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Steeped this up in a 100ml gaiwan, 5g of leaf was basically overflowing the gaiwan before I added water and then filled it nearly to the lid once the leaves wilted down. It’s a very fluffy and minimally processed tea, looks like dried (small, intact or only slightly broken) leaves, minimal buds. Dry leaf smells like fresh hay. Wet leaves have some interesting spicy notes, which made a bit more sense once I saw that the Qi Yun cultivar was developed from Keemun strains. I used 195F water and did about six 30-45 sec (ish) steeps.

Early steeps had some floral and vegetal notes, kind of reminded me of walking through an orchard in the spring, the combination of flowers and trees. Right in the middle (3rd steep?) I got some notes baking spices that reminded me this cultivar is normally used for black teas, and that’s also when a honey sweetness also emerged and lasted for a few steeps. Later ones reminded me more of alfalfa hay, that grassy floral combination.

Interesting tea, I enjoyed it! I need more experience with white teas I think.

Finally sat down with the gaiwan and broke into the Element Tasting Set, starting with the raw puer. Popped the whole ~7g square into my 100ml gaiwan, heated the kettle to 205F, did a quick rinse and a brief rest, then a series of steeps gradually increasing from 20 seconds. This is a very nice, approachable sheng. Some light floral and vegetal notes and a honey sweetness especially in the early steeps, balanced by a pleasant bitterness. I lost track of how many steeps I did while working on a lego set, but I feel like I’m at at least 8 and it’s still going strong.

Drinking fresh shincha at 8pm, I’m sure I won’t come to regret this choice lol. It’s quite light, with a nice blend of floral, vegetal, and umami notes. I was skeptical when I read the description, but I think I can actually detect a faint grapefruit note in the aftertaste.

I ordered a kyusu and a bunch of sencha samples from T-Guru, randomly picked this one to try first. So far I’m very happy with the kyusu – it pours very nicely, and the built-in filter does a good job.

This is a nice green tea, fresh and a nice mix of floral cherry blossom and vegetal/grassy notes. There is a mild astringency and bitterness developing as I get to the end of the cup.

The last one from the Haku Discovery Box I got at the Toronto Tea Festival. This is a lightly-oxidized, lightly-roasted, high mountain (1200m) oolong. 4g in a 100ml gaiwan, 205F water, initial steeps of 20-30 sec, gradually increasing. The scent is lovely and floral, and it lingers in the cup after drinking. The flavour is sweet, floral, with a light vegetal note that gradually increases through subsequent steeps. It was good for at least 6-7 steeps, at which point I started to lose interest but it probably could have gone for another 1 or 2 at least. Very nice!

Got this in a Tearunners box. The Tea Spot seems to enjoy using a blend of black and puer as a base for a few of their blends, which I’m guessing might be controversial but personally I’m a fan. They also don’t use any flavouring in this blend, just actual spices, so the spiciness is quite light and you can really taste the base teas. I actually quite like the balance of flavours, even though it’s quite different from what I would consider a typical chai bland. The turmeric really adds to the earthiness.

Trying this one today after tasting the taiping houkui yesterday is a good illustration of the variety of experiences you can have from Chinese green teas, lol.

Dry leaf is a medium green with some silver tips, twisted and kind of irregular. The dry scent in the tin is lovely and green, like freshly cut grass. Interestingly, there was basically no aroma when I put the dry tea leaves in the preheated mug, or when I poured over the hot water. I did 2g leaf + 300ml water at 180F, grandpa style.

This was a better tea than the taiping houkui to really get a feel for grandpa style brewing. Initially it was very entertaining to watch the leaves bob up and down and gradually unfurl. There is a phase in the beginning where most of the leaves pick up tiny air bubbles and float to the top, and this is usually the point in the past where I’d loose patience with grandpa style and pull out the strainer because I get so annoyed with trying to take a sip without ending up with a mouthful of leaves. Love this mug and its filter. And yes, eventually the leaves do absorb enough water to fall to the bottom of the glass. The sipping experience was also interesting because it really changed a lot as I drank and the leaves steeped. It kind of went from “hmm, nothing” to “nothing but in a very refreshing way” to “oh hey, there’s some bitterness and astringency kicking in” to “yes, my mouth is awake now”. It’s a pleasant bitterness though, accompanied by a bit of a sweet aftertaste in the back of the throat, very reminiscent of a young sheng, which makes sense since this is a green tea from yunnan after all. Then more hot water to dilute and mellow it out again, then notice as the flavour gradually intensifies. It’s enjoyable, I can definitely see the appeal of brewing these cheaper green teas this way. Uncomplicated and easy to just sip away while doing something else.

I just got my first tea haul from Bitterleaf Teas! I pre-ordered small tins of all the non-Longjing spring green teas, as well as a glass green tea mug (it has a built-in filter making it ideal for grandpa style brewing). I decided to try this one first, because I’ve never tried a taiping houkui before and it just looks so cool. I steeped it grandpa style in the new mug. :) I started out with water at 180F for the first few pours, then started increasing the temp with each pour (cycling through the presets on my kettle).

Dry leaf aroma is really lovely – fresh, sweet, and verdent. Aroma as it steeps is also lovely and floral. Flavour is light, floral, with a remarkable nectar sweetness that started out strong and gradually tapered off. It remains soft and delicate even with the higher temperature water later on – absolutely no bitterness and very minimal astringency. Very nice.

Sipdown of an ancient sample from TeaSparrow. Surprisingly good, for something that has been languishing for like 10 years. Lemongrass and peppermint in the nose/mouth with that liquorice sweetness on the back of the throat, and an earthy herbal note that I assume is the raspberry leaf. Maaaybe a hint of cardamom if I really concentrate, or maybe it’s just the power of suggestion. Good night time blend if you’re not into chamomile.