Amy oh

And the darjeeling tasting continues…

woo – this is so good! I don’t know exactly what my water temp is here, but it was well below boiling.

This tea is just like a spring day. It’s very light and flowery. The fruit flavor is a bit like a mango-y pineapple, but it has sweet and almost creamy quality about it. I’m also getting a bit of nuttiness in the finish. This is like, roll your eyes in the back of your head good. Mind-bendingly good, even.

If I didn’t have so many FF darjeeleings already I would certainly consider getting a larger size of this one.

Must. resist. the .urge.

I did resteep this again at 208 F. It is still great at the warmer temperature and has an almost candy like sweetness. It has definitely grabbed my attention, I can tell you!

Thanks to ScottTeaMan for getting me a sample of this from Upton!

The dry leaves do smell very malty, and the leaves are beautiful. I always thought that Pekoe referred to Indian/Sri Lankan teas but I guess I was wrong.

My tea liquor is a dark orange color and smells malty and a little bit spicy! It has that sweet potato/starchy quality that reminds me a bit of a golden monkey. The tea is very gentle with no astringency. It has a bit of a cocoa aroma/flavor as well as smelling a bit… “bready?” The sweet and gentle nature of the tea kind of coats your mouth and is very moistening. The aftertaste on this one definitely lingers. This is definitely a nice afternoon tea for today!

Steeped via regular infuser mug method. I did one resteep and the second cup is still pleasant although the flavor has faded a bit.

The weather is cold & foggy today and since I’m still feeling kinda oooky, I decided I really wanted some of this. With the sweet, roasted chestnutty type of flavor, it’s like comfort tea for yours truly. Enjoying this now with a bowl of split pea soup.

See previous notes for more info. :)

Definitely a nice tea for the evening time, a bit of cocoa, orange and lemongrass makes for a very tasty and relaxing tisane. Sweet and yummmmy! See previous notes for more info. :-)

This tea was purchased at the San Francisco International Tea Festival a few months ago. Evidently Fox and Moon is a traveling operation of sorts and does not own a regular store or a tearoom (in spite of the name). I really wanted to try a Tie Lou Han and this wasn’t cheap, I think it was $12/oz.

My sweetie is a fan of oolongs, but only likes the darker ones and does not think much of green oolongs or green tea, for that matter. I steeped this one up at his request this afternoon.

For a wuyi tea, this is a bit on the lighter side (more of an orange color). It has a delicious roasted caramel type of aroma and we are finding some essence of almond in the flavor. This has a nice minerality quality with cocoa notes and a bit of peach. The aftertaste lingers and is nice and sweet. I have had this tea a few times before now and the first steep is delightful, but it does not re-steep well which seems very strange for a darker oolong of this type. Because I know it doesn’t resteep well I just brewed this up Western style today in the glass teapot.

I think I will need to go to Red Blossom or elsewhere to see how their tie lou han compares. It is definitely a lovely tea but I took a few points off for the fact that it doesn’t resteep well. I may also put the leftover leaves in the fridge and try cold brewing this one.

This is the first year I decided to pre-order any shincha (a first flush sencha tea). My curiosity got the better of me and like the true tea addict I am, I had to see what the fuss was all about. There are several places to order shincha from, but I decided to go with Den’s because I have been very happy with the quality of all their products.

First of all, the dry leaves are incredible. Vivid green and vegetal with a bit of sweetness, the aroma is very fresh and delightful.

I steeped this is a Japanese style teapot which I believe is called a Tokoname kyusu – at least it looks like this one on Rishi’s website:

http://www.rishi-tea.com/product/fukugata-tokoname-teapot/teapots.

Mine is white and petite – it holds about 10 oz. of tea.

This tea liquor is much lighter than I thought it would be. I am getting lots of sweet vegetal notes like buttery cooked peas. It’s a bit brothy and a bit fruity at the same time. I’m thinking light notes of berries, perhaps? This is really nice, absolutely no bitterness involved at all. Just a delicate cup of tea. I can see why shincha is so highly prized but ack, it is expensive! This is the only shincha I am planning to buy this year and I’m sure I will enjoy it very much.

Now that I have all these FF darjeelings I was starting to wonder if and when they would all taste the same to me, but it’s quite surprising at how different they are.

I steeped this around 190F for 3 minutes because I find I like them much more this way, less astringency and less chance of bitterness to come to the forefront. I’ve been steeping mine at the 190 -200 F range. My tea liquor is a light orange here.

I have to agree with Triumph about the fruity and effervescent nature of this tea. I am getting intense peach notes mixed with honey. It also has a delicious floral quality about it. In nature it is a bit like some of the Nepalese teas I’ve had. But it’s so good! It has an almost buttery like quality in the richness of the tea liquor and no astringency that I can detect. A nice and gentle way to wake up on this Sunday morning…

This indeed reminds me of a summer day, sitting outside in the sun with a bowl of fresh peaches and watching the birds fly by.

Experience of going to Japantown where I got this tea can be found in my blog, here: http://sanfrantea.teatra.de/2012/05/12/on-a-quest-for-tea-in-japantown/

This genmaicha has more toasted rice than some other brands I have, but I really don’t mind. I got the loose leaf version and it was certainly reasonably priced at $5.00 a bag. I think the green tea here is a bancha. Genmaicha was one of the first Japanese teas I really got into. This has a lovely popcorn aroma and a nice nutty flavor with only a trace of bitterness. A great tea to pair with food, or for the evening time when you don’t want a lot of caffeine.

A very good, every day genmaicha!

This is a really nice afternoon/dessert kinda tea. I gave some to my boyfriend who normally doesn’t like flavored teas and he said “This really does taste like a cookie!”

Definitely almondy, a bit sweetish and rich. I enjoyed mine with a splash of soymilk. I would get this again if I placed another order with Simpson & Vail. See previous notes for more info…

After a long week and a quick swim at the pool (trying in vain to get some exercise!) I am at home now. I can’t say what made me want to brew this one up but I was really craving it for some reason. Well, for one thing I was worried I might fall asleep before dinner started!

It is funny how tastes change. I never thought I would like a lapsang type tea OR a darjeeling, but thank you my Steepster friends for broadening my horizons & shrinking my bank account at the same time. :))

I think I made this a bit strong tonight as it seems extra dark and smoky but I am still enjoying it a lot… I still want to try cooking with lapsang one of these days!

Now someone please tell me how to get the water out of my ears!

Here’s a black tea sample that I got from Upton, I was curious to try based on their description of it. This is a black tea, though they may call it a red tea in China. Another congou to try.

The directions said to steep this for 3-5 minutes so I went for 4 in the end. I got a very smooth, dark black tea with virtually no astringency. There is a nice sweetness about it. I agree it is very clean and mellow. This is a very easy one to sip on plain, which I am enjoying. It’s definitely nice to have a few black teas which I don’t feel the need to take with any additions. Perhaps a slight bit of maltiness in the finish. I am sure I will happily finish this off but will probably not need to buy anymore. I do have a full tin of a panyang congou which is probably enough for a while!

Unfortunately I left my infuser in the teapot when I went back to get a second cup and now I am getting the bitter, ooky quality I think Jen was describing in her note. This is not a tea you want to oversteep.

I know I am weird but I was half hoping for something spicy in this tea since it’s from Sichuan province. hee hee! I enjoyed trying it though.

It’s been a day of good tea but otherwise another boring day in the life. I am having serious fantasies about packing it all in to go to darjeeling or nepal. In any event, this is a delicious white tea. Very sweet and fruity, nice way to wind down the day. A little slice of heaven. :)

I cold brewed two teabags of this overnight and today I am drinking it over ice.

woooah – it’s really good this way! Very strong and invigorating. I’m getting the smokiness from the gunpowder and a ton of mint with a touch of sweetness. I wonder if there is some sugar in the teabag already? Anyway I highly recommend trying Moroccan mint this way!

A sample tea I got from Upton with one of my recent orders.

I have to agree with Jacqueline that this is a bit lighter in body and more oolong-ish than the Chinese Keemuns. My cup is a lovely dark red. I’m not really getting the smokiness myself, but I’m picking up on a sweetish, woody type of flavor. There is a definite tannin bite in the finish of this tea which is bugging me… maybe it needs less steeping time than what Upton recommended (5 minutes).

I enjoyed this a bit more with some soymilk which cut out some of the tannins and brought out a sweeter note. This was ok but not going on my list of items to buy.

I am enjoying this tea today courtesy of Teavire – thank you

I used slightly more leaf today than I had before (more along the lines of 2 tsp/1 cup and the results were more to my liking. I also steeped it for three minutes. Now I am picking up more of the gentle, nutty notes. Raised the score a few points also. Sorry for the short note, must be leaving home soon!

I’m really getting sick of flavored green tea but this was sent to me as a sample by Lupicia in their newsletter so of course I had to try it…

This is one of the pyramid teabags, and before I read the description I could have sworn this was a melon flavored tea. This smells vaguely of alcohol, but not in a good way, a bit like a cheap wine cooler, me thinks.

As the cup cools down, the smell is dissipating. Now I am getting a bit more peach here but this combination of flavors is not really making me happy. Lupicia has a few flavored green teas I am fond of but this doesn’t seem to be one of them…

I’ve been trying to figure out how to divest myself of these Palais de Thes samples so yesterday I cold brewed this in my Teavana tea maker for 12+ hours (don’t judge – it was a gift, lol)

This has really brought out the flowery, perfumey notes of this tea. I am drinking it over ice and it is tasting pretty soapy. Kind of arguing with myself about whether I should dump it out, but will probably suffer through it and just finish it.

Oh, I think I will miss this sample a lot when it’s gone but I must resist the urge to buy more since I already bought one larger size of the Risheeshat and one Puttabong this spring. Don’t make fun of me, ScottTeaMan!

It’s true a year ago I thought all darjeelings were dreadful but I have since learned the truth! Plus learning how to steep them properly has definitely helped…

I am not in a great mood this morning but hoping this tea will revive me somehow.

For some reason today I am picking up on the smoky notes. Perhaps I am weird but am drinking this tea with soymilk this morning, mostly because I am short on time. But I still like it this way!

I took this to work today and made iced tea with it, I like it this way. Very refreshing for my afternoon beverage. See previous notes for more info.

This tasting note is for the 2012 version of this tea.

And I’ve gone a bit FF darjeeling mad recently but it’s all been worth it, hee hee.

The dry leaf smells very fresh and floral in the tin. When you steep this up you can see how green the leaves still are! I’m not sure of my exact temp. since I don’t have my thermometer here but it was definitely below boiling.

When I steeped this up, it’s a medium yellow with a slight flowery aroma. I was hoping for a slightly more floral aroma but the flavor of this is outstanding. I might try steeping for a longer period next time. I’m picking up nuances of tropical fruit with a slight spice and a bit of rich nuttiness. I’m finding this to be sweet and mellow with only a slight astringency in the finish. A bit pricey but definitely a good purchase I am not going to regret … :)

This is one tea I like to take with soymilk and sugar, very brisk and strong but I kinda needed a kick in the pants this morning. :P

See previous notes for more info.

I haven’t had this tea in ages so I decided to steep some up today. I guess I should have checked my own steeping notes since I steeped it for 3 minutes and that’s exactly the same thing I did last time, vowing I would try it for less next time in the future – lol

I definitely think this batch got oversteeped at first because it came out a bit bitter. I decided to dump it out and start anew.

For the second batch I went for 2 minutes at around 175 F and the results were much better. I guess this tea really needs to be treated like a green, so I wrote a note on the bag for future reference.

It does have some of the flavors of a 2nd flush darjeeling now (spicy, fruity), but with a bit of rich nuttiness similar to pecans. I’m glad I found a way to make it more enjoyable!

I’m finishing off the last of this sample tonight… sniff

It’s okay to have a belated Christmas in MAY, right?!?!

For some reason this seems minty to me tonight and I can’t quite understand why. I just hope I washed my teacups out well enough. I do like the almond-y cardamom flavor in here along with the white tea, very nice for after dinner and I only hope it doesn’t keep me awake. As much as I like Christmas, I’m so happy to be getting 14 hours of daylight!