Mild broad bitterness that transforms into a lot of coolness and almost menthol. Green grass, a slight umami of wheat or barley tea. Chamomile and bright vegetal aroma. Eventually some returning sweetness. Very Good.
2024 Moon Bear
some recent teas
2005 Xinhai “Lao Ban Zhang” ripe, is average, feels a bit worn out, I have it stored to hopefully awaken it a bit. 25 years has most likely dulled this generally, far too old for a ripe IMO.
2010 Chunhai “Jin Ya” ripe, is very small buds, this is still interesting with hints of rooibos, a nice red colour, mild taste.
2023 Red Loon ripe, has a nice forest floor aroma, second steep (10 seconds) is a lot darker colour, muted tannins, richer mulchy broth. 3rd (10sec) everything amps up a little bit, but stays relatively the same. Steep 4 and 5 are more like steep 2.
2024 Waffles ripe, really interesting aroma, especially when drank from a thermos (20g in maybe 300ml of hot water). Waffle/pancake and maple smells. The taste is an average ripe.
Pu Erh note
I have very hard water, Ph is 8ish, or slightly over. I find this makes a very dull and muted pu erh tea. I have been adjusting my water to get it to 6.5 – 7 and the flavour is now fantastic.
This is also, interestingly, around the PH of river and lake water in Yunnan (average 6.7 – 7.3)
Sources
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02522667.2017.1367501
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/21/3385
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9779387/
http://en.cgsjournals.com/article/doi/10.11932/karst20220404
Pine Darts & Shixi & Turtle Dove
Pine Darts 2025 from W2T
Smoked pine needles and pine forest soil, smoke, smoked rubber? smoked leather? a kind of citrusy and green pine needle tartness happens. Interesting stuff. Very little if any bitterness. Very nice.
2024 Shixi from W2T
Very dense and compacted cake. Earthy, coffee grounds, wood, old hardwood, a mild rounded bitterness, a nice coolness lingers.
2018 Turtle Dove White Tea 7g mini – Free sample from W2T
Has an almost mugicha smell to it. Mild, smooth, soft but slight dry mouthfeel.
2 more teas
Yunnan Sourcing Cozy 2023
Yunnan Sourcing Sweet and Thick 2014
I found both of these pretty average ripes. They both brew dark and strong fast.
2 Teas
2024 Kuura Cola Ripe Puer A nice straight down the line ripe puer.
2023 Labyrinth Raw Puer Very nice young raw puer. Gets strong fast. Purchased one for storage.
Tea
Tea
2014 Wu Liang “Sweet and Thick” Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake. 357 gram cake.
Pressed in 2014…. made from Wu Liang Mountain area tea leaves wet-piled in a Jinghong (Xishuangbanna) tea factory and then aged in Jinghong until 2020, and then Kunming thereafter. From Yunnan Sourcing
2023 Yunnan Sourcing “Cozy” Certified Organic Ripe Pu-erh Tea. 357 gram cake.
2018 wet piled organic cha tou, which we blended with 2022 wet-piled organic loose leaf ripes of various leaf grades. From Yunnan Sourcing.
2024 ‘Kuura-Cola’ Ripe Puerh Tea. 200g cake.
2022 tea material produced in Yunnan, China, pressed in 2024. From KuuraCorp.
2023 ‘Labyrinth’ Raw Puerh Tea. 200g cake.
2022 + 2023 tea material produced in Yunnan, China, pressed in 2023. From KuuraCorp
Tea.
Two teas that were pretty good.
Suntory Green Dakara Yasashii Mugicha. A standard barley tea. You can taste the seaweed which give its a nice extra taste.
Ito En Oi Ocha Bold Unsweetened Green Tea. This is really strong flavoured, and has a very pungent green tea smell.
Teas
L to R: Lapsang souchong, Keemun Congou, Rooibos.
