2017 SWINEDOG 76

Am I grumpy today or what(nothing to do with this tea). Happy Greek Easter I guess. Some humor related to my ethnicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfXIWYdL8dU

Picked up a 200mL duanni teapot and christened it last night with 12g of Swinedog 76 all to myself. Given the character of the tea, the name looks better in all caps: SWINEDOG 76.

Twelve grams of tea that is proclaimed by its maker as “punishing everything and everyone foolish enough to get in its way.” In the words of that bold twat Bill O’Reilly, “Fuck it, we’ll do it live!” Needless to say with that much leaf and the power behind this tea, I only made it 4 steeps in before calling it a night. Finishing it up over the course of today.

Bitter lovers and body feel junkies sign up here. Strength, power, masculinity. Angular, penetrating, grounding. I was expecting to want to move my body around but ultimately I wanted to sit across from somebody, cross-legged on the floor. Meditative uprightness. I wanted to communicate telepathically while staring into some eyes. How fucked up is that? My chest was thumping. I was waaay out there but also very much here and in the moment. Strings of energy coming out my fingers. I wanted to touch, too. I wanted to heal and nurture. I wanted honesty and completely open non-verbal communication with somebody. Another reviewer mentioned this tea as giving the feeling of a bullshit-proof vest. I can fully embrace that notion. My experience wasn’t all as serious as it sounds, with plenty of laughing when I finally emerged from my cave to release some of that energy with the aid of Housemate #1 who understands these things.

Maybe I’ll update but for now, some descriptors: full-mouthed bitterness, oily, very pungent herbs, granny smith like apple tartness, creamed honey, some florals and smoked sausage, wood, hay, light osmanthus-apricot on swallow but not much for a lingering aftertaste. Returning sweetness is quick to show and feels like it’s in my tonsils and deep in my throat.

This tea demands you drink cup after cup in quick succession. There is nothing delicate to relax in and savor here. A series of straight lines from pot to cup to hand to mouth to gullet to ground.

Starts out nice and light… maybe slightly floral, then out of nowhere… around the 3rd or 4th steep… bitter. good bitter though. nice, pleasant, with that light floral thing in the background. Nice tasting tea, but seriously… its the sensations that I feel in my body that make it amazing. Makes me feel like I’ve got a bullshit proof vest on. I have no words to describe how useful a bullshit proof vest can be. Highly recommend this tea. After one taste, I bought a cake. Now every time I drink it, I think to myself… I should probably buy a tong of this.

I bought a sample when it was released, embarrassingly because of the hyperbole with which it was described…something about punishing bitterness and body feels that continue to intensify with each steep. When I first sampled it I was like ok it’s bitter but that’s about it…not even as bitter as a purple tea…I let it sit a few months and drank the last 12g the other day before work. The tea was still bitter but had a nice herbal background and a bit of a mineral profile with perhaps a touch of aniseed. I’m reminded of an old school New England ipa minus the malt. The strong point of this tea however was the qi. I had what would have normally been an exasperating day at work and this tea gave me a calm energy that allowed me navigate the BS with a grin. I prefer a tea with more floral fruity tobacco notes but if if you are a fan of Lao Man E and the like, this is a solid tea at a reasonable price.

Swinedog 76 is a new 2017 fall tea released by White2Tea, and is described as bitter and powerful. Well, this would be a correct assessment because Swinedog 76 sure carried one hell of a punch, and was bitter throughout the session. Despite its bitterness, I could see where this tea would be favored by a lot of puer enthusiasts, mainly because of the punch and body feels that it carries.

You can read my full review here…

https://www.theoolongdrunk.com/single-post/2018/02/05/2017-Swinedog-76