White2Tea 2002 CNNP (Zhong Cha) 7572 Green Label Tiepai
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 15 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: very dark reddish brown There are two words that strike fear into my heart when I’m drinking puerh. Wet. Storage. I just can’t bring myself to enjoy the affect that it has on tea. That being said, I owed it both to myself and to the gent behind White2Tea to power through this one. Many moons ago he was kind enough to send a package full of tea education after I asked a total newb question on a forum. This tea was the very last of those samples. The dry…
Tasting Puerh Storage Methods with White2Tea
The kind sir behind +White2Tea sent me a package of tasting samples last year after I asked a total newb question on Tea Chat. How cool is that? I’ve been slowly working my way through them and they’ve really helped me to learn the ropes a bit more. Some of you might remember the previous tasting that I did with their 2013 Jingmai – Old Arbor vs Plantation. This time around I’m tasting three raw puerh, each with different storage methods. Storage of aging teas is an often controversial subject in the tea world. There are several schools of thought on this and there probably won’t ever be a consensus. For more information on storage…
White2Tea 2014 Manzhuan
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: varied greens and browns, compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: gold This tea is kind of like the fruity cocktail that doesn’t taste like it has as much alcohol as it actually does. It was very soft and mellow but still left me feeling quite tea drunk. Fruity, floral and honey notes dominated the flavor profile. There was hardly any astringency and it never crossed the line into unpleasant bitterness. I’ve only had a few young shengs that were quite this understated. A vegetal element came to the forefront towards the end but it stayed fairly…
White2Tea 2007 Repave Cake
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: somewhat dark, mottled greens and browns Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: dark amberish gold Ah puerh, how I’ve missed you! I had heard a ton about this tea from friends on Steepster and Instagram. The base material was stored in Menghai for seven years before being pressed in 2007. The taste was vegetal with woody notes and a hint of camphor. There wasn’t a lot of bitterness but it still packed a punch. It was slightly smokey but not unpleasantly so. The mouth-feel was fairly thick and brothy. I lost count after ten consecutive infusions but…
White2Tea 2002 White Whale
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: somewhat dark, tightly compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: dark amber I cannot stress enough what an awesome vendor +White2Tea is. I posted a total newbie question on TeaChat about how to tell the difference between “ancient” and young plantation teas. Paul reached out privately offering samples that he thought would help me to understand. Included in the treasure trove that arrived a few weeks later was a brick of White Whale. I had heard quite a bit of buzz about it from fellow bloggers and on Steepster. Things have been a bit crazy so it had been way…
White2Tea Rougui Oolong Tea
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: small, dark Ingredients: oolong tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: dark amber +White2Tea is probably best known for their puerh but they do stock a few oolongs as well. I’ve never been much of a yancha person but lately Rou Gui has been one of my favorites. The name translates as cassia, aka Chinese cinnamon. Don’t think cinnamon flavor but a very pleasant spicy undertone. I find that I prefer them on the roasted side because it brings out that spice and this one was very nice. There was the classic mineral quality of a cliff tea as well as a…
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