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TeaPlanted: September 16, 2024
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My drink of choice is tea. It is an absolute tragedy that here in the US we have a strong coffee culture and a weak tea culture. I can't tell you the number of times I've ordered tea at a restaurant, only to realize that I paid $4 for a cheap tea bag and a mug of hot water (sometimes they try to elevate the experience by providing a little tea pot of warm water to accompany that mug). Cafes are only slightly better, but most still try to charge you for a tea bag in a cup, so I rarely order anything besides a chai or matcha latte. That being said, I am not above drinking cheap tea and regularly drink grocery store brands like Bigelow or Celestial Seasonings (hey by the way, did you know Celestial Seasonings has a cultish history? I'll have to write about that later). I would even buy a 100 pack of Wegmans English Breakfast or Earl Gray as my cheap caffeine fix in the mornings. I used to get all of my tea from a little shop in Great Falls, Montana called In Cahoots for Tea (I'll also have to write more about that later).
Anyway... today I want to write about
Gongfu Cha
So I fell down a deep, deep rabbit hole when I was researching where to buy tea online. I went to the r/tea subreddit to see if I could find any good shop recommendations there. Instead, I discovered gongfu cha, which is the Chinese method of brewing tea leaves. Also called "kung fu tea," it means to prepare tea with skill. It involves placing a high ratio of tea leaves into a small vessel (e.g., a gaiwan) and straining it multiple times. Each brew time is very short, typically 5-10 seconds. Rather than brewing the tea western style (i.e., throwing a spoonful of tea leaves into an 8oz cup and steeping for 5 minutes, which dilutes and melts all of those flavor notes into one cup), gongfu cha captures how the flavors change as the leaves open up with each steeping.
Teaware and Supplies
[coming soon: Tea Cups | Tea Pet | Cha hai | Cute rabbit plate | Tea Tray | Zojirushi mug]
Tea Reviews
I'm not really good at describing the things that I smell or taste. Maybe I just lack the vocabulary or terminology (I once described a smell as round and my sister laughed at me). So know that before reading my tea reviews lol
My star system:
☆☆☆☆☆ = Absolutely vile, may as well throw any unused leaves into the trash.
★☆☆☆☆ = Gross but I will tolerate it for the caffeine, at least. Would not buy again.
★★☆☆☆ = It's fine, unoffensive. Probably would not buy again but also wouldn't say no to it.
★★★☆☆ = Pretty good but I wish the tea gave me *more*
★★★★☆ = Very good, I'd buy it again and probably will.
★★★★★ = Perfect, amazing, it changed my life. It's like a symphony in a cup.
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Name: 2024 Blood Moon dragon ball (white2tea) Type: Shade dried, partially oxidized halfway between white and black Measurements: 7g @ 200°F white2tea's description: The bright and clear soup is sweet and enduring, with a velvety softness and aromas that flit between vegetal and fruity. Soft strawberry flavors and grassy honey are at the forefront of its youth, though we suspect it will deepen and thicken up in the coming years. My notes: Rinsed twice for 60 seconds each, then did 6- to 10-second steeps. The leaves were fat—whole leaves with little breakage. Right out of the wrapper, I smelled fruit, but instead of strawberries I thought it was more wine-like. The fruity aroma was strong for the first few steeps, then it faded to become more floral and honey-ish. Very low bitterness and astringency. Definitely on the sweet side. I only wish that it lasted longer. It was not enduring as w2t claims. After the two 60-second rinses, I only got about 300ml out of it before it tasted like hot water.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ |
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Name: 2023 Harlequin dragon ball (white2tea) Type: Raw Pu-ehr Measurements: 7g @ 212°F white2tea's description: A raw Puer blend that was sent to Fujian province to be hand charcoal roasted by veteran Wuyi Yancha oolong makers. A blend of 2022 raw Puer teas, roasted in late 2022 in Fujian and rested until pressing this spring 2023 in Yunnan. Charred citrus, fresh cut melon, clover garden aromatics and sweetness. The roast of the charcoal has taken the edge off of this young sheng blend and ramped up the fragrance and sticky mouthfeel. My notes: Rinsed for 60 seconds, then did 10-second steeps. The leaves opened quickly and the scent was powerful. Other dragon balls take a couple rinses to finally taste or smell like anything, but not this one. Smoke was definitely the forefront of this tea, quite the opposite of the Hotline Space Coyote tea I drank in August. In Harlequin, the strong smoke reminded me of incense, not so much a fireplace or campfire, and I greatly enjoyed that. In the mouth, it was slightly bitter and astringent, and left behind a stickiness and sweet aftertaste, although I couldn't put my finger on any specific fruity flavors like white2tea describe. The smokiness remained pleasantly strong through the entire session.
Rating: ★★★★☆ |
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Name: 2020 Hot Brandy dragon ball (white2tea) Type: Black and White Blend Measurements: 7g @ 212°F white2tea's description: "The soup is thick, smooth, and fragrant. The tea has excellent endurance and can steep for a very long time and can even withstand being simmered or boiled without becoming acrid." My notes: Rinsed a couple times for 60 seconds each, then did around 10-second steeps (or longer, I wasn't so particular this time). I smelled something toasty and sweet underneath the veggie scent of the leaves—the first word that came to mind was marshmallow so I'm going with that. The flavor was surprisingly robust for a 4-year old tea. The black and white flavors melded together beautifully, and I can pick out one or the other in each steeping. Thick and smooth, just as white2tea described. The flavors and aftertastes were like honey and peonies. Delightful, forgiving, and easy to drink. For the price (~$30 for the cake) Hot Brandy is an incredible value for the experience, deserving my first 5-star rating.
Rating: ★★★★★ |
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Name: 2024 Moon Waffles (white2tea) Type: White Measurements: 7g @ 190°F white2tea's description: "A bright and floral fresh white tea with a supple sweetness and creamy, heavy body." My notes: Rinsed for 60 seconds, then did 10-second steeps. Opening this tea cake (well, waffle) from its bag was like having a cloud of perfume puffed into my face. To me, moon waffles is the quintessential white tea. It was highly aromatic in the gaiwan and cup, and left a pleasant honeysuckle aftertaste. Delicate, slightly astringent, barely bitter, this is a tea I will happily reach for when I need something soft and gentle. There wasn't much nuance in flavors between each steeping, which makes me think this would be a fine tea to brew western style, throw into a travel mug, and take along on a morning walk or commute.
Rating: ★★★★☆ |
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Name: 2022 Dangerfield dragon ball (white2tea) Type: Raw Pu-ehr Measurements: 7g @ 200°F white2tea's description: "...blended with an intention of being a poor man's Naka. The tea is extremely fragrant and smooth with an astonishing huigan [lingering sweetness]. The complex aroma and sweetness shift from steep to steep. " My notes: Rinsed for 60 seconds, then did 10-second steeps. The leaves in my gaiwan smelled like steamed vegetables, but in a pleasant way. The first steeps tasted like fresh cut grass (with its name, I imagine Rodney Dangerfield's face, so maybe I'm connecting this tea to Caddyshack). Dangerfield the tea was very astringent, but settled down after the third steep. I wouldn't say it had a sweet aftertaste, having had teas that were very honey-like, but it did leave a warmth and stickiness that reminds me of how my mouth feels after eating a cupcake. Maybe the sweetness white2tea mentioned was more pronounced when this tea was fresh.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ |
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Name: 2022 Fenris Ulf (white2tea) Type: Raw Pu-ehr Measurements: 7g @ 200°F white2tea's description: "...thick and powerful cup of tea with a well balanced amount of aggression. Burly flavors combined with a thick sweetness and plenty of staying power." My notes: I think white2tea's description captures the experience of this tea well. In the cup, it smells of tobacco with a hint of smokiness. In the mouth, it bites hard. It is bitter and astringent, but the aftertaste is soft and floral.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ |
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Name: 2021 Hotline Space Coyote dragon ball (white2tea) Type: Raw Pu-ehr Measurements: 7g @ 212°F white2tea's description: "...the return of our classic, strong Menghai area character. Full on power with a smokey backdrop. Medium bitterness and astringency when pushed and a heavy bodied tea throughout." My notes: In the first steeping, after 30 seconds, this tea gave a slight smokiness without being overwhelming or offputting. It is slightly bitter. Its flavor reminds me of the smell of Montanan wheat fields after smoke from Canandian wildfires have blown southward. The second steeping brought forth a subtle sweet flavor which reminded me of berries. By the third steeping the smokiness faded, but the wheat field flavor persisted. After that, the following steepings grew more bitter and all smoke and berry hints have disappeared.
Rating: ★★★★☆ |
