Author: Oolong Owl

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February 2022 White2tea Club Feat. Yancha Sample Tasting

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It’s White2tea club time, and this is February 2022’s box. Oh boy, this is “sample all of White2tea’s newest yanchas” month, so all of these are available for purchase. I’m skipping the Dahongpao this year – it’s a basic intro yancha – let’s get into the more interesting ones. For all teas here I used a gongfu ratio of 1gram of leaf per 15ml of gaiwan size, steeped at a boil with no rinse. Stone Sparrow The leaves have a roasty and dried fruit sweet scent. After a steep, the leaves smell like a powdery fruit cocktail. Stone Sparrow is… Continue reading, hoot!

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Honyama Koushun Wakoucha Japanese Black Tea from Tezumi

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Previously from Tezumi, I reviewed their lovely matcha. Today I have a rare sight, a black tea from Japan! Honyama Koushun Wakoucha is a 2021 harvest, and like its namesake, Koushun cultivar, from Honyama, Shizuoka Japan. Leaf and Steeping Method Interestingly, Tezumi recommended brewing style for this Japanese black tea is gongfu style at 4g per 100ml (1g per 25ml) in boiling water. I will follow just that. Honyama Koushun Wakoucha’s leaves have a strong fruity scent like gummy fruit snacks. After a steep, the tea smells like cherry gummies and wood – quite similar to a Taiwanese Ruby 18… Continue reading, hoot!

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2021 Yashka Sheng Puer from White2tea

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Out of the 2021 shengs, White2tea’s 2021 Yashka caught my eye. Sheng blends that are punchy, elegant, and bitter are always up my alley. That said, I purchased a sample with one of my orders. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves have the scent of sweet honey and warmed fall leaves. Sometimes I find this scent smells like drool, but I am not sure if that’s my own drool and that can vary between drools. Either way, this tea smells like my drool hahah! I used a gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped… Continue reading, hoot!

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2021 Metamaterial Shou Puer from Kuura

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I needed more of Kuura’s 2020 ‘฿∅ᄱლᐃᗴᚨƀɑᗲʗ.exe’ and a cake of 2021 Metamaterial sneaked into my cart. This was also the first time I ordered via Softer Drink, the North American Kuura dealer. 2021 Metamaterial sounded great on the listing mentioning dark bitter chocolate flavors. I overall find Kuura to have really good stuff but I never order enough due to the lengthy shipping from Australia. I have had a few of their ripe puers in the past and they were excellent – but sold out before I got around to writing about them. Leaf and Steeping Method As I… Continue reading, hoot!

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2021 Tiger Sniffs the Rose from Bitterleaf Teas

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A highly requested tea! Today I’m drinking Bitterleaf Tea’s 2021 Tiger Sniffs the Rose. This white tea cake is made of Naka region puer material, what a treat! When this tea came out, I didn’t hesitate to purchase it. I even debated buying more than one cake. Bitterleaf Teas does a lot of puer but it seems I am a bigger fan of their other teas. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves smell faintly like melons. A gorgeous cake too! I used 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. After writing this review,… Continue reading, hoot!

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Uji Hikari Matcha from Tezumi

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The matcha for today is a fancy one from Tezumi Tea – Uji Hikari Matcha. Previously, I sampled some of their daily drinker matchas, so let’s drink the fancy stuff today. This hand harvested, single origin matcha is of Uji Hikari cultivar matcha, hence its namesake. Uji Hikari Matcha has a clean grassy fresh scent. Tezumi has the ratios and temperatures clearly outlined on their site for each tea. I used 60ml of 70c water and whisked in 1.5grams of sifted matcha. Tasting of Tezumi’s Uji Hikari Matcha Tastewise, this is an umami bomb of a matcha. Uji Hikari Matcha… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 February Old Ways Tea Club feat. Huang Mei Comparison Tasting

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As usual, the Old Ways Tea club delivers a strong selection of teas to comparison taste and a special gift! The special gift is a teacup with a fruity branch design. I eventually saw all the designs through my other tea friends’ boxes, and they are all awesome cups! Jin Xuan from 2022 February Old Ways Tea Club I’m diving into the Jin Xuan first. Yes, Jin Xuan is just a cultivar, but all the ones I’ve had tend to be Taiwanese style rolled oolongs, so this version is a fun change of pace. The leaves smell toasty and nutty.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2022 January White2tea Club feat. 2021 Charlie Shou Puer

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Welcome to the 2022 January White2tea club! As it has been over the last couple of years, we start the year off with an exclusive shou cake, Charlie. This Charlie cake was pressed in December 2021 and has aged material. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves smell of funky earth and mushrooms. As usual, my puer gongfu ratio I used is 1gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water. I did two rinses as this tea smells a bit freshly pressed funky. After two rinses, 2021 Charlie has a smooth dark chocolate scent with no funk.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2021 Body and Soul from Bitterleaf Teas

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Today’s tea is Bitterleaf Tea’s 2021 Body and Soul – a Bulang shou puer and Bangdong black tea pressed cake blend. I tried a sample of a previous year’s Body and Soul, loved it, but by the time I was going to review and buy it, it was long sold out. When they blended this cake again, I needed it so I purchased it. Leaf and Steeping Method My cake of Body and Soul smells like aromatic dried berries. The ratio on this tea could easily be played with some more, but I went with 1 gram of leaf per… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Nevermore Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

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Today’s tea is Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2019 Nevermore Shou Puer. I purchased Nevermore as I enjoy Crimson Lotus Tea’s shou and this one is promised to be dark and bud heavy, similar to the 2008 Bulang I had way back in 2015. Leaf and Steeping Method 2019 Nevermore has a dark, earthy chocolate scent. I used a gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped with boiling water. After a pair of rinses, the leaves smell like a forest of birch trees and moss. Tasting of 2019 Nevermore Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea First,… Continue reading, hoot!