2022 Peak Vulture Shou Puer from White2tea

White2tea occasionally comes out with some limited stock puer cakes at a marked-down price. Snoozefest is one that shows up every year on Black Fridays, but in March of 2022, a limited edition ripe cake landed – 2022 Peak Vulture. Very cool wrapper! I am tempted to colour it in when I’ve finished a cake. I purchased extra cakes, leaving one next to my kettle. Any time I felt like shou and didn’t want to dig around my disaster of a full shou pumidor, I’d drink Peak Vulture. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells a bit funky but chocolatey.… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 Future Sailor Mengsong Purple-White Tea from Bitterleaf Teas

The tea for today is 2022 Future Sailor Mengsong Purple-White tea. Everything about this tea is a good combo of Mengsong region, Zijuan purple leaf varietal, and white tea. I’m a sucker for Bitterleaf Teas white teas and could not resist sample buying a whole cake. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves have a peppery scent and are what I associate with other purple leaf teas. I use my white tea steeping method of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size and a ballsy boiling water temperature. After a steep, Future Sailor smells of sweet floral carnations. Tasting… Continue reading, hoot!

Paromi Matcha with Turmeric, Ginger & Cinnamon

Lately, the Seattle area has been horrid with all the smoke, which makes tea tasting difficult. It is not too smokey today, so I jumped on serious tea drinking. Today’s tea is Paromi Matcha with turmeric, ginger & cinnamon. The ingredients are simple – organic matcha (from Kyushu, Japan), organic turmeric, organic ginger, and organic cinnamon. I made Paromi Matcha with almond milk – this matcha commands to be in a latte. I used 1 teaspoon (worked out to 3 grams) in around 8oz of milk. The second ingredient is turmeric and the colour of the matcha is not altered… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 August Old Ways Tea Club feat. 2022 Taiping Houkui

It is time for the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club! Finally, we have the much anticipated fresh Taiping Houkui. In addition, Jin Qian and Bai Rui Xiang White Winter Daphne 2022 Taiping Houkui from the 2022 August Old Ways Tea Club Right away, I dived into the fresh green tea. I always love Taiping Houkui as the leaves are fun, especially the high quality ones as they are massive. The leaves smell like toasted white bread and fresh grass. As much as I use a glass teapot or a thermos, I went with a nice glass and stacked the… Continue reading, hoot!

2020 Believe Sheng Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

Today’s tea is Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2020 Believe Sheng Puer another cool young sheng with a space themed wrapper! 2020 Believe is described as “crisp IPA style bitterness”. Sadly I just have the sample pack – Believe is cool enough to own just for the wrapper – but thankfully Crimson Lotus Tea does good sample packaging. Leaf and Steeping Method The dry leaf has a soft zesty scent. My gongfu ratio is 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped at a boil. After a rinse, 2020 Believe continues the tangy scent, opening up more of pomelo citrus… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 June White2tea Club feat. 2022 Green Hype

It is time for our yearly HYPE train. White2tea 2022 Green Hype is a bang for your buck house blend, this one with some rustic brawler young and aged material. This tea is through the White2tea Club, but you can also purchase a cake without being in the club. The leaves have a sweet fruity floral scent with a bit of a back of the cupboard vibe. I followed the instructions on the handout, going 6 grams of leaf per 100ml of vessel size (1g per 16ml). After a rinse, the leaves have a smokey bitter scent with a powdery… Continue reading, hoot!

Van Tien Black from Atlas Tea Club Vietnam Box

I’m back with more teas from around the world by Atlas Tea Club! This tea club sends you teas from a different country each month. I’ve previously reviewed some other Atlas Tea Club boxes, pleased with the countries being offered. Today, a tea from the Vietnam box – Van Tien Black. The leaves smell like an apple orchard and forest floor – it’s very fruity, deep, and woody. I went with a gongfu steeping style to take full advantage of Van Tien Black. My steeping ratio is 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of water, with quick infusions of boiling… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 Year of the Tiger Yiwu White Tea from Bitterleaf Teas

Bitterleaf Teas’ white teas are always pretty good and of great value. I was happy to hear they have a white tea version of their “Year of Zodiac” Yiwu. 2022 Year of the Tiger Yiwu White tea is the same material, fangyang/ left to grow pesticide-free, as the sheng version and there is a black tea too! The leaves smell like zesty hay and citrus pith. I went a little heavier on the leaf for this tea than usual for white teas. Typically, I go for a gongfu ratio of 1g/20ml, but I went 1g/15ml as I wanted a bit… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 May White2tea Club feat. 2022 Spring Old Arbor Raw Puer

One of my favorite recurring teas in the White2tea club – 50g mini cake of some gushu, this one a 2022 Spring Old Arbor Raw Puer. Admittedly, these little cakes get lost in my pumidor, but that’s the only way I keep my hands off them. I know in a few years I’ll be in for an epic tea treat. The scent of the leaves is zesty honey wheat and floral. As usual, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped at a boil. I drank the rinse. The leaves smell fresh, wild honey, and… Continue reading, hoot!

2022 June Old Ways Tea Club feat. Mei Zhan, Zuhuo Dahongpao, Shui Xian Tea Cake

This is a fun month for the 2022 June Old Ways Tea Club – lots of exceptional oolongs, including a tea cake! Also included are more Fuding White Tea Cake minis, which were in the last club’s box. Zuhuo Dahongpao from the 2022 June Old Ways Tea Club I did enjoy the previous Old Ways Tea’s Sister’s Godmother’s tea, Chunzhong Dahongpao, so let’s see how the sister dupe is. First off, the leaves have a deep, sweet, roasted plum bark scent. Gongfu ratio wise, I was nutty and it is a very high leaf, so around 1 gram per 12ml… Continue reading, hoot!