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A sipdown! (M: 9 Y: 25)
I have decided to spend remaining 7 grams in a single gongfu session.

It tastes very differently, it is not so mineral and salty; but heavy notes of wet forest floor, mushrooms and different woody notes are still present.

Flavour-wise it is not too complex, but it is suprisingly mild for stomach, despite dark and strong notes that I wrote about in previous paragraph.

Longer steeps weren’t bitter or astringent, it was just like you have doubled the mushroomy (shu) notes. In a certain way this tea reminds me Bancha Goishicha from Japan; which is also in my stash… so I should compare it in a short time, in a time I still have a memory of this one.

A sipdown! (M: 8 Y: 24) — prompt: A spiced tea
Last year I was here crying, how spicy it is and I can’t handle it. But as we had some winter weather outside; some snow and a little of snowfall, combbined with partially cloudy sky, I decided to bit the bullet and try the second bag from derk. Thank you!

Well, it seems this one was much closer to her impressions — as it was mild with hints of hot. It was distinctly spicy, but chocolate was a bit hard to find. Ginger and allspice were the most prominent in this bag.

It seems that previous one contained all the habanero from the box, and this one is much closer to indeded fiery tea.

Without rating intentionally

Those Jingmai Moonlights are like a cuddle in a cup. So sweet, so smooth, so easydrinking.
I have used today 90°C water and just finished my thermos full of that water with various, definitely uncounted and random steeping times; and there wasn’t a single bad steep.

Some were distinctly stonefruity, later ones were more herbaceous and meadow forward; with hot fresh hay notes.

All steeps were companied with velvety smooth and long mouthfeel and perfect as usual.

Comparing it to the 2018 harvest I had, I find this a wee better, although my impressions of that harvest are very faded by now.

A sipdown! (M: 7 Y: 23)
While it seems I am not so fond of this tea anymore; it was still a very pleasant session with slightly smoky note combined with birch / woody note. The impression of Finnish sauna was there and it complemented so well my planning of a summer trip — that will probably actually start there!

I am actually considering my first YS order to get a little more of this; but as I wrote in my previous notes — I need to reduce my stash first and ordering from Chinese company will need of course customs fees and everything related to it.

So, thank you derk for, great tea experiences I am going through with the teas you sent me and I just feel that I sent you, rubbish, if I am using nice words.

A sipdown! (M: 6 Y: 22) — yet another puerh sipdown.

You know, I have lots of these last quantities left teas. So, I just picked any other randomly, and while I don’t think I need to slay any demons in me now ;knock knock on the wood, panic attacks are much less present.

I did super-fast rinse with toss, and let humudity absorb a bit into the leaf.

Steeps were various lenghts, starting with short ones and just did increments of 10-15 seconds each steep.

It is surprisingly very mild and sweet, while I have been expecting other side of the spectrum (bitter and astringent); hints of floral notes and hot hay,… argh! I burned my fingers!… later steeps have that vegetal/pepper qualites that were described when young. Aroma is mostly grassy, with hints of petrichor.

If anything, this tea, comparing my previous note (and notes of others), has mellowed by a lot! Liquor was in all steeps definitely very thick and somehow a bit oily and with long mouthfeels.

Based on today impressions I raise the rating from 78 to 85.

A sipdown! (M: 5 Y: 21)
As I am enjoying a work-free week; I decided to make a dent in my tea stash. Yesterday I have rechecked all the tea, reorganised my tea chests, and found out I have more puerh than I have thought and more herbals than I am able to finish in timely manner. So, that included also removing all the tea from Steepster cupboard and re-adding them afterwards.

So, that said; I have also time to sipdown some last servings (I have much more than I want to admit) and some gongfu steeps that I hardly find time for.

I brought last 4 grams from sample that derk sent me, who knows when, but thank you anyway. I did no rinse, not even preheated gaiwan.

1st steep — 15 seconds
Very interesting aroma of leaves as well as the liquor, like forest floor combined with licorice root; but on the other hand, more important for me, taste-wise it is just flat and not flavourful at all. There is some sweetness in the background; but almost unnoticeable.

2nd steep — 25 seconds
Now there are also some refreshing, like menthol, aroma in the nose. The sweetness is still prominent, but also bitterness creeps around the corner. Or maybe it is not a bitterness, but citrus rinds and alkali. Dry aftertaste, which is rather unpleasant.

3rd steep — 30 seconds
Oh dear. This is pure alkali combined with dirty and muddy forest floor.
Bad steep, bad steep!

4th steep — again 30 seconds
Bitter citrus rinds. Not a fan.

5th steep — 50 seconds
No notes made, probably similar to previous one, but not so strong.

6th steep — 60 seconds
Bitter something with thick mouthfeel, lasts long and this tea is finished for me by now.

A sipdown! (M: 4 Y: 20)

Seems I have neglected this tea and when I was asked to brew a tea in a pot, I took this one. And… I never wrote a note before. I know, I bought back then just a small package, 25 grams.

Anyway, steeped 7.5 grams for 3 minutes, 80 °C water, teapot.

Yes, definitely it is past its prime; but still so delicious as all the teas from group buy I made. And I just wonder… what has happened to them as their website is defunct and I haven’t found them elsewhere. If you find anything about Georgian Organic Producers tea association please let me know. I found Facebook page Georgian Organic which has same logo, but if it is them? Hard to say… but they are quite active there!

Ah sorry, I digressed from tea itself.
Honestly, it is stronger than I have been expecting. A little too drying, but liquor is viscous and it is hay-like; with stonefruits and vegetal aftertaste. In some sips there are grassy sweetness, but sadly it is a bit rare; but that’s no surprise considering it is 3 years since harvest.

Many gingerbread teas I have tried were far away from real thing; with a few rare exceptions and this is one of those.

Dark molasses, thick texture, and spices … with cinnamon and cardamom most forward. Smooth sweet notes of vanilla are here present as well; and this being a caffeine-free tea means it is child-friendly. Mostly I would drink this one in bigger quantites in the winter months, but nobody says you can’t drink it in the middle of the hot, humid, summer. Definitely the best Nordqvist tea from the bunch I have received this time. I can’t decide if I would buy loose leaf or tea bags, though.

Tasty tea indeed. But as others wrote, hard to describe. I get some strawberry, but rhubarb is hard to find in this cup.

Base tea complements well the flavours, but lacking any notes to describe as well. Probably the worst from the Moomin teas I had this time; but fine enough for daily drinking.

A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 19)

This was my office tea and I have to say it was pretty decent, considering price / quality = wake me up effect ratio.

It’s quite common here to add a lemon juice to the cup of plain black tea; so this combines both and quite well. The result is not sour at all, the base tea is strong and very robust, and, if steeped properly, not bitter.

Of course, I did several 15+ minutes long steeps — and that I can’t recommend, but 3 minutes seems just fine. Sadly, they just say the tea is from various origins, but they don’t tell them. But in my opinion, it is not just a Ceylon tea.