Bonnie

Second Review. This time…Hot Tea Baby!
The last time I reviewed this tea, I had it on ice. NOT ICED, rather UNDER ICE. 2 tsp. in a pot with several ice cubes slowly melting on top and WOW!!! it was so concentrated in flavor and good! Ninja Tea.

What??? would this Gyokuro taste like hot? I had no idea? I’d never had a Gyokuro before the iced one. Never heated!

I began with 1tsp dry dark leaves in my Gaiwan and a 180f 1min steep. Since this was my first tasting, I used a double wall glass cup to catch the color which was the most fantastic bright (but pale) yellow green. Almost fluorescent!

The scent was not very vegital…but the flavor…ah…oh…ouch! WOW AGAIN! The flavor is like sweet corn but not. Creamy, buttery…and then…cool without tasting minty.
I wanted to say that I had just had chicken on the grill with fresh white corn…and had a swig of crushed ice from an empty glass…still sweet from Southern sweet tea. All of those flavors coming together…THAT! is what I tasted.
There is no bitterness at all even when cool. The coolness just gets more buttery and silky.

I Love this! I really Love this tea…!

http://youtu.be/WZ6HOUGE-Ok Aretha Franklin Baby I love You

Yesterday was Mothers Day. My daughter Annalisa and I usually take off for the day together…all…alone… without her 7 children and we play!
She had planned for us to see the new movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” with Judie Dench (first 2 showings were sold out), and I picked the Dushanbe Tea House for lunch in Boulder since she had never been there before.

(Google this tea house. It is hand painted and assembled without using nails and a gift from Tajikistan to Boulder (sister city).) The icon left is a picture I took of the ceiling.

We had a great seat at the tea bar and the wait staff were very attentive. I asked about the best Puer’s and this Black River was suggested. The waiter brought me the 3lb. foil pouch to sniff the Puer but alas, his hands were covered in lime juice and that’s all I could smell. He placed some dry Puer in a cup (without my asking) and still the odor from the kitchen and bar were too strong. I decided to try the tea at any rate.

My pairing (and my daughters) was a delicious and light focaccia fench toast.
A western style teapot was set before me with a 3 minute timer, teacup and small bowl for my steeper basket. The wet leaves were huge and darkest brown almost filling the basket. They smelled like leather and beets but, it was not a very good smell.

I tasted the tea and wished I could have had a glass cup to look at the liquor because it tasted like dust. Not dirt, but like it was dusty. Instead of the earthy or musty Puer flavor, there was a dusty bad taste of bad beets that I did not like at all. It was so rancid tasting that I could not drink the tea. Not wanting to make a scene on Mothers Day, out with my daughter, I waited until the end of the meal and asked if the Puer had been rinsed. The staff had no idea and said not all of the Puer’s are rinsed first. Oh. This is what I suspected. That and the fact that this was at the bottom of a 3lb. foil bag. If waiters with lime hands are just grabbing instead of pouring or using tongs, other flavors are getting on the Puer.
I have a sensitive nose and taste buds. Blech to this Puer! It was one of the worse I’ve ever had!

On the other hand, the service at the Dushanbe is the BEST! The waiter had me fill out a card so that the service on the Puer could improve. That is promising.

And the movie was so much fun. I think I’m Judie Dench in India! What a hoot! I hope you all had a wonderful day with mom’s or being mom’s.

Something Personal and goopy…about Mother’s Day…Warning!
Every year I get very depressed at not being a better mother to my two children. For many years I was a single mom. I wanted so much more for them and I should have been a wiser mother in many instances. Every year, I hide away and don’t want to see anyone on Mothers Day. I cry.
And then, my daughter posted a beautiful love note to me on Facebook that broke me down yesterday morning and my son called with love and I had to take it all in.
Love your mama’s… we are more fragile than we let on sometimes!

Tonight, one of the 5 tea’s that granddaughter Schey and I tasted was this alchemy blend. I knew that Schey is fond of mint so I saved it for a cool 4th tea tasting right before the finale 5th tea (Laoshan Chai). I was correct in my thinking that this would appeal to her. The peppermint is not overwhelming and the flavors are blended in subtlety. No artifical flavors. No caffeine. This tasted really, really good!
I told Schey that I had often made this particular tea iced which was refreshing. Later I showed how several blends work well together. I often take some Holy Basil Spa Blend and mix it with a bit of Pu-erh and bottle the blend for on the go iced tea. Yum! So rich from the pu-erh and cool at the same time from the mint. The combination is great for curbing hunger and lagging energy during long drives or shopping trips. I just stick a bottle or two in a cooler sack and off I go.

Next, we watched a Verdant TV Video about how to serve tea showing the equipment to use, and how to be considerate to guests when serving tea.
The shared moments that I have with my lovely, bald (cut her hair off in support of her Godmother who has cancer) 18 year old granddaughter are priceless!

Happy Mothers Day to my tea friends, and Happy Grandmothers Day to a few oldsters.

Thank you TeaFairy for this sweet sample!

I’ve been waiting for my granddaughter Schey to come over for some tea tasting! I have 5 different types of tea for her to try…but she’s late. It’s for a good reason though. Mom and dad are picking up a little foster boy who may be my next grandson! He’s had visits already and the other children have been in agreement on this little one. Me too,child #7!

Also, last night very late, my daughter Annalisa cut off all of Schey’s hair. She’s bald. Her Godmother has pancreatic cancer which is inoperable. I am so proud of the mother my daughter is this Mother’s Day! She’s raising great children!

While I waited, this Cherry Blossom Tea seemed a light enough choice.
I steeped the tea 3.5 minutes and drank in the sweet smelling cherry scent. Ummmm! Very fragrant indeed! The first large sip reminded me of Ludens Cherry Cough Drops in a wonderful way. I liked it when my dad slipped one to me in Church as a little girl. They were intense Cherry and warm going down my throat. Then I wondered if I could make the tea taste like the creamy Swirl Cherry Life Savers? (I’ve gone off my rocker!)
I added sweetening and some cream (no soy or other gunk…Cream). Yup, it tasted like the Swirl Cherry Life Savers! Hey! (Did a little dance here)
This is tasty and the bai mudan that usually makes my mouth feel like a furry cat is crouching in the back of my throat was ok because of the mix of green tea! (So a cat in the grass is alright (stupid I know!)).
In all, a nice and flavorful very Cherry tea!

Thank you to David Duckler for this fantastic Sample. Latest issue of this fine Pu’er

One of the stories I read on the Verdant website was the idea of buying a newer brick of Pu’er when you get engaged, and spend half of the brick (so to speak) with the people who attend the wedding, and the rest of the brick little by little piece on every anniversary for the rest of your life. The point being, that every year the Pu’er and the marriage will age,mature and get better. I love that way of thinking. You can apply this to other occasions…a birth and so on. This Pu’er is that kind of brick. The one you would want to choose for lifelong celebrations.

Because this tea will reach 18 infusions I would not attempt to write about each one and fill pages with notes. I know you are relieved! Me too! I’m going to have to lump some information together and hope it makes sense.

First, all steep times were 4 seconds to begin with and 6 seconds after the 8th infusion.
1tsp dry Pu’er
4 oz. clay Gaiwan (la tee dah)
Spring water at the boil
I did a 2 second rinse first and washed my hands in the rinse to remove any other scent.
Every steeping produced a light brown (more beige) liquor.

Wet Leaves:
Steeping:
1. The most fantastic smell of any leaves ever! They smelled like the drippings from a roast! And sweet like the sweetness of artichokes!
Later steepings: No leather smells at all until steeping #5 and then a bit vegital. Before that there was some smoky scent that had developed. I loved the really good smelling, beautiful, big dark green leaves.

Flavor:
1. The first pour was full and warm like cedar wood and sparkled. I smelled a floral note but could not tell what it was.
2. Jasmine right up front and then dryness like the skin of juniper berry…but then WHAT IS THIS? Sweet smoky ceder with a bacon flavor! Couldn’t be, but it was! I didn’t notice it at first and went back to smell the wet leaves…uh huh…there it was…smoky little leaves! Very juicy too! I loved the smoke!
3. Not as smoky, more like cedar but more tannin. Hum.
4. Same as #3
5. Now, this pour was beginning to get more floral, sweeter, sparkling and juicy. There was a creaminess at the end and jasmine flowers that brightened the cup. It tingled.
6. Unbelievable, apple and citrus came to visit…light and refreshing with something else. That taste was cinnamon to me. Not sandlewood or cedar…cinnamon. It had the warmth and spice to compliment the citrus.
7. Again, spicy and floral. The citrus coming and going. I think it was shape shifting. I had 11 more infusions to go!

What I had enjoyed was the hide and seek…the playful quality of this Sheng. I certainly had never smelled leaves like this. Incredable! And such depth of flavor with a consistant 4-6 second contact was amazing to me. What the future holds for those fortunate few who possess a whole brick of this Pu’er…well…what a grand thought! I have more infusions to go!

Just a FYI This is the first tea that Verdant Imported when the business was started. Very Special!

My latest order from Verdant arrived today oh joy!

Sometimes I’ll order and ounce of a tea and get hooked, which has been happening lately with the alchemy blends. The are soooo good!

Ginger lovers pay attention to this blend because it’s something special. The ginger is spicy like biting into fresh ginger…with heat to it. The orange, galangal, fennel, cinnamon and pepper (etc.) are blended so deftly that no one flavor stands out alone. This is smooth, warm and comforting tea.

Here is the favorite way I like to drink my Thai Ginger Fire Tea:
I always have coconut milk for my breakfast cereal and often use it in my tea. It’s so naturally rich, sweet and nutty. What a perfect milky addition for the spicy tea along with some sweetening. Thai dishes are often prepared in this sweet coconut spicy way that I love. Very delicious. Caffeine free too!

I know this is going to be fantastic iced.
My favorite iced tea’s are 1. Verdant Alchemy Blends (all of them so far!) 2. Pu’erh’s from Verdant, Teavivre and a few others. These make hearty iced tea’s that revive the spirit on a hot day!
This Ginger Fire will be a great mixer with juices or 7-up! I’m going to try steeping some simple syrup or honey in a little bit of tea, strain… and serve on cornbread with buddah!

Thank you to Stacy at Butiki Tea for this sample

This is some wonderful Strawberry Oolong!
I am really fond of Black Tea, Pu’erh’s, malty Assam, smoky Lapsang Souchong, but this Oolong swept me off my feet. The flavor after a 4 minute steep was an authentic and gentle strawberry in a buttery, creamy golden liquor. There was a touch of floral orchid taste on the finish . As I said before, wow! This is desert-like!
Adding some rock sugar brought me to the best Springtime Tea experience. Paired with little salty expensive local cheese for lunch from The Welsh Rabbit Cheese Shop and I am ordering this tea right away.
I have to commend Butiki on not only their fine customer service, but on how well they flavor their tea. Never overdone or harsh, Butiki is a reliable tea company! They are one of my top 5 vendors that I will reorder from often!

I’ve been waiting for the right time to brew and taste this remarkable Verdant ’04 Shu. You know, waiting for the peaceful mood and amount of time without any interruptions. Then, last night I had a night of rest without pain! I woke up with a prayer looking forward to whatever God has in store for my day, being mindful to be thankful for whatever comes.

This is not a sample tea! I bought enough to have over and over again. Oh the delight of it all!

My brewing method for Pu’erh’s has become my Yixing purple pot that looks like a bird. It’s very easy to use. It has a handle and filter in the spout that looks like a bird beak. I am having some steeping adjustment issues! The Western style that I used before had much longer steep times…and the Yixing method is shorter. Also,the Western method might give 5 steeps and the Yixing 18! Who drinks 18 cups by themselves?! I know I can’t do that much drinking all at once so I devised my own plan of 5 infusions and then transfering the leaves into my Gaiwan for later since it isn’t porous. I don’t want any mold in my porous Yixing pot! I hope this is useful information to anyone else just starting off with a Yixing. Cut the steep time down like the instructions say!

Rinse the Nuggets 10 seconds and do this twice. Use Spring water (especially if you have a clay pot!).

1. I blew the steep time on the first infusion…ha! It went about 3 minutes. Old habits are hard to break! The liquor was very dark and sweet smelling like linen and cake. This is the most linen scented tea I’ve had. The Pu’erh was juicy and smooth without tannin or bitterness. When I went back to smell the leaves, they were still a hard clump of bark and also sweet smelling like the tea but not earthy or malty.

2. This time I only steeped 8 seconds with good rich brown color in the liquor. This was much better tasting. The flavor had not opened up yet but it had become creamier and less linen like. The leaves were still hard in a clump and black brown.

3. I could taste a tell-tale Pu’erh-ness that I love on this pour. Sweet earth and cinnamon biting my tongue. The tea was juicy and I tasted waffles warm and nutty.

4. Now I did a 5 second steep and pour. The leaves had opened up quite a bit now and smelled more leathery. The liquor was dark and malty, rich and smooth. There was a definate sweet bakery undertone with peppery cinnamon filling my mouth. The linen was gone but not the juice. I could feel the coolness with the pepper which was an interesting sensation.

5. I think this was my favorite pour. Short and sweet, peppery spice up front with a little linen scent and dry but juicy (if that makes sense). I gave the tea my best winery tasting- room slurp to the back of the mouth, rolling it around your palate test. Sweet, slightly malty, vague salt, super smooth, sweet yeast bread dough, cool cinnamon bark with pepper finish.

6. (I added a little sugar which brought out a vanilla yammy taste due to some subtle malt I suspect).

At this point there were still some hard parts to the leaves that must open up in the water! I have 12 infusions to go! Whoa!

I love Pu’erh…love, love, love! This was so good already! I’m not even half way done with the first tasting and it will go on all day! How much Pu’erh do you think I used for these 18 infusions? 1.5 teaspoons! Crazy Wonderful!

Thank you TeaFairy dahling for this tea sample!

Appropriate tea for this early evening would be…NUTS! Because I’ve been wacky NUTS! today (if you read the Kombucha review you know this already). Therefore, I picked the Toasted Walnut as a perfect follow-up tea for me to taste.

Now TeaFairy is funny girl. She sent me sample packets in French so that I had no idea what ingredients were in the tea. She labeled the name and brewing instructions though. (Good girl for that!) So for me this is Noix grillees. Cool!

The 4 minute steep time produced a deep gold greenish liquor that smelled like pastry all buttered and warm. My first sip was light but not very nutty (I discovered later that there were other ingredients that tempered the nuttiness) and sweet enough to drink without having to add sugar. For me though, I wanted some sweet tea at that time of day. Um, worth it too! Nice, creamy tea smooth and fruity. I could smell the walnut scent but the flavor was more like coconut cream. Later I read the ingredients, English Version, and voila’ coconut is in the mix along with some fruit.

This is tasty tea and a nice treat but I think it’s almost false advertising on the name. There is no toasted walnut flavor. The other flavors completely overpower what could have been a unique tea. Try this again DavidsTea. It should have been called Nutty Coconut Fruit Tea to be more accurate. But, the tea did taste good!

Far out and thank you to my friend IndigoBloom flower child for this cool sample

This whole review is the rambling of an old woman. If you hate that sort of thing, do not read on!

Finally a tea that has some history (Kombucha and the hippie part) to have some fun with! The Haight in 1967! (Haight Ashbury San Francisco) Was really wierd! My best friend had moved there and when I went the 50 miles from San Jose to visit…well…I had been to a “Love In at Stanford”, and a “Sit In” at my Collage, and a meeting with “H. Rap Brown” (look it up) but this was a mind blowing freaky place! Even then my senses said DANGER! The thought of taking drugs around a bunch of strangers where anyone could do whatever they wanted to with you…well…it wasn’t for me! Pretty much that’s what it looked like on the streets and at my friend Kay’s place. A little girl around the corner from my house got hooked up with Charles Manson at that time in the City. Her name was Susan Atkins. I remember her way before the evil happened. Old memories.

Anyway, I had a lot of pain in my bones last night and had to go back to sleep this morning to catch up. The Kombucha called to me…hey Bonnie…let’s boogie on down memory lane and groove to the 60’s beat again! Cool! Far out! I could dig that!

http://youtu.be/cvWjIgiUIw4 …Mamas and the Papas Are you Going to San Francisco

I steeped this tea a long time…6 minutes and it’s delicious! I love pineapple! My review on the flavor is going to be short and SWEET!
This is full and buttery, not a thin fruit tea but naturally sweet and ripe. Happy to say that hot or cold this does not change character! Lovely cup to ice or drink hot which means you can have it year around in the cupboard and delight in it any way you want to have it.
This is a flavored oolong and I would have on hand because it isn’t fussy. Great every day, dependable tea!

(FYI I think I’m the only one in the Bay Area of my generation that did not do drugs! Instead I became a Vista Volunteer and went to the East Coast during the Civil Rights Era. I did however, wear mini shirts and platform shoes and looked like a hooker!)
http://youtu.be/ntLsElbW9Xo This last one is a classic 60’s protest song by Barry Maguire called The Eve of Distruction. He came to my home…(actually we were friends long ago) and got there before me one night and when I arrived the house was full of people and he was just sitting on the couch playing the guitar…some guy was washing my dishes. This was after I was married with children in the 70’s.

Thank you TeaFairy for this sample tea!

I was running around a bit today at the Mall and the Post Office, mailing off a sample tea packet to of all places Denver! Yo Jason the tea is on the way! Got home a bit late but fortunately, last night I made dinner ahead. It was cheese tortellini and I put a tea basket with some …wait for it…Lapsang Souchong in the water (I’m hooked on that smoky flavor) and it was fantastic tasting. All I had left to do is heat and dress the pasta with a bit of olive oil. Then, a salad and done. After dinner I wanted a nice fruity tea. This Zing Me Tea was going to be the compliment I was looking for. The ginger, peach and apricot sounded just right.

When I looked up the steep time it said “steep 4-6 minutes” so I set the timer at 5 minutes and stopped right there. The aroma was very apricoty and delightful. Oh yes, I was anxious for a taste.

At first, the flavor was nice and fruity for a few seconds…and then…and then…something awful happened.

There was the worst, bitter ginger taste that completely ruined the tea. I mean the whole cup went gross. We know you can cook with ginger, do all kinds of things with it, make jam, candy it and stir fry it. How can you ruin ginger?! It was so bitter and tasted dirty. Maybe this batch had gotten mold on it. It certainly was not the fault of TeaFairy! How would she have known. The other reviews look good. But my batch, well, it went down the drain. Adios, bye bye.

My next step was to get my nightly square of dark chocolate and knock that evil taste right in the butt. Outta here…

Love ya TeaFairy!

Thank you Teavivre for this wonderful Pu-erh sample!

It is a gloriously beautiful day on the Frontrange! After yesterday’s rain, everything sparkles today in the sunshine at this mile high altitude. The green trees seem greener and the birds are hunting for worms in the still damp grass.

I remembered that I had one last Pu-erh sample from Teavivre to try out. A special older one. Good choice for my early morning lazy bones enjoyment.

I prepared my Yixing pot and a 1.5 tsp of the dry pu-erh. My rinse time was 10 seconds and I did 2 rinses. In all I was able to do 5 steepings before I was full, but I continued later in the day and will this evening. I made iced, bottled pu-erh for on the road (delicious) from these same leaves. I have to note that this was some of the darkest, dry pu-erh I’d ever seen, and tightly compacted! There’s not much scent to the dry leaf.

Steep time on the package said 2 min. (I like pu-erh strong but, you could shorten a bit).

1. The color of the liquor was chestnut brown and there was no musty, earthy scent. When I smelled the wet leaves they smelled like sweet grass and bread. The first sip was sweet, salty hazelnut-pecan without any tannin. The flavor was full and rich.

2. I messed up and let this round steep 5 minutes…eek…it looked like espresso. Not to worry! The DARK chestnut liquor still tasted good. I drank it (are you kidding me?!)
I made a Cappucino because, eh….in Rome you can add some milk in the morning ONLY! I had saved my cuppa!

3. I noticed that the leaves had still NOT opened all the way inside my Yixing. This was really tightly packed pu-erh! The leaves were smelling a little more like leather in a good way. The pour was chestnut brown so I had not killed the strength (whew!). The flavor had changed. It was lighter and juicy. There was cinnamon that filled my whole mouth mid sip and was sweet but not biting. All the flavors together had body. This was a good pour.

4. Now the leaves had become as black as midnight and smelled of sweet leather. The flavor on the pour had become juicy with some tannin and less cinnamon or nuttiness. The color was still good but the tea seemed to be going flat on flavor.

5. Here is where I added a little sugar…the spice returned and the tannin toned down, but now an apricot floral flavor swept in at the finish. I mean, which would you prefer? Flat and tannin, rich and apricot floral? I pick #2. On and on this tea delivers and does not quit. It does not give up. Amazing!

Here is my take. This is a bargain! You can steep this tea forever! I have just scratched the surface on the steeping possibilities of just a little bit of this pu-erh and the delicious flavor is worth purchasing! This is a quality pu-erh!

And note about what to do with used leaves. I have a garden pot where I mix mulch with good used organic tea leaves (especially pu-erh). I also have a jar for pu-erh rinse water that I let cool and pour on my herb garden plants. They thank me by growing strong and healthy.

Thank you TeaFairy for this sample!

I don’t think I’ve ever had a cherry tea. Never, ever. The cherries in this tea are the small acerola type that you wouldn’t pick and eat like regular cherries you buy in the grocery store. Way too tart! But the health benefits are better than the kind we’re familiar with. Lots of vitamin C and antioxidents! But tart. The complaints about the hibiscus in this tea may be due to the cherry and not only the hibiscus. I think that if the tartness was taken out, the Bai Mu Dan would turn into cotton in my mouth. Cat fur! What is pleasing as a creaminess can get out of hand when it isn’t tamed with a tart fruit or flower. More about that later.

My steep time was 5 minutes and the tartness was fine with me. The body was creamy and floral. The cherry medium and good tasting. Adding sweetening was something I went to right away but did not overdo. The flavor was fine. Fine, just nice and fine.

Here I go again. I am not a big fan of this combination…to tell the truth I find Bai Mu Dan kind of wierd. I almost get the creepy mouth feeling that I had with Carrot Cake tea from DavidsTea… Ick!
But this tea delivered on what it promised, an acerola cherry, Bai Mu Dan. I would not drink it again myself but glad I tried it.

First Tasting Note

Yesterday I seasoned the Yixing Purple Clay Pot seen in the picture with tea (I took the photo and listed the tea). It was interesting to heat a lot of Pu’er, put the Yixing pot in the Pu’er and soak for many hours, rinse and repeat. There are several methods of seasoning pots but I liked this one. The Pu’er I used was a little 1 inch square that I picked up at a tea shop in Boulder for $1.29. When I began to brew it in my Gaiwan I almost went into shock! It was one of the finest Pu’er’s I’ve ever tasted! Vanilla cake…oh my…sweet and juicy…wah…I had to continue (but I did cheat and poured me a cup). This had better be a great cured Yixing pot!

Between the beautiful wood tray (shown) and Yixing I bought from Happy Lucky’s I spent about $50 for my 64th birthday coming up this month, and I think that I got a great deal!

This morning the rain was coming down steadily. What a glorious time to use my Yixing Pu’er-only-pot for the first time. I listened to Jim Marks comment on rinsing my leaves for less time so I only rinsed a few seconds. I let the leaves rest… (I think mine are not resting, they are bored with me). My Yixing looks like a little bird with a beak don’t you think?

I heated the pot, a little cup, and had boiling water in another glass pot under a cozy for multiple pourings. All set! (In the photo you can see how bark-like the tea looks.)

I used 1/2 tsp Pu’er for my steepings. The Yixing holds 4oz. water. I did 6 steepings before sloshing away with a smile on my face.

I’m used to Western Style brewing with longer steep times so, I could tell this new method would take some getting used to.

1. I like my Pu’er on the strong side. Beginning with 3 minutes…Huh?!…(a bit longer than the instructions say to do)…the wet leaves smelled sweet and fresh, like new fresh- picked tea and coffee beans. When I took my first sip of the dark liquor, I tasted almonds and salted pecans, then a dry peppery tannin at the front my mouth. This Pu’er was altogether sweet, rich and robust with a vanilla bean finish. A chewy first cup.

2. I cut back the steep time to 2 minutes and still had a juicy, sweet, oat bread cup. There was a hint of leather flavor which sent me to the leaves for a whiff. Yes, the wet leaves smelled like a new Coach handbag. Finishing my small cup, I thought there was a sneeky bit of cinnamon hidden in the tannin at the end. Could be?

3. Shortening the steep time to 1 minute the flavor was weakening but still good. The wet leaves were leathery scented, and the tea was getting juicier and spicy. Here was where I added a tiny, tiny bit of sugar. Not enough to really tell it was a sweet tea. This boost brought out a molasses, pecan nutty flavor that was like drinking a Southern Pecan Pie Pu’er with brown sugar molasses and pecans.

4.-6. As steepings progressed, more cinnamon and vanilla came to play which was enhanced more if a bit of sugar was added. I ended up with combinations ranging from steep times of 30 seconds to 3 minutes which all produced fine tastings. I do love my big, strong and burly Pu’er at the longer steep times the best. (That’s as far as I’m goin with that thought!)

Finally. There was no detection of fishy, musty, earthy Pu’er flavors. I only tell this because some people hate the musty or earthy Pu’er’s that I think are grand. This one is nuttier and would appeal to new drinkers I would imagine, but it is very hardy and rich none the less. Not expensive which is always a plus!

Thank you IndigoBloom for this tasty sample tea!

Outside the evening drizzles have finally arrived and I can hear the spash of car tires on the road going past my home every now and then. I like the sound of rain and splashs. The air has cooled down and I have a sweet tooth tonight.
I was sitting on the couch with my Kindle reading the review that Krystaleyn wrote about Candied Almond Tea and it sounded like the kind of desert tea I was in the mood for. Besides, Indigo-B had sent me a sample. Perfect timing! Off to brew!

Even dry, this tea (herbal) smells amazing! From dry, to steeping to pour, you could blindfold anyone and they’d think there was a Cinnabon store at hand.

The steep time was 6 minutes. The first sip was sweet and full of quality cinnamon, apple pieces and sweet almond. I am serious about the fine quality of the cinnamon. There are different types. Some are bitter, some not very spicy, some average, a little like cinnamon cardboard. The best for baking has spice but is sweet and is what draws you to Cinnabon when you smell one. The cinnamon does not hide the apple or almond taste. This allows the herbal blend to become a pastry which I wanted and enjoyed.

Next to my cup was a piece of blue, foil wrapped Godiva dark chocolate. My one piece for the evening. I ate the chocolate and sipped the cinnamon, apple Candied Almond Tea. Oh my…it was so good. I have a good life.

The Spring slosh of the rain continued outside.

Thank you TeaFairy for this lovely sample

I do love Pu’erh’s no matter how it’s spelled! TeaFairy put a note on this tea package (cause you are such a pu’erh Diva!) which I think is far from the truth and it got a chuckle out of me. I would love to climb in that direction I’ll admit to it, and learn more about pu’erh’s.
I’ve never known anyone other than myself who liked really good and tangy marmalade either. The U.S. bland and sugary types are aweful but the imports with rind and all are Um so good! I would get the crock of Dundee in the market years ago, and then I learned how to make marmalade myself. The three fruit sort with orange, lemon and grapefruit. There is something so grand about stirring a pot of jam or making your own cranberry sauce or pickles. Anyway, this packet held the two favorites of mine, the tangy orange and the pu’erh which was going to be fun to experience.

The dry aroma was heavy with bitter orange. When the steeping was done after 6 minutes, the steam from my brew basket smelled like a combination of the jam making pot and the scent of a friend sitting at a kitchen table with a cup of coffee. The coffee and the marmalade scent were mixing together.
My first sip was not sharp or rough but smooth, round and juicy, tasting of citrus orange without astringent assertiveness. The flavor was naturally sweet and mellow. I was quite surprised that I wasn’t running to the sugar bowl right off…and would drink this straight up on any occasion. Adding a tad of sweetening was very nice (I tried this on a later cup).

There are a couple of things I tried with this Pu’erh (me being me).
1. If it’s breakfast time, you could put a little (1TB. or so) marmalade in the cup and a teaspoon and snack on it while sipping on the tea, or as Scott Tea Man does sip through a Twixx candy bar.
2. I have been filling water bottles with Pu’erh’s to chill them for when I’m out and about and find this one especially tasty. These Pu’erhs are the healthiest tea’s and I’ve never seen any iced ones commercially so I make-um! I make the Verdant ginger pu’erh iced also.

A bonus to this pu’erh is how refreshing it is. It is not a straight pu’erh. There is hibiscus (which you can’t taste) and black tea (orange pekoe). The orange lingers in a lovely way for a long time and is not artificial tasting. A great hot day choice.

One of my favorite Italian Groups Il Volo…(My granddaughters love them!) O Sole Mio
http://youtu.be/lw3c5d3aBSE

First Review

I am thankful to be able to review this new tea for the first time. Thank you Verdant Tea!

When I opened the packet of Oolong tea…I chuckled, it was beautiful but so long and stringy that I had to pinch my best guess at what I thought 4 grams would be (or for many of us about a teaspoon). This was by far the most cheese straw looking tea I’ve ever seen. Amazingly, there were no unbroken pieces.

I decided to use my PIAO glass pot again because I want to watch the free flowing leaves steep, and the short steeping time (35 seconds each round) were easier to control with this pot.

1. The leaves were dark green when wet, long and strongly rock sugar scented. The liquor was a medium light, champagne yellow green. My first sip was milder than the scent and juicy. There was a spice that acted like a door stop at the tip of my tongue! I pushed past that and discovered sweet bees in the honeysuckle bushes. Nectar! Hot Summer evenings with cream vanilla pie scented Jasmine breezes. That little door stop of spice was tickling my mind. What was that spice? I knew it wasn’t clove. I went to the spice cupboard and rummaged a few things down to sniff at. I settled on Coriander. It was the only soft gloved spice in the bunch that had both the scent of incense and flowers that I was picking up from this steeping. I noted a buttery finish lingering on the tongue. A good round.

2. The leaves had become a little lighter green, still straight and unfurled. You could see what care was taken to pick these leaves. The scent was still rock sugar delight and the liquor golden.
My cup was spicier! Wow! Much tingling! I have to grant that clove had arrived and was the spice winner! Clove was hand in hand with dry parchment for a split second and then POOF! Gone. Quickly, honey followed still juicy and floral. There was unchilled honeydew melon, left out on the kitchen table, buttery melon ready for a spoon and dripping with juice. No acid, no tannin to be found.
I walked away and came back. I put my nose to the cup. If I could just float on my back, on a current of this silky, honey scented liquor…well…it would be heavenly. Goosebumps!

The third steeping is where I usually lose it. I may do or say anything that comes to mind.

3. The leaves were medium green with a bit of yellow and had become more unfurled and vegital scented but sweet. The liquor was lighter yellow green.
This infusion was sweet, floral and had sugar but was much milder and not dry or spiced. It was clean, juicy and the melon more apparent. I did taste coriander again gentle and lovely and warming.

I’d like to say here, that when Verdant noted that there is Lotus flavor…well, I don’t have Lotus around and have no idea what that tastes like and I didn’t taste any grapefruit either. I am me. It will be so interesting to find out what other people find in this Oolong!

Here’s my crazy:
I added 1/2 tsp sugar to the final 4oz of tea. What happened was this: The tea woke up!
The butteriness increased, the floral quality increased. It was like a booster rocket or rewind button on my tasting….all the nectar from tasting round 1. and the honey returned. If you are a doubter, try this. But, use just a little bit!

Beautiful tea! Thank you for such a lovely memory and I hope you will share my gratitude with the people who provide such special tea.

Here’s some beautiful music to drink it with…http://youtu.be/geDoGI-ve3s
(Beethoven)

First Review

What a treat and privilege to review this Shu Pu’er just released by Verdant Tea.

“I don’t want to mess this up, so what method of brewing should I do?”, I thought. The directions on the Verdant website were easy to adapt to my PIAO glass infuser pot which would allow me to watch the Pu’er brew loosely with a small amount of water. Perfect for the task at hand.

I used Spring water and rinsed the first infusion before steeping. Each steep was 3 minutes long.
Here’s a little tip from Grandma Bonnie: Rinse your hands in some of that tea water. Somehow, get the SMELL of the tea on your hands so that no other scent will cloud your tasting.

1. Watching the Pu’er bark float in the hot water, little particles began to hang in the water like planetary debris. Little by little the color changed to cherrywood and the leaves smelled like furniture lacquer and molasses honey. There was no huge earthy smell, no musty caves of China or dusty boots in either the scent or first taste. This was genteel. Here was a country kitchen with warm, baked bread steaming on the window sill and a crock of mineral water from a mountain stream to wash it down with. Juicy, burnt edges on the crust so faint that you wondered if there were nuts in the bread…but decided that the thought was a phantom. You could smell some wild mint far away…ah now gone. Sweet wheat bread.

2. This was a sweet smelling cup, golden orange-brown like root beer. The wheat bread flavor was almost gone but a tingle of coolness had arrived. I could feel some tannin on my tongue and a woody, amber honey that was very ripe. This steeping was a mystery as if it was in the middle of making up it’s mind on where it was going next. Waiting in the wings, ready to go on stage. I couldn’t wait to see what was next!

3. The leaves were laying on the bottom of the steeping reservoir, giving all they had left…a squeeze of robust color now a lighter deep golden brown.
The flavor was smooth and a bit salty (I liked that). Here was a bigger mineral taste, without any bitterness, right up front. It gathered up juiciness and sprinkled spice in my mouth. I could feel the heat. I pulled back a moment…where were the flavors? A trickster ambushed me on a side street with a cool attitude. Yes, Cool Operator! Mint had arrived. Warmth, Spice, Mint. Are you serious?! I slapped my face and came to my senses. This was so pleasing.
I decided to become a rebel…to become, Grandma Bonnie! (you may want to stop reading here because this is not what tea purists are supposed to do!) I added a little sugar to what was at the end of my cup. And it turned into BREAD PUDDING! I am serious! (I will never get any more sample tea’s from Verdant I just know it!)

This is a Pu’er that is not like the others I’ve had, you know, the deep earthy ones, and light bakery vanilla ones. When have you or I ever had the bread, spice, mineral and mint (mint?!) in one Puer?! It is very different and worth tasting!
Thank you to the special people who seek out the best tea from small farms for us to enjoy!

http://youtu.be/sOI8ae3Lub8 (Smooth Operator, Sade)

Shut the door!

I mean really, I would never have guessed that the yammy Laoshan Black Tea that I LOVE could taste any better…and with mint?!
How in earth is it possible that these two flavors, and all the other abracadabra alchemic additions here-to-with inside-eth this tea are workin “a spell on me”! Oh yeh!

All I was doing was mindin my own business. I received a package from Verdant today (choir sings) with two (2) of the new tea’s. I can’t review them yet because they are NOT listed on Steepster. I shot a quick note to Mr. David at Verdant “HELLOOOO, I would like to write about your tea.” And, in the meantime, I was snakin on some dry goat cheese and steamin some cauliflower in Lapsang Souchong (you know that I do). Why not, smells good.
There was this OTHER packet of alchemy blend to try in my box today. Verdant got me! Got me again! “Uncle!” I cried on this alchemy blend!

I steeped this little gem 4 minutes. I wanted to take a spoon and eat it like cake it smelled so good. I imagine the gremlins at Verdant were rolling on their backs laughing!
“Got another one in Colorado!” they giggled along with the cats. The bakery spice cakeness of the Laoshan Black with the gentle mint cooling everything down…and then cocoa so natural and warm…teases me…laughs at me…and throws me a shot of fennel like a point of light at the end. The Chamomile is a hug. It surrounds all the flavors and keeps everything together in lightness. What a cuppa!

I have to get more of this. More and more. And more!

Thanks again Indigobloom for this big sample!

This is a young Pu-erh and a prize winner. Hum. That was interesting to find out after tasting the tea. I usually read reviews after I’m finished tasting because I’m easily influenced by the words of others and don’t like that to happen. It’s fun to find out that I’ve discovered the same qualities (either good or bad) on my own, that other more qualified and trained tasters write about.

Before steeping I did a 30 second wash. The steep time was 3 minutes in my glass traditional teapot with stainless basket.

The leaves were the darkest chocolate brown and I picked at them. They looked like long threads of petrified leaves, tea turned into dry wood that was now soaking wet and shiny.
The aroma was promising! Salty, a little musty and scented with crimini mushrooms.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
I could taste the tea in the steam. No disappointment in the first sip. Wow! Nom (as so many Steepsters say) this was super tasty! Very good! Better than I was expecting!
I was salivating from the first mineral juiciness when the tea changed. It turned a corner and became a soft, buttery, salty roasted pecan flavored richness. Really it did. Fantastic taste!

I’m about to preach now! Watch out!

If you never have added sugar or splenda to a Pu-erh…try it! This is something to try because salt and sweet play off each other. Sweet will bring out the flavors in the salty tea. Also, there are people who will never, ever drink straight pu-erh. We all know this. We are not in China and North Americans like sweet stuff. The health benefits of Pu-erh are worth trying a little milk or cream or some sugar (what I use is splenda because I’d be as big as a truck if I used sugar all day) and introduce skeptical friends to a latte.
This is how I am introducing my grandchildren to pu-erh’s. The sweetness creates such a compliment to the aforementioned flavors elevating them in a special way that makes them linger on the palate.

The mildness of this particular pu-erh is just right for those who are queezy when confronted with too much earthiness or mustiness. No old shoes and socks here. No old fellows or grannies (other than myself). A very tasty mild Pu-erh!

Thanks again Indigobloom for this sample!

I don’t get much of a chance to drink real loaded with fruit tea. This was LOADED!
When I opened the silver DT packet it was hard to find any black tea at all. The plump pieces of cranberry and dried pear with apple looked more like fruit salad. Steeping this 6 minutes to extract as much fruit flavor as possible the pour was golden with a warm, delicious cranberry scent.

I was expecting lots of fruit flavor. Sadly, the apple taste broke the back of the cranberry tang causing the flavors to flatten. This was disappointing. I like cranberry apple juice but the balance has to be just right or the cranberry will get lost, which is what happened here. The result was watery. Too bad.

I think a little hibiscus would have helped. Hibiscus haters who swear that it overpowers every other flavor on earth, in some cases, such as cranberry, it can be a great help if used in moderation. And, maybe a little more tea could have been in this fruit mixture.
Where was that tea anyway?

This was not a winner. But Indigobloom is a winner all the time!

Thank you Teavivre again for this Pu-erh sample!

I requested a some Pu-erh samples in my last batch from Angel and was so pleased at the generous amount of Pu-erh bark packaged so beautifully. I adore a rich brew in the morning…especially Pu-erh!

The packaging was brown paper with a farm scene printed on it depicting pots filled with picked tea leaves, a storage crock and a pressed Pu-erh cake. Inside the bark was like a dark chocolate bar changed into chunky bark form.

The directions on the package said to steep 2-10 minutes. Wow, that was a big time range! Since I enjoy rich Pu-erh, I chose a longer 8 minute brew in my glass Western Style pot with big stainless basket so I can peek and watch.
The wet leaves were auburn brown with long beautiful shreds but not very fragrant.
The pour was dark and at first taste tingly in my tongue, juicy and mild. I was surprised that this tea was not herbaceous or earthy considering such a long steeping. There was mineral, almost no salt and a light natural sweetness. I wondered if this was a tea leaf picked from trees on a rocky hill, or volcanic soil instead of lush forest because of the mildness. There is tannin and dryness.

I tried some sugar and cream but the tea is not strong and rich enough to support these additions. You need more earthiness and salt for latte goodness. This Pu-erh is one of those that is definately better straight up!

I brought up the online notes for brewing and discovered the difference between the package directions (2-10 minutes) and the online directions (1-2 minutes) EEKS!

To be fair I went back and did a shorter steep time to see if the flavor was completely different.

Second steep at 2 minutes. Nice redish golden liquor, very little nose to the liquor at all.
The flavor was juicy still, super mild and sweet enough to drink as is. There is that tannin but not overly obnoxious and there is a little saltiness. I can’t imagine anyone having issues with this Pu-erh. All the Pu-erh haters should put down their protest signs and enjoy this tea because it is so gentle.
I added a little sugar with this lighter version and actually liked it. It brought out a bakery flavor like a cream cookie which was unexpected.

Here you have two ways to have a Pu-erh depending on how you like your brew.
1. Long steep and drink it straight up.
2. Short steep and add a little sweetening for a bakery cookie flavor
Either way, this is so mild that you can share with Pu-erh sceptics and have no fear. There is no fishiness or heavy earthiness here. A good introduction to raw Pu-erh.

Everyone should have a neighborhood Tea House! Happy Lucky’s is my Pub, my place that I can go to for a pot of tea once a week and chat with the staff about tea and what’s going on around town. I bring in a tea sample now and then for them to try as a friendly gesture, and they save special treats for me too.

This Glenburn First Flush Darjeeling was almost gone but the guys wanted me to try it so the brewing began. I always sit at the tea bar watching all the action. People coming in and out of the shop, what’s being brewed, and the view out the window. I smacked down some Verdant Laoshan Black on the staff for their tasting and while they slurped away.. I began my tasting of this darjeeling.
I was impressed at how floral and sweet this tea was. So I purchased the last ounce available and took it home.

My steeping tonight produced a delightfully golden liquor. I chose to drink this cup after a fine Pad Thai dinner from Yung’s down the street.
The tea was fragrant with citrus and pear. Taking a sip, there was almost a bergamot flavor and smoke. Yes, bergamot. The tannin was a bit much so I added sweetening to lift the flavor upwards to a delightful finish. Ah, better. So much better that now this dargeeling has morph’s into Nectar. Juicy! Sweet Springtime Honey! Thickly coating my tongue and memorable. (now I can’t talk)

Um, this is good! Uh…gotta go read my fortune cookie!

Thank you Indigobloom for this sample!

I’ve been a bit unwell (I’ll get to that at the finish) so I decided to SMOKE it out of me! Teach that ol allergic reaction a lession I will! Ya’ll know I love me some Lapsang Souchong! With this sample I went past the recommended steep time by 1 minute because I like my tea full bodied. Um, smelled nice and smoky but not in a room filled with smoke sort of way. In other words, no one was going to call the Fire Department.

The golden brown liquor looked just right when I took my first gulp, hum, which was milder and sweeter than I was expecting. I’ve been drinking a bold and salty Lapsang Souchong with a slightly burnt edge for some time but this was different. This one was smooth and mild with far less salt, and with tannin at the finish creating juiciness.

I added sweetening (I know that Indigobloom does this too) and cream which created a nicely balanced morning cup of smoked, buttery sweet tea. Perfect pairing would be toast and jam or sweet bagels.

FYI
Just a note for anyone with food allergies (like me)…Rooibos is in the legume family which I found out by getting a reaction…arf…so you should avoid it! Who knew! Made my throat and mouth all scratchy and sore and swollen and I felt awful…could have been worse!