Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White (Aged)
Where to Buy: Wan Ling Tea House
Tea Description:
Bai Mu Dan or Pai Mu Tan is a classic white tea from FuDing in FuJian province. This 2004 Bai Mu Dan aged white tea has been pressed into 357g tea cakes in 2010. The aim to preserve the leaf during storage and prevent damage during transportation.
This white tea, is absolutely stunning. Combining delicate, smooth body with a full, complex body. The taste is complemented a clear, bright liquor and enchanting aromas.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Just … wow!
This is a truly stellar tea, quite unlike any Bai Mu Dan I’ve ever tasted!
It brews up to a beautiful, clear, pale yellow color, almost the color of melted, clarified butter. The flavor is sweet and delicate, with notes that are similar to a fresh Bai Mu Dan, but, I’m noticing some flavors that I don’t usually expect with a Bai Mu Dan as well. A strong fruit note is present. Much more intense than I would have thought was possible to achieve from a white tea.
I don’t know that I agree that this is a full-flavored tea, though, but it IS flavorful. It has a soft texture, very little astringency, no bitterness, and a slightly floral, sweet aftertaste. The aging process has not only managed to strengthen the flavors of this Bai Mu Dan, but, it also seems it has enhanced its complexity. As I continue to sip, I notice some earthiness starting to emerge, and I like the way this earthiness melds with the natural sweetness of the white tea.
Subsequent infusions yield sweeter flavors – fruitier flavors! I note more of an apricot-like tone now, like dried apricots, with their flavors and sweetness intensified by the drying process.
This is a tea that is highly recommended to those that love white tea, they will adore this one! I would also recommend it to someone who thinks they don’t care for white tea as they find it to be too light in flavor for their liking – this one will change their mind about that! This is truly a remarkable tea!
Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Aged Pu-erh tea is created by secondary-oxidation and post-fermentation tea. This type of Pu-erh tea is referred to as ripened, or cooked, Pu-erh, which has a rich, mellow and earthy flavor. Unlike many other teas which should be consumed shortly after production, such as green and white teas, Pu-erh tea can either be brewed immediately or it can be stored and aged for many years, much like a fine wine. Most Pu-erh teas are classified by the year they were produced and the region they were grown in, much like many wine vintages. In fact, when it comes to Pu-erh tea, the longer it is stored and aged properly, the more complex the flavor and the more valuable the tea gets. Many aged Pu-erh teas are served in Chinese restaurants after heavy meals, as Pu-erh tea is known for it’s ability to break down fat, also making it a great weight loss tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little afraid to try this Pu-erh, as I worried it might end up tasting a little too earthy for my palate. It was the name of the tea that frightened me … “ripened aged” usually says to me “very earthy.”
But after unwrapping the individually wrapped tuocha and inhaling deeply, I noticed only a hint of earthiness to the aroma. In fact, the aroma of the dry leaf is very indistinct, with mere insinuations of an earthiness.
The flavor is more earthy than the aroma of the dry leaf would suggest, but, I am not finding it to be TOO earthy. Perhaps it is because beneath that earthy overtone, I taste this underlying note of delicious caramel-y sweetness. And even the earthiness here I find to be very interesting, as it seems to interchange with a deep, woodsy kind of flavor.
Overall, this has a very rustic kind of flavor to it … very masculine. It is very smooth and mellow, with no bitterness whatsoever and no astringency either. After my first couple of sips, I added just a little bit of turbinado sugar to see how that would affect the flavor and it ended up giving the caramel-like sweetness I mentioned earlier a very molasses-y kind of taste … very nice indeed! I like how that molasses flavor marries with the masculine flavors of wood and earth. This would also probably taste wonderful as a latte! Might have to try that sometime soon!
Aged Bamboo Oolong 1990 from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Product Description:
This is a Grade AAA tea from Spring, 1990, stored in a vacuum seal. We have procured this Aged Oolong from Zhu Shan or Bamboo Mountain in Taiwan. It has been refired or roasted eighteen months to retain and enhance its incredible qualities. It was grown at mid/high elevation from a soft stem varietal, in Zhu Shan, Taiwan.
Fantastic rare artisan tea here. Incredibly smooth and complex. Initial strong roasted quality as can be expected with round notes of acorn, baked bread, sweetgrass, and pine.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf aroma is quite unique, unlike any other tea that I can recall. It does have a roasted smell, reminding me a bit of the smell of burning dry leaves, along with hints of smoke and wood. It is a very rustic kind of smell, evoking thoughts of a log cabin deep in the forest with smoke billowing out of the chimney. It is a warm, inviting kind of smell, very masculine.
I steeped this the same way I’d steep just about any other Oolong, using my gaiwan and short steeps, starting with a quick rinse to awaken the tea leaves, and then 45 seconds for the first steep, adding 15 seconds for each subsequent steep.
The first two infusions delivered a very smooth liquor with very little astringency. The flavor is a roasted kind of flavor … almost charcoal-ish, but not in an off-putting way. I guess the way I’d explain it as the delicious, deep charred kind of flavor you’d get when you grill food over charcoal. There are notes of camphor and a sweet caramel-y undertone. The flavor is so smooth that this cup disappeared rather quickly!
With the third and fourth infusions, I noticed a bit more astringency – mild, but more obvious than with the first cup – and it leaves the palate feeling slightly dry and clean and ready for another sip. I think that this cup disappeared faster as a result. There is still that roasted/charred/smoke kind of flavor, as well as a caramel flavor underneath. I am finding this to taste more of char and smoke, less of wood and of thick caramel, with hints of spice and thinned honey in the background.
The fifth and sixth infusions offer the best flavor yet. Sweet! As in SWEET! Burnt sugar but without the bitterness of the burn … just pure sweet. Less of the astringency of the second cup, this is smooth like the first, but with less of the charcoal-y charred taste. The woody flavors seem to have been replaced with hints of earth, and the spice tones have emerged. I taste freshly baked bread – like the artisan bread baked in a fire-burning, stone oven. Very rustic and home-y and comforting, what was once an image of a log cabin with billows of smoke from its chimney is now the inside of that cabin, cozy beneath blankets and warm from the fire.
And these leaves appear ready to offer even more infusions! So, I shall take them up on that offer, and hope that the flavor is as good as that third cup. Yes! The sweetness is a bit softer, and the spices … almost cinnamon-y … give this cup a taste that reminds me a bit of cinnamon-raisin toast, maybe even a touch of butter and the edges are not burnt, but almost. Very toasty and delicious.
A wonderful tea to warm the very heart and soul of this Oolong enthusiast. If you love Oolong, you must try this one.
Prosperity Cube Pu-erh Tea (Year 2003) from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Product Description:
From the ancient halls of Chinese herbal science comes a special tea that is designed to call out to the spiritual world; Prosperity Pu-Erh Tea! When civilization was born, Chinese healers developed the arts of Feng Shui, writing, and herbology, and the Prosperity Cube. The Cube is a compressed block of herbs that have been specially prepared with sticky syrup and a small square mold. A Chinese character is applied to the cube during the molding process, as a spiritual call for a certain quality. When shared with family, the Prosperity Cube can be amazingly effective in lifting the financial burdens of the participants. Packed with just as many health benefits as other tea varities, Pu-Erh tea such as the Prosperity Cube make excellent sipping teas for those looking for a traditional Chinese taste.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve come to realize that not all Pu-erh teas are the same. Just like with any tea type there are good Pu-erh teas and there are not-so-good Pu-erh. This Prosperity Cube from Red Leaf Tea happens to be one of the good ones!
This Pu-erh is incredibly flavorful – and very pleasantly sweet! The aroma of the dry leaf is a little earthy, but in comparison to some other Pu-erh teas I’ve encountered, I would say that the earthiness here is rather mild.
The steeped tea smells a bit more like damp wood than of earth, and there is a sweet kind of aroma to it too that reminds me a bit of caramelized sugar. That caramel essence translates into the flavor very well, in fact, this is one of the sweetest Pu-erh teas that I’ve yet to try. It isn’t the “deep undertone of caramel-y sweetness” that I often describe when reviewing Pu-erh, this is a sweet, caramel syrup overtone that is front and center.
It is incredibly smooth and there is no bitterness whatsoever. I am also having a hard time discerning any hint of astringency to this cup. It is just smooth and sweet from start to finish, with an oaken undertone and a hint of earth that hits just after the start.
If you’re like me and have had one or more unpleasant Pu-erh experiences in the past, don’t let that stop you from trying more. If you do, you are only depriving yourself of what is indeed a fascinating journey of discovery. On my journey, I am discovering so many wonderful Pu-erh teas there are out there to enjoy!
And if you’ve decided that maybe you should give Pu-erh one more try, I recommend starting with this Prosperity Cube from Red Leaf Tea. One taste of it and you’ll have a hard time remembering what “bad” Pu-erh is like … this one is THAT good!
Puerh (Yunnan) from In Nature
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: In Nature
Product Description:
Pu-erh, the great “connoisseur Tea”. The Queen of all Teas, known for its noble palate, taste and aroma. Also famous for its numerous health properties. Yunnan region.
This tea brews to a reddish-brown colour and has a distinctive liquorice, soothing taste.
Taster’s Review:
The more I drink Pu-erh, the more I am liking it. As I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t always fond of it. In fact, disgust would be a better way to describe my feelings toward Pu-erh. But, since that time, I have learned how to brew Pu-erh and now that I brew it properly (well, properly for me, anyway), I actually quite like it.
The aroma of the dry tuocha is earthy but it is not as strong an earthy essence as some Pu-erh I have encountered. Once brewed, the liquor is quite light in fragrance. Likewise, the flavor is much lighter-tasting. It is remarkably smooth and even. The sometimes off-putting earthy flavor of Pu-erh is not present here. Yes, it has an earthy quality to it, but it is rather delicate and quite nice.
The description above suggests that this has a liquorice flavor, and I must agree, I can taste the liquorice-like note in this, and it resonates throughout the sip. This liquorice flavor highlights the deep sweetness to this cup.
this is definitely one of the most delightful Pu-erh teas that I’ve ever had the opportunity to taste. I like it very much.