Category: Crimson Lotus Tea

Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2018 Forgotten Nebula is a Sheng Puer blend of 2018 Spring material.  What stands out immediately is that this puer cake has a killer wrapper so this tea is mighty tempting to get and frame. This wrapper is done by Jones Pitsker. Crimson Lotus Tea described Forgotten Nebula as a “mouth-watering sweetness that keeps on giving. It will surprise you how many steeps you can get from this tea.” Alas, I just have a sample of this tea. Another reminder of how awesome the Crimson Lotus Tea’s sample packaging is. These packets are perfect for the pumidor.… Continue reading, hoot!

Here is a tidbit of info that pushes the CAKE IS A SAMPLE agenda if you are into blended regions/grades vs single origin puer. I’m sure you notice this with buying a sample, then getting a cake, or drinking through a cake or two, that there is some variability between sessions. Sometimes it is the weather, water, or the fact you forgot to brush your teeth that morning, but sometimes it is the blended material. One day you get a gaiwan full of stems, other days it is leaf shreds, whereas other days are beautiful. Maocha is weighed out in… Continue reading, hoot!

Despite 2018 Spring teas almost ready, I still have 2017 Spring teas untouched. I’ve been plowing through my queue and it is great when I find some wins. Todays’ review is Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2017 Jinggu Bang Sheng Puer. This is a spring tea and described as a “fantastic representative of Jinggu area material.” Crimson Lotus Tea has the best sample wrapping. I love that I can just stuff these in my pumidor. Dry Leaf and Steeping Method Jinggu Bang has a big, twisted vibrant green leaf. The tea smells of baby powder, sticky medicinal, and sweet grass. I went… Continue reading, hoot!

Today’s review is Crimson Lotus Tea‘s Simple Puer line, which is designed as a good first puer and easy to brew. Both the 2017 Simple Sheng and 2016 Simple Shou are 50 gram cakes and pressed into easy to break 6 pieces, so in theory, each piece should break into 8 gram servings. No puer tools needed and 8 grams is a decent size for most gaiwan sizes. Crimson Lotus Tea Simple Sheng The dry leaf smells sweet, with the hot leaf leaning more floral. Strangely, my Simple Sheng broke off uneven at the base and I got a 6 gram piece.… Continue reading, hoot!

If you are a Seattle local and caught the time to have tea with Crimson Lotus Teas (often Phoenix Tea on Fridays) last year, you might have tried Moon Princess sheng in maocha form, with a promise of it being pressed into cakes in 2017. I had it a few times and was impressed how aromatic it was, excited for this tea to be released. When it came out, I immediately purchased a cake of 2016 Moon Princess sheng puer. However, I felt this tea got neglected by the tea community.  Everyone descended on Crimson Lotus Tea’s exclusive TKG, Secret Sauce, and… Continue reading, hoot!

We dubbed Storm Breaker “Storm Wrecker” at the Northwest Tea Festival. I don’t think it helped that it was one of the last teas I had at the festival on both days, but this tea has a lot of energy for a shou puer! Before the festival, I bought a sample of 2017 Storm Breaker when it was released, but sat on it for a few weeks. I was told 2017 Storm Breaker has 65% fermentation, so this tea has a lot of room to settle in and age. My innards are clenching at the “2017”, “shou”, and “65%” giving… Continue reading, hoot!

Sadly, I missed the tasting session of 2010 Black Gold shou puer at Crimson Lotus Tea‘s booth at the Northwest Tea Festival. I am not sure what I was doing, but a bunch of my tea friends was able to taste it. It wasn’t a big deal, as I bought a sample of Black Gold when it was released and it was sitting at home airing out. However, I heard multiple times that Black Gold was incredible so I was sad I missed a tasting without having to open my sample. There is no way I was going to blind… Continue reading, hoot!

I had a session of 2017 Nannuo Mini Mushroom Shou Puer when I met up with Crimson Lotus Tea doing tastings at Phoenix Tea. I was impressed with the shou and was given three shrooms to play with. I was warned that one mushroom is plenty for a session, but I can try two at my own risk. I drank all three Nannuo Mini Mushrooms and had to have more. I beelined to their booth at the Northwest Tea Festival and bought 2 packages. The 2017 Nannuo Mini Mushrooms is made up of a blend of aged material, some as old… Continue reading, hoot!

So either it was my slow owl butt at reviewing things or people went ham on buying out all the Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2016 Space Girls sheng. I had the review written, then saw it was sold out, and stalled on posting even longer. Then I thought I shouldn’t let my tasting notes go to waste, and at least you all can get more of an idea of Crimson Lotus Tea’s tastes. EDIT: There was a restock!  There are more Space Girls! GO GO GO! What is unique about 2016 Space Girls Sheng Puer, in particular, is there are 4… Continue reading, hoot!