Tea Drunk

The purion clay tea pot I brew my high mountain oolongs in.

The posts I make to my tea journal are reviews of teas that I drink. The main purpose of this tea journal is for my own personal reflection, so that I may look back over time to appreciate how I have come to understand the teas and observe how they change from season to season, year to year.

A secondary goal is that perhaps I might turn someone on to a tea that they will really enjoy. To both ends I am not seeking to make the reviews a scientific analysis of preparation and execution, but rather to let this be a largely poetic expression of my experience. For me this is to be more aligned with the spirit of tea and I hope that others might find inspiration in this respect as well.

As I revisit each tea and delve deeper into its mysteries I will update a given post. Certainty is not a goal here. Appreciation is everything.

Tea is not tea, unless tea is not tea.

An overview of my classifications:

Tea nugs: The actual dry tea balls.

Pre-steeped aroma: After heating the pot with water, I empty it out and put the dry leaves in. I them give it a few shakes with the lid on to let the tea mix slightly with the residual moisture and heat. Remove the lid and take in the bounty.

Liquor: The color of the tea in the first few rounds.

Mouth-feel and flavor: The physical sensations in the mouth and throat, plus the actual tastes.

Post-steeped leaves: A look at how the leaves are once they have fully unfurled. It can indicate a level of care that went into a tea’s harvest and preparation.

Potency: About how many steepings it made before starting to drop off. I drink most teas well past the drop off. But after a point most rounds are light and similar to the one before. The first few rounds can indicate an arc of potency in the tea.

Energy: Any specific or Gestalt impressions and experience in imbibing the tea.