2022 年 1 月茶俱乐部

A beautiful refreshing tea. Very bright and balanced. Smooth. Nice session reading fairytales at lunch. The Mao Feng has beautiful flavors and is perfect for spring.

Such a pleasant tea. Wouldn’t want to drink it all day but nevertheless wonderful. Desperately needed some caffeine today so I reached for this Mao Feng as a quick afternoon pick me up. A nice session with my brother over lunch as well.

This is a pale tea with a nonetheless full taste from the beginning. It's naturally sweet and rich. It does have some astringency, especially after swallowing. This is the first tea where I've really felt the drying effect on my mouth.

Well I want to love this Meng Ding as others but found it really finicky and not satisfying over all. I enjoyed the subtle complexity but by the 3rd infusion, the menthol, wet wood, and subtle sweetness reminded me of what my mouth feels like after licking a stamp. Oh well. 😂

Still a lovely tea. A quick session at work. The Mao Feng was delicious as always.

Eyes Dry Leaf: small and tightly curled forest green buds and leaves, with lots of trichomes on the buds Nose Dry Leaf: cashew milk, soy beans, and toasted cinnamon raisin bread Nose Wet Leaf: edamame and steamed spinach with a pesto savory-sweetness Eyes Liquor: pale-yellow viscous liquor Mouth Texture: immediately thick, creamy, and coating Mouth Taste: asparagus, warm cream/cashew milk, and citrusy/floral zest and sweetness Mouth Finish: thick, coating, and juicy, with a floral brightness Nose Empty Cup: vanilla and sweet cream with a sweet and pungent yet light florality Eyes Wet Leaf: very small leaves and buds in varying shades of avocado green Body Sensation: calm, soothing, and happy, with a cooling effect Very richly textured and sweet green tea, where the savoriness and greeness play a supporting role to the other star elements. Probably my favorite tea of the month’s tea club lineup so far. Really richly bodied green tea with a light flavor and high aromatics. My favorite of this month’s tea club so far.

A beautiful tea. Tastes best on the second infusion. Perhaps I will try next time with cooler water, but overall a pleasing taste with a nice finish. Had a lovely tasting session with some club members today. To me, this tea tastes and smells very similar to the Meng Ding Huang Ya, but maybe milder. They both have a grassy, umami taste with a smooth, almost buttery aftertaste. The smell of the brewed leaves was something I couldn’t place until someone mentioned that it reminded them of pineapple. The color was interesting too—it was almost clear at first, and I couldn’t see the leaf fibers that escaped my filter until I poured some into a juice glass. Overall, this was a wonderful tea and I look forward to having more of it.

drank on tuesday, january 11. very enjoyable. i really loved the texture of the dry leaves, visually and in a tactile sense. and after brewing, i took a photo of a single leaf on my finger. had a great playful investigation though i forgot to take tasting notes. next time! yay myteapal club teas are on parade!

I don’t give green teas nearly the amount of attention they deserve, so this month’s club is good for me. The Meng Ding Mao Fang seemed like a good place to start and develop a baseline. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me excited for the others!

Eyes Dry Leaf: very small and delicate pistachio green buds, with soft down on some of the more mature buds Nose Dry Leaf: warm pumpkin seeds, chestnut, and cinnamon milk Nose Wet Leaf: cinnamon-baked walnuts, chestnuts, and nutmeg Eyes Liquor: pale, semi-viscous liquor Mouth Texture: medium yet expansive and mouth filling Mouth Taste: green beans, pumpkin seeds, and vanilla, with a rich of cinnamon and a mild papaya/guava sweetness toward the end Mouth Finish: intensely juicy, with a lasting warmth and a cinnamon dryness along the back of the soft palate Nose Empty Cup: pumpkin/flower seeds, fresh spring water Eyes Wet Leaf: small, slightly yellowed/brown buds Body Sensation: alert, aware, and poetic energy Very pleasant yellow tea, leaning less on the fruity and savory aspects of a yellow tea and more on the deep pumpkin seed warmth and its own unique brand of cinnamon spiciness. First yellow tea I’ve had in a while, and first I’ve ever had of this type (which means I can now say I’ve had all four major varieties of Chinese yellow tea, yay!). Very nice, with a bit more subtlety and focus on warmth than other yellow teas I’ve had.

Wet leaf has a very strong smell that I find unpleasant but the tea itself is sweet and mild. Would enjoy having it again. Had a lovely tasting with my brother and father today and got to use my new tea tray. Although this tea has a strong smell when wet, it has a pleasant taste and finish, and I’m looking forward to a couple more sessions from this packet.

third (or second?) and final seasion with this nice mellow tea of attractive buds. thought i had reviewed it already but the time is now i see. :) today i learned that im getting much better at infusion times: feeling them out intuitively / gently counting instead of looking at a stopwatch which feels too black and white to me. the first two steeps at 10am this morning were siblings, the second just a bit louder than the first. and very enjoyable. the third sat on my tongue with a lovely sweetness. the fourth and fifth were much more green tasting and less dimensional but still enjoyable. i love drinking this in my celadon blue teacup. the sixth steep was at 9pm; you can definitely see how the vibrancy of the leaves are now spent.

The leaves remind me of the appearance of pine needles. The tea itself is a very pale green. It almost looks like water while pouring. The flavor was interesting! Different steeps tasted very different to me. The first was more like grass, a few very toasted, and the last was a good balance of vegetal, spiced, and sweet. I would have liked to do more steeps; that was our mistake!

I put a more in-depth review the first time that I had tried this, and this time I did a side by side comparison against the Gan Lu B. I haven’t tried many that meet this flavor profile. The aroma definitely smelled like buttery green vegetables with a little wave of floral. With this, I made an assumption on the flavor and it was not what I expected. The 3rd steep onward are where this tea shines for me.

Tried the first of the January teas this afternoon after a long hike. Meng Ding Gan Lu A. What a lovely tea! So beautiful to see, so fragrant (even after 5 seconds!) and fresh. Makes me longing for spring even more!

Eyes Dry Leaf: small, twisted green and brown fine leaves and buds, covered in white hairs Nose Dry Leaf: chestnuts, soy milk, and barley Nose Wet Leaf: baked chestnuts and steamed asparagus, with a chickpea warmth Eyes Liquor: pale and viscous, with loads of trichomes Mouth Texture: medium-thick and soft Mouth Taste: soy beans (edamame) and chestnut, with a cream/light honey sweetness and an orchid and citrus blossom florality Mouth Finish: sweet, lingering creamy finish, with a developing thickness in the mouth and a citrus blossom aroma Nose Empty Cup: sweet flowers and thick floral honey Eyes Wet Leaf: small, vibrantly green buds and young leaves Body Sensation: focused and alert yet relaxed Very high quality Mengding Ganlu, glad I get to enjoy a couple more sessions with it! First full tasting session in a while, did not disappoint!

Ok this I embarked on my journey with these lovely green teas. I started with this one and have since tried 2 others. This remains my favorite and is quite exquisite!

A beautiful tea. Bright and grassy. After lunch session again. Trying to finish some more teas while my April and May teas are stuck in transit. Finished the Gan Lu B today. I find it bright and grassy with just a hint of umami, but I definitely prefer Mao Feng. Looking forward to sampling the new green teas from April’s box when they finally get here.

Very light tea. Hints of honey here and there. I’m not sure if its mostly our water that affects tea but very light teas like this tend to not impress me much. Might start experimenting with water soon.

The leaves are smaller than the A tea, but it still reminds me of pine needles! This is easily one of the best green teas I've had. Once the vegetal taste evened out a bit, it was a nice mix of vegetal, sweet, and with a hint of spice. It briefly had some astringency, but that faded, and it was never as overpowering as the A tea. We used a good amount of leaves, so it held up very well.

I enjoyed comparing both the Gan Lu A and B. I now have drawn a comparison to the type A and type B personalities and these teas. I think they’re kind of accurate. B was so much more mellow, rounded and soupy to me. Next to the A it was somewhat muted but it still was really pleasant on the palate! B is the stroll in the park and A was a sprint to various checkpoints of flavor.

Eyes Dry Leaf: very small and slightly twisted young leaves and buds, with a fine layer of white hairs Nose Dry Leaf: robust nuttiness, with malt, chestnut, and soy milk Nose Wet Leaf: soy milk and edamame, with vanilla and a slight florality Eyes Liquor: pale yellow viscous liquor Mouth Texture: thin to medium-thin Mouth Taste: mildly tart, with an edamame start followed by a rush of floral notes; slight creaminess Mouth Finish: slightly dry moving to thick and juicy, with a cinnamon spiciness, followed by a lasting and bright floral aroma Nose Empty Cup: honey and roses/floral bouquet Eyes Wet Leaf: very small, tender bright green leaves and buds; slightly broken Body Sensation: focused and alert This tea had a nice floral aroma, but unfortunately lacked some of the depth of the first Mengding Ganlu and had more tartness and dryness. Despite this criticism, I enjoyed the very refreshing and almost cleansing floral aroma in the finish. Addendum: When brewed according to the suggested parameters, the tea presented itself in a much more enjoyable fashion. I’ll reserved longer brew times for the more robust and smooth versions in the future. Tea sesh round two, with a second Mengding Ganlu.

A wonderful tea, not too overwhelming. Kind of grassy, with a hint of umami. Afternoon session during a lazy work day. Such a lovely flavor in this tea. It’s strong but not overwhelming.

This is a very weak tea. The little that I can taste of the flavor is nice -- vegetal and a bit fruity -- but I had to concentrate to taste much by the 4th steep. The color also remained very light throughout, with only a hint of green. Christian said he got a bit more out of it the first time he brewed this tea, but it's really not holding up well now.

I think I like this on best of the Meng Dings so far, because its flavor is the most subtle. It’s nice and pleasant, and not overwhelming. Trying to drink as tea every day this week, since next week I won’t be allowed to (certain teas interfere with allergy testing). This Meng Ding Shi Hua is very pleasing. It tastes to me like the Huang Ya and the Mao Feng but more restrained, and I like it better for it. Not necessarily a favorite, but I’m excited to finish the sample later.

Eyes Dry Leaf: fine pistachio green buds with a fair amount of trichomes Nose Dry Leaf: deep roasted walnut and cashew with a bread pudding sweetness Nose Wet Leaf: steamed asparagus/artichoke and French vanilla ice cream Eyes Liquor: pale yellow and viscous Mouth Texture: medium to thick and lush Mouth Taste: artichoke and edimame, moving to a soft walnut note; sweeter as it cools, developing a vanilla character Mouth Finish: long, with a dry nuttiness on the tongue and a juiciness in the top of the cheeks Nose Empty Cup: vanilla and mixed nuts Eyes Wet Leaf: small, vibrant green buds Body Sensation: simple, calm, and relaxed Much more focused on the green and nutty end than the other teas, with a nice bit of citrus. Very pleasant transformation through the infusions. Final tea of this months collection, ending it on a good note (or several 😂)

Much more delicate than the Mao Feng, the Shi Hua required a little more effort to find its full promise. I started with the recommendations for gong fu and found the flavors very nice, but subtle for my palate. Tasting notes are below. I think next time I will try a bit higher leaf to water ratio.

Still such a good tea. Could drink all day. My aunt came to visit and we did her first tasting today. My sister requested the Jasmine Green Needle, which was one of my favorite teas from the January box. It was great to share this tea with the entire family.

Dry: Wet: Wash: 1st: Tasty session like drinking perfume in a good way

Wow what an amazing jasmine tea! I liked how the jasmine didn’t over power the green tea base and that they complimented each other. Beautiful flowers and tea leaves. Smelled fantastic. Probably the best jasmine tea I’ve had to date.

Probably the best jasmine tea I’ve ever had. A beautiful floral flavor. Tasting with my parents and my brother today. This is the first jasmine tea I’ve had since I got back from Beijing almost eleven years ago. They served Jasmine tea at every meal and by the time I got back I was sick of it, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I like it. I guess time heals all wounds. It has such a delicate floral flavor and I’m glad to have tried it.

Eyes Dry Leaf: small green mildly furry buds with small white flowers Nose Dry Leaf: jammy florality, with almost banana chip undertones. Jasmine has such a distinct character that still manages to vary from tea to tea Nose Wet Leaf: deeper tones coming out of the jasmine, with a robust and pungent, almost earthy florality Eyes Liquor: pale yellow viscous liquor Mouth Texture: medium Mouth Taste: mild tart moving to sweet and jammy, with undertones of nut milk creaminess Mouth Finish: dry, with a medium-thick and expansive juiciness along the top of the mouth and a very floral aroma left in the back of the mouth and nose Nose Empty Cup: jasmine Eyes Wet Leaf: small, very light avocado green leaves Body Sensation: relaxed, laid back, and happy I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this tea when I first saw the jasmine flowers mixed into it, but I trusted Vincent and he came through. Very pleasant jasmine tea. I was looking forward to this, love a good scented/blended floral tea, especially when it comes to jasmine!!

I‘m always a sucker for Jasmine tea but this was truly one of my favorites ever. Whereas most jasmines fade after a single brew (maybe two), this one held up well for 5+ steepings, changing flavor along the way. Fantastic! Awesome start to the tea club! Very impressed so far and it‘s only the first tea. Pumped to try more soon and to be on this journey with you all :D

drank on saturday, january 15. a vibrant and alive floral jasmine explosion! many steeps, drank this all day. i am dying to have it with a milkbaum japanese pastry. i see this tea as something whimsical and for when i'm in a certain mood. very perfume floral. clean taste.