Review: Space Girl - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Multiple mountains; 2016 (?)
Brewing Parameters: 6 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Very tightly compressed square brick with light to dark green and yellow leaves
Rating: A | 94/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
As my first puerh cake, I'm actually pretty satisfied with what I got. Taking it apart was more of a pain that I expected; it is extremely compressed, and the awl I have isn't the best thing to use as a pick. I'm doing this review during the second time I'm drinking this tea, because I ended up breaking apart or grinding most of the leaves into dust. It was much better this time, but I still need to practice breaking it apart. I think I've almost poked a few holes in my desk at this point, narrowly missed stabbing my hand, and ripped the wrapper a few times.

After I did a short wash and let the leaves open up a bit, the first brew came out a nice golden yellow. Unlike the Planet teas, there wasn't that much dust in the liquid. The aroma was similar to the other teas, with that slightly chocolate-y and and fermented soy smell (miso!). However, it also had more sweeter and floral notes, which found their way into the flavor. That's why I like this tea the most out of the set; it starts off with a quick sweet and milky taste, followed by a light, lingering citrus and jasmine flavor. It ends with a rose-flavored kick (it's very floral and somewhat cinnamon-y) which lasts for half a second, before slowly dissolving away. The texture, like the other teas, is slightly waxy, but unlike the others, it doesn't dry the throat too much (it still does, but it's not too bad).

Surprisingly, I got decently tea-drunk off of this in the first few brews– which I didn't necessarily experience on any other teas I had this review series (maybe Planet Yiwu was close). I think the closest tea I could compare it to that's not a puerh is a Jin Xuan– which is probably why I like it so much. I'm tempted to buy another cake just to store and age (they're relatively cheap– $20 plus shipping, but they're only 100 grams compared to the usual 200 or so grams), but I also want to save my money so I can buy a 2017 cake (like a bottle of wine, I want to have a cake from a special year: the year I graduate!). Oh, decisions. Anyway, I stopped at six brews, but it looks like this tea can go for a lot more brews, so I'll be doing sessions all day with the same leaves. It's a good tea to end this series on.

Other Notes

Today's album is Constellations by Dead Astronauts. For me, Dead Astronauts has always been a hit or a miss; in general, the backing tracks/beats/etc. are very good, but sometimes, the vocals can ruin the song. But, still, I like the album as a whole– my favorite songs are Weathered Wolves, Little White Lie, and Part Two.

Anyway, welcome to the last weekend of winter break, and welcome back to the grind! Today, I'm grabbing some lunch with some friends and watching Perks of Being a Wallflower with them. Then, I'll be going to a fencing club meeting (which is, surprisingly, working out decently well); I'm thinking of starting to learn epee since I like the slower pace and the freedom it offers. After that, I gotta do comp civics work and go to bed early because tomorrow, I have my first college interview with Haverford! I'm excited but have no idea what to really expect. I'll fill you guys in on how that goes.

On competition civics, I'm kind of pissed right now because that group member I've had issues with is still very hard to work with. She's one of those people who says you're wrong or pokes holes in your argument, but doesn't have a solution or alternative to help. She also expects us to work around her schedule, doesn't work nearly as hard as the rest of the unit (she says she does, but it becomes obvious in practice that she hasn't done much), and fails to show up to meetings or help write stuff. Tomorrow, we're getting judged by some of the toughest teachers/judges at a practice, and since I have that interview tomorrow, I won't be there (which is good! hopefully it shows the rest of the unit how much work we need to put in).

Lastly, I asked that girl to watch a movie. She said "that sounds awesome but I'm dealing with some things, so I'll text you when I'm ready". My friend told me to respond to that with "yeah no worries, good luck with those things" which I don't think went over that well because she responded with "thanks !". From my experience– and it might just be me overthinking things– when people put a space in between their message and the punctuation, it's them being passive aggressive. So, who knows what'll happen. At least I tried, so I have that peace of mind now. I just hope I didn't sound like an ass.

Review: Planet Yiwu - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Mengla, Yunnan; 2016
Brewing Parameters: 6-9 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Tightly compressed, yellow to dark green ball
Rating: A- | 91/100
# of Brews: 10

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Late review today! It's been kind of busy, and I'm in the middle of writing some testimony for competition civics, so this will also be somewhat of a quick one, too. I decided to save this planet as the last tea I'll be tasting, since I read somewhere that Yiwu is one of the most famous mountains for Pu'erh tea.

Interestingly, this tea had a strong aroma even before brewing. After the first wash (which opened the ball almost completely), there was a scent of peanuts and soy sauce with a hint of sweetness. Like the other teas, the color was a light orange-yellow (erring more on the side of yellow). Eventually, it turned to more of a reddish-amber, which was different.

Even though I didn't necessarily give that much attention to this tea while drinking, I thought it was surprisingly good. It was noticeably more floral and fruity than the others; however, it wasn't sweet. On first sip, there is a light berry taste, which has a hint of tartness to it. Then, it tastes similar to rose, ending on a bitter note. However, it leaves a dull sweetness in the mouth and some chocolate on the breath. It dries the throat and is a little waxy, similar to the other planets.

Overall, one of my favorite ones from this set (and I'm not biased, I swear! It's just a coincidence that I began to like each consecutive tea more than the last). To be honest, I think I might actually like it a bit more than Planet Jingmai– which was decent, compared to the other teas in this set.


Other Notes

Today's album is– there is none! I just put my playlist on shuffle and had random stuff play. However, if I did have to pick an album, I suggest Every Open Eye by CHVRCHES. I'm still particularly fond of pop/synth with female vocals, and CHVRCHES has been my fix for that. In fact, I actually bought the vinyl for this– but, alas, the motor on my turntable is wonky and it plays slightly too fast. But, regardless, I still have a few favorite songs on this album– Leave a Trace, Clearest Blue, and Bury It.

So, I started this review six hours earlier. Now, I just finished writing competition civics testimony, and now I'm doing this. Kind of pissed because the one person who was supposed to help me only wrote two paragraphs and left early, so I was stuck doing most of the work myself. Usually, my other partner helps out and it works out decently, but she's really sick (bless her heart), so I can forgive her. It sucks since that partner who was working with me today has consistently been subpar compared to the rest of the unit. She's doing too much stuff, and it shows; she constantly makes excuses and misses meetings. It's especially worrying, since she's doing another club (which is nowhere near as important) and she can only become free to do competition civics by the 14th– two weeks before State. So, who knows, maybe it'll all work itself out. I'm just worried because the team depends on my unit getting more points than the other schools to carry the rest of the team.

Also, I decided to ask that girl I met from the other team to go and watch a movie with me. Note - I said decided; I didn't ask yet. To be honest, I have no idea how to. I messaged her today asking about La La Land, since I heard it's a good movie and it's playing at the theatre I like to go to and the one she's interested in going to, but it turns out she's already seen it. So, no idea what to do. Will update when I get the chance. 

Review: Planet Baiying - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: 2015 Lancang, Yunnan
Brewing Parameters: 6-9 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Tightly compressed ball of light to olive green leaves; it has the shape of a teardrop because one end is less compressed
Rating: B | 86/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Doing these reviews, I've realized that it's a bit hard because they can go through so many brews. Usually, the tea I drink loses its flavor at around 6 to 8 brews, so I can actually write about how it changes; however, for these planet teas, they go up past 10 and sometimes even to 20. So, it leaves me in a predicament– do I write a very long review and have a long tasting session, or do I write a short one and just drink throughout the day? It looks like I'm opting for the latter, so these reviews are more summaries than my usual review.

Anyway, as for this tea, it was one of the easier planets to open up, only taking 2 washes to completely come apart. Like most of the other teas (not sure if its the tea, or I've gotten a lot better at feeling out a tea when brewing), the texture is smooth with a light lasting aftertaste. It has a very slight waxy feeling, too. The color was a cloudy amber color, closer to orange than the usual yellow.

The taste, on the other hand, was an interesting in-between for the teas I've had so far. On first sip, it has apricot/fruity tones, which transition to a dull sweetness and eventually an earthy and sour aftertaste. From what I drank, the flavor stayed relatively the same, but a sweet taste began to form in the back of my throat– which I haven't noticed in really any of the other teas.

All in all, I enjoyed this tea. It's an interesting combination of everything I've tried, and it's a nice tasting moderate. It doesn't necessarily excel in any particular place, but it makes for a good daily drink.


Other Notes

Today's album is Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl. Found this through STRFKR, and it's pretty interesting; the idea is that artists cover the somgs of other artists from this record label. My favorite songs are In Green by the Generationals, Ears Ring by Owen, and While I'm Alive by Psychic Twin.

Well, today, I watched Hail, Caesar! (good movie), baked a cheesecake for my friend's birthday tomorrow, bought lunch for my parents, and did some stuff with my arm to try and fix it (sort of helped– not really). Right now, I'm doing some competition civics work– reading up on cases– and then I'll head off to bed.

For the hell of it, I decided to sign up for a speech competition about the Constitution; essentially, it's a 10 minute memorized speech (holy hell that's long) about the roles of a citizen, and a 6 minute discussion thing. I'm doing it because it's nice practice for competition civics, but at the same time, I haven't necessarily really done anything like this before. Let's see how it goes. In relation, I finally decided to do the science fair again this year. I was iffy because it's senior year and I have a ton of work, but I want to do at least some small project. The plan is to do something with slime mold again.

Review: Planet Bangwei - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Sheng)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Lancang, Yunnan; 2016
Brewing Parameters: 6-9 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Dull green and yellow leaves in a tightly compressed misshapen ball
Rating: B+ | 88/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Short review today, since its New Years Eve and all.

Compared to yesterday's tea, this is much more compressed. Opening it up fully took three to four brews, and the wash was a cloudy yellow color. The leaves smelled great– somewhat savory, like worcestershire or soy sauce, with sweet, like pineapples.

As a whole, this tea is very fruity. The cloudiness cleared up, but the color stayed relatively the same–  yellowish. The flavor is sweet– slightly citrusy or like apricots– and vegetal, with a honeyed and bitter aftertaste. It's smooth, but it leaves a somewhat waxy texture in the mouth afterwards.

Overall, I like it, more than yesterday's Dark Planet. Personally, I prefer fruitier teas (or things more similar to oolongs/greens, than blacks) and this fits that pretty well. I found that as long as it brews well, it's great; however, it's a finicky tea. If it brews slightly too long or too hot, it gets very bitter. Too short or too cold, it's weak. These seem to be characteristics of most sheng puerhs. But, when its just right, it's an enjoyable tea.

(Note: This was supposed to be published yesterday, but I forgot to, so here it is now)

Other Notes

Today's album is Umbra by the Y Axes. I've actually been waiting quite a while for it to come out, and it was worth it. My favorite song on the album is Umbra.

Anyway, happy new years! I just finished watching the Green Mile (great movie, by the way) and am now watching Keanu. Now that my college apps are done, the rest of my break is going to be spent mostly relaxing or doing comp civics work. Not really sure what I'll do, but I have some stuff in mind– for one, finishing Assassination Classroom. I'm kind of stuck indoors for a while since my shoulder is fucked, but hey, at least I don't have work now.

Review: The Dark Planet - Crimson Lotus Tea

Type: Pu'erh (Shou)
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Menghai, Yunnan; 2013
Brewing Parameters: 6-9 g; 100°C; 5s up in Gongfu style
Appearance: Small, compressed ball with light to dark brown leaves
Rating: B | 83/100
# of Brews: 6

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
So, I was given Crimson Lotus Tea's Puerh Yunniverse tasting set for Christmas this year, which means that we're doing another set of themed reviews! Although I'm usually not a puerh drinker (and a shou puerh drinker at that), I love these little single serving tea balls. I don't know why– it's probably just the convenience or the fact that I never actually drink puerh that often. Anyway, I'm excited to try this. I'm following CLT's suggested brewing style, with a couple of rinses before to open the ball up.

Surprisingly, this tea didn't take that much work to open up. It kind of fell apart after the first wash. As a whole, the leaves are relatively small, but not broken up. The tea has a smell– sort of musty, fishy (shrimp or crab), and like old books. The color is a very nice dark amber, similar to unrefined apple juice.

For the first brew, the taste was relatively weak (probably because I only brewed for 5 seconds). It had an earthy and mineral sweetness, with a very light fruity/citrusy aftertaste. It's not bitter at all– something I didn't expect– and had very little astringency; in fact, the mouthfeel was generally smooth.

As it went on, the brew became more orange-red and clear. I increased the brewing time by 5 seconds each subsequent brew, and it worked out pretty well. The flavor became a bit more sour and the mineral flavor was much more pronounced (you know how water tastes when it has a bit too much calcium in it? yeah, that's how this tea is). Over the six brews, the flavor stayed relatively constant, which makes me think that I could keep drinking this throughout the day.

Overall, this is one of the better shou puerhs I've had. I'm still not a fan of shou puerhs in general (probably because I have so little experience with them), but this could be the occasional pick me up or something to change up your daily drink. I might change my mind on this tea by the end of the Puerh Yunniverse tastings, but I think it's just alright.


Other Notes

Today's album was De La Soul's And the Anonymous Nobody. I heard some bad things about this album from my friends, but I actually liked it quite a bit– there's a wide variety of featuring artists and the lyrics are pretty good (Here in After is my jam).

Hopefully, I'll be publishing a review or post almost every day for the rest of break. It's been too long since I last posted, and I actually now have a backlog of teas I need to go through and review (which is a first). Here's the plan for the Yunniverse teas, though:
Today: Dark Planet
12/31: Planet Bangwei
1/1: Planet Jingmai (no review since I've already done one, and I think that drinking the first sheng puerh I ever tasted is a good way to start the new year)
1/2: Planet Yiwu
1/3: Planet Baiying
1/4: Space Girl (I might hold off on this one because it's a small brick/cake instead of the usual tea-ball)
After that, I'll be reviewing some random teas in no particular order: Stormy Night by David's Tea, Earl Grey by Tea of Life, Soleil Levant by Lupicia, Peppermint Herbal Tea by Stash Premium, Soothing Chamomile by Ambiance, and Teh Halia by Lipton. (Most of these teas are actually just free teabags I got as samples or from hotels/law firms/etc.).

As for what's happening today– I'm going to finish writing my college applications and hopefully submit by the end of the day! I don't know where I'll go in the end, but we'll see and I'll update you guys when I get my acceptances.

Tea Review: Planet Jingmai - Crimson Lotus Tea

Tea Info
Type: Sheng Pu'erh Tuocha
Producer: Crimson Lotus Tea
Origin: Jingmai - Spring 2014
Brewing Parameters: 8g, 100°C, 30s up - Gongfu style
Appearance: Small-medium sized ball with some black/brown, dark green, and orange leaves
Rating: A | 93/100
# of Brews: 24

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Surprise review! I bought a teapot, filter, tea pitcher, and cup from Teaware.house about a week or two ago and they finally came in the mail, so what better time to review one of my favorite teas? I was actually planning on saving/aging this tuocha ball and drinking it on graduation, but I can always buy another one from Crimson Lotus Tea. Anyway, I do need to relax since it's finals week (I've spend over 20 hours by now studying this week alone) and I'm only 2/3rds of the way done– tomorrow is AP Statistics and Honors Precalculus.

I believe this tea was my first sheng puerh, so it has a special place in my heart. Before brewing, I did 3 30 second steeps to open up the ball, before drinking. After this, I did one 30 second brew. I could already tell that this was going to taste much different than the last time I drank, which was only about a month or two ago. The liquid was a very bright yellow with a bit of sediment, and an aroma of very sweet, slightly fishy, and a bit like alcohol filled the air. The flavor was a bit bitter, vegetal, honeyed, and sour. It was surprisingly thick, coating my mouth and throat, leaving with that slightly sour aftertaste. However, it wasn't astringent or dry.

On the third brew (this tea is a long drink, and I plan to do it all in one sitting heh), I did only 20 seconds. I can't really describe the aroma– maybe it was a bit rubbery and sweet, but much less fishy. The color was understandably a bit lighter, and the flavor, like the aroma, lost the fishy taste. It was still vegetal and honeyed, but there were some metallic notes and it became slightly more astringent. At this point, my stomach had been feeling a bit, well, tingly, even though I ate before this review. A very sweet taste had also formed in the back of my throat.

For the sixth brew, I brewed for a full minute with freshly boiled water. The liquid was a nice golden color, and the aroma was now mainly sweet, vegetal, and a bit sour. The flavor was now a bit bitter once again, but also had gained a slight creaminess. The aftertaste was mainly sour, with a bit of a viscous texture left in the mouth (like after eating a banana). I think at this point I was feeling a bit tea drunk, which I felt when I walked around.

The ninth brew was brewed for 1 minute 45 seconds. The liquid was still golden, but not as bright three brews ago. The aroma was still relatively the same– it seems to be getting more sweet as time goes on, however. This brew was surprisingly sweet compared to previous brews. It began as a bitter taste, but on the second cup it had a pleasant sweetness.

The twelfth brew was brewed for 2 minutes 15 seconds (notice a pattern here? I'm going up by 15 seconds each brew). It actually smelled a lot like tropical fruit (or fruit punch), and was a golden yellow still. The flavor, once again, was bitter, but was now citrusy (lemon), citrusy, and still creamy. By now, I feel pretty tea drunk. I'm mostly just lying down, it's hard for me to get up, and my body feels pretty heavy when I move. It's nice.

Honestly, by this point, I'm not really focused on the review anymore because of the tea drunkenness.The fifteenth brew was much lighter than previous ones, with a pleasant fruity aroma. The flavor now had lost all sense of bitterness and was generally creamy and sweet; however, it was beginning to lose its strength.

I finally stopped after 24 brews. Overall, this is one of my favorite puerhs (despite the fact that I haven't tried that many), and I'll be picking up more to age later. Kind of dead right now, though, since I think this is the most tea I've drunk in 1 sitting (2-4 liters of water).

Other Notes
So, I really enjoy brewing with a teapot! The only issue I can really find with it is that since the lid isn't an exact fit, it drips a tiny bit when pouring (it might just be the way I pour, however). Having a large, cloth filter helps a lot too, and glass cups/pitchers are nice for examining the tea. 170 mls means I get three cups each brew (which is a bit much, but I think it gives me a good idea of how each brew tastes and it allows me to share with others), and the glass pitcher doesn't drip when pouring, unlike my other pitchers. I did notice, though, that with my clay cup, the tea was a lot sweeter– the glass cup was good at maintaining heat, however.

Other than that, I should get to studying for AP Stat. It's an easy class, so I'm not too worried, but I am worried of messing something up and getting a really bad score. See you guys next week!

12 Days of Chris-Tea-Mas - Day 10: 2015 Spring 'Gu Ming Xiang Bing' Yiwu-Bulang Blend - Crimson Lotus Tea

Spring 'Gu Ming Xiang Bing' Yiwu-Bulang Blend - Crimson Lotus Tea
Type: Sheng Puerh
Appearance (dry): Compressed chunks and loose pieces of light and dark green, brown, and white leaves
Recommended Brewing Parameters: ~100°C, 5-10 g, 6s
Rating: A- | 91/100
# of Brews: 9+

Tasting Notes:
Interesting tea today. I'm using around 7-8 g just because I wanted to use the whole sample, and I'll be following the recommended brewing instructions: using boiling water, 3 second wash, then quick 6 second steeps. However, I'll be drinking with my dad today and writing the review after, mainly because I want to focus on just the tea. Today's album is Just Know That I Love You by Priscilla Ahn.

Well, puerh certainly is an acquired taste. For the first few brews, the tea was very, very fishy tasting (not suspicious tasting, but rather like seafood), earthy, and bitter, even with a very short brew time. The liquid was a light amber color, and the leaves definitely smelled like the pile (as in, fermented). However, as brews went on, and as my water temperature decreased, the tea tasted much better; it lost the fishy taste and became a bit sweeter and citrusy. The texture also became more smooth. I stopped at 9 brews since I have to write this review and I'll be going out in an hour, but I'll definitely continue drinking this throughout the day. Overall, I did not like this tea at first, but once the fishiness went away, I enjoyed it very much in the later brews. It had pretty good tea energy, and while I didn't get as tea drunk with this tea as I did with Planet Jingmai, I still liked it (I'm looking forward to drinking more puerh!).

Misc. Notes:

So, yesterday was pretty fun. Didn't get a massage (will do that today), but I did have dinner with the girlfriend (my parents liked her and it was fun seeing her) and watched Star Wars (surprisingly, really good). Again, not really sure what I'm going to do today; I might finally start those applications, practice my journalist articles for Mock Trial, work on the science fair project, or put together a final study guide for AP Statistics, though. It's hard to believe that I really have no work this break; it turns out I finished all of the work that my teachers were planning to have us do over winter break a long time ago, so I don't really have much to do other than drink tea and watch movies.