2017 Tiny Orange Tea by Bitter Leaf Tea

Hello hello!

Bitter Leaf Teas recently released their 2017 Fall productions, which includes a 2007 shou puer thats been stuffed in a mini orange! These mini oranges weigh around 10g each - which is perfect for a single session (or two mini-sessions). Bitter Leaf Teas also released a tangerine stuffed shou per last year, which quickly sold out. So how does this mini orange compare to last year’s mandarin stuffed shou puer? Let's find out!

Water Temperature

Boiling

Dimensions

For this session, I gutted the entire mini-orange. I measured 4.5g of shou puer for my 65ml gaiwan and used the entire orange peel.

Steeps 1 - 4

At first, this mini orange gave off earthy tasting notes of dirt, and left a light tangy aftertaste on the sides of the tongue. After a few more infusions, a tart orange like flavor made itself known, and progressively took over my tongues palate.

Steeps 5 - 8

This mini orange was getting smoother and smoother. The earthy tasting notes of dirt became increasingly creamy, as the notes of orange trailed quietly behind it. As the steeps went on, this tea progressively left a bitter aftertaste on the base of the tongue, as a light tang echoed in the mouth.

Steeps 9 - 12

This mini orange was beginning to get more and more aggressive with its bitterness. The smooth and creamy base notes of earth began to mellow out as the tangy bitterness progressively took over. The longer the steep - the more potent this tea became. After the twelfth steep, this tea brought forth a bitterness that left an impression in the mouth that I still tasted thirty minutes after taking a sip. By this time, this mini orange had given its all, and was time to move on from this session…

Conclusion

2017 Mini Orange Tea is a new tea released by Bitter Leaf Teas, which consists of a mini orange stuffed with ten-year-old aged shou puer. At first, I was impressed with the shou material because the earthly notes were creamy and smooth. Another thing I liked about this shou is that for me, it had a great deal of energy which made me a bit tea drunk after the session was over. However, I think I used too much orange peel because the longer the steeps got, the more bitter and aggressive the orange peel became.

Overall, this mini orange is incredibly tasty for what you get, and is made with a great base material. However, I would recommend playing around with the dimensions of tea for your session because if you use too much orange peel, your session might be as bitter as mine turned out. However, this was a great experience and is one that compares similarly to Bitter Leaf Tea’s mandarin stuffed shou puer…

disclaimer - This tea was sent to me by Bitter Leaf Teas for review. Although this tea was sent to me, this review was not paid for, and wasn't shown any mercy when reviewing ;)