88

First teapot brewed with the sample sent by CTeresa. Thanks a lot, that was a good hit!
The smell of the dry leaves was very fruity appealing – definitely peachy.
I must confess I did not follow the instructions she had given me (80-85° for 5mn) as I did not feel like waiting long enough for the boiled water to cool to that temperature. And then I forgot to take it off after 3-4 mn and left it a whole 5 or 6.
It nevertheless turned perfect. The brew is very clear and nice to look at. The smell divine. And the flavors: very peach, though the vanilla left a very pleasant aftertaste and feeling all inside the mouth.
And I like that the tea base though delicate is not absent or tasteless as it can sometimes seem with some other blends.
I cannot compare with Nosy Bey that I have never tried but this sure is a win. I’ll try it again and compare it with both Boléro from Mariages and possibly Alfonso from TWG which both seem slightly similar in the “sweet and mellow fruit overload” department.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
LaFleurBleue

By the way, it can also be pleasantly drunk in summertime, though I understand its appeal when it’s cold.

cteresa

This is rather magic, not sure if my brewing instructions are really the “best” way to brew it, it seems to turn out right always!

cteresa

And just to add, you do not have to wait for water to cool, just add some cold water. Best of all I think is not letting water get past the desired temperature but on real life, that is not so easy. What I do is let water boil or close to it, and then eye how much cold water to add. Assuming room temperature water is 20 degrees more or less, and boiling water close to 100, I just eye it. If I want say water at 90 I had what i think is about a tenth of the pot, if I want water at 75 degrees I had about a third (the math is not totally exact but you loose some heat to the air and surface anyway). I usually put the cold water first, on the leaves, to protect them from scalding. It works well for me though of course it´s really just eyeing things.

And unlike Ysaurella, I prefer Galice to Nosy Bey – but might have just been each of us preferring the tea we had first.

LaFleurBleue

Good and practical tip; I’ll probably try that out next time.
I’m struggling hard, trying to decide whether I should use the opportunity of my hubby’s trip to Paris to have him bring me back some teas – knowing that he will complain that I already have more than enough, until he tastes and likes some of them (sure win) or take the opportunity to really empty my cupboard and wait for Christmas. Or bet that one my friend will come later this year and will bring me the teas without tipping the hubby.

cteresa

Hmm, difficult choice! Though you know the saying, better a bird in the hand than 2 flying?

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

People who liked this

Comments

LaFleurBleue

By the way, it can also be pleasantly drunk in summertime, though I understand its appeal when it’s cold.

cteresa

This is rather magic, not sure if my brewing instructions are really the “best” way to brew it, it seems to turn out right always!

cteresa

And just to add, you do not have to wait for water to cool, just add some cold water. Best of all I think is not letting water get past the desired temperature but on real life, that is not so easy. What I do is let water boil or close to it, and then eye how much cold water to add. Assuming room temperature water is 20 degrees more or less, and boiling water close to 100, I just eye it. If I want say water at 90 I had what i think is about a tenth of the pot, if I want water at 75 degrees I had about a third (the math is not totally exact but you loose some heat to the air and surface anyway). I usually put the cold water first, on the leaves, to protect them from scalding. It works well for me though of course it´s really just eyeing things.

And unlike Ysaurella, I prefer Galice to Nosy Bey – but might have just been each of us preferring the tea we had first.

LaFleurBleue

Good and practical tip; I’ll probably try that out next time.
I’m struggling hard, trying to decide whether I should use the opportunity of my hubby’s trip to Paris to have him bring me back some teas – knowing that he will complain that I already have more than enough, until he tastes and likes some of them (sure win) or take the opportunity to really empty my cupboard and wait for Christmas. Or bet that one my friend will come later this year and will bring me the teas without tipping the hubby.

cteresa

Hmm, difficult choice! Though you know the saying, better a bird in the hand than 2 flying?

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

I’ve started drinking much more tea quite recently, almost completely quitting espresso for it!
I’ve been introduced to high quality tea by one of my best friend, MF Marco Polo addict since more than 20 years. I’ve only rarely bought tea-bags since then, preferring the quality-price ratio of loose leaves.
I drink my tea natural, without any milk, sugar or sweetener. I only add honey when a sore-throat is coming along.
I usually either brew a large pot at home or resteep my leaves at the office. I cannot seem to learn to master the use of a gaiwan in an elegant and not clumsy way…
My tea preferences :
- I really like flavored black teas, with a preference for fruity flavors, from a tangy Earl Grey to a real fruit smoothie-like tea. I’m trying some single origin unflavored blacks from time to time but always end up having trouble to finish them. I usually do not really enjoy the strong breakfast teas.
- I do not like chai or teas with strong spice flavors. Strange considering I really like spicy food, but not what I drink.
- I am quite afraid of pu-erh and lapsang souchong, though I probably have never drunk any real good ones and I’m quite sure it can make a huge difference… A few years ago, I had been introduced to scotch whisky and can definitely attest that you cannot say you don’t like whisky, if you’ve only drunk blended stuff and not tasted yet single malts. I hope to get the same happy discovery for those teas.
- I discovered very good oolong, without going through the step of drinking bad-one first, and really enjoy it, especially with a meal. I’ll definitely try some flavored oolongs in a near future.
- I’ve just started discovering white teas, which feels very delicate. The only problem is that those can be awfully expensive…
- I also really like rooibos which I discovered a few years ago while searching for low-theine/caffeine teas that I could drink at night without suffering from insomnia.
- As with green tea, we’ve had a long-standing difficult relationship. I’ve occasionally had some that were real smooth, refreshing and so very many that turned bitter very quickly. And I cannot stand a bitter tea.
- As for jasmine tea, I used to like it but have indeed drunk too much of some bad quality bitter brew, and now I even have problem finishing the high-quality pearls I bought in Beijing.
- Yerba Mate: I’ve had some in one blend and am quite convinced that I would never like that as bitterness is one of its main characteristics. I’ll try to avoid it like the plague.
- Herbal tea: I used to drink more or those before discovering rooibos; finding good ones is unfortunately really difficult – even in organic shops, the herbs sold are far from great.
I loathe artificial flavoring of any kind in any beverage or food.

I’m quite opiniated and try to leave room for further improvement and better discoveries, which explain why I haven’t rated any tea in the 95 and above range.
Teas above 80 are among my favorites
Between 60-80, I could or could not give them a second chance or recognize that they are made with high-quality ingredients though their taste does not please my buds.
Around 50, it starts to be rather bad and a not so pleasant experience to drink.
25 to 40+ cover low quality products that I manage to drink when nothing else is available.
Below that, it’s really vile and basically almost undrinkable IMHO.

Location

Singapore

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer