11 Tasting Notes
SEASON
Summer 2016 (June)
CULTIVAR
Chin Xin
ORIGIN
Hsinchu, Taiwan
PICKING & PROCESSING
Bud and one or two leaves
ELEVATION
500m
Was going to have a silver needle tea, but since I have just had a curry I thought a more robust tea would be better.
1st Steep
Light brown tea. Aroma is tannin, some spice and earth. Taste is earth, tannin, wet wood and some hints of honey.
2nd Steep
Less Earth in the aroma, more green leaf. Taste is a little more mellow, less tannin with some stronger sweet notes. More floral notes and in whole it’s a little more rounded. Refreshing.
3rd Steep
Morefloral notes in the aroma. Taste is more sweeter and improved in my opinion. More balanced and less tannic.
Overall good Tea that develops through the steepings.
SEASON
Spring 2016
CULTIVAR
Jin Ji
ORIGIN
Huoshan, Anhui, China
PICKING & PROCESSING
Bud and one or two leaves
ELEVATION
800m
1st Steep.
Pale yellow tea. Aroma is light floral, some nutty notes. Taste is nutty, sweetish and hints of fresh green leaf.
2nd Steep and 3rd Steep
More green in colour, taste and aroma. Loss of vibrancy pretty quick here.
Overall the 1st Steep was nice and delicate. After that, nothing outstanding.
7th Tea rate
SEASON: Spring 2016 (March 20th)
CULTIVAR: Xiao Ye
ORIGIN: Zhejiang, China
PICKING: Bud and 2 leaves
ELEVATION: 600m
Brewed Western Style 3gr in 300ml @ 80degrees c for 2 minutes then 60 second increments.
1st Steep
Pale green tea.
Aroma is light kale.
Taste is light kale, quite nutty with a little wood.
2nd Steep
Slightly darker green
Aroma has more of an hazelnut touch to it.
Taste is a little more rounded with the same flavours as the first Steep.
3rd steep.
It’s all starting to lose its vibrancy.
Rate No.6
Harvest: Spring
Origin: Dehong, Yunnan, China
Type: Pu Erh
Approximate Altitude: 1700m
Steeped Western Style 300ml for 3 min at 85°c then 60 second increments.
1st Steep
Smells smokey and earthy in the pack, looks and smells good.
Slightly green yellow tea, no purple. Aroma is light smoke, woody, some pine wood.
Taste is floral, pine wood, some earth and a good sweet finish. Very good.
2nd and 3rd Steep
More earthiness in the aroma and taste and a little less vibrant.
Rate no.5
Harvest: Spring
Origin: Taimu Mountain Fujian, China
Approximate Altitude: 1100m
Western style 300ml for 3 min @85°c, then 2nd steep for 4 min.
1st steep. Tea is broken leaf, lots of debris. Aroma is just like regular tea in a bag. The taste however us quite refreshing, some mild tannin, light floral notes, fruity, and a little but. Easy drinking, one I could drink every day.
2nd steep, it all became watered down, freshness disappears, but the sweetness remains.
Overall a nice tea, but one steep is its limit western style.
Rate No. 4
Harvest: Spring
Origin: Anxi County, Fujian, China
Type: Blended Oolong
Approximate Altitude: 700m
Brewed western style 4gr in 300ml @95 degrees c for two minutes with 30 sec increments.
1st Steep brews a clear tea with a hint of green.
Aroma of green grass and some vegetal notes.
Taste is sweet, asparagus, some cabbage and faint liquorice.
2nd and 3rd steeps are more green in colour. The taste and aroma doesn’t change too much.
4th and 5th Steep are more yellow in colour. Aroma is more muted. The taste however is still holding up. Maybe a little less intense, but still good to drink.
Nice sweet flavoured tea.
Preparation
Rate no.3
Harvest: Spring
Origin: Taimu Mountain, Fujian, China
Type: Scented Green
Approximate Altitude: 1100m
3gr in 300ml of water at 80 degrees c. Steeped for 2mins and then two further steeps +30 seconds each steep.
1st steep.
Yellow tea with a green tint.
Aroma of jasmine flowers, very floral with light green leaf.
Taste is sweet, floral and light green leaf with very little astringency. Nicely balanced in its flavours.
2nd steep.
More green in the colour this time.
Aroma is not as strong on the jasmine front, more green leaf.
Taste is more of a warm floral taste, some hints of licorice and spice. More green forward this time.
3rd steep.
Back to being more yellow again.
Aroma is less floral again.
Taste is light floral notes, green with some vegetal notes. A bit more diluted than the previous steeps.
Overall good.
Flavors: Floral, Green, Jasmine
Preparation
Rate no. 2
Harvest: Spring
Origin: Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan
Type: Grands Crus Oolong
Approximate Altitude: 2000m
4gr in 300ml at 95 degree c. 2 min 1st steep then 30 second increments each steep.
1st Steep.
Pale green tea.
Aroma is vegetal and milky.
Taste is vegetal, some sweetness, milk, some biscuit and green leaf.
2nd Steep
Aroma is stronger vegetal notes.
Taste is green leaf, more cream than milk this time. The sweetness is a little less noticeable due to being overpowered by its greenness.
3rd steep
More of orange green tea in colour
Aroma has toned down on its vegetal notes.
Taste is more mellow on the green notes now, not as creamy either. It seems to have developed a little bit of pepper on the back of the tongue with some warmth. Once the tea has cooled a little the creaminess returns stronger.
Flavors: Cream, Green, Milk, Sweet, Vegetal
Breakfast?