85

A tale of two teas. I posted the following review after 5 steeps:

Liquid Proust was kind enough to share his purchase with me.

I was looking forward to trying this, partly because it is purpored to be LBZ, and partly because AllanK has been after me to try Awazon, so this kills two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, the bird is overrated.

I loved the nose. It is a rich blend of smoke and tobacco, and made me really hopeful that the tea would be great. Unfortunately, the taste is rather pedestrian: not unlike a Xiaguan tuocha. The initial steeps weren’t very bitter, which is surprising in an LBZ, and there wasn’t a whole lot of cha qi. The cha qi started to sneak up on me around the 4th steep, but never got really strong; I’ve had dozens of teas with more.

Overall opinion is that this would be a good daily drinker for those who want the kick of cha qi. But not at the price.

The 6th,7th, and 8th steeps were totally different. Now the flavors are straw with hints of apricot and the smoke and slight bitterness were replaced by sweetness. I’m definitely feeling the cha qi. I’m a bit disappointed that the tea still presents as a simple flavor, it’s just a completely different simple flavor. I’ve bumped my score up by a couple of points (from 83) but still can’t recommend the tea. I came really close to moving on to another tea after steep 5. I’m glad I didn’t, at least in part because I started to read Liquid Proust’s review and saw that he thought the tea improved in late steeps.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 g 2 OZ / 59 ML
Liquid Proust

I told you that this one takes forever to open up!

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Liquid Proust

I told you that this one takes forever to open up!

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Bio

Retired engineer/physicist.
My ratings will usually be based on multiple tastings. Oolong teas are generally 3 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 1 minute. Black teas are 1.5 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 3-4 minutes. Pu-erh is 3 grams in 2.5 oz, generally 10, 10, 20, 30, 60 sec. Since I use less tea, 6 sessions is equivalent to twice that many for people who use 7 grams of tea.

My numerical ratings are all based on how much enjoyment I took from the tea. Since I prefer blacks and oolongs, they will receive higher scores. I also give a couple of extra points to decafs, just because I can drink them in the evening without staying up half the night. I don’t dislike flavored teas, but find that they lack the complexity of finer teas.

90-100 = superior, worth a high price
80-89 = Excellent. Will buy again
70-79 = Good tea, but probably won’t buy
60-69 = Nothing really wrong, but…
Below 60 = Wouldn’t drink again. Probably didn’t finish

I am having computer problems and my password is lost. If my computer dies, I won’t be able to access my account, so will need to start a new account as Dr_Jim. This statement vouches for my new identity.

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Massachusetts

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