Michelle Butler Hallett

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

This smells like the Long Life Oolong from DavidsTea, pleasantly peachy — although there is no peach in this blend. There is mango and pineapple and something, well, fermenty. But that’s supposed to be there.

I am not sure how this kombucha thing works. I thought kombucha was a leathery biomass that sits on top of fermeting liquid. Does this tea contain dried biomass? Or is kombucha the name of the liquid?

Anyway, the fermenty flavours in this blend do not agree with me. This tea tasted like peaches with malt vinegar. Acidic and strange and a bit sweaty. I could detect no oolong. Not for me.

Made for me in the new DavidsTea store in St. John’s. I did not see how much tea they used.

YUCK.

Maybe the water was too hot. All I got was burnt leaf, fake vanilla and something distantly sharp and bitter. If the vanilla flavouring had been a little less metallic (yes, metallic) I might have brought some home and made it myself. But this one was a real disappointment for me.

1 TB for 450mL water, 5-minute steep. Rating: 85.

It’s not tea. It’s straight-up chicory, which is bitter and coffee-like, yet has odd sweet notes. DavidsTea has mixed it with vanilla and almond, flavours which amplify the dark-bittersweet thing chicory has going. Steeped, it looks like coffee. And it smells very enticing. I get burnt sugar notes.

I’ve tried this plain, and with stevia and milk. Both ways are great. The half a pack of stevia (equivalent in sweetness to 2tsp of sugar) I used smoothes out the chicory but does not obscure the bitterness. I didn’t expect to like this, only buying a tiny amount to try. But the chicory’s got something I really like; the bitterness, which is not at all sour or toxic-tasting, intrigues me.

Nothing like tea, as I said. And not much like coffee, either.

I find it refreshing.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare. Rating: 80.

Okay, once the jasmine comes out, around the 4-5-minute mark, this blend gets intriguing. Not getting much oolong here, just a hit of butter behind the jasmine and the lemon. The lemon could dominate and ruin everything; the jasmine’s an inspired touch and that keeps the lemon playing reasaonbly nicely. Not a brilliant oolong blend, but it is soothing. Avoid if you don’t like lemon, because that’s definitely the dominant flavour and scent here. The oolong leaves are beautiful when they unfurl.

I’d love to try just a straight jasmine oolong. Anyone have a recommendation?

1 TB for 450mL boiling water, 5-minute steep.

I don’t often choose a Ceylon tea, as I generally find them a bit bland and crying out to be blended. I have the same reaction to the Nilgiris I’ve tried. But the Lover’s Leap estate tea is different. This is a very coppery tea — it even brews up a coppery colour — and it’s quite bright, a bit like drinking afternoon sunshine. There’s a slight astringency that’s very agreeable and a clean mineral finish. A very good tea for this cloudy and rainy day.

Lover’s Leap is available through many different tea vendors; I got it from my local indie shop, Britannia Teas and Gifts.

Rating: 88

1.5 tsp for a 350mL mug, water somewhat off the boil, 5 minute steep.

The last of my Damn Fine Jasmine Green, gone. And loved. Lovely balance of green tea and jasmine flowers and a solid jasmine hit. I am keeping all my Damn Fine tins, labels intact, to hold … I dunno. I just want to keep the tins, because the labels are so well designed. Anyway, the tea … really, really good. Only Dragon Tears are better.

3 tsp for 1000mL water, in the Breville, 3 minute steep with basket function on.

Yes, you read that correctly — I used only 3 tsp for a pot of tea. The directions on the package:
How do I prepare Anisa Tea™?

Anisa Tea™ can be prepared to perfection using the following directions:

1. Put two teaspoons (5g) of Anisa Tea™ into pot (sufficient for 4-6 cups).
2. Add boiling water.
3. Cover with tea cozy or tea towel.

4. Wait 5 minutes before serving.
5. Serve Anisa Tea™ by pouring into a cup, preferably through a tea strainer.
6. Add hot water to satisfy desired tea strength.
7. Milk and/or sugar may be added if desired.
8. Best served between 5 and 30 minutes.

So I steeped it for 3 minutes, with the basket doing its pole slide, and I expected an interesting but weak brew.

Wrong.

This is a very potent tea. A very fragrant tea. It’s very much like a good Earl Grey, only a bit spicy — that’s the cardamom. Smooth and medium-bodied, rich flavor of good black tea (I can’t tell if it’s Chinese, Indian or Ceylon) and a lovely mingling of bergamot and cardamom. Had I brewed this my normal way, it would be too strong. No bitterness.

Rating: 95.

say use 2 (!) tsp for a 4-6 cup pot.

1 TB for 450mL water @ 98C. Steeped 4 minutes. Rating: 98.

For years, the phrase “gray leaf” in the packet copy turned me off this tea. Since then, I’ve drunk some good Keemun, a lot of middling Keemun and a few cups of thin tar that were a travesty. This is the first Keemun where I’ve caught any of the “sweetness” or “floral/orchid” notes I’ve read about. The sweetness balanaces a gentle smokiness. The finish is mineral-clean, with, yes, some floral notes in taste and aroma. A very, very good Keemun.

1 TB for 450mL water @98C, steeped 5+ forgotten minutes.

Okay, I got distracted and FORGOT this tea as is steeped, so I can’t give a fair rating yet. I have no idea how long it sat there.

I can say it’s this seems to be an everyday Yunnan, versus them there fancy black needle varieties I covet. It’s a bit less expensive. This is smooth and mineral and — to my surprise — a bit smoky, like a Keemun, and a bit tarry, like a lapsang souchong. It’s also a bit bitter on the finish, but again, I over-steeped. Getting a faint bite of pepper.

The use of “illusive” in the packet copy makes me giggle. This is all an illusion? They must mean “elusive,” as in, hard to pin down.

1 TB for 450 mL water @ 98C, steeped 4 minutes. Rating: 100.

I really like Yunnan teas. They generally lack the maltiness and pucker of the India black teas, though Golden Monkey will give you some malt.

This Peregrine First Flush is a whole new experience for me. The leaves are wiry and go from copper to earth brown, with plenty of golden tips. The liquor is very complex, with layers and layers of taste. First I got honey in the nose. Then a slightly mineral and fairly typical Yunnan flavour. Then all this oakiness, which could get bitter if the tea is steeped too long, but the bit of astringency tailing the oaky notes brings out the final bits of honey and florals. It reminds me very much of a good malt whisky. No, the tea does not taste like scotch, and it didn’t get me drunk, just blissed, in my tea-dork way. It’s the nuances and complexities of flavour, the way each sip tastes different at different places in your mouth. Notes of oak, fruits, flowers and honey fusing with Yunnan smoothness: a really, really good cup.

1 TB for 450mL water, steeped 8 minutes and counting. Rating: 90.

I usually drink this one from a gourd, but that can get very rich and a bit sweet. Today I made it as a tisane. Earthy and sweet and packing a slow-burn buzz, Jumpy Monkey does it again. There’s no one ingredient that makes this blend so good; it’s all of them together. Really different and well worth a try.

1 TB for 450 mL water, steeped 4 minutes 15 seconds. Rating: 80

Hmm. Maybe making this one a bit stronger brings out more of the complexity I remember, but it still isn’t the same as the first batch I ever tried. Lots of creamniess and heft from the Yunnan and Keemun, and some smoke from the Keemun, but also a sharpness I’m not sure I care for, a “typical” bitterness I find in cheaper blends. The Uva maybe? Did I scald the Assam? It’s still a fine blend, but I am dinstinctly not in the mood for it this morning.

1 TB for 450mL water @ 90C, 4 minute steep, 100.

Bliss. And even better, now that I can get my water to the best temp. The packet recommended 94 degrees, but I’m quite happy with 90 degrees — major creaminess. Sometimes, when I was making this with a kettle and guessing at the water temp, I’d get a bitterness if the water was too hot.

What can I say about the Quangzhou Milk Oolong? It lives up to the copy. It’s soothing. It’s good for at least two steeps. I only steep it four minutes, as I’ve found anything longer invites a green flavour note that I don’t want. An expensive tea, but worth every penny. Creamy, floral — in a complex way — a tiny bit toasty, a very faint bit mineral. I love this tea.

6 tsp for 1000mL tea, Breville, 3 minute steep with basket cycle on. 85

A tasty blend, but not as complex and bright and I remember. I first tried some about a year ago and got the BAM effect. Not this time. I guess different batches going into the blend would affect that.

One thing that does bug me a bit about the copy: The company talks about tasting Darjeeling when putting this blend together, but there is no Darjeeling in the blend. It’s a mix of Yunnan, Keemun, Assam and Uva teas. That’s been revised on the packet I just got but is still on the site.

For a breakfast blend, it’s a bit on the strong side; the Keemun plays hard here. The Assam gifts some heft, but the tea is not overly malty. The Yunnan smooths it out. It’s really good, especially when compared to many “breakfast” blends out there, “breakfast” being another way of saying “floor sweepings,” I sometimes think. I like this much more than David’s Orange Pekoe and enjoy this blend when I just want some good black tea.

1TB for 450mL water. 6 minute steep, 98C water. Rating: 95.

Yum. I wasn’t expecting this to live up to the hype, but yeah, it’s really nice. A bit Darjeeling-y, which is not a surprise, given that the tea comes from Nepal. But’s it’s not a Darjeeling. This tea has a slight woody tang but no serious astringency. The mouthfeel and body remind me of Yunnan rather than any of the India teas. Sweet notes, too.

2 tsp for 500mL water, steeped 6 minutes. Rating: 88.

Wow! Serious honey, and, as another reviewer has noted, something fuzzy, like pollen and like bees themselves. I love honeybush but find it can get a bit monotonous on its own; here, blended, it nearly steals the show. Delicious without being sickly sweet. I do not taste the mate at all, though I can just pick out the green rooibos, which I quite like and have gotten fond of in the Super Chocolate blend. I am waiting for any mate buzz, which would be very welcome today. A very clean finish, no cloy, no bitterness. So far, win win.

(IE9 doesn’t let me access the slider bars, so I type out my rating stats.)

3TB for 1000mL, steeped in a Breville @ White-Strong with the basket cycle on.

I may have tried to stretch these leaves too far. It is a fluffy tea, so you need a little more than you might be used to. So mine’s a bit thin today. The leaves are also a bit stale, as I’ve been hoarding this one.

When these leaves are fresh, you get a really intriguing white tea with bits of Darjeeling muscatel and faint woodiness. Those notes sneak up on you; at first sip, this seems to be a fairly ordinary white tea. Enjoyable, but measure carefully and don’t keep the leaves around too long.

Rating: 87.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare.

Tastes like mouldy leaves.

Second sip, I think I get some lemongrass … maybe.

Seriously, I wonder if I have a bad batch. This is nasty.

Steep time: 3 min. Water temp: 82. Rating: 0.

3TB for 1 gourd, no sweetener at first. Rating: 90.

Loose tea at the Bulk Barn? Loose tea at the Bulk Barn? Well, all right, I’ll look into that. They carry a decent selection of unusual bagged teas, including some hard-to-find Stash blends, plus the usual groaning shelves of Celestial Seasonings. In the past, they’ve kept ghostly teabags, all very gossamer, in those transparent bins where light can ruin them. (Gah!) The new loose teas are also in transparent bins, but the bins have magnetic seals, so they shouldn’t get too stale, too fast.

Some of the new loose teas are quite pretty to look at, including this one. The greens of the mate leaves and the lemon grass are quite vibrant, and the yellow petals strewn throughout add some contrast.

Taste: a quite acceptable green mate that is NOT overpowered by the lemongrass. I’d expected this to be a mouthful-o-lemongrass and so only bought 40 cents worth to try. The mate is crisp and very green in taste, in-your-face leafy, and the lemongrass complements that nicely. The mate will get bitter if forgotten in the gourd while you go fold a load of laundry, but add some sweetener and fresh warm water and all is well again.

The bin I bought from is pretty fresh, and the mate offers a decent lift. Overall, a pleasant surprise.

For me, too malty, too sharp, too heavy … though, oddly, if you steep it to death, it develops sweet notes. I will drink it if nothing else is available, and I’ll drink it and like it if visiting a friend and this is what they have. My biggest problem with Tetley is how I associate with being hospitalized. A covered cup of warm water and a Tetley tea bag would come up on the tray, and I would steep the Tetley a good 15 minutes and then knock it back, trying to get a clearer head and fight back the stupid-making effects of pain meds.

5 tsp for 1100mL water, strong (3-minute steep) black tea setting with basket cycle in the Breville. Drunk bare. Rating: 100.

Yeah, I found a few extra pennies and scarfed up some more HB. Today it’s mostly chewy Yunnan and winey Keemun, creamy heft and faint smoke. One of my favourite blends EVER.

I also promised an empty tin to a young Star Wars fan I know. But I’ve got to drink the tea first. Win-win.

1 TB for 450mL water, bare, boiling water, 4-minute steep. Rating: 85.

I’ve drunk a lot of orange spice black tea over the years. Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Stash Orange Spice come to mind. A few years ago, Stash changed the kind or oranges they use, and now that tea knocks me flat with wonderful orange flavour … but the black tea base they use is not the best.

This Orange Spice, from my local teashop, is much better balanced. You can smell the organes right though the bag, of course, and you can also smell the lime leaves. The cinnamon complements but does not dominate. And best of all, the Ceylon used is mellow and gentle, lending an overall surprising creaminess to the mouth-fell.

I don’t usually count flavoured black teas in my favourites, but this one is really good.

5 tsp for 4 cups of the in a Breville One Touch Teamaker, 4-minutes steep, basket/agitate cycle on.

Much more of a scent of distant flowers on the tea today, nuances of bread and — er — roses. But not perfume roses, almost toasted roses, with some malt a few octaves down. Hard to describe. Delicious.

The “basket” cycle rocks! If you’re making 4-5 cups of tea, you can set the basket to rise and fall during the steep to agitate the leaves a bit and draw out even richer flavour. I nearly swooned in ecstasy (luckily was already sick in bed) when I sipped some Kopili Assam made with the basket cycle on.

This teamaker kicks arse. Some of the best tea I’ve drunk in my life has been in the Breville over the last week.