Hello hello! Manichee is one of White2Tea’s new 2017 Teas. Manichee was released along with Pussy, which I reviewed last week. In case you didn’t read that review, Pussy was savory, sweet, and had a great profile… heh. Anyways, Manichee is one of White2Tea's new teas that’s described to have a Yiwu character. It’s also described to be sweet and calming. However, this tea sits at a whopping $79.00 a beeng. So for the price, is Manichee as sweet and as calming as White2Tea describes? Lets find out. Steeps 1 - 4 For this session, I used 6.6g of tea for a 100ml vessel, and water at a temp of 185ºf. Anyways, Manichee started out by having a soft body of freshly cut grass, and a light medicinal undertone. After a few more steeps, a sweetness came out from the depths of this tea, and worked its way to the sides of the cheeks. After a fourth steep, the medicinal undertone became more prominent as the tasting notes of strawberries/green grapes pushed it forward. Steeps 5 - 8 Manichee’s body became thick as its sweet green grass tasting notes transformed into hay. This tea got progressively sweeter as its sugary fruity notes became louder and louder. After an eighth steep, the fruity notes seemed to take a back seat as a light woody tasting note made itself known. At this point, Manichee was less sweet and became more brassy, almost like something out of the Jingmai region. Steeps 9 - 12 Manichee continued to transform as its texture turned more into a broth than it did a tea. Its soup was deep yellow in color, and almost appeared to be a light orange. Anyways, the medicinal forefront of this tea was smoother than before. However, the light fruity undertones made their self known again as they bled blissfully together with the soft brassy notes. After a fourteenth steep, this tea was done and it was time to say goodbye to Manichee…. Overview Manichee is a 2017 tea by White2Tea that first came off with a strong Yiwu character, but later, gave off suggestive hints of having some Jingmai origins. The fruitiness was an instant standout in this sheng, and gave it more of an edge as far as sweetness goes. One thing I liked about this tea is that its fruitiness mixed beautifully with the medicinal body, and blended harmoniously to give it a balanced blend. Manichee’s sweetness wasn't too sweet, which is a plus in my book. Overall, I think that Manichee is a solid tea but as far as the price point goes, its really hard to tell if tea is worth the price. You see, this tea is still very humid and it’s hard to tell where its character will go in the next few months. It will need more time to settle form pressing before knowing for sure. However, its a good tea now and I would definitely drink it as it is. So while Manichee is no ‘Pussy’, it still holds up as one of the standouts in White2Tea’s 2017 productions… Would I Beeng This Tea? I would wait a few months for the humidity to go down, but yes, I would beeng this tea.

Hello hello! White2Tea released their new 2017 productions just a few weeks ago. White2Tea released these teas and gave them funky names, including naming a beeng ‘Pussy’. Pussy is a tea that’s described by White2Tea as, “…a sweet, heavy, and fragrance forward tea.” Pussy’s wrapped in a beeng paper that’s designed with a high societal woman holding two cats. According to the wrapper, Pussy could be referenced to the slang word of a cat, or a woman's hoo-hah… Or both? Despite this teas name, is Pussy as sweet and fragrant as White2Tea describes? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 I used 6g of Pussy for a 90ml vessel, and used water at temperature of 185ºf. Anyways, Pussy opened up to a medicinal tasting note on the first infusion, and left an aftertaste of stevia in the throat. After a few more steeps, Pussy kept opening up to the green tasting notes of freshly cut grass, with a heavy and broth-like texture. Steeps 5 - 8 Pussy exploded in my mouth as the medicinal tasting notes became more prominent. Pussy’s body was more like a soup at this point as its body also brought forward the tasting notes of freshly harvested hay, and also left behind a faint fruity aftertaste that closely resembled green grapes. Along with the fruity sweetness, there was a faint echo of cotton candy that seemed to be getting louder and bolder. Steeps 9 - 12 As I sipped down every last drop of Pussy, the undertones of sweet green grapes became more noticeable in the mouth. With the mixture of these tasting notes, this tea’s fruity undertones more and more resembled cotton candy, and left a lasting sweetness in the mouth. After the last few steeps, the medicinal body mixed blissfully with the cotton candy undertone to create a meditative combination. After my last sip of Pussy, a humid sweetness lingered in the mouth for a lengthy period of time… Conclusion To start, Pussy began as a mellow and soft tea which quickly gained strength after just a few steeps. Even throughout the session, this tea had a strong backbone that held up steep after steep. One thing I like about Pussy is its complex profile that seemed to keep expanding as the session went on… (hehe). Another thing I like about Pussy was that it was deep and quickly turned into a soup, and was more broth than tea. However, if I had to guess, I would suspect that Pussy is a Yiwu and Mensong blend. In conclusion, I'd say that White2Tea’s description of this tea was an understatement, because this tea was more flavorful than one could have expected…. Would I Beeng This Tea?: Yes

Hello hello! White2Tea has a wide variety of different puer teas in their shop including tea bricks, tea cakes, and even a dragon pearl! A dragon pearl is a tea ball, which is around 7-8g of tea rolled into a tiny ball. White2Tea released their first dragon pearl in 2015, and this dragon pearl goes by then name of ‘Smooch’. Smooch is a tea ball that’s blended from Lincang material sheng puer. So does ‘Smooch’ really leave an impression on the lips? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 For this session, I started with 6.6g of tea for a 100ml vessel (well, a make shift vessel since my tea pot broke), and brewed it at 185ºf. Anyways, Smooch opened its lips by beginning this session with the tasting notes of sweet gardenia along with a pleasant and calming medicinal undertone. As the steeps continued, a light taste of grass was barely noticeable on the tip of the tongue, and held a cotton-like texture that was fluffy to the mouth. Steeps 5 - 8 As Smooch kept opening its mouth, the floral tasting notes transformed into a honeysuckle and bee pollen base, with a biting aftertaste. This teas texture turned into a broth, and as the bite calmed down over the next steep, the bodying note of honey appeared on the sides of the tongue. There was so much transformation going on with Smooch’s powerful kiss. Steeps 9 - 12 Smooch began to calm down after its dramatic transformation from its earlier steeps. The light bitterness dissipated which left room for the floral notes that were present in the bringing of the session. The base of this tea still consisted of honey and bee pollen tasting notes, but the longer the steep, the sweeter this tea became. Smooch almost resembled a faint brown-sugar like sweetness towards the end of the session, which left a lovely impression on the lips which lasted until the very last steep… Conclusion Smooch left an impression on the tongue and on the lips, as its sweetness lingered long after the session was over. Smooch had a smooth and velvet-like body that continuously transformed throughout the entire session. Smooch also showed signs of early aging, which was evident in its texture and its honey tasting notes. Overall, I think that Smooch is a great experience, especially for being a little under $2.00 a ball. In this session, I was kissed by a dragon pearl of sheng puer, and I’m glad it was with Smooch. So pucker up, and hopefully this tea will kiss you in the same way it kissed me…..

Hello hello! Bitter Leaf Teas released a wide variety of sheng puer for their 2017 line up. These teas include Mensong, Mengku, and even Yiwu. However, this year they released a tea from a region that’s new to their shop. This year, they released a sheng puer from the Jingmai region; a region that is known for its boldness and ability to age. So how does their Jingmai sheng puer titled ‘In Bloom’ compare to their other teas? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 For this session, I started out with 4g of tea for a 60ml vessel, and used water heated to a temp of 185ºf. Anyhow, the tea started out with a faint medicinal wood-like body that brushed against the base of the tongue. After a few more steeps, and after the leaf continued to open up, a soft undertone of moss made itself known, and the texture of this tea turned from a light texture to a thick broth. Steeps 5 - 8 The body of this tea quickly became aggressive as the wood and medicinal body became stronger and stronger. With the wood base and the progressive moss undertone, this tea almost resembled a Nannuo sheng puer. Anyways - due to this tea becoming more aggressive, In Bloom left a light bitterness and astringency on the tongue. Despite possessing a light bitterness and astringency, it left the pleasant mist of stevia in the back of the throat that seemed to last long after the tea was gone. Steeps 9 - 12 The wood base of this tea began to settle down into a tranquil liquor that brought a softness to the tongue. The wood body, along with a velvety smooth undertone of moss and stevia, made an impression in the cheeks and left an aftertaste of moss and stevia in the back of the throat. The body was smother than before, and coming down off of its aggressiveness from earlier, was a nice transition. After a twelfth and last infusion, In Bloom’s tasting notes made a full circle and was more flavorful than before… Conclusion Bitter Leaf Teas once again brought a tea of exceptional quality to their site, and released a tea that was as clean as it was smooth. One thing about In Bloom that caught my attention was its complex tasting notes that continued to transition throughout the session. However, for being a tea that’s composed of both old and young tea tree material, you’d expect some sort of complexity to be added to the beeng. Overall, I think that this In Bloom is a great jingmai to try if you’re new to the region, and want to try a Jingmai tea that wont hurt your wallet.

Hello hello! For this week, I’m going to be looking over a tea that’s as savory and as sweet as chocolate. In fact, this tea is pressed in mini chocolate bar form, which is a mini brick with six sections that break off. This puer is made from 2012 shou tea material which comes from Teasenz. While this brick of chocolate puer can’t be eaten like an actual bar of chocolate, you can actually drink it for easy access on the go! So does this tea taste anything like chocolate? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 For this session, I used 1 square of tea (6.6g) for a 100ml vessel, and used water which was heated to a temp of 185ºf. Anyways, this tea opened up to the faint taste of wood and earth, which left a sweet aftertaste of stevia. After a few more infusions, this tea’s body began to expand to a light and savory leaf pile, which was smooth on the tongue. In these steeps, this tea was smooth and pleasant all around, and almost resembled a black tea. Steeps 5 - 8 The body of the chocolate bar continued to open up, as its liquor darkened in color. The wood body brought out a defined spiciness on the tip of the tongue, and left the aftertaste of freshly cut timber. The texture was thick, and with the mix of tasting notes resembled whisky. However, this tea’s texture was heavy and thick — almost like a broth. Steeps 9 - 12 By this time, this tea’s body began to settle down as a buttery-like texture made its way to the sides of the tongue. The tea still held a spiciness, but didn’t resemble whisky like it did earlier. Anyways, despite not tasting like a whisky anymore, it still had its wood-like body that was smoother than ever. While this tea was robust, it left a light sweetness lingering in the back of the throat once the tea was gone. After drinking enough of this tea to experience a meditative tea high, it was time to end the session here… Conclusion First, I wanted to point out that for a five year old tea, this shou puer has been beautifully stored. Second, the leaf was in really good condition and exceptionally clean. I’d like to praise this mini-brick for its complex tasting notes, and although it didn’t resemble anything like chocolate, it reminded me of a fine whisky. Another favorable aspect of this tea was the fact that it was very heavy and for the price point of $6.95 a box, it makes this shou one hell of a deal. Overall, I think this was an easy shou to drink and is accessible to those who don't usually favor shou puer. Despite the fact if you like shou or not, I think this one can find its way into any puer lovers heart the minute it meets their tongue…. [This review was not paid or promotional content. This tea was reviewed out of pure curiosity of the tea itself]

Hello hello! Bitter Leaf Teas released their new predictions not long ago, and a part of those productions were three different grades of the same tea. Bitter Leaf Tea’s called this tea ‘Plum Beauty’, but it’s really Mengsong puer. They’re selling three grades of this tea: bronze, silver, and gold. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on the silver and gold grades. The silver grade is made form old tea tree material, while the gold grade is made from ancient tea tree material. So how does the silver and gold grade hold up? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 For each session, I used 4g of tea in a 60ml vessel with water at a temp of 185ºf. Anyways, starting out, the silver grade of this tea began with a medicinal body and a sweet aftertaste. After a few more infusions, a moss undertone became present as it left a faint bite on the tongue. Meanwhile, the gold grade of this tea started with a medicinal and herb-like body, and was so strong that it was spicy to the tip of the tongue. After a few more infusions, it took on a broth like texture that kept getting stronger and stronger. Steeps 5 - 8 The silver grade of this tea kept opening up, and started to take on a velvet-like texture. The pleasant texture brought out a wood-like base that mixed with the medicinal forefront. As the infusions kept going, the silver grade's texture turned into a broth-like substance as it brought out a faint spiciness. Anyways, with the gold grade of this tea, the medicinal herb-like body kept expanding as it became heavier and bolder. The body of this tea became as thick as olive oil, which left a light bitter on the tongue. After redoing a few steeps to weaken this tea, it was still very heavy and started to make me feel light headed. Steeps 9 - 12 The silver grade began to settle down as its medicinal body became smoother and smoother. The moss-like undertones left a lingering sweetness in the back to the throat, as this tea’s texture was smooth and heavenly. On the other hand, the gold version of this tea was still bold, but also began to settle down. The medical body left behind a herb-like sweetness on the tongue, as its texture was as fine as oil until the very last steep. Conclusion The experience with Plum Beauty was a pleasant one, and was very relaxing. To start, the silver grade of this tea was of exceptional quality, which adds to this tea’s overall experience. The gold version of this tea is a great experience, but does come at a higher price. I think for the price, the gold standard of this tea is an experience worth having because it shows you the positive attributes of how complex an ancient tea tree can really be. Overall, I would recommend both teas, and I think that tasting both grades was an excellent learning opportunity. I hope that when you try plum beauty, you’ll learn about the differences of tea tree age as much as I did…

Hello hello! This week tea mail arrived from Moychay, which is a tea company from Russia. I reviewed some of Moychay’s in-house ripe puers last year, and drink their tea on occasion. This year though, Moychay went to China and sourced a wider variety of shou puer, including Sheng Puer. They also got an artist to help them design their own puer wrappers, which turned out beautifully well (by the way, Moychay is looking for artist to design more puer wrappers for them, so send me a message if you’re interested). One of Moychay’s newer teas is NanNuo Shan, which was released in their shop earlier this year. So how does their new raw puer compare to last year’s ripe puer? Lets find out! (click images of wrapper and beeng below to enlarge) Steeps 1 - 6 For this session 4g of tea was used in a gaiwan thats 60ml, and I used water at a temp of 185ºf. Anyhow, this tea started out with a spicy forefront with a broth-like body of sweet wood and moss, and left a sugar aftertaste lingering on the tongue. After the tea began to open up, the notes of sugar began to disappear as the wood body base made itself more predominant. This tea’s body became thicker, and left a calming warmth in the mouth. The wide array of tasting notes were pleasant and meditative to the tongue. Steeps 7 -12 As the steeps went on, the tea’s soup became thicker and thicker, which best resembled a broth. The broth base brought forth the strong tasting notes of sweet wood, which trailed the notes of mushroom behind in its wake. Surprisingly, as this tea’s body began to settle, the body became more mouthwatering as it left a faint sweet undertone of stevia. As the steeps continued, this tea’s body became more mouth watering, as its mushroom and wood body took on a velvet-like texture, and lasted until the very last steep. Conclusion Overall, I think that NanNuo Shan is an exceptional sheng puer in terms of taste, quality, and quantity (for the tea that you get). One thing that I was very pleased about was this tea quality because for the price point, it was very clean and clear throughout. Each individual leave looked healthy, which helped this tea become fuller in taste and body. Another aspect l liked about this tea is how complex it was because it seemed like that after every steep, the tea was evolving just a little bit more. Overall, I think Moychay did a fantastic job sourcing new sheng for their shop this year. I can easily say that their sheng left a pleasant impression and definitely holds up to the shou that they’re known for… disclaimer - This tea was sent to me by Moychay.

Hello hello! White2Tea is a puer-based company based out of Yunnan, China that specializes in house-blended puer teas. White2Tea is ran by a man named Paul who is from the United States, and lives in secrecy to detach himself from the image of his brand. This is a tea company that’s always innovating, creating, and pushing the boundaries of the puer market. Since making his debut on November 17th, 2012, Paul has transformed his site from selling only factory teas to now primarily producing his own pressings of puer. As of today there’s still a shroud of mystery and skepticism of White2Tea and their teas, despite the love and growing success that they’ve had. With that, hopefully the following will give you an idea about what White2Tea is, and why they play an important part in the puer revolution — which is still growing strong to this day… History To understand something, you must know some of its history. To start us off, we’ll talk about Paul and his blog. Paul of White2Tea began his journey by starting his blog the ‘TwoDogBlog’, and a month later, opening the domain for White2Tea. White2Tea started in late September of 2012 when a blank page read, “White 2 Tea Co. will be here soon”. Only a month and a half later, on November 17th, the shop was born. After selling factory teas for a short period of time, Paul released White2Tea’s first ever house blended sheng puer in July of 2013. White2Tea collaborated with Tao Cha Ju, a puer company, to blend the 2012 Giant Steps sheng puer. With the popularity of Giant Steps, the company took a leap forward to continue making in-house sheng puer. Shortly after, White2Tea released their very first stand alone produced puer titled New Amerykah, which showed that they promptly found their voice in puer production. [White2Tea's Shop Upon Opening] In the summer of 2014, White2Tea took their first major step in the puer market as they released their first full production of sheng. The new White2Tea productions featured a wider-range of in-house puers, as White2Tea released some of their most well known teas to date. Their ‘New Amerykah 2’ was their very first sequel to a sheng puer production, as their famous ‘Last Thoughts’ was also released. 2014 Last Thoughts is a tea that was high in price point, and incredible material, that helped gain White2Tea fame in the puer market. This was due to the fact that material at this grade is rarely sold in the open market, especially in the west. Last Thoughts caught the attention of more serious tea drinkers, and got White2Tea’s name buzzing within the tea community. 2015 was the year that transformed Whtie2Tea from a tea company to a status symbol. This transformation began in June of 2015, when White2Tea continued their momentum from 2014 to release a larger-scaled production of spring sheng puer. White2Tea did so by releasing a wide-variety of sheng — which was nearly double from the previous year. We got to see the return of Last Thoughts, which was said to be blended slightly different, along with other teas that grabbed the attention of tea drinkers. White2Tea’s redesign from their simplistic puer shop to a personalized in-house sheng producer grabbed the attention of the tea community as a whole, and got a lot of people and tea bloggers talking (and drinking). The 2015 spring release showed what White2Tea was capable of, because at this point they had their own tea club, sold tea ware, and released a wide-scale production of sheng puer. Some of these sheng puers grabbed the attention of numerous tea bloggers and critics due to their flavor profile and their complexity. Some of these attention-grabbing teas were their Poundcake, Bosch, Tuhao As F*ck, and yet again, Last Thoughts. These teas gained a lot of attention within the tea community, and some were even hailed as the best sheng puer sold within the market. Besides a wide array of new teas, White2Tea’s redesign made them a ‘status symbol’ because of their tea’s wrapper design and overall flavor profile. [White2Tea's New Amerykah] With the success of their 2015 Spring Release, White2Tea continued to innovate and push the boundaries of selling in-house produced puer. In January of 2016, White2Tea released their first group of shou puer (which is also known as ripe tea). White2Tea released just four of these teas; many gaining attention such as their Old Reliable and Brown Sugar. However, within that same year, the site closed down in July for an awaited ‘release’. If you haven't guessed by now, their site was closed for three days, while under construction, to release their spring 2016 teas. Now that White2Tea grabbed the attention and status of the previous year’s release, this would prove to be a defining moment for White2Tea by asking the question: Is this tea company here to stay? The release of White2Tea’s 2016 spring sheng puer had an advantage, and Paul used the success and momentum of 2015 to thrust White2Tea into a new look. They capitalized on their newly reformed status symbol, and released a collection of spring teas that were designed with heavier western influence. With the new releases we saw the return of Bosch, Poundcake, Tuhao As F*ck, and Last Thoughts (unfortunately, this would be the last year Last Thoughts was going to be re-released). With the attention of everyone in the tea community, White2Tea’s ability to promote their own brand proved successful as they received critical acclaim for their new teas with bloggers, critics, and other tea drinkers in the market. They used this to continue their success to release a full lineup of of fall teas, along with more shou puer. [A selection of White2Tea's Spring Collection] The Wrapper Designs A part of understanding White2Tea is getting to know their wrapper designs. Since 2014, White2Tea has incorporated western influences from pop culture (music being the biggest inspiration) to design their puer wrappers (all designed by White2Tea operator, Paul). While some bloggers weren't a fan of this due to conflict of tradition, this allowed their teas to grab attention in the western market. Puer is traditionally consumed in the Asian markets (China to be more specific), and while puer is gaining more popularity across the globe, puer was a tea that didn’t make its influence travel very far with the ‘millennial’ generation. However, some believe that modernizing the puer wrapper design has made it more accessible for a newer generation to be curious and attracted to puer tea, and in turn, teach an appreciation for traditional Chinese culture. [An Example of White2Tea Wrapper Designs] The Art of the Blend White2Tea’s in-house puer productions consist of puer teas that have been blended from multiple areas. Their song puers are traditionally blended of two or more origin teas. This means that they will mix tea from two or more different regions, to create a unique tasting blend of tea. Typically, the blends vary in price point depending of the price of the material. Since White2Tea doesn’t release any information about where their material directly comes from, they sell their teas with the following principle: The higher the price point, the better the tea and material. In theory, the more money you spend on a beeng, the better the material you’ll receive. While White2Tea has been criticized by some on the worth of their tea and buying tea blindly, they still find popularity with tea drinkers who will testify that you get exactly what you pay for. Many tea drinkers can sometimes detect the origins of certain material based on the teasing notes, and will testify that selling these blends in this way is a smart move. Selling tea is competitive and finding a way for your drinkers to detect the honesty presented in their, without compromising the source of your ingredients, is one way that White2Teas succeeds. One aspect about White2Tea blends that makes them so fantastic is the way they blend their teas. Unlike anyone else in the market, White2Tea blends their tea in such a way that all of the positive attributes of a material is highlighted in every way. The reason why their tea has gained such quick attention, and are often hailed as a status symbol (besides image), is that his blends are usually creative and genius. It’s not what White2Tea uses in a blend, but rather, how the material is used to make the best blend possible. This transcends his tea from being a drink and into an art form. [White2Tea's 2012 Giant Steps] Innovation White2Tea has made a name for their self in the puer market, simply because of the way they innovate. One of the main ways White2Tea innovates with puer is their ability to blend sheng from different regions (like mentioned above). However, White2Tea ventured out from their beaten path in the fall of 2015, when they released a beeng named 2015 Pin’. What makes 2015 Pin so special is that the beeng is blended with material that came from three different aged sheng puer. This oddity ended up being a success within the tea community, as bloggers and critics praised the beeng for its complexity and its flavor profile.However, that only added fuel to their desire to continue to innovate with tea. White2Tea continued to push innovation by releasing numerous amount of different teas in their monthly tea club. For 2016, they released various educational club shipments by providing their subscribers with a wide array of tea drinking experiences. One of those experiences was providing their subscribers with tea material that was made into a sheng puer and black tea (for comparison), and two different sheng puers that came from the same source, but one came from an older tea tree than the other. However, besides their tea club, they set their innovation into motion by releasing their famed ‘Hot Brandy’ — a tea cake mixture of both white tea and black tea pressed together. Along with the numerous ways the company has innovated, Whtie2Tea released a mini tong of two bricks called Sister and Brother, which is exactly the same tea except one tea was cooked longer than the other while being processed. Other innovations that White2Tea has produced included bamboo shoots stuffed with sheng puer, various mini beengs of sample sets, a white tea made from sheng puer tea trees, and a shou puer tea brick mixed with orange peel to give it a citrus-like tasting profile. Overall though, White2Tea keeps pushing the boundaries between whats normal and traditional, and pushes the limits to bring new expirerencs to their consumer base. [White2Tea's Hot Brandy] Final Thoughts White2Tea is a puer company based out of Yunnan, China that has swiftly created a name for their self in the world of tea. Their speciality went from selling puer to producing their own puer teas, and has pushed the boundaries of what it means to make sheng puer. There’s still a bit of mystery behind the company such as where their teas specifically come from, but their business practices quickly gained the trust of tea drinkers alike because of the honesty thats presented in their cup. Speaking of their tea, they managed to make their tea’s a status symbol, and managed to captivate modern pop culture in their tea cake wrapper designs. With the 2017 Spring production cycle quickly approaching, Whtie2Tea has been busy at work doing what they do best — blend tea from different regions and to be as creative as possible. With their innovations, we’ve seen a wide-variety of different teas (including a black and white tea cake mix), that has quickly gained the attention of puer drinkers alike. With everything in mind, I personally believe that White2Tea will continue to impress, shock, and captivate their audience with the upcoming productions, because it’s not just the source of the tea that makes them remarkable, it’s what they do with it that makes them remarkable. With a sip of their tea, you will clearly see why White2Tea keeps the puer revolution hastily moving forward… [Note: All images and White2Tea related content were used with consent from White2Tea. This article was also approved by White2Tea, and is not paid promotional content]

Hello hello! Last year Bitter Leaf Teas released an extraordinary beeng titled ‘Secret Garden’, which was a sheng puer that was grown in fields alongside banana trees. The tea’s origin was a secret (thus ‘secret garden’), and the tea was flavorful and delectable. In fact, Secret Garden 2016 sold out rather quickly, and gained massive popularity — which helped put Bitter Leaf Teas on the map. Now we’re into 2017, weather caused a lot of tea regions to get damaged in storms, which resulted in a lot of famous tea regions to raise their price in sheng. In doing so, Bitter Leaf Tea’s had to find another source for their new production of 2017 Secret Garden. With that in mind, does this year’s new Secret Garden shine a light on last years? Lets find out! [Click to Enlarge Dry Leaf Photo] Steeps 1 - 4 Upon opening the sample bag of 2017 Secret Garden, the beautiful aroma of sweet green apples and freshly picked strawberries hit the nose like a ball of cotton. Proceeding on to this session, which used 4g of tea for a 60ml vessel and water at a temp of 185ºf, the first steep was well under way. With the first infusion, the brilliant body of medicinal herbs brushed against the base of the tongue and left behind the undertones of green apples and strawberries. After a second steep, this tea opened up to a broth-like texture (which usually doesn't happen this early in a session), as a new layer of depth opened up in the cup. This new broth-like layer brought on a faint sweetness that complimented the fruity undertones. Steeps 5 - 8 Secret Garden’s body kept progressing to a thicker and more viscous broth, more so than before. The medicinal body became lubricating to the touch, and progressively grew more savory. As the steeps went on, the undertones of fruit started to slowly fade away, as the notes of fresh hay made its way forward onto the tongues palate. Along with the oil-like texture, this tea’s body was also as smooth as velvet, which left a lasting impression in the mouth. Steeps 9 - 12 Secret Garden’s medicinal body was still forward on the tongue, but the undertones of fruity sweetness faded altogether. The previous impressions of fresh hay slowly turned into freshly-cut green grass, as an undertone of bitter made itself known. The liquor had calmed down a lot in these later steeps and didn’t carry as heavy of a punch. By that, I mean that this tea was full-on relaxed and put the tastebuds on sweet dream to tea heaven. As the session went onto the fourteenth steeping, my body was feeling meditative all around which put my mind into a deep trance that brought on images of clouds floating into the heavens… Conclusion Secret Garden 2017 has a tall order to fill, and with its illustrious predecessor, it’s not an easy task to take on. To start, one thing that 2017 Secret Garden did a great job with is how well defined it already is. Usually with sheng this young, you’d expect that a leaf needs more time to settle due to its humidity. However, this sheng already had a heavy broth that made itself established in just the second steeping — something that is a rarity as much as it is prosperous. Another angle to this tea that caught my attention was its ever-changing tasting notes, which were complex and kept changing through out the entire session. However, one draw back with this tea is, compared to last year’s Secret Garden, there is a rise in price point. Despite this years weather conditions, and the price changes in the market, this was well worth it for the experience. Overall, I think that this years Secret Garden did a great job emulating last years, and if I'm being frank, it was more favorable to my tastebuds. One could say that this tea holds a light to its predecessor, or could say that it stands great on its own without any comparison. However, for this tea blogger, this is one tea that my tastebuds are begging for more. Hopefully, when trying this tea, you’ll come to the same conclusion…

Hello hello! As some of you may know, Farmerleaf Teas has been around for a few years now. However, they recently started selling their own teas in a company-run site for just over a year now. Farmerleaf also has an ad on my site, so naturally, I was a little hesitant to review any of their teas. Despite having an ad on my site, it would be a great idea to start reviewing them (as non-paid content) because honestly, they shouldn't escape my criticisms as much as the next company. If anything, they’re going to have a harder time passing my standards because they do have an ad on the site. With a critical eye, and with all of my judgements reserved for tea, this is Farmerleaf Tea’s Autumn 2016 Jingmai Ancient sheng puer… Steeps 1 - 4 I started this session with 6.6g of tea for a 100ml vessel, and used water at a temp of 185ºf. Anyhow - the tasting notes started with the refreshing medicinal base body of roasted hay, which left the afterthought of a leaf pile resting on the tongue. After this tea began to open up, its body began to thicken as it was getting heavier and heavier. Even this early on, this tea’s body was already proving to be thick, yet refreshing at the same time Steeps 5 - 8 The bodying tasting note of a leaf pile grew thicker as the base of this tea began to resemble a thick broth. There was still a medicinal undertone, but with the growing strength of this tea, there was also an ever so slight bitter that followed. As the steeps went on, the warming broth kept getting more refined which helped create a blissful medley. Steeps 9 - 12 In these later steeps, this tea’s body became smoother and resembled a velvet blanket being dragged across the tongue. The light bitterness disappeared altogether as the leaf pile transformed into a more earthy tasting note, which resembled a damp forest with a coating of sweet moss. This tea’s liquor was clear, crisp, and heavy — which lasted up to the last infusion. After fourteen steeps, and after being lightheaded from this tea’s powerful energy, it was time to end the session here… Conclusion In conclusion, Autumn 2016 Jingmai Ancient was a pleasant experience that kept changing throughout the course of the session. One of this tea’s greater attributes is the fact that it was complex and full of tasting notes. Despite this teas heavy body, it was still very refreshing to the tongue and at times, made the mouth water for more. Overall, despite being under heavy scrutiny of my judgements (and disregarding that Farmerleaf has an ad on my site), this tea was an excellent experience that I would definitely recommend. So while this isn’t a paid review and my opinions haven't been influenced, I can reassure you that this is one tea that was enjoyable throughout….

Hello hello! Slumbering Dragon is a beast of a tea that is sold by Crimson Lotus Tea. Slumbering Dragon is a sheng puer that’s harvested in hard to reach places, and it takes three hours of traveling deep into a forest to access this material. One of the villages that this tea comes from isn't even on Google Maps. Anyways, Slumbering Dragon is named so because it comes from older tea tree material, and carries a deep punch. One thing I must ask though: Is Slumbering Dragon strong enough to wake the beast within you? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 4 I started this session with a quick rinse, and used 6.6g of tea for a 100ml vessel. Anyways, this session started out with a light tartness, that slowly transformed into a beef-broth base which coated the tongue like an oil. After a few more steeps, a brassy undertone started to appear with a light bitterness that seemed to grow stronger and stronger. By the end of the fourth infusion, this tea’s energy was unleashing the dragon. Steeps 5 - 9 The fifth infusion started off strong, as the bold base body of beef broth push forward an undertone of bitterness which grew too loud to ignore. Underneath the bitterness, I could detect a light wave of apricots that was left behind on the tongue. With the continuing steeps, this tea’s bitterness grew so strong that every other aspect of this tea was nearly unrecognizable. However, the energy form this tea was making its way throughout my body, and was starting to feel tea drunk. Steeps 9 - 12 The harshness of the bitter taste began to settle a little bit as the light apricot and brassy notes began to reappear. The broth base began to refine and become more soft around the edges (despite the bitterness), and left a biting impression on the tongue. Throughout these later steeps, the velvet undertone texture of this tea best resembled a white tea, and almost tasted like one too. Anyhow, this tea kept going for a few more steeps, but due to its drunken energy, I had to put it up. This dragon was out of its slumber and was fully awake… Conclusion Slumbering Dragon by Crimson Lotus Tea was definitely an interesting experience, primarily because this tea heavily resembled a white tea/black tea mix. Maybe it was this teas quick energy and velvet body texture which led me to this conclusion. To further explain, Slumbering Dragon is one powerhouse of a sheng and definitely carries a heavy punch. This is a tea that I wouldn’t recommend to a tea drinker who is bitter sensitive, because this tea definitely gets rough. Despite that, this is one of the most powerful teas that Crimson Lotus Tea released last year, and is definitely one that I would recommend trying based on the body feel alone. When you try Slumbering Dragon for yourself, don’t be fooled by this tea’s appearance because this is one dragon that definitely will wake the beast within you…

Hello hello! Yunnan Sourcing is notorious for releasing the purple variety of tea. Not only do they carry a large stock of purple sheng puer, they also carry purple varietal white and green tea. For their white tea they released a limited amount of Wild Tree Purple “Sweet Ya Bao” White Tea, which is their most rare purple varietal of tea — and also comes from the Jinggu region of Yunnan. According to Yunnan Sourcing’s website, it took 2 people 16 days just to harvest 10 kilograms of this tea. Despite the extensive process of harvesting Sweet Ya Bao, was their effort worth it? Lets find out! Steeps 1 - 6 For this session I used 3g of tea for a 60ml gaiwan, and upon opening this tea, the sweet odor of watermelon wafted in my face. Anyways, the first steeps of this tea revealed a sweet watermelon base along with the undertone of cucumber water. As the steeps went on, this tea’s body grew thicker and heavier, due to the texture being very raw to the tastebuds (which was due to how fresh it was). After the continuing steeps, the watermelon base faded away as the strong bodying notes of dill weed made its way to coat the tongue, as it left a humid rosebud mist in the cheeks. Steeps 7 - 12 Ya Bao’s base tasting note of dill weed slowly transformed into a dill weed that was heavily coated with bee pollen. The cucumber undertone mixed blissfully with the floral rosebud aftertaste, which left a lasting sweetness in the mouth. Long after this tea made its way past my throat, a sugar like sweetness radiated from every crevice in my mouth. Up to the very last steep, this tea was still giving out flavor. By the twelfth infusion, I was very tea drunk and was ready to end it here. Conclusion Wild Tree Purple “Sweet Ya Bao” is definitely a purple varietal tea that doesn’t taste like any tea I’ve had before. The tasting notes of dill weed came as a complete surprise, along with the finishing notes of rose buds. This was something that took getting used to, but after a few sessions with Ya Bao, I can definitely say that it’s growing on me. Another aspect of this tea that took me by surprise was how much liquor I was able to draw out of just 3g of tea. For the entire gong-fu session, with just 3g of tea, a little over 2 liters of water was used. The crazy thing about it was that there was still more tea that could be drawn out of Ya Bao. To wrap things up, Yunnan Sourcing did a fantastic job bringing such a strange and tasty tea to light, and is an experience that others should partake in because it shows just how different a tea can really be. This tea was sweet and its longitivtiy definitely makes it worth its value. I can conclude that this tea’s extensive harvest was definitely worth the effort, and is something that I will drink again very soon…

Hello hello! In the tea community, the puer community to be exact, there’s a lot of animal lovers that tend to share love for their pets on social media. Rather if you’re a tea company thats named after a pet, or a blogger that’s named after a beloved animal, the vast majority of us have a loving connection to cats and dogs. However, lately I started to notice a pattern between felines and puer heads. So I had to ask the question to many of our leading tea personalities: are you a cat person? For this survey, I asked fellow puer heads if they were a cat person or not. However, before moving forward, I wanted to specify that a puer head is someone whose favorite tea is puer. Anyhow, I asked this question to see if there’s a direct correlation between puer heads and cat people. I asked puer heads on social media, and even asked tea shop owners, so I could get a wider range of answers. To constitute as a participant, they had to be involved in the tea community for quite some time and had to primarily review, share photos of, or sell and drink puer tea. For the results, I surveyed 20 participants, and these are the results gathered from the survey… Question: Are you a cat person? Yes: 14 No: 6 Percentage of puer heads that associate their self as a cat person: 70% Overall recap, 14 people said they were cat people out of a total of 20 participants. This means that 70% of puer heads identify their self as a cat person. But why is this? As an honorary cat person, my bias says it’s because cats are totally awesome bro. In my honest opinion, there’s no greater joy and gratitude than winning over the affection of a cat. But after some reflection, I noticed that there were a lot of similarities between puer tea and domesticated house cats… Like a cat, puer is picky Like a cat, puer isn't loved by everybody Like puer, cats can be difficult. The time you put into a cat, the time you receive back You can love it to an infinite amount, and yet, you’re not guaranteed its love back Your relationship with puer and with a cat is on its terms, not yours Cats and puer can be cool one day, and be funky the next. Attitude changes weekly, or daily, for no reason whatsoever. No matter how ruined puer or a cat is, there’s no fixing it. Despite the many similarities, there’s a few differences between cats and puer tea that seem obvious. Such as, you can’t gong-fu a cat in a gaiwan. Although a cat will try to conform its body to any shape it lies in, if you pour hot water on a cat, the cat will horribly injure you and you’ll be reported to the authorities for animal cruelty. You can’t be reported for animal cruelty for brewing puer tea, now can you? No you can’t. I was discussing this topic with fellow tea head Andrew Richardson (aka Liquid Proust), and he gave some insight as to why puer heads more commonly identify as cat people. Andrew suggested that a lot of people in the tea community are introverted. After thinking about what he said, it started to make sense. Introverts and cats typically have calming personalities. So by default, you’d expect a hobby that’s often done in solitude would get along with something as docile as a house cat. However, in my experience, many puer heads and many cats are very friendly and laid back. However, you’ll still come across a few crazy ones here and there. There’s nothing wrong with being introverted, and while a lot of us may not have very outgoing personalities, it speaks volumes to willingly share your life through your blog, your social media accounts, through your tea shop, or through your own website. With that being said, you may be pondering the question of if you’re a cat person or not, just remember that it doesn't really matter because you’re part of the reason why this community is so great... Note - Special Thank to Bitter Leaf Teas for providing photos of their kitties for this article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List of Participants [20 in Total] - Companies - White2Tea, Crimson Lotus Tea, Moychay, Bitter Leaf Teas, Yunnan Sourcing Bloggers - Death by Tea, Tohao Tony, Oolong Owl, Tea Database, Tea For Me Please Social Media - grill_, haveyeawilltravel, boychick2989, darksideoftea, Volkan_houshan, delightfulkiwi, Matu, chaiveck, gooseberryspoon, s.g.sanders_teaman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello hello! White2Tea is always finding ways to innovate when it comes to puer, and in the fall of 2016, they released two 100g bricks packed together that goes by the name of Sister Brother. This duo is an educational experience because these teas are both made from the same material, except Brother’s material was left in the ‘kill green’ process longer than Sister’s. White2Tea pressed the duo bricks Sister and Brother in April of 2016. What’s funny about this is that they were pressed on April 1st. Anyways — White2Tea pressed these teas in the spring but didn't release them until the fall. However, we got a glimpse that resembled the duo back in the August 2016 White2Tea Club. Despite waiting until the fall, was this release worth the wait? Also, do Brother and Sister go together? Lets find out! [Note: Click on photos to enlarge] Steeps 1 - 4 Both tea sessions started with a quick rinse of each (separately, as I don’t promote incestual activity), after the kettle warmed the water to a temp of 185ºf. For both teas, I used 6.6g of tea in a 100ml vessel. The session started with brother, which gave off a light medicinal and hay oily body, and left a date like sweetness aftertaste. To compliment the sweetness of dates, Brother also had a light undertone of sage. However, Sister started out with a sweet and green base with a light and floral aftertaste. Sister then made its way to the back of the throat, and left a light fruitiness that echoed in the sides of the cheeks. Steeps 5 - 8 Brother’s body grew thicker and thicker, which nearly resembled a syrup. The medicinal oily body grew even stronger as the fig’s fruity sweetness became more prominent. With that, the hay and sage aftertaste was louder, and left a vapor in the mouth after it left the throat. Even long after sipping the tea, the sensation of sugar vibrating in the teeth made itself known. On the other hand, Sister’s body kept getting smoother and smoother (ha), almost as if the base liquor was lighter than air as it slid past the throat. The floral base became more notable, as the texture became thicker and oilier. A light sage undertone appeared as it left a soft finish behind in it’s trail. Steeps 9 - 12 Brother’s bliss point hit around the later steeps, as its base transformed into the likeness of a sugar coated fig. The sugar coated fig was presented in an oily texture that felt almost like a broth. Along with the sensation of sugar vibrating in the teeth, Brother left a light medicinal undertone which lasted until the last steep. Meanwhile, Sister’s sweet fruity body took a back seat (ha) in these later steeps, as its body was more medicinal and grassy base. Sister left a sweetness which began to mellow as the floral notes kept getting pushed out. Sister’s body was soft and mellow (ha), and lasted until going away with a kill brew. Conclusion Sister Brother is an interesting experience all together, and an experience that isn’t presented in the market very often, or at all. The experience started with the bamboo wrapping of Sister Brother, which made opening the duo a memorable moment in time. Another fun aspect was seeing how the longer roasted tea (Brother) was fruitier and sweeter compared to the lesser roasted tea (Sister), which was more floral. However, one thing that disappointed me was the fact that these bricks were iron pressed, because for the price point, too much of the tea was reduced to tea dust. Normally I wouldn't care, but the Mensong sheng material presented in these bricks was too fantastic to waste. Overall, Sister Brother is a course I would partake in again, and is one that I would recommend to others. In Puer, there’s a lot of drinking experiences that can only happen while in Yunnan, China. However, White2Tea brought this experience to light and allowed you to expand your knowledge with the different ways of processing sheng puer. To further wrap things up, the wait from spring to fall with these teas was definitely worth the wait. And just like the friendship I have with my own sister, Sister and Brother definitely go together…

Hello hello! Welcome to the second edition of ‘Ask The Oolong Drunk,' where I’ll be answering the questions you send in. Over the past month, I’ve received quite a few interesting questions that I’m ready to answer. But first, I want to thank those who participated in this new segment, and I can’t wait to see how much further this goes. Just remember — there’s no such thing as a stupid question, so do hesitate to submit whatever questions you may have. How do you approach steeping raw puer and how do you adjust your steep timing/temperature during a session? -Ryan For every session I use 1g of tea to 15ml of water. White2Tea had this ratio posted on their site when I first got into puer over a year ago. Of course, you can use as much tea as you want, but this is the method that typically gives you the best session of tea. In fact, I use this ratio for every aspect of tea steeping. For the water temperature, it depends on the tea. For a gong-fu session with puer, white tea, or oolong tea, I use a water temperature of 185ºf. Even throughout the session, I’ll reheat the kettle to make sure it stays at this heat. I brew the tea at this temperature because the tea doesn’t get hot enough to get bitter, and yet, hot enough to get all of the flavor out of the leaf. However, if you’re still concerned about measuring the temperature, then I’d recommend buying a thermometer to measure your water’s heat. For steeping time, I start puer sessions at fifteen seconds (after the first rinse), and oolong sessions at 30 seconds (I start higher here to give the leaf a chance to open up). After the first steep, I progressively add more time until the session is done. It’s personal preference at this point, but just keep tacking on time until you reach a thickness that you like. If the tea is too strong, then decrease the time and if the tea is too weak, then increase the time. You see, there’s not really a right or wrong answer here because it all depends on how you like it. Just remember to try and have fun with it and make it your own. Can you western steep puer tea? -Cassie In my personal experience, shou puer tastes excellent when made western style. For those of you who don’t already know, western style is usually just brewing tea in a mug with an infuser or a tea bag. Anyhow — sheng puer doesn’t taste very good this way and never really comes out as expected. I’m sure that there are some people that enjoy sheng puer brewed western style (God forbid), but for me, sheng puer is very complex and comes out beautifully when made gong-fu style. Since sheng puer is typically more expensive, I wouldn't necessarily want to spend a lot of money on a tea if I couldn't get the most out of it. -The Oolong Drunk “Blissfully Tea Drunk"