Ethan Loke Send Message

Decent pu-erh! I got these little squares of this tea from my recent FL order, and it really was a nice brew. Beautiful leaves compressed into these cute squares, with a beautiful light, dusty (in a good way), floral aroma which was paired with a vibrant liquor. Decent flavour but lacks richness and a bit of nuance, with great texture that was quite juicy, an average finish but a great aftertaste. Character of this tea is decent but the cha-qi is unnoticeable. To end it off, this tea has a slightly better than average steep longevity. Good tea but could be better.

A disappointing yancha. I got this tea from my OWT order, and it started off well but fell off a cliff very quickly. Beautiful leaves albeit a bit broken with a nice, rich aroma and a vibrant liquor that was slightly cloudy. The flavour was nuanced on the first steep with many different flavour parties coming to play from the prototypical mineral yancha to a more body-centric fragrant yancha, this tea also came with some yanyun. However, that flavour only really lasted for like 3-4 steeps before degenerating into the taste of a mediocre low quality oolong. Texture was alright, nothing special, character was impacted severely by the lack of prominence in the tea after steep 3-4, finish & aftertaste was nothing special either. There was a complete lack of cha-qi and the steep longevity wasn’t too great either. Overall, a tea that promised a lot (which I will give points for), but ultimately failed spectacularly.

Very interesting tea! I got the 2022 harvest of this tea from my recent MST order, and it’s taiwanese oolong that gives me a dianhong vibes. Beautiful leaves with a great aroma (again reminding me of dianhong), and a vibrant, thick liquor with a semi-golden sheen (i had to subtract points for heavy amounts of dust in the liquor though). Decent flavour that had a decent richness but could’ve offered more, especially in nuance and complexity, paired with a nice juicy texture that leaves a minty refreshness in the mouth. Average character paired with an average finish but decent aftertaste. This tea lacked any noticeable cha-qi and the steep longevity is average to good I’d say. Overall, an interesting tea probably worth that price tag.

Quite a nice shou! I got this tea from my recent CLT order, and it’s definitely an all-rounder. Beautiful aroma in the wet leaf and empty cup paired with a vibrant and thick liquor, topped with a juicy texture and a decent flavour that emphasised more on the spices and woody notes. This tea had a very nice, creeping cha-qi that was quite unique and the best part of this tea is that it lasts for LONG. I stopped at like 15 steeps but I was certain it could’ve gone to 20+. The flaws of this tea is mostly in character, finish and aftertaste, which I find are the areas this tea lacks in, and the flavour in my opinion could’ve been richer and more nuanced. Overall, a bold, nice tea that is unapologetic in showing its strengths. It feels like a ripe fruit ready to savour.

A decent yancha. I got this tea from my recent OWT order, and it had some really good points and some not so good. Beautiful leaves with a rich aroma and a vibrant liquor that produced a wondrous golden sheen. The flavour was quite nice and nuanced with a brilliant juicy yet smooth texture. Decent aftertaste & finish paired with an okay-ish character are the remaining plaudits that this tea has. When it comes to cha-qi, there was literally none and this tea had relatively poor steep longevity, losing its rich flavour and texture past steep 5-6. All in all, a decent tea but just not good enough.

Edging between recommended and not. I got the 2019 harvest of this tea from my recent Mountain Stream Teas order, and to be honest I’m trying to utilise my short memory for this review as this tea was drunk yesterday after chugging a bunch of alcohol. Beautiful leaves with a nice aroma and liquor. Decent flavour but lacked potency, decent steep longevity and average texture, finish & aftertaste. The tea lacked a nuanced character and I can’t really comment on the cha-qi due to the possible effects of alcohol :) All in all, I drunk this tea with my extended family and they liked it, so I’ll give it the benefit of doubt and put it as a ‘recommended’ tea.

Decent-ish sheng! I got the dragon ball samples of this tea from my recent BLT order, and of course it isn’t a world-beater, but for the price, I’d say it punches above its weight. Nice leaves with relatively medium bud content, with a decent aroma and a nice liquor. The tea had a decent flavour with a slight nuance but lacked richness and potency. Smooth texture with a slight juiciness to the mouth, paired with an okay-ish character throughout the session. The finish & aftertaste was there but a bit absent, and the steep longevity is roughly average I’d say. Cha-qi was definitely missing in this tea, but what can I expect from a tea that really is quite cheap already.

Definitely better teas out there, but this tea is a relatively solid candidate for daily-drinker status.

Quite a nice yancha! I got this tea from my recent OWT order, and I think this is the best tea from them I’ve had thus far. Beautiful big leaves with a very nice dry and wet leaf aroma that is rich yet nuanced, decent liquor with a decent flavour that encompasses warmth and richness, yet bringing about a nice nuance paired with delicate creaminess. Decently medium-thick texture with a nice permeating astringency, paired with an okay-ish to decent character. The aftertaste is quite nice and present, with a slight juicy finish. The tea also has relatively excellent steep longevity. The one main thing this tea lacks is cha-qi, having almost none of it at all. The flavour could’ve been more potent and complex, and the session in and of itself is quite simplistic and one-dimensional, lacking variability between steeps. Overall, a nice tea that I don’t mind drinking more of (I just saw it went out of stock :/), but it’d need to step up a notch to really get to the ‘high-end/top tier’ teas.

Wonderful tea! I got this tea from my recent Farmerleaf order, and this tea really is a juicy bomb. Beautiful fine picked leaves with a high bud ratio, paired with a decent wet leaf aroma and a decent liquor. This tea has a wonderfully nuanced taste that strikes a balance between bitterness, sweetness, fruity and minerality. It could’ve been slightly more potent, but that’s beside the point really. Intensly immense juiciness in the texture paired with a permeating astringency, with the juiciness lasting strong into the finish which is also accompanied by a fresh minty feeling and a nice honeysuckle aftertaste. Beautiful character that this tea possesses, changing its flavours and profile between the different steeps, making for an interesting session. The biggest complaints about this tea that I have is the lack of a potent cha-qi, with a mediocre, but nice, buzzy and warming cha-qi present, and a relatviely average steep longevity compared to other shengs.

If those aspects were present, this tea could’ve easily been a 85+, but nonetheless a good tea for honestly a decent-ish price.

An interesting Dancong! I got this tea from my recent BLT order, and it is quite different from the other dancongs from the Bitterleaf catalogue. Nice dry leaf with a decent wet leaf aroma, paired with a decent liquor, this tea has a juicy yet astringent texture that permeates the mouth. It also provides a lot in terms of character with a wave of “freshness” in a sense going through the palate. Decent finish with a slightly above average aftertaste. The flavour is decent but can tend to be overly bitter when not careful, more so than other dancongs. However, the bitterness pays off with a beautiful permeating salinity in the tongue. Average buzzy cha-qi with a slightly better than average steep longevity makes this tea a 75ish for me.