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I decided to review this tea in part because of the recent conversation on the discussion board about the W2T freebies.

I’m not a big fan of shou, so was slightly disappointed to find that 150 g of my free tea consisted of this single half-cake of shou. However, I’m finding it really enjoyable, largely because it doesn’t taste (IMHO) like a shou.

I gave it 3 5 second rinses, because I really hate the fermentation taste and have found that I can be prejudiced against a tea by the initial steep. By the time I started drinking, there was little to no fermentation taste. The initial steep reminded me of a sheng of similar age; the color was orange-brown and the taste was spice and herbs. Subsequent steeps became more shou-like: redder with a strong berry fruit component.

I was sipping this while watching football when around the 6th steep I stopped and said to myself "Wow, this is really good. The taste was very smooth and fruity, with noticeable sweetness. Not a lot of aroma, but the finish was wonderful. Based upon the early steeps, I thought this would fade quickly, but steeps 6-10 (all 1 minute) have been really good.

Ironically, this may be my favorite shou, and I have no idea what it is.

SIPDOWN: Rich complex nose is slightly spicy. The taste also has a strong spice component. It is very complex. Fairly powerful. Some cha qi. This is a fairly unusual tea, with a flavor hinting of clove, cocoa, and cinamon, but not really like any of them. I really enjoyed it.

I wanted to try this because it was a raw flavored puerh (most seem to be ripe). Rice-flavored seems one of the popular flavors. Also, it was cheap.

I wasn’t impressed. The rice flavor seemed more like fermented or spoiled rice and was so strong that if filled my tea room with the aroma. It was also hard to rinse out my pot. The taste actually wasn’t all that bad and I suppose I could get used to it, but why bother?

First steep had a nice floral nose; light straw taste with a stronger undercurrent going into a nice finish. 2nd steep was soft and round. Full flavor almost totally lacking in acid. Later steeps were similar: a smooth mix of straw with a bit of wood and smoke.

I agree with the W2T description that this would be an excellent introduction to Puerh. It is very smooth with almost none of the bitterness, acid, or tannins that some young puerhs show. For a more experienced pu-head, it serves as a pleasant, inexpensive everyday drink.

This one snuck up on me. I’d had it once before and had classed it as a daily drinker, so it seemed perfect for sipping while I checked my email. I was reading when I suddenly realized that I had a huge mouth-full of flavor. Mostly wood, but reasonably complex. The thing that really impressed me is the mouth-feel and the long, powerful finish. Decent cha qi as well.

I immediately stopped work to enjoy the third steep, which was similar to second cup but more powerful. The tea is more tannic that I would like (part of the mouth-feel) but there is only a hint of bitterness. By the 4th steep the tannin was getting to me: my mouth is all puckered up. I lowered the rating a notch. This isn’t necessarily my style of tea, but I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I got back into the email and did a 5 minute steep (too tannic to drink) which pretty much ended the session.

Actually, the oversteep didn’t totally ruin the leaves, but left it as a daily drinker.

I decided that I needed a treat for my birthday so opened the sample of last thoughts I bought during the moving day sale.

The tea is amazing. Far and away the best tea I have ever had. The tea equivalent of Ch. Lafitte Rothschild wine.

Where to start? First steep was sweet, smooth, and grassy. Lots of cha qi. Very rich and powerful. Complex. Flavors drift slowly into a very long, lush finish. I’m flying high. Wouldn’t want to drive right now. 3rd steep: Nice nose: wood, with a hint of straw and smoke. Flavor is light straw and wood seems to move around my mouth as it activates different areas. Long finish and huge cha qi. I’m totally out of it after 5-6 ounces. I would need 3 times as much wine to get the same effect. This is more like whiskey.

At this point I took a break because I was afraid it was unsafe to go up or down stairs if I had any more. 5th, 6th steeps (2 hours later): Smooth and pleasant but not complex as before. Toasty nose. Rich toast/straw flavors, but weaker than before. Less finish. As it cools it devloped more flavor and complexity, displaying a syrupy, viscous texture. Still really powerful qi.

I went back to the tea about 24 hours later. Still gorgeous. Sweet smooth and complex. Silky in the mouth with excellent finish. This may be better than the earlier steeps because it is so well integrated. I’m seriously considering a cake for $439. The biggest problem would be that if I drank this regularly I would have trouble going back to normal teas.

From the Sheng and Shou TTB2

First a mea culpa. I told everyone that we needed to review the Whispering Pines teas, since Brendan had provided free samples. They he got pretty close to zero reviews. I started off the bad example. My only defense is that I tend not to review shous because the taste doesn’t appeal to me that much. So anyway, here is my review.

I started with a 10 second rinse. The first steep had a significant salmon smell and aroma, along with a berry fruit. I didn’t actually mind the salmon, though it was a bit weird. It was entirely gone after that steep, so a double rinse would avoid it. The tea was very fruity; so much so that I wanted to really fall in love with the tea. However, there was an earthy bitterness that came and went through half a dozen steeps. Very good, but not great.

From the Here’s Hoping TTB

I thought I would like this tea, but it has a very strong artificial taste which is nothing like 1) mango, 2) kiwi, or 3) tea. I tried to get through the whole cup but just couldn’t do it.

My 10 year old grandson says “pretty odd taste, but I like it.” I gave him the rest of my cup.

The numerical score is mine, not his.

From the Here’s Hoping TTB

I’m not usually a fan of green tea, largely because I’m not a fan of vegetables in my tea, so I won’t give a numerical rating. Having said that, I really enjoyed this tea. Both the aroma and taste have strong grassy component with just a hint of veggies underneath. The tea had a good feel in the mouth: full with a hint of acid toward the end. Good, fairly long finish.

One re-steep was nearly as good as the first pot. I didn’t try more because, heck, I’ve got a travelling tea box sitting in my study, and there are a whole lot of other teas to drink.

From the S&S TTB #2

Thanks to Rich for the generous addition to the TTB.

This tea is the reason I love sheng. The tea is rich and complex, with every one of at least 10 steeps showing a subtly different character.

The first steep (some would call this the rinse) was light but delicious with floral highlights. 2nd and 3rd were rich, complex, and powerful. Middle steeps (3,4,5) were woody and tannic, presumably suggesting an ability to age. After the 5th steep, the steeps became soft and round and sweet. The combination of the flavor and the cha qi leaves me sitting on the sofa with a smile on my lips.