Geoffrey Norman

I finally got me some more! They got another limited stock in of the lovely alcy-scented Ceylon that captured my heart and tongue. Initial dry smell of this new batch was more “damp”-like than the first. Stronger on the bitey note. I finally cupped it this morning before heading out the door. It was still as floral, feathery and woody on the initial sip like the first time I tried it. The finish, though, was much stronger. Not sure what was done differently, but it had more of the whiskey toastiness the second time ’round. Still awesome.

Full Write-Up Here: http://www.lazyliteratus.com/1118

Second taster note on this; changed-up my approach.

Except for days when I require something stronger and maltier, I turn to matcha as my morning pick-up. That every-other-day-task has fallen on Joy’s Izu Matcha. It does what its supposed to and still tastes good. I’m apt to add that it actually fizzes up nicely when paired with 170F water as opposed to the usual 165F. When I’m in a hurry, that’s what I default to. That adds a bit of texture to an otherwise zesty cup.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/12/22/review-joy%E2%80%99s-teaspoon-izu-matcha/

I finally got to track down an Assam with gold tips. I happened to be in SE Portland and stopped into the main shop to test out a pot of this. Some Twitter friends mentioned that it might not taste different than other Assams and that “flecks” of gold tips were added to up the premium price. I think they were wrong. What I got was a black tea with a mildly astringent foretaste, followed by straight nectar; a comparison I usually reserve for Yunnan Golds. With the malty kick added, this was more in line with a Golden Monkey – another partially tipped tea that I enjoy. I can finally notch this off my list.

Tried this in the taster section at the Stash Tea Store. I was weary of anything with “Christmas” in the title – thinking I would be blasted with something pepperminty. I was surprised to find a floral black-ish blend that reminded me of a high-altitude Ceylon. It’s a weird mix, but a pretty good one.

I found out about this Washington outfit in ‘09, but didn’t look for the website until a year later. The white tea finally became available for online order this (or last?) month. I instantly picked up some. Finding good “A-MURR-ican” tea had become somewhat of a sub-hobby. I was a little turned off by the dry appearance. They looked like normal leaves with a wildernessy smell. Nothing special.

That all changed in taste, however. This is one hearty and buttery white tea. Best obscure comparison I can make is to an Oothu estate Indian white tea; same type of bold, fruity and creamy characteristics. It also had a bit in common with Milk Oolong by way of a Bai Mu Dan and lasted for nearly four infusions. Quite frankly, I’ve had nothing like it. But I DID like it. A lot.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/29/review-sakuma-bros-sun-dried-loose-leaf-white-tea/

Second note on this one. It’s too bad this company went outta business. They had a quality product, especially this organic honeybush, which I finally found the perfect delivery mechanism for…as a latte. Yes, I latte’d the heck out of it and added some Greek honey for good measure. If there was some Dionysian nectar of the gods, this is it. I could go into taster notes on this, but you probably already know what they are now – just think honey-vanilla. It was awesome.

I had this tea at the end of a late lunch. I figured, if I was going to have a guilt free dessert, might as well make it a dessert-flavored tea. And this delivers. The green tea base – which I guessed was a Chinese sencha (with its natural berry notes) – worked well with the freeze-dried blueberries and natural flavoring.

I gave some to my brother and he said it was “pretty hot and tempting.”

Took the words right outta my cup.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/10/review-the-necessiteas-blueberry-cheesecake-4/

Earl Greys are like…well…opinions. (And I’m not gonna say what opinions are like.) Point is, everyone has one, but not everyone has one that works. Some are too malty, some are too sour, and some just don’t work on either front. This is the most balanced Earl I have tried to date. It’s more citrus than sour, the black tea base never embitters and rarely feels dry, and the key word here is “balance”. On the tightrope of taste, this nails the bottle with a well-placed lightning bolt. I’ve had a LOT of Earl Greys, and I thought I was Earl Grey’d out ’til I had this. Glad to be proven palate-ly wrong.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/14/review-joy%E2%80%99s-teaspoon-earl-grey/

I sampled this on a visit to their teashop and immediately picked up a bottle. That’s how much I loved it. I finally cracked it open while at work. I’ve had pear-flavored white teas before, but never paired with apples. The flavor lived up to my wildest imagination…and that’s pretty vivid. Pear dominated the foretaste, while apple and mildly-astringent Bai Mu Dan dominated the middle. The aftertaste was toasty, almost Riesling-like. This is an iced tea I’d pour into a wine glass to “fit in” at a party full of sommeliers. Looks the same and almost tastes the same. Simply awesome.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/22/review-smith-teamaker-no-71-white-petal-rtd/

Can’t say I was very impressed with this Bai Mu Dan, which is too bad because the dry leaves looked and smelled incredibly lovely. The aroma was full-on “grape”, not just a hint of grape – bold. That trait, however, only translated partially to the taste; a flavor I liken to smoked vegetables by way of melons. I don’t think I over-brewed this, for I was well within the steeping parameters. It just wasn’t my usual cuppa. Still on the decent side, though.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/09/review-silk-road-teas-white-peony/

Is this a sophisticate’s dream tea; a connoisseur’s complicated cup? No. But the title is alliterative, and it’s damn easy to prepare. Both desired traits in a sniffly writer. This is my go-to “Sniffles Blend”. In fact, if I had a vote, I would call it Sniffles Blend. However, Mint Medley sounds much prettier. It has all the lemoniness, mintiness and awesomeness to help me BREATHE again. And it tastes good. I am forever a fan, snobbery be damned.

I only had a one-shot of this – alas – so I could only try it as a tea, which is too bad because this just screams, “Latte me NOW!” Oh well, c’est la vie. As a tea, I still think it holds up where it should. It’s a guilty pleasure without the guilt part. Subtleties escape me in describing the flavor because there really aren’t that many. It’s all chocolate and hazelnut like its moniker declares.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/07/review-tea-forte-hazelnut-truffle-2/

If I only had one nitpick it would be that the black tea base doesn’t appear to be of high quality. As with a lot of dessert teas, I found it quite bitter on the forefront. That said, it does what it sets out to do.

I made it a point this morning to get up early and make the trek to Smith Teamaker’s brick-n-mortar shop to pick up some of this. I thought it’d be a perfect gift for my dad. Unfortunately, they were sold out of it. Luckily, they had just enough left for me to sample a pot. The black tea base was a Nuwara Eliya Ceylon given a couple months rest in a white oak whiskey barrel. The result was a bright amber liquor with a woody/smokey foretaste, a floral middle, and a winy/whiskey-like aftertaste; toasty but not bitey. This stuff is habit-forming.

Full Write-Up Here: http://www.lazyliteratus.com/1118

I actually tried this yesterday, but I had to confirm who put it out with the person who gave it to me. This is the first single estate Nilgiri I’ve ever tried, and it singlehandedly proved to me that the region gets a bum rap. This is not a low quality tea. In fact, in terms of malt, astringence and body, it could give even the heartiest of Assams a run for their money. Of course, that might be due to the way I brewed it. I wasn’t really paying attention. It was strong, port wine-like on first bite, had a dry character in the middle, but settled nicely. A wonderful surprise.

De-cupboarding the last of this that I got from Jaime. This seemed like the best time to do it. We – my brother and I – just put up the Christmas tree (well, actually, it was all him), but I did the brewing of this. However, I hogged the Santa Claus mug. Its just as foresty, minty, and Christmas-like as I remembered the first time. Perfect time o’ year for this.

This is the second Golden Monkey I’ve ever tried. I think – as a result – I might be going through a Chinese “red tea” phase. Or rather, gold tea. Golden Yunnans and Golden Monkey have overtaken all other black teas in my mind; save for Darjeelings. This Golden Monkey is no exception – sweet, nectary, mildly muscatel, light, yet revitalizing. And the best part? REALLY quick to brew. This could almost give Yunnan Golden Needles a run for their money. Almost.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/06/review-tao-tea-leaf-golden-monkey-2/

I actually mooched this off my brother. Yes, I mooched a tea off someone who’s not a tea drinker. It’s an unusual blend that doesn’t appear to be on the merchant site yet, indicating its…uh…new-ness. Or something. The one ingredient I was worried about was the lavender, but thankfully its understated. Lemongrass and fennel seem to be the dominant flavors I can identify. Overall, the effect is a good one, and it – indeed – does make you tired.

I don’t want to spend more time than I have to. I have loved the products I’ve tried from Davidson’s so far, but this was beyond reproach. It was in their holiday herbal section, and very little was said as to ingredients other than cinnamon, orange peel, hibiscus, and lemon myrtle. The result? Pure horror. Spicy swamp water. I didn’t even last five sips. Of course, my “actual” formal review will be a tad kinder and go into more specifics…but as it stands, this is the worst tea I’ve had in a very long time. “Hint of cinnamon”, my tea cup’s arse.

In hindsight – after I write the company about the ingredients used – I will revisit this to see if I hate it as much as I elaborated above. ’Til then, this stands as a “blegh”.

I’m starting to think that the existence of Yunnan Golden Buds (or Needles) is unfair to the rest of its black tea brethren. It is quite quickly becoming my favorite type of black tea. Nectar-like in its initial delivery with only a slight – but complimentary – bitterness, this amber cup has an effect on me. I started this morning in pretty foul spirits until I sipped this. This quickly relaxed me and revitalized me at the same time. Such a perk-up, no other black tea can come close to comparing.

This is exactly as you expect it to be from the title. It’s fruit pieces with flavoring, and it does its job rather effectively. It tastes like strawberries and kiwis. I had high hopes for this blend because I love the combination. Always did ever since having a strawberry kiwi frozen yogurt. It more or less lives up to that, but it’s a lot more subtle than I thought it would be. Odd for me to say this, but I think it needed more hibiscus or something. More tartness. But that’s just me. Other than that, quite good.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2010/12/31/review-the-necessiteas-strawberry-kiwi/

This oolong surprised me in many ways. I did my best to mimic a Gongfu prep for it – somewhat to no avail – but still ended up with three twenty-second steeps of differing excellence. Common traits were a contrasted vegetal and fruity lean with little or no astringency. Worth a look…but definitely not an on-the-go tea. This requires ritual.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/05/review-life-in-teacup-dong-ding-oolong-traditional-greener-style-3/

I knew of this merchant for years – knew they were a local wholesaler – but aside from their Cranberry Sencha (which I had at a coffee shop) I hadn’t sampled many of their wares. Until tonight. They finally had an actual teashop open, and allowed for tastings at the counter. I had eyed this particular rooibos blend for years, mainly for the inclusion of honeycomb. I tried it, liked it and bought some. But I wondered how it would stand up to MY way of brewing.

I steeped it for six instead of the recommended five. That and I added a glob of Greek honey to the mix. It probably didn’t need it due to the honeycomb and honey flavoring, but I was going for broke. And I’ll tell ya what…it was a good garnish. The cup was sweet, creamy, and nutty. The rooibos base with the added elements actually takes on the attributes of its cousin – honeybush. Which also makes me wonder, why they didn’t use honeybush as a base instead…perhaps they didn’t want to go for a trifecta. I dunno.

All said, a damn good drink.

New company to me, and a new type of shou pu-erh. By the title, I assumed it was made with rice, but the product had no listing on the website as of yet. That is, unless it went by a different name, and I simply didn’t see it. (I wrote the vendor to clarify.)

That said, it was perhaps the best shou pu-erh I’ve tried to date. After four infusions, I detected nutty, woody, earthy, citrus, and rice-like notes. Very nuanced for a robust drink. It also darkens pretty quickly for the steeper on the go. For a guy that usually goes for sheng first, this was a game-changer.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/08/review-tao-tea-leaf-rice-pu-er-tuo-cha-shou/

Holy sweet Margie Mother of Buddha, you can tell what you’re getting into by smell alone. It smells like lemon pie. I LOVE lemon pie. I also love honeybush and rooibos blended together. Add lemon and you have a happy me. I could go into the subtleties of this blend, but there are none, by golly. It’s loud and it’s proud. Sweet without needing sugar, citrusy without overdoing it. It’s herbal infused perfection.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/02/review-joys-teaspoon-lemon-zest/