Exquisite Leaves

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Posts: 575
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:10 pm
Location: Germany

Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:45 am

Anyone tried anything from them? I have to admit they are one of those vendors who I check out and am intrigued by, but then get kinda overwhelmed and never wind up buying from despite having some nice sampler options. The only style they carry that I have even had is tian jian which I am keen to try more varieties of, but would be curious to hear any recommendations for other things to check out.
Last edited by pedant on Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: mod edit: added link to their site
.m.
Posts: 877
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:26 pm
Location: Prague

Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:39 pm

OK, completely off topic, but when it comes to Tian Jian i recommend trying this as a reference: https://obchod.meetea.cz/caj/wild-heicha-2013/
It completely surprised me when i tried it how good Tianjian can be. Definitely a tea category worth discovering.
If you end up ordering from Exquisite Leaves, i'd be interested to hear about it.
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Ragamuffin
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Location: Clearwater, FL

Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:26 am

I got some samples from them which I enjoyed.
Randy the Intern
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Location: USA

Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:34 pm

I just tasted their Fu Brick tea for the first time today. It was fantastic.
Bourder
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:22 pm
Location: Poland

Wed Aug 16, 2023 1:20 pm

I guess I'll post it here.

2015 Gaoma Bailiang - generally woody, herbal. The Qianliang seems better.

2016 Gaoma Qianliang - woody, herbal, citrusy, some mushrooms. If I'm not mistaken there is some Jin Hua in the leaves, which probably shouldn't be there.

2017 Gongjian Fu Brick - wood, ripe sour cherry, green melon. Some smoke.

The above teas were not very aromatic.

I've also received a generous sample of the 2018 Jiulongchi Tianjian that I packed my gaiwan with. All I've got was strong pine resin taste and smoky scent.

All of those teas were fairly astringent in the mouth. The Huajuans scratched my throat a bit after swallowing, but that feeling disappeared shortly after. What's good is that even when brewing very strong they were gentle on the stomach and my body in general. I've had teas that made me agitated and anxious when drinking, but I didn't experience any of that with these teas. I also have no problem falling asleep after drinking them. Comfortable teas if you don't mind the astringency, maybe a little boring, but that's probably in the nature of heicha, especially ones made with huge leaves.

To be fair, these teas need some age. If I had to pick one, I would choose the Fu cha. It's definitely the tastiest of the bunch, it's easy to separate the leaves, and the presence of twigs makes filling the gaiwan with water an enjoyable show. The price is also very reasonable.

When brewing these I tend to stick to a ~4g/100ml ratio since it prevents the taste from becoming muddy and allows for release of brighter flavours. Really, try not to overleaf. The hotter the water the better. I like to push for longer brews.

After they shipped my order (untracked) it took a week for it to get to me from China, which was a pleasant surprise.
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