Hello hello!

Crimson Lotus Tea released their spring teas not too long ago. Despite getting a late start, they were able to source a wide variety of material including an $80 shou, a tea brick that weighs a kilogram, and a gas station tea cake. Yes, you heard that right - one of their cakes came from material that was sourced from a gas station. This tea cake is called TKG.

TKG is a tea cake that was created as a meme from an IRC chat that Crimson Lotus Tea and I belong to, which is a tractor, a video game controller stick, and a emoji. This tea cake is also limited edition, as only 25 cakes are available. So does this tea taste like it was sourced off-road from a road trip pee stop? Is it worth grabbing a beeng before it sells out? Lets find out!

Steeps 1 - 4

4g of TKG was used for a 60ml gaiwan, and was brewed with water at a temp of 185ºf. Anyways, TKG opened up to the faint tasting profile of an autumn leaf pile, which left a wood bark aftertaste on the sides of the tongue. After a few more steeps, TKG kept opening up and quickly turned into a broth.

Steeps 5 - 8

TKG kept opening up to the strong wood and tree bark-like tasting notes. The autumn leaf pile tasting note was more noticeable than before, which heavily resembled a rainforest on the tongue. TKG’s body was thick, yet smoother than it was previously.

Steeps 9 - 12

TKG’s wood-like body kept progressing into a more moss-like body. The leaf pile was still noticeable to the tastebuds, as its body was heavier than before. TKG was strong, heavy, and resembled damp tree bark up until its last steep. By the twelfth steep, TKG was running out of fuel. It was time to end the session here.

Conclusion

TKG is not only a beeng that’s deep in a woodsy flavor, it’s also rich with the flavors that it possesses. TKG is made up of big leaf material, and on occasion of having a session with this tea, I’ll often find a huang pian leaf mixed in there with it! This cake is easy to break apart, and above all, doesn't create very much tea dust when tearing into it. One thing I like about this tea is that it’s flavorful and makes for an above average daily drinker. However, despite being an above average daily drinker, it was still humid from pressing and needs more time to air out.

Overall, I think that TKG is a great example of what big leaf material can do for a tea, and is a great example that you can find great puer material in the strangest of places. I think that TKG is great for what it is, and I would recommend it for if you’re looking for something to relax by. However, you must act fast before this tea becomes sold out and hopefully, you’ll be one of the lucky 25 that gets to acquire this tea cake…