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drank Imperial Pure Bud Yunnan Black tea of Simao * Spring 2016 by Yunnan Sourcing
1403 tasting notes

Yet another morning of getting up and walking directly over to this tea to steep as my morning brew. Has it been a week now already?

As an aside, does anyone know why boys, around age 7 or 8, make sound game noises, like an ongoing repeated rhythmic grunt aloud? And why does it need to be at my bedroom?

This kid next door is driving me crazy. Get away from the adjoining wall, damn you.

Back to the tea—I had a bit leftover from yesterday in my travel mug, so I added that to the fresh steep to cool it enough to make it drinkable immediately. Nothing like fresh tea without having to wait the ten minutes to get started.

Oh tea, how I love you!

Bittersweet chocolate and the slightest bit of raspiness with the sweetness, almost smoke if you squint.

The question now is whether I am just going to keep going with this pouch until it is gone, or if I am going to have the will to let it go and move onto another tea to give that a try for a while.

I can’t imagine ever getting tired of this tea.
7 comments
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Kawaii433
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Nice! It’s been on my wishlist for the next order. lol @the rhythmic grunt sounds. The neighbors who were beating on each other a couple of weeks ago were evicted so now I have a little peace until the next people move it o.O.

tea-sipper
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That is VERY good to hear about your neighbors leaving, Kawaii. It must be far less worry for yourself after you had to call 911. Hopefully the lady can remove herself from that guy though.

Evol Ving Ness
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Gah! I missed that episode, but good thing that they are gone. Sometimes it is hard to believe that the majority of people are normal, reasonable, and considerate when one has neighbours like these.

The trick with this tea which took me a while to discover is to use something closer to one and a half, almost two teaspoons, of leaf. The leaf is all bud, so it is fluffy with a lot of space. But once you reach that perfect balance, wow, perfection.

Nattie
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Lmao, my boyfriend makes random grunt noises like that sometimes (sometimes accompanied by hitting the air so maybe he’s playing drums in his head?) and he’s nearly 28 XD

Evol Ving Ness
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hahahaha! Maybe it never goes away then. Thanks for chiming in. Helpful.

Evol Ving Ness
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Except for the never going away part. :)

Nattie
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Yeah, sorry, there may be no end date XD

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Kawaii433
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Nice! It’s been on my wishlist for the next order. lol @the rhythmic grunt sounds. The neighbors who were beating on each other a couple of weeks ago were evicted so now I have a little peace until the next people move it o.O.

tea-sipper
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That is VERY good to hear about your neighbors leaving, Kawaii. It must be far less worry for yourself after you had to call 911. Hopefully the lady can remove herself from that guy though.

Evol Ving Ness
Delete

Gah! I missed that episode, but good thing that they are gone. Sometimes it is hard to believe that the majority of people are normal, reasonable, and considerate when one has neighbours like these.

The trick with this tea which took me a while to discover is to use something closer to one and a half, almost two teaspoons, of leaf. The leaf is all bud, so it is fluffy with a lot of space. But once you reach that perfect balance, wow, perfection.

Nattie
Delete

Lmao, my boyfriend makes random grunt noises like that sometimes (sometimes accompanied by hitting the air so maybe he’s playing drums in his head?) and he’s nearly 28 XD

Evol Ving Ness
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hahahaha! Maybe it never goes away then. Thanks for chiming in. Helpful.

Evol Ving Ness
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Except for the never going away part. :)

Nattie
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Yeah, sorry, there may be no end date XD

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A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

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Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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