Old Ways Tea

Gongfu Sipdown (3281)!

After a quick rinse; this yancha is quite mineral and nutty, with really heavy notes of charred walnut/almond, roasted chestnut, charcoal, wet stone, tree bark, and cassia oil. Very dark and a little bit astringent, but more in the way that walnut skins are or how powdered cinnamon dries out the mouth. It smells fresh and woody in a way that makes me think of my grandfather’s woodshop, after he had finished sanding something down. That part is quite nostalgic for me.

After a few steeps the roast and char lighten up considerably, though the sweetness of the nuttier tasting notes remains. As does some of the spice. The undertones get progressively more floral, with notes of orchid, sakura, and plums blossom. The sweetness and almost marzipan-like quality of the plum blossoms lingers on the tip of the palate after each sip. It’s actually quite relaxing, and the tasting note progression of this tea is especially impressive as each layer of flavour unfolds over time; like a slowly unwrapped present.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DaYQPdRETPs/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr70fdYNRno

Gongfu Sipdown (3137)!

Finally finished off this sample from I don’t even know when. Even though this yancha is dubiously old, it was surprisingly quite fragrant from the moment the water hit the tea leaf. Smooth, more medium-leaning roast and char, with undertones of walnut, damp rocks, and bark. However, more than anything else, just deep, deep notes of round and palate-coating stonefruit that invites a mouthwatering, lingering sweetness after each steep. Cherry, for sure, but more so red plum. I don’t even know when I last brewed a rock oolong (or even tea in general) that was so plummy tasting! As the session progressed, so did the nuanced notes of spice and florals. A little lilac, a little more clove, and a whole lot of orchid. Beautifully layered and grounding! So thankful to have had the time this morning to sit with this tea and watch those flavours unfold.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTk-dhzDfCa/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5RAxs6dby8

With the new year upon us, and a week of rain to ground me from going outdoors, I feel it’s high time to get back on track with some tea reviews.

This yancha is from a past Old Ways Tea club that I couldn’t find in particular. I’m not very familiar with the Jin Feng cultivar, but from the initial steeps it seems lighter like a Bai Ji Guan. Initial impressions are sharp and mineral off the bat, a little bit surprising given the color of the liqueur. However, the session does not evolve from anything beyond a generic yancha session; there’s a lot of the characteristic markers of a solid tea, from the yan yun to the lingering minerality, but it’s not enough to leave a lasting impression on me.

An aside, this tea would pair well with berry aromatics, perhaps a little bit of lingonberries on the side would take this session to the next level not just for this tea but for more middling yanchas in general. Just some food for thought.

To open up November, I will be finishing up the series of five black teas from Masu which were sent as part of the Old Ways Tea club back at the start of last month. So far I haven’t been all that impressed with the selection, ranging from the bad to the ugly. The last variant we have here is ‘wild style’ which sounds good on paper. I like to get a little wild sometimes.

As usual, flavors are muted but lean heavily on the floral with a little bit of fruity. It’s way less tasty than most hongchas, which is a bit disappointing. Maybe I’m just a bit too used to the stuff coming out of tong mu, or maybe I have been fooled this entire time by artificial sweetener or something. Nevertheless, it lands in the mediocre bin again. I won’t be missing these teas, and am hoping that the December club from OWT will have a better selection. They did have two decent yanchas in the box this past month, especially a ‘wild style’ DHP which I received pretty favorably.

EDIT: The later infusions of this tea opened up a little bit better than the other variants, so I feel obliged to give it a retroactive increase in its rating.

This is another ‘big leaf’ variant of the recent Old Ways Tea club, but from a 2022 harvest instead of a 2021 harvest. I did not give a very favorable score to the 2021 edition, so hopefully there will be a marked difference in the picking. From what I’ve gathered about Masu black tea, there is a general theme on very light tasting notes especially for a hongcha. Personally this isn’t my kind of thing, as I prefer punchy and engaging teas.

The 2022 harvest is really not all that different from the 2021. My taste buds are not fooling me in that the ‘Old Tree’ variant is by far the best. I do enjoy the orchid smell off the wet leaf on this one, it’s definitely more floral than fruity. But in terms of the overall session, it’s about just as mediocre as the last two I tried. I think I have one more of these and then I can move on to other stuff.

Okay so apparently I did get an ‘old tree’ variant of the black tea offering in the most recent OWT club. Don’t know how I missed that, but plucking it out of my tea drawer definitely got me excited as this is the variant that sounded the best to me. I have not been a huge fan of this offering, but if there’s going to be a session that sells me on this tea, it will be today with a stormfront hitting California to add to the ambience of the session.

Maybe I’m getting more used to this tea, but this session went a little better. Still, the fragile taste notes from this hongcha pale in comparison to some of the lapsangs and dianhongs I’ve had in the past, which provide interesting and rewarding sessions. Was this is a decent session? Sure, but nothing memorable.

Next up on the OWT black tea roster is the ‘Da Bo’, or big leaf, variant. This one isn’t smoked, which already is an improvement over the last. Sure enough, the smell of the dry and wet leaves is much more palatable. The only thing I can’t get over is just how weak this tea is; I thought maybe it had something to do with the smoking process in the last one, but again there is just not much in terms of body. If the flavor notes were more prominent (honey and berries), then this would be a decent tea, but I can’t help but feel like I’m drinking mildly sweetened water. I’ve had many black teas which bring much more to the experience.

Old Ways Tea had forgone black tea in much of their 2025 clubs, and October’s edition is meant to rectify that. We have four different types of black tea across two different harvest years, which means there are 8 variants of this assortment. Each club box only has 5 bags of black tea, meaning that some of the assortment will be left out of my reviews. Unfortunately, it appears like I never got a single one of the ‘old tree’ variants.

Smoked black tea is not my thing. I’m not a huge fan, so I figured I would clear it out of my collection first. Initial impressions off the nose are not great; I get the smell of dry cat treats, like the food that occupies the space between dry and wet food. This tastes far different than any of the smoked teas I’ve had from other vendors. Fortunately, the smoke taste does not really linger, because there still is that sort of funkiness on the tongue as well.

Overall I was pretty unimpressed by this tea. Even after the smoke wears are, you aren’t left with much taste, as if the smoke carried all the flavor away. There are some light gingerbread notes which are surprising for a small leaf black tea, and as the session went on I began to detect some more characteristic black tea notes but they were very muted. I’m not going to chalk this edition up to a dud just yet, but it’s very hard for me to overcome my bias against smoked black tea. It’s a type that you either love or hate, and in 99% of cases, I absolutely hate it.

The other yancha in the October 2025 Old Ways Tea Club. This is a three-tea blend DHP, and I far prefer it to the Shi Ru; you have that wild chocolatey berry sweetness characteristic of a high quality version of this tea type. It isn’t heavy on the roast, and holds up pretty well. I noticed I have been rating these club yanchas quite low, and I don’t necessarily think it’s because of bad quality tea, but there definitely has been a bit of mediocrity with some of these more obscure (for a reason) cultivars. This DHP on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise, and one I’m sure I’ll go through quickly.

I finally was able to get around to opening up the newest OWT club shipment, a club which focuses heavily on yancha, but as we see in this one, can also include black tea. This is a black tea ‘focused’ club, but there are still two yanchas which are included, one of which is this Shi Ru, or ‘Stone Milk’, cultivar.

Initial impressions off the first cup are I can definitely ‘taste the name’ of this cultivar. It tastes like warm rocks with a very muted sweetness and a surprisingly full body. There’s a lot of tanginess on the tip of the tongue which I can’t narrow down to any sort of specific tasting note. There’s no false advertising with this one, although I can’t say it’s an exciting session. I drank this like a breakfast tea, and the mood of it was one that was very relaxing. A nice little tea to start off a little break between two jobs, but not something I would go out of my way to buy.

Another component of a long-passed Old Ways tea club. This one came with the ‘Medium Roast’ DHP which I reviewed a while back on here, and the club’s purpose was to be a sort of taste test to see the effect of the roasting process. It’s no secret that I prefer heavy and dark roasted yanchas – when you take the roast off you get a much nuttier and wild profile, something evident in the Bai Ji Guan cultivar and also evident here. I can’t say I’m a fan of either of these two teas; while this is a high quality tea, the rock cooling effect on the back of the tongue is there, but I get very little enjoyment out of these lightly roasted teas.

I should be getting a new OWT club in the mail any day now; despite this tea I can’t recommend them more if you’re a yancha fan, especially one in America. They are one of the only domestic tea vendors that I’ll buy from.

Another miscellaneous Old Ways tea club tea that survived in my cupboard. This was part of an edition of the club that I vaguely remember from earlier this year which had both a small and medium roast production of the same DHP. As I’m not a big fan of the lighter yancha cultivars, I far preferred the medium, so I’m surprised this packet eluded my thirst.

All in all, strictly run of the mill yancha. It’s not fruity like the higher quality DHPs, focusing rather on the spicy and charcoal minerality characteristic of a rou gui or a shui xian. It deserves a little bit of a higher rating than a generic yancha because the flavor held out for longer than I expected. Otherwise not too much to write home about; have had many better DHPs…

A late-night session after a very hot summer day. This tea is from a past Old Ways Tea club of which I don’t remember, and unfortunately I tossed the information sheet so I’m going into this one blind. Shui Jin Gui, or ‘golden turtle’, is one of the higher-end yancha cultivars and I really have never had many opportunities to taste it, similar to Tielouhan.

Off the rinse, the smell is intensely charcoal with emerging scents of dark berries after the leaves cooled down., while the color is not as dark as I expected it to be. I put it aside to save for later. The first infusion is surprisingly abrasive, with a lot of on the nose tart and citrusy notes, with a hint of hot wax. Not a lot to write home about, and not a lot I could get my finger on in terms of tasting notes. The smell of the wet leaves was now entirely mineral, which definitely did not do anything to assuage my fears that this was gonna be a dud.

Second infusion was better, this tea performs best when you aren’t trying to think about its tasting notes. And in reality, that’s pretty much the theme of the entire session. I don’t know if it was just me not being on my game, or if this tea truly is that much of a conundrum, but I am not exactly going to show any sorrow for this one departing my collection.

The main event of the August 2025 Old Ways Tea club. A very select few ended up getting one of these along with a high-quality Shi Ru, but unfortunately I was not one of those people and got two of the rou guis instead. This is listed as a competition-grade rou gui (one of the most popular yancha cultivars).

Initial impressions of the wet leaf are spicy with a tinge of sweetness below the roast. Liquor is a rich burnt caramel with a lovely spiced cinnamon smell off the nose. The taste of the first infusion rests heavily on the characteristic cinnamon notes. The body is slightly rich with a hint of milkiness, leaving a little bit of froth on the tongue. I took all the time I needed finishing this first infusion; I swear it felt sweeter and spicier at the bottom of the cup.

The lingering yan yun on my tongue set the stage for the second infusion, one that I felt would make or break the tea. The spice was more intense on the tongue, dissolving over the top of my tongue and coating my mouth. This is unmistakably a high quality rou gui and characteristic of the best this cultivar has to offer. It does not offer anything surprising in terms of taste notes, but is truly an orthodox or traditional iteration of the tea type. The spice sticks to your front teeth, truly rich.

The third infusion brings buttered toffee to counter the aggressive passion of the cinnamon spice. There is still a spiciness on the back of the throat – this tea is holding up and evolving very nicely. On the fourth infusion I was met with a surprising berry sweetness on the nose, while the body of the tea is just as smooth as it was on the initial steep. A fruity dark chocolate lingers in the mouth, a taste so good I took a little break from drinking just to savor it.

In the later infusions, I got hints of pumpkin spice, root beer float, and vanilla. I cut it off at ten infusions, more than enough to get an impression, and promptly returned to the rinse. Yes, it could have gone a few more infusions. I might push it on my second bag, which I’m thankful to have received. One of the best rou guis I’ve had the privilege of tasting, and salvages this edition of the club.

Shui Xian is back on the menu for the Old Ways tea club for August 2025, which is a bimonthly offering of various yanchas and a little bit of other teas. At 45 USD it’s a bit on the pricey side for a club subscription, but the selection is interesting and engaging, while not being largely focused on the experimental like many other vendors.

As the ‘darkest’ yancha cultivar, shui xians generally offer a very soupy and warm session with a heavy emphasis on the charcoal roast. The vendors notes on this tea speak of stony and mineral notes, but not much more information than that. It has a medium-strength charcoal pine forest smell off the nose, which is wiped off after the initial rinse (saved for later in traditional Wuyishan fashion – we’ll get back to it later). In fact, I would argue this is on the lighter side for the cultivar, not something I’m particularly excited about but I’m a victim of obsession for this tea type. I concur with the vendor on the taste, a lot of upfront minerality paired with that lasting yancha sweetness on the back of the tongue and a smooth chill at the back of the throat.

Second steep moves towards the spicy, with an incense fragrance note I can’t put my finger on. Definitely nothing woody about it – something more resinous. Third steep off the nose is a little concerning as the tea smells like it is well spent. With shoegaze on in the background, this tea pairs well for an introspective night session, but only because the fog is rolling in here. I prefer shui xian in the winter (along with most yancha, Jan-Mar is the sweet spot season for this tea type, competing with shou puerh), and tonight is ‘cold’ by Californian summer standards.

After the fourth steep there really isn’t anything of note. The longevity just isn’t there for this to be a remarkable yancha, but I love the feeling that it gave me and it complemented the session well. I wouldn’t say that it’s indicative or a particularly noteworthy representative of the cultivar though. Most of the flavor got absorbed into the rinse, which was good but I’m surprised at how light this tea is for a shui xian.

A recurrent feature of the Old Ways tea club, which generally focuses on yancha, or rock oolong. The August 2025 club features this along with some Shui Xian and higher quality Rou Gui; usually it drops late in the summer which is a little unfortunate since I usually like to drink my share of green tea earlier in the season, right after PQM.

It’s advised to drink this tea grandpa style; in fact, Hou Kui is probably the definitive grandpa-style tea. With that said, I went the gongfu route and still felt satisfied. Very light with a muted sweetness and a silky smooth body. Probably one of the best representatives you can find of this tea type, but there is one major error on the part of the packaging that I cannot get over, and has never been resolved in the 3 or so years I’ve been participating in this tea club: the 50g or so of Hou Kui are packaged in the same mylar bag. This means that unless you repackage the tea in an airtight vessel (not easy because of the large leaf nature of this tea) you’re essentially in a race against time before this tea goes bad. It spoils fast, and is easily noticeable with the darkening of the leaves and an obvious difference in taste. I have found myself unable to finish the entire bag before it goes bad; hopefully in future editions of the club this can be resolved.

Gongfu Sipdown (2991)!

This is one of those rock oolongs where you can really taste the fire on the leaves right from the first steep. It’s notably astringent, but in a welcome way where that touch of texture adds complexity to each sip. Really roasty, mineral rich notes of charcoal and leather tempered by the warming spice and woodier cinnamon notes it’s named after. Definitely deepens over time with the lush, dense sweetness of orchids, osmanthus, and plums pushing up from the undertones into the mid-sip to dance alongside the spice, grilled peanuts, and barley. At times, there’s a bit of a herbaceous finish that teases cannabis, as if smelling someone smoke a joint from across the street. Even though I drank it very early this morning, the energy this tea carried is that of a laaaatteeee summer evening spent walking the streets after a really lively BBQ or bonfire and a few drinks. Warm and glowy, where you know in the moment that you’re going to look back fondly on this moment in a few years’ time.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DM1AITOSwdg/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DERhmibDUFs&ab_channel=RUDECATVEVO

Gongfu Sipdown (2951)!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLijopdSqZE/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfDtEsCFKAA&ab_channel=LandOfValenVEVO

Tongmu charcoal roast black tea
5/90 ml gaiwan
Wet leaf: dry smoky, sweet, fruity

Free sample from a forgotten order that I’ve been meaning to get around to… label says 2022 lol.
1. Oversteeped. Sour upfront and a little malty. Hint of bitter and florals somewhere. Tiny amount of sweetness on the finish
2. Unassuming. Probably understeeped. Just a bit sweet and slightly astringent
3. Sweet
4. Sort of dead. Stopped here

So a rinse probably wasn’t necessary here and took away from the tea. This is also 3 years old now, but certainly did not stand out here.

6g in TWL 70 ml thin gaiwan, which was kind of a mistake lol. used boiling water, and steeped for too long. 1st steep was meant to be a rinse, and was nice, medium dark fruity whatever. 2nd was much too bitter, but I still drank it. Decent sweetness in background. Moved to a mug and was happy enough with it.

Gongfu Sipdown (2628)!

This Wuyi oolong is smooth, full-bodied, and so very roasty with really dense and flavourful notes of grilled corn and chicory coffee on the front half of the sip before softening slightly into something more aromatic and floral with notes of cocoa butter, osmanthus, and orchids. A little powdery feeling in the finish, with a return to the mineral and woodier side of this tea. A few steeps in particular near the midpoint of the session had fruitier notes of red plum and huckleberry that poked through, like a turtle cautiously sticking its head out of it’s shell. Really lovely, especially enjoyed outdoors after a full day’s worth of rain yesterday – everything was just so crisp and fresh!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-f6KHduaB3/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1D_PYqQKoQ

(2022 harvest) There is a really vivid, delicious rendition of oatmeal porridge, cinnamon on nose. Needs to be brewed sensitively though – on my first try there was something a bit phenolic and plasticy (the charcoal/roast?). Palate is so smooth though. Second try with less concentration of leaves to water and that distracting phenolic/rubbery note had faded back a bit, letting the tea’s more savory elements shine. Upgraded from 87 to 90

(2022 harvest) Soft and fruity, with a little toasted rice and a hint of mango and persimmon leaf on nose. Very smooth, subtle palate. Successive steeps, and it reveals notes of birthday cake, along with a pleasing earthy quality not unlike a puerh.

(2022 harvest) Light, greenish amber cast. Notes of oatmeal porridge, steamed wild herb, persimmon leaf, accompaning some expected yancha notes. Then quite a bit of floral quality in the mouth- magnolia flowers. Enveloping texture. Quite nice, and different.