New Tasting Notes
Presence is everything.
I got to brew and drink this with all the time in the world today. And it becomes a completely different tea when I do so.
Having this for the first time while I was rushing to get to work, I could not notice a single thing about it other than ‘Chinese black tea.’ But today, I took a sick day and just sat with the tea and my experience of it.
100C, Western style with 1 tablespoon in 200mL for 3 steeps. Gave the spent leaves a nibble, decided they were indeed, spent. I contemplated what tea to have next, and then promptly chose to brew another tablespoon of the Imperial Golden Needle.
Beyond words and descriptions, I simply enjoyed it without bothering the cognitive mind with specifics. I like when vendors are detailed with their tasting notes, because it gives me the option to search out those notes in the tea without bothering to go down memory lane to retrieve those impressions myself.
Power of suggestion. Which is what most of reality is, anyway. But sincerely, I agree with Brendan’s descriptions. The chocolate-covered strawberry note comes out more as the tea cools, by the way. It’s one of those teas where I notice that the temperature it is drank makes a change to the notes in each sip.
This Gyokuro is simply phenomenal! I’m at a loss for words. Definitely more seaweed/umami in this one, but still very unique for a gyokuro.
This is a den/hon gyokuro shaded for 20 days. No sweetness, bitterness, or astringency. Fairly potent for 4-5 infusions.
Harvest: Spring, 2025
Location: Hoshinomura, Yame, Fukuoka
Flavors: Cucumber, Seaweed, Umami
Purchased a sample from HouDe.
4.1g, 90 ml ZZZ
dry leaf: dark, sweet, dried fruit
wet leaf: strong smoke, incense, nutty
Some sediment on bottom of cup. started off well enough, but couldn’t seem to extract what I was looking for taste-wise. Strong smoke, some fruity in throat, bitterness, and astringency, and some depth, but didn’t extend further. I don’t know how to explain it, but usually this kind of taste for noted teas builds into something, like a crescendo? It never got there. Just approached it and then flat-lined. Good warming and caffeinating, but was expecting more from it. Longevity was not great.
The description says “No unwanted small[sic] like smokiness,” which was not my experience at all. This was quite smoky, and presented obviously like a factory tea.
From a new Kettl order. This shincha is very unique! One of the strangest tasting senchas I’ve had. I like the complexity and novelty, but it’s not my favorite combination of flavors honestly.
No sweetness, bitterness, or astringency. Basically no seaweed/umami that I usually get from Japanese greens. But it is still very savory, just in an herbal way. In fact, their tasting notes are pretty spot on.
Harvest: Spring 2025
Cultivar: Yabukita
Location: Minami-Yamashiro (150 m)
Flavors: Artichoke, Green, Herbs, Savory
2005 Changtai “Bu Lang Mountain” Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake. Yunnan Sourcing USA.
The cake is loosely compressed and with only a little prodding 5 g. fell off the cake, enough for steeping. I gave it serial 30 s. infusions in 6 oz. alpine spring water at 195°F. after a 10 s. discarded wash in same. First steep was light amber liquor with soft fragrance of tea, flavors of aged wood, slight astringency and a drying sensation. Second was medium amber with stronger notes of same flavor profile. Some minerality and bitterness along the sides and back of my tongue. A soft, clean petrichor aroma, aftertaste with note of brazil nut and wheat bread and a caffeine kick. Third infusion was the same. For a twist, I turned the Fourth infusion into sweetened iced tea, which was quite tasty. My last infusion, the fifth, was much like the third in color and flavor, even though I’d increased the water to 8 oz., boiling, and steeped for 2 min. This was less tannic and had a smoother mouthfeel. This tea is still relatively young and I’m undecided whether to recommend or not. Overall I found it more of a challenge than a joy to drink, except when sweetened and iced. For now, I’ll only rate it at 50, but revisit in a year and see if it’s improving.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Brazil Nut, Bread, Decayed Wood, Dry Leaves, Drying, Mineral, Petrichor, Tannic, Tea
Preparation
Not that it really matters in terms of what your brewing experience was like, but I don’t really think a 20ish year old sheng would be considered young anymore. There’s not really a hard a fast “rule” for when a pu’erh stops being young, but most forums/tea communitys/etc I’ve come across seem to have a general consensus that 8-10 years is no longer young. So it’s maybe more like it’s in the later portion of its awkward adolescence phase before “maturing”.
That’s fair, Ros. Especially given that Yunnan Sourcing describes it as having been “Aged in hot and humid Guangdong…”. So perhaps middle-aged is a better way to describe the chronology, regardless of my impression of its sensory maturity. But since I don’t think I’ve actually tasted anything over 35 years old, it’s hard for me to know how serious and properly maintained aging should impact flavor and fragrance. Shortcuts like storage in Taiwan or climate-controlled conditions outside of Yunnan or Burma are known to accellerate the process, vs. Kunming storage but, again, I just do not have the experience or finances to properly evaluate that.
This now, is the second half of the portions pouch I started on 2 d ago. No food yet this morning, though I just finished sipping a slightly brutal 20 yr old raw pu-erh, and this Darjeeling in contrast is striking! It feels in my mouth like a balm to sore taste buds. The gentle spring flower aroma, the sweet liquor with flavor notes of honey and a long finish of molasses, the hint of malt and dandelion flower, and a smoothness in the back of my throat. Light but refreshing, and I’m raising my rating to 79. Sometimes deprivation helps one appreciate what can be had. Darjeelings are redeemed.
Flavors: Dandelion, Floral, Honey, Molasses, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Oolongs mean I’m having a day off at home where I can really observe how the tea changes across 10+ steeps. I lost count.
I also haven’t kept proper track of temperatures, steeping times, leaf to water ratios and the like. It hasn’t been a measuring kinda mood for me, and I love that.
But I do note a vague recollection of enjoying this tea more when brewed at 85C for a few steeps, then gradually increasing to 90C, 95C and 100C later on.
Shall try it at 100C with flash steeps at some point, because I’ve read that’s the way to brew Dan Cong. And it’s my first Dan Cong, so I’m open to all suggestions.
I loved this so much after only maybe four sessions, that I’ve dedicated a clay teapot to Dan Congs already.
The peppermint adds a slight refreshing element to the blend which makes me hungrier than chai normally does. It feels very nice to support digestion after a meal.
Brewed stovetop and into a tumbler to sip during client sessions. Hit. the. spot.
I mean, yes they’re talking about all kinds of trauma and challenging material, but the chai being thisss good at the same time.. life is still good y’know?
Idk what was up with me when I was drinking this, but my attention was so split up in a million directions. The tea wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t holding my interest either. Mostly smooth, medium-ish bodied black with some briskness and then a rather generic tasting fruity note that my divided mind decided kind of felt like strawberry? I don’t actually think there’s any strawberry in this tea though, and I certainly didn’t register the cocoa or lime in this particular mug.
Cold Brew!
I haven’t loved this tea in the past, but with my recent interesting/positive reception to Japanese green teas I thought I would retry it and see if I enjoyed it more. And, well, I did! It’s definitely still really sencha forward which was my biggest hurdle to enjoying it in the past, but this time around I really appreciated the smooth, mellow flavours. A touch grassy and a touch on the oceanic side, but mostly lightly umami with a hint of fruity sweetness (the persimmon?) and an almost starchy undertone that was a bit floral and a bit like cooked pumpkin or other squash. So light and fresh feeling though, without any heaviness or bitterness/astringency.
Cold Brew!
The dry leaf aroma of this tea is so fresh and citrusy, like digging your fingernails into a the peel of a sweet orange and misting yourself with all the essential oils. Some floral undertones.
Steeped up I wouldn’t call this weak or flat, but it just has much less of those juicy, fresh citrus notes and instead leans more into the floral, lightly perfume-y notes of the jasmine and the crispness of the grassy green tea. Yes, it’s still got orange notes – but just mellower and with more lemongrass taste specifically. It was nice though. Definitely hydrating and summery.
Sipdown (2945)!
I didn’t realize I’d be as sad to finish this blend off as I felt when I took my list couple of sips. But, the cheesecake flavour is really good. Perfect balance of sweetness, thick creaminess, and then a light sort of tang that makes it feel specific to cheesecake and not some other creamy dessert. A coworker even noted that whatever I was drinking smelled like cheesecake to her, so that’s really spot on!!
And I’m not huge of bergamot, but I do think it’s well balanced here. In my opinion this feels exactly like the middle ground of both of those flavours. It’s not an EG tea first and foremost with a touch of cheesecake, and it’s also not really cheesecake with a touch of EG. No after thoughts, hidden/masked flavours, or disappointment.
52Teas should make more cheesecake teas, though. I feel like there’s some REALLY fun different options out there to be explored.
