2016 Teadontlie is my favorite White2Tea Spring 2016 Sheng line out of all the samples I purchased.
It took me awhile to actually post this review as I needed a couple cakes in my possession first… just in case.
Dry Leaf and Steeping Instructions
Gorgeous leaf, I cannot stop looking at it! It looks almost like an oriental beauty but with less red tones. There’s silvers, light and dark greens, some hints of brown. Very pretty!
The scent is what sets this puer apart from the other 2016s – it smells strongly floral peachy.
I’ve done this tea at boiling and it did well. I decided that I’ll start this at 200 and see how it responds. 1 gram, 15ml
Tasting of White2Tea’s 2016 Teadontlie Sheng Puer
Teadontlie steeps up a perfectly clear pale yellow shade. The hot leaf smells like sugar poured on sunny hot peaches.
First and Second Infusion: This did not come out well. It sips in hella light and crystal clean with a slip of floral peach at the end. The sip has a creamy feel on the lips and drinking these first infusions I got an excellent oily mouth feel. However, I remember this being much better and stronger at boiling.
Third and Fourth Infusion: BOIL BOIL BOIL! The flavor sips in sweet and floral. It is still on the light side, but I get a long lingering kissy floral taste after each sip. Ihad a sip, wrote an email, and still was tasting this tea. DAT BODY! Teadontlie is thick, I had to double check that I wasn’t chugging a jar of marshmallow fluff. My mouth feels so oily that I could of been also eating something deep fried.
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Infusion: Teadontlie is at maximum flavor. It is strong, brazenly floral peachy perfume, it is like I’m drinking perfumed marshmallow thick fluff. The aftertaste lingers a really long time. My kettle timed out, mail came, and I still taste teadontlie. There is bitterness here creeping in, a bit masked from the sweet start and floral afterburn. With each steeping I got a little dryness, adding texture to the roof of my mouth.
At this I got the WHOOOSH. That Achievement unlocked whoosh.. yet I didn’t unlock anything. This tea just slammed me and operating machinery was now a no. I had to fumble fingers a tripod and forget typing on a phone.
Ninth and Tenth Infusion: Teadontlie still has power. It sips in sweet and pungently floral but finishes quite bitter. I can see at this point people might give up here, it is pretty bitter, however it is a good bitter as each sip resets to sweet. The body is still present, thick and heavy with a lotiony lip balm feel. I can see this being a good point to throw the leaves in for cold brew to tame the bitter, but I’m going to keep going as I like this bitterness and the peach flavored burps.
Eleventh and Twelfth Infusion: Times like these I wish I wasn’t a tea blogger. I’m so blasted out of my mind I have no idea what is going on with this tea other than i’m drinking it. I don’t want to describe it, my brain and body can’t combine to figure out what to say. I am impressed I am still able to count, and I feel bad for my future self who has to edit this crap. What I am good for is listening to Devin Townsend and laughing at the thought of people’s faces getting hit by salmons. I could really go for some pork right now.
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Infusion: It is sweet and mineral in flavor, not bitter. The sip is thick, but a gnarly dryness hits making my mouth feel kinda chalky. I think the tea is done, but a floral aftertaste quietly slips in and lingers. I likely got this many steepings because of the low temperature start. I believe the last time I made this tea is was about 14 rounds.
NESTING TIME!
Comments
Teadontlie winning. Yeah yeah it is midrange (at this time $69 for 200g cake), but if you want a floral, gan, texture drinker this is your tea. I am biased as I peg myself these days of aftertaste and texture hunting, with good sweet notes and bitter balance. I also got completely wasted so there is that hahahahah! If you favor the Yiwu style profile, you’ll likely enjoy Teadontlie.
I personally prefer Teadontlie over some of the higher priced options, and this one is a clear winner for mid-range White2Tea 2016 shengs so far. Actually, forget this whole review, go buy the more expensive teas. Teadontlie is terrible. Don’t buy it. Let me buy it to take it off the market to save you all from it.
