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Recent photos I’ve posted to Instagram.

chacrusade

Some of last year's green tea. While not bad as su

Some of last year's green tea. While not bad as such, it's a good reminder to drink it while it's fresh.

Found some more time to enjoy another session of 2

Found some more time to enjoy another session of 2022 "Heresy", the #white2tea + #kuuracorp raw pu'er collaboration.
Often I don't like to make sweeping statements about what I'm drinking due to all the variables and the inherent subjectivity of taste, but this is right up there with some of the best young #rawpuer I've ever had. It really hits hard on the things I like.
Thick, plummy, resinous, extremely low bitterness, enduring, sweet, strong relaxing energy. Perhaps the only flaw I can find is some astringency when pushed.
Whilst already sold out at #white2tea it still seems to be available at #kuuracorp. I'm strongly considering buying more before it runs out 🤔

Drinking some of the last of my 2020 "Dissolver" r

Drinking some of the last of my 2020 "Dissolver" raw pu'er from #kuuracorp while pondering why Australia is the only country in the world where our national day celebrates the *start* of British colonisation 🤔 It's just not right.

#alwayswasalwayswillbe #invasionday #survivalday

This is beautiful artwork by @sarritaking_artist – be sure to check out her other stuff!

This #bitterleafteas order finally arrived after a

This #bitterleafteas order finally arrived after a journey of exactly 100 days. Praise to the shipping gods that it was not lost forever 🙏

Happy lunar new year! 🧧 I enjoyed some celebrat

Happy lunar new year! 🧧
I enjoyed some celebrations over the weekend but am now unfortunately super busy at work. This 2020 "Ao ne me" #rawpuer from #farmerleaf faithfully kept me company through the whole day.

Adding my voice to the numerous positive reviews o

A couple of weeks and my sense of taste and smell

A couple of weeks and my sense of taste and smell is back to normal (Thanks for the adventure, Covid!)
I certainly now have extra appreciation for my body's ability to experience tea 😅
This afternoon I enjoyed some KUURA-Cola #ripepuer during this unseasonably cold and wet summer weather.
#kuuracorp

Breaking up the last of this "Kuura Cola" (2020) #

Breaking up the last of this "Kuura Cola" (2020) #ripepuer from #kuuracorp into a tin as I ponder what to do for the next few weeks while I wait for my sense of taste and smell to return (due to catching #covid_19).
It's quite surreal to experience tea without these senses. Other aspects become more pronounced, like mouthfeel/texture, heat, energy. It's still a huge loss – like only being able to see in black and white.

Plenty of time to refill my tea canisters after ou

Plenty of time to refill my tea canisters after our holiday trip had to be cancelled due to catching Covid 😞
Here's some #white2tea "Brown Sugar" (2018) #ripepuer I've been slowly chipping away at.

Putting these #white2tea anniversary cakes into de

Putting these #white2tea anniversary cakes into deep storage to bring out in another 5-10 years for a huge flex 💪 and/or one last drink before the collapse of humanity.
If anyone was on the fence about grabbing either of these, they're only available until the end of this year and @white2tea has a coupon code for free shipping for orders > US$69 (nice) until then.

I'm very excited to see this #kuuracorp and #white

I'm very excited to see this #kuuracorp and #white2tea collaboration with "Heresy", a spring 2022 #rawpuer cake. These are two of my favourite tea dealers and they take quite a similar approach to their craft.
I finally had some dedicated time to try it out today.
The description provided on both vendors' sites is identical and even more scant on details than usual for them (which is really saying something).
I scanned the QR code on the wrapper, which took me to a Soundcloud page with a 2 hour soundtrack that I fired up to listen to during the session. There's quite a range of different and enjoyable but mellow music on there, I assume curated by both Ayden and Paul. (I could be wrong but it seems to be a mix of American and Australian artists, and at least one Chinese.)
The initial steeps are very sweet and the fairness cup smells like fairy floss/cotton candy. It wasn't too thick though.
The sweetness eases off a bit in the mid steeps and astringency rises, but bitterness remains very low. The taste remains really nice through the whole session, with the late long steeps sweetening up more again and giving rise to that plummy/raisin kind of taste that I really enjoy but don't often find (especially in such young material).
However most notable was the body-feel. I found this tea to be incredibly doping/relaxing from the mid steeps onwards, to the point where I don't think it'd be safe to drive.
This tea is a great representation of what these two vendors stand for and bring to the table. Save it for when you have time for a long session (and don't have to drive anywhere immediately after 😂).
I'd love to hear other folks's experience with this tea as well. Happy holidays!

My #white2tea Black Friday order arrived today! I

My #white2tea Black Friday order arrived today! I was lucky enough to get the beanie and a Snoozefest. I stocked up on some dancong, the heavily roasted oolong "Canton Canon", a whole heap of laochatou and some minis (Scrye, Blood Moon, and some mystery bonus ones).
Ready for Christmas holidays! 🎄

One of the best value Yunnan red/black teas in my

One of the best value Yunnan red/black teas in my stash right now is this @farmer.leaf Spring 2022 "Yingpan Shan". It's has a noticeable but balanced bitterness with a savoury taste.
I find it a solid choice when I feel like a red that will last many infusions and am too distracted with work to justify bringing out the more expensive stuff. I also like that it's loose so I don't have to do any sword fighting and the dry leaves look great.
#farmerleaf #dianhong

A series of fortuitous circumstances today allowed

A series of fortuitous circumstances today allowed me to return to @longstea for the first time in many years and share some tea with owners @chloee_c and @elric.chen.
I also picked up a cake of their 2011 "Gong" #ripepuer that I'd recently been enjoying a sample of, which was 20% off for #blackfriday.
Since Covid they have not been doing their sit-in tea service, but there's still a table set up where we drank some of their flagship "Zhenhong Gourd" ripe pu'er (from 1996 I think!) – beautifully sweet and creamy.
Hopefully I can return again soon 🙏

Revisiting this #white2tea 2020 "Full House" danco

Revisiting this #white2tea 2020 "Full House" dancong to remind me how much I enjoy it. It's made a return this year so pondering whether to pick up some more 🤔

My score from the @kuuracorp 2022 line-up. Some wa

My score from the @kuuracorp 2022 line-up. Some wallets were harmed in the making of this order.
#kuuracorp #sheathedforyourprotection

Now that my #kuuracorp order is in for the new 202

Now that my #kuuracorp order is in for the new 2022 teas, I can relax with some older Kuura tea. This is "Lovebeamcake", a Yunnan shade-dried white tea (aka a "Moonlight white") from 2020.
Compared with the sun-dried "Electroflowercandy" this is far gentler. Even extended steeps (the ones you forget about until an hour later) had no bitterness at all – just dark fruits and thick texture.
This one also has a bonus game where you try and figure out which way is "up" for the wrapper art.

Quietly losing my mind over the news of a #kuuraco

Quietly losing my mind over the news of a #kuuracorp and #white2tea collaboration, just hours away from the 2022 #kuuracorp tea release.
Staying calm with this 2021 "Metamaterial" #ripepuer from Kuura, which has been my go-to ripe during this latest rainy season in Sydney. I love how it brews up really inky with a milky texture, light but engaging bitterness and a sweet flavour. It's not very earthy or woody.

More #kuuracorp anticipation with some Electroflow

More #kuuracorp anticipation with some Electroflowercandy Yunnan #whitetea this morning 😋

Getting ready for the new #kuuracorp tea release t

Getting ready for the new #kuuracorp tea release this weekend by dipping into some of the last of my 2020 Dissolver #rawpuer.

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