white2tea

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Recent Tasting Notes

69

Sometimes you read a description and decide you need to buy the item described. I wanted to love this. It’s white. It’s black. A mysterious experiment.
However for me, tasting this tea in 2024, it misses the mark. It’s not bad, just not notable. The oxidation is too high and sends the expensive bud material into hongcha territory. The result is strawberry flavored water with an awkward dryness. It’s not a tea to collect nor worthy of serving to guests. It leaves me irritated that it’s not at least the sum of its parts, but instead less than.
I’ve got another 14 grams to get through but I’m just going to give it away and hope someone else finds it to be their cup of tea.

Flavors: Smoke, Strawberry

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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99

Have you ever found a perfect tea? This might be it for me. It’s loaded with ripe papaya and rose, silky in texture, and lingers without being soapy. It’s not a red, white, or black tea distinctly, but what it is, is nothing short of amazing. Did I mention this tea is just 20 cents a gram?

Flavors: Papaya, Rose

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

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78

This tea is like looking at a flower garden from behind a pane of glass. It wants to be floral, and you can see the flowers, but the aroma and taste are never right in front of your nose. A little more roast could have done it some good as well. It’s almost like it’s a few years old and has faded a bit. The melon flavor is there though—lingering like a candy. That, combined with the low price of this one makes it very worth it. It could be better, but it’s good enough to collect as is.

Flavors: Honeysuckle, Melon, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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85

You’re hiking along and kicked over a decaying log and you’re hit with the scent of fresh earth. You pick up a chunk of decaying wood and bite into it. You’re either supremely weird or related to a termite—who knows?
This one brews dark and thick. Excellent balance and incorporation of flavor, but the wood is still quite prominent. A subtle touch of warm spice gives a slight amount of intrigue, but otherwise it’s wood and wet moss.

Flavors: Dark Wood, Peat, Peppercorn, Petrichor

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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89

Aroma of rice husk, forest floor, campfire.
The deep age of this tea results in a flavor profile that’s so deeply incorporated that it’s hard to pick out specifics. There’s some wood in there, but it’s mellow and lingers almost imperceptibly. There’s a touch of camphor somewhere in the woods, near the campfire where you hung up your soaking leather boots to dry. You’re drinking tea still—which some shou pu`erhs forget. The bush is still there in this one though, with a slight astringency after the rest of the warm camp fades from mind. Relaxed feelings devoid of urgency. Overall this is maybe my favorite Shu to date. Who knows where it comes from? I don’t care. Give me more.

Flavors: Campfire, Leather, Tea, Wheat, Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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90

Sipdown 15 – 2024

SO floral, and so tasty. Lots of honey melding in with the floral notes as well.

Flavors: Floral, Gardenias, Honey, Jasmine

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90

Working on sipping through a bag, and while the first couple cups were super fruity this one is all floral and honey. Really delicious, as I love this flavor profile, but unexpected!

Flavors: Gardenias, Honey, Jasmine, Peony

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89

I’m drinking this tonight. I’m currently on a late “lunch” to add in some reviews. What else is there to do at 22:40? Haha.

I started sipping this earlier in the night, drinking it on and off. I’m brewing it in a new teapot I acquired from Yunnan Sourcing, and the clay pot really amplifies the puerh notes. This is a brightly flavored tea – it has a lot of energy, florals, and sweetness – all for an affordable price. I have a cake stored away, but I’ve somehow obtained 6 minis. I know for certain one came with the Shou-O-Ween haul, but the other 5…a mystery.

I’d go as far to say that this is one of those affordable teas that fall under my top 5-10 teas to own. I’d have to figure out the Top List, but it’s up there as one of those pu’s that’ll always be a good sesh and I can’t complain having sat down with the tea. I’d also say it’s a good starter puerh, as well as one good enough for the typical pu-head.

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75
drank 2021 Tiltshift Mini by white2tea
1 tasting notes

Brewed gongfu style. The dry leaf aroma leans toward hay, camphor, and mineral, with a finish of honey. Initial tasting notes of radish, citrus peel, honeysuckle give way to cream, vanilla, and peach. Very approachable.

Flavors: Camphor, Citrus Zest, Cream, Hay, Honeysuckle, Mineral, Stonefruit, Vanilla

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 30 sec

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75

*Backlog from Advent

This was the first tea I brewed today. It was late in the afternoon and the rain was really making me unmotivated to get anything done. I did manage to spend the necessary hour or so to clean, but it took a lot out of me.

I randomly pulled this from the leftover pile from the Advent season. A white tea sounded like potential. I have to be in a VERY specific mood for a white tea, and I was sure I was ready for it. This one took a lot of hits to open and really shine, but it did shine. It had a thicker mouthfeel than I anticipated and it was a refreshing, sweet, & apricot or peach (?) kinda tea. I’d image grabbing a cake of this, boiling the heck out of it, cooling it off in the fridge, and making this as an iced tea. It worked in a gaiwan, but it’s definitely work in that manner, too.

Flavors: Apricot, Peach, Sweet

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TeaTiff TTB
The leaf is a bit broken due to travel and the aroma is very minimal but when I first opened the bag I did sense something nice. The charcoal notes come out pretty well on this one. But… I don’t know.. I guess I feel like this one is different than other duck shit I’ve had. The roast notes are stronger than expected. Which I like but not in this type of oolong.

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85

this is simple ripe puer, very thick but good price tag.
Gonfu all the way starting at 10 sec, and increasing by 5 sec each time, managed to do about 10-12 steep

Flavors: Molasses, Oily, Soil

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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85

I’m back! My absence has mostly been due to having all access to the internet by way of a cellphone. I’ve been longing to get back onto Steepster and finding the communiTEA here, again. IG and Youtube pay off, but this is where I found the tea community and my own personal willingness to take the deeper dive into tea exploration. :)

Anyway, hi. I’m back.

I’ve been drinking the cake version of the 2023 Lumber Slut for the most part of the day. I’m on my second session since 13:30, after taking a brisk walk and facing the cold. This is a warming, rich woody, and viscous shou. It’s good to drink after taking a walk in the cold or whenever you’re faced with the dread of work (from home).

Cheers and happy sipping!
Catch you again on the next one.

Flavors: Creamy, Wood

ashmanra

Welcome back!

Tiffany :)

Hi @MadHatterTeaReview !! :)

MadHatterTeaReview

Hello Tiffany :)!

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drank 2022 Schafkopf by white2tea
15575 tasting notes

Gongfu!

Had a session of this now that I’m past the worst part of a pretty awful cold. It’s my first session in a few days, so I picked something a little bit sweeter and softer to ease back into things. Tea is something that so many people drink when they’re sick, but I tend to do the opposite. Since the joy of tea (for me, anyway) is so centered around taste, I just find the muted flavours I experience when I’m sick make me feel even more dejected and that negative mental headspace certainly doesn’t help in pushing through the physical ailments of a cold…

Today I can taste the nuanced and delicately sweet notes of spun sugar that sort of define this sheng, as well as the lingering and mouth coating notes of ripe and sugary green melon that come at the end of each sip. I feel lighter and more awake than I have in several days. Though I was mostly already there before this session, I do feel like it sort of pushed me back over the edge. I think by tomorrow I’ll be right back to my regular tea drinking schedule.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2VXoTwOEK8/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGl3GlrnMCQ

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Gongfu!

I ended up ordering a brick of both this tea and the 2023 Milan Maocha after revisiting a previous year’s pressing of the Milan Maocha using the more restrained steeping suggested by W2T in the new listings and having a really positive experience. I do think I may have swung a little too hard on the side of conservatism with this session as, between the smaller amount of tea leaf used and some congestion I’ve been fighting off, I found the steeped up to be a little too mild for my tastes. However, I feel like I could taste the foundation for something really exceptional here: a pleasant mineral roast and LOTS of smooth, fragrant florals that stretched past the advertised magnolia. I’ll be revisiting this tea soon – I just need to kick this cold first!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2N54sOOa44/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5RrISARnc

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drank 2021 Sunskate Mini by white2tea
61 tasting notes

I’ve been trying to save some money by not buying new things so it’s been quite a while since I tried a new tea to review! This was actually a free sample with a white2tea order. I’m not usually a huge fan of sun-dried dianhongs but I liked this one, maybe it’s the lighter oxidation. Pretty sweet, a little bit malty, some of that funky vegetable matter flavor I associate with Yunnan.

Flavors: Honey, Malt, Tomato

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83

Tried only in granpa and it was wonderful.
I’ll try it also in gongfu

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85

Gongfu! Fantastic flavour never had a lapsun so rich and intense

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I grabbed this one in the TTB; so thank you anyone who put it in!
I am not so sure if I like it or not? It is an unique tea, somehow smoky, but when drank it is a floral bomb. Powdery note here as well.

A bit too much floral for my tastes.

Used 3g / 300 ml for 3-4 minutes western steep. Definitely going to gongfu remaining 3 grams.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 g 10 OZ / 300 ML

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81
drank 2021 Lumber Slut by white2tea
17 tasting notes

A nice robust daily drinker that trades blows with factory offerings in the value department.
It features some of the classic chocolate and vanilla robust ripe flavors, but with more of a focus on woody notes, like a spicy oak wood. There is also a slight smokiness and just a touch of pleasant basement funk on some brews. Some of the smokier brews made me think of a campfire or a scented candle. The leaves seem to indicate a high degree of fermentation.
Overall, a well-balanced ripe with a touch of something extra. Not as challenging as the edgy name might suggest.

Flavors: Dark Chocolate, Oak, Smoke, Vanilla

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Grandpa Style!

I almost skipped over this tea in favour of some of the other new releases, but based on this first taste I’m glad I didn’t! It’s a dense, thick and brothy sort of tea with a lot of tasting notes that feel particularly apt for its namesake. Leather, oak, peat moss, and a big of tobacco smoke. If “dark academia” had a flavour, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this – especially with how potent the notes of leather are. I can just picture exactly what the reading room inspired by this tea would look like: low lighting, antique wood furniture, and rows upon rows of first edition texts. Definitely sets a particular mood as I’m drinking it, and I’m very much digging it!!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1pn-lQOKMy/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a79C3jWUiYE

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84
drank 2021 Waffles Minis by white2tea
4170 tasting notes

From CameronB!  Thank you again!  A lone tiny mini waffle.  This MIGHT be my first mini anything from white2tea?  I’m excited to try it.  This tiny waffle fits perfectly in the bottom of my infuser basket.  I don’t know if that will help it infuse… Honestly, the amount of leaf here is probably less than I would use in a mug for a ripe puerh.  The flavor is fine — a bit starchy, nothing negative about it.  I would expect magical waffle flavor, even if in the back of my mind I know that is a stretch… but it seems like plain puerh to me.   The second steep possibly did have more waffle qualities… more bready.  The third weakened a bit.  But the fourth is rich and coffee like… just the way I like it!  The tiny waffles might lead to more expectation than otherwise, but the flavor here was decent enough if you want a cup of ripe puerh. I would say white2tea’s description is accurate anyway!
Steep #1 // 24 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  12 minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #3 //  9 min after boiling // 5 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 12 min
2023 sipdowns: 101

I’m in a rush to find some low-hanging-fruit-last-session-sipdowns for the last few days of the year, to up my sipdown number….

Kaylee

Hehe me too! Suddenly looking at samples and nearly-empties.

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drank 2023 Gina by white2tea
15575 tasting notes

Gongfu!

Enjoying a session this afternoon as I continue to sip through samples from tea orders that arrived earlier this month. It was the description of cherries and molasses that drew me to this tea; and I would agree that this tea definitely delivers on at least one of those notes. Though there’s something to the finish that is just a bit molasses like, it’s the cherry I find especially on the nose. The top notes of this more medium bodied ripe pu’erh are bright and fruity with a more lively, slightly acidic note. A mix of sweet red cherries and chicory root, perhaps. The mid-sip then shifts into something quite different; a more savory and brothy profile with a slick oiliness to it that makes me think a little bit of Chinese hot pot. The mix of tangy red fruit notes with the more unctuous elements is really unique and dynamic; like a sweet and sour shou!?

If I have any real critique, it’s that all the tasting notes have a rather “surface level” feeling to them; I’d like a little more depth and overall body to the session. However, I think that’s something that may come with time as this tea settles into itself and continues to age…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Xahr-ObFD/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TUvMf_WkFs

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78
drank 2023 Veldt Mini by white2tea
17 tasting notes

Grassy, sweet, with a rather nice note of mandarin orange. Astringent and drying aftertaste and a decent mouthfeel.

Flavors: Astringent, Grassy, Mandarin, Sweet

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