Last year we got 2017 Hype in a White2Tea club box, which I tried it out of the gate and it tasted too young to drink now. When I knew there was a 2018 Green Hype coming, I drank the 2017 Hype and was surprised that it got massively better with a year on it. I’ve been thinking my tastes quite prefer puer with at least a year on it.
My tea package had a hard journey. I opened my box, after sitting not even an hour in my parcel locker, to a tea cake that was over 90F. It felt really warm to the touch, smelled like a melted plastic pen, and was sweaty feeling. That said, I left it to air rest for a month.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The tea to me, after rest, smells like sheng fruit and pungent.
I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The hot leaf smells like saliva and a smoke pit.
Tasting of White2Tea’s 2018 Green Hype
First and Second Infusion: Hype is a saucy tea. It’s savory leaning with slightly smoky wisps, with a peachy aftertaste that lingers a touch. It is slightly thick, but with a thin trying to be dry finish. The texture is balmy, like a tin of lip balm that melted on you but you apply it anyway.
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: 2018 Green Hype strangely reminded me of an old original favorite of mine, a youthful 2012 Wild Monk from Mandala tea, which had the same fruity smokey and aftertaste, but Hype is sharper bitter and not as stronger of an aftertaste.
Some sips are bitter already, like boiled spinach. Some sips have a smokey breeze, others are stone fruity. With each infusion, it gets a touch bitter and drier. However, with each steeping, the aftertaste glued into awesome stone fruit and floral. I sat here typing for 10 minutes and could still taste the Hype. The hot leaves now smell like peaches instead of a smoke pit.
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: Dear hoot that is bitter stewed to death. 2018 Hype tastes like eating a honeydew melon rind with nail bitter nail polish, with dry teeth. However, the bitter is rewarded with a long floral aftertaste. I got a nice energy kick too, maybe it’s the bitter face puncher, but I feel I could roll around the garden and stab some weeds.
Eleventh and Twelfth Infusion: 2018 Green Hype finished sipping bitter stewed, dry-mouthed, but with a soft floral jasmine linger.
Admittedly I only sipped this tea and dumped, it was very dry and bitter as it was cooked goose dead.
Gut rot level = High. Admittedly, I am drinking as my second gongfu session of the day (last was a white tea) and it is close to dinner. My stomach cramped hard around the 6th infusion. At steep nine I wanted my life to end as I can feel my stomach lining peeling away from acidic sheng. I needed damage control stat. Be sure to eat before this one and have something ready after.
Comments
For $35, the 2018 Green Hype is a good complex flavored tea for its price. It strangely reminds me of a memory of one my favorite teas, so slight bias there. I do like the interesting contrast of smoke, fruity, savory, with a loooong aftertaste, with a decently slippery body.
I do like the 2018 Green Hype more than 2017 Hype – the flavor is stronger, bit better body, and interesting complexity. However, I refuse to drink this tea again for at least a year as it’s very youthful and gut rotting. It would be more approachable at a lower temperature, but I rather put in the years than sacrifice the body.
Overall, a great buy if you are in the market for a good tea in the $50 or less range. However, to be completely honest, buy it in 2019 so it has had more time to settle. Either way, getting the 2018 Green Hype in a monthly White2Tea club box is a nice deal.
