Sirentian Send Message

34 Followers / 23 Following

Recommended
drank 2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Suan Zao Shu" Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake by Yunnan Sourcing
261 tasting notes

Tea Tasting Note: 2020-11-16

- 3.8g in 75ml gaiwan [[Gongfu brewing]]
- Dry leaf smells lovely tangy like sour plums
- No Rinse
- First infusion (90˚C, 0:10)
- Rating: 90
- Second infusion (91˚C, 0:15)
- Slight astringency but still refreshing, has that vegetal green raw pu-erh taste. Not sweet.
- Rating: 84
- Third infusion (91˚C, 0:16)
- Stands up to yoghurt and granola
- Rating: 84
- Fourth infusion (92˚C, 0:16)
- A bit of bitterness. Still really nice when cooled.
- Rating: 85
- Fifth infusion (92˚C, 0:18)
- Mellower, no bitterness. A bit of astringency (dry-mouth)
- Rating: 84
- Sixth infusion (93˚C, 0:20)
- Rating: 90
- Seventh infusion (93˚C, 0:25)
- Rating: 90
- Eighth infusion (94˚C, 0:32)
- Rating: 87
- Ninth infusion (95˚C, 0:35)
- Rating: 85
- Tenth infusion (95˚C, 0:40)
- Rating: 83
- Eleventh infusion (96˚C, 0:45)
- Rating: 84
- Twelfth infusion (97˚C, 0:40)
- Rating: 89
- Thirteenth infusion (97˚C, 0:45)
- Astringent again, pushed it too hard lol. Body is thin
- Rating:
- Fourteenth infusion (98˚C, 0:38)
- Lovely. Getting tea drunk.
- Rating: 90
- Fifteenth infusion (98˚C, 0:45)
- Rating: 87
- Sixteenth infusion (98˚C, 0:50)
- DNF.
- Rating: 83
- Seventeenth infusion (99˚C, 0:40)
- Rating: 84
- Eighteenth infusion (99˚C, 0:55)
- Rating: 86
- Nineteenth infusion (100˚C, 0:43)
- Rating: 84
- Twentieth infusion (100˚C, 0:50)
- Rating: 85
- Twenty-first infusion (100˚C, 1:05)
- Tastes straight up like a regular green tea now… 変なの．．．
- Rating: 85
- Twenty-second infusion (100˚C, 1:30)
- Rating: 84
- Twenty-third infusion (100˚C, 1:40)
- Rating: 84
- Twenty-fourth infusion (100˚C, 1:55)
- Rating:
- Twenty-fifth infusion (100˚C, 2:15)
- Rating:
- Twenty-sixth infusion (100˚C, 2:40)
- Rating: 83
- Twenty-seventh infusion (100˚C, 3:10)
- Rating: 83
- Twenty-eighth infusion (100˚C, 3:45)
- Honestly, it’s not letting up yet but I’m getting sick of tea for the day.
- Rating: 82

Flavors: Plum, Sour, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 4 g 3 OZ / 75 ML
4 comments
Edit
EricPostMaster
Delete

I’m pretty new to tea, and I just recently learned about steeping multiple times. Your log is fascinating. I have a question: When you say the 28th infusion was 3:45, does that mean you steeped it for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, or do I subtract the length of the 27th steep (3:10) to get the length of the 28th steep, which would be 35 seconds? I’m guessing it’s the first one, but I’m really not sure :)

Sirentian
Delete

Oh, good question! Yes I actually steeped it for 3 mins 45 s!

EricPostMaster
Delete

Cool, good to know! I usually just drink bagged teas, so I haven’t really needed multiple steeps yet, but I’m considering subscribing to a monthly box or something that will help me broaden my horizons.

Sirentian
Delete

Ah yes, that’s probably a great idea! Also, many good tea shops offer somewhat affordable sampler sets of “representative teas” for beginners to gongfu tea:

https://verdanttea.com/five-teas-for-5
https://sevencups.com/shop/introduction-to-chinese-tea-sampler/
https://www.teavivre.com/featured-tea-sample-packs.html
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/assorted-tea-samplers/products/starter-pack

Happy steeping! :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

EricPostMaster
Delete

I’m pretty new to tea, and I just recently learned about steeping multiple times. Your log is fascinating. I have a question: When you say the 28th infusion was 3:45, does that mean you steeped it for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, or do I subtract the length of the 27th steep (3:10) to get the length of the 28th steep, which would be 35 seconds? I’m guessing it’s the first one, but I’m really not sure :)

Sirentian
Delete

Oh, good question! Yes I actually steeped it for 3 mins 45 s!

EricPostMaster
Delete

Cool, good to know! I usually just drink bagged teas, so I haven’t really needed multiple steeps yet, but I’m considering subscribing to a monthly box or something that will help me broaden my horizons.

Sirentian
Delete

Ah yes, that’s probably a great idea! Also, many good tea shops offer somewhat affordable sampler sets of “representative teas” for beginners to gongfu tea:

https://verdanttea.com/five-teas-for-5
https://sevencups.com/shop/introduction-to-chinese-tea-sampler/
https://www.teavivre.com/featured-tea-sample-packs.html
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/assorted-tea-samplers/products/starter-pack

Happy steeping! :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

Following These People

See More

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer