Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

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White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea from Bitterleaf Tea

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I cannot resist white tea cakes, so I purchased Bitterleaf Tea’s White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea. The wrapper art is super cool! The tea smells like sweet straw hay. Cake feels firm and is on the thick side. It is easy to pry off pieces thankfully, but you do need a pick or knife. I used 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel used, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The hot leaf smells like straw and cactus. Tasting of Bitterleaf Tea’s White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea First and Second Infusion: White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Dabo Black Tea from Old Ways Tea

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Today’s tea is Dabo, a black tea from Old Ways Tea. I am sorry but the sci-fi nerd in me just won’t stop laughing every time I see the name of this tea, as it is the same name as a game on Star Trek (most featured in Deep Space 9). I’m laughing more as the tea is packaged in gold, just like gold press latinum. Anyways, Dabo means Uncle and this is a Spring 2018 large leaf tea from Masu village in China. Leaf and Steeping Method Inside the packet is 5 grams of leaf. Plan accordingly or open… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha and Shi Feng Long Jing from Masters by Adagio Tea

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2019 Spring tea time! Today I’ll be drinking two new green teas, Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha and Shi Feng Long Jing, from Adagio Tea’s new Masters Tea line. Masters by Adagio features limited edition, fresh, and exceptional teas. I love trying the newest, freshest teas but sadly I’m just not a green tea drinker. That said, you get a review from a more cranky perspective. Steeping method for both teas will be grandpa style, I’m throwing in 3 grams of leaf, small The Wall mug (9oz/280ml), 79c/175F water and letting it do its thang. Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha… Continue reading, hoot!

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GABA Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

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Lately, GABA teas have been popping up a lot and are trying to be trendy. I don’t write about GABA oolong much these days, as the more I drank them, the more I disliked them as they all have a distinct bad sour taste to me. Most recently I’ve discovered there are a few vendors that have found the good GABA teas. Floating Leaves Tea’s GABA Oolong is one of the special ones. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells golden raisins. The rolls are dark browns and plums. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size,… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 April Essence of Tea Club feat. 2007 WuZhou Liubao

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I decided to give the Essence of Tea club a try for a few months. I’ve always been a fan of Essence of Tea and want to explore more of their teas. April 2019’s tea club is a 2007 WuZhou Liubao. I got around 100 grams of tea. For $35 including shipping, that isn’t a bad price. Leaf and Steeping Method Opening the package, the tea has a wet wood and chestnuts scent. It’s has a moderate humid funky scent. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu style. I used boiling water and did two rinses.… Continue reading, hoot!

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2018 Wild Ripe Shou Puer from Denong Tea

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I am a huge fan of Denong Tea’s wild ripes. They are some of my favourite shous, but I’ve all had them with age on it. Today is Denong Tea’s 2018 Wild Ripe shou puer, so I get to try it young.  The website description is vague but mentions, and certainly backed up by all their other ripe teas, on how clean their shou processing is. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells like herbs and dirt. Thankfully this tea is broken up as the individual lumps are pressed hard and tight. I used around 1 gram of leaf per… Continue reading, hoot!

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Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Crimson Lotus Tea’s Budget Jianshui Bian Xishi Teapot

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This was one of those teaware purchases I didn’t think about, I just pulled the trigger as I knew these teapots would sell out fast. Crimson Lotus Tea briefly sold Budget Jianshui Zitao teapots back in 2018. These teapots are “seconds” so the price was slashed due to the imperfections of the teapot. I talked to Crimson Lotus Tea afterwards, and there were issues like the spout wasn’t aligned and other blips. The kind of thing if you paid that $120 and spotted, you might make a fuss about. I snagged the Matte black Bian Xishi style. In retrospect, I… Continue reading, hoot!

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Bruu Tea Club Review

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Bruu Tea Club is based in the UK. For £10 a month, or cheaper if you subscribe for 3-12 months, (add £2.99 for outside UK shipping) you get three loose leaf teas a month and a little surprise. The tea club is personalized with your preferences with an algorithm. You can also purchase teas from Bruu, at this time I counted 67 teas to choose from. Unboxing of Bruu Tea Club Bruu Tea Club came with 3 teas, clocking in around 14 grams each. Also included was a tea ball strainer and vegan gluten free milk chocolate (for Easter). Tasting… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 March White2tea Club feat. Milan Dancong Comparison and 2015 Gongmei

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2019 March White2Tea Club time! The March White2Tea Club contains two Milan Dancong oolongs – No Roast and 26 hour Roast, plus a bonus new 2015 Gongmei white tea. The Milan Dancongs are as a learning experience to compare what roast does to tea, whereas the Gongmei is a sample of a tea for purchase. 2019 March White2Tea Club Milan Dancongs No Roast Milan Dancong The No Roast Milan Dancong smells like floral cheerios. There are some long green leaves here. These leaves seem really poofy, I filled the gaiwan and it worked out to 1 gram per 15ml of… Continue reading, hoot!

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2013 Shou Mei White Tea Cake from Fuding from Yunnan Sourcing

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On the tea review for today is Yunnan Sourcing’s 2013 Shou Mei White Tea Cake from Fuding. This cake is only $10! (not including Yunnan Sourcing shipping). I had this in my cart, then I took it out as I figured I had plenty of 5 year old Shou Meis in my stash. Then the cake showed up with my last Yunnan Sourcing order. Tea blogger power freebie? Either way, I didn’t pay for this cake. I didn’t know what it was as it wasn’t labeled, figured it was an aged white of some kind, then tea friends helped as… Continue reading, hoot!