I was barely able to contain my excitement when Glen from Crimson Lotus Tea reached out to see if he could send me their new tea adventure set, appropriately dubbed Game Night. Material from a single varietal of tea was grown on the same farm, harvested at the same time, and processed by the same family into three different types of tea. How cool is that!
This set includes a sheng puerh, black tea, and white tea. They came packaged in a black drawstring bag. Each tea was packed in its own zippered plastic bag, which I appreciated as that helped to keep the different flavor profiles from affecting each other. They are all from Jinggushan, made from the Dabaicha cultivar, and harvested in Spring 2024.
Of course, I just had to taste all of these teas at once to taste the differences between them. I prepared each of them in a porcelain gaiwan using fully boiling water and Crimson Lotus Tea’s recommendation of quick steeps under 10 seconds to start. That was gradually increased across the session.
The Wild Hunt for the Lǜsède Elixir
The sheng puerh had a fairly green appearance with a good amount of silvery buds scattered throughout. It brewed up a pale gold liquor that darkened with each infusion. The taste was vegetal and earthy with a slightly astringent tang. There was a pleasant floral note in the background that lingered in the aftertaste long after each sip.
The Forgefire Brew of Língzhù-Shāngǔ
The dian hong of Game Night was dark with lots of golden buds. It brewed up a clear amber liquor. The taste was earthy and sweet with notes of caramel and a malty finish. There was a barely there rose-like quality that I found really intriguing. This tea had surprisingly little astringency for a black tea, even when brewed for a long time in later infusions.
The Whispering Leaves of Jinggushān
Last but definitely not least is the white tea. The cake looked like it was almost entirely made out of fuzzy silvery buds. It brewed up a deep gold liquor. The taste was sweet with notes of vanilla and honeydew melon with a soft, almost powdery floral finish. This tea felt the softest out of the three but don’t let that fool you. It offers plenty of complexity.
It was so cool to get to see how the different ways of processing change the taste of each tea. It’s also not often that you would ever have an opportunity to taste examples from the same farmer and cultivar. There was a floral throughline across all of them that made me wonder if it came from the terroir or the processing. This entire set is so thoughtfully curated. Each of the wrappers even has a unique story written on them. The artwork has a nostalgic video game-type feel. It would be fun to find a unique way to display the wrappers once they’re finished.
Have you had a chance to try Game Night? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
2024 Game Night provided for review by Crimson Lotus Tea.
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This be the perfect tea for when I DM for DnD 😀