Hello hello! Today we’re going down a slightly different path and explore one of Yunnan’s most bizarre tea exports. This just happens to be Cha Gao - which is a tea paste made from tea leaves. While calling it a paste is a bit misleading, it’s actually a hard and brittle piece of dissolvable tea that’s often marketed as ‘Puer on The Go’. But what is Cha Gao? Well, Cha Gao is made when tea is boiled for two to three days straight, and is boiled down so much that everything decomposes into a tar like substance. Then it’s poured over a sheet to cool down, and is stored for over a year before it’s ready to be consumed (a waiting period for humidity to leave the brittle). Today however, we’re going to dive into Bitter Leaf Tea’s Cha Gao. Bitter Leaf Teas calls their Cha Gao ‘Black Magic’, which comes in three different grades: bronze, silver, and gold. Their Cha Gao is made from 2015 Spring Yiwu Raw Puer, and released towards the end of 2016. For this review I’m going to tell you what to expect when drinking the gold standard of this oddity, and further explain why you shouldn't eat it… Steeps 1 - 3 According to Bitter Leaf Teas, their Black Magic should be brewed to around 1g for a 100ml vessel. And also, before the first three steeps, I gave this tea a quick rinse before moving forward. With the first steep, Black Magic brewed for thirty seconds. The first thing that I detected when drinking this tea was its thick body. The soup poured down my throat - with a light bees wax texture and left an earthy aftertaste. The notes of an autumn leaf pile was noticeable through out its body. Also, it held an astringency that brought on a leather like texture to this teas body. Steeps 4 - 6 While this session continued, I went forward with the next three steeps with a longer steeping time. As the Cha Gao became thinner, the steeps became longer to compensate for the constant changing tea-to-vessel ratio. While the Cha Gao still tasted nearly identical to how it did earlier, I was able to direct a light resin that seemed to drag a burnt leaf tasting note across the tongue. With the last steep, I held the tea up to the light and found tiny tea leaf particles at the bottom of the cup! At the end of the session with Cha Gao, I was immediately overpowered by a persisting energy that quickly made its way throughout my body. Eating Cha Gao Just like a cat with a diminishing number of lives, curiosity got the best of me. Looking down at this Cha Gao, there was a tiny piece that resembled a miniature breath mint. So like any other insane being, I took it upon myself to pop this piece of Cha Gao in my mouth and eat it like a tick tac. At first, I was so overpowered with the strong sense of bitter and astringency that I reached out for anything to aid the drying sensation in the mouth. Hell, at one point my gag reflex couldn't handle the strength of this concentrated tea and I began to dry-heave. After spending over ten minutes hacking up pieces of Cha Gao my tastebuds were fried. For the week following the Cha Gao incident, my tastebuds were still not back to normal because the tongue was slowly recovering. Conclusion Overall, Black Magic 2015 Yiwu Raw Puer Cha Gao was a great experience, considering what it is. Cha Gao definitely isn't for everyone, and definitely isn't a drink that should be recommend to people who are easily put off by the idea of pure and unflavored teas. While there are many different variations of Cha Gao out in the market, the Gold standard of Black Magic by Bitter Leaf Teas offers the easiest and clearest one to drink. Besides that, the presentation and packaging of this tea was fantastic! It honestly felt like unwrapping crack-cocaine. In the end, Cha Gao isn't for everyone, but Bitter Leaf Teas does a great job providing an option that is tastier than most other options in the market. So see for yourself if Black Magic Gold is an oddity worth trying, or worth looking at from a distance — either way just don’t eat it…

Hello hello! This time of year is usually when many people would usually start to gear up for Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, the filming schedule got pushed back, which means we have to wait for Game of Thrones to premiere 3-4 months later than usual. There’s other TV shows that I’ve been watching to help fill the void, but nothing quite like John Show can fill the hole of emptiness… ;) One of the greatest things about Game of Thrones is the countless fan theories that arise from the show, and even the books. Some of these fan theories have come true, and there are others that are yet to be reviled. One question I have is, what about tea? Does tea have any fan theories, so to speak? Well, theres a few that I can think of off of the top of my head, such as Japanese White Tea. Wait, Japanese White Tea? Actually, thats not a fan theory at all, and as strange and as outlandish as that sounds, Japanese White Tea is a very real thing! Here’s what you can expect when drinking Japanese Kanayamidori White Tea! Steeps 1 - 3 For this unusual specimen, which I will call Kana (shortened version of the name), I used 5g of tea for a 100ml vessel. For the first steep, the sweet and thick taste of green hay drizzled across the tongue and left a light aftertaste which filled the mouth like a sauna. As the steeps continued, this tea took on an unusual and viscous sweetness - so heavy that it almost came off as a flaw. Along with the sweetness, the tea slowly started releasing a citrus-like crispness aftertaste to its leafy body. Surprisingly, Kana took on a full bodied flavor quicker than other white teas. Steeps 4 - 6 This teas robust sweetness began to settle around the fourth infusion, as Kana took on a deeper profile. The hay notes that were present earlier transformed into a malt-like warmth, all while leaving the mouth with the lubricating mouthfeel of margarine. The texture of this tea was very unique, due in part to the fact that it had tasting notes that were so sharp to the tastebuds, yet so smooth in the rest of the mouth. As I continued on the sixth steep, I found myself in awe over how clear the tea’s liquor was. Steeps 7 - 10 The Japanese White Tea started to fade out a tiny bit more, but luckily it still had a lot to give. The tasting notes of grass and hay transformed into the taste of wheat. Although this tea’s body was oily earlier, its body had started to roughen up a bit and feel like a matted-velvet blanket that rested gently over the tongue. Throughout these steeps, the Japanese white tea filled every square inch of space in your mouth with a warmth that almost perfectly resembled whisky, while leaving a pleasant honeydew melon and coconut expression in the back of the throat. After the tenth steep I was ready to end the session and call it a night… Conclusion Japanese Kanayamidori White Tea is sold by Tealyra at $0.80 a gram. This, by far, is the most expensive white tea I’ve had the pleasure to come into contact with. In addition, this is also the most exquisite white tea I’ve ever had — period. This tea was robust, sweet, and full bodied in all of the right places. Right when you think Kana was going to take the traditional white tea route, it grabs you by the leg and takes you down a completely different path. While taking on similar features of Japanese green tea, it held its own ground and was a surprise at every turn. Not only was this tea unexpected, every flavor profile of this tea was very refreshing. However, you should be weary of over steeping Kana because it can easily become tart. Overall, the high cost of this tea makes it difficult to afford. While this tea is exceptionally delightful, I wouldn’t recommend it to the average tea drinker because of its delicacy. Even some of the amazing tasting notes that made Kana so great could easily be overlooked by someone whose not familiar with drinking hot tea. In the end, Japanese Kanayamidor White Tea was a great example of how an abnormal tea from Japan can be so good. When you get the chance to drink this exquisite white tea, hopefully you'll see it for the beauty that it truly is… Rating - 9.8

Hello hello! Since the puer storage is still recovering from the affects of winter (and my stomach is still recovering from Cow Cunt Puer), this would be a fantastic time to drink down some of the other teas that haven't been getting as much attention lately. While waiting for the puer to recover, I’ve been giving more treatment to oolongs and hot chocolate. Yeah, hot chocolate isn't tea but it’s still a good substitute! Anyways, lately I’ve been sipping on a very unusual oolong that derives from Japan. Japan is most notable for their green teas, but oolong? I know it sounds strange, but thats because it is. Japan isn't known for their oolongs, (or any other variation of tea for that matter) because they don’t produce a lot of it. Japanese tea culture is synonymous with green teas such as sencha and matcha. However, since their oolongs are not as well known as their green teas, here’s an idea of what you can expect when drinking Miyazaki Takachiho Japanese Oolong… Steeps 1 -3 For this particular oolong (MT for short), I used 5g of tea for a 100ml sized vessel. When opening this tea, the sacchariferous aroma of grass and corn lofted across the nose, and smelled so fresh you’d think it was just harvested yesterday. With the first infusion, the notes of cream corn danced across the tongue and painted a trail of fresh sugary grass behind it. MT left a salvia-inducing freshness that showed evidence of being steam-cooked. Steeps 4 - 7 The personality of MT was being altered rather quickly, as the light trails of grass grew thicker and more noticeable. Although the sweet notes of corn started to disappear, the luscious creamy texture stayed behind which gave MT a full bodied mouthfeel. While this tea was tasting thicker and fuller, it seemed to leave behind a small bitter like feel at the back of the tongue. With these steeps, I also discovered this delicate oolong turned tart if it was brewed too hot. Steeps 8 - 10 MT began to slowly mellow out, and although it was on the decline through these steeps, it still had a lot to present. These steeps weren’t as loud as before, and this is when MT went from rough to smooth. Each sip trickled down my throat with a lasting impression of velvety-smooth grass. The sweet notes of corn made a comeback as they helped guide the grass, and all came together to create a perfect ensemble of blissful liquid. Also, these steeps felt soft; so soft that the tea felt as fluffy as a cotton ball. With the last steep, and even the last sip, MT managed to make a harmonious exit… Conclusion Overall, Miyazaki Takachiho from Tealyra was a fantastic change from drinking other oolongs. This tea had a great body and was complex in more than one way. However, this tea sits at $30.00 per 100g. Even though Japanese Oolongs are rare to come by, the price point seems to be on the higher side. Despite its price point, it had a lot of memorable attributes that made this tea a pleasurable experience, such as its cleanliness and its clarity. In the end, I would buy more of this tea but save it to drink on special occasions. When you decide to try this oolong, hopefully you’ll agree that this tea is a great representation of why Japan should adopt Japanese grown oolongs into their tea culture… Rating - 9.6

Hello hello! Over the past year, I’ve seen some really bizarre teas that other companies produce. On Ali Express, for example theres been pressed tea cakes of pure hibiscus flowers, and even tea tree flowers. Lately tea companies, like White2Tea for instance, have been giving their teas funky names inspired by rap music, video games, or any other media that motivate them. But the funkiest? Well, the strangest has to be Cow Cunt Puer, which is a compressed mini toucha that sells for $35 a dozen. So is there anything great about Cow Cunt Puer? Lets mooooove on and find out! Steeps 1 - 3 I began the session with one and a half mini touchas of Cow Cunt, which is 6.6g of tea for a 100ml vessel . After a quick rinse, I gave this tea a whiff to see what I could find. It didn’t smell like too much of anything, but it did remind me of a horse stable. Anyways, I proceeded on to the first steep. At first, the notes of black liquorish appeared and left a wafting aroma of beef broth and dry boot leather. After a few more steeps the taste resembled the texture and mouthfeel of velvet with the taste of a used bird cage. After the third steep, the taste of bird poop mixed with black licorice was overtaken by the taste of mud. Steeps 4 - 6 While trying to prevent myself from gagging, I took a deep breath of the wet leaf. I wish I didn't, because its stench was as bad as it tasted. Despite the putrid aroma of cat piss, there was still a chance this tea could redeem itself, and what better way to find out then continuing on with the session. With the fourth and fifth infusion, this teas texture moved from leathery smooth to jagged barbwire, contributing to its surprising and unforgiving bitter astringency. These steeps filled my mouth with the taste of farm — but before you go off and say that ‘farm’ isn't a tasting note let me explain: So first I must ask, have you ever been to a farm or a petting zoo? When look around, there’s animals grazing on piles of hay that sit on a ground thats covered in bird and horse shit, mixed with the stench of animal urine that flow through the dirt. Along with that, just imagine the incense of a sweaty lama or a sweaty goat, mixed with the shit-infused dirt. So now you have the idea of what a farm smells and looks like, just imagine having those disgusting and gagging aromas on your tongue as they radiate from the tea you’re drinking. With the taste of farm lingering in the side of my cheeks, and the bitter and astringency that followed it, the sixth steeping decided to bring out the liking of stale cigar. Like, one of those damp cigars that makes you want to throw up after smelling it. With the added notes of cigar, I decided that this was an excellent time to end this session, and moooovoe on from this Cow’s Cunt. Conclusion Well, after drinking that, I felt violated. While I didn’t have any expectations for Cow Cunt Puer, I didn’t expect it to taste so rancid. Besides the horrid profile that this tea possessed, one thing that really upset me was how dirty this tea was. While brewing, so much dirt emerged from this mini toucha — along with tea leaves that looked like they slid across a cheese grader. Overall, this tea is sold for nearly $3.00 per mini toucha, and honestly, I think that the price doesn't reflect the value of Cow Cunt. While giving tea funky names is popular at the moment, this tea’s name could resemble what a cow’s vagina may taste like. If not the cows vagina, it reflects what a cow’s ass may taste like. With that in mind, now’s a great time to drink one of your better teas and appreciate it because it could always be worse… It could be a cow’s 'beef curtains'. Rating - 0.0

Hello hello! There’s been quite a few people, including a major puer shop owner, that suggested I share the nightmare I’ve experienced storing my puer collection over the past few months. Some of you may already know the issues that have been happening, especially considering that I’ve been playing the ’20 Question’ game on Steepster and with other peers in the tea community. In case you’re unaware, the issue is about me vs. puer storage in a humidor — or as others call it, ‘pumidor which means ‘humidor’ but for puer. What is Puer? Before we get into any of the specifics, we need to go over a few basics. First, puer is a kind of tea that can be aged and fermented, which slowly oxidizes over a lengthy period of time. There are two kinds of puer - Sheng and Shou. Sheng = raw, which is green tea that’s roasted light enough not to kill all of the active enzymes. Shou = ripe, which is where the tea is fermented over a period of time, and composted for 45 days before it’s ready for consumption. I mainly drink and review sheng, and store many cakes of sheng in an old mini fridge. In the pumidor, I only have young sheng, or raw puer that hasn’t had a chance to age and oxidize properly. Now that you understand what puer is, I can finally tell you where babies come from… or where my nightmare begins. Act 1 In my pumidor, I try to keep the temperature and humidity consistent all year long. My favorite combination is storing the tea around 75ºf, and around 65% humidity. Since the pumidor is a mini refrigerator, it’s not always possible to keep it at those specifics. This is especially true when this winter, we went from sunshine and tank tops, to sleet and parkas in the time span of three days. Since the pumidor was kept in a room that consists of 70% windows (and since our landlords are cheap and has old insulation in the attic), that meant that the temperature in the pumidor went from a drastic 75ºf to 50ºf overnight. For a week, the puer slowly started to turn tart and became sour. After a week went by of cold and uncomfortable pumidor temperatures, I decided to use a hair drier to warm up the inside and outside of the mini fridge daily. And at night, cover it with a blanket. After a week of this, this resulted in an overall 2º difference, and caused the humidity to drop. Unfortunately, over the course of doing this, the humidity slowly fell to a surprising 58%. This resulted in every single one of my teas to taste as dry as soot. For a few more weeks, the puer became more and more unbearable as their profile completely disappeared. Sad to say, gong-fu sessions that I had with top tier teas eventually tasted dry and astrigent, which was a huge disappointment considering that session cost $8.00. The wasted $8.00 session was the breaking point; the point at which something had to change. Act 2 Luckily for me, the living room is the warmest place in the house part in due to the fact that it’s the closest room to the central heating system. At that, there’s even a storage closet in the living room that could be closed off from any windows. I took my temperature gauge and measured the heat. To my surprise, the living room closet averaged 10º warmer than the room that the pumidor was currently in. Bingo. Without hesitation, the pumidor was moving. A week went by as the pumidor was making a cozy new home out of the living room closet. The temperature arose to 70º, but unfortunately I was still having the issue of having a low humidity. Hell, at this point, I gave up and started to drink down more of the oolongs that I acquired earlier in the year. However, a few tea colleagues that I communicate with convinced me to place a small cup/bowl of distilled water in the pumidor. The reasoning goes something like this — since tea is absorbent, it’ll absorb the moisture in the air thats given off by the cup of water. In return, the tea wouldn't be dry anymore and things sound start going back to normal. In retrospect, I should have left it alone. Act 3 Now that I thought I got everything under control, I decide to leave the storage alone for a week to give the tea time to rest. Since all of the changes were so drastic, I ran the risk of shocking and killing any active enzymes in the tea, thus disabling it from aging. When I thought all of the troubles were over, a new problem arose that affected every single one of the teas: leather and mushrooms. Yes, fucking leather and fucking mushrooms. The saga continued when I went to have the first gong-fu session with puer from the pumidor. I tried a high priced beeng of tea that typically tastes of caramel, fruit, and hay. I was shocked to find that the tea only tasted like astringent boot leather, with the after taste of mushrooms. I couldn’t even finish the session because of how overpowering the taste of basement was. This tea wasn’t even a year old, and up to this point, only tasted like heaven in a cup. I went back to check the humidity in the pumidor, and it only went up from 58% to 61%. The temperature was still sitting at 70º, but somehow the humidity was greatly affecting all of the tea. I immediately threw out the cup of water, and continued to sample a wide-range of teas from the pumidor. Every single one tasted like wet leathery boot. Form the less pricy teas to the outrageously expensive teas. All of them tasted exactly the same. At this point, I decided it was time to reach out for some help. After talking to several tea colleagues, the general consists was that the puer absorbed too much water, and for whatever reason, developed a funky odor over the course of the week that all of the teas picked up on. This only left me with one final question: What the fuck should I do now? For the past week and a half, I’ve been airing out the pumidor by fan, and I made sure that it got fresh air daily. Eventually, the leathery boot mushroom notes started to slowly disappear and the sweet, fruity taste of sheng puer started to come back. All of the teas started to regain their original profile, and even started to taste complex and sweet again. With a blast of fresh air, the tea seemed to be happy. For now at least, things are going back to a new normal and the nightmare is over. The Finale With much reflection, I’m able to share with you what originally went wrong, and hopefully my advice will be helpful for someone else out there. Initially, the issues all started with the first temperature drop in the pumidor. Instead of moving the puer to a warmer spot in the house, I panicked and made things worse. From there, it was a chain reaction that lasted for nearly two months. When one thing happened, I acted quick to try and fix it. That only sparked another reaction that affected the tea, then caused me to panic and make a quick fix, etc. Thankfully I took a deep breath and took some time tor reflect, and now that I can finally see this saga for its bigger picture, here are some tips hat can help you in the future: ​ If you think you can control puer, you're only kidding yourself. Puer is so much like a domesticated house cat; You can work with it but only on its own terms Invest in a hygrometer, and a good one at that. When cooler weather comes around, relocate your puer collection to a warmer part of the house. If your collection is too large to move, then create a makeshift pumidor that will carry enough tea to hold you over until warmer weather comes back around. You don't own your puer - it owns you. Like a kitty cat. Although adding water to your pumidor may give moisture to your puer, it doesn't necessarily add moister to the air. Check your tea regularly because if your tea absorbs too much moisture, it could potentially grow mold. Men - go clean the dishes that you left in the sink before your girl gets home (not tea advice but advice that will make your relationship significantly better). Leave your puer alone in the winter months. Seriously. If you live in a cooler climate where your puer can be affected in the winter months, then invest in some good oolongs to hold you over until spring/summer. Your puer is a house cat. Now go pet it. "Blissfully Tea Drunk"

Hello hello! Today I’m shedding light on which tea vendors you should or shouldn't trust in 2017. This is a grey area and is a topic that isn’t discussed publicly, mainly because it touches on controversies that repeatedly come up in the tea community. Essentially, when a tea company sells their house-pressed puer, are they selling what they say they are? I can go ahead and cut to the chase and say that there’s no real clear answer, but you can equip yourself with the right set of tools to be more cautious next time you buy that $20.00 old arbor Bing Dao tea cake… The Claims First I must share with you what brought this discussion up.There’s been discussion over a tea company that’s selling a sheng puer at $150.00 USD, and made with tea trees that are 1,000-1,600 years old. With their price point they're selling it for ¢0.28 a gram. This company (lets call them ‘Oolong Inc.’) is also selling a five year old sheng puer sourced from 1,000 year old tea trees for $80.00 USD. Fortunately for Oolong Inc., another company tried to pave the way for them by selling old-ass tea tree sheng puer. Last year a tea company infamously (lets call them ‘ChaI Corp.’) tried to sell a 100g tea cake for $60.00 each. What made this tea infamous is that Chai Corp. claimed this tea was from tea trees that were over 1,800 years old. This created discussions everywhere in the tea community, and has sparked a discussion that hasn't really gone away. The Bull Shit Lets be realistic here. For starters, the typical age for ‘old arbor’ tea trees is anywhere from 100-200 years old. Sometimes, and rarely, they can be older. However, the three oldest tea trees alive today are 1,700 (which died last year), 1,000, and 800 years old. These trees are quite rare and are often hard to come by considering all that they’ve been through. Since the oldest tea tree alive today is currently a century old, you can automatically dispel any claims of tea that comes from anything nearing the 800 year old mark. Last year, Yunnan Sourcing did some investigating and found that Chai Corp.’s ‘1,800’ year old tree turned out to be a famous 400-600 year old tea tree, and is protected by the Chinese government. To add to this, it’s even a federal crime to pick tea from this tea tree. At this point, you don’t need any more information to be convinced that Chai Corp’s claims were bullshit. Oolong Inc.’s claims are completely bogus and here’s why. If some of the oldest tea trees in China are between 800 and 1,000 years old, you can automatically discredit any of their teas said to come from trees that age, or any older than that. You can also discredit them because of how much they sell this tea for. So lets assume that there’s a farmer in Yunnan that has secretly grown a large orchard of tea trees that has survived close to the age of Christianity itself, and for over 30+ generations. And also lets assume that they have this collection of old tea trees. One, they wouldn’t be able to sell tea from these old ass trees for ¢0.28 a gram, much less $10.00 a gram. This tea would be so rare and inaccessible that they wouldn’t be able to sell any more than a few beengs of it, much less a tongs worth. It would be so rare that you could only sell it at auction and private deals, and would never see the light of day on the public and online market. Why Do They Lie? There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Although I blame the seller for endorsing ridiculous claims, it doesn’t stop there. For starters, its been documented by many tea companies that the tea markets in Yunnan are cut-throat, especially for non natives. Since tourism in the tea mountains is skyrocketing, a lot of locals associate foreigners with being wealthy. A lot of tea farmers are dirt-poor, and they sometimes oversell their product just to make a sale. With this, a lot of people get taken advantage of and often lied to when they go to the markets. So with that, here are some of the other possibilities to think of… The company bought from a farmer who lied about his claims The company tasted one tea, and was sold another (bait and switch) The farmer was telling the truth but due to poor translation, 160 year old tea trees turned into 1,600 year old tea trees The company bought tea from a 3rd party, and was lie to by the 3rd party The farmer actually believes in his claims and isn't lying. A lot of times, farmers are told by professionals false estimates on the age of their trees based on little to no fact Although none of the reasons listed above are the tea companies fault, they automatically endorse those falsehoods by selling the product. Even if the tea company was lied to, I still hold them accountable because they should have some basic knowledge over the product they’re selling. After all of this, if they don’t really know what they’re selling, then it makes me question their accountability with their other products as well. Who Should I Trust? With the recent controversies with Oolong Inc. and Chai Corp., it’s not unreasonable think a 10+ year old tea company would be trustworthy. However, what should you look for when buying tea and who should you believe? Although there isn't a black and white answer, here are some things you should look out for. For starters, look at the tea company in question and research their background. Almost anyone can find vendors and sell tea their self, but how does any specific tea company stand out as credible? Lets look at an example… Company A - Created over a decade ago by an e-bay seller of factory cakes, who sold them as a passion project. After 2-3 years of this, ‘Company A’ bought their own domaine, flew to China, and pressed their own puer cakes. ‘Company A’ has been traveling to China every year since and oversee the production of their tea (Yunnan Sourcing) Company B - Owns a tea house and becomes a youtube personality and endorses pseudo medicine practices. ‘Company B’ specializes in oolong, green, black, and white teas. ‘Company B’ started selling their own in-house puer cakes a year ago. Based on ‘Company A’ and ‘Company B’, who should you trust when buying puer? When considering the trustworthiness of a company you should consider their background in tea, what kind of tea they specialize, and importantly, how they acquired the tea itself. Did this company pop-up overnight without prior knowledge of tea? Is this company located in the United States, or are they located in China? What about White2Tea? White2Tea is a company ran by a guy who goes by the name of 2 Dog, and it’s important to mention him in this because he plays a role in the trustworthiness we have with tea companies. He’s made a name for himself by selling puer with western appeal, and most notable, for the way he markets his tea. Surprisingly, he releases tea without telling you what it is or where it comes from. His store works on a pricing system that operates like this: The more money you spend on a tea cake, the better the quality and the older the tree— Which also creates a bit of controversy because people don’t always trust the integrity of the seller. And without a fair amount of research, how can you trust someone who sells a $200.00 tea cake with little-to-no information to go off of? There’s only one way to judge a company like White2Tea, and the only way you can truthfully decide if any company is being honest or not. It’s whats in your cup. Conclusion In conclusion, theres a lot of deception in the tea community for quite some time now, and now that tea is becoming more popular, it’s more important now than ever to know where your tea comes from. There’s no real clear answer (although sometimes there is), and this topic always generates discussion. Fortunately, you hold the power to decide where you’re going to buy from. If you are not completely sure, remember to always ask questions, and sample as many teas as possible. Theres only one truth teller in this equation, and that’s whats in your cup. “Blissfully Tea Drunk"

Hello hello! 2016 is about to come to an end, and while there has been a lot of negativity over the past twelve months, there was also a lot of positivity. Sometimes it’s easy to be wrapped up in all of the negative, especially when social media and news outlets give off the perception that the world is ending. In reality, the world isn't ending. You woke up this morning, and you’re still here. So come join me to help celebrate some of the things that helped make 2016 not so bad, and helped make everything right again! This is the best of 2016! Before I go on to announce the winners, I just want to point out that besides the winner, the nominees are champions as well. The people who won, barely won by a hair’s width, as everyone mentioned here has been a positive influence in the world of tea… Best Tea Education The winner of this category has shown what it means to share tea information in the most neutral way possible. Not only did they bring up discussions that were helpful and insightful, they also go out of their way to make sure everyone feels as educated as they can by making their information accessible for any and all readers in the tea community. [Win] Tea DB @ TeaDB.org T-ching Blog @ tching.com World of Tea @t worldoftea.org Best Pottery This artist is being showcased for excellence in diversity and creativity by creating pottery thats not only tea ware, but also art. Severo Vostok Om [link to artist page] Best Tea Blog The winner selected has succeeded in making tea literature a pleasant experience, not only for their assessment of a certain tea, but interesting discussion topics that they bring to light. This person pushed the boundaries for their work in tea related content and is recognized for taking the extra step for making the most creative content in 2016. [Win] Cwyn - Death by Tea anon - A Tea Addict’s Journal Pau Murray - Two Dog Tea Blog Char - The Oolong Owl Amanda Wilson - Rambling Butterfly Thoughts Hobbes - The Half Dipper Georgia - Notes on Tea Best Oolong The following won for their excellence in sourcing an exceptional oolong for 2016. • [Win] Yunnan Sourcing recognized for Spring 2016 Chou Shi Dan Cong • Yunnan Sourcing recognized for Autumn 2016 Competition Grade Tie Guan Yin of Gande Village • Tea Urchin recognized for 2016 Snow Qing Xin • Taiwan Sourcing recognized for Spring 2016 Competition King of Jin Xuan Jade Oolong Best Tea Subscription This company won for their wide range of variety, education, and value of product given in monthly increments. [Win] Tea Box Express White2Tea Dachi Tea Co. Eco Cha Excellence in Innovation The winners creativeness brought a brand new light to the world of tea, and kept exploring new possibilities which became exceptional realities. This company not only did something thats new to the market, they keep motivating their audience in stunning ways. [Win] Bitter Leaf Teas - Recognized for their photography & customizable pottery Liquid Proust Teas - Recognized for their rum-barrel aged puer ‘Rummy Pu’ White2Tea - Recognized for their White-Black tea cake blend ‘Hot Brandy’ 2016 Internet Community Award Its an honor to award Char, aka Oolong Owl, the 2016 Internet Community Award. Oolong Owl took it upon herself to start Tea Chat, an IRC chat on Slack and has reached out to help bring more people together. Oolong Owl also takes it upon herself to get involved in the online tea community everywhere she goes, and does it with an open heart. 2016 National Community Award Crimson Lotus Tea is being awarded with the honorary 2016 National Community Award for excellence in bringing their local community together. Crimson Lotus Tea is ran by the couple Glen and Dawa, who make it their mission to bring exceptional teas to the market. Above all, they try their hardest to welcome as many people as possible with open arms, and do their best to make sure that every tea drinker they meet feels like they’re apart of a bigger family. Glen and Dawa really do set an example of what it means to run a company in 2016 - by being as positive and as friendly as one can be. They not only do this on an interpersonal level, they spread this nationally by the people that they reach… 2016 International Community Award It’s my pleasure to award Andrew of Liquid Proust Teas with the 2016 International Community Award. Andrew roams through out the tea community and personally reaches out to every one he comes across. Andrew not only invites you to a warm friendship, he personally takes it upon himself to make sure that you have the best tea and knowledge possible. Earlier this year, Andrew took it a step further by donating teas, for free, to those who were new to puer. Later, he started accepting donations to help make sure that everyone has a chance to try tea the right way. Andrew is known in the the community on an international level, and his passion and love for the community comes from a selfless place in his heart. People like Andrew help made 2016 an amazing year for tea, and has helped connect people from all over the world to the amazing world of tea… Best Aged Puer The following is being showcased for their excellence in releasing an exceptional aged puer. This puer was not only clean and in excellent condition, but carried exceptional flavor which was accessible for all tea drinkers. [Win] Crimson Lotus Tea - 2000 Old Warrior [Photos by Crimson Lotus Tea] Best Shou Puer The following won this award for their excellence in shou puer, and showcased the best in quantity, body, quality, and tasting profile. [Win] White2Tea recognized for 2015 Pretty Girls Whispering Pines Tea Company recognized for 2015 Lord of the Lakes Crimson Lotus Tea recognized for 2000 Old Warrior Yunnan Sourcing recognized for 2016 Yunnan Souring Green Mark [Photos by White2Tea] Best Sheng Puer The following winner is being recognized for their excellence in sheng puer, by bringing the best in quality, quantity, body, and tasting profile. This tea is a tier of excellence that is rarely brought forth into the market, and is one that definitely stood out above all the rest. [Win] Bitter Leaf Teas - WMD 2016 Spring Mansa White2Tea - 2016 Tea Don’t Lie White2Tea - 2016 Heart of the City Crimson Lotus Tea - 2016 Beneath an Emerald Sea Pu-Erh.Sk - 2016 Naka Crimson Lotus Tea - Slumbering Dragon [Photos by Bitter Leaf Teas] Best Puer Production 2016 The winner for this category is being recognized of their work in 2016. The winning company produced the best spring production of puer tea in 2016. They not only produced one incredible tea, they produced many incredible teas that were released in a single setting. [Win] Pu-Erh.Sk Crimson Lotus Teas Bitter Leaf Teas White2Tea The Essence of Tea Yunnan Sourcing [Photo by Pu-Erh.sk] Company of the Year All of the following companies are recognized for their excellent work in 2016. All of these tea companies worked tirelessly to bring you the best teas possible, and without their innovation, the tea community wouldn't be where it is today. These companies are shaping the future of tea as we know it. However, one company stood out just a bit taller than all of the rest. With their ingenious marketing and their delicious teas, it’s an honor to announce that the tea company of the year is… [Win] White2Tea Pu-Erh.Sk Yunnan Sourcing Crimson Lotus Tea What-Cha Taiwan Sourcing [Photo by White2Tea] Final Thoughts So there you have it! This has been an incredible year for tea, not only because of those who won, but also because of those who were nominated. Whenever you look back to the year 2016, try not to let the major events in the media suck you in a down spiral of negativity. Remember that the world of tea has brought us all together and has harmonized us all (unless you’re a 30 y/o Californian who claims to have created dragon tea balls, after only the minimal 5 years experience in tea, and take down other companies Instagram accounts in the process - you ass hat we still remember). I advise you all to sit back, take a deep breath, sip some tea, and let yourself get blissfully tea drunk… [Disclamer - I was not paid by any of the parties nominated or any of the parties that won. Or bribed. It would be nice to be bribed, as I can easily sell my soul for some good gushu. Or Lana Del Rey concert tickets]

Hello hello! Christmas is tomorrow, which means the only people working will be movie theatre workers and Chinese buffet employees. And while I'm at the movies and eating an endless line of mediocre ethnic food, a lot of you will be spending time with your family. I’m sure that many of you on holiday break from school, or work, and are forced to visit people out of obligation. Yes, I'm one of the fortunate ones who has family that either lives too far to visit, or are either six-feet under. In my free time this weekend, I’ll be getting trashed on all sorts of tea, and of course, complain about politics on a throwaway account on Reddit. While I get as tea drunk as I can, I might as well give White2Tea’s new ChocoBrick Raw Puer a try to see if it’ll make a spot in my Christmas line up. Opening I was amused opening the sheng puer, mainly because the box resembled a box of candy. The print and design on the box was fun to read, and without seeing any actual tea at this point, I was already entertained. When I opened the wrapper to this tea, I was further amused by the fact this iron brick had nine sections of tea, which appeared to be easy to break apart; News flash — it wasn't. After using my Hulk-like strength on this brick, I finally pulled out my pick to stab indents around one of the squares, which made it easier to break apart. Each of these nine individual squares weigh around nine grams each, so to use my ratio of one gram of tea per fifteen millimeters of water, I had to further break down this square of sheng puer. After breaking apart this square, I was able to scrape enough tea together to fit my parameters, and in return, created around three grams of tea dust. [Click on Image to Enlarge] Steeps 1 - 6 At the beginning of my session, I first picked up on light notes of grass with a floral undertone. As my steeps continued, a grass flavor came out from these floral notes and left the aftertaste of cream. Around the third and fourth infusion, this tea became notably sweeter, and the floral notes began warming my mouth like a pollinated lily growing wild in a pasture. However, all of this changed when the fire nation attacked. Heh, actually, remember when I earlier mentioned that I created a lot of tea dust while breaking apart this tea? Well, because of that, I ended up with a lot of tea fragments in my vessel. All of this means that at forty seconds, I had to repeat these infusions multiple times because everything was coming off strong as hell, and all at once. Steeps 7 - 12 Everything with Sheng Chocolate was still coming off punchy, with an ever so slight bitter undertone. After the seventh steep, the tea lost its punch and was able to increase my infusion times. Now with order being restored in my cup, this tea was giving me a velvet like texture that was coating my tongue. Along with the velvet like texture came with the notes of dry grass and, oddly enough, cat nip— Yes, cat nip. You probably think this is strange, right? Well I thought it was strange as well! Anyways, as my infusion times kept getting longer and longer, this tea started losing its overall profile. At the twelfth infusion I was ready to move on from this tea. Although I could have kept using this tea further on for a few more infusions, I decided that it was time to go ahead and draw my conclusion. Conclusion I think that the 2016 Chocobrick Raw Puer is an exceptional daily drinker, especially considering that its only $14.00 USD. Although I was easily amused at this tea’s presentation, I personally can’t imagine spending much more money on an iron brick because of how much of a bitch they are to pry apart. This tea came at a surprise because of how great the material used in this brick was. It was not only complex, it had excellent texture which is something that is uncommon for a tea at this price point in todays market. This is an excellent reflection at the kind of quality that White2Tea presents to their consumer base. However, I immediately take off points for this being an iron brick. Maybe its just me, but I get irritated when amazing material gets used in iron pressed teas, because it usually doesn’t present the material in the best way. Overall, I think this tea presents a fun experience for anyone who enjoys sheng puer, and you don’t need to be an expert tea drinker to have fun with it. So while you’re stuck in a room with family that you’re not happy being around, and while you’re around family members that you secretly wish would drop dead, I will be spending time drinking tea. I’ll be home in my pajamas, watching TV, eating Chinese food, and getting drunk on more than just tea, I can almost guarantee that Chocobrick Raw Puer will be apart of my Christmas line up… Rating - 8.0

Hello hello! The first day of winter is only three days away, and since winter is coming, so is the cold. Where I live the weekend is supposed to get freezing cold, and with temperatures below 32ºf and a chance of rain, so you could say that it may freeze over this coming weekend. So what does all of this mean for me? For starters, I’ll be complaining about something that I cant change. However, there is something I can change as far as my weekend goes. In my forecast, I predict that there will be 100% chance of a session with Bitter Leaf Tea’s Ice Queen. This is a nine year old Bing Dao sheng puer that will definitely be drank by me, but will this cold named hot tea be enjoyed by you in this freezing weather? Here’s what to expect when Ice Queen comes into your forecast… Steeps 1 - 4 First, before I started my session, I took a deep breath of this tea and noted that it smelled brilliantly of sweet sugary green grapes. I started to chill out with ice queen by giving 6.5g of this tea a quick rinse. Before sliding into my session, I took a deep breath of this teas wet leaf and noticed that it smelled of a deep sour Concord grapes. Now with that out of the way, I went to dethaw my lips. At first, this tea had so much going on that I had to slow down my sled and pay closer attention to what was in my cup, but After a few more steeps, I was able to dethaw the frost that was sleeting over my vision of this tea. Ice Queen hit the front of my tongue with the sweet taste of sugary dates, and left the front of the tongue with a cooling sensation. It then glided its way the back of my throat and reminded me of a roasted honey - an amber like consistency that felt like a bourbon infused syrup. To top everything off, it left my tongue was coated in a deep-green oil that warmed every tastebud in my body. Steeps 5 - 8 I continued to snow-plow on to my fifth infusion, which surprised me because the oil coating that I noted earlier sharply dropped off and was no longer noticeable. Fortunately, the tasting notes of dates transformed into the tasting notes of a biting aged barrel of whisky. Although this tea was still full bodied, the remanence of roasted honey became more raw, and the syrupy mouth feel was dissipating all together. On the bright side, I could now feel this tea in my chest and it was making me feel like I was melting by a fireplace. Steeps 9 - 12 Just when I was expecting this sleigh ride to glide blissfully down a snow-capped mountain, it dove right off the cliff and plummeted into a pit of deeply roasted pile of sencha. My the ninth infusion, almost all of the boisterous aspects of this tea were completely gone, and the only thing left was a biting green tea with the aftertaste of honey. In other words, the Polar Express laid down its tracks and by the twelfth infusion, made its way to the North Pole - leaving everything else behind. Conclusion Ice Queen started out phenomenal, mainly because it hits your tongue like a sheet of acid. Then suddenly, it mellows out into something that is pleasant all its own, but not nearly as superior as its beginning steeps. Although this tea’s later steeps were incomparable to its golden start, it was saved by its internal warmth that made you feel like you were wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace. To add, I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that this is a nine year old Bing Dao, mainly because of how clean and well preserved is it. To add, this tea didn't possess any musky basement notes nor was it dusty. Whoever had this tea clearly took great care of it. Overall, I think that Ice Queen was a great experience because not only did I get to drink something so euphoric, I was enraptured by the way this tea made me feel which only left me wanting more. If you get the chance to experience its euphoria for a short period of time, its up to you to decide rather if Ice Queen will be in your weather forecast or not…

Hello hello! 2016 is coming to an end and thankfully so. John Oliver expressed my sentiments with perfection: “Fuck 2016!” There were so many things that happened over the course of this year that absolutely bombed, even worse than the Samsung Note 7 (pun intended). Lets also not forget about how the internet went apeshit over the Cincinnati Zoo (again, pun intended), or how the Democratic National Convention lubed up Bernie Sanders real good for a galactic butt-fucking. I mean, how could we not forget how Donald Trump - well, I’m going to leave that one open ended. I’m still holding out that all of this was a dream that we’re anxiously waiting to be jolted from. Can we sacrifice him to get Maurice White, Alan Rickman, or even David Bowie back? No? Damn. Despite the vast sea of negativity that 2016 brought us, there was just as much positivity to counteract the darkness. The world of tea had an incredible year, and with this being my first year in tea I'm glad I started now more so than any other year. In fact, I’ve really polished myself up in tea-dusted fingertips with my muffin-top flopping out of my unbuttoned blue jeans as I gorge myself on puer thats too good for me. With that mental image in your head, lets move forward into what made this year so great. The following are some of the exceptional entities that shined the light on 2016, and made that $200.00 beeng a justifiable purchase. Here are the nominations on 'The Oolong Drunk Awards' for the best of 2016…. Excellence in Tea Education - The following are nominated for their incredible work with spreading knowledge about tea, along with discussing issues that created and sparked conversation. T-Ching Blog @ tching.com TeaDB @ TeaDB.org World of Tea @ worldoftea.org Best Tea Blog - The following are recognized for their excellence in reviews, fun articles, or other tea related literature that is entertaining to read - fact or fiction. Cwyn - Death by Tea anon - A Tea Addict’s Journal Pau Murray - Two Dog Tea Blog Char - The Oolong Owl Amanda Wilson - Rambling Butterfly Thoughts Hobbes - The Half Dipper Georgia - Notes on Tea Excellence in Innovation - The following are nominated for their creativeness in bringing new light to the world of tea. These people push boundaries for their work in tea related content, and are recognized for taking steps that no other tea company have taken before. Liquid Proust Teas - Recognized for their rum-barrel aged puer ‘Rummy Pu’ White2Tea - Recognized for their White-Black tea cake blend ‘Hot Brandy’ Bitter Leaf Teas - Recognized for their photography & customizable pottery Best Tea Subscription - The following are nominated for their wide range of variety, education, and value of tea given in monthly increments. White2Tea Eco Cha Tea Box Express Dachi Tea Co. Best Oolong - The following are nominated for their excellence in oolong. Yunnan Sourcing recognized for Spring 2016 Chou Shi Dan Cong Yunnan Sourcing recognized for Autumn 2016 Competition Grade Tie Guan Yin of Gande Village Tea Urchin recognized for 2016 Snow Qing Xin Taiwan Sourcing recognized for Spring 2016 Competition King of Jin Xuan Jade Oolong Best Shou Puer - The Following are nominated for their excellence in shou puer, and showcased the best in quality, quantity, body, and tasting profile. Whispering Pines Tea Company recognized for 2015 Lord of the Lakes White2Tea recognized for 2015 Pretty Girls Crimson Lotus Tea recognized for 2000 Old Warrior Yunnan Sourcing recognized for 2016 Yunnan Souring Green Mark Best Sheng Puer - The following are nominated for their excellence in sheng puer, and showcased the best in quality, body, energy, accessibility, value, and tasting profile. White2Tea - 2016 Tea Don’t Lie White2Tea - 2016 Heart of the City Crimson Lotus Tea - 2016 Beneath an Emerald Sea Bitter Leaf Teas - WMD 2016 Spring Mansa Pu-Erh.Sk - 2016 Naka Crimson Lotus Tea - Slumbering Dragon Best Puer Production 2016 - The following are nominated for their excellence in releasing multiple spring teas in a single setting. The following companies not only released a single incredible tea, but rather, released an ensemble of exceptional and extraordinary teas for their 2016 productions. Crimson Lotus Teas Bitter Leaf Teas White2Tea The Essence of Tea Yunnan Sourcing Pu-Erh.Sk Tea Company of the Year - The following are nominated for their excellent work in 2016. All of these tea companies worked tirelessly to bring you the best teas possible, and without their innovation, the tea community wouldn't be where it is today. These companies are shaping the future of tea as we know it. Congratulations to these companies nominated for their best year yet. What-Cha Pu-Erh.Sk Yunnan Sourcing White2Tea Crimson Lotus Tea Taiwan Sourcing ~ Other awards will be given out this year, four of which have no nominations, as there is still deliberation on who should be nominated for those said categories — winning will be open to anyone. Here are the following categories that will receive winners for the best of 2016… Best Pottery Best Tea-Related Instagram Feed The 2016 National Community Award The 2016 International Community Award Winners will be announced December 28th, 2016. Congratulations to those that are nominated, as you are all winners for making 2016 such a great year for tea. Tune in to see if you or your favorite selections will win! “Blissfully Tea Drunk” ~ Disclaimer The following are nominated for their work in 2016. I’m not represented or promoted by any entity, as this is a non-profit award. This was done in part to shed light on the exceptional work done by said entities, and the winners are selected unbiasedly. Any attempt to bribe/persuade yourself to win will automatically disqualify you from running.

Hello hello! In my last review I wrote about Old Reliable by White2Tea. This is White2Tea’s first year to release their own house-blended shou puers, and since I already went over Brown Sugar I thought I’d give Pretty Girls a go! Pretty Girls was the most expensive shou puer pressing in White2Tea’s release, and at $40.00 a beeng I had to find out what made this tea so special — and since it’s described as ‘our best blended shou’ on their site I had to get my hands on this beeng. I was incredibly impressed with Old Reliable, but will Pretty Girls hold up? Lets find out! Opening When opening this 200g beeng I could smell the light scent of a forest floor. When opening the wrapper, it even looked like a forest floor was thrown into a blender and pressed into a disk. It’s appearance was rich in color, and more so than other ripe teas that I’ve looked at. I took my puer pick and went on to break apart 6.5g of tea for my 100ml vessel. One thing I noticed was that this cake felt drier than Old Reliable, and was packed tighter as well. Even when breaking it up, I created more tea dust than I’d like to admit. Steeps 1-4 Before I started my session with this tea, I did a quick rinse to wash away any impurities that could be resting on this cake. After that, I proceeded to my first infusion. The first tasting note I picked up on was the notes of cedar wood as well as a soft sensation of wet leaf pile. As I continued my steeps, these notes progressed into something creamier and smoother. I was surprised by this because along with the creaminess, came sweetness with trails of bitterness. I’ve barely started my session with this tea and I was already impressed. Steeps 5-8 As I continued my sessions with this tea, so did its appearance. At the fifth steeping, this tea’s soup became noticeably darker. This is something that also caught my attention because other shou puers by White2Tea didn’t brew up as somber. As well as this teas warm colored soup, the creaminess that I noted earlier sharply turned into the notes of caramel. This was the exact moment that this tea’s body peaked as its body continued to fill the room. Pretty Girls notably left a candied-caramel aftertaste that lingered on my teeth, and seemed to stick around in the deep corners of my mouth. Even after letting my mouth rest for ten minutes, I could still taste lasting sweetness that stay glued to my teeth. Steeps 9-14 Pretty Girls was in it for the long haul as I pushed its infusion times past the minute mark. This tea’s powerful body started to calm down as my soup started to turn from a black-brown into a golden brown color. It still had notes of an autumn leaf pile, and the after sweetness of candied caramel. But on this tea’s fourteenth steep, it was done. Pretty Girls packed up its bags, hauled a cab over, and left the scene of the crime. Overview Pretty Girls is arguably White2Tea’s best house blended shou puer. It’s transformation was incredible, and left me wondering why I haven’t ordered a beeng of this tea earlier than I did. Something that stood out to me about Pretty Girls was the fact that it was denser and had a more profound sweetness, something that was completely unexpected. However, picking apart this tea was rather difficult and created a lot of tea dust. Besides that, this tea is one that I’m considering to re-order for the long haul and is one thats greatly under appreciated. I hope that this is a tea that you get the chance to brew for yourself, and see why Pretty Girls is a mother f*cker…. Rating - 9.7

Hello hello! Now that we’re being thrown right into Fall, grocery store isles begin to fill with pumpkin spice and salted caramel. As each year goes by, the pumpkin spice fad grows larger and larger. A lot of people drink pumpkin spice in the fall because it signals that winter is coming, and more importantly, summer is over. As we make the long and narrow path into winter, it’s time to warm things up a bit! There’s no better way to warm up than to drink a warm tea. Shou seems to fit the bill, and further, so does Old Reliable by White2Tea. Opening When I first opened my beeng of Old Reliable by White2Tea, I thought it looked rather odd. This was my very first ripe puer and was surprised at the jumbled mesh of brown leaf I was looking at. Furthermore it possessed a peculiar odor - dirt with a hint of smoke. To my surprise, this beeng broke off pretty easily, as I broke off 6.5g of this tea to use in my 100ml vessel. Steeps 1-4 On my first infusion, this tea immediately hit me with a mix of dirt and Earth, with a sweet aftertaste of cedar tree bark. It was also very smooth and continued to get richer and richer. Along with the tea getting richer, there was also a note of tobacco hiding behind the sweetness which mixed beautifully well with the earthy notes. Steeps 5-8 The liquor of this tea got noticeably dark.The strong taste of earth started to phase away as rich notes of wood and tobacco took over. Another aspect of this tea that taught my attention was that it’s smoothness started to really stand out. It glided past my throat and could easily be felt in my chest as it made its way to my stomach. Around the ninth steep though, I started to break out in a sweat as my nerves started to calm. Every time I drink this tea, I start to break out in a hot sweat because of this teas energy. Although this tea is calming, its quick to hit my system with everything that it has. Steeps 8 - 12 Old Reliable started to calm down as the body of this tea started to disappear. On these longer steeps, a caramel-like tasting note slowly made its way to the surface as the cedar and earthy notes started to phase away all together. Although this tea’s body started to weaken, it’s sweetness was still present and made itself known up to the last infusion. It finished off with a light and sweet tobacco finish that left me disappointed when it was gone. Overview Overall, I think Old Reliable is one of the easiest shou puers to drink. On top of that, I also think it’s one of the best. For the price of this cake, I’m blown away at the quality of this tea. The tasting profile was rich and complex, but wasn't too complex that a new tea drinker wouldn’t be able to detect everything thats in this tea. To add, I’ve even gone through an entire beeng of this puer and already ordered a few more to replace it! This was one of my favorite shou puers in my collection because not only is it a daily drinker, it’s also an excellent tea. There’s no other shou like Old Reliable… Rating - 9.6

Hello hello! Fall is just around the corner, and with a change in seasons comes a change in tea. Just like in our personal lives, tea changes. A tea won’t taste the same if made seasons apart, much less months apart. Right when you think you’ve figured out a tea or a region of tea, theres always something that comes up which defies what you previously thought. Just like in life, people change and people grow. However, with change and growth, there are still things hiding in the depths of our soul that we want to face, or may never face. It’s a facade, or another aspect of yourself that you may never discover. So in today’s review, I would like to share with you how I had to change and how we can all relate to Alter Ego by Bitter Leaf Teas… Opening - Here in front of me I have a 250g brick of 2016 Spring Mansa Huang Pian. While looking at this tea, I see two cats in disguise on the wrapper. However, when I opened this tea, I was met with a neifei , which is a small paper slip of paper that’s typically used to identify a puer. What struck me as odd about this is that this neifei is that it was a completely different style and design than Bitter Leaf Tea’s traditional neifeis. This is because this tea was sourced by Bitter Leaf Teas. I liked this brick because it was particularly easy to break apart. Typically bricks have a tight compression, but this one was very simple to pry apart and was nearly hassle free. Alter Ego was off to a good start. Steeps 1-6 - I started my session with Alter Ego with a quick rinse, the proceeded to my first steep. I used 6.5g for a 100ml vessel, with water at a temperature of 180ºf. My first impression of this tea is that it has a light and broth-like body, with a salty aftertaste that left echoes of moss in my mouth. After steeping this tea a few more times, a plush sweetness emerged from the saltiness which helped leave a warm lasting sweetness in the cheeks of my mouth. As I continued onto my minute-long infusion at steep six, this tea was in full swing. Although this tea was full bodied, it was still very smooth and left a sweet impression. Steeps 7-12 - My session with Alter Ego started to wind down around the eighth infusion. Unlike other puer teas, every single tasting note in this soup was still detectable. One thing about these later steeps that really caught my attention was how warm the broth was. Although this tea was fading out, it was still warm and until my last steeping with it. It made a nice transition from full, to weak, then disappeared completely. It had an incredible transition, which is something thats hard to find in most newer puers. Conclusion - Overall, my session with this tea was very memorable. Not only did it make me think, I was blown away at the quality of this tea, especially for the price. These bricks weigh 250g, and for the price of the brick its one hell of a steal. If anything, this tea is probably one of the best values of tea that I’ve seen all year. Sometimes with tea, you sacrifice quality for price. However, Bitter Leaf Tea’s did an amazing job at sourcing a tea that doesn’t sacrifice anything. Yet again this is another offering from Bitter Leaf Teas that won’t leave you disappointed. Alter Ego - Through out my session with this tea, I took the time to reflect into my own life and particularly looked back at a time in my life when I had an alter ego myself. Back when I was younger, there we’re many aspects of my life that I was never completely happy about. The main thing that comes to mind is how my heart suffered for a great number of years until I finally came to the self realization of who I was. On the outside you would say that I was outgoing, confident, and pretty happy overall. Well, just like this tea, there we’re many things different on the inside than on the outside. When I was younger my personality was completely different; I was scared, shy, nervous, and unsure of what was to come of my life. What do you do when you think one way but feel a different way? What would you do when your mind and your soul tell you two contradicting things? Would you say you we’re hiding your inner truth from yourself more than anything else? As I kept drinking this tea, I kept reminiscing to the moment that I new I had to be myself. Although something may look traditional on the outside, like this tea, the truth of it all is something completely unexpected ended up turning out for the better. I remember growing up such a certain way, that I was afraid that something horrible would happen to be if I was completely honest with myself. But the moment that really made me face my inner self was a great and momentous depression took over and made me look at myself in a way that I never had before. But when I started to look at these inner truths, I started to get sick. Like I said, my brain was so focused on telling me one thing that when my heart and soul tried to tell it something different, it created a storm inside me that I was instantly thrown into. I spent two weeks incredibly sick — unable to eat, drink, or even leave the bed. The stronger the storm got, the sicker I became. Thunder turned to sadness, lightening turned to vertigo, and the hurricane brought on nausea. This ‘hurricane’ was so large and so strong that there wasn't even an eye to this storm. After three weeks have gone by, I questioned if this storm would ever end, and would I ever see then end of it. There was an alternative to leaving this hurricane, but that meant saying a fine goodbye to everything else I knew and love. That meant I’d have to let this storm consume me, and say goodbye to life altogether. Do I live through the storm or do I end it by ending ‘it’? At the brink of my sanity, I battled the storm as long as I could. I had already lost a bunch of weight and I was missing so much of life that I was ready to exit the storm. Then, I looked in the mirror one last time and came to a last and final conclusion — I may be tired putting up this fight but I'm not goddamn quitter. So, with one foot in font of the other, I tried my hardest to walk out of this storm. I realized that the best way to walk out of this hurricane alive was to accept the truth that was trying to kill me — the truth that created this inner storm. With all my strength and all of my might, I looked in the mirror and took a long and hard look. Was I saw was a version of myself that looked neglected, and all I needed to do was love it to make it well again. After thinking long and hard, I pushed my mind aside and poured out as much love as I could to the guy standing in font of me in the mirror. I held the truth out in front of me, and all I had to do was say it for this storm to be over. With a deep breath I said it with every ounce of strength I had. “I like men.” As soon as I said it, the storm clouds started to fade away and soon after, the storm was completely gone. I opened my bedroom window and was met with a ray of sunshine, all with a sense of pride and satisfaction. With enduring everything that I went through, I survived. Just like this tea, there are many things about ourselves that we will continue to discover which will defy any exception we had thought of previously. Alter Ego by Bitter Leaf Teas redefines what Huang Pian material can really do. This tea, even after multiple sessions with it, still manages to surprise me with a new expectation of what it means to be drinking tea. So take this tea, sit down, relax, and try to think more about what it means to be the truest version of yourself. Look in a mirror and be sure to love the person thats always looks back at you… Rating: 9.0

Hello hello! Usually when I review tea I describe its strengths and weaknesses, then finalize the review by concluding if the tea is worth ordering or not. However, today is going to be very different. In today’s review I’m going to put two of Crimson Lotus Tea’s beengs against each other. While these teas are undeniably great, one will definitely stand out. If we put Jingmai Love and Beneath an Emerald Sea in the ring against each other, who will come out as victor? Lets find out! Steeps 1-4 Before I send these teas into the ring, they must start training at the crack of dawn. Both teas woke up to a quick rinse and was given a few minutes to wake up. I used 6.5g of each tea in a 100ml vessel and used a water temp of 180º. Jingmai Love was awake and ready to start its training. Jingmai Love started its pre-workout steeps with a light vegetal body that carried a warm undertone. As this tea kept waking up to the third and fourth infusions, it kept revealing its strengths that made up its palate - a broth like base that made the tastebuds droll as the tea glided blissfully down the back of my throat. Its muscles were savory as it kept pushing past its pre-workout, and left a light bitterness at the tip of the tongue — which arose due to the immense strength that this tea was waiting to release. Beneath an Emerald Sea started its pre-workout steeps by knocking everything over that stood in its way. It entered the room with a heavy herb infused vegetal body that was so thick, it overpowered everything in sight. As the Emerald Sea continued its pre-workout, it kept getting more and more oily and left a slight bitter undertone. However, unlike it’s opponent, it had a slight layer of tartness that left a fruity impression that Emerald Sea quickly hid away, as it didn't want its opponent to think it was anything less than powerful. Steeps 5 - 8 Emerald Sea moved from its pre-workout to its actual workout. Emerald Sea’s routine included jogging, weight lifting, and practicing its moves on the punching bag. Emerald Sea did this by coming off more oily than it did before, which led to it unleashing an immense herb like tasting note that was too strong for the tastebuds to handle. All of Emerald Sea’s characteristics started to morph into each other which made it rather difficult to detect each and every individual flavor. Emerald Sea gave its workout an oil and broth like finish as it made its way to the arena to start planning its strategy Jingmai Love took a different route than Emerald Sea, as it started its strength training on the lighter side to build more stamina. It started its strength training with a broth like green body that filled every corner of the room that it was in. The further Jingmai Love was pushed, the rougher it became as it slid past the tastebuds leaving a warm blanket over the tongue. Jingmai Love took an unexpected turn in its weight training by releasing a waxy texture that only made itself know when it was pushed past the minute and a half mark. Jingmai Love was starting to unleash something fierce as it contained all of it’s energy into something unexpectedly strong, which was evident by the faint herby and bitter drops of sweat that it left behind, as it packet up its gym equipment and started to strategize a game-plan. Steeps 9 - 12 Jingmai Love and Emerald Sea made its way to the boxing arena, which was full of prospectors that were awaiting a match of a lifetime. Promoters started placing bets on each of the teas, and since both were newcomers this year nobody really knew what to expect. Emerald Sea and Jingmai Love made it to the arena and started preparing for the upcoming fight, and finished up last minute business before taking center stage. Now, Emerald Sea started to mellow out in the dressing room as it released the bulk of its energy earlier on during its workout. It was light, smooth, but not as sweet as before. Although Emerald Sea still held onto its green body, everything was disappearing as it reached its twelfth steep. On the other hand, Jingmai Love was still releasing a great amount of energy in these later steeps, which only kept growing its strength and power. When Jingmai reached its twelfth steep, it was still able to keep going and notes of a thick and herb-like coating still present. Yet, due to its stamina by holding out on releasing everything at once, Jingmai was able to hold onto its flavors until the 16th steep, when a light vegetal green tasting note was the only thing this tea was able to give. The Ring - Jingmai Love and Emerald Sea were called out into the ring. They both entered the arena as the audience roared with excitement. They made their way past the judges, head held high and confident they’d defeat each other. They promptly put on their boxing gloves, put on their head gear, and climbed over the ropes into the ring. Both teas stood as they watched the announcer make his way to the center of the ring with microphone in hand. “We have Beneath the Emerald Sea weighing in at 200g a beeng, and Jingmai Love weighing in at the same. Tonight, we are going to witness the most anticipated event in the history of professional sheng productions, for the heavy weight sheng championship!” the announcer shouted with enthusiasm and excitement. “Are you rrreeeeaaaaddddyyyyy?” He continued. The audience went wild with excitement as the announcer built anticipation. “For the thousand in attendance, and the millions watching around the world. From the capital city of your tea vessels, lets get ready to RRUUMMBBLLEE!!!!” The crowd was ecstatic, which only made Jingmai Love and Emerald Sea even more pumped to take each other out. Then, without a moment to spare, the bell rang and both sheng went to the middle of the ring. Both teas went at each other as Jingmai Love started to jab at Emerald Sea. Emerald Sea defended itself by holding its fists to his face, then caught Jingmai Love by surprise when he threw his arm around and punched him at the side of his jaw. It was a clear uppercut! Jingmai was unable to block the punch and quickly stumbled his way backwards. He clearly underestimated Emerald Sea’s power. Emerald Sea kept coming at Jingmai at full force as Jingmai was up against the ropes with his gloves up - parrying the punches as they came. Jingmai was too blindsided to barely make a move. He tried his best to throw any jabs in at Emerald Sea to try and rise above him, but at this point it seemed pointless. All he could do is wait Emerald Sea out. As Jingmai Love’s patience grew thinner and thinner, he had to think of something to get Emerald Sea off of him. Then, he hooked Emerald Sea on Emerald Sea’s ribcage which took him aback. Emerald Sea started to lose breath and was growing weak, but regained its breath and went back towards Jingmai Love, threw a cross with his stronger right arm, and knocked out Jingmai Love. The referee made his way to Jingmai Love as Emerald Sea went to the neutral corner, and waited for a response out of his opponent. The referee bent down by Jingmai Love and started counting down to eight. “One. Two. Thee. Four…” the referee shouted as everyone in the audience held their breath, waiting for Jingmai Love to get up. This is it. I have to get up, Jingmai Love thought to himself. “Five.” You trained too hard for this. "Six.” Jingmai Love took a deep breath. “Seven.” Jingmai Love raised his head, slowly rose up, and tried to get a good balance. Jingmai Love took a deep breath as the audience cheered him on. He went back to his corner and waited for the bell to signal both fighters to go back into their match. “Time to take this motherfucker down,” Jingmai Love said to himself as the bell rang, and charged to Emerald Sea. Emerald Sea was met with a newly recharged Jingmai Love as Jingmai Love kept coming at him with punch after punch. However, due to emitting all of his energy earlier in the round, Emerald Sea was too weak to fight back. Jingmai Love took a step back and waited for Emerald Sea to deliver a punch back. Strangely enough, he didn't. Emerald Sea was too weak to respond, but still didn't want to give up. Emerald Sea balled up his fist and took his last swing at Jingmai Love. Due to exhaustion, Emerald Sea barely grazed Jingmai Love’s chin and swung into open air. The weight of his arm swung him around as he fell to the ground — too weak to get back up. The crowd was going wild as the announcer stepped into the ring, walked over to Jingmai Love, and shouted into his microphone, “we have a winner!” The announcer grabbed Jingmai Love’s wrist and quickly raised it in the air, as everyone in the stadium cheered so loud you couldn't even hear the announcer. Jingmai Love was so overcome with joy that he was almost in shock. He couldn't believe it. I’m the champion Jingmai Love thought to himself as he stood tall, full of pride after winning the match against Emerald Sea… ~~~

Hello hello! This week has started to calm down since the car accident earlier this month. Between the insurances and my neck injury, I’ve been having trouble keeping my tea drinking on its regular schedule. However, now that things are calming down, I decided to relax by drinking a shou puer. I don't typically drink shou but I was looking in my tea storage and wanted to try something different, and since it rained all week I thought Moychay’s 2006 Golden Buds Shou Puer would be the perfect choice. Last month I reviewed a tea from Moychay and was pleasantly surprised by it, so will this beeng be as memorable as the last one I tried? Lets find out! Opening One thing that jumped out at me about this wrapper is the beautiful design. Something else that caught my eye is that this wrapper is an optical illusion. When you turn this wrapper on its side you’ll be met with a face looking back at you! Anyways, when I opened the wrapper I was met with a beautiful golden-brown beeng that was easy to pry apart. The tea leafs jumped out of this beeng, and resembled the falling rain that was happening right outside my window. It appeared to be clean and well preserved, something that I praise this tea on considering it’s ten years old. Steeps 1-4 My first session with this tea started out with a quick rinse. I used 6.6 grams of tea for my 100ml vessel. On my first infusion, and before I took my first sip of 2006 Golden Buds, I noticed that this tea’s liquor appeared to be clean. When I took my first sip, I noticed was a very full-bodied taste of olive-wood that quickly filled the mouth. It was light and had a faint linger of tree bark which lasted until the fourth infusion. Steeps 5-8 Surprisingly, it was the fifth infusion of this tea when a light sweetness made itself known. As my infusion times became longer and longer, the tea became bolder and bolder. However, it still retained that heavy olive-wood flavor but started to become noticeably smoother with a velvet-like finish, which made this tea even more pleasant. Steps 9-14 Around the ninth infusion, this tea transformed into a thicker version of itself. Just when I thought this tea couldn't get more full bodied, it kept filling the room with intense notes of olive wood and tree bark. The tea’s sweetness also grew stronger as well, and started to leave a oil-like texture that continued to dance with your tastebuds long after you had taken the last sip of this tea. Unfortunately though, on this teas eleventh infusion, the cops were called to break the party and every aspect of this tea left in a hurry. Of course, one of the party goers got shot in the back as the cop felt threatened. If the cops were called for a sheng party, we all know things would go down very differently… (#shoulivesmatter ) I was able to stretch out this tea until the 14th steep, but it was clear that it was well past its prime. Conclusion I would like to first compliment this tea on the fact that it wasn’t bitter and didn't fail to evolve throughout out my session with it. On a different note, this tea only retained the same tasting notes through out its session and didn’t hold a strong palate of flavors. However, although this tea held a one dimensional tasting note, its changing texture and body kept 2006 Golden Buds from being dull. Overall, I think that this is a great way to introduce a new tea drinker into a shou that has some age on it. Although this tea isn't revolutionary, it is refreshing to come home to a delicious daily drinker that will never disappoint. Rating 7.6 disclamer - This tea was sent to me by Moychay