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Thank you Brendan! I’m not going to say no to some free Laoshan. It’s actually nice to have some fresher leaves too. I was going to do this one western, but I did mug-fu. 35 seconds so far, and it’s got the typical cocoa profile and some squash thrown in there too. It is sweeter though, and I got a borwned marshmallow in the aroma. Tasting it, it’s got a little bit of a smores thing going on. Such a good black tea. There’s that bittersweetness at the end. I love aromatic blacks, so easy win right now. I’ll write more about this later.

I like this one. I took it out and drank it western mug style in my cup with a built in strainer, let it sit for about 3 minutes, took it out, sipped it, allowed it to cool in the crisp air, and then enjoyed it. I mostly get vanilla, oak, wood, malt, and black tea. Sometimes, I get cocoa along the lines of bakers chocolate, and I usually get steep 2 cherry notes. IT’s a very earthy vanilla tea. I actually like this one a little more than Golden Orchid, but it’s on the same tier as Cocoa Amore. It’s a little bit more subdued than cocoa amore since that one has a little bit more bitterness, whereas this one is earthier and more woodsy while maintaining some smoothness. I like it, but I’m pretty easy to sell to anyway. My rating hovers between an 88-92.

I’m in Vanilla tea comparison mode along with chai mode this fall. I wanted to try this one for a little bit, and got sample of Panetonne and the Raspberry Coconut Hojicha blend. All of them are pretty good, though I’ll admit the Hojicha blend was my favorite. This one, however, was very satisfying. The black tea base was rich but not too heavy and immensely cocoa-chocolatey in tea categories. The vanilla with it made it rich and silky. There’s a little bit of tannin hints more in line with the tannins I get from dark chocolate in a bittersweet aftertaste. It’s just the right amount of bitterness for my preference anyway since it has a very forgiving black tea base. The body was thin every once in a while, but I got about two good cups with a solid third rebrewing it. It reminds me of the flavoring you see in some Mandarin Silk oolong blends, but way better with a balanced black base. I wondered if it was a Laoshan black, but I double checked and it’s clearly identified. Definitely a tea snobs version of a vanilla black.

Sipdown this morning, backlog from last night. I slop fu’d it, using the rest of the leaves to plow through it. I rinsed it for 30, and it was super floral and buttery. Second steep, I got stuck using the batroom, and it ended tasting like buttered and steamed green beans, spinach, and flowers. Good, but too dense. I flash steeped it the rest of the time at least eight more times, and had more variety of flavor. Orchid, pineapple, butter, jasmine, lettuce, hints of fruit, and more greenness. Very good in the middle. I’m really glad I got to try this one. It’s mid to higher tier compared to other Dayuling’s I’ve had.

Sipdown. I saved enough for gong fu, but….it was just so goood western mug style that I did it again for the cold weather. I got so many complex flavors even this time by heavy leafing 6 grams into my strainer mug. First steep was dark cocoa, butter, wood, honey, and earth, second steep had an immensely sweet fruit like plums pulsating from the aroma, and than wood and slight peach in the taste. The rest of the resteeps were buttery, vaguely floral, earthy, with just the right amount of wood and tannin I like in both black teas and oolong.

I’m sad to see this one gone. I’ve got other dark oolongs that aren’t quite as good. This was a treat, Derk, especially since I haven’t had a darker oolong that I’ve enjoyed as deeply as this one in a while.

Tumbler styled the actual 2022 version, and it’s not as complex as the fresher 2023 crop, but it’s got more fruitiness than I expected. Pineapple popped in and out for sure with the usual fresh spinach feeling you get from most high mountain oolongs-AKA green tea for snobs, but I got more florals I like too. I almost hit my finger on plumeria, but not quite. Jasmine and orchid did appear in rebrew number 2 and 3 of this quasi-grandpa western style. I just let the 4 grams sit in my thermo with 190 F hot water and refilled it with hot water.

I will see I got more citrus than pineapple personally. It swung between orange and lemon for me. It’s not the top Dayuling I’ve had, but it’s one I’d easily rank higher compared to some of the oolongs I’ve had as of late. The flavors did change along as it cooled and brewed, so there’s more to it that I got to enjoy despite lazy styling it. I think I’ve got a little bit left of it for maybe one or two gong fu sessions.

Finally got to try an oz of this one! It always looks sooo pretty, and it is very pretty in reality. The smell has a lot of complexity, though the western/grandpa brew that came out was heavy on malt and sweet potatoe. The flavors didn’t have too much dimension, but it was definitely enjoyable. I’ve been spoiled by Imperial North Winds in the past, so it’s got stiff competition. However, I have darker sweeter blacks that will blend nicely. This will ground out some of the sweetness and add more “starch” or bread(th). I know, bad pun.

Preordered for the temporary vanilla dreams release. I tumbler styled it, and was actually pleased with it. Heavy on the earthy woody notes with the vanilla and malt. Sometimes, there were some mushroom or rootlike qualities to it. When it cooled off, it tasted something like cream soda or rootbear to me in tea form. I don’t have too much to add right now. Rivendell and Cocoa Amore were my favorites of the Vanilla dreams, and I’m glad I can mark this one off as one I’ve tried.

The second and third rebrews were not as rich as the first, but still comforting. The tea mostly went into woody dark oolong territory that actually resembled some of the darker Dahongpao’s I used to get. The notes were thinner, but it was honey, cedar, buttery texture, wood, and of course, tea. I don’t know if I want to finish this Gong Fu or Western for the sip down. I really enjoyed my cup western.

Thank you derk for this one sooooo much. I have been staving off my roastier oolongs for cooler weather. Michigan had a whiplash of 80 degrees to 50 degrees and 40 in the same week. SEMCO fixed a gas leak, and now, my house isn’t getting heat properly, so any tea that’s on the more savory side is well welcomed.

I plopped this into my strainer mug for 3 minutes, took it out, and it smelled like cookies, butter, and autumn leaf piles and cedar. Tasting it, I thought I was drinking a black tea. It’s got a caramel chocolate thing going on for my palette, more specifically bakers chocolate or older chocolate with fresh caramel. There are times it reminds me of those endangered species chocolate bars with dried fruit plopped in for some flavor.

Anyway, I’ll come back to it. I’m loving mugstyle. I wanted to try this one for a while, and I’m very happy to have a sample. I can already tell I’ll rebrew it a few times yet I’d only use it for special or needed occasions. The tea would be too heavy on it’s own for my palette, but it’s super soothing and tasty so far.