314 Tasting Notes
From the Here’s Hoping TTB
I keep reading about Damman Freres teas, but this is my first. Now I see what the excitement is about.
From the name, I expected tropical fruit, but the dominant flavor is more spice than fruit. It does seem like there is a bit of fruit hiding under the spice. This is a very rich and complex tea. Very subtle, with different flavors coming to the fore at different times as I sip. Long finish. I can see what all the excitement is about.
Preparation
From the Sheng and Shou TTB #2
I’m feeling guilty. I realized that until this week it had been 3 months since I posted comments. I’ve been mostly just drinking and have been concerned about how accurate my reviews of puerh have been since I’m relatively new to the type.
This tea is a good example. It didn’t hit me at first: a bit of off flavor in the first steep. After that, every steep just seemed to get better, through about the 5th steep. I’m now at the 8th steep, and there is still a lot of flavor. Mostly wood flavors, but fairly complex. A hint of bitterness and acid around the 3rd steep, but has since mellowed out. I wound up liking it a lot.
Preparation
From the Here’s Hoping TTB:
(60s): Beautiful floral/citrus bouquet. Magnificant rich flavor mixes honey with the aroma components and an undercurrent of sweetness. Long, luscious finish. I love this tea. For some reason the tea got less interesting later in the cup. Still good but no longer great. I started thinking of a score like 97 but wound up with 91. I’m feeling a buzz from cha qi. A first for oolong. I tried gong-fu (30s, 3 oz) and a normal second steep. In both cases the aroma was great but the taste was “just” very good. Still feeling the qi.Preparation
From the Here’s Hoping TTB.
This looked interesting: the tea comes as a single leaf, which is twisted into a cylinder. Here was an opportunity to try it.
Big mistake. The taste is really horrible and bitter. After the fact, I looked on-line and discovered that it is supposed to be medicinal (probably based on the theory that something that tastes bad must be good for you). I have to admit that I finished the cup, since it’s supposed to be good for blood pressure, and I got a little bit used to it.
From the Sheng&Shou TTB2:
This tea was an interesting journey. It started out with medium body; rich with depth of flavor. Not much aroma. Not sure how to describe the flavor. By the third, steep it was still rich and smooth with different flavor: wood, tobacco, and a little straw. Still very nice. 4th (30s): Rich and sweet and fruity. good texture in the mouth. Bumped my rating up a couple of notches. 5th (40s): Still full: tobacco and wood. Never had much in the way of nose: the one drawback. 5th (60s): Woody and slightly bitter. no longer special.
I’m now at the 7th steep and there is a bit of tar entering the flavor. At its best this was a very enjoyable tea. It was always pleasant and I liked the different faces it showed me as I steeped it. I"m not giving a rating, partly because I have a hard time rating puerh and partly because it was very good at its best, but only average for several steeps.
From the Here’s Hoping TTB
I wanted to like this tea. The initial introduction was a whiff of molasses in the aroma. The taste had highlights of sweet potato and perhaps a hint of chocolate. The flavor was big and full, with a long, strong finish.
So, what went wrong? The main flavor is very dark and just this side of bitter. Not sure how to describe it, but tar might be close. It just doesn’t appeal to me. If you like this kind of dark flavor, you might really like this tea, since it seems well-made and is fairly complex. Just not for me.
Preparation
From Here’s Hoping TTB
The dry tea Smelled like French toast, but the tea really didn’t taste like much other than a very nice Dianhong. I wish I hadn’t added sugar (I usually sweeten flavored teas, and figured French Toast should be sweet. It may also have been a mistake breaking the ball. It was 3 grams and I usually only use 1.5 grams per cup. Perhaps the flavor is all in the other half?
Resteep without sugar: Just a good Dianhong Yunnan.
Preparation
After 2 rinses, there was still significant fermentation taste in the first pot but it was pretty much gone by the second. The taste started out a mix of fruit and earthiness, but the fruit gradually dominated. Good complexity and finish. I’m not usually a shou drinker but I enjoyed this one.
Thanks to Wymm Teas for the sample. Sorry the review took this long.
Preparation
This was a pleasant surprise.
The lovely nose is floral and fruity. I would have guessed this was a 1st flush, not Autumn!. Soft, fruity taste is really pleasant. Approachable but not at all weak. A bit too tannic at the finish, but otherwise a marvelous tea.
I immediately followed this with one of my favorite first flushes, which made clear the difference. This has a lot of first flush characteristics, but a darker autumnal character underneath. Still, it made a perfect morning tea.
Preparation
From the Sheng and Shou TTB
My initial thought was that this tea had chunks of unbroken beeng sections, but when I looked more closely, I could see that the individual leaves had been tied up in knots that look a lot like braids. Very interesting.
Sadly, they didn’t put more effort into the tea. This tea is all smoke: very strong smoky aroma and taste that reminded me of a mediocre Lapsang Souchong.
