drank 1994 Aged Bai Hao by Butiki Teas
149 tasting notes

I fished a nearly-empty 1/2 oz bag of this from the bottom of one of my boxes of tea yesterday. I’ll be sad to see it go, but at this point I have far too much tea for someone in my current situation (still working out life details/strongly considering getting a terminal degree and therefore need a considerable amount of flexibility/mobility since it’ll be a while before I settle down somewhere permanently— having, uh, 10+ kilograms of tea doesn’t really help with the mobility) so I’m trying to let go of my hoarding tendencies and just drink things without worrying that I’ll miss it or whatever it is that makes me want to hoard tea.

Honestly, the main note I’m getting from this in these early steeps is something like raisins and dates. It’s a little dry in the aftertaste. I’m really not getting any hints of cocoa or chocolate, but then again the water I’m using is considerably cooler than what I’d normally use— waiting for my water heater to boil so I’m using the hot water in my thermos at the moment. Will update if the flavour changes in future steeps with hot water.

This is surprisingly more energising than I expected. I was going after a comfort tea when I went tea-box-diving. I might have to revisit the boxes once I’m finished with this.

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Bio

I have far too many interests. Tea is one of them.

Background in bioethics, medical anthropology, and evolutionary biology with aspirations of eventually going into a medical field. I also have strong interests in theater, computer science, and food (which shouldn’t be particularly surprising).

Brewing
Brewing method is usually Western style for black teas (2-3 minutes at near-boiling), “grandpa style” for shu pu’ers and longjing, and gongfu (with a gaiwan) short steeps for sheng and shu pu’ers (two 5-second rinses, then 5, 10, 15-second steeps with a gradual increase in steep times to taste). The gaiwan is also used for oolongs though I sometimes use a brew basket if the gaiwan is occupied and I’m taking a break from pu’er.

Preferences
I enjoy black teas, pu’er, and oolongs (leaning towards aged, cliff/Wuyi, or roasted/dark), depending on my mood. I don’t usually drink green tea but do enjoy a cup every so often.

Ratings
My rating methods have changed over time and as a result, they’re very inconsistent. For the most part, as of 11 November 2014, unless a tea is exceptional in some way (either good or bad), I will refrain from leaving a numerical rating.

The final iteration of my rating system before I stopped (note: I never did get around to re-calibrating most of my older notes):
99 & 100: I will go to almost any lengths to keep this stocked in my cupboard.
90-98: I’m willing to or already do frequently repurchase this when my stock runs low.
80-89: I enjoy this tea, and I may be inclined to get more of it once I run out.
70-79: While this is a good tea, I don’t plan on having it in constant supply in my tea stash.
50-69: This might still be a good tea, but I wouldn’t get it myself.
40-49: Just tolerable enough for me to finish the cup, but I don’t think I’ll be trying it again any time soon.
Below 40: Noping the heck out of this cup/pot.

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