Adham

I picked up a bunch of Demmer’s teas during a recent trip, so I’m excited to start trying them out. This one sounded so summery and smelled so good in the shop, I had to pick some up. I’m a little surprised that they sell this one as a black tea; looking at the dry leaf you’d think it was a green tea or perhaps even a tisane. It’s got noticeable chunks of dried apple which, along with the elderblossoms, contribute to a heavenly sweet aroma, which reminds me of being in a summer orchard.

It steeps to a medium orange-colored tea, a little cloudy with sediment, and still with a fantastic scent – the peppermint starts to come through a little here, as a bit of a high note behind the earthy apples. The flavor is a really nice blend of fruit and flower, with just a little hint of freshness from the peppermint. Nice that they didn’t overdo it with this flavor. Very little astringency and no bitterness to this. I tried it straight this time but next time will try it with cream and sugar – it would probably be great iced, too. A winner!

A typical hotel-quality English Breakfast, nothing outstanding. Broken orange pekoe leaves in the bag, orangey-brown liquor, moderate astringency and a little bit of malt. They also have some herbal teas so I’ll have to try those too and see how they are.

A bad bout of hay fever since yesterday has kept my sinuses throbbing and taste buds non-functional. Still, I believe this tea seems healthy enough to at least give me the illusion of being good for me, even if I can’t really taste anything…

It’s kind of funny not being able to taste anything, actually, as that makes me focus more on the texture and other qualities of the drink. I get the little bit of astringency, and a nice mouth feel, and I can admire the beautiful green color of the liquor without being “distracted” by the flavor!

As with the other Mighty Leaf teabags I’ve tried out, you can see big leaves and chunks of fruit through the fabric. It’s got a very strong tropical fruit scent, along the lines of pineangouava, if such a fruit existed. After three minutes of steeping time, the liquor is somewhere between green and oolong tea in color, a light brown with a slight hint of green. The tea smells nice, but not nearly as strongly as the dried leaf.

The flavor isn’t as rich as I expected; if I didn’t know it, I’d say there was no tea in it at all, but rather that it was a tisane. It’s got a light, fruity flavor but very little body – I’m getting very little of the green tea base. Might be worth trying again with a slightly longer steep time, but in general I’m underwhelmed.

No logical reason why I would want Christmas tea on a hot day in August, but there you have it. Drinking it straight, instead of with milk and sugar, for the first time in a long time to see if I notice anything new. Cinnamon, orange, and clove are the main players, but I’m beginning to think there may be a hint of bergamot in there as well. Even with a strong steep, the astringency is not overwhelming, and the aftertaste is warm and delightful. Super yummy tea!

One of the teabags I picked up last week during my hotel stay – it’s got a very fresh scent, and the bits of leaf I can see through the bag are a lighter green color than I’m used to seeing in peppermint.

After three minutes steeping time, I’m a little surprised by the notes in the flavor that I can pick out aside from the mint. The mint itself takes center stage, but is not as “breath minty” fresh as I’ve had with other peppermint teas. Aside from that is a pronounced grassy taste – I’d swear there was chamomile or some other herb in there, but I don’t think that’s the case. There’s also another aftertaste that comes into play, something akin to what it tastes like to chew on paper, which is not entirely pleasant.

This one’s okay, but I’ve had others I prefer.

Seeing the Canton Tea Co special offer today inspired me to have some pu-erh this morning. This time I gave the tuocha a quick rinse in hot water first, which puffs it up and helps it start to give off an aroma – the dry cake is almost odorless.

First steep at 90 seconds, and I’ve got myself a powerful cup! It is dark and soupy and full of earth and dry leaves. A bit of bitterness at the back end, but not unpleasant. It tastes like the tea has challenged me to a wrestling match, just to see what I’ve got. Bring it on, I say!

Second steep at 90 seconds is much mellower; the bitterness has vanished and now the flavor is wonderfully redolent of a walk in the woods in the middle of autumn. Very, very nice.

Nothing but rain, rain, rain here today, so it’s about time for a nice warm cup of coconutty goodness to vicariously transport me to a sunnier place. Super buttery flavor, although it’s very light it also has enough body to it to make me feel like I’m drinking more than just flavored water. Quite yummy!

Second try at this one, this time giving it a minute instead of 30 seconds steeping time. That definitely brings out the roastiness more, which is nice, but it also highlights a strangely astringent characteristic I hadn’t noticed before: I’m feeling the “puckeriness” more at the top of my mouth than at the back or on the sides.

It’s still just okay for me. I think I’d enjoy it more in the morning than in the late afternoon. We’ll just have to try it again!

This is the cutest tea I’ve seen in a long time – light green, flattened tips, soft and uniform, that look a lot like Douglas Fir needles. The dry leaf smells really fresh – almost minty, though I know logically that there is no mint in it, it’s just that fresh. When I really dig into the aroma, it’s generically like vegetables, and oddly, watermelon rind comes to mindas well.

I gave it two minutes at 180 degrees, and I think that was just about right. There is a lovely smell of new mown lawn and sugar snap peas. The taste is wonderful, melding vegetable goodness with a hint of sweetness. The liquor looks like slightly watered down apple juice, a clear golden yellow.

For the second steep, I stretched it out to 3 minutes to see what would happen. Mmm, still good. There is a noticeably rich mouth feel and a good amount of veggie taste as the base, with fresh cut grass filling in around the edges. A very relaxing and tasty cup!

The dry leaves are dark, and uncharacteristically long and full based on my previous experience with pu-erh teas. They give off a strong, sweet odor of fresh earth. After two minutes of hot water I had a very dark, coffee colored liquor with an enticing aroma. I got the earth scent for sure, but also something slightly spicy. The flavor had some of the typical hallmarks of pu-erh, but with some extras thrown in for good measure as well. There is a definite natural sweetness to the flavor, and a tiny bit of tartness in the aftertaste without being fishy or rotten tasting. I also get just a little bit of spiciness which is really nice – a general mix of cinnamon, clove, and ginger which is in both the aroma and the taste.

The second steep, at 3 minutes, didn’t seem to bring any additional surprises. In summary a nice pu-erh, which I think I’ll try with a little milk and sugar next time to see how it goes. Sacrilege, I know!

Another one from the Canton Tea Co sampler – as their description notes, although it’s called a green tea, it’s actually an oolong, and I think that comes through in the flavor. But I’m getting ahead of myself – the dry leaves are twisted but not as tightly rolled as gunpowder tea, and are a deep green in color. The scent is vegetal and fresh.

I gave the first steep one minute at 190 degrees, and got a much bigger burst of the vegetal scent right off the bat. There is also a sweetness mixed in, and I’d have to agree with the previous description of it as apricot – it’s a nice highlight. The flavor is walking the line between green and oolong; we’ve got the seaweed/buttered vegetables thing going on, but I’m also getting the sweet, juice-like flavor of a good oolong in there as well.
The second steep went for two minutes, but I found the flavor surprisingly muted this time. The vegetables got a little deeper, but the sweetness has receded into the background. It still has a pleasant amount of substance in the mouth feel though. Overall, a nice tea, but I’m wondering if my sensing it as neither fully green nor fully oolong might make it less than satisfying in the long run.

On the road this week, staying at a Fairmont Hotel for the first time, which features a line of teas in their own name. They do a great afternoon tea at this particular hotel, and I chose the Kenmare Ceylon to go with the little sandwiches and cakes. It came in a good-size pot with a moderate amount of leaf; the first cup had only been steeped about a minute, but by the time I got to the end of the pot the leaves had been sitting in the water for a long time. This was an interesting way to go about it because it let me examine the flavors that came out over the course of more and more steeping.

At the beginning there was a mild toastiness and a little bit of ripe fruit. Over the next couple cups the toastiness developed more fully, and the fruit gave way to more tannins and astringency. The final cup was very “leafy” – it really reminded me of fall. It was dry leaves, and the light smell of smoke in the air, warmth by the fireside. Up to this point I’d been drinking it straight, but added some milk and sugar at the very end and really liked it that way as well.

Trying another cup of this to compare it to my first tasting several weeks back. Again, I’m impressed by the depth of color after even a relatively short steep – it’s a deep and dark brown. I steeped it just a bit longer than last time (3.5 minutes vs. 3 minutes), and found that this brought out more distinctly the dried fruit flavors. Still getting a good amount of malt in there too. No cream or sugar around to try it with those additives this time, but I’ll try to remember them for next time – I think they would work out well.

I love jasmine tea and especially jasmine pearls, so it’s always fun for me to try a new variety in this family. The scent which emanated from the packet when I opened it was heavenly – sweet and juicy without being cloying. I took what seemed to me the right amount of tea (counted later and found it was 19 pearls), and gave them 8 ounces of 185 degree water to bathe in. I ended up with a light yellow-green liquor that gave off a fantastic scent. The flavor here is also exactly what I’m looking for in jasmine pearls: authentic, naturally sweet, floral, and not at all bitter or astringent. Seems able to withstand multiple infusions too, prolonging the enjoyment. This is good stuff!

This is a really interesting one, and gives me a sense of how widely oolongs can vary. The leaves are long, medium-dark green, and smell rich and vegetal. After two minutes, the liquor is light brown with a hint of green, and smells quite surprisingly of seaweed. Don’t get me wrong, I like the whiff of seaweed that often comes in with green and oolong teas; this one is just particularly pronounced.

On tasting, there is a lot going on. Melon, vegetable, definite toastiness there too. This is a good, interesting tea. Further steeps will need to wait until later today…

I don’t have much experience with white teas, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can learn from this one. On first look, the leaves are beautiful – furry and very soft. They smell wonderfully fresh. The liquor is touted as being champagne-colored, but I think it’s a little too dusky for that; I’d say it’s more like a very light ginger ale or cream soda: a very light yellowish tan.

The flavor is light as well, but more complex than I had anticipated. There’s grassiness, but not in the same way as a Japanese green; more like a straw-grassiness, akin to chewing on a dried piece of sweet hay. There’s some sweetness and absolutely no bitterness or astringency, though there is a high note I’m having a hard time putting my finger on. Almost like pine, in a very subtle way.

Second steep: It’s funny, I’m getting almost as much of the flavor in the aftertaste as in the sip itself. I’m not used to teas that are so quiet – it’s kind of throwing me off my tasting game! There’s enough going on that I know I’ll be able to appreciate it, it’ll just take a little reprogramming of the taste centers to get there.

Another of the Canton Tea Co sample packs to try out! Once I opened this up, I was immediately reminded of the Tie Guan Yin from Chicago Tea Garden – it has a similar look: glossy dark green chunklets, and scent: fresh and grassy. I’d say this particular tea has more in the way of vegetal in the scent however; it’s reminding me more of sencha in that way.

The first steep at one minute, 190 degrees: the leaves have started to expand, and I’m left with a clear, light golden liquor with just a hint of green in there. The aroma is very light, encompassing fresh mown grass and something just a little savory/buttery. The flavor is very nice; there’s some of the sweetness I associated with the Tie Guan Yin, though not to such an outstanding degree. There’s also a degree of rich mouth feel to it, which may be what others characterize as milkyness (that’s one descriptor I don’t think I would have come upon on my own).

2nd steep, 190 degrees and 1.5 minutes: The liquor comes out a little more greenish yellow this time, and the leaves have mostly all unfurled now. The aroma and flavor are more vegetal, but there is still some of the overall sweetness that I like so much. I’m also getting a little fruitiness in the background, which is quite yummy.

3rd steep, 190 degrees and 2 minutes: Still a strong golden/green color, but the flavor is markedly more subdued now. Still getting vegetal and small sweet tones. Pleasant enough, but it’s lost most of its shine by now.

Excited about the Canton Tea Co sampler which arrived over the weekend! I’ll start my Monday morning with what sounds like a good breakfast tea. The dry leaf is pretty, with orange highlights in the long brown strands, and their aroma is very nice – there’s a sweetness there which reminds me a little of Darjeeling. We’ll see what comes out in the steeping…

Mmm, this tea smells really, really yummy – I’m definitely getting the caramel that other tasters have noted. The liquor is a medium-brown and on first taste is great. The caramel is there, and the natural sweetness of it means I won’t be adding any sugar to it. In addition, underneath that flavor, I’m getting something akin to fruit flavors; peach and nectarine are those which come to mind. This one’s a keeper.

One of the Mighty Leaf teabags I picked up on the road trip. They’ve definitely got the aesthetics down, with the attractive fabric mesh bag stitched along the sides, providing a gauzy view of the whole chamomile buds, chunks of orange peel, and other bits and bobs (looks like lemongrass and rose hip?) inside. This smells very fresh and citrus-y during the steep, and after five minutes comes out a pretty orange-rose color.

It’s funny, I like chamomile but am only getting very slight hints of it in this cup. Most of the space is taken up by the orange peel and lemongrass, with the chamomile coming through as just a warmth and sweetness in the background. I’m having it in the middle of the afternoon, but I imagine it would be very calming as the last cup of the evening.

I’m sticking with green teas today – Japanese in the morning and Chinese in the afternoon. Don’t know if it was coincidence or subconscious, but both of them feature nutty/roasty flavors in significant measure, so it’s been nice to contrast them on the same day. I think I may have had the water a touch too hot for this though – it was noticeably more bitter than the last time I had it. Still enjoyable, but I’ll be more careful next time.

Felt like a toasty morning tea – it was between this and Den’s Houjicha, and this one seems to be hitting the spot. I’m tasting less of the vegetal element this time around than last, though it is still there. Since trying this the first time, I still haven’t gotten around to ordering a straight matcha to experiment with, but tasting this is renewing my determination to do so. I went to a great little shop in San Francisco when I was there a few weeks ago that specialized in all kinds of Japanese things (just had to pick up some forms for making sticky rice into star and heart shapes!) and they had some nice looking teas – unfortunately I didn’t take the plunge and buy any of them. I know there is matcha in my future though…

Another cup of this for the afternoon. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to bring any milk or cream into work, so I’m having it straight up. Not quite as yummy as it is with milk and sugar, but still quite good. There’s a really nice balance between the tea and chocolate flavors. I let it go a minute too long in the steep so there’s more astringency than last time I had it, but it’s still a very good afternoon tea.

This one caught me with its name alone, so let’s hope I like it! Fortunately, it seems I do. I did four steeps, starting with 45 seconds and eventually making it out to 2 minutes. Each steep produced a very dark brown liquor with a red tinge. The most remarkable thing I found about this tea was how soupy and savory it seemed to me. It has a very full, chewy mouth feel, and I can’t help but feel that I’m getting lots of nutrients from it. It’s not one I’ll have everyday, but I do like it and am glad I have it in my cupboard.