Daylon R Thomas Send Message

Backlog: I had this over the weekend on a coold autumn day. Leaves are falling, and despite not having filtered water at that moment, the three western steeps of this tea were comforting. Caramel, brown sugar, maple, smoke, roast, char, and campfire smoke were in abundance. I also kept getting berry notes, like blueberries or raspberries after they’ve been cooked into crepes and pastries. Active imagination note because of association, I know. But I regret not getting more of this one despite having a decent amount of it.

People actually reviewed this one! Thank you Leafhopper!

So, I gong fu’d it for four steeps than stopped. Went friendly on the leaves. It’s actually more black tea-ish than other Milan Hong Cha’s I’ve had in comparison. Waaaay heavier on the malt department while maintaining some cherry notes. I personally get some of the more citric grapefruit oolong notes from it’s varietal from time to time in aroma and a little in taste. A little bit bitter, but dark bittersweet from “redder” (totally making it up) tannings. The overall vibe of this one is more red than other Milan Blacks too. Sometimes, it was brisk enough to adulterate with cream and sugar, but I didn’t go that far. I haven’t decided on it yet. It definitely stands out, and it may be a little too strong for me to frequently drink, I do like it.

2021 Version from Leafhopper. I made a few mistakes on this one. I really wanted to try it from floating leaves with the promise of a fruity oolong. Making it, it’s fussy. The realy rinse produced a thin lilac flavor and aroma that didn’t produce much. Heat coaxed the sugars out a little bit. The second steep was supposed to be 30 seconds that turned into 3 minutes that was a little bitter and overbrewed, but had nice floral flavors with some fruity. The overall vibe was closer to cool whip with some vague fruitiness.

The next two were 20 and 30 sec respectively, and had more pronounced profiles that were mostly soft in flavor, but headier in the aroma department. Steep 5 had more fruit by far, drying finish, and then it lost lustre as it cooled into a grassy soup.

I’ve gotten two more cups that didn’t stand out as much. I’m really glad I got to try this tea, though I think it was a little too subtle for my preferences. Then again, I’m reverting back to old tastes for flavored teas lately and rely on oolong for too much “green dessert” experiences.

Nice green tea from Leafhopper with just the right amount of L-Theanine to releive headaches. In terms of taste, it’s got more similiarity to a white needle green tea that some other Bi Lo Chuns I’ve had, and it’s smoother too. I mostly got green peas, sugar snap peas, fresh regular green beans, nuttyness, and a little bit of sweetness. I tumbler styled a light amount of these fury leaves. It only brewed well once and didn’t last past the second grandpa style, but a lighter green tea is honestly what I like more, so I’m not complaining too much.

Overall, easy for me to like and has enough sweetness to let people get into it that aren’t a fan of super spinachy green teas. Only fresh greens in this teas profile.

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.