We'll see how many sessions end up on Mastodon, as for now I'm focusing on forcing myself to use the tea diary I got at the end of last year, but never had the courage to write in.
Well, while I'm here I might as well share what I'm drinking now. Wild Tree Purple Moonlight, a white tea with wonderful berry-like tart and sweet notes, along with a bit of herbaceousness and spiciness.
I really should've spoken a bit about how I'm dealing with chat apps, as that was one of my main concerns initially. Having consolidated (almost) all the different services into one app, Beeper, I now have a single inbox I can check at my own pace throughout the day. It's let me turn off all chat notifications but still feel confident I won't miss anything.
@sarajw I made a bunch of these growing up, but never knew they were Danish! I wonder if they're now common in all of Sweden, or just down in Scania where I grew up.
The time for advent calendars is finally here! This year I got the pure tea advent calendar from Tee Kontor Kiel, and I'll be posting each tea in this thread!
Day 13: Kukicha Miyazaki Morimoto
Green tea, China
5g, 70°, 60 sec
I haven't had quality kukicha before, only knowing it as a residual product sorted out from sencha. Upon seeing and smelling it, I realised it probably had a lot more to offer than I had expected, and my plans to brew it in a gaiwan went out the window.
Similar to sencha in many ways, but there's something distinct to it I can't quite put my finger on. I'll have to investigate further.
@babelcarp@tea well, more that it seemed similar enough in profile to the sencha and gyokuro teas I usually brew in the kyūsu. It also had a lot of fine particles, which are less hassle in the kyūsu
Day 14: Fujian Black & Gold Tips
Black tea, China
3.3g, 95°, 15 sec
Again a black tea that reminds me of white tea, which suggests I don't know what I'm talking about. It seems what I'm actually smelling are the fluffy buds in both teas, which I first encountered in white teas.
This tea is absolutely delicious. Sweet, honeylike flavour alongside some wonderful dark notes. I can't adequately describe it, but I can't wait to brew it again.
I've never seen a tea described as both green and oolong before but I'd say the flavour leans closer to (lightly oxidized) oolong. A delicious creamy and floral brew, sweet and a bit nutty, perhaps picking up some raspberry notes. Very nice!
Day 16: Fuding Wuyi Jin Jun Mei
Black tea, China
5g, 95°, 15 sec
This tea was immediately reminiscent of day 14's, but with a significantly darker profile. This emphasises earthy, chocolaty notes over the sweetness. The slight spiciness is still there and it has a luscious mouthfeel. I'd've been amazed at this tea three days ago (and it is great) but 14 was slightly more to my taste.
This only came with half the regular amount, so I'm afraid I won't be able to revisit it.
Day 17: Snow Dragon Xue Long Dongzhai
Green tea, China
3.3g, 80°, 45 sec
This green tea really seems to skirt the line to white tea. It manages to capture aspects from both, giving a sweet, floral brew with a very satisfying savouriness.
Day 18: Formosa Honey Black
Black tea, China
3.3g, 95°, 15 sec
My first impressions of this tea were quite tepid, it seemed a fairly usual black tea, but the aftertaste is quite intriguing. It reminds me of toasted seeds and I rather like it.
A darker oolong again, and my first ever tea from Thailand. It's sweet and aromatic, and backed up well by a full body. Very nice and strikes me as quite similar to day 6, but we'll have to see how they compare side by side at some point in the future.
Day 20: Darjeeling Seeyok
Black tea, India
5g, 2.5 minutes
A nice enough black tea, with a fairly fruity aroma and balanced sweet and bitter flavour. Not all that interesting however, so I'm having it at my desk while working on my thesis.
Day 21: Kabusecha Shiho
Green tea, Japan
3.3g, 65°, 60 sec
This is fantastic. Has all my favourite qualities in a Japanese green, with a great balance of umami and sweetness. Kabusecha is a new term for me, but from what I've (briefly) researched, it's essentially sencha that's been shaded before harvest, but not for as long as gyokuro. I've had a couple of shaded senchas before though, which perhaps would qualify as kabusecha. I love it.
Day 24: Gyokuro Shincha Homare 2023
Green tea, Japan
3.3g, 60°, 60 sec
What a way to stick the landing. I suspected they might go for a gyokuro to round things off, and I was very pleased to find my theory correct. Umami, sweetness and bitterness in a wonderful balance. A deeply satisfying, cloudy and vibrant brew.
Apologies for the poor lighting, I had to do a pre-dawn brew to make time for it on a busy day of celebrations. Merry Christmas!
