Roughage

I first had this at my brother’s in Copenhagen, when we visited him last year. We enjoyed it so he sent us some for Christmas and now it is in the regular line-up of teas in our house. The best bit is being able to experiment with how I brew it, instead of relying on my brother’s Philistine ways with tea! ;-) So, I started the pot with two teaspoons of the tea in my 250ml glass pot and brewed it initially for two minutes at 80 degrees. Not enough flavour came through. It was pleasant and a bit bubblegum, but not as nice as I remembered it. After a bit of experimentation, I finally got it right for me. Between 75 and 80 degrees was the right temperature and a 3-4 minute steep brought out the flavours nicely. All the fruit came through, but delicately enough not to be overpowering. I did not notice much of the white tea, except as a background to the rest. Still, it was very nice and perfect for when I want something sweeter to drink. I wonder if it will be sufficient to counter my addiction to jelly snakes and jelly dinosaurs?

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Ok, back to the Emerald again. This time I have started afresh with a brew of 1 heaped tsp in a 250ml glass pot at 60 degrees and steep time of 1m 30s. I have kept the steep times and quantity the same so that I can compare the flavour at different temperatures. The cooler temperature gives stronger fruity flavours and a longer aftertaste. There is a slight hint of a pleasant astringency to the aftertaste, which goes on much longer. I think this tea definitely merits brewing at a cooler temperature than the recommended 70 degrees and that the result is worth it. For me the 60 to 65 degree range seems to be about right. For this reason I have increased my rating of the tea. I am now running low on it, but shall probably restock it when I have used up enough of the other teas in my cupboard to merit ordering more. Yes, I am trying to be controlled about my tea buying! :-)

I like this tea. It does not blow me away, but the taste is pleasant and light, perhaps slightly fruity. I’m not sure I get the grape and pear that the website suggests is present but that could be my palate rather than the tea itself. Note to self: drink more tea more carefully and develop my palate!

Edit:
Steep number three and there it is. Definite hint of grape and pear. I steeped this one at 65 degrees instead of the 70 degrees I was using before. It has significantly improved the definition of the flavour and the aftertaste as well as increasing the latter’s duration.

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Very drinkable. It lacks the depth of some other green teas but is perfect for everyday drinking.

On the third infusion and still loving the sweet citrusy flavour. It’s light, pleasant and easy to drink. I reckon I could drink it all day every day, if only I could afford it! The aftertaste is sweet too, although it has not lasted as long as some other teas. All in all, this is a lovely tea.

I was really looking forward to this after having a yellow tea in Shanghai many years ago. I had not seen any since, so it was with great anticipation that I made a pot. The vegetal note was immediately evident when I sniffed the aroma. I drank a bit and let it swirl around my mouth. The tea did not disappoint. As I held it in my mouth the flavour developed: slightly grassy, sweet and slightly nutty making my taste buds tingle for a while after swallowing. Lovely. Although it did not blow me away the way the Anji Bai Cha did, it is definitely among my favourites and I would highly recommend it. I made my pot at 75 degrees with four teaspoons of leaf for 400ml of water and brewed it for 2 minutes.

So, I made the first cup and wrote the notes. I then followed it up with a second steeping, which my wife tried and she commented that it was really citrusy. She also drank most of that cup! I managed to get half a dozen steepings out of the pot without any great loss in flavour, increasing the length of time I steeped it for a little each time until the last one was three minutes. This is a cracking good tea and is on my repeat list now.

I’m not sure I get all the flavours that the tasting notes say you are supposed to get, but then I am not an experienced tea connoisseur. Still this is a very pleasant and different Darjeeling that bears reinfusion well.

A pleasant and easy to drink puerh. I am tempted to lay some of this up to try in 2015 as it is supposed to be properly ready by then. It will be interesting to see how my view of it changes by then.

This was a very pleasant and drinkable Darjeeling. I’m not sure I got the best from it but I enjoyed it and may buy more another time.

This was one of the first green teas I bought from Canton Tea Co. It literally blew my mind. I had drunk green tea for some time before trying it but this was in a league of its own. It tasted of honey and new-mown hay and the aftertaste went on and on. I shall definitely buy more of this one.