Brandon Kendall

Newsletter

Red Snoot Writes - Feb 2026 Newsletter

Tea Curious Original - Water Review

I was asked to submit the Original Recipe water review by a reader, should've had it out quite a bit sooner but let's just look at it this way: At least now I've got a ton of experience with it! I've been

2009 Bi Yun Hao (BYH) Xiaomannai

Context: Tea #5 (unofficially-officially calling it #5) from Sample Mountain (link below). Parameters: * Grams: ~3g * Vessel: 1960's 67ml Hongni teapot * Water: Tea Curious Original Droppers from RO/DI base Visuals: Sample so...idk really, but BYH and you can find picks online. Good quality. Dry Heat: The most

2004 South East Asia (SEA) Puerh Association Commemorative Cake, Nanqiao

Context: This is a tea that is well known right now among the community. It is pretty well received and very highly regarded. The first time I had this I hated it, it was far too strong. I have since done it more justice with great water, a lower ratio,

Trades on Trades on Trades - 'Sample Mountain' Series Kickoff

You know that feeling when you spend too much money on tea but you justify it cause you're buying a bunch of samples and learning a lot...and then you slow down a bit and start hammering things you know you like and start spending too much that

Bi Yun Hao (BYH) 2006 Manzhuan

Context: Sample Mountain again, Article coming soon Been really enjoying Bi Yun Hao (BYH), assuming this one will be up there too. Parameters: * Grams: ~5g * Vessel: 2000-2010's Modern Shantou Pigeon Spout Pot, 120ml * Water: Tea Curious Original Recipe Visuals: Sorry, no pics for this one. Just google a

Yuan Yuan Tang (YYT) 2013 Private Reserve

Context: Today we have a tea from Sample Mountain, see 'Trades, Trades, Trades' for more on that. Article coming soon I haven't had a particularly large volume of Yuan Yuan Tang (YYT), but what I've had I've enjoyed as daily drinker caliber

Tea Curious Autumn - Water Review

My server friend Qwasx, or 'qwaz', says this blog isn't really tea and clay but more just water and water. He's sort of right. But I am truly hoping and intending to get that remedied here very shortly. While it may seem silly, fanatic,

The Brita Battles - Filter? Or Foe? - Water Update 4

I drank 4 sessions of 2008 801 Dayi 8582 yesterday...here are the events of that day recounted through the lens of a Snoot, desperately trying to learn hydrology (probably the wrong term), apply an increasingly nebulous and woefully inefficient grasp of it to tea, and pray one day he

2003 Chen Yuan Hao (CYH) Manzhuan - Good Water

Context: This is the second tasting of this tea for the blog, off the back of this article here: 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan - Wacky WaterThis article was written first, there is a second tasting entry I consider the more “true” entry with corrected water. Moving forward, tasting notes

Water Woes - Update 3; A Corner Turned?

OK! This one is gonna be pretty comprehensive, not massive, about 2,000 words. So, status update: * Been, what; a month and a half? * Bad tea the whole time, just sorta stopped drinking it. * Not just 'subpar', but genuinely not good in some cases. * Most recent tasting (03

2003 Chen Yuan Hao (CYH) Manzhuan - Wacky Water

This article was written first, there is a second tasting entry I consider the more "true" entry with corrected water. Moving forward, tasting notes will again be normal. Here is that article: 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Manzhuan - Good WaterContext: This is the second tasting of this tea