7 Tasting Notes
Before I write up my tasting notes, I’ll say that I’m not sure if this is DarjeelingTeaXpress’ Jungpana First Flush. The amount I drank was gifted to me by a friend. I’m just using this because it was indeed a 2011 Jungpana First Flush.
I tried two infusions of this tea.
First: This tea is close to what I would consider a classic Darjeeling. It has a nice thick creamy body that is sweet. However, I find, for every sweet note you find, a floral note is taken out. That being said, it’s not as floral as I like my First Flushes to be.
Second: Still has a nice sweet and creamy texture. Even less floral than the first infusion. However, I tasted some nice peppery notes in the taste.
Overall, a nice tea.
Preparation
My first cup of Bai Hao served to me 3 years ago was fantastic. Over the years I have slowly forgotten why I and everyone else in the world enjoyed this tea as much as we did. It got to the point that I rarely made myself a cup of Bai Hao. All of this changed for me when I was traveling in Taiwan with a friend.
This Bai Hao tea ended up being one of the best uncovered gems of the trip. We literally just stumbled up the shop selling it and made the purchase based on the way the dry leaves looked and smelled.
Dry Leaves: Wu se cha; 5 color tea, is a name that definitely best describes the dry look. The leaves look pristine, the way they curl around each other and clump together. There are different hughes of dark red, bordering on brown with some grey tips thrown in.
Infusion: The infusion liqueur is a deep red. The smell is so sweet- both a tropical sweetness and a malty sweetness.
Taste: The taste is very similar to a nice smooth, bold, and rich chinese black tea. But there are more layers than just that. Buried beneath the malty flavor lies a tropical pineapple paired with black pepper qualities.
Preparation
This Alishan is from Spring 2010. Despite it being a year old, it’s still full of flavor.
The rolled leaves are bright jade green.
The scent and taste is what I would associate with a classic high mountain Alishan tea. The body is very rich and full, with a nice slight creamy texture.
The taste is really floral and has notes of light perfume.
Preparation
I’m finding this tea is like no other, to me. Due to its leaf size and production style/timing- I feel they almost pick this tea from the bottom up; this tea is in a class all its own. I immediately fell in love with this tea when I tried my first cup at the Yuren Tang shop in Taipei.
This variety of Fo Shou- Buddha’s Hand, is semi oxidized, unroasted, and rolled like an oolong. It, however doesn’t show any characteristics of any oolongs found in Taiwan.
The dry leaves aren’t as bright green as a lot of the rolled oolongs I have seen, but have a darker deeper green. Has a nice vegetal, ala artichoke heart or steamed green bean smell.
Like the smell, the artichoke and green beans come through in the taste. It starts out like, but gradually gets heavier, leaving a pleasant rich vegetal flavor that finishes on the tart side. Not the most intricate tea, but incredibly far from straight forward.
Preparation
The dry leaves are tightly woven knots and corkscrews twisted lengthwise; a patchwork of white and green threads.
After adding this tea to my warmed gaiwan, the first thing that greeted me was a creamy yet slightly roasted and vegetal aroma. But once infused, you notice more characteristics of asparagus and slight tropical notes.
The first thing you notice about the taste of this tea is how sweet it is. It is delectably sweet like pineapple. Once the sweetness washes over your tongue, a light asparagus taste pervades it.
This smooth, full bodied, and refreshing tea is perfect for sunny spring days.
Preparation
Scent: The smell of the matcha dry is sweet. Not fruity but a toasted sweetness. The aroma changes after you add water into your chawan. The steam brings out a delicious sweetness to your senses that seems more candied and tropical than it does roasted.
Liqueur: The color of the powder is a rich forest green color, but takes on a deep Jade green color once whisked.
Taste: Starts with subtle sweet tone. Finishes with a tart astringency as it engages every surface of your mouth. This matcha has a great finish that lasts around 10 minutes
