298 Tasting Notes
6/90. decent for price, but does not particularly stand out in any way. decent florals on gaiwan lid. Can’t tell if it’s rose-like, but it could definitely pass for it. I was in Portland for a conference this summer and after visiting the rose garden, I can’t identify what’s exactly rose anymore. all the varieties of roses smelled different. Pretty cool, but also lowkey upsetting since rose constructs in perfumery have a somewhat contrived and constricted view generally presenting the same across houses and perfumes. I felt misled! anyway, tea has a roast that’s on the lighter side of medium for my preferences. vegetal, grassy, coconut notes in the middle. can have some bitterness, but doesn’t transform too much and somewhat weak on aftertaste. can’t remember anything else despite having it this morning.
i bought this last year and haven’t gotten around to it until this past week… anyway.
3.7/90. wet leaf is smoky, honey, berries. can’t remember if youle is a small leaf varietal or if this is just my sample, but the leaves are very small, hongcha-like. leaf is quite green still, so storage was likely quite dry for this to be from 04. first steep is a honeyed and dried jujube taste w slight bitterness underneath. good mouthfeel and rounded. aftertaste is kind of grassy and sweet. later is honeyed graham crackers with berry, sort of minty aftertaste. 4th was oversteeped. smokey note and bitterness, then quick burst of clarity and focus, nothing after. Not very strong on fifth and fell off completely after. a ginseng like note in the fifth, and then just leaf taste
https://imgur.com/a/dQgZ1P9 Hard to tell in pic, but leaves are quite young sheng like in appearance. also small.
both reviews for ~4 steeps before i mugged. yancha brewing never peaks past the first couple of steeps for me and I’m lazy and don’t care enough to do long drawn out sessions for a lot of teas anymore. since I don’t drink yancha often enough to seriously evaluate, this is a much better approach to get a handful of decent steepings, and then I’m happy enough usually with the grandpa results.
3.7g/90. have been doing lower ratios recently, but this was also bc I was wary from the last time I tried something from OWT that was much lower roast than I expected and was far too much with low ratio. I shouldn’t have worried. I couldn’t find the 2020 page anymore, but this is medium roast and the minimum level acceptable roast for my preferences. overall, not too sweet or too much aftertaste. some vegetal, floral, and light medicinal woody notes. not too standout at low ratio, but usually I’d use a higher ratio, so I’ll give it that. prelim. judgement is that for the .53c/g I purchased at last year, this is acceptable, and better than any of the similarly priced steeping room options.
4.6g/60. woody, slightly medicinal taste, with vegetal hint. sometimes crisp sugary, sometimes floral aftertaste. again, not terribly sweet or lasting, but I enjoyed the higher ratio more than yesterday’s.
3.7/90. Taste is much of the classically Yang house taste profile, but pretty soft, some lightly pear like floral in aftertaste. Very approachable, not much bitterness or astringency at all until the kill steep. Good tea for a rainy night, but drowsy pausing feeling makes it not usually something I want to reach for. was surprised that the effect was still so strongly present at something like 60-75% of my usual ratio
from TWL.
wet leaf: BBQ, smoke (wow! quite a hit), barnyard, receding to a darker fruit smell. woody, fruity. touch of medicinal bitterness. BBQ/vegetal notes, along with something bright and banana like. was okay at low ratio of 3.7/90. Initially warming, and then had some chills after. Might need a bit more age, or just not to continue steeping past a few cups.
6.1/90/212. not sure if I’m imagining things, but it seems much better than when I had it a few months ago at work. what I remember then was kind of the dry sharp vegetal notes along with the celery notes that people seem to denote as mineral in other places, and it being more green in taste. those notes are still there, but more complex now — integrated with chocolate, ginger, fruit and with aromas of plum and bready roastiness in gaiwan lid. a sugar-y bright and slightly floral sweetness at the end of taste. mugged after a few steeps bc still not the kind of tea i’d reach for (light oolongs usually just sit and sit…), but really quite decent. wonder if water, attention, or few months of rest made the difference.
7.9g, 90g, boiling.
free sample from someone at some point… Hence the rather heavy ratio that I came to regret
Youle material.
woody and asian pear notes in first steep. second steep was same but lighter. in third steep, asian pear and floral aftertaste is pleasant and lasting, but doesn’t extend further down like the yiwu zhiwang. florals can have a sour hint, but not in a bad way. not too durable past that, and I mugged it pretty quickly. taste overall is like any somewhat aged puer, with the same woody medicinal taste, though not terrible for 80 bucks ish at teapals. some warming and focusing, and then the blood sugar drop and caffeine from the heavy ratio kicked in and didn’t feel too great.
have been meaning to get to this LP sample for what feels like eons… even breaking up iron samples, I’m reminded why I despise iron pressings.
5.5/90/212, gaiwan
dry: very very sweet dried berries.
wet: barnyard (think i finally kind of understand shah’s notation for this now…), lychee, tropical fruits, caramel.
1st: cough syrup, mint, tropical fruits
2nd: fine astringency, slight bitterness. mint and floral in taste
3rd: bitter, cherry-like, chocolate. inclined to think that diangu leans cold?
4th: awfully bitter. fruity floral mint backdrop
5: cherry syrup
6: papery with fine astringency
7: fruity bitter
8: not much taste, but slight pineapple aftertaste
9: more rounded, but still bitter
10: soapy bitter. something vegetal
11, 12: fruity. candied-carrots. dried date, slight underlying bitter
13: no longer bitter. moved to mug.
This is the first tea in a very long time I’ve had that has changed so drastically from steep to steep, and with obvious, distinct notes. does it seem to be worth the $1835 for the XZH direct? absolutely not. does anyway actually pay XZH direct pricing is the real question i suppose. at any rate, dollar per gram from LP was interesting, and perhaps a confusing whirlwind of an experience. Diangu in taste is unlike anything else I’ve tried. In feeling… I don’t know. It was 3 am and I was working on an overdue pset.
5.4g, 90ml. boiling, Brita tap.
dry: damp, sweet. wet leaf: salty, grainy rice. shou-like, but maybe a woody incense note.
1st: nothing particular.
2nd: slight medicinal note. calming, cozy, almost sinking feeling. no clear notes after.
A tea that brews and brews, but was clearly not impressive for taste. no clear progression in taste, just lightening after some time, and cozy still. The first time in a while I’ve really felt caffeinated by a tea too, interestingly enough. Also, marco’s notes indicate a lot more sweetness and aftertaste than I got, but it’s probably a water thing.
