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.

Writing: Towards Tomorrow's Dreams

Note: For posterity, I'll be posting some of my  pieces I wrote for my English classes this year. One great thing about taking two English classes (instead of just one) is that you practice all kinds of writing; before this year, I was most comfortable with research-style pieces, but now, I think creative stuff is pretty fun. This was a piece for a world literature prompt, about reflecting on failure. I kind of took the idea after watching the movie Dope, so there's that. Also, I hate using actual peoples' names on this blog, but at this point, there's so much personal stuff here that it's probably very easy for someone to guess who I am.

Somewhere, in a small suburban town near San Francisco, a short, nerdy Filipino kid reads a tattered textbook in a stuffy, cluttered bedroom. Let’s call him “A.” His whole life, A has lived in that little suburb, where nothing ever really happens. So, to fill his time, he takes a slew of AP classes: biology, chemistry, statistics, and more. People tell him he’s smart, but he doesn’t think so; he just says he works hard. His dream is to be the first scientist in his family.

Like most interested in science, A dreams of working in a lab and sees an internship as a great opportunity. One day, he asks his teacher, “Hey, I’m applying to this summer program. Could you write a letter of recommendation for me?” He spends weeks, then months, assembling his applications so they show his rigorous coursework, achievement, and extracurriculars in the field.

When he gets his first response, A is thrilled; his heart pumping, he reads it, shakes his head, and convinces himself that the next one will be different. But despite what his teachers tell him, his hard work doesn’t pay off. Week after week, a new email comes in, each with a similar message:

“Thank you for your interest, but you were not accepted.”

“This is not representative of your scientific ability.”

“We’re sorry, but there was simply not enough space to accept all who were qualified.”

Eventually, rejection after rejection, he gets used to reading the same words over and over again. Twelve emails later, what was once optimism becomes bitter cynicism.

As time goes on, A sees his classmates get accepted and he wonders: What did they do better than me? Was I just not good enough? What did my essays lack? Later, he discovers that most of those who got in already had family in science or the money to afford expensive programs.

With summer fast approaching, he desperately searches– was there any place left to go? On the whiteboard, he finds two flyers advertising summer camps at community colleges nearby. It’s not what he’s looking for, but it’s free, so he takes it anyway.

Two weeks after school is out, A finds himself on the 6:30 AM BART to Fremont: a two-hour trip each way. He hopes that, maybe, he’ll see someone he knows. He’s excited, but he’s also scared for what’s to come.

In Fremont, A meets the bus driver, “B”, a middle-aged man with a dark mustache and a wide grin. As they drive, they talk about their lives. B tells stories of his daughter– an art major– the people he’s driven, and his philosophy in general. Each day, they chat about something new on the ride to class, but by the end of the week, B is transferred to another route. Before he leaves, he tells A to remember one thing: “Be happy. Every day is a blessing, so just enjoy the fact that you’re alive.”

In class, A is the only person from his school; he knows no one. But one day, at lunch, he meets “C”. C is half-deaf, loves bowling, and all in all, a survivor. Because her mother has multiple sclerosis, her father works all day to support the family, leaving C alone to take care of herself. By academic standards, she isn’t smart– but A thinks she’s one of the most mature and empathetic people he’s ever met.

In those two weeks, A and C learn more about each other– their lives, their schools, their families, their plans for the future. They share the same love for science, but unlike A, C plans to go to a community college and transfer.

When the camp ends, they hug and know that they’ll never see each other again. Their goodbyes are bittersweet. As he watches her leave, A thinks about his school. Where he’s from, people would think that C has less of a future because she doesn’t have over a 2000 on the SAT or a 4.0 GPA. There, her plans for community college are equated with being a failure.

Days later, A finds himself at the second camp in Concord. This time, it’s a three-hour commute each way– he leaves home at 7:00 AM and returns at 7:00 PM. Again, he’s alone.

In time, he makes four friends from other cities. They each want to do something different with their lives: join the military, study engineering, or be a scientist, too. The last one has no idea what to do, but knows he enjoys film.

Together, they make the “D” team. An unlikely group, they work surprisingly well as a unit. Each person has a different skill: coming up with ideas, figuring out details, making art, refining it all, or offering moral support. Guiding them is “F”, a fresh graduate from the local community college. He’s been in school for an extra year, but still has a deep seated love for education. He recognizes the academic potential of each one in the group– even those that think college isn’t for them. At the end of the program, F reveals that he’s been accepted to graduate school at a prestigious university, despite his rough start.

Through it all, A wonders to himself: at school, they would never be friends. The D team is nowhere near as competitive or focused as he is; not all of them want to go to college or know what they want to do. Then, by his classmates’ standards, F shouldn’t be as successful as he is.

But the more A thinks about it, the more absurd everything sounds. In those four weeks, each person he’s met has revealed their own walk of life. They’ve all shown to him that there are so many destinations, with so many ways to arrive, with similar experiences throughout. No one is better than the other.

In the end, I am A. Living, breathing people are the other letters: B, C, D, and F. But in reality, each of us is more than a letter, or a number, or a score. We’re each a product of our surroundings, our families, our friends. We all have dreams, expectations for the future, and knowledge of different ideas.

B– Michael– taught me that people are worth caring about. C– Roslyn– taught me that everyone is smart in their own way. The D team– Dominick, Nicolette, Aashka, and Alvaro– taught me the importance of diversity, and how each person has something new to offer. Finally, F– Ross– taught me the most important lesson: there is always a way to reach your dream, even if it isn’t by the path everyone else follows.

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.

What's Going On? (Life Update) 12/29/16

It's been a long time. Two or three months, it seems. Like I've always said, I'll try to get back on the daily tea grind whenever I have free time. And, it looks like now I do, with it being winter break and all.

So, how have I been in these three long months? Well, for the short version in no particular order:
1. Competition Civics has taken up most of my time.
2. College applications!
3. Meeting people?
4. District Attorney's Justice Academy!
5. End of first semester for senior year.
At least, that's what comes to mind. It's been so long since I've really written a blog post that I've forgotten why I really started in the first place– so I can save these memories. Looking back at old posts, I was going through a really bad time and it looks like stuff is looking up for me now.

Anyway, here's the long version.

First off: competition civics. In short, we're going to compete at state now! I'm in Unit 5, the Bill of Rights/legal unit, and I'm loving it. While my unit isn't necessarily perfect, I like to think we're a dysfunctional family. For the most part, it's mostly been me and another girl doing most of the work, and we've been carrying the third person, but in competition, we all end up pulling our weight pretty equally. The majority of our meetings go like this: we start writing the testimony (the prepared speech we have to do), and then something interesting comes up, and we end up arguing over random legal issues for the next hour or so. It works out pretty well, actually– we discuss many of the questions that come up in Q&A, so when they get asked, we know our stances and responses pretty well. At the first competition, districts, we were the only unit from my school to get first (by a measly 1 or 2 points); overall, as a school, we lost that one. However, at the second competition (the one that matters)– Regionals– my unit did miles better than the other schools, and we won by 13 points! A tiny margin, but hey, at least we got first.

Next: college applications. Oh man, they are stressful. These past few days, I've been writing and editing college essays from dawn till dusk. It's sort of my fault for waiting too long, but me being the indecisive person I am, I ended up dropping and adding a number of private colleges to my list. I'm now applying to Brown, Amherst, Cornell, Swarthmore, and Haverford. Back in November, I applied to UC Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Davis too. My major is undecided– still have no idea if I want to go into the humanities (e.g. law or history) or STEM yet, so hopefully I can figure that out in college. I don't know what I'm going to do if I get multiple acceptances to the private schools, but hopefully, we'll see what happens.

What's this about meeting people? Don't you meet people every day? Well, yes. But yesterday, actually, I met up with a girl from the opposing team for comp civics and it was interesting, to say the least. I didn't really go in expecting much (apparently people said it was a date, which was not my original intention), but I think she's pretty cool. Crazy smart, too. We talked about comp civics, mainly, but also about college and movies and stuff like that. On an unrelated note, I noticed that I get pretty tense when I talk to someone who I don't know that well but am interested in.

I'll make these last two sections pretty quick. On a whim (and because of an extended deadline), I applied to the county district attorney's justice academy, and I got in! For the next few months, I'm going to be attending legal seminars and it looks like I finally have that summer internship (not in science, but in law now). As for senior year, it's gone pretty well. It's not necessarily that hard, but it's super interesting. I love African American Lit (I've warmed up to my classmates, who are pretty cool), and AP Chem, my "hard" class, has turned out to be a decent challenge. It looks like I'm ending with all As, too, so there's that.

There. I finally wrote a post, and it only took three months. I'll be posting some of my essays I've written (not college essays, but just creative pieces) and new reviews soon enough. Crimson Lotus Tea's Yunniverse collection came in the mail today, and I have a few other teas that I got as gifts from people (David's Tea, Tea of Life, and Lupicia samples).

Writing: Bee Movie

Note: So, I watched Bee Movie and I had no idea that there was a courtroom scene. For giggles, I decided to put my mock trial journalism skills to the test and write an article about Bee Movie.

SENSATIONAL TRIAL CAUSES BUZZ IN HUMAN AND HONEY BEE COMMUNITIES

November 2, 2007

NEW YORK CITY – Following a week-long trial at the Superior Court of New York, honeybees successfully sued humankind for the unlawful sale of honey and use of bee labor in the case Barry Bee Benson v. the Honey Industry.

Arguing the case for beekind was Attorney Barry Benson Bee, a recent college graduate. After visiting Honey Farms, Benson Bee was appalled at what he saw, citing the conditions at the farms as “man-made wooden slat work camps.”

In response, opposing attorney Layton T. Montgomery argued that mankind’s use of honey was justified as “man’s divine right” and “the bounty of nature God put before us.”

Key witnesses Klauss Vanderhayden, the owner of Honey Farms; a bear; Sting, the lead singer for the band The Police; and Ray Liotta, actor, were called to testify in front of the court. Calling attention to the appropriation of bee culture and exploitation of bee labor by these individuals, Benson stated that “by taking our honey, you not only take everything we have, but everything we are.”

A major point of contention was the use of bee smokers by honey farmers to sedate bees. Benson Bee stated that at the farms, honeybees were “forcibly addicted to smoke machines.” Montgomery, on the other hand, called the smokers a “harmless little contraption.”

The case reached a climax when Montgomery was stung by Adam Flayman, a member of bees’ legal team. Montgomery called attention to the fact that the “queen gives birth to all the bee children”, and therefore, Benson Bee must be “an illegitimate bee.” Flayman, angered by Montgomery’s argument, yelled “I’m going to pincushion this guy,” and stung Montgomery in the buttocks. Shortly after, Flayman was rushed to the hospital.

Despite the incident, both Flayman and Montgomery returned to court the day after. However, the bee’s legal team was not present, leading to calls to dismiss the case entirely. In the nick of time, Benson returned with a key piece of evidence: the Thomas 3000.

Quite literally, the smoking gun in the case was the Thomas 3000, a bee smoker in use at Honey Farms. When the function of the smoker was demonstrated by Montgomery, a large majority of bees in the audience were knocked out.

Presiding judge Bumbleton immediately ruled the case in favor of the honeybees, as the jury watched in horror at the smoker’s effects.

When questioned after the trial, Benson Bee only had one thing to say: “My sweater is Ralph Lauren, and I have no pants.”

Review: 2016 Kamairicha "Gokase" by Tea Master Yoichi Korogi - Lupicia

Type: Green (Kamairicha/pan-fried)
Producer: Lupicia
Origin: Gokase, Japan
Brewing Parameters: 3-4 g; 85-90­°C; 1-1.5 min.
Appearance: Dark green, medium-small curled leaves
Rating: A | 94/100
# of Brews: 4

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Well, here's the last tea that I bought in Hawaii. Apparently, this is a special tea– made by a tea master whose specialty is pan-fried tea (which I'm assuming is somewhat of a rarity within Japan). From just looking at and smelling the dried leaves, you could tell they're quality; the smell was surprisingly strong, like basil and mint, and the leaves were a dark, deep green.

As this tea is pan-fried, it is a bit more forgiving during brewing than other standard Japanese teas (i.e. sencha, gyokuro). My first brew used relatively hot water and only brewed for a short amount of time– thirty seconds. Despite this, it came out surprisingly well. The color was a very bright highlighter yellow-green, with an aroma very similar to most senchas: grassy, a bit like the sea, and very slightly fruity. Similarly, the flavor was tangy, starting off with grassy, slightly bitter notes, which slowly gave way to a light, fishy taste. It's very smooth, with little aftertaste

I decided to make the next brew a bit shorter, considering that the leaves had opened up, and the tea came out an even brighter green color. It tasted a bit sweeter than before and had lost the fishy aftertaste, leaving the grassy notes as the dominant taste. I ended up stopping at four brews since I ran out of water, but surprisingly the tea was still relatively bright and moderately flavorful.

Overall, this has been one of the better teas I've had lately. Sadly, since this is a green tea, it's not really amenable to storage for long periods of time (which sucks, since I'd want to make this last as long as possible).

Other Notes

I hope everyone's having a great labor day weekend! All I've done was binge watch The Get Down (which was amazing, by the way).

This week, Fencing Club is going to be selling stuff at Pigskin, which is the school's big club event. Like previously, I'll be cooking yakisoba, and we'll also be selling Arizona. To be honest, we're probably going to lose money on this event (we as in me), which sucks but at least I am/will be pulling in $54/week rather than my usual $20 (TA for a teacher + tutor for the school district). Apparently most clubs make little money, and the thing with our booth is that there's (somewhat) high overhead costs.

Also, for the college search, my Comp Civics teacher recommended to me a few liberal arts schools. A few I'm interested in (like Amherst) since they're small, so it'll feel more personal in each class. However, the thing is cost, moving to the East Coast, and a few other issues. I'll figure it out, and talk about it in the next update.