Thomas Smith Send Message

116 Followers / 20 Following

62
drank Maofeng Noir Organic by The Tao of Tea
93 tasting notes

Don’t know what happened to this tea – this used to be one of my steadfast staples I would return to on a really regular basis and have been buying for years. It’s been replaced by a much lighter oxidation version with hardly any of those wonderfully chocolaty, sumptuous qualities I fell in love with. Natural notes of bergamot, rose, and fragrant hardwoods are also gone. More astringent, lighter body, more vegetal. The accentuation of florals is nice when brewed with lower temp water ‘round 85C, but not to the point that I’d go out of my way to get it.

Bumping it down 12 points. I’ll continue buying this after the next harvest period in the hopes of a return to the Noir-ish side that this tea used to embody.
Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
5 comments
Edit
cultureflip
Delete

I didn’t know that Mao Feng teas were ever made into reds. It sounds nice even though this harvest isn’t the best.

Thomas Smith
Delete

Mao Feng is just an open leaf grade (“Furry Tip”) with a two small leaves and a bud. There’s also Qimen Mao Feng.
I’m sure that the same sort of tea was produced, but Tao of Tea just bought this one this time around. Perhaps it’s due to a contract with a particular certified farm and the company just has to go along with whatever production methods the farm chooses from year to year. This particular harvest was not hit by any weather of particular note, as most of the Eastern green tea producing provinces were this year.

Glenn Hummel
Delete

My first taste of this was this year (2014) and it has the same attributes that were lamented about.

Thomas Smith
Delete

Thanks for the update comment! Pulled me to Steepster after being away for over a year.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

cultureflip
Delete

I didn’t know that Mao Feng teas were ever made into reds. It sounds nice even though this harvest isn’t the best.

Thomas Smith
Delete

Mao Feng is just an open leaf grade (“Furry Tip”) with a two small leaves and a bud. There’s also Qimen Mao Feng.
I’m sure that the same sort of tea was produced, but Tao of Tea just bought this one this time around. Perhaps it’s due to a contract with a particular certified farm and the company just has to go along with whatever production methods the farm chooses from year to year. This particular harvest was not hit by any weather of particular note, as most of the Eastern green tea producing provinces were this year.

Glenn Hummel
Delete

My first taste of this was this year (2014) and it has the same attributes that were lamented about.

Thomas Smith
Delete

Thanks for the update comment! Pulled me to Steepster after being away for over a year.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Tea Geek.

My focus is on Chinese Wulongs and Pu’er but I’m all over the place. I tend to follow a seasonal progression of teas, following the freshness curve of greens through summer and rounding the cooler months out with toastier teas and Masala Chai.
With the exception of Masala Chai milk tea I’m a purist at heart. While I was originally snagged by Earl Grey with bergamot and make blends for gifts, I very rarely go for scented teas or herbals and can’t remember the last time I bought a tea that was blended. Pure tea is just more interesting to me than the product of mixing flavors. I do understand and appreciate their existence, though.

I upload some blends I make or special prep teas I nab under the company name “Green Raven Tea and Coffee” and the vast majority of these posts will be blends crafted to create flavors/characteristics not inherent in any one particular tea.
I’ve worked as a tea buyer for a smallish cafe and try to keep apprized of shifts in offerings even when not selecting for a business so I wind up sampling a ton of wholesale samples from a couple companies in particular but try to branch out to as many companies as I can find. Until Steepster integrates some form of comparative tasting feature, none of my cupping notes will make it onto my reviews unless wrapped up into something I feel compelled to drink multiple times on its own.

Since all the cool kids are doing it, here’s my big fat ratings scheme:

0-12…..Ugh, don’t wish on anyone
13-25….Bad, won’t touch again
26-37….Huh, not worth the effort
38-50….Meh, unremarkable
51-62….Okay, good tea
63-75….Tasty, really good tea
76-87….Yum, wonderful
88-100…Wow, really spectacular

There shouldn’t be many postings at all from me ranked 26-50 since unremarkable teas are unlikely to make me remark on ’em but to “earn” a score 37 or below I have to be disappointed to the point where others may ask for a refund or turn down offers even when free or offered as a gift (beyond stale).

I’ve got a ton of respect for anything rated 63 or higher.

For a tea to get 71 or more, it has to be pretty special and kinda blow my socks off.

The 90s are reserved for wonders that make me reevaluate my views of the world of tea as a whole.

Location

Santa Rosa, California, United States

Following These People

See More

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer