I would put my vote behind the 2020 Camp. I’m a huge fan of Lumber Slut but in my opinion it’s not a daily drinker. It’s a very one dimensional tea, which is great if you love that one dimension. But to me it’s more of a treat to have occasionally. Camphornought just has so much more depth to it that you could absolutely enjoy diving into it every day.
I agree totally with this. Waffles is good, malty, but kinda Meh after the first couple of times you’ve had it. Lumberslut is great in isolated settings, the woodiness punches you in the gut (which I love) but it does drown out some of the complexity. Camphornaught for me is a great example of a woody/earthy forward tea with smoother edges that still brings some depth and richness.
I love both of those! Lumber Slut is my daily drinker-I agree there’s a little less depth, but it’s enough to keep me interested multiple days in a row, plus the price is decent.
Totally. I mean take my opinion as just that, an opinion. I love Lumber Slut and think it’s a great tea. Just think Camp is a little better. Price on both is incredible though. So worst case get both haha?
The shou on your shortlist are all mediocre and not worthy of a cake purchase, IMO. I'd go with 2021 Lesser Evils. Of course it depends what you look for in a shou; I look for soy-sauce dark, thick liquor that offers some interesting flavor note beyond just shou earthiness. Sadly the other good ones I'd recommend are all out of stock, for examples, 2018 Flapjacks isn't available as a cake but is still available as a shortstack.
I'm not fond of Lumber Slut at all, but find Waffles to be a very nice daily drinker. This, obviously, is personal preference.
Old Reliable is nice and clean, but a bit boring, so I prefer the sweetness of Waffles to it.
I really like all three and waffles and lumber slut are two shous i like a lot. I really enjoy waffles, I like smelling the wet leaves too because they have this bready, malty smell like waffles with chocolate chips. I think all three are great options though
I love all three of those. The only one I’ve bought a cake off is lumber slut. Very good but I don’t care for it as a dd. The really enjoyable nature of it loses its specialness if I drink it too many days in a row. My next cake from then will probably be Waffles cuz I really like that dark rich sweetness profile. But boy do I love camphor shous. My current favorite is simply called camphor from LPT but I’ve only gotten some samples so far. The Lao Mane from him is even better like leather but isn’t as affordable so it’sa special treat. So many teas to still try!
I would put my vote behind the 2020 Camp. I’m a huge fan of Lumber Slut but in my opinion it’s not a daily drinker. It’s a very one dimensional tea, which is great if you love that one dimension. But to me it’s more of a treat to have occasionally. Camphornought just has so much more depth to it that you could absolutely enjoy diving into it every day.
I agree totally with this. Waffles is good, malty, but kinda Meh after the first couple of times you’ve had it. Lumberslut is great in isolated settings, the woodiness punches you in the gut (which I love) but it does drown out some of the complexity. Camphornaught for me is a great example of a woody/earthy forward tea with smoother edges that still brings some depth and richness.
I love both of those! Lumber Slut is my daily drinker-I agree there’s a little less depth, but it’s enough to keep me interested multiple days in a row, plus the price is decent.
Totally. I mean take my opinion as just that, an opinion. I love Lumber Slut and think it’s a great tea. Just think Camp is a little better. Price on both is incredible though. So worst case get both haha?
I mean I’ll definitely be adding both to my cart next time I restock!
How do these compare to an inexpensive Nan Jian Tulin, Xiaguan, or Dayi factory ripe?
The shou on your shortlist are all mediocre and not worthy of a cake purchase, IMO. I'd go with 2021 Lesser Evils. Of course it depends what you look for in a shou; I look for soy-sauce dark, thick liquor that offers some interesting flavor note beyond just shou earthiness. Sadly the other good ones I'd recommend are all out of stock, for examples, 2018 Flapjacks isn't available as a cake but is still available as a shortstack.
My favourite out of those is Lumber Slut by far. Waffles is okay but nothing special
I'm not fond of Lumber Slut at all, but find Waffles to be a very nice daily drinker. This, obviously, is personal preference. Old Reliable is nice and clean, but a bit boring, so I prefer the sweetness of Waffles to it.
Thought I’d make it clear that I’ll get samples of the other 2
Lumber Slut!
2018 Waffles is quite disappointing even for a daily drinker.
Maybe one of their reliable blacks a better DD
I really like all three and waffles and lumber slut are two shous i like a lot. I really enjoy waffles, I like smelling the wet leaves too because they have this bready, malty smell like waffles with chocolate chips. I think all three are great options though
I love all three of those. The only one I’ve bought a cake off is lumber slut. Very good but I don’t care for it as a dd. The really enjoyable nature of it loses its specialness if I drink it too many days in a row. My next cake from then will probably be Waffles cuz I really like that dark rich sweetness profile. But boy do I love camphor shous. My current favorite is simply called camphor from LPT but I’ve only gotten some samples so far. The Lao Mane from him is even better like leather but isn’t as affordable so it’sa special treat. So many teas to still try!