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Got a small sample to try, but based on the pricing, I doubt I’d ever spring for it. Wasn’t super wowed by it? But overall, based on the price, wouldn’t really recommend it.

2016 Hai Lang Hao Lao Ban Zhang Gu Shu
Ancient Arbor Raw pu er
2016 老班章古树生普洱茶

5.8 g, 140 mL, Brita filtered water, 180f (figured out by now that this was probably too low)

Dry leaves standard sheng smell
Wet leaves have a sharp smokey/earthy note that reminds me of shu
Initial taste is a lightly bitter green that later gives a refreshing and slightly sweet mouthfeel

I suppose the lightly bitter and cooling sweet must be a standard sheng note that keeps reminding me of mint

The aftertaste sits in your mouth for quite a while and is pleasant. Other than that, I’m not sure I’m convinced on spending the money for a full cake of this.

Later infusions, wet leaves have a woody sweet note

Got this as a sample to try, but don’t think I’d purchase a full cake? Not super into shengs right now (both due to cost and experiences).

4.7g, 140 mL, gongfu, brita water, temps of 180-190f (which I thought was right for shengs oops but apparently ~200f is better?)

Dry leaves no special notes that I can tell of
Infusion has a slightly vegetal smell
Wet leaves smell like wet leaves of white tea

Taste is similar to a less sweet white tea mixed with green tea (astringent?) notes
Nice slightly lingering aftertaste, not particularly sweet initially, but pleasantly refreshing, that involves into something subtly sweet and a bit minty even

Longer infusions now
Wet leaves smell of mint
Tastes more like a green tea now, with infusions having a more drying mouth feel but similarly pleasant

140 mL, 7g, gongfu, brita filter water off the boil

Couldn’t smell anything particular in the dry leaves/mini cake.

Tasted like a specific TCM the whole way through (神曲: Chinese medicated leaven) that comes in little bricks that you boil. Given that I had to take this often when I was having stomach issues when I was younger, it doesn’t necessarily elicit any pleasant connections for me lol. No other observations, but definitely not something I’d order again.

Update: used the leaves for compost and was surprised to smell a strong passion fruit note three days later. Had it mixed with leftover W2T tiltshift leaves. This mini certainly tasted nothing like that, so not sure what that’s from but I thought the smell was interesting and pleasant. :)

2nd white tea I’ve tried. Pleasantly clean and mellow, slightly sweet. I’m not well versed enough to identify particular notes, which all seem to be pretty subtle, other than something honeydew melon-like. Gongfu, Brita filtered water, around 190f (crab’s eye!). Ended up prying the ball apart a couple steeps in because I was getting a little inpatient lol.

Update: did a few more steepings with this today. Got some vegetal notes like a green tea, but more floral in nature, along with some light honey notes. Quite lovely, and so I’m upping my rating. Wouldn’t hesitate to order this again in the future. I was using water almost right off the boil with gongfu steepings and it never got bitter, so much less maintenance than a green. Curious how this would hold up to grandpa style brews, since any greens I’ve tried grandpa have all gotten bitter, but I’m out of this for now.

Gongfu, filtered Brita water off the boil. Several shu puers later, I’ve figured out that I probably just don’t like Shu Pu ers, and it’s not an issue with the teas themselves (now to brew through the remainder of my W2T stash…). I don’t like earthy flavors, which draw medicinal associations for me, so I can never relate to the pretty descriptions. Not really sweet for me. Thicker mouthfeel typical of shus. Will try a grandpa brew tomorrow with the other half of the biscuit I ordered and update.

Update: Grandpa brew was not much different… if possible, perhaps even more bland than gongfu, which I didn’t expect. Not something I’d likely purchase again.

Laoshan Black Tea
He family spring 2020
Laoshan, Shandong, China
崂山红茶

5g, 130 mL, brita filtered water, water off the boil

Dry leaves: chocolate, raisin

10s first steep: brewed leaves smell a little burnt. Taste: a sweet floral, very pleasant, but also deep, reminds me of coffee without the acidity.

20s second steep: similar brewed leaves. Taste: aftertaste reminds me of Chinese dried jujube dates. No other thoughts.

No more notes, except sweet potatoes at some point. Online reviewers overall seem obsessed with LB, so I had really high expectations going in, and that probably dimmed my experience a bit. I’ve been spoiled by my aunt’s mystery pack that she sent me a while back, and that had something basically exactly like this with different packaging, so I’ve already had it or an eerily similar one in the past. It’s not a bad tea per se, just perhaps not for me. Didn’t bother with more exact notes, because everything that can be said has already been said.

Got it as part of Beantown’s sampler pack, not a favorite. Looked kinda pretty though! Made a bit of a color gradient in a clear cup.

Ordered a sample from Beantown. Ordered because it was caffeine free, and not too bad, but I’m not sure what Rooibos is supposed to taste like in general. I was planning to find a non-caffeinated tea for before bed, but the cinnamon makes it a little too spicy for a bedtime drink.

Part of sampler pack from Beantown. Nothing special. Tastes no different from an Earl grey tea bag, so no point in paying premium for loose leaf necessarily. Even with chai spice mix added, had a sharp and somewhat unpleasantly bitter note (though maybe chai and EB tea don’t mix the best).

130mL, 4g, brita water

Leaves dry: smell of a strong buttery green, peas, and with hints of floral and citrus. Overall nice pale yellow infusions.

Decided to keep brewing temps at 166 or below. Based on my own experiences with green teas, under extracted greens are okay, over extracted greens are far less so, and it is far easier to mess up greens than oolongs. Aside from cold brew prep, green teas I feel are decidedly more high maintenance (or as high maintenance as teas get) than oolongs that I can toss in a thermos and forget about until drinking.

5s: leaves smell roasted green, but also malty? Not unpleasant, but interesting. As expected, first cup not very strong. Pleasant light green.

15s: I’ve figured out the smell. It’s like Chinese chestnuts after they’re steamed, slightly sweet and nutty, but add a pinch of buttery roasted green tea and you’ve nailed this tea’s aroma. Very pleasant aftertaste.

40s: similar smell, with the chestnut note becoming even stronger. a little sharper, slightly bitter and dry finish-so tannins? Not bad, even refreshingly crisp and sweet aftertaste, but generally I prefer mellow flavors, so this right here is why I will never opt to steep a green tea for over 1-2 minutes unless it’s for cold brew.

Didn’t have time to continue this session unfortunately, but this was a fun tea! I don’t really like greens because they’re more high-maintenance/fussy and it’s harder to brew a good cup, but this is one I’d brew again if I was in the mood.