Tea Mountain

This is a somewhat average aged oolong. I like its depth in aroma with plenty of heavy sweet, woody and coffee notes. However, the rest of the experience is not as distinctive, and the tea loses steam quite early on in the session.

The mouthfeel is a little tannic and sticky, while the taste has a notable TGY presence without any particular roasty notes left. The profile is grainy and almost earthy at times.

The long dark green needles of this handmade kabusecha are among the most elegant I’ve ever seen. Besides that, this tea shines in its mind clearing effect, powerful and engaging aftertaste as well as the layered bitterness. As such, I think it could appeal to young sheng drinkers too.

The taste is very mineral and bitter from the first infusion already, one that is also full of umami notes as expected. The second steep has a notable vegetal bite and gin-like bitterness. The third is more brothy and woody with a sweet grassy finish. The mouthfeel is creamy and not too thick, but it has a lively evolution – developing a range of tingling and numbing sensations.

The aftertaste is very strong and long lasting. Overall, floral and herbaceous notes dominate, but others like peas also appear. At some points it also reminds me of a yellow tea aftertaste.

Meng Song shengs are consistently among my favourites and that includes this one too. I just love the complex, cooling nature of the tea with many floral and bitter notes; its sweet and fragrant aftertaste; as well as the thick and oily texture.

Dry leaves smell of leather and warm grass, while wet ones more like a mix of unfiltered beer, compost, and wild garlic.

The taste has a really good depth already from the first steep. There are notes of vegetables, butter, menthol, apple; and a really good huigan to top it off. Middle part of the session is dominated by sweet and bitter flavours including citrus zest, IPA, apple must and others. The aftertaste additionally shows hints of mushrooms, honey, wood, and bubble gum. There is a floral sourness to it that complements the sweetness nicely.

This sheng is a funny one – first few infusions remind me of yellow teas and it only brings the familiar Mansa profile in the second half of the session. The leaves also seem browner than what I would expect for a tea 1 year old, although they are brown in a non-uniform way so it is clear that’s not an artifact of aging. Also the liquor has a dark yellow colour with hardly any traces of green. Overall, the tea is mostly lacking in aftertaste, otherwise the price tag of 0.4$/g would be appropriate.

The leaves smell like a wooden cabin when dry and more like fresh hops, lemongrass, marjoram, and nuts after the rinse – which is super savoury, nutty and herbaceous. First proper infusion has a soft, cooling, and sticky moutheel and a strong vegetal bitterness. Hay note is strong here, it is somewhat acidic for a fresh sheng and while it isn’t sweet at all, there are hints of honey sweetness in the finish – a sign of what is to come.

Third steep is already a bit sweet, but also astringent now. The pungency and overall sweetness intensifies from the next one onwards. Nevertheless, there is still some fermentation-like sourness that is reminiscent of yellow teas. There is also a celery root flavour there. On the other side of the peak of the session, the tea is very sweet, floral and woody. The mouthfeel remains quite attention seeking, it is a bit like a smooth sandpaper in the finish but not so dry eventually. The qi is not particularly strong, I mostly noticed a chest warming sensation throughout.

[Spring 2022 harvest]

This green tea requires a bit of attention to fully unravel its qualities. One can easily brew it too light for instance – here I would recommend high leaf to water ratios and possibly also longer infusions initially.

Dry leaves smell like a mix of floral (lavender) and vegetal (spinach) notes. The wet leaf aroma is then quite sweet and grassy – like the taste profile as well. Besides, the tea is also somewhat juicy and refreshing. Specific flavours include butter, rapini, cooked celery root, custard and a bready note that one may often find in gyokuro.

The texture is full and spacious with a slightly biting and metallic mouthfeel that turns numbing too. Aftertaste is floral and savoury with hints of sunflower seeds and menthol.

Overall, it’s a refined and a little unique green tea – I’m happy it was the first 2022 green tea I’ve had.

A superb gao shan oolong for a very reasonable price like this one is always nice to encounter! I love its smooth mouthfeel, and a mix of more brothy flavours on top of the floral ones. It is a well balanced tea, with sweet, savoury, and bitter notes of hops as well as grassy sourness.

Dry leaf aroma is milky with a strong floral sweetness, while wet leaves give a more seaweed like vibe.

This is an extremely satisfying tea that demands attention, but rewards also casual brews. It might just be the best Darjeeling I’ve ever tried. It induces a pleasant warming sensation throughout my body. Another point in its favour is that it lasts for a very long time, I commonly get 250-300ml per gram of tea.

In dry form, it brings aromas of cape gooseberry, hay, and forest floor. Wet leaves then smell of courgette flowers and strawberry leaves. The liquor has a velvety and slightly numbing mouthfeel, which is engaging, but the tea really shines in its complex, pungent taste with great breadth and protracted flavours.

It is consistently subtly floral and sweet, which is counterbalanced by savoury mineral notes that are almost marine at times. There are also thyme, vanilla flavours and a sour, effervescent finish that leads in to an evolving aftertaste with notes of sorrel, oak wood, grass flowers, and later also carrots and sea buckthorn juice. Towards the end of the session, I find that the tea slowly moves towards a sheng-like profile with more floral bitterness and a sweet/umami of a mushroom broth.

A good quality DJ that however doesn’t stand out all that much. It is very fresh tasting and has a relatively strong and energizing cha qi.

Dry leaves smell of meat and hay, while wet ones have an aroma of pepper flowers, bread, and onions. The tea is pungent with notes of yellow bell pepper, citrus fruits, custard, almonds and plant stems. There is quite a lot of bitter and sour notes, including some goat cheese in the aftertaste.

The description of this tea mentions that the cultivar originates from Fujian. The dry leaf smell, however, reminds me of Dan Cong oolongs, but it’s even more fruity. There are notes of watermelon, peach and other fruits. After the leaves open up, the aroma changes to a more floral, grassy and spicy one. I also get some curious notes of stir fried beef and shrimps.

I found the taste to be very hard to describe. I don’t think I’ve ever had Ai Jiao yancha, but the taste profile does bear resemblance to a fruitier version of some rock oolongs. It has strong minerality and floral components. I brewed it quite strong today, which meant a less balanced profile, but the evolution of the various tastes and textures is pronounced this way and very unique. At first sip, the bitterness hits, followed by an astringency spreading all over my mouth and a tingling sourness at the back. After swallowing, I get a warming sensation spreading through my body and a fragrant, floral aftertaste that slowly gives way to a rock sugar and cantaloupe sweetness. At first, the cha qi seems to be more of a bodily experience, but over time I notice heightened sensations as well.

All in all, this is a tea that I think has to be experienced, there is nothing like it in my past drinking experiences to be honest.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwcaDvr8f1o

I don’t have much information about this tea. I bought it in Bratislava in a tea house after trying it out. It was labelled as Shui Xian Huang Pian. I am not sure where it was grown, but it’s quite possible that it is from Wuyi Shan. My guess is that it is the leftover leaves from yancha production, processed as a sheng pu’er.

The aroma reminds me of summer in Liguria with fruity and herbal scents. It also reminds me of a very fruity sheng. In the preheated gaiwan, I can smell coffee tiramisu and black pepper in the background. The wet leaves are mostly mineral and floral smelling on the other hand.

The taste is extremely mineral, bitter, crisp and vegetal with a sweet finish. It really tastes like a sheng, but much more mineral than your standard pu’er. The aftertaste is spicy, expansive with a returning sweetness. Liquor is medium bodied with a creamy texture. Overall, the cha qi is quite body warming and focusing.

Smells of nutmeg, stewed celery and somewhat sweet and earthy. Today it tastes very mild, uninteresting and kind of sickly. I remember it being much better when I tried it in the tea house. Next time I’ll try a more gong fu like setup.