2023 年 6 月茶俱乐部

A nice Qi Lan. Fruity and floral at the beginning, swerves toward chalky, and then buttery. For the first of the rock teas this month, I sampled the Qi Lan. To me, it was fruity and floral at the beginning. In later steeps it grew more chalky until it became sweet and cresmy again.

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. I quite enjoy this one, but gave it 3.5 because the flavor is a bit too light - nice, just not wow. It tended to be "weak" through the entire session. But it did have a very nice sweetness and floral/orchid flavor throughout. I will try Spring recipe next to see if it will highlight the orchid aroma and flavor more. Might push this up to a 4.0 if it does. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully I like this one, but it just seemed "weak" throughout. Will try a different water recipe next time to see if I can raise the rating.

This is a very interesting tea! It changes both taste and smell a lot. I preferred the first infusions by far, because I love teas that taste like honey and caramel compared to the flowery ones, but it’s just a matter of personal preference, it’s definitely a lovely tea.

Last tea from the Rock Oolongs. I quite enjoyed it. I have never had rock oolong before this myteapal club theme. I found out that I'm not a big fan of Rock Oolongs, but some of them may be nice to drink occasionally. Leaderboard according to my taste for the Rock Oolongs: 1. Da Hong Pao 2. Huang Guan Yin 3. Floral Shui Xian 4. Rou Gui 5. Qi Lan

This one is a bit more smoky than Da Hong Pao. There’s slight floral taste but I can’t describe it. In my opinion, it’s not that rich in flavor as previous tea, but I think what can help is incrementing infusion time, not 5s between but 10s or even more. The tea is more mineral after that.

Overnight cold brew! The color is a dark golden. The taste is roasted and a bit sweet. The aftertaste is long lasting and a bit fruity. I'm surprised it kept so much flavor after so many gong fu steeps, but I'm certainly not complaining!

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. Very nice. Like the underlying creamy flavor and texture. Charcoal flavor is there, but not overly unpleasant. I wish the floral notes were a bit stronger - will try Spring recipe to see if I can bring those notes out more. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Another nice June club tea.

Eyes - Dry Leaf: raisin-brown twisted leaves Nose - Dry Leaf: charred pine, cassia, and spices Nose - Wet Leaf: deep charcoal, cinnamon, and dark chocolate covered cherries Eyes - Liquor: deep amber-brown liquor with a medium viscosity Mouth - Texture: medium full and supremely silky, with a textured minerality Mouth - Taste: warm charred pine and cassia leading to a tingling spice and dried fruit finish. Soft vanilla smoothness throughout. Mouth - Finish: dry to juicy, with a strikingly tingly minerality in the cheeks and on the side of the tongue. Vanilla smoothness and lasting cassia spice. Nose - Empty Cup: charcoal and cassia Eyes - Wet Leaf: deep brown, almost black leaves with olive streaks. Clearly a heavier roast. Body - Sensation: bright, mellow, and relaxed A spectacularly good yancha from a couple years back. Nearly perfect Rou Gui.

I remembered this tea as being more complex, today I only got charcoal notes from it. Not the tea for me, not only because of taste but also because I dislike how much it dries my mouth. Full notes in my previous post about this tea, but today it felt quite different from last session’s!

We're using Christian's new tea set and tray! The tea was a beautiful burnt orange color. The aroma and flavor started off fruity but quickly became predominantly smokey. It was good, but the complexity faded faster than I would have preferred.

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Original recipe to make 50 TDS water. Nice tea, but I enjoyed the other teas from this box more. Nice sweetness with some surprising cream notes at the end. Slight floral aroma that didn't translate into the flavor that I could detect. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Final tea for the month. Not my favorite of this box, but still very good. Hard to dislike a rock tea!

Matching artwork! The sweet spiciness comes out well as an aroma in the teaware and when the tea liquor is a little cooler. Rou gui isn't my favourite yancha but this is a nice version with a lasting huigan.

Brewing third tea from the rock Oolongs. It reminds me a lot about Tie Guan Yin, which I like. Tastes like Tie Guan Yin with smokey, roasted, rocky, mineral taste. I enjoyed this a lot of more than the tea which I had yesterday. So far, it's on the second place (I probably like Da Hong Pao more).

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Autumn recipe to make 115 TDS water. Very similar to my favorite Tie Guan Yin, so love this one. Nutty, sweet, and honey with a hint of fruityness. Stayed very consistent throughout. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully My favorite so far of the June teas.

This tea was golden brown in color. The aroma was consistently sweet roasted. The taste was similar on many steeps, but others had more fruit and spiced notes, which I enjoyed. Some steeps were like a delicious fruit pie. My only complaint is that it's hard to keep pulling flavor from it, but I know that's the curse of oolongs.

Received a teapal package today. Tasting first tea from the Rock Oolong teas. I quite like it. I have never drunk rock oolong before. I'm not that expert in writing taste notes, but I will write leaderboard (according which teas taste the best to me) when I taste the next teas as usual.

A lovely medium roasted Da Hong Pao. Charcoal and peaches. The wet leaves smell amazing and fruity. A wonderful session with the TeaPal Club tasting the last of the yanchas. This was a wonderful Da Hong Pao. It was a lighter roast than I normally like for Da Hong Pao, but it was delightful. It had a light charcoal flavor with a hint of peaches.

Really good da hong pao Had some friends over for tea and sweets! A truly lovely afternoon.

I like this better than the rou gui! The color is golden brown. The aroma is primarily roasted with some nutty notes. The flavors remain complex for much longer, with sweet roasted nuts and fruit notes.

0 TDS distilled water with TeaCurious Autumn recipe to make 110 TDS water. Delicious. Nice balance of all the flavors, nothing too strong in the forefront. Nice nutty notes, deep, rich mineral (flint / charcoal) notes, and some nice hidden sweetness and floral notes. Rating Criteria: 0.5 - bad, flavorless, or worse very astringent, teabag 1.0 - mostly bad, flavorless, most teabag tea 1.5 - not good, but maybe something to like 2.0 - slightly disappointed, not my kind of tea, but still can appreciate it - probably the worst rating I would give a loose leaf tea (at least one that hasn't turned bad) 2.5 - mixed feelings, like it, but there is something off about it I don't like 3.0 - good, I like it but nothing stand out about it or a very good tea with one critique that holds me back - probably the highest I would give a teabag tea 3.5 - very good, a tea that I was very happy to have but content with what I had, wouldn't seek it out for additional purchase 4.0 - great, very happy with the experience, would seek out for purchase, but only occasionally 4.5 - a favorite, one I love and want very often 5.0 - life will be very sad without it, reserved only for my favorites (roasted Tie Guan Yin & Dancong Red), room for more hopefully Another month means new club tea. Nice start with Big Red Robe.