Tea Review: 2022 Unshaded Saemidori Single Cultivar Fukamushicha - Limited Edition (Yunomi/Kaneroku Matsumoto-en)

2022 Unshaded Saemidori Single Cultivar Fukamushicha - Limited Edition
Kaneroku Matsumotoen/Yunomi
Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shimada, Kiriyama
Product Description:

This year's saemidori cultivar has come out excellent. Even though unshaded, the strength of the field's natural umami creates a delicious balance as a deep-steamed fukamushi sencha green tea. 

But, please remember that extremely sweet versions of saemidori are made so by shading the field (sometimes only a few days so not called “Kabusecha”). This tea is meant for those who seek a strong-bodied, bitter tea.

Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 30 seconds-1 minute

The dry leaves have a sweet green and nutty aroma.

The bright green liquor is semi-opaque with a sweet green, nutty, and buttery aroma.  The taste is sweet, green and nutty, with the first hints of astringency and a long green finish.

I purchased this tea a year after it was produced and it seems to have aged beautifully.  The aroma had unexpected buttery notes and the mouthfeel was surprisingly smooth.  A lovely amami (sweetness) developed in the second infusion, appearing at the back of my mouth following each sip.  After the first two 30 second steepings, the liquor became clear and held up well to a longer 1 minute steeping. While this hit exactly right for my preferences. you can achieve more boldness and astringency by starting out with a slightly longer steeping time (45 seconds to 1 minute).

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: Wazuka Sencha Superior Samidori (Yunomi/Uejima Tea Farm)

Wazuka Sencha Superior Samidori (上煎茶)

Uejima Tea Farm (上嶋爽禄園)/Yunomi

Type: Green
Origin: Japan, Kyoto Prefecture, Wazuka
Product Description:

Coming from well-known tea master Uejima-san in the famous tea producing region Wazuka, Kyoto prefecture, this Sencha Superior comes from the samidori cultivar (Not to be confused with perhaps the more familiar saemidori cultivar). While this cultivar is generally suited for shaded teas like kabusecha and gyokuro, Uejima-san’s is a non-shaded samidori making it somewhat of an uncommon and rare find. This well balanced, freshly fragrant sencha from Uejima-san will please you with its elegant umami, enjoy! 

Temperature: 160° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1 minute

The dry leaves have a bright green and nutty aroma.

The light golden green infusion has a sweet, green, nutty aroma with notes of sunflower seeds.  The taste is sweet and savory, nutty and green with a long finish.

While I often reduce the steeping time for sencha to 30-45 seconds after the first infusion due to how bold the second infusion becomes after the leaves wake up, this tea developed nicely when steeped for 1 minute throughout multiple infusions.  The taste was refreshing and green with nutty notes moving to the front by the second infusion and the long sweet green finish seemed to go on forever.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: 2021 Everyman's Baimudan (White2Tea)

2021 Everyman's Baimudan

White2Tea
Type: White
Origin: China, Fujian Province
Product Description:

You may have noticed how I went off the rails on the last tea's description.  It's probably because of how frustrating it is to source quality early spring Baimudan from Fujian without bankrupting your life savings.  The Fujian white teas command a high price.  The more buds, the more expensive they are.  So much so that teas from surrounding provinces get soaked up as fakes to buttress the local Fujian productions.  The tea costs dearly, even when you search out the most affordable balance of price and quality.  All that being said, the tea makers of Fujian know their sh*t.  They produce better teas than most anyone in the world, hence the brutal price tags.  Quality costs.  This tea is from a slightly lesser known area (not Fuding, which is the most famous area for Fujian white tea) but has plenty of buds and deft craftspersonship.  Aroma abound, mellow flavors and thick body from a lovely tea style that is oft misunderstood due to market demand for "cheap" white peony that ostensibly does not exist.  Next month we will try to include a version that is even closer to market standard, but we couldn't quite squeeze it into this months' budget.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of pepper, seasoned wood, and red peppers.

The golden infusion has a sweet, savory, buttery, and lightly floral aroma.  The taste is savory and nutty with notes of vine plants and green vegetables with a fresh vegetal finish.

This white tea was full-flavored throughout three infusions.  I particularly enjoyed the results from 2-minute infusions and the refreshing fresh veg finish.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was included in a monthly paid subscription box.

Tea Review: 2020 XXXMas Huangpian Sheng Puer Cake (White2Tea)

2020 XXXMas Huangpian Sheng Puer Cake

White2Tea
Type: Puerh
Origin: China
Product Description:

What is "huangpian"? Huangpian are the large, coarse golden leaves that are often sorted out by the aesthetic watchdogs of the raw Puer market who find them unsightly.  Their "ugly" looks mean that we, the virtuous club members who see inner beauty and judge our books by their content can scoop up a lot of old arbor material for a fraction of the cost of the "higher grade" counterparts.  If this is your first outing with huangpian, you will notice a different character than a standard raw Puer.  If you fall in love with this character, it's great news for your wallet, as you can often find very high quality huangpian for a lot cheaper than the standard raw Puer counterpart.  They age beautifully and become sweeter and softer over time. (Check out our 2016 Fade or 2018 Demon Slayer to try examples of nicely stored huangpian)  You have 200 grams to experiment with, so take a few notes on the cakes journey (Pro-tip: you can lazily jot down a sentence or two on the wrapper for easy note keeping.  Example: 12/25: sweetness, apricot. Intense when pushed).  These are fresh off the press, so try it now and then again in a month to compare as the cake sheds some of its excess moisture and youthful vigor.  This year, I blended in a bit of maocha [unsorted raw Puer material with more buds] to expand the depth a touch.  This tea packs a wallop of aroma, flavor, and huigan [returning sweetness in the mouth].

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaf aroma has notes of aged wood and pepper.

The aroma of the golden infusion has herbal and green vine notes as well as something that reminded me of piled leaves.  The taste is herbal and woody with mild astringency.

I particularly enjoyed the first and third infusions where the huigan was most present, while the second infusion had a sharper aroma and bolder flavor.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops over time.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was a gift from a third party.

Tea Review: Hot Brandy (White2Tea)

Hot Brandy (2020)

White2Tea
Type: White, Black
Origin: India, Nilgiri
Product Description:

A blend of both white and black tea experiment gone horribly right, this is the latest version of our sold out 2016 Hot Brandy.

The soup is thick, smooth, and fragrant. It fares well with both gongfu style and western style brewing. The tea has excellent endurance and can steep for a very long time and can even withstand being simmered or boiled without becoming acrid.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaf aroma is lightly woody.

The golden liquor has a light aroma of apricots and wood.  The taste is sweet with notes of apricots, honey, and nuts and a long sweet honey-like finish.

The first two infusion were delightfully dessert-like with apricot and honey notes.  While the third infusion was mellower, it was still quite pleasant with notes of sweet and tart baked fruit.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was a gift from a third party.

Tea Review: 2021 Spring Old Arbor Raw Puer (White2Tea)

2021 Spring Old Arbor Raw Puer
White2Tea
Type: Puerh
Origin: China
Product Description: 

This year's spring old arbor tea just barely made it to the warehouse in time.  While most areas were picked a bit early during 2021 spring due to weather, this tea was later than most.  Old arbor trees generally bud later than younger bushes, but this little cake pushed us to April 19th before we were able to press the cake.  Factor in that the cakes must be dried for a couple of days post pressing in a hong fang (a heated room), wrapped, sent to our storage and then packed for the tea club, and you will know why we barely got this show on the road before the May 1st Chinese Labor Day holiday.  You'll have to do that math for how long this tea took from picking to your door, but suffice it to say it that it might be some of the freshest raw you've ever had.  I'll spare you my notes on the tea, that bit is up to you. 

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet aroma with notes of wood and hay.

The liquor is peach yellow with an aroma of green vine, grilled vegetables, and root vegetables.  The taste has notes of green vine, grilled vegetables, wood, and nut shells.

This flavor of this puerh was intriguingly complex.  I particularly enjoyed the aroma of the second steeping because it was so reminiscent of a tasty vegetable dish.  

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was included in a monthly paid subscription box.

Tea Review: 2018 Natural Redhead (White2Tea)

2018 Natural Redhead
White2Tea
Type: Black
Origin: China
Product Description:

Made from large leaf varietal material, the tea is sun dried with no machine roasting. The tea is smooth, with a very thick body, and a soft natural fragrance. A crowd favorite across all types of tea drinkers.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have no noticeable aroma.

The copper orange infusion has a sweet aroma of baked fruit (I was reminded of pears).  The taste is light, sweet, and fruity.

The taste and aroma of this black tea evoked autumn and fresh baked seasonal pies.  It's quite mellow and forgiving, so a longer steeping time will still produce nice results.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was received as a gift from a third party.

Tea Review: 2013 GZ Natural Yiwu (White2Tea)

2013 GZ Natural Yiwu
White2Tea
Type: Puerh
Origin: China, Zhejiang Province, Jinhua, Yiwu
Product Description:

When I write "natural GZ", I refer to our white2tea storage, which I set up to take advantage of natural Guangzhou (hot/humid) conditions without the addition of moisture or forced fermentation, as is often the case in Hong Kong style wet storage tea.  This Yiwu tea is well on its way to maturity, with a full bodied sweetness and smooth character that define the region.  Fans of Yiwu tea tend to prefer elegant character without too much rough around the edges.  Depth, but without punch strength.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of wood and sweet hay.  

The golden amber infusion has an aroma of vine, roasted vegetables, bell pepper, and wood.  The taste has notes of root vegetables and wood with a hint of sweetness.

I especially enjoyed the more nuanced third steeping which had developed sweetness in aroma and nut shell notes in the taste.  At the time of this review, this tea was not available for purchase.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was included in a monthly paid subscription box.

Tea Review: 2021 Spring Raw Liubao (White2Tea)

2021 Spring Raw Liubao
White2Tea
Type: Heicha
Origin: China, Guangxi Province
Product Description:

Liubao heicha, also known as dark tea, a post fermented tea from Guangxi province in China.

This tea was made on commission for white2tea in early spring of 2021 for our wonderful tea club. We did not have enough left for baskets, but had a little loose tea left for our new heicha section.

Not the typical mass produced and pile fermented dark liubao. Raw may be a misnomer, but calling it green doesn’t quite seem right either, and some folk have even suggested this tea qualify as a yellow tea or some hybrid unfermented heicha. In China people often call it nongjia or farmer style, though it is rarely sold on the open market due to small production sizes and lack of proper accreditation. You will find similarities in this tea that spans genres – green tea, yellow tea, heicha, raw Puer – there is a reason you can’t pin it down easily. 

Bright aromas and sweetness with a hefty huigan (returning sweetness) that is sticky and refreshing. Lovely to drink now or age as you desire. 

Temperature: 190° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of cocoa and wood.  

The light peach-yellow infusion has a savory and nutty aroma with notes of baked squash and a hint of cocoa.  The taste is nutty with notes that remind me of bitter chocolate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this heicha (my tasting notes say, "Yum!"), especially the cocoa notes that made an appearance throughout three infusions.  Though the third infusion had mellowed quite a bit, it was still quite nice.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was included in a monthly paid subscription box.

Tea Review: Moon Bear White (White2Tea)

Moon Bear White 
White2Tea
Type: White
Origin: China
Product Description from the monthly tea club flyer:

A white tea from Yunnan province with gigantic, healthy (and very fuzzy) buds.  While we are on the topic of buds, Yunnan really has the biggest and baddest around.  You will be able to contrast this with the Fujian Baimudan, where even a paltry smattering of early spring buds commands all of the respect of a divine monarch.  Meanwhile, the gigantic Yunnan buds toil in the fields for a perfunctory nod of acknowledgement. May I ask you, dear tea drinker, for a brief moment...suspend the knowledge you have of what teas are "supposed to cost" and to embrace this underrated Yunnan tea, full of character and vigor.  Furry, robust buds bursting forth from the soil in glistening glory.  Maybe that's a bit much, but I like this tea.  It's from a great environment. Thick bodied and engaging and quite beautiful to look at. Perfect tea for a start to the morning in summer.  Drink in the Yunnan mountain glory with every sip and make your own judgement.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a sweet and almost medicinal aroma with fragrant wood notes that remind me of camphor.  

The light yellow infusion has a sweet, herbal, nutty, and vine green aroma.  The taste is savory with notes of vine (pole) beans, wood, and roasted nuts with a nutty finish.

The flavor and aroma deepened after the first infusion as the leaves woke up and unfurled.  I particularly enjoyed the nutty finish after each sip.

This tea review was written in 2021. This tea was included in a monthly paid subscription box.