Geoffrey Norman

Backlogging a bit…

On one of my all-to-regular Monday visits to Smith HQ, I had the pleasure of trying this. It was my first Darjeeling of the 2012 batch, and – boy – was it different. Where most first flushes taste like spring leaves and spices, this had an added toasty element I didn’t quite expect. With the spicy-grape and leafy underpinning, this was a more-than-pleasant intro to the new Darjeeling crop.

Like a lot of the Devotea’s teas I’ve tried, this had the same malty underpinning with a smooth – almost floral – delivery. This, more so, though. Likely to match its namesake. Not quite as robust as the 1910, but a little more refined than Finbarr’s Revenge. This one’s a sneaky mistress.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2012/06/20/the-revenge-of-finbarrs-persian-princess-in-1910/

I can sum up this Irish Breakfast variant in on sentence: This stuff actually gives you the courtesy of a reach-around before punching you in the junk.

It’s been awhile since I’ve imbibed a good English Breakfast, and this certainly qualifies. The dry leaves smelled like both Assam and Keemun, but I’m not sure Keemun was used due to how light the liquor brewed. On taste, it was smoky, malty, smooth, and somewhat forest-like on the finish. Not quite Petersham excellence, but still up there.

A blogger friend of mine sent me three blends of his own devising. The first that caught my attention was (naturally) the smoky one. What was funny about the blend is that I found green oolong in the midst – highly unusual. This is a very gentle Russian Caravan variant. It was both smoky and floral with a smooth underpinning of malt and tobacco. A very manly hug of a morning cup.

This marks my second first flush of the new year. And, wow, what a cup. This had all the trappings of a Darjeeling first flush, but with the added burden of a tannic mouthfeel on the finish. It was all spices, grapes, and greenery the way through. The character was more in line with a Darjeeling oolong than a normal OP. Simply superb.

I’ve liked the low-altitude Ceylon’s I’ve tried from this estate, but most seemed to lack the usual Ceylon floral profile. This, thankfully, had it…and then some. It’s a very pleasant, medium-bodied, morning cup.

Their description was rather apt. Fans of Golden Yunnans WOULD love this. I happened to fall fairly squarely in that category. This was the second Golden Bi Luo I had ever tried, and they seem to echo the same characteristics as Yunnan Golds…only sharper. It was creamy when it had to be, malty to a point, and earthy with a dash of pepper. My only real complaint was that introduction was a little too sharp and tannic. That said, still an excellent cup.

I felt like a Sikkim this morning. Heck, I always feel like a Sikkim. Sure, it’d been awhile since I had it, but it felt like a Temi sorta day. Just like the last two times I dipped into this, it brewed amber, had a Darjeeling-ish spicy note to it, but also possessed a fruity underpinning. Great way to start the morn.

My only regret is I never got to try a Temi 2nd Flush in 2011.

Original Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2012/01/28/review-rare-tea-republic-temi-sftgfop1-first-flush/

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Zhen Qu gold-tipped Yunnan. The last one I tried was – dare I say it? – a year ago. That one was sheer and utter perfection. This one was…almost perfect. With a liquor color like leather and a taste like honey and cream, how could it not be close to perfect? Hard to pinpoint what it was missing, but it wasn’t much. Truly an excellent Yunnan Gold.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

I’m a HUGE fan of Yunnan Golds as a rule. This one suffered from being too light compared to its other gold-tipped kin. That said, it still held quite a bit of what I loved about the type – honey-like, peppery, woody, and slightly creamy. I just wished it was a little burlier. However, to say it’s a slight disappointment compared to other Yunnan Golds is like saying, “You’re the less pretty High Elf in the court.” (I.e. It’s still excellent in its own right.)

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

I was not expecting much from this. It didn’t look like a Darjeeling; it didn’t smell like a Darjeeling. Heck, it didn’t even taste like a Darjeeling. But – oh my – what a taste it was! Fruit candy on the front, and a malt-’n-floral trail-off. It reminded me quite a bit of teas put out by the Oothu estate (also a biodynamic op). In a word, “Perfect.”

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

One of last Darjeeling 2011s in my stash. Gotta say it was a good year. Thankfully, it’s ending on a good note with this one. While not as strong on the spice-‘n-grape profile as others I’ve tried, this was a very even muscatel mouthfeel from start to finish. It is quintessentially Darjeeling with none of the weaknesses.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

Tried this after a night of social drinking. Nothing like a “hair of the dog” tea to brighten your day. This stuff – unlike other flavored teas – actually doesn’t dilute very much after the initial dry whiff. The flavoring holds up after a good steep. As an added bonus, some of the natural floral characteristics of the Ceylon base also show through.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

I had this sent to me by Gorreana after they caught wind of me whining about it on the SororiTEA Sisters page. What I didn’t expect was to receive so much of the stuff. In short, I adore this pekoe. It has a character quite like a Darjeeling OP but without the spicy overtones. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on your preference. I found it to be very balanced, sweet, and barely bitter.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2012/05/23/orange-you-glad-i-broke-my-pekoe-in-portugal/

I forgot I even had this when I was digging around for new teas to try. I thought I had passed on all my golden teas to my brother. Oh, glorious morning! This tastes just like a Yunnan gold-tipped Dian Hong only with a lighter mouthfeel. It’s sweet, earthy, partially creamy, medium-malty…and quite the waker-upper.

Full Review: Pending on www.teaviews.com

I purchased this after trying it at Phoenix’es “Teattle” shop. It was – without much exaggeration – one of the most unique teas I’ve come across. I’m still hard-pressed to define it, but I do my darnedest here…and explain how it makes me feel like a bit of a “tea hipster” – an old one at that: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2012/05/08/youve-probably-never-heard-of-this-tea-before/

I could see what looked like flecks of Darjeeling second flush and plump, tippy leaves of Golden Yunnan. The smell was earthy and floral. On introduction, there was a bit of a citrus snap, followed by a slight tannic bite in the middle, then it snapped at the top note with a presence of peppers, allspice, honey and Keemun sweetness.

Full Review (If you can call it that) Here: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2012/05/02/guan-yins-tigers-and-lords-oh-my/

“I was randomly contacted through Steepster by a rep for Teavivre a couple of months back with a glowing opportunity – that being to try several of their wares. The dry leaves for this new batch were all twisty green-’n-gold excellence with a peppery sweet aroma. It reminded me of honey dipped in pyrite. Each and every time, the liquor turned out exactly as I hoped – deep gold-to-amber, reeking of honeynut-chocolate. On taste, it was as I expected, if not a little bit more.”

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2012/01/27/review-teavivre-yunnan-dian-hong-black-tea-3/

“Bai Lin Gong Fu – other than sounding like the name of a cheesy 70s martial arts flick – is a black tea hailing from Fujian province, China. Smelling it an experience, for I found it hard to pinpoint what to call the scent; I settled on “caramel musk” – even though that sounds like a male aftershave. This was different from the other two Bai Lins I’ve tried – which both exhibited more earthy, Yunnan-like tendencies – but I still favored its robust roundhouse kick of a taste.”

Full Review: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/

The founder of Handmade Tea had me at “whiskey oak-smoked” with this one. The yerba mate base is given that very treatment. Peppermint and cinnamon round out the rest. The introduction is smoky, while mint dominates the middle. The aftertaste reminded me a bit of Keemun. Even with my prejudice against peppermint, this was a heckuva holiday blend.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2011/12/13/hark-i-herald-booze-blends/

True story: I tried this right after getting out of a showing of Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. Even two beers couldn’t erase the badness of that movie. Perhaps tea could do what alcohol failed to do. Thankfully, it (mostly) did. This is the anti-sencha; the anti-Japanese pan-fried green tea. There was quite a bit of complexity going on with the flavor – equal parts citrus, tang, sweetness, seaweed and a tickle of vinegar. And the best part? It was a green tea I could boil the s**t out of with a lazy brew-up.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2011/12/05/in-a-pickle/

This was a different sort of Yunnan black. It was gold-tipped, so it was inevitable that I was going to like it. What I was NOT expecting was how burly it would be. Dare I say, this was a gold tea that could rival some dark Assams out there? It tasted of peppers, earth, smoke, and leather. Yes…leather. And it woke me up right quick to boot.

Full Review: http://beastsofbrewdom.teatra.de/2011/11/22/tea-like-leather/

Pu-erh? What pu-erh? I don’t taste any pu-erh. In short, here’s what a drinker is getting into: It tastes like a Mao Jian green tea that’s been blended with lemongrass. If you like both of those things (which I do), you will most certainly love this. Is any bit of it reminiscent of a raw pu-erh? Not yet. Far too young to have that flavor profile yet. That said it is a perfect introduction for the uninitiated.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2011/11/21/very-well-give-him-tea-cake/