi is almost non-existent and steep longevity is mediocre to decent, topping out at steep 7-8.

Maybe I’ll give DTH another shot in the future, but I got other teas to drink for now.

Flavors: Bitter, Chili, Creamy, Floral, Grassy, Hay, Marshmallow, Milky, Nutty, Peanut, Spices, Sweet

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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73

Decent yancha! I got this tea from my OWT order a while back, the last that I’ve yet to drink from that order I believe. Decent leaves but slightly broken, with a rich roasty dry and wet leaf aroma and a beautiful deep vibrant liquor with a golden sheen around it. Flavour wise it is decent, nice prototypical yancha taste with a bit of nuance to it. Texture is average to decent, smooth and slightly juicy. Character is average, with some steep variability. Finish & aftertaste is very decent, airy finish with a nice lingering minerality and citrusy note to it. Cha-qi is almost non-existent, and steep longevity is pretty decent, lasting potentially up to steep 12.

Flavors: Alkaline, Citrusy, Creamy, Floral, Juicy, Limestone, Mineral, Moss, Ocean Air, Smooth, Spices, Stonefruit, Wet Rocks

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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76

Very nice! I got the 2022 harvest of this tea from my recent Teavivre order, and I don’t really drink scented teas at all, but I gave it a shot here, and it was a nice surprise. Great leaves with a good bud proportion but slightly broken. Rich, rich, extremely rich jasmine aroma both in the scent and in the cup, with a decently delicate liquor to go with it. Flavour is delicate yet potent with jasmine, texture is decent, smooth and slight juiciness. Character is decent enough, not a lot of steep variability but it’s okay. Finish & aftertaste is very decent, great jasmine aftertaste with a light airy finish to it. Cha-qi is non-existent, and steep longevity is decent, with the tea lasting up to steep 6-8.

Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Grassy, Honeydew, Jasmine, Juicy, Ocean Air, Smooth, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
ashmanra

I love Teavivre’s jasmine teas. I haven’t tried this one but I have had about five of the others, and Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearl has been my favorite of those, from any company even!

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73

Decent enough black! I got this tea from my recent YS order, and it’s not too bad but not amazing either. Nice, relatively whole leaves but a low proportion of buds, rich aroma in the wet leaf with nuance and complexity, and vibrant red liquor in the cup. The flavour is pretty well-rounded, reminding me of tangerines or 小青柑 Puer, and the texture is smooth with a slight juiciness to it. Character is decent, a bit of steep variability paired with a average to decent finish & aftertaste. Cha-qi is almost non-existent and steep longevity is average, topping out at steep 7-8.

Flavors: Alkaline, Citrus, Fruity, Juicy, Malty, Mandarin, Mineral, Smooth, Spices, Tangerine

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 45 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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80

Very nice aged sheng! I got this tea from my recent YS order, and it is a very well balanced tea. Decent leaves, not a high proportion of buds and slightly difficult to pry, but generally whole and unbroken. Aroma is rich both in the dry and wet leaf but could do with a bit more potency. Liquor is a vibrant, clear orange-red hue. Flavour is quite decent, good mix of spices, woodiness, fruitiness, and the prototypical aged sheng flavours. Texture is smooth, yet thick and oily. Character is pretty decent too, with a nice steep variability, lots of ways to alter the flavour of this tea just by the temperature. Finish & aftertaste is very good, long aftertaste with a mineral note to it as well as a juicy finish to boot. Cha-qi is average to decent, a bit of stomach action here and there with a slight buzz to the experience. Steep longevity is pretty good, the tea tops around steep 12-14.

The tea takes time to really settle in but it’s something definitely worth recommending.

Flavors: Alkaline, Bittersweet, Earth, Fig, Forest Floor, Juicy, Mineral, Oily, Plum, Pumpkin, Rainforest, Smooth, Spices, Stonefruit, Thick, Wet Moss, Wet Wood, Woody

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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68

Not the tastiest Dancong. I got the 2019 harvest of this tea from my recent YS order, and it performs poorly in most parts. Decent leaves with a bit of brokenness, with a nice but slightly weak aroma and a decent liquor. The flavour is mediocre to decent, with a nice hint of florality paired with bittersweet notes. The texture is decent, nice smooth texture with a bit of astringency and bite to it. Character is average to poor, not a lot of steep variability at play here. Finish & aftertaste is quite decent, nice floral punch in the aftertaste when brewed stronger with a nice juicy finish as well. Cha-qi is almost non-existent and steep longevity is mediocre to average, topping out at steep 8-10.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Citrus, Creamy, Floral, Fruity, Garlic, Grassy, Green, Jasmine, Juicy, Mineral, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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77

Great young sheng! I got this tea from my recent KTM order, and it really is tasty and more. Beautiful leaves with a great proportion of buds, complex aroma both in the dry and wet leaf albeit could use a bit more potency. Liquor is vibrant and clear. Flavour is pretty nice and decent, great florality blend with a nice tinge of bitterness and minerality + fruitiness. Texture is super oily, nice smooth tea in the mouth. Character for this tea is pretty exceptional, great steep variability, keeping the session interesting through steeps through the change in flavour profiles from a more bitter upfront profile to a strong body profile to a lingering sweet profile.

Finish & aftertaste is pretty great too, lovely lovely aftertaste of herbaceousness and florality that permeates in the mouth, slight oily + astringent finish to it as well. Cha-qi is the biggest criticism of this tea. Definitely a slight buzzy cha-qi present but not enough to be decent or exceptional for that matter and it wouldn’t stand out compared to other shengs. Steep longevity lastly is pretty decent with the tea lasting up to steep 12+.

This tea does well in many parts but if it had a slightly better cha-qi and had an extremely outstanding quality to it, it could be very well be a high 80s tea for me.

Flavors: Bitter, Floral, Fruity, Herbaceous, Honey, Honeydew, Mineral, Oily, Papaya, Smooth, Sweet, Traditional Chinese Medicine

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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80

Wonderful, wonderful black tea. I got the 2022 harvest of this tea from my recent YS order, and it’s beaten most of the black teas I’ve drank out of the park. Good things about this tea first. Beautiful leaves with a rich wet leaf aroma and a nicely nuanced dry leaf aroma, with a wonderful vibrant liquor with a thickness to it and a beautiful golden sheen around the cup. The flavour especially in the first steeps is phenomenal, a great balance of florality with malt and citrus notes, topped with spices in a beautiful delicate yet potent concoction. Texture is decent with a nice smoothness and juiciness to it. Character is decent as well with some steep variability. Finish & aftertaste is decent with a nice astringency at the tail end and a lingering malty flavour. Cha-qi is wondrous and creeping with a great buzzy feeling at the end.

The biggest criticism I have of this tea is it doesn’t have the greatest steep longevity, topping out at steep 6-7 and its flavour dying down at around steep 5. But for the price, what a great daily drinker with a nice kick to it as well. Highly recommended.

Flavors: Alfalfa, Chocolate, Creamy, Cumin, Floral, Honey, Juicy, Malt, Mineral, Potato, Smooth, Spices, Sweet Potatoes, Wet Rocks

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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