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Used the last of this to fill a tumbler for a day out in 40 degree drizzle. By far the best peach tea I have found. Tasted excellent iced – well 40 degrees anyway and not part of the plan. Have to admit I might have traded it for a pair of gloves.

The fifth and sadly last sample from Jerry. This is the most densely packed of the samples. Pulling enough tea off the cake took some effort. The dry leaf is dark and is the most shredded of all the samples. 2g of leaf and near boiling. 10s wash. 45s steep. The wet leaf is dark olive/brown and grassy as was the dry. The liquor in the cup is between a deep rich gold and a copper color.

The first cup is difficult to describe. It’s not overly earthy, grassy. It’s not fishy, bitter, or syrupy. The best I can do is say it is a comfortingly mellow and it makes the sides of my tongue tingle. The first cup is not as complex as most of the others, but I am ok with that on a Monday morning, as it is a warm and happy cup. Cup 2, the leaf was spinachy. The brew is still mellow, no tingle, slightly grassy, more complex, or maybe I am just awake now. 3rd cup very slight fishiness. 4th or 5th cup (lost track) developed a bit of a coppery taste. This is the first tea I have experienced the liquid feeling not syrup but thick. Will revisit this tomorrow with more steeps.

I am really excited that I wrote the above before reading any of the comments or descriptions of this tea. It tells me my tasting skills are progressing.

Used a 6 cup pot. The bloom is very pretty, a combination of white and red flowers rising up out of the nest of green tea leaves. It is huge spanning nearly the width of the pot and ¾ of the height.

The smell of jasmine is a bit strong, but in the sip it is a light taste (pleasant). There is also a hint of cinnamon (interesting) and unfortunately a bit of a sour taste that was in the summer bouquet (eewww). It is not undrinkable. It is just a little off. The liquor is dark for a green.

I left the water in the pot steeping, close to an hour, until I was ready for the second cup. It was very good. A blast of cinnamon followed by jasmine at the back of the sip. The sour nasties have left the brew. Perhaps this is the secret to these teas – let them steep.

Excellent center piece at a table with friends. The bloom rates a 100. The first cup was a 40. The following a solid 70+. Since you don’t really drink these for the tea, I will skew the rating on the bloom side.

The dry leaf is long, wiry, and twisted. I noticed some are pretzel shaped. I am amused. The leaf is very dark with some lighter touches. It smells fresh and grassy. Used 2g of tea and below boiling water – same as with the other puerhs. 10 second lightly swirling wash that I poured out.

1st drinking steep – 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of grass, hay, and seaweed. Also catching a bit of earthy dirt. That’s what I picture when I think puerh. I have never noticed smokiness in any of these samples. The first sip is not what I expected at all. It is very light and green. In fact the first cup is too light. I can tell there is real flavor here that just isn’t coming out using my method of brewing.

I decided to increase the steep time on the 2nd cup to 1 minute. The leaf smells strongly of seaweed. The brew in the cup is honey/caramel colored. Sip – ah, there is that musty, rich soil flavor I knew was here. Because I only used 2g it is not overwhelming. The 3rd and 4th cups, also at a minute, are the best yet, very even, mellow, and rich. With the 5th cup a coppery taste and color develops that continues through cups 6 (2min) & 7 (3min). Cup 8 (4 min), the color is very light and clear in the pot. There is still an amazing amount of flavor here. Cup 9 (5min), musty, earthy, sweet. Starting to get weak. Cup 10 (15 min) The copper notes are back but loosing depth. Still good. Time to accept these leaves have given their all.

Boiling water. Steeped about 4 minutes. The packet said summer bouquet but the bloom looks like Noble Madam so I am not sure what this is for sure. The pod on this one is oblong. All the others so far have been round. Couldn’t find any willing helpers in sipping this so I used my 4 cup press, which is really two mugs in super-sized America. And before you ask – no I did not use the plunger. The bloom is exquisite. All those long wonderful green tea leaves surrounding a literal bouquet of red flowers. As you can tell I thought this was quite attractive.

The liquor was deep orange-amber. The jasmine smells very strong in the dry pod, so I was a bit nervous. In the sip it is as light as it has been in all of these so far. Unfortunately it was accompanied by a nasty sour taste. Not candy sour – milk sour, eeeeew. I thought maybe I didn’t get all the puerh washed clean from the last use of the press. Poured out the pot. Washed the press. Started over. Steeped about 3 minutes until the liquor was golden amber and poured. The jasmine is still light and the green tea would be pleasant if not for the soured taste. Less prominent but still present. Apparently it is the flowers. On all the other blooming teas I have used a used a six cup pot. That might have helped here. Glad I didn’t try this one first. I would not have tried more. I am going to rate this higher than the tea deserves because the bloom is so pretty.

This is the bagged tea they bring you at the local Steak and Shake. I usually don’t order hot tea in a restaurant because I know I will be dissapointed. This is a pleasant surprise. Yeah, its bagged and the water in the tiny metal pitcher is not boiling but still this is a pleasant tea. It has a nice Dajeeling bite without being bitter. For what it is, it is very nice. I would (and will) order it again.

Day 2. Today I started with a 2 minute steep using boiling water. Why? I have no idea, I just felt like it. This is the best cup yet of a tea I already loved. Apparently I have a soft spot for puerh. The sip is warm, rich, and earthy, not bitter or fishy. The aroma which is a way better experience than it sounds is of hay and clay. An, I am at once transported from my office in to a sunny field somewhere far away, experience. Life is hard but tea makes it better. Only had time for 3 cups today. All smooth and sweet. The last was a beautiful deep golden color.

This is the third of five samples given by China Cha Dao. The dry leaf is beautiful. First impression is this is the longest leaf of any tea I have used to date. It smells fresh and green. The color range of the leaf is from dark green to almost white.

Used my typical western approach. 2g of tea. Water is same temp as I typically use for my greens. Heat the water to just boiling, turn off, wait until the pot grows silent. Seems to work. Did a swirling wash with a few ounces and poured off.

First drinking steep at about 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of fresh hay – a great smell to a country boy. Now that the leaf has relaxed, I can see that the length is due to the inclusion of stems. The brew is pale yellow-green and very clear. With the first sip I immediately notice that slightly sticky lip feel that I get with other puerhs. This is followed by a spectacular slightly earthy green tea flavor. Zero bitterness. I did not notice any fishiness the others mentioned. This is a light and mellow but not boring puerh. Halfway through the first cup I can tell you I love this. I could drink this all day long. Oh wait, with multiple steeps I may be able to drink it for two days! Woot!

I had 4 cups of this today and each was very similar to the last.

The leaf was a little hard to break off. I don’t have the proper tools for the job. Used about 2g of leaf (1 spoonful). Water heated to less than boiling (no fish eyes). 10 second wash swirling the leaf in the water and poured off. Kind of botched the first steep. I poured the wash in my drinking cup, so I was in a bit of a panic finding another cup. My first steep was maybe 45 seconds. The liquor was pale yellow green and quite clear. The aroma in the pot was a bit scary. It had that puerh smell towards the fishy side. Weird but did not have a bad aroma once poured. Must have left with the wash. The wet leaf is made up of a small broken pieces. I don’t think I did this chipping it off the cake. First sip is very light and pleasant. Not at all what I expected. The earthy taste is there but subdued. It became a bit more pronounced as the cup cooled. This is very easy to drink but for my taste lacked the character of the Nan Nuo I’ve tried. I won’t record all my steeps this go around but I did 5 today and I imagine it will go that many more. Each cup today was pretty much the same as the last. Smooth and even.

Update – Day 2. Sadly, the leaves did not survive the night well. The broken pieces of leaf deteriorated into even smaller pieces. I thought this tea would go ten cups but I only got two additional cups out of it – for a two day total of 7 – but today’s cups were weak and bland. I did notice today that my mug is not 10oz as I thought but 12oz. So I got 84oz out of the 2g of leaf. Really only 60 of it were proper strength. Still that’s impressive.

I had to work this weekend. I was in the office all alone. I needed something interesting to keep me awake, something comforting to ease the stress, and something easily sippable to make me happy. I brewed two cups Saturday and two more today. It was a good choice. I only have enough left for one more round of multiple steeps. I have always drank dark oolongs so this is my first lightly oxidized oolong. The more I drink it the more I love it. High yum factor. Must reorder.