NofarS

Another cup of this as a pick me up before I have to go to work (again) this night. A much needed comfort cup.

The Chinese Tea Company is a small store in London, Portobello – a heartwarming little treasure nestled in a forgotten arcade, at the less fashionable side of the market. It is worth the visit, if you’re ever in the area. I have yet to order from them online, but once my teas run out, I probably will.

This tea smells richly chocolate-like when dry, and tastes practically like a Verdant Tea Laoshan Black double, and I do not say that lightly. The leaves are long and twisted, mostly golden with shades of black and quite fuzzy. There’s no astringency to this tea, but it does have a long, sweet lingering aftertaste. Fantastic!

Backlogging a cup of this on my birthday a few days ago. I tasted Norbu’s Ya Bao again (in a gaiwan, for three resteepings) after I tried Verdant Tea’s Ya Bao, because I remembered enjoying Norbu’s more. Verdant’s Ya Bao is excellent, but it’s somehow harsher, more “in your face” flavour-wise, whereas Norbu’s is sweeter, more mellow, and it gently caresses your tastebuds with its cooling, soothing, toasty goodness. There was also a greenness – almost pine-like – to Verdant’s Ya Bao that was not present so much in Norbu’s. I’ll have to do a side by side tasting to make sure, but I’m certain that Norbu’s is the tea I will reach for when I’m feeling the need for a comforting white tea.

Drinking a cup of this with milk and a touch of sugar. Solid breakfast tea that brews a rich coppery red colour.

This is a very good Qimen/Keemun (I just read Terri HarpLady’s notes and I agree with them entirely – the tea’s red liquor is smokey, but not overwhelmingly so, and brown sugar/caramel/maple like in sweetness), but I wasn’t floored by it. I have a F&M Keemun which is just as good, and so I’m a little surprised that this tea was part of Verdant’s TotM Reserved club. Once again – this is an excellent tea, for western and gong fu brewing, it just isn’t quite as unique as I expected it to be.

Had a cup of this, with milk, this morning. Not as strong as I thought, but still a good breakfast tea. Reserving judgement for later – I’ve decided to take my time with marks from now on, giving each tea at least two separate tastings before rating it. But for now this tea is in the 70-80 range – a good, solid breakfast tea, but not something to go out of your way to find.

Have introduced guys at work to Sheng Pu’erh with this tea. Big hit. An affordable and convenient way to get people to try Sheng.

Drinking Lao Cong Zi Ya and working on my thesis. I haven’t logged tea in a while, even though I have been drinking quite a bit, and I’ve got a ton of teas to review. Just too busy with my work and thesis to properly log the tea that I’m drinking. I am trying to find time to organize my tea cupboard, and list every tea that I have in a google spreadsheet and here.
This tea is lovely, fruity, a little malty, and the first 50g that I bought are almost gone.

A fairly good shu – dark reddish, smoky, earthy and strong with some sweet notes. Endless rebrews, not complex or subtle, but a good honest tea for a very good price and conviently packed

I went to our local farmer’s market this morning, and chatted to a few of the regular famers there as I was shopping for fruit and vegetables. They’re all very worried at the moment, as two swarms of locusts have crossed the Sinai desert from Egypt and landed in the Israeli south, with its fields of produce and lush hothouses. The beasts are a menace, destroying whole fields in minutes, and getting rid of them won’t be an easy task. Right now everyone’s watching the wind, to see if it will carry more locusts across the border or not.
I just remembered it now, while sipping this tea – the fragility of crops, the hardship that farmers face, the pride that they take in their produce, and how we miss so much of that aspect of food growing when we buy a shrink wrapped tin in a supermarket. That’s part of why I appreciate sites like Verdant Tea, who highlight and expose some of that hidden aspect of consuming.

Drinking this while setting up my new iPad mini, and working on my thesis. A “comfort” blend that doesn’t require much thought

This tea brews surprisingly light (almost white tea light), so I was worried at first that it would be light on the flavour side too. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about.
The tea is floral – but mellow. It isn’t a perfumy floral that assaults your senses. It’s a delicate, sweet floral, that still has great depth and a never-ending malty aftertaste. When I first smelled the dry leaves I thought that there was something of the milk oolong in their scent. This note remains in the surprisingly thick and creamy texture of this tea.
There’s also an elusive, more full-bodied flavour that’s lurking in the background, giving this tea more body. Perhaps wheat? straw?
2nd brew – floral notes are still there, but they are even more toned down. Other flavours emerge. Some tanginess, some pepper, some olive oil – this tea requires too much concentration to define in one sitting. Decided to quietly drink it, and leave reviews for later. A wonderful tea

This is a delicious tea that I really recommend brewing gongfu style. There’s a definite olive like taste to it, particularly in later brewings. It’s sweet, not at all astringent, and a few grams make many great brews. The only thing off-putting about this tea is the steep price tag. I think that it’s worth it, but I can understand if people prefer to buy other Yunnan teas.

I don’t have time for a proper review of this tea, but I will mention some flavours – olive, fruity, sweet, careful not to overbrew – can grow bitter very quickly. But a very special and delicious tea.

Last tea of the day – a great way to unwind

Backlogging a morning cup with milk and sugar from Thursday morning. I’ve still not had enough time with this tea to properly rate it. It’s strong, malty, smooth and takes milk and sugar very well. I’ve yet to drink it plain – once I will, I’ll probably rate it. I have a friend at work that loves Assam, and he adores this tea. I’ll try to dedicate more time to it this week, to see if it’s worth restocking or not.

Backlogging two mornings with this tea – creamy, sweet, chocolatey morning goodness. This tea has enough kick in it to make it a good morning companion, particularly after a brisk run in the morning mists.

No notes yet.

Backlogging a 7 (!) brew evening with this tea, after a horrid, tough day at work. Its toasty goodness and low caffeine content made me reach out for it. This is turning out to be my “comfort cup” tea – not finicky, always sweet, positive, comforting, warm. I’ll most certainly stock up on some more on my next Norbu buy.

No notes yet.

One cup last night, one cup this morning, after my morning run – a tea for (almost) every occasion. Why the almost? It’s rather on the lighter side of tea, so if you’re looking for a caffeine kick, I wouldn’t recommend this.
Broke down and joined the combined tea of the month club and reserved tea of the month club at Verdant Tea. My house will be flooded, which means that I need to start looking for a proper way to organize, store and catalog the teas that I have. Good problems to have… :)

I’ve had a very hectic week, so I’ll be doing some heavy backlogging today :)
Finally took the time to properly brew and taste this tea. Fantastic – sweet, with a slightly smokey taste, and a roasted hazelnut vibe to it. A very good tea that is going straight to my to buy list.

No notes yet.

This tea is a traditionally roasted tiguanyin, even though it’s from Taiwan. The dry leaves are dark, tightly balled and have a musky, milky smell. The tea brews a pale gold, silky and oily, with a great depth and complexity of flavour. I will need some more time with this tea before I can nail down all of its flavours, but I can say at this point that there’s no vegetal taste to this tea, and that it starts out with a note of perfume (not an unpleasant one) and floral, with a nectary sweetness, and a lingering sweet aftertaste. There is no astringency to this tea, and I don’t think that it will take milk well, although its likely that adding sugar will take the edge off the perfume of this tea. The second brew is better than the first, but you should take care not to overbrew this tea – it grows bitter quite quickly.
This tea is currently on sale, and is reasonably priced. It’s a very unique tiguanyin, that I think is worth tasting.