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94
drank Ban Tian Yao by Nannuoshan
921 tasting notes

Today was the first playtest of SeaFall! It had a slightly rocky start with some printing problems, but once that was settled things went smoothly, and I achieved the goal I had for this game, which was exciting. But what we are really here for is the Oppressor!!! Yes, my connection at AdeptiCon was able to bring me one back, meaning I have one before anyone else, and yes I plan on painting it and bringing it to my game on Monday, extra fun because I play another Scourge player. I must be the Alpha Scourege! Ok, enough nerding out, time for tea!

Thursday seems like a good day for Yancha, specifically Nannuoshan’s Ban Tian Yao, they have several Wuyi Rock Teas, but as tempting as it was to pick an old favorite, I wanted to try something new. Expand my appreciation of one of my favorite forms of Oolongs, and of course give my Yancha teapot some love. Ban Tian Yao’s name translates, roughly, to ‘waist halfway to the sky’ because this tea is grown way up on the side of the cliffs, practically halfway to the sky, very poetic. The aroma of the nice curly leaves is very rich, strong notes of tobacco, mineral, and cocoa with moderate aroma notes of honey and char, with a gentle finish of woodiness. This Yancha certainly has the ‘rock’ aspect of the Rock Oolong title, being one of the most mineral heavy of the ones I have tried, there is very little sweetness, it is robust and strong, and I like that. The mineral notes were actually the first thing that drew me to Yancha, and what brought me around to absolutely loving them.

So, into the Yancha pot for my customary hot-short steeping, Nannuoshan recommends a 60s first steep, but personally I go for flash steeping with Yancha, brewing them with a longer steep certainly still tastes good, but this is my personal preference. The aroma of the soggy leaves is less char and tobacco and more rich, sweet, cocoa with notes of baking bread, molasses, limestone, and a faint floral note at the end that is a mix of spicebush and hyacinth. The liquid is quite sweet smelling with a blend of cocoa and slightly citrus notes, with an accompanying strong note of char and mineral.

First steep is intense! Oh man, those mineral notes are exquisite, it is like drinking tea made from from mineral water while being steeped in a limestone teapot, I can taste the mountainside in this one. There are also notes of char, which moves on to a rich tobacco and molasses at the middle. The finish is cocoa and of course mineral which lingers for quite a while.

The aroma of the next steep is very strongly mineral with an accompanying note of char and woodiness with a sharp cocoa finish. This steep in general has a sharpness to it, the strength of the mineral and char notes are still just as strong, but the molasses and cocoa sweetness from the first steep are almost entirely replaced with tobacco and woody notes, with a tiny bit of loam at the finish.

The third steep is like a blend between the first and second, the aroma starts out sweet and a bit spicy, but moves quickly to mineral and char, with a bit of cocoa at the finish. The taste takes its notes from the aroma, blending the strength of the first steep with the sweet and slightly mellow tones of the first, the strong mineral notes are still very much so present, but they are mellowed out some by cocoa and a bit of yeasty bread. The finish has tobacco and woodiness, with a spicebush aftertaste. I like this Yancha (no surprise) it has some serious Cha Qi to it, and a very robust taste, I do not think this would be an everyday kinda tea like Shui Xian, but on a day you need to spend completely absorbed by a tea, this could very well be the Yancha for you.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/nannuoshan-ban-tian-yao-tea-review.html

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100
drank Anji Bai Cha by Nannuoshan
921 tasting notes

Predictably I am still sick, though I am feeling a little less terrible than I did when I wrote my last blog post, so I consider that a huge win! Currently I am watching Achievement Hunter’s Minecraft Let’s Play of a Legends of the Hidden Temple map, it is nostalgic good time, and excellent mindless fun. I always wanted to go on one of those silly Nickelodeon shows, Legends of the Hidden Temple being my favorite, because who didn’t love the idea of raiding a Mayan temple?

Continuing the adventure with Nannuoshan today with Anji Bai Cha! I will admit, of all the teas I requested, this was the one I was most excited to try. Anji Bai Cha, whose name means White Tea from Anji, is not a white tea, it is a delicate green tea, though it does have a mystery about it (like the white or green Xue Ya mystery from Monday) is this an old tea that has been made for years, an old tea that was lost and rediscovered, or a tea that has only been made for about 20 years? The answer is, yes. Ok, that is not helpful, but as so often is the case, the internet cannot give a straight answer. Is this the delicate tea from Anji written about by Lu Yu or is this something new and delightful in its own right. In the long run it does not matter, what only matters is how enjoyable it is, though the history is something fun to ponder while waiting for the kettle to heat up. Though to be honest I spend kettle heating time ogling the leaves, Anji Bai Cha is such a pretty tea, in all of its stages, and it smells really good too! The aroma of the slender leaves is mild, with notes of green beans, chestnuts, distant flowers, and a tiny bit of a sharp asparagus finish. You can tell that this tea is super delicate, just from the aroma alone, because even though the notes are very clear and crisp, they are delicate, not a tea that slams you full on in the face with greenness.

The now soggy and much bigger leaves have a very pleasant aroma, with distinct notes of sweet chestnut and distant flower nectar with delightful notes of artichoke and asparagus. I am in a happy place, it has been far too long since I had Anji Bai Cha, and it is just as pleasant as I remember it so far. The delicate liquid is a blend of green and sweetness with notes of green beans, chestnuts, and a bit of bamboo and sweet pea. My nose is happy because this tea smells like spring.

The first steep is like nectar, delicious green nectar, like something celestial maidens drink while lounging around clear pools in bamboo forests. I love this tea so much, it starts out sweet like flower nectar, then pretty swiftly transitions to greenbeans, peas, asparagus, and a finish of artichoke. The mouthfeel is very smooth leaning towards thick, this is a delicate tea that has a definite presence.

For the second dance with this tea the aroma is nutty and sweet, but certainly stronger than the first steep, with a blend of artichoke, sweet peas, chestnuts, greenbeans, and a finish of crushed leaves and vegetation. I think my favorite thing about Anji Bai Cha is how incredibly clean it tastes, there is very little sweetness this steep, it is mostly green and fresh, with vegetal notes of peas, green beans, artichoke, and bamboo leaves. The finish does have some sweetness, like flower nectar, with accompanying

For a bit of fun, instead of a third steep, I decided to brew some in my travel steeper, mostly because I had to go to gaming and someone was being impatient, it is not my fault that the tea was really good and distracted me! Anji Bai Cha was my epiphany tea for experimenting more with teas in my travel steeper, before I had an infuser that was made for making tea and tucking the leaves out of the way, now I have one where the leaves are always in the water, so you have to plan accordingly. As expected, letting this tea sit in my travel steeper and infuse the water with its green goodness was a wonderful plan, deliciously sweet and green with delicate floral notes and distinct vegetal notes. If you have not had the opportunity to try Anji Bai Cha, I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you are a lover of delicate Chinese green teas.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/nannuoshan-anji-bai-cha-tea-review.html

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88

My dear friends and readers, I have a terrible confession, I am rather ill and a little bit worried. At first I had a sniffle and sore throat and I just assumed allergies (which apparently I don’t have, still weirded out by that) but nope, this is something much more annoying. Not sure if it is a terrible cold or what, but it has decided to move to my lungs (like they always do) and I am coughing and wheezing up a storm. So I am unhappily living on lots of cold meds, expectorants, antihistamines, and my inhaler…long story short, I am super loopy and so glad that I take really long winded notes in my tea notebooks! It was actually me becoming ill when I first started my tea blogger that I came up with the idea of logging all my notes in a notebook ahead of time, certainly one of my better decisions.

Day two of our Nannuoshan adventure takes us to Yunnan, home of Puerh and a ton of other fascinating teas. One such tea is Dian Yin Zhen, a silver needle white tea whose name translates to Yunnan silver needle, very direct this time. It is important to distinguish that this silver needle is from Yunnan, because it is way different from its Fujian twin. See, Yunnan teas are definitely distinct, they have one of the more defined ‘terroir’ markers of tea with an at times really intense camphor to menthol note in taste and aroma, and if you are really lucky a distant smokiness. And sniffing the leaves did not disappoint, I found notes of hay, lettuce, melon, and a distinct note of sharp camphor and a hint of smoke. The aroma reminds me of a Sheng Puerh with a fruitier, sweeter tone to it, such is the beauty of tea from Yunnan!

Brewing the leaves is an adventure, the aroma really had me confused, if I had closed my eyes and sniffed I would have at first thought it was a Sheng. Upon closer nose examination I can detect notes of melon and crisp cucumber, along with that is the signature hay and strong camphor and faint smokiness. It is a pretty potent smelling pile of wet leaves. The liquid is fruity sweet with notes of melon and peaches with a bit of hay, and of course, crisp camphor.

First steeping, and let me say, if you are a fan of young Sheng you would love this tea. It is crisp with an accompanying fuzzy tingling from trichomes and gentle smoothness. It starts with a rich camphor and smokiness, this moves to hay and a bit of spinach, and a finish of lettuce and cucumber. This tea has a nice hui gan that really lasts and cools the throat.

Second time around this tea’s aroma takes on a slightly bready, yeasty, almost sourdough tone along with sweet straw and a bit of smoke and camphor at the finish. Tasting the tea, the camphor and smoke notes have definitely mellowed out a good bit, they are still present, but this time they are only at the finish. The beginning of the sip is sweet and fruity, with notes of peaches and hay, this moves to a yeasty bread sweetness along with a hint of sourness that transitions nicely to the camphorous finish. I have really mixed feelings on Dian Yin Zhen, it is a fascinating tea with intense flavors, but I am not sure if I like it, and this is definitely not the first Dian Yin Zhen I have had where I spend the entire sipping session not sure if I like it or not, and I certainly foresee many more sessions like this.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/nannuoshan-dian-yin-zhen-tea-review.html

Tealizzy

I really liked this one! So unique! I hope you feel better soon!

TeaBrat

Feel better soon! Try some sage tea for your cough if you can get a hold of any.

TeaNecromancer

I did not know sage tea helps a cough! I will definitely have to get some because I love sage in things, thank you for the tip!

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88
drank Xue Ya by Nannuoshan
921 tasting notes

Today is the day I fight Ben in the league, against his old UCM army we were evenly matched, but now that he has switched to the Shaltari, I am afraid. I cannot win against that faction, even when I have a perfect army for crushing them, my dice betray me. I know the Shaltari are pretty, but come on dice, stop being dazzled!

It is time for a theme week! I am really on a kick with these lately, they are just too much fun. A couple months ago company Nannuoshan offered samples up for review on steepster, of course I pounced on the offer like a cat with a pile of treats, the samples were sent out in a staggered pattern and yours truly was very close to the bottom, but my samples arrived and all that anticipation gets to be paid off in a Nannuoshan week! Today I am looking at Xue Ya, also called Yangxian Xue Ya and Snow Bud, which is a very delicate white tea. Though, depending on who you ask, this tea could also be considered a green tea, of course researching further seems to present a very even split between calling it a white and green, and my own examination shows that it looks like the world’s most fuzzy green. Me thinks I will spend a long time researching this one, in fact the reason I selected this sample is because when I was working on that 30+ page list of teas from all over the world (really need to get back to that and other tea research) this one caused me a bit of trouble. So, how do these delicate little buds smell, well, pretty good actually! The leaves are a blend of crispness, sweetness, and floral notes, with a strong peony presence accompanied by honey, cucumbers, and a bit of melon. The notes are very distinct while retaining a level of subtlety.

Nannuoshan recommends brewing this tea at 195°F (90°C) now if this really is a white, then that is awesome, I am a huge fan of using hot (same temperature I use for a lot of red teas) water rather than cooler, this is why I think a lot of people say white tea has no flavor, because if you crank that temperature it becomes a thing of beauty. If this tea is a green I should be afraid, because that might end poorly for me! The incredibly beautiful wet leaves (so vibrant!) have a complex aroma, with notes of peony, melon, lettuce, sage, and an unexpected nuttiness reminiscent of Long Jing, that sweet toasted sesame aroma with a savory edge to it. The liquid really has a fun surprise to it, it is sweet and light, almost fluffy. The sweet note reminds me a bit of meringue, blended with peony and chestnuts, with just a whiff of savory green spinach at the finish.

The first steep is light in both taste and color, so it is certainly starting like a white tea, with a smooth mouth ending on tingly from the trichomes. The taste starts out with a blend of honey, lettuce, and cucumber. This moves on to a subtle melon and a hint of chestnuts. The finish is sweet peony nectar with a slightly nutty aftertaste.

Onward to steep two! The aroma this time is much greener, with chestnut, sesame seeds, and artichoke with a finish of peony. The taste is also much greener, is the white tea in fact a very strong green that can hold its own against a higher temperature? The tea has a more crisp mouthfeel this time, with starting notes of artichoke and toasted sesame seeds. This moves to a slightly meaty, umami taste of sauteed green beans and a hint of cooked mushrooms. The tea finishes with gentle sweetness of melon and lettuce with a lingering note of peony that stays around for quite a while.

Third steep, and the aroma is still on the green side, in fact I would say all traces of the more typical white tea notes have vanished and I am left with artichoke, green beans, sesame seeds, and a nice finish of meatiness. The taste has also bid a fond farewell to the white tea aspects of this tea, it is all green now, baby! It is a tasty green at that, blending savory notes with rich greenness. Starting with notes of sauteed vegetables and mushrooms then moving on to a crisp artichoke and fresh kale, imparting just a hint of that vegetal bitterness you get from kale. The finish is sesame seeds and a delicate sweet honey note that stays as an aftertaste. Xue Ya is still a mysterious tea, but I can safely say it was a very tasty mystery!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/03/nannuoshan-xue-ya-tea-review.html

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79

Sipdown (143)!

This was the last of my Nannuoshan samples; and again I’m sorry that I was a little bit late getting them all up.

Did a shorter Gong Fu session with this one in my CS Gaiwan when I got home from work. Not counting the short wash I did, I had three very nice infusions. I probably could have gotten a fourth, but it’s just past midnight now and I’m thinking I should probably stop drinking tea and go to bed soon. I keep yawning; and the caffeine from this is probably gonna kick in soon if I don’t fall asleep first – and that’d really mess up my sleep pattern.

What I did when drinking this one was take a whole bunch of jot notes, similar to what I did for the Hua Xiang Rou Gui from Nannuoshan, and then go back and kind of condense them and make them a little easier to read. So, these are my compounded thoughts from each infusion:

- 5 Sec. Smells very sweet & fresh; quite different from most Pu’Erh I’ve experienced. Strong notes of buttery spinach or green beans, kind of creamy. Floral finish. Just the tiniest bit astringent/bitter.

- 10 Sec. Buttery/Spinach Notes – Wondering if I jumped the steep time up a bit too much; this is a little more bitter/astringent that the first steep, though still not something I can’t handle. Floral with sugarcane and honey notes. A little bit woody. I keep expecting a musty/earthy taste which is what I’ve come to expect from most Pu’Erh but this is so much more different.

- 10 Sec. Finally identified the strong floral note I’ve been experiencing! It’s Lily! Fairly bitter; dry wood notes. Still kind of buttery/creamy, but not nearly as much spinach notes.

If I had continued with a fourth infusion, I don’t think I could have gone for the full 20 seconds like recommended; even ten was a little too much for me. Overall, I thought that while this was very different, it was really good. I’m not entirely sure if my ‘tea vocabulary’ is extensive enough to 100% convey what I was tasting – but hopefully I’ve done an apt job.

Thank you again Nannuoshan for all the samples! Of the four I requested, the Rougui was my favourite, though all of them were good and great learning experiences!

OMGsrsly

That sounds like something I’d like. A loose raw puerh. :)

nannuoshan

Thank you Roswell Strange for the review and no worries for the delay. One day delay is no delay.
This pu’er was different than the other you drunk because must probably those where ripe pu’er (shou cha). This tea is fresh (sheng cha). In 10-15 years, it will eventually develop in the direction of those you have drunk before.

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78

Sipdown (149)!

First to review this one!? Really!? Did no one else request it or am I just the first to get to it…

Anyway; I’ve got a few queued tasting notes to get to but it was important to me that I write this one first ‘cause I know Nanuoshan really wanted reviews up by the 19th – which was yesterday, and due to some stupid decisions (which I’ll get to in another tasting note) that didn’t happen with the last two samples from them, despite what I thought was a well thought out drinking schedule.

I drank this one Gong Fu in my CS Gaiwan; I picked it out because I also got the other Rougui that they were offereing, which was new to me as well, and I wanted to sort of compare and see the differences between the two. And basically what I did was just write tons and tons of jot notes while I drank this one and then went back afterwards and edited them into more concise, easy to read paragraphs. I also did a wash for this one, though took no notes on that step.

- 30 sec Roasty, Mineral, very brisk/dark and a quite astringent w. charcoal/ashy notes? Some cinnamon – it’s very ‘dry’. Leaves opened a little; leaf in the gaiwan smells strongly roasty/ashy and reminds me a bit of bitter, black coffee. Overall kind of reminds me of the smell of a campfire AFTER water’s been poured on it to put it out; wet/damp, ashy/smokey still…

- 30 sec Smells less harsh and a bit sweeter with cinnamon notes. Lost most of the astringency/charcoal notes. Still has mineral notes and a touch of roastiness. Definitely sweeter; some floral notes are starting to emerge near the end of the sip & in the aftertaste. Has a bit of sharpness to it; very pithy.

- 60 sec No roast/mineral notes, but some astringency and bite from the bumper crop of pithy notes popping up. Floral notes are more amped up with an underlying, softer fruit flavour than the citrus/pith that’s been present so far; maybe a stonefruit? Cinnamon note is the same. Pumpernickel bread notes? Leaves are totally opened up now.

- 90 sec Very floral and still a little bit mineral and cinnamon tasting; still reminds me of stonefruit a little bit. Most of pumpernickel flavour is very toned down and while I still taste some citrus/lemon there’s no longer that bitterness/‘tang’. This is the ‘gentlest’ tasting infusion thus far with a very soft, smooth mouthfeel.

I think, between the two different types, I enjoyed the other one a lot more; it was sweeter/fruitier and I liked the nut notes in it, which I didn’t observe with this one. However, this was still very good and absolutely had similarities while still being different overall. Much more floral, and I think the first infusion was a lot more abrasive than Rougui.

Wish someone else would review this though (if anyone else grabbed a sample of it?) because I know I’m not that experienced with this variety and I’d like to see how others viewed it, and how my observations line up. The fact no one else has written for this one unnerves me a little. I hope I’m not missing another page for this tea, with other reviews…

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85

Dry the leaves were very dark and spindly. I brewed this western style this afternoon.

What I noticed first about this tea was how bready/malty it was. It had a pretty good caffeine kick too but I’m a bit sensitive to caffeine so I would feel it more than some. There were stone fruit notes right away. I think I accidentally got the temperature a little higher than I meant to (I was brewing this at work) but it still was very good. As it cooled the chocolate notes came out along with raisins. I didn’t get any of the smoke taste others got but that was fine with me as I don’t like smoke in my tea. It was very full bodied and flavourful.

Flavors: Bread, Chocolate, Malt, Raisins, Stonefruit

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drank En Shi Yu Lu by Nannuoshan
1113 tasting notes

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drank En Shi Yu Lu by Nannuoshan
1113 tasting notes

This was a sample sent with a couple of other Steepsterites group order. They passed it along to me because they know I like greens.

It is really good! Reminds me of a Japanese green…maybe even a gyokuro. Super sweet and vegetal. Delicious!

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drank Yin Zhen by Nannuoshan
1719 tasting notes

This is the last of the white tea samples I received from Nannuoshan (Thanks!). I saved the silver needle for last as I love silver needle. This one wins the award for best fragrance as the gorgeous dry silver haired buds hit the hot damp teapot. It has the usual hay fragrance but amped up and more wine like with fruit – apple I think.

The liquor was only slightly yellow tinted after a 30 second steep. The wet leaf is fresh and green, having an almost toasted scent. It also seemed slightly malty.

The taste was at first like scraping the white part of the rind of a watermelon slice. Next was cucumber. I caught notes of grass and hay, as well as floral and fruit. The floral was described by one reviewer as honeysuckle. It is light and glancing notes but there.

The second cup (45s) was darker in flavor, slightly more intense with a peppery note up front while hot. The aftertaste of both cups was hay and floral.

Sadly, I don’t have time to take this further today. I am running out the door for praise band practice. I have invited an awesome guitarist friend to come worship, jam, and otherwise have great fun with us. I’ll try not to make my wife too upset by rolling in really late, but no promises.

To wrap this up, this is one of the top silver needles I have tried. Once you get near the top I don’t know if you can single just one out, but this is definitely in the running.

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95
drank Anji Bai Cha by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

I think this is my favourite of the 4 green teas I’ve tried from Nannuoshan.

When I smelled the dry leaves it was a wonderful nutty smell.

I honestly can’t remember what the colour of the brew was and now it’s all gone but I’m pretty sure it was a yellow. This teas just fills the mouth with nutty & buttery taste. Mmmmmm! Just love it. There’s also a green grassy or green pea sweetness to the taste too. I don’t think my description is doing it justice. This one really is an amazing Anji Bai Cha. There much more flavour with this one than the other Anji Bai Cha’s I have in my cupboard. At least that’s what I’m thinking. I have enough left of this one to do a taste test against them.

Flavors: Butter, Grass, Nutty

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 g 150 OZ / 4436 ML

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85
drank Bai Mu Dan by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

I had this one yesterday and went to leave a review. Had it almost all done and switched into a different screen to do something else for only a minute. When I went back it was gone! I didn’t have time to redo so I’m getting it in today.

This was a really fluffy white tea. That little bag was really packed full to get it all in!

This tea made me think of a spring day. It was light and refreshing with a light floral aroma. There was the typical hay notes I often find in whites along with cucumber notes (which is what made it so refreshing). Even though this tea was light , it still had lots of body. The colour of the brew was amber.

A very enjoyable cup of spring. I just want to say too, that I’ve never before brewed whites at these higher temperatures. The results have been great and I want to see now how some of my other whites in my cupboard brews at that temperature.

Almost through all the samples now. Thanks Nannuoshan for some great teas!

Flavors: Cucumber, Floral, Hay

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 g 150 OZ / 4436 ML

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85
drank Bai Mu Dan by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

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84
drank Rougui by Nannuoshan
15575 tasting notes

Sipdown (115)!

Thank you Nannuoshan for the review sample!

It was really amazing being able to do a Gong Fu session with her because I don’t typically have people over for tea other than family and Tre (who is pretty disinterested) and, up until quite recently, I didn’t even have the proper brewing vessels to share the same tea with someone; no pots, Gaiwans, and otherwise. Just tools for matcha or Western brewing.

I’m sure I could have gotten more infusions from the leaf because the flavour wasn’t really even starting to fade when we stopped steeping; but we stuck with four because we had ordered food for supper an it had just arrived. And greasy Spinach, feta and banana pepper pizza didn’t seem like it’d go too well with a nicer oolong like this one.

Started with a quick wash; was surprised how much the leaves had started to open up just from the really short amount of time they were steeping. The smell was amazing; lots of mineral notes, just a smidgen of earthiness, a little sweet. Very lovely, and interesting.

First Infusion:

By far the most mineral tasting, with a pretty roasty body flavour as well as some stronger loamy, earth notes. A touch astringent; not much. There was just a little bit of sweetness poking through; like dried apricot maybe? For a tea named after cinnamon, I was definitely expecting that flavour though I definitely didn’t sense any in this first infusion. I think this was my least favourite infusion – though that certainly doesn’t mean it was bad; far from it.

Second Infusion:

My favourite infusion! Still had roasty and mineral notes, though less so. Accompanying these notes were the sweetness of walnut with a little bit of a drier mouthfeel from the tannins in the time. It was a nice astringency, though (while I usually dislike all things astringent; I have come to expect at least a little astringency with nearly every nut flavour in tea- hazelnut being the exception). A bit more than in that first steep. Didn’t taste anything particularly earthy this time around; and the fruity note was a lot stronger. Still reminded me a little of apricot, but a little peachy as well and definitely more of a fresh, ripe flavour than the flavour of dried fruit. Some cinnamon notes in the background; still less than I had anticipated. The leaves were almost completely opened up.

Third and Fourth Infusion:

I’m grouping these ones together because they tasted almost identical to me. Leaves were completely open for both. Hardly any roasty or mineral flavour at all, but a lot more walnut and cinnamon. Maybe even maple notes? The bulk of the flavour was made up by a very, very sweet borderline syrupy peach flavour. Really fresh, ripe and natural. And, I’m wondering if it’s the sweetness of the peach that’s making me think of maple as an extension of the walnut notes? A few fun floral notes in the background as well.

This was my first Rougui, though I have another variation from Nannuoshan to try still and I’m quite excited for it given how much I enjoyed this one. I’ve also got another from a different company, and I look forward to trying that one after I’ve finished with my Nannuoshan reviews; those are definitely more of a priority for the time being.

This definitely seems like a tea type right up my alley though; there wasn’t any part of it I disliked so I’ll probably explore it further once I’ve finished up what’s in my cupboard. Sharing it with a good friend made it better too; though part of me wishes I hadn’t so I could’ve drank all the tea…

Flavors: Apricot, Cinnamon, Dried Fruit, Floral, Loam, Maple, Mineral, Peach, Roasted, Walnut

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Having this one this morning. I’ve tried a few different brew techniques since I got it but not having a lot of success. The tea smells so fresh and fruity from the bag but doesn’t taste as good as it smells when I brew it. So far, the best I’ve gotten it has come from the Grandpa method. I’ve had other Bi Luo Chun’s that brew pretty easy. I wonder why this one is so finicky?

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I was so excited to try this Bi Luo Chun but it was not quite what I was expecting.

Dry the leaves smelled a bit fruity , a bit faint- just a whiff.

It brewed up with lots of colour – a nice amber colour. The elements that make me love Bi Luo Chun were all there. It has a sweet mossy taste with fruity notes ; however it wasn’t very strong. It was just too light (barely there ) for me. I didn’t increase the brew time because I didn’t want this to go bitter. It actually wasn’t bitter for me, one of the things I was a bit worried about.

In my opinion Bi Luo Chun is one of those teas that is at it’s best in the first 6 months or so. This is still a good quality Bi Luo Chun ( I see it was picked in Spring 2014 ) and if I had enough of it I would double the amount of tea in brewing to bring out more flavour.

I used gong fu brewing for this so I’ve still got enough to try again with a bit longer steep.

Flavors: Fruity, Sweet

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90
drank Dian Yin Zhen by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

I western brewed this in my red cast iron tea pot today to share with Hubby.

It didn’t look like enough tea for a pot (especially since whites are very fluffy) but I trusted Gabriele that it was right (and it was). The leaves were white and furry covered.
When infused they turned a bright green.

This brewed up a light golden colour. It reminded me of a cross between a black and white tea. First there was that malty flavour that is always part of blacks along with sweet honey notes. A bit lighter were hay & wood notes and under that was a milky creamy flavour. This tea brewed well at a higher temperature (even higher than green!) with no bitterness- very full bodied but light.

I would consider getting this one. I just loved it (Hubby liked it too).

Flavors: Honey, Malt, Milk, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec 10 g 500 OZ / 14786 ML

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drank Dian Yin Zhen by Nannuoshan
1719 tasting notes

A Yunnan silver needle. Interesting. I have yet to meet a Yunnan I didn’t love.

The buds, as others mentioned, look like silver needle but not. They look like golden tips but not. What makes this different is the downy fur covered buds are straw color. They are so soft to the touch.

The dry scent immediately says Yunnan. It’s part leather, pepper, and hay.

After about a 30 second steep at 195 F this looks colorless until poured. In the cup it seems a grayish or possibly green tinted honey.

The taste is everything I love about Yunnan tea. Absolutely no bitterness. It has a warm earthy flavor that lingers between leather, cave mineral, slightly mushroom, and loam. It almost has a smoky presence but I am pretty sure white tea is not fired to halt oxidation.

After sipping this I realized I have sampled something similar in the form of white puerh.

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80
drank Lu'an gua pian by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

Ah, so this is melon seed tea. I had never heard of this tea before and did some searching about it while I was enjoying it.

The colour of the leaves I have are not quite like in the picture. Mine are quite dark, still green but looking almost black. I could smell a bit of spinach off the dry leaves.

The brew is a yellow colour. Not dark and not light – just yellow. It was grassy, a bit spinach & vegetal. The spinach & grassiness added that umami feel to it. There was also a slight nuttiness I always get from the Chinese green teas but wasn’t very strong in this one. What stood out more was the grassy flavour and that wasn’t overly strong like in Japanese teas but strong for a Chinese tea.

The first cup was excellent but in later brews the bitterness started creeping a bit into this tea. That was fine with me since I don’t always want plenty of infusions of every tea.
I’ve only had this one and Jin Shan Shi Yu so far and at this point I like the Jin Shan Shi Yu better than this one . This one is lacking the strong nutty/sweetness that the other had.

Flavors: Grass, Nutty, Spinach

Lion

I find that green tea tends to only yield 3 infusions for me before it is bitter or otherwise lacking in flavor, but even when I brew it gongfu style I don’t do particularly quick infusions. It seems to take longer to develop a round/robust flavor than other types do.

Ubacat

Yes, I rarely even do a 2nd infusion with any green tea. The first cup is always the best. I have so much tea, it’s a relief not to think I’m wasting the tea when I haven’t done multiple infusions. I agree about it taking a bit longer on the infusion time for gong fu. Probably because such low temperatures are used, it takes a little more time to get the flavour out.

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87
drank Jin Shan Shi Yu by Nannuoshan
661 tasting notes

My first Nan Nuo Shan tea! And great to start off with green.

Dry the leaves are a dark green, very tiny & curly. They reminded me a bit of Mao Jian but much greener and more curled.

I actually used the gong fu method instead of western brew since the instructions for western brew would give me way too much tea.

Brewed up, it was a very light yellow colour. Taste was grassy & smooth. It reminded me a bit of some Japanese teas with a good umami . I could also pick out chestnut and it was lightly sweet. This falls into a lighter green and is one of those teas you could sip on a long time without getting a caffeine rush. I really enjoyed this one.

Flavors: Chestnut, Grass, Smooth

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74
drank Dian Yin Zhen by Nannuoshan
15575 tasting notes

Sipdown (123)!

My Nannuoshan samples came in! Hooray! This was the first of the four I decided to try out; I know they offered to send more than that out to a person, but I knew I wouldn’t have time to review more than four promptly for them, so I limited the ones I requested. I picked out one silver needle – one of my favourite straight tea types, as well as two darkers oolongs for operation “explore more oolongs this year” and the one Pu’Erh they were offering, to explore that tea type a little further as well.

With all the samples coming in lately (Tea Ave. and Nannuoshan) as well as birthday stuff, I’m impressed that I’ve managed to balance drinking new teas and old teas as well as keeping my cupboard from puffing up. I’ve been hovering around 120 teas pretty consistently! And that’s a good number for me.

I enjoyed my first pot (both pots were done Western style) of this one early into the afternoon with my Dad; it was cool actually getting to pull out my tea set and share it with someone instead of just drinking on my own which is what I usually do. I should offer to share tea with Tre more often; as long as I’m brewing up something fun and flavoured he’s usually fairly interested if I don’t try to teach him about it.

I wish I’d asked my Dad’s impressions on this one; he has a history of not liking white tea at all and I’m wondering if, the more I serve it to him when he visits, that’s changing at all. He did have two cups of it though, so I know he didn’t hate it. That’s pretty high, even if unspoken, praise from him – when I made him Teavivre’s Jasmine Silver Needle he wouldn’t even finish one cup.

I found the first pot had a very soft, milky taste with a light floral edge to it which was really enjoyable. I know it was placebo, but the milky flavour made the tea liquor seem thicker and creamier to me. In the finish, I also noticed a bit of citrus flavour. While, apart from the creamy, milk note that made up most of the body flavour, the flavours in this tea were much more generic I think I liked this infusion just slightly more than the second.

I’m just finishing up my second pot now; there’s definitely a difference in flavours although there are similarities too. Most of the milky flavour has faded, though it’s still there as a supporting note, and the citrus flavour now reads to me as decidedly more lemony and is present in the body of the sip and not just the aftertaste. The floral note has become a little harsher, and is the first thing I’m noticing as I sip. It’s a little too strong for me. I’m also getting some camphor notes, which I didn’t notice in the first pot. Not sure I’m loving them.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good tea – though I chose not to continuing steeping after the second infusion because I felt the direction the flavours were heading was not one I would have been able to speak too favorably about. In particular, I like the milky/creamy flavour and the way the lemon/citrus intertwined with it.

Thank you Nannuoshan for the sample!

Flavors: Camphor, Citrusy, Cream, Floral, Lemon, Milk

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drank Nannuoshan 2013 by Nannuoshan
880 tasting notes

o Quantity: Full sample packet/ 110ml
o Water temperature: 100°C
o 5-7 infusions: 5-20 sec.

Stream of consciousness notes (ie. Don’t think too much, don’t care about grammar, just write what you are experiencing as you experience it)
o Dry leaf aroma: prunes, raisins, sharp sweetness, camphor is overshadowed by fruits, camphor notes are more prominent when aired out
2 sec wash
o Throat: camphor and then plums, faint hint of maple syrup, sugarcane sweetness
o Wet leaf aroma: prunes at the forefront and then a faint amount of camphor
o Liquor color: medium light tan – bit of red
o Liquor aroma: warm cream and honey first mixed with a faint amount of camphor, followed by a faint amount of prunes, sweetness is not sharp
o Taste: Incredibly mellow, notes of camphor hit first and then prunes, the overall sweetness that coats the mouth is from the honey and cream notes that are very faint. Medium body. Medium length. the camphor note lingers the longest and remains in the throat.

o Will do latter infusion notes at a later date. (My body is not used to young sheng as I typically consume it for medicinal purposes.)

o Final thoughts: This is the last tea that I tried from Nannuoshan. I am so incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to try such a vast variety. Thank you very much, Gabriele!

Preparation
Boiling 4 OZ / 110 ML
Red Fennekin

Sounds really delicious :D

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drank Tanyang Gongfu by Nannuoshan
880 tasting notes

o Quantity: Half the sample packet/110ml
o Water temperature: 90°C
o 3 infusions: 45, 60, 60 sec

Stream of consciousness notes (ie. Don’t think too much, don’t care about grammar, just write what you are experiencing as you experience it)
- Dry leaf aroma: tcm (traditional Chinese medicine) stores (herby, sharp, earthy, musty… it’s a very distinct smell that is only found in those shops… ugh… I know that this is not a helpful description for those who have not been), dried fruit, roots, mushrooms, faint amount of sweetness, incredibly powerful aroma overall
- Dry leaf aroma in heated gaiwan: the tcm store smell intensifies, and there is a faint amount of cocoa added
2 sec wash
- Throat: sweet pastries and baked bread, sharp sweetness, a hint of caramel
- Wet leaf aroma: tcm store smell followed by a softer note of fresh pastries
- Liquor color: medium red with a bit of with brown
- Liquor aroma: soft sweetness, a faint note of the tcm store followed by sweet pastry note, and a faint note of milk chocolate
- Taste: pastry note hits first followed quickly by the tcm store, however, it is more faint than the pastry, that note then fades into bread, malt, and a hint of cocoa. mouthfeel is slightly oily. medium length. no astringency. medium body. overall sweetness lies between sharp and warm/soft. it’s not a strong sweetness but it does coat the mouth and is present during the entire sip.

- 2nd infusion aroma: the note of milk chocolate is stronger in this steep. Overall very little degeneration in aroma and consists of same notes of first steep.
- 2nd infusion taste: the tcm store note is barely noticeable, the notes of cocoa and malt are stronger and blend into the upfront pastry note quickly. body seems a bit thicker.

- 3rd infusion taste: tcm store note a bit stronger than in the last steep, everything else is almost identical

- 4th infusion taste: all notes have been muted, pastry note is mixed seamlessly with the tcm store note, bread and malt notes are faint, overall a very light steep, the tcm store note lingers longest

- Spent leaf aroma: wet bark mostly followed by the tcm store note, a tad of sweetness and baked bread

At some point, I will come up with a list of what the strongest aromas in a tcm store are in an attempt to better describe this tea.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 OZ / 110 ML
Red Fennekin

I totally know what you mean about ‘tcm’ smell!! I used to work in a small Chinese clinic and the smell really is very distinct. Plus, because I spent all day there, my clothes used to smell like it for days hahaha

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drank Tie Guan Yin 1993 by Nannuoshan
880 tasting notes

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