953 Tasting Notes
It is ever interesting to track the delicate but resolute progress of this white tea cake.
The dry leaf aroma is now like barn, oak tree and sweet wood, while wet leaves smell of vanilla, lemon ester and coconut.
The first infusion is a bit sour, mineral, bitter and umami. Sweetness appears soon and increases in intensity. I detect notes of bone broth, honey, flowers, coconut, which give way to a comfy aftertaste that is both smooth and soft.
Flavors: Barnyard, Broth, Coconut, Floral, Flowers, Honey, Lemon, Mineral, Oak, Smooth, Soft, Sour, Sweet, Umami, Vanilla, Wood
[Spring 2024 harvest]
A slightly smoky and woody green tea with a really nice fragrance. Its aroma is flowery, but not sweet, with notes of strawberries, sawdust, and butter. The taste is savoury, nutty, and floral, while the aftertaste has notes of green beans and meadow.
Flavors: Butter, Floral, Flowers, Green Beans, Meadow, Nutty, Sawdust, Smoke, Strawberry, Wood
I’m revisiting this tea and this session just confirms it to be one of my least favourite shengs that I have in storage. I suspect the it may be overcooked, because it reminds me of an old green tea. Overall, there is too little sweetness even for me. It might be interesting to try to blend it with something quite sweet.
The aroma is a bit like soil, milk tea, fenugreek. The taste is savoury, bitter, and vegetal. Overall, I find it to be quite an alkaline tea. One thing I like about it is the thick texture.
Flavors: Bitter, Herbs, Milk, Soil, Thick, Vegetal
[Spring 2023 harvest]
Returning to one of the best value Dan Congs I know, I am not disappointed.
It is really a super tasty tea, with a strong floral and mineral presence. There are also notes of nuts, stonefruit pits, and apples. The mouthfeel is generally quite airy and astringent.
Flavors: Apple, Astringent, Floral, Mineral, Nutty, Stonefruit
[Spring 2024 harvest]
This white tea is at times a bit like green tea, it certainly pays off to get it quite fresh.
The aroma is very nice, dry leaves reminds me of nuts, hay, grass, sage, and apple leaves. When wet, it is more like a cooling mix of flowers, morning dew on the mountain, and laundry detrergent haha.
The tast is strong, quite bitter and also a bit astringent. There is a warming sense to it, as well as a malty flavour and a spicy aftertaste.
Flavors: Apple, Astringent, Bitter, Cooling, Dry Leaves, Flowers, Grass, Hay, Malt, Meadow, Nuts, Petrichor, Sage, Soap, Spicy
Preparation
One of the earliest teas from this year is this fabulous Taiwanese green tea. It wonderfully blends the profiles of green Baozhong oolongs and Laoshan green teas.
The dry leaf aroma is crisp with hints of grass, dry soil, and apples. Later, it gets very vegetal and a little floral. In the gaiwan, I can smell peas, burdock, and fern.
The liquor has a smooth, creamy mouthfel and a pungent, green and buttery taste at first. There is also a decent umami and flavours of asparagus and peas, as well as some sweet wood, almost licorice, in the aftertaste. Later steeps get more, nutty, bitter and sour, which is a nice evolution to observe.
Flavors: Apple, Asparagus, Bitter, Burdock, Butter, Creamy, Floral, Grass, Green, Licorice Root, Nutty, Peas, Pungent, Smooth, Soil, Sour, Umami, Vegetal
Preparation
[Spring 2023 harvest]
I am not very fond of this vintage. It has a decent aroma, similar to the previous ones. However, the flat taste is not so pleasant overall. The tea is a bit sour and has some dryness to it that rubs me the wrong way. In any case, as a tea to dring with breakfast it is still fine.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Grass, Malt, Pumpkin, Sour, Spices
Preparation
This shou is really quite settled in its state. Today I found the aroma to be quite muted, but the flavour and mouthfeel are as I remember and very well integrated.
Specifically, the liquor is creamy and full-bodied and leaves a lasting warming and spicy sensation. It tastes like a nice medium roast coffee, as I mentioned earlier as well. Additionally, there are flavours of butter, tamarind, nuts (almonds and walnuts), chicory, dried fish, and tarragon. In the aftertaste, I can also detect notes of black pepper, kumquat, and licorice. Very tasty!
Flavors: Almond, Bitter, Black Pepper, Butter, Chicory, Coffee, Creamy, Fish, Herbs, Kumquat, Licorice Root, Nuts, Savory, Sour, Spicy, Walnut
Preparation
Rou gui, and yancha in general, is just not my favourite flavour profile. This tea is no exception. Nevertheless, I would still like to drink it on particular occassions.
It is a strong tea that’s very mineral as expected. Aroma is calming and tender, mostly sweet and woody. The tea also taste like that, coupled with metallic bitterness, and savoury notes of almonds and seafood. The aftertaste is particularly strong and long-lasting. It gives a warming spicy note of cinnamon, which this cultival is famous for. The cha qi is a bit jittery and disorienting, but not unpleasant in the end.
Flavors: Almond, Astringent, Bitter, Cinnamon, Metallic, Mineral, Seafood, Spicy, Sweat, Wood
Preparation
This tea definitely has an aged character now. It is actually quite surprising how pronounced this aspect is.
The aroma reminds me of alcohol and forest floor vegetation. The mouthfeel is thick, oily, and cooling with substantial astringency.
Taste-wise, I like the tea a lot. It is grassy and fruity, but also with nutty and umami notes. There are flavours of carrot, pine cones, dried apples, barley, and sage. The protracted aftertaste is herbaceous and spicy, with distinct yet mild camphor note.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apple, Astringent, Bitter, Camphor, Carrot, Cooling, Dried Fruit, Forest Floor, Fruity, Grain, Grass, Herbaceous, Nutty, Oily, Pine, Sage, Spicy, Thick, Umami
