The creator of Intergalactic Tea stumbled upon one of my tea reviews and was inspired by the unusual vanilla notes. Vanilla notes, naturally occurring, are very rare. Intergalactic tea took it a step further in the direction I like to see – adding actual vanilla bean into a shou blend and pressing it into cakes.
I’m sure there is a population that is utterly horrified at flavors added into puer cakes, but that is more for the rest of us. I don’t see it any different than adding chenpi orange or agarwood. Vanilla Bean Dream Machine shou blend has actual vanilla bean in it – it is not an oil or alcohol flavoring that added flavoring tea vendors do.
There are two variations of Vanilla Bean Dream Machine – Lite and Full on Vanilla. I got both cakes in different shipments, and photos were taken at different times.
Intergalactic Tea’s Vanilla Bean Dream Machine Shou Lite Vanilla
The cake smells like woodsy sweet shou with a layer of marshmallow waving in.
For both teas, I used a gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, the scent doubles down on woodsy.
First, Second, and Third Infusion: I drank the rinse, just in case the vanilla is more upfront in the first run. This steep is sweet and creamy with dried fruit notes. After a sip, the creamy vanilla waves in. As this tea works its magic, it’s woody, bittersweet earth, dried tart cherries, with fluffy clouds of vanilla sweetness.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: A wild blend! It’s buzzing between bittersweet chocolate, dried cherries, and vanilla. The vanilla hits the tongue and roof of the mouth.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: Vanilla Bean Dream Machine Lite tastes of bricks, bittersweet, mineral with hints of sweet vanilla. The seventh infusion is just sweet woody minerals – sips like rock sugar. No vanilla or bittersweet dark notes anymore.
Intergalactic Tea’s Vanilla Bean Dream Machine Shou “Full on Vanilla”
The leaves smell like sniffing a bag of vanilla beans. Much more vanilla! Like the light version, I drank the rinse. After a rinse and steeping, the leaves smell like vanilla woody cookies.
First and Second Infusion: The rinse starts off lightly earthy caramel but immediately vanilla. As this tea opens up, it’s ultra vanilla smooth, creamy, and the woody shou melts in. My brain is filling in cookies made of wood and is completely on board with it.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: Best infusions and I can see vanilla flecks in the bottom of my cup!
Vanilla Bean Dream Machine has strong sweet vanilla, opened up to bittersweet chocolate, and dried cherries. The vanilla flavor lingers along with the bittersweet notes. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: The final infusions are minerals, and rock sugar, with a bit of creamy vanilla lingering. Super easy to drink and sweet. In the end, this is certainly the same tea blend, just max vanilla.
Because I found Vanilla Bean Dream Machine such an interesting tea, I drank both a number of times after drafting this review. I discovered going lighter on the leaf goes more into the caramel notes. Stronger/typical gongfu ratios like mine hit the bittersweet chocolate and cherries.
Western Style: Vanilla Bean Dream Machine’s shou base is pretty bomb proof and has no wet pile funk to it. This western steeped fine, no rinse. I used 300ml cup with 4 grams of leaf, steeped it until I felt like it was good. It resteeped a few times. With the lighter ratio, it is a mineral caramel woodsy caramel with vanilla smoothness. I preferred the Full on Vanilla Western style over Lite Vanilla.
Comments
Intergalactic Tea’s Vanilla Bean Dream Machine Shou puer is a solid shou blend that complements the vanilla bean. The shou blend on its own is welcoming with woodsy, fruity, caramel, and mineral flavor with no funk – great for someone new to shou. If you love sweeter dessert shou, Vanilla Bean Dream Machine is a fun tea. It is a flexible tea for gongfu, western, lazy style, or even as a milk tea.
Between the Lite and Full On Vanilla, I prefer the latter as it has the most oomph and creaminess. Though go with the Lite Vanilla if you want a more shou and with a fun bit of vanilla.
I have no idea how Vanilla Bean Dream Machine Shou will age. Vanilla beans, with good airtight and cool storage, stay potent for a few years, then lose flavor and aroma. The beans can go moldy (apparently, I haven’t experienced that in my own baking pantry conditions) so best not to add humidity and heat to these tea cakes. My plan is to leave these cakes in mylar. I’m likely to drink them in less than 3 years anyhow.
(teas provided for review)
