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Should have read my previous note before throwing seven grams into the pot. Now it is way past midnight and I am as chipper as a squirrel with cheeks jammed full of nuts. Serves me right for forgetting I have a large quantity of oolong to drink through and losing my rhythm with them. I think this is a perfectly good daily drinker. It benefits from a good rinse, but smells awfully nice, every time. I don’t understand how Prince of Peace can sell this for such a low sum. I could just be not that spoiled yet with regards to oolong. I hope it doesn’t contain massive quantities of pesticides or something. Maybe it is just a case of lazy packaging. I’m no expert, but the contents look pretty heavily roasted to me (and tastes like it also, compared to the actually green oolongs I’ve had in fancy tasting shops), while the company description claims it is greener than most oolongs. Maybe this is just more proof that greener oolongs are more in vogue these days and people don’t reach for the more roasted stuff. I like the oolongs roasted and toasted, though. Shrug.

Halfway through the sample. As of yet not inspired to cake or tong this. It tastes more like an educational bark infusion than a tea. I could not have guessed in a blind tasting that this is a pu at all. It would get anyone into a mood ready for meditation, though, since the latter activity is all about emptying the mind and focusing on one’s breath. This drink does seem to create a surprising amount of space in one’s head, if that makes any sense, more so than other teas. Instead of getting drunk, you enter a quasi state of auto-meditation. Is that something people want from tea, to momentarily fake-transcend all worldly desires only to come crashing right back down again? Then this may be the cake for you. I’m not enlightened enough for it yet. Will have to try upping the ratio of leaf next time.

Teafriend asked me what I think of this so here’s another stab at describing it. Got an ‘18 cake in the last haul. It is still a little too rough around the edges to have before doing anything cerebral. But it’s great for when I want to do a bunch of light manual labor. It’s that kind of energy. So I drank half a liter to motivate myself to finish assembling a piece of furniture. It tastes as if it must temporarily confer onto you a certain kind of masculine competence, even if you’re not a guy. Given the black/white tea mixture, it could probably also be used as a diplomatic beverage whenever you are trying to convince people that further racial integration as early as possible in (like in k-8) is a good idea, as long as the young leaves are of similar, complementary quality.

Too much going on these days to focus on sessions, so I’ve been going through the daily drinker stuff, but today I was like okay let’s revisit this sample. It is still relaxing, dirty, and nutty. Lost track of time on 8 and oversteeped. Wet leaves smell like a mud room at the sauna .

Kelp-y. It was good company for a few hours of music appreciation. I’m afraid I paid more attention to the music than to the tea. That’s not always a bad thing. That means it was smooth. Better notes next time.

It’s about what you’d expect given the astronomical hype – very good, uncommon progression, but makes sense when you think about the composition. I have nothing to add to the reviews that have already been written, except that it seems to taste good now, with no off flavors. Supposedly this blend gets better with age, but the cake may not survive the year. Glad I finally tried some.

w2t production names and labels make so much sense sometimes. Pretty leaves. Wet leaf scent places you a few sunny days following an autumn rain. You’d develop an instant crush on this girl, and almost any girl really, if she strolled by you on campus during first quarter when the air smelled like so. Makes me wanna try more dian hong yunnan blacks.

Smooth and chocolate-y. As advertised.

The scent and flavor and mouthfeel are all right. But I rather dislike what it does to my throat, which feels coated with something uncomfortable after only 2 steeps. Is it smoke? Is it lingering astringency? Either way, it isn’t a good feeling. I am not sick, and it isn’t from a reaction to something I ate just before.

This is the last of the sample. The first half was shared with dear company, so the conversation outshone the tea. The first solo tasting was low energy compared to others tasted week. This one lands in a similar fashion.

I can see how someone who smokes might not even notice the yucky throat feel and thus enjoy this far more than non-smokers will. Farewell, strange blend that smells good and feels like I am smoking a cigarette. Blecch. Merry merry.

Steepster has been eating a bunch of my reviews submitted on mobile, which is a shame, because it’s so convenient to tap notes out while curled up in my armchair.

Anyway, this tea is supposed to be an Earl Grey reminiscent complex blend, but the fruit – black currant – scent overpowers everything else until you’re a few steeps in. I prefer what it becomes after a good deal of the flavorings wash off. Of course, this is exactly the kind of tea that everyone else always seems to adore, so I gave it away as a gift, along with a travel tea set, to my uncle. He likes tea, but his office only stocks green, which upsets his tummy. I’d been on the search for a good daily black or oolong on his behalf, and stumbled across mentions of this blend of both. Let’s hope it works out for him!