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“Well, this is the last of my initial White2Tea order. I was pretty impressed by the selection. Some very good teas in the mix, and way more winners than losers. Bumping my score on this Gas mini up...” Read full tasting note
“Oooh this is a tea I’ve been waiting for. One of the cheaper offerings from w2t, yet it sounds like one of the most interesting ones too. Flash steeps ? Bitter ? God knows I hate those flavors, and...” Read full tasting note
The 2024 Gas is a raw Puer blend focused on mind bending bitterness. Fans of in your face bitter character will be happy to steep this tea in any style, though most people will not be able to handle anything but gongfu style flash steeps, especially while this tea retains its youthful vigor. You’ll understand why it’s named Gas around steep 5.
Well, this is the last of my initial White2Tea order. I was pretty impressed by the selection. Some very good teas in the mix, and way more winners than losers. Bumping my score on this Gas mini up to an “80,” as it has continued to grow on me. I can’t really say why, as my descriptions of the flavor etc are pretty much the same as my previous note. But I like this tea for some reason.
Difficult decision where to buy my next batch of tea – Mainly between Yunnan Sourcing USA and White2Tea again, but also considered Silk Road Teas (San Francisco, not the Canada one), TeaSenz, and even Vahdam Teas (I like a good first flush Darjeeling).
Ultimately, I think I’m settled on ordering a bunch of tea from Yunnan Sourcing USA and continuing to explore their catalog, along with a few old favorites. Maybe the selection doesn’t seem quite as tightly curated as White2Tea, but overall I think you probably get more bang for your buck through YS. I’ll probably revisit W2T again soon, though, as definitely some good stuff.
Oooh this is a tea I’ve been waiting for.
One of the cheaper offerings from w2t, yet it sounds like one of the most interesting ones too.
Flash steeps ? Bitter ? God knows I hate those flavors, and that makes me all the more curious. Knowing my bias for bitter teas however, please take this review with a grain of salt.
15s wash.
Before anything, already regarding the smell I feel like we’re going for that everlasting vegetal bitterness that I oh so dislike. From the get go it’s already not a good point for this tea but I’m looking to be surprised.
1st Steep (5s, 93C):
5s is quite short, but this tea although compressed is already starting to reveal itself, now this is really interesting.
The taste is deep, that vegetal smell isn’t showing anything too spicy for now. This is a good steep.
2nd Steep (15s, 95C):
Again, not much, no bitterness, just some really nice character and depth, some things in the front and none of the vegetalness I’ve expected. Well balanced tea and the soup is light, this is very interesting.
3rd Steep (20s, 95c):
Oh, okay now it’s starting.
The bitterness is in the front, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced something like this.
This is definitely a “feature not a bug” situation, the bitterness builds up and then hits suddenly and in the very front as well, while the after-taste isn’t long lasting, the back of the taste is definitely deep, and the soup is so light too huhhhh ? Incredible.
But I know the next steep is were things are gonna hit.
4th Steep (30s, 95C):
That’s bitter, now everything is bitter. It’s so bitter on every level, I’m fascinated by how good this is. I have bitterness but I’m pleasantly surprised.
- Flavor Complexity: 30/30
- Brewing Forgiveness: 15/20
- Quality Across Infusions: 20/20
- Overall Enjoyment: 12/30 – While I really enjoy this tea, in the sense that I find it very interesting, I don’t think I could drink this more than once.
- yaro
Isn’t it odd how we can take a liking to a tea, and not be fully able to describe why it’s more enjoyable than a 5-cent bag of Lipton Orange Pekoe & Pekoe Cut black tea‽ I’ve been there a few times too! Thanks for your ongoing reviews though!
I don’t think I have ever had any tea from W2T. If I did, it was a sample gift from someone. I have had a few Yunnan Sourcing, I think, and I would like to order more someday but just like with Upton Tea, I get overwhelmed looking at what they offer and wondering which are daily drinkers and which are hidden gems.silk Toad is pricey but they have a great reputation.
Silk Road* LOLOL
You probably already know this, but White2Tea has free shipping every so often, including on Black Friday. They never have sales on their tea, though. If you do order from them again, I highly recommend their Fruit Bomb Lapsang.
The Bai Ye Black Dancong from YS is also a great tea, though I’m not sure it’s on the U.S. site. It has a nice sweet potato flavour and no bitterness.
Also check out Yunnan Craft for some affordably priced tea, including a lot of puerh that I haven’t tried.
Ashmanra – It’s been years since I ordered anything from Silk Road Teas, mainly because they are so pricey. But almost every tea I tried from them is outstanding. My tastes have kind of ventured more towards raw puerh lately, and they have very little of that. And what they have doesn’t seem so interesting. But would love to load up on some of their black and green teas again sometime. Why not just buy a little bit of tea from everbody, then? Mainly because I am trying to keep within my budget and make sense to get one bigger order from YS USA and take advantage of the promotional gifts that are available.
TeaEarlGreyHot – Yes, so true! I’ve experienced this quite a bit. I’ve had some pretty unimpressive teas in my stash which I probably should have thrown a way, but stubbornly continued to brew my way through it because I am a cheapo and didn’t want to waste my tea. LOL. More often than not, though, I’ve found even these “bad” teas tend develop some kind of magical charm over time and I might even come to like them a bit. Tea is weird.
Leafhopper – Thanks for the recommendations! Not super experienced with them, but I do like dancongs and the like. I try to stay away, though, because those tend to be pricier even than puerh! And I have been meaning to try one of those non-smoky lapsangs.
Yes, Dancongs can get expensive! The tea I recommended from YS is actually a Dancong made into a black tea so it isn’t fussy or prone to bitterness like some Dancongs. I think it cost $13 or $14 for 50 g the last time I checked.
Leafhopper – Huh, maybe I’ll check that one out, then! I like Scott’s description: "This tea is both excellent and peerless. You simply can’t have a similar experience with any other tea. Highly recommended for Dan Cong and Black Tea aficionados alike!
I agree with Scott! I’ve had a couple better black Dancongs that were much more expensive, but none with that pervasive sweet potato flavour. Similar teas are Guizhou Cat Cave from What-Cha and the lovely Feng Huang Hong Cha from Camellia Sinensis, which sadly is no longer in stock. I’ll forever hold a grudge if they don’t bring this tea back!
You are really tempting me to place a Silk Road order!
Ashmanra – Like I said, haven’t ordered there in quite a while. But if my experience is any indication, don’t think you’d regret it. They definitely have a lot of great black teas, and green tea selection looks nice, but I wasnt really into green teas when I ordered there in the past.
Ashmanra – Coupon code THANKS15 will get you 15% off.
Ooooo, thank you!
Leafhopper – Just placed my YS USA order, and I did go ahead and grab some of that Bai Ye Varietal Dan Cong Black Tea based on your recommendation! Looking forward to trying it out.
I hope you enjoy it!