#apoostrotea3

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2021 Chapo | White2Tea | Heicha

This tea is a bit different from my current drinking habits. The hay aroma and flavor is at the forefront of this one with a hint of smoke. Like you’re visiting an old barn full of golden bales of hay. A distant campfire elsewhere at the farm adds a touch of smoke. A very familiar and intriguing tea. Cozy and comforting with good caffeine and qi. I was expecting this one to be darker! But it’s light like a sheng. I’m almost left wishing it was a bit smokier. The price on this one is great for those looking for this flavor profile.

★ ★ ★ .5 ☆ ☆

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2022 Boat Captain | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

Consuming this nice tea in its mini cake form! I always love getting mini tea cakes or dragon balls from W2T. Makes it so easy to bring to work, but, today I’m having it at home. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Boat Captain that made me think I would enjoy it. Aroma is smokey with notes of tobacco and spice. However, this tea tastes very young. The smoke flavor is strong and forward, with hints of bitter tobacco and spiced wood. But the bitterness is still off putting to me. If anything, I would love to see this tea aged maybe ten years down the line. These notes are already appealing to me, and with age to settle the bitterness, it could become a very lovely tea. If it’s still available in a few years, I’ll have to try it again and maybe even cake it.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Dayi 7542 701 | Teas We Like | Raw Puerh

Trying a 7542 sample I’ve had hanging around for a while. The serial number here of 2 corresponds to Menghai Tea Factory, in case that isn’t clear to those reading. The leaves are from the 1st batch in 2007. It’s an aromatic tea, smelling strongly of wood, herb, and slightly fishy. There is some fruity sweetness there, but this tea has a bite. If you take a sip, prepare for the wake-up call. Bitterness is sharp and qi is strong, keeping you awake and focused. With some more age, this tea may even out and become cleaner. That is, if you can get your hands on some now to save for later.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2018 Mojun Fu Cha 1368 Fu Brick | Yunnan Sourcing | Fu Tea

Just graduated college and I’m back home in NJ! Lots of teas to try. I’ll be making a separate post for this new teacup too.

I used to work at a Panera Breads and after a certain amount of time spent there, I began to loath the smell of yeasty bread. This tea smells just like that. That Panera Bread kitchen and pantry, laying out all those cheese bagels in the morning, and smelling the yeast from the baked goods. The smell became sort of nauseating to me after a while. But, all this is to be expected from a Fu! Breaking into this brick I’m not seeing an overwhelming amount of golden flower. Which is a good thing — to me. That smell hits me right in the face every-time I go to sip it or open my gaiwan. Even the first few sips hit me right in the head, I think there’s a lot of caffeine and stuff happening in this one. I’ve found that a Fu tea is always the most likely to get me ‘too’ tea high. Leaves taste and smell very young, but the liquor color on this one is pretty dark. Flavor is sharp and fruity. Like under ripened bananas. Astringency is definitely there with that notorious Fu taste. This tea actually has a good four or five years of aging on it, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. The great thing about this tea is how affordable it is. A whole brick of Fu for pretty cheap! I’d recommend giving that a look, especially if all this sounds up your alley.

Maybe not the best tea to try my new cup with, but I had a control cup too! Like all good tea scientists.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Pretty Girls | White2tea | Ripe Puerh

Haven’t been drinking enough tea this winter! Trying new ADHD meds meant I wasn’t always able to have caffeine, but I’m finally past that now. So, I ordered the big Shulloween bag since I’m such a huge fan of their ripes. It has a lot of teas I already enjoy, and a few I haven’t tried yet. Pretty Girls is one of them. The tea ball opens up super easily after one steep, to a lot of small bits of leaves. Liquor color is dark immediately, which I almost didn’t expect. Aroma is really nice; has that sweet chocolate cherry smell that a lot of W2T’s ripes have. And cherry is the biggest flavor profile here, which starts out strong, dark, and a bit bitter at first but eventually rounds out. Some vanilla and wet wood notes sitting under all that cherry. The soup drinks very smoothly in texture. While I’m enjoying this sample, and will enjoy the rest, I’m unsure if this is one I’d consider cake-ing. But, this is a very cozy tea, great for winter, and probably great for grandpa style brewing if you please.

I’m headed back to school tomorrow, which means I get to use my tea kettle again 👍

★ ★ ★.5 ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Shufu Shufu | White2tea | Heicha Fu and Ripe Puerh Blend

Finally back home for winter break! I kind of miss school though lol.

Finally got my hands on the new W2T Fu. Planning on trying a bunch of the new samples and then maybe settling on buying a bigger amount of whichever one I like best. This one is a blend with ripe puerh. Because of that, a lot of the wet pile taste is coming through that typically does with ripes that need to sit. I’m curious as to what will become of this tea with some age on it! I’m not willing to test it myself because I don’t have storage, but if W2T keeps this one in stock I’d be interested in buying it again however many years down the line. Aroma is sweet, a bit chocolate-y. The smell of shou is there throughout. Flavor is quite wet, intermixed with a sweet dark tobacco-y chocolate. Not many of those golden flower flavors shining through. Right now, the tea is a bit too ripe for my tastes. With some age? Who knows!

Have you guys ever tried a Fu tea? I’m a big fan of the funky fungus.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Silver Yin Hao | Savannah Tea Room | Green Tea

First green tea talked about here? Also, it’s from a local shop!

Yin Hao means silver tips. This green tea has been scented with jasmin and has some jasmin flowers in it. Western brewing was recommended, but I chose to gongfu it anyway (lol). Worked out great in the gaiwan! Smells amazing — I love the smell of jasmin and jasmin teas. Some umami aroma underneath all that flower. Has that nice jasmin flavor that makes this type of tea so popular. Slightly drying in the mouth, with hints of that green tea. Very clean spring floral, but the jasmin is pretty much the only flavor I’m getting! Lovely tea, gongfu’d perfectly, and good for this hot summer-y day. Tastes fresh. Jasmine tea is easy to please me, lol.

This one was a gift from a classmate. Very friendly green tea.

★ ★ ★ .5 ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Cookie Monster | Liquid Proust | Ripe Puerh

Made some eggs too today lol.

This tea definitely needs to rest for a handful of months, and that’s why I’m trying it now! I’ve never really “aged” any teas for any amount of time. Just because lack of storage space for it. But, when I saw LP put this tea up as a sample in the shop with the context of it needing some rest, I got excited. I’m trying some grams of this sample today and then letting the rest of it age in a small purple clay container to try again in January. When I go drink it in January, I’ll have this post to check back and see how it has changed!

Bittersweet and dark; still a little of that wet pile taste here. It’s a deep and damp shou. Aroma is like wet forest and cacao. Super chocolate-y. Lots of funk goes away after the first couple of steeps, but that deep richness and bitterness is still there. Surprised how drinkable this is already, but I would prefer it rest for 6ish months. This shou leans heavy on the bittersweet chocolate spectrum of things with a little bit of fruity-ness. Interesting qi feel in the head, not something I usually get with shou. Perhaps too bitter and ripe for me right now, but it might get better. Wonder how it’ll be with time!

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Peak Vulture | White2tea | Ripe Puerh

Let this cake set for over a week, but I can’t wait any longer lol

I lucked out snagging this cake! White2tea’s super affordable small batch anniversary shou. Dry leaf aroma was noticeable right when pulling it out of the bag, paper not unwrapped yet. Super earthy wet wood smell. Wet leaf aroma isn’t too dissimilar, dank wet forest floor. Some fruityness in there too. The tea itself is very smooth and mouth coating. If it was wine people would say this tea “has legs”. A good amount of that wet pile flavor there, but mostly damn wood and some ripe beet or prune. The flavors are a nice enjoyable mix, I found myself sipping it for a couple hours with no problems. Feels similar to a lot of W2T’s other shou, many of the same flavors and traits. Wonder how this cake will settle over time, because it will take me a while to drink it all.

I’ll be slowly drinking through this cake for the rest of the semester. I love having a bit of shou after dinner, and I could see myself grandpa style-ing this one already.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2019 Bulang | Crimson Lotus Tea | Raw Puerh

Got sent this sample with my tea cup order!

This tea is part of Crimson Lotus’ elemental puerh collection meant to provide samples of different tea mountains. This one being Bulang. It’s super sweet, fruity, and floral, maybe even candied. The floral astringency can be quite strong, and it brews a deep yellow, a delicate orchid flavor. I loved some steeps, and hated others. Occasionally this sheng would be way too powerful for me to handle. I’m having a hard time deciding how I feel about it!

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Turtle Dove | White2tea | White Tea

W2T sent me this sample with my order so I’m not too sure which pressing of Turtle Dove it’s from.

Drinking a lot of white teas recently, this one wasn’t too surprising. I find white teas don’t have as much variety as other types of tea, and Turtle Dove has a those standard white tea flavors. A lot of these sun dried white teas have a strong honey flavor to them, this tea being a good example of that. A little tart, some apricot, and mostly honey. I’m getting a much darker brew from this tea than I’ve seen from others online. Maybe the water was too hot or I steeped for too long, but I think this tea does best when brewed heavy. Makes it much more interesting. Otherwise, pretty standard white tea.

I’ll try to review more oolongs soon! I don’t have many on me lol. Below is probably the best photo I’ve taken so far with my camera.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2020 Hot Brandy Mini | White2tea | White and Black Tea

I found a tea I forgot to review!

This tea is more of a white than a black tea. It is a blend of the two, however much more of those fruity and creamy flavors that white usually has. A bit of that classic black tea roasted aroma with some peaches. Once again I struggled to get the dragon ball open and I don’t have my tea pick to aid me. When it finally opened up, the tea became quite a bit darker. Steeped for a long time and was very versatile. I later iced some and when cold brewed you could really taste the black tea. I’ll have to pick up a couple more of these next time I’m ordering to experiment more.

My finals are done some I’m just enjoying spring break. Going to go see a movie tonight, but I have a couple personal projects planned before the next quarter starts.

★ ★ ★.5 ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2019 Mini O’Bitters | White2tea | Ripe Puerh

I know I said my previous tea order would be my last, but White2tea’s Peak Vulture deserved an order of its own. Along with that cake, a couple other teas came with it.

Been wanting to try one of these chenpi puerhs for a while now. Chenpi is orange peel, so this tea will be more bitter than normal, hence the name. Wet leaves have that distinct ripe smell and spice. Not getting too much citrus from the aroma itself. Color is really nice, super red orange that looks nice in the light when it’s poured. Bitterness is strong, like the white rind of an orange and a strong wet pile taste to go with it. These flavors are both off putting and enjoyable, it’s hard to decide. Nice cooling effect in the back of the mouth and sinus area; slightly drying in the mouth too.

Unsure how I feel about the orange so far.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2009 Menghai Purple | Yee on Tea | Ripe Puerh

+ A tale of me ACCIDENTALLY buying an entire cake of Puerh. Whoops.

A completely unexpected gift from my past self. I placed this Yee on Tea order when I was first discovering tea, and it took forever to get here. Thus, I completely forgot what I bought, and when I bought the teas I didn’t know what I was doing. Arriving at the post office today, I wondered why this package was so big. Now I know why.

Despite not having the room for it nor the know-how on how to care for it, I am officially the owner of an entire cake of shou puerh. The cake was about $25 USD or $200 HKD so I probably just thought I was getting a sample when I bought it. Late last year I made the decision to go shopping for good quality puerh tea online. I was led to Yee on Tea, however I had no idea what I was looking at. I sorted the teas by “best selling” and just purchased what sounded good. This tea took several months to get here, and I still have no idea what these teas really are. You think I would have learned something by then, but I still haven’t. Well, I at least know when I’m buying a cake vs when I’m buying a sample. I must have read the reviews upon buying because this tea is littered with 5 star reviews on Yee’s website. One reviewer, Derek Hanson, calls the tea “Delicious and Dank”. This is true, the tea is dank! The smell is unfamiliar to me, it smells super wet. It’s a smooth tea with a somewhat strong fermented flavor. Super smooth, sweet, and no bitterness in sight. A bit fruity. I bought this tea probably thinking it was an actual purple tea. Don’t get confused, the “purple” in the name of the tea is in reference to its packaging. Although, I could be wrong. Yee calls this tea “half fermented”, and it was traditionally stored. There’s a wet wood flavor going on, and a bit herbal. You can steep this tea pretty heavy and it will still remain smooth. A reliable drink, for sure. All in all, this tea is giving me a good idea of what traditionally stored shou puerh tastes like. I’m now going down a rabbit hole online reading about what traditional Hong Kong tea storage is like, and its relation to dim sum restaurants. Yee on Tea has a fantastic write up on how these teas came to be and how they are stored that I’ll link below. I’m actually a bit worried about owning a cake like this; luckily it is pretty inexpensive, but I don’t have proper storage for it and the Savannah weather is very humid. Ordering tea is hard, sometimes you get a little lost in what all the fancy words and stuff means. Maybe I’ll invite people over and we’ll have a massive tea party and drink the whole cake…

It’s a good thing I like this tea. I would’ve given this tea a higher rating but I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it. There’s a lot of time for me to review it again since I have so much of it.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2020 ฿∅ᄱლᐃᗴᚨƀɑᗲʗ.exe | Kuura Corp | Raw Puerh

I’ve spoken about how I love Kuura’s teas, and I have drank this sheng once prior, but I don’t remember at all how it tastes. Always write things down!

Kuura’s branding cracks me up, especially this one. This is how they spell the name of the tea on their website, but I’m pretty sure I’m missing an emoji in there. The most fruity smelling tea I’ve had so far, Kuura makes this tea a bit of a steal. It tastes super floral and jasmine-y. The fruit flavor is less when drinking. Definitely great if you love your floral teas. Getting a mouth full of flower every time I sip this tea isn’t something I’m completely on board with yet. Kuura has this tea priced quite competitively, you can get a full cake of it for under $40. Steeping this tea lighter makes it far more enjoyable for me. I’d be interested in getting another sample of this tea next time I’m shopping with Kuura. Their Canadian supplier, Softer Drink, means quick delivery times if I’m seriously in need of tea. A sample is quite inexpensive, and I do plan on doing another Kuura order in due time. To my future self, if you order this tea again: Put the kettle at 195! I think this just goes to show, if you don’t like a certain tea at first try brewing it in a different manner. If you spent money on it, it’s worth the experimentation! This tea went up a whole star just because of that.

Have any of you guys had one of Kuura Corp’s teas? They have quite a few cakes priced highly on their website, but no samples in sight. Next time I place an order I want to snag one of these cakes. I probably wont be buying any expensive cakes until I’m properly settled down with a job of some kind. Broke college life hurts bad.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Lishan Gongcha | Teas We Like | Raw Puerh

Unsure which year this tea is from!

Super cool looking leaves (there’s a stick in there!), when wet they are nicely green. Astringent floral aroma, I absolutely over-leafed this tasting. I’d rather one strong good session than two weak sessions! Pretty big floral honey flavor from this tea, some bitterness as well. Maybe too much floral for me. Really good qi feeling! Long lasting tea, got quite many steeps out of this before it lost its strength. Bitterness lessens after a bunch of steeps. Still, the strong floral vibe isn’t something I’m a *huge* fan of.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆