Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

No comments

2019 Dripd O’Bitters Shou Puer from White2tea

  By ,

I always have to have a chenpi orange shou in my collection. When I am sick, I chain drink chenpi teas in heavy quantities as they make me feel better. I had the hankering for chenpi as I am worried about the virus after braving a busy and panicked Costco. With my last order, I purchased a cake of White2Tea’s Dripd O’Bitters. Leaf and Steeping Method The cake has a faint orange scent. When added to a warm gaiwan, the sweet orange chenpi orange scent comes off strongly. By the way, Dripd O’Bitters has quite a tight compression. I had… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2019 November White2tea Club feat. 2019 B_S_ Sheng Puer

  By ,

My recent White2tea club reviews are out of order due to wanting to drink the December’s XXXmas tea near Christmas. Backtracking, today is the 2019 November White2tea club’s 2019 B_S_, a 50 gram high-end mini cake of 4 different regions with a mix of spring and fall. I love these 50 gram club months as they tend to be quality tea and with month, in particular, promising to be complex. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves smell like crusted sweet tree syrup. As usual, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size gongfu ratio, steeped in boiling… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2008 Da Hong Pao Aged Oolong from Old Ways Tea

  By ,

Today’s tea is an aged oolong – 2008 Da Hong Pao (aka Big Red Robe) from Old Ways Tea. This tea was stored in Wuyishan for 8 years, then reroasted. I say this every time with Old Ways Teas, but I have a hard time drinking them as they are so good I want to save them as rewards to myself. When I get vendor samples I fly off with the box like I got away with murder. Many thanks, Old Ways Tea. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaves of the 2008 Da Hong Pao have a dry-aged scent to… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

Bitterleaf Tea’s 2019 Monsieur Lafleur Jingmai and Year of the Pig Yiwu Sheng Puer

  By ,

On the tea table is a pair of affordable sheng puers from Bitterleaf Tea – 2019 Monsieur Lafleur Jingmai and 2019 Year of the Pig Yiwu. Bitterleaf teas have quite a few inexpensive young sheng options, with the “Year of the Yiwu” an ongoing series. This slow owl took so long that both teas are sold out, but I’ll be referring back when the 2020 teas roll in. Bitterleaf Tea’s 2019 Monsieur Lafleur Jingmai Sheng Puer The dry leaf smells like stale dried cherries. Gorgeous looking leaf with the long silver buds. Both teas I did my usual gongfu steeping… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2019 Tiltshift White Tea from White2tea

  By ,

Sadly, there weren’t many 2019 Tiltshift cakes to go around. I waited until White2Tea’s Black Friday sale to snag one. My interest in Tiltshift is that it is a Yueguangbai /moonlight white tea that is made with a high concentration of buds. If I recall correctly, White2tea said they simply didn’t have much of this tea to press. Leaf and Steeping Method I was not prepared for the WOW factor on this white tea cake. All these huge buds give Tiltshift a fuzzy silver appearance with traces of black. The compression on the cake wasn’t too bad as it has… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2019 White Crow Lincang White Tea from Bitterleaf Tea

  By ,

Bitterleaf Tea’s 2019 White Crow is a shou mei grade white tea cake from Lincang Yunnan. I own the previous year’s 2018 White Crow and I was impressed with the value it offered, so I didn’t hesitate to order the newest cake. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf has a strong weedy and honey scent. As with most of my white teas, I steeped White Crow with a ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20 ml of vessel size, gongfu style. Steeped up, the leaf smells like honey and laundry drying outside on the clothesline. Tasting of Bitterleaf Tea’s… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

Roasted Shanlinxi, Muzha Tieguanyin, and Qilaishan High Mountain Oolong from Tributary Teas

  By ,

Oolong Owl is back with more Tributary Tea’s oolongs! In my previous post, I drank their Nangang Baozhong, which was excellent. I have a sample collection of their oolongs I thought were captivating from their website descriptions. That said, the teas today are Shanlinxi Roasted, Muzha Tieguanyin Spring, and Qilaishan High Mountain. Shanlinxi Roasted Oolong from Tributary Teas Tributary Tea’s Shan Lin Xi Roasted Oolong is described to have a medium roasting job. The dry leaf has a sweet and roasty scent. I used (and for all the teas in this review) 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

Rou Gui, Big Red Robe, and Wild Wulong Black from Hello Tea Baby

  By ,

Today let’s check out a Rou Gui, Big Red Robe, and a Wild Wulong black tea from Hello Tea Baby. The description I got from Hello Tea Baby of what kind of tea shop they are is a group of tea producer friends who got together to sell the teas they are proud of. All teas I used a heavy amount of leaf, around 1 gram of tea per 12.5ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. Top Rou Gui from Hello Tea Baby The leaves smell like peachy nectar. First, Second, and Third Infusion: The first infusion of… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2019 Spring Danger Zone Sheng Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

  By ,

Back in 2018, Crimson Lotus Tea told me his adventure of visiting a tea forest in Hekai with a 15 foot king cobra, and the guide running for the hills. He’d then show me the photo he took and to “find the cobra.” After hearing this story, all us Crimson Lotus Tea fans wanted to get our hands on some giant snake infested tea. In 2019 Crimson Lotus Tea got someone willing to go in the tea forest and pick the tea for Spring and Autumn Harvest. Today, I’ll be checking out 2019 Spring Danger Zone. I purchased my cake… Continue reading, hoot!

No comments

2019 Jin Mu Dan Oolong from Old Ways Tea

  By ,

What is Jin Mu Dan? I went in thinking this is a black tea like Jin Jun Mei, but this is a roasted oolong from Wuyishan, China. Old Ways Tea’s Jin Mu Dan, aka Golden Peony, is crafted by the Tea Research Institute of the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences to be thick in texture and has a floral scent. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf of Jin Mu Dan Oolong smells like bread crusts and floral citrus osmanthus. I used a heavy leaf style, going 1 gram of leaf per 12ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water.… Continue reading, hoot!