5/13/14
Tried a bit of this today gong fu style,,,it is brand new,,I will let the rest age a bit to develop more goodness :)
You open the package on this and it is OH Yeah,,,malty, creamy, sweet- smelling yumminess. The snails are perfectly rolled golden and brown cuties.
1. Rinse 30" creamy, malt scents and liquor is a reddish gold color.
2. 30" Leaves starting to really puff up,,,layered flavors, a citrus note is playing with the cream and malt.
3. 30" Leaves really open and big. They are a brown terra cotta mud color and they are all perfectly the same size and you can’t believe they were the little snail shapes :)
4. 30" Still full bodied, rich, citrus, malt, and cream.
5. 30" Starting to lose creamy notes now,,still malt and citrus.
6. 30" Leaves are saying farewell to me now.
Yummm great quality tea from Yunnan Sourcing :)
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6/29/14
Tried this Western style today,,,190F , 1 tsp per 8 oz H20, brewed in a classic oval teapot 2 cups at a time. Steeped 3 minutes.
Also, coming off of a little travel cold so I can smell the deliciousness of this tea but my taste buds probably need one more day so keeping that in mind,,,,,the dry leaf is smelling so malty and good.
Brewed, the liquor is deep amber with scents of a sweet molasses. Oh yumm smelling!
Wet leaves are sooooo cute. They were cute tightly rolled little snails as dry leaves and when they unfurl, they turn into lazy chocolate colored snails. Still curly, but hang in’ out curly.
Flavor is creamy, hint of orange, and malt. I wish my taste buds were back to full capacity because this tea is good stuff. I am getting all the notes that I got last time so Western style brewing is cool as long as you don’t overleaf. I’m getting to where I just use 1 tsp per 8oz water and that’s usually what you need for a good cup. This is definitely good tea!!!
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7/14/14
Had some more Gaiwan style today. Do not overleaf this one,,,it will become way to strong and develop a smokey paste flavor. Had put too many leaves into my gaiwan and had to start over bc of overleafing lol.
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7/24/14
Finally found a way to bring out the best in this tea. I got a few cup size Western glass teapots with super large “same size as the pot” infusers. I brewed this 1 tsp per cup of water at 190F for 3 minutes. I watched the snails unfurl properly and the flavor does not have any bitterness or zest quality that stands out. I am really liking this brew the very best out of all the ones I have tried. (I am loving these “cup-size” teapots) There is still a pasty mouthfeel or flavor to this tea that is different for sure. There is almost a nutmeg flavor as well. The flavors are pasty, nutmeg, a bit of orange but very subtle.
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7/29/14
Had a cup Western style this morning and put it up against a cup of Jin Die from Camellia Sinensis. The Jin Die snails are smaller than these snails so I wanted to see which I liked best.
This tea is brisk and full of flavor. I brewed it at 190F for 3 minutes. I think these Bi Luo teas are better suited to Gong Fu but Western is good too, it is definitely a stronger brew Western style. The flavors are smoky malt, orange zest, a touch of cream in the back of the tongue and throat. I am looking for my nutmeg note today and not catching it as much but it is a spicy hint so nutmeg is very subtle today this way.
In comparison to CS Jin Die, this one is deeper and more smoky malt, where the Jin Die is brighter and more citrus.
I found that the two size snails have completely different flavors which of course they would. It is cool to see how the different size in leaves and rolling can bring out such different flavors!
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8/6/14
Still waiting on my Gong Fu tray but did this one Gong Fu style today. 190F immediate rinse then 30-30-30-30-30. It really is a beautiful amber orange color and has cream, malt, spice-nutmeg, and a touch of orange. The snails all open up to be double buds that are fairly large. Always a great red tea.
Flavors: Cream, Malt, Nutmeg, Orange Zest
