Amy oh

wow, I am learning more about white tea every day! I upped the rating on this one today. Using cooled water, a lot of leaf and a slight 60 second steep was the key to success with this one. It now has a gentle lilac/vanilla aroma and taste. delicate and nice!

M’kay… here’s another tea I got in the Whole foods bulk bin here in San francisco. I was pretty excited to try this! I’ve had a few yunnan teas but I don’t think a golden needle has been one of them. These are very fine dark golden buds…

I decided to steep this in the Tetsubin for 4 minutes with boiling water. That may have been a bit too much however, next time I think I will try for 3 because I ended up with a bit more tannins than I wanted. It is very malty and chocolatey with a nice touch of sweetness/starch at the end, kind of like a banana or a sweet potato. I did end up adding a touch of soymilk but I drink most of my blacks this way. I’d also like to try this out with shorter steeps in the gaiwan but it is really yummy! A great choice for the morning.

ok, I’m finishing off the rest of this sample tonight. I happen to really like cardamom and I thought the flavor was much better after steeping this with a couple of cardamom pods. Cardamom for everyone!!!!

I am all out of my beloved Rishi West Cape Chai so I decided to check this out until I have depleted my other Rishi teas and want to place an order for more of them…

I was not happy when I got home and realized this was for the teabag version of this tea (my mistake). I steeped it for 4 minutes with boiling water and added a bit of soymilk in the end. I am not crazy about this. For a bagged non-caffeinated chai I would prefer Yogi tea Indian Spice or even Bengal Spice from Celestial Seasonings.

I’m not really a fan of roobois but since I loved the West Cape Chai, I thought I might appreciate this too. For me the flavor balance seems off. It’s all clove, roobois and orange, I’d prefer a higher concentration of cinnamon and cardamom. It also seems to be drying my mouth right up. I will probably finish it reluctantly. Oh well.

I don’t know that much about white teas but I am trying to further my education. I found this in the bulk section at Whole Foods so the risk of not liking it was relatively low.

These are quite beautiful long silver needles and they smell quite fresh and lovely. I have to admit my water temp has probably been a bit hotter than what they recommend but the tea does not seem to have suffered.

I am looking for the grape they have mentioned here. Grape? I don’t really get that at all. I can definitely get the honeydew melon and maybe some pear. This tea is making my tongue tingle. The only other Bai Mu Dan I’ve had is the one from Teavivre, and I don’t think this is quite as good as that one, not as sweet and flowery. But I do not think I’ll have any problem finishing this off and I might even use it in a blend.

I got this about a year ago to boost my immune system and it still sits here in the office…

Not necessarily a bad thing though. I like herbal tea so I don’t mind it too much although it’s definitely the kind of thing I’d drink for my health and not necessarily for the sheer pleasure of it. It’s pretty heavy on the licorice and ginger so if you don’t like those I would steer clear of this for sure. It is a tiny bit bitter and “medicine-y” & I might try blending with green tea to see how that goes. Hopefully I finish it off this winter!

This is my after lunch treat. If you like coconut and tropical fruit this is not a bad white tea to try… it’s now available from Koni tea. It is also creamy and smells very nice.

I am back at work and feeling nauseated, which is probably not a coincidence. This is helping me to feel better though. :)

One last tea for NYD.

I decided to steep this in the gaiwan after rinsing the leaves quickly with boiling water.

Man, oh man, They are not kidding about this tea being fragrant! It is lemony! And a little bit like asparagus. It’s very refreshing but the first steep had a tiny bit of “bite” to it which made me wonder if it was kind of young (it is from 2010). I did this one for 30 seconds with boiling water. I see now they recommended 10 seconds with not hot water for the first steep.

The second steep I did for less time and with not such hot water. Now I am getting more floral notes in addition to the zesty ones.

Third steep is definitely getting softer. Some clover types notes which are very gentle. I can see this would be a good after dinner tea or good for nausea. Somehow it is settling my stomach.

Fourth steep: I decided I would go back to using boiling water and would steep it for 2 minutes an an experiment. The first steep was actually my favorite here but this one is pretty good too. We are back to slighty lemony and flowery with a bit more “bite” again. This really has a kind of fizzy quality in my opinion. a tiny bit drying perhaps due to the age… this would get bitter if steeped too long I think. I really like it though!

Really an interesting sheng from Bana!

I really want to find some white teas that I like and I found this lurking in the back of my cupboard. I can’t remember when I bought this. These are teabags, and when I opened up the can to take a whiff it is an overwhelming artifical peach smell. Really it reminds me of paint drying.

I followed the instructions on the tin and steeped it for around 45 seconds with nearly boiling water. I am sorry to report that this is just really awful and it isn’t cheap either… I can’t make myself finish it off. No doubt it is going into the compost. I really like ginger but I think there is something about this peach flavoring that is really not for me. I do like the white peach tea from Rishi so it isn’t like I’m totally biased against fruit or anything. blecch.

Happy New Year, Steepies. :)

After a quick rinse I have decided to steep this up in the gaiwan and used about 1 tsp of leaf. my water was not quite boiling for the first two steeps.

I am very happy with this shu and it is for sure going on my shopping list. It is very mild with a slightly sweet flavor that is indeed reminiscent of pecans with some cinnamon-spice in the finish. After 3 steeps there is no noticeable loss in flavor. A soothing cup of tea to the mind and the body. I would just like to keep this around for those moments when I want a gentle cup.

It’s New Year’s Day and I am finishing off the last of this. Slightly decadent choice for this lazy morning! :)

Hmm this is very interesting. From the look of the leaves it reminds me of the Blue People Oolong I’ve seen recently from the Aroma Tea Shop which was fermented with licorice and mint. I am getting way more licorice than orchid here.

First infusion: steeped in the xi ying teapot for 2 minutes after a quick rinse. Although the leaves smell incredible, this is really way too sweet for me.

Second steep: I only went for 60 seconds this time. It is much more subdued and the floral notes are coming through but still pretty sweet and I can’t quite get the overwhelming taste of licorice out of my mouth.

This is ok but really not my favorite thing from Verdant by far…

Everytime I open up my tea cupboards and see all these fruit-bomb teas from Teavana it’s like WTF was I thinking? And now I have to drink them all unless they are totally dreadful.

Anyway when I first tasted this I did not like it at all but it is better than I remember. I agree with the previous reviewer who said she was expecting something with a lot more in the way of black tea. This is primarily a fruity tea with a little bit of black in it. There’s also something a bit tart here which I am not loving, perhaps the pineapple?

Anyway I think I will finish this if I dump some soymilk in it or perhaps I will wait for the summer and make iced tea out of it. I will be glad to swap this out to someone who is interested in trying it.

Quite a delicious shu. I think my big problem is going to be trying to figure out which one of these Bana pu-erhs is my favorite! :)

I brewed this up in the gaiwan after giving the leaves a quick rinse in boiling water. Very small and fine leaves. A loose leaf variety of shu (not from a cake or a brick, etc).

First infusion: 30 seconds. The leaves have a very woody, earthy and camphor smell. This is a very rich and full tea. I am not too fond of camphor in pu-erh a lot of times but it does seem to work for me here. I am reminded a bit of shiitake mushrooms but there is also a lingering sweetness here like that of sweet potatoes. Big camphor finish.

Second infusion: 20 seconds. I am getting some smoke and reminded a bit of burnt caramel. It is a very uplighting and energizing brew.

Third infusion: 30 seconds. Very similar to infusion #2. Really sweet and pleasant with that redwood forest aroma that I like so much. I am getting a lingering aftertaste like that of cocoa. Very rich and smooth – it’s really a treat!

Evidently you can infuse this 8 times but I do not have time for that this morning…

I checked the price – $20 for 100 grams which seems very reasonable for this aged elegant tea. I am not a complete nut but it does seem to be activating the energy meridians on the back of my neck. Quite an activator of ch’i here.

ooh, this is very nice! A delicate and subtle raw pu-erh. I have steeped this in the gaiwan with short infusions with around 180 F water per the instruction notes.

Leaves were rinsed and the first infusion was discarded. The leaves smell faintly earthy and floral. The tea itself is very mild and relaxing! I am surprised and very pleased so far with these shengs from the Bana Tea Company. I am picking up a slight apple taste with white button mushroom type flavor. Almost like a white tea in the subtle and sweet flavor with just a hint of malt. Very nice for a relaxing afternoon tea. :)

I actually forgot I had this until this morning while looking around in my tea cabinets. I know that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of this tea but I do have a lot of stuff!

This is kind of a curious blend. It contains aloe for digestion and inulin – I had to look that up. The inulin is a polysaccharide which is slightly sweet and is also supposed to increase bacterial flora.

So anyway, this is obviously meant to be a theraputic-esque tea but it doesn’t taste too bad either. The chinese green tea is mild (I believe it may be a dragonwell) and I don’t mind the taste of aloe. If you’ve never had it before you might find it a bit weird. There is a nice touch of sweetness here and the rose petals are not too numerous, just enough to add a touch of floral. I rather like this. I might have to try it iced.

As for the other ingredients: natural flavoring, who knows what that means and there is sugar in here as well.

This came as part of a Teavana Japanese tea gift set I got for Christmas. Naturally since I love Japanese green tea I was very excited to get this!

As part of the description of this tea I read: it is steamed and molded into comma shaped leaves. When it is brewed, Tama Ryokucha has a mild taste with tones of citrus and berries.

I brewed about 1 tsp or so of leaf in the gaiwan with water I believed to be around 170 or so. I am got a very thick brothy tea which tastes very strongly of spinach, kelp and almonds. Slightly buttery. I did steep my leaves 3 times. The last steep was very short, around 30 seconds or so. I am not picking up on the fruit flavors but the tea is a tiny bit astringent in the finish. I might try making this again using even less leaf. Enjoyable and delicious.

Eh, it’s okay. I brewed a few short infusions of this up in the xi ying teapot. It smells very sweet and floral and tastes buttery but grassy and also I am getting the slightly bitter aftertaste. Perhaps this would be better after a meal. Definitely not one of my favorites from the sampler pack.

Time for some shu this morning…. :)

I gave these leaves a quick rinse and am using about 1 tsp. of leaf in the gaiwan. I tossed out the first infusion, a lot of times I don’t drink those.

2nd infusion: This tea has a very intense woodsy aroma, almost smoky like. Very assertive, a bit too strong. Steeped for 30 seconds.

3rd infusion: steeped for 10 seconds. This tea is a beautiful dark orange/brown. Color is like burnt sienna. I am picking up on so many complex flavors. Woodsy, smoky, but also with a tiny hint of plum. Smelling a bit of the camphor here.

4th infusion: 20 seconds – getting a bit more mellow. Smoke is leaning into mustiness. Some chestnut and caramel notes are starting to surface here and the camphor is retreating. This may be my favorite infusion so far. This tea is very meditative, almost spiritual.

5th infusion: 30 seconds. Here I am starting to pick up on the lychee flavor. This is turning into a delicate mouthfeel.

Wow, this really is a great tea! I think I would have rated it a little bit higher if not for all the camphor but it is really an intense and wonderful tasting experience. I do recommend checking it out! It is quite fun!

I am so excited – I ordered a raw pu-erh sampler and a cooked pu-erh sampler from the Bana Tea Company and picked them up at the post office today!

These are really very nicely packaged. Each tea comes in a glassine envelope with a label and then they are stored together in a sheer organza bag. Also included are little brochures about the company and the tea. You know I will have fun drinking these! :)

I first picked this one to try. For a sheng of this age I was very surprised at how mellow it was. Steeped in the gaiwian – first infusion for two minutes and subsequent infusions for 30 seconds.

First infusion is very intense – leaves have a honey like aroma after being brewed. It is a sweet, mellow taste with hints of peach and a bit of maltiness. You get that pu-erh aged flavor on the back of your tongue.

Second and third infusions – the leaves are smelling a bit like a clean mountain lake. Fruitiness is giving way to a mineral like quality which tingles on the back of my tongue.

Fourth infusion – I believe I am picking up on the flavor that others have described as adzuki bean. A bit sweet and caramely.

Overall this has been a really great raw pu-erh experience with lots of flavors and tastes. I am getting a relaxing buzz from this. It is very sweet and soulful. I wonder how it will get different with age? Might have to consider picking up the entire cake but will wait until I try the others! Very yummmy.

I came home to my tea collection today and made some of this. Oh sweet peachy, roasty nutty honey goodness!

It’s a herbal tea kind of afternoon here, rainy outside…

This came in a gift basket and I was pretty leery of it. Anything with hibiscus in it is not going to be a favorite of mine. I like the ginger and the orange flavor but it is definitely on the tart side. I do not think I would buy this for myself but I did not hate it quite as much as some of the other reviewers.

Are my taste buds off? Even though I prepared this myself it still tastes like it was steeped in a dirty sock. There is no water kettle where I am staying so I’ve been heating my water up in the microwave like everyone else. I can only assume this is putting a damper on my experience. :-?