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Tea related side blog of @apoostrophee

[apoostrotea]

About / F.A.Q.

How do you rate your teas?:

I use a five star system to rate each tea I try. This is more for me to look at than for you. The different ratings mean:

5 stars: want to buy a full cake of.

4 stars: want to buy more of but perhaps not spend too much.

3 stars: I enjoyed it but probably won’t repurchase.

2 stars: not really my vibe.

1 star: :(

Who are you…?

I’m an artist and Taoist who drinks a lot of tea. My art blog is @apoostrophe ! I can be found under that username in other spots online. Aged traditional sheng puerh is my favorite tea.

How do you brew your tea?

Mostly gongfu style which you can find a tutorial of online if you google it. I might make my own tutorial soon. Rest of the time I brew grandpa style and try not to eat too many leaves while doing it.

Where do get your tea? (I will update this list)

Teas shipping from America:

- yunnansourcing.us (massive catalogue, good beginner teaware, can be a bit overwhelming at first).

- liquidproust.com (great selection of stuff that’s hard to find).

- puerhjunky.com

- softerdrink.ca (Canadian supplier of Kuura).

- mandalatea.com (I recommend their oolongs).

- crimsonlotustea.com (some of their stock ships from China).

Teas shipping from China:

- yunnansourcing.com (big selection of everything).

- yeeonteaco.com (very traditional Hong Kong storage).

- white2tea.com

- bitterleafteas.com

- kingteamall.com

- farmer-leaf.com

Other:

- teaswelike.com (Taiwan, good raw puerh).

- kuura.co (Australian, good smaller selection very curated).

Any beginner advice?

If you haven’t already - switching to loose leaf tea is a big deal. Once you quit the bagged stuff the whole world opens up to you. Watch a lot of tutorials on YouTube and don’t drop a heck ton of money right away on tea you’re unsure about. Buy a ton of samples and build up your palette before you buy anything serious. Make sure to write down your tasting notes somewhere! If you want to get into gongfu, don’t worry so much about teaware. A simple cheap porcelain gaiwan is all you need; good teaware won’t make your cheap tea taste better, but good tea always tastes good. My DMs are always open.

Thanks for reading!

[apoostrotea]

2022 Inverse | White2Tea | Fu Heicha

Not to be silly, but I cannot recall if I’ve reviewed this one yet!

This delightful blend of Heicha and Sheng Puerh, adorned with the infamous Fu Zhuan aka Golden Flowers, exudes strong, invigorating energy. The aroma is youthful, with hints of green wood, fresh fruit, and sugar. Each sip reveals a sweet, juicy flavor that intensifies with each steep, as the liquor deepens in color. It's like tasting the essence of a sunlit orchard, where the sweetness and vibrancy grow with each passing moment, leaving you both energized and enchanted. This tea is distinctly APPLE to me… and doesn’t bother my stomach as much as some fu zhuan does. Still, don’t drink on an empty stomach or with a gluten intolerance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Gold Duck Shit | White2Tea | Oolong

This oolong boasts a rich charcoal and mineral aroma. Its flavor is dominantly roasted, accented with hints of stone and fruit like a freshly rained on mountainside. Nicely sweet with a smooth, oily texture, it’s delightfully free of bitterness. It strongly emanates that rock oolong flavor amidst the charcoal. An enjoyable tea. Slightly more roasted than most duck shit oolongs, but just as good.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Dayi 7542 701 | Teas We Like | Raw Puerh

Trying a 7542 sample I’ve had hanging around for a while. The serial number here of 2 corresponds to Menghai Tea Factory, in case that isn’t clear to those reading. The leaves are from the 1st batch in 2007. It’s an aromatic tea, smelling strongly of wood, herb, and slightly fishy. There is some fruity sweetness there, but this tea has a bite. If you take a sip, prepare for the wake-up call. Bitterness is sharp and qi is strong, keeping you awake and focused. With some more age, this tea may even out and become cleaner. That is, if you can get your hands on some now to save for later.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Wild Tree Purple Sweet Ya Bao | White Tea | Yunnan Sourcing

Haven’t had ya bao tea in a long time! Ya bao is the sprouts / buds picked from the tree before the tea leaf fully forms. The result is a beautifully sweet white-like tea. That alone makes this tea a treat, but they are additionally mutated purple leaves! Personally, I don’t taste a difference between purple variants and regular leaves. Maybe I need to try more purples, but this one tastes like most ya bao would. The great thing about ya bao is how you can steep the sh*t out of it. It benefits from higher temperatures and experimentation more than regular white tea does. This one is more floral than others I’ve had prior, but there isn’t any astringency at all. There is a hint of a sweet pine menthol flavor amongst the fruity floral. Aroma smells buttery and fruity. If you want to try a naturally sweet tea, try a ya bao. You won’t regret it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2021 Long Tang Old Tree | Raw Puerh | Yunnan Sourcing

This sheng greets you with a surprising smoky camphor note for its young age. The aroma is sweet, with a touch of beets and plums. The flavor profile is herbaceous, sweet, and fruity, with a hint of hay. There’s almost a sugary quality to it. These unexpected flavors continue to unfold each sip with little bitterness despite its youth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2021 Chapo | White2Tea | Heicha

This tea is a bit different from my current drinking habits. The hay aroma and flavor is at the forefront of this one with a hint of smoke. Like you’re visiting an old barn full of golden bales of hay. A distant campfire elsewhere at the farm adds a touch of smoke. A very familiar and intriguing tea. Cozy and comforting with good caffeine and qi. I was expecting this one to be darker! But it’s light like a sheng. I’m almost left wishing it was a bit smokier. The price on this one is great for those looking for this flavor profile.

★ ★ ★ .5 ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

15 Years Aged Golden Melon Ripe Tuo | Yunnan Sourcing

This aged ripe has a strong energy and thick flavor. It’s now one of my favorites from Yunnan Sourcing! The wet leaf smells of wood, chocolate, and mashed berries. I may have a bias for aged shou, but the flavors are very pleasant. A nice broad wet wood flavor with hints of vanilla at the forefront. Behind it, there are notes of brown sugar and rich earth. This tea lasted me many steeps, however the tuo is tough to break apart. You will need a strong tea pick for this one! I found this shou to be a perfect example of what an aged ripe can be. If you’re planning on making a Yunnan sourcing order, and have never tried aged shou, this is the tea for you. It’s affordable, but is a lovely goalpost for new sippers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[bogsandcreeks]

“One strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones.” - George Orwell • Take counsel from this fluffy fellow for tips on brewing the perfect cup of tea. 🫖

[apoostrotea]

1994 Xiaguan Tuo | Yeeontea | Ripe Puerh

Let me say, I love aged ripe puerh. Especially stuff like this from Yeeon. I don’t know if it’s the way they used to prepare and store shou back in the day, or if it’s simply the age. This tea is incredibly smooth and clean. Nice oily mouth feel, it’s a very easy tea. A lot of Yeeon’s aged ripes have this same quality — the leaves can take a good beating. Liquor color is nice, dark, and red with a very wet, woody, herbal aroma. The tea smells like the wet pile taste would be too much, but that flavor is nonexistent especially at this age. This leaf soup is an incredibly easy drink, bound to be enjoyed by most shou lovers. I do almost wish the flavor had been stronger, but you are always free to overleaf.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

Did you win the wrapper contest? Where do you post your art for tea wrappings? I really want to see them and perhaps buy the teas with your art on them

Hi! I have placed in the Yunnan Sourcing tea wrapper contest two years now :)

Here are the links to the teas!: 2022 Yunnan Sourcing "Jinggu Ye Sheng Cha" Wild Tree Purple Tea Cake — Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Jinggu Ye Sheng Cha" Wild Tree Purple Tea Cake — Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

I'm going to enter again this upcoming year of course ;)

[starlit-pathways]

True goodness is like water. Water's good for everything. It doesn't compete. It goes right to the loathsome places, and so finds the way.

—'Easy By Nature' from Tao Te Ching (道德經) by Lao Tzu (老子), rendition by Ursula K. Le Guin

[apoostrotea]

They Mad!!! | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

I am very silly, and bought this mini because the reference on the wrapper made me laugh. I love Documentary Now. Maybe I’ll ramble about it over on instagram later, but for now I will talk about the tea itself. The description of this tea that W2T gives is interesting; they note the tea is made of some older material they were waiting to press. Once again, we are all left to ponder what this material exactly “is”, which W2T always leaves a mystery. Aroma hit me as punchy, at first. I was worried about the bitterness as the aroma seemed young and green. But, it also smells sweet, sugary, and fruity. It smells a lot like Yiwu, but I’m uncertain as W2T is a strange mysterious wizard with its sources. Liquor is gold, crisp, soft. Cloudier and thicker than some young sheng I’ve had recently. This tea is a treat for sweeter young puerh drinkers. It’s quite a special tea. Notes of jasmine, wood, and fresh fruit. Leaning a tad on the floral side rather than the fruity. Give this mini a try if it sounds good for you. Maybe snag a cake if you’re feeling ballsy. It’s a good one.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2022 Boat Captain | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

Consuming this nice tea in its mini cake form! I always love getting mini tea cakes or dragon balls from W2T. Makes it so easy to bring to work, but, today I’m having it at home. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Boat Captain that made me think I would enjoy it. Aroma is smokey with notes of tobacco and spice. However, this tea tastes very young. The smoke flavor is strong and forward, with hints of bitter tobacco and spiced wood. But the bitterness is still off putting to me. If anything, I would love to see this tea aged maybe ten years down the line. These notes are already appealing to me, and with age to settle the bitterness, it could become a very lovely tea. If it’s still available in a few years, I’ll have to try it again and maybe even cake it.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

[apoostrotea]

2011 70th Anniversary Xiaguan | Liquid Proust | Raw Puerh

This tea is coming off of an iron pressed cake with Taiwanese storage. I haven’t had much experience with Taiwanese storage except for some of the teas I’ve tried from LP. So, which one of these flavors is reminiscent of Taiwanese storage? I’m unsure! Immediately, the ripe fruit aroma coming off the wet leaves is very apparent. It smells like over ripened bananas. To me, this scent-note is important for the sweetest sheng. The tea brews clean, a nice clear gold soup. Later brews steep deeper into that gold. Flavor-wise is very smooth and sweet. The fruit flavors are all there, with some hints of honey. Fresh sweet leaves. Some good energy too with longevity. This tea lasted me many more steeps than just the first session. If you enjoy your sweet and fruity sheng puerh, you might enjoy this one. Steep it harder if you crave a bit more bitterness, but it’s a perfect sheng otherwise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[apoostrophe]

Autumn deer 🍂

[apoostrotea]

1985 8592 Broad Leaf Menghai Ripe | Yee on Tea

This one was surprising to me! Of all the teas I’ve tried from Yeeon, I had assumed this would be a favorite. I’m surprised that I did not like this shou as much as their other’s. Aroma is very wet and slightly dank — wet wood smells. Flavor to me was uninteresting… Warm and smooth, yes. But, lands rather flat and not strong. This tea doesn’t brew as dark nor for as long as I want it to. Especially at the price point, I expected a bit more “bang”. There are some positives here; the tea is smooth in the mouth, like oil. It has that warm ripe feeling. Yet, if you want a good shou from Yee on, I’m more likely to recommend the purple mark cake or the best taste shou. Those are far cheaper and (imo) far better. Such a bummer ! But I only bought 10 grams so it’s okay haha.

I’m going to try to be more active here on tumblr, so if you’d like to see some of my art and stuff it’s @apoostrophe for my art side blog !

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆