Canton Tea Co

This sheng is not doing it for me, energy-wise, like yesterday’s shou was…

Something different for today

Just kidding, I took them to work and am letting them sit in hot water for a while. (13)

After this twelfth steep, I think I am going to lay these leaves to rest, permanently. It was a good tea that served me well.

After an overnight rest, these leaves are going for their eleventh steep.

I really am curious how long this will last. (Steep 10)

After a brief rest, I steeped a ninth cup at home.

Eight times…why am I still at work…

Seven steeps and going strong. I think that I used more tea than usual.

Sixxxx!

Steep five and still alive.

Two more steeps!

Steep 2!

Steeping at work. The filtered water cooler has an awesome heated water function that helps excellently in making tea.

This black tea is incredibly smooth. It has a very creamy texture in your mouth and doesn’t have any “bite” to it. Someone on the Canton blog said it smelled like rust, and now I can’t help but taste a slight iron-y-ness. The flavor is of cream, malt, cocoa, and a little bit of fruit that I can’t name.

I usually like my black teas to be strong and tannic, but this one is terrific and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys smoother blacks or even to those who don’t usually drink black teas at all.

Second flush 2012
Rather good quality green tea.
Fruity, sweet with a slight hint of astringency on the aftertaste.
It feels a bit thick.

I did 2 infusions.
8grams/400ml
70-75C
Times: 2 / 2:30

So I got this sent to me from Jason from the Surplus Giveaway, this happens to be the first tea I tried from the box! Huge thanks and kudos to him! :D
So I’m a huge fan of the White Peony from DAVID’sTEA, and because of that, I was intrigued into trying this tea because of my love for the one at David’s. They both in comparison have a different level of crispiness, I feel as if the one from DAVID’sTEA is a lot more crisp but I’m not quite sure, the taste in this one may not be right because of the way I steeped it, the bag came with no instructions so I just used my gut instinct. Nonetheless this tea has such a nice refreshing taste to it, a good break from all of the dessert teas I drink, and my constant abusing of my tin of Ginseng Oolong. I will most likely try this tea iced the next time, but I have a physics lab report to start and finish tonight, but other than that, this tea has made my day, and satisfied a craving I didn’t realize I had until after my first sip.

My first First Flush & my first tasting note here on Steepster! I grabbed a sample of this in the Canton Tea Co sale as I was intrigued by the notes… Nothing like diving in at the deep end when you’re a tea newbie!

I steeped this for 3 minutes with boiling water. The tea is a rich golden colour with a distinct chocolatey aroma. I was pleasantly surprised that I could pick out so many of the listed notes, even as a novice tea taster- definitely floral yet smooth & not overpowering. Contemplating a bigger bag once my sample is used up!

This is one of the teas I got as part of my tea club membership. It is from Marionbarie Tea Estate in Terai, West Bengal. It surprises me that no one else has written about it yet, and that I have not written about it yet, because I finished it yesterday. Sadly I cannot buy more because it is not available through their normal web shop.

It’s an odd tea. More than any other tea I have tried, the range of flavours you experience with this one vary depending upon the temperature. Canton Tea Co recommend trying it between 80 and 95 degrees, so I dutifully did so. At lower temperatures it has more of the Darjeeling about it, while at higher temperatures it is more like a black tea. I preferred it at the lower temperatures where I found it to be floral, slightly buttery, light and bright. Oversteeping was a problem as it rapidly became bitter if left too long. At higher temperatures it lost the lightness and was slightly bitter. I was not a fan of brewing it above 85 degrees.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

The instructions for Gaiwan use states to use 95°C water and start with 1 minute infusions until the brick separates and continue with 45 seconds – 60 seconds steeps. It also recommends at least 10 servings per brick.

Steep One – 1 minute
Very little to describe as the brick is still compact but there is a gentle sweetness.

Steep Two – 1 minute
Light brown in colour with a subtle malt scent. A little flavour is present but again not much, it’s sweet, a little fruity and smooth.

Steep Three – 1 minute
My husband was first to note an almost citrus like tang which is still very subtle and my brick has yet to separate.

Steep Four – 1 minute
There is a sweet caramel tone that smooths over the citrus. Still the brick is whole.

Steep Five – 1 minute
It carries the caramel flavour well and remains very light and refreshing.

Steep Six – 1 minute
Brown in colour but still no real scent to speak of. The tea is still sweet and smooth with a little earthiness like dried Autumn leaves (which funnily enough is what this tea actually is). Still the brick is whole with only a few little bits that have been separated.

Steep Seven – 1 minute
Slight darker in colour with notable sweet yet musky malt tones in fragrance. Still silky smooth caramel sweetness but the fruit has been reduced to the after taste.

Steep Eight – 1 minute
Golden brown in colour with a stronger earthy malt scent. It slips down so easily like silk, delicious sweet caramel and fruit tones with dark chocolate highlights whilst remaining light.

Steep Nine – 1 minute
It’ starting to reduce in colour and flavour. It’s fruity once again with rich malt sweetness. Sort of like a citrus malt cake/loaf.

Steep Ten – 1 minute
I have decided the citrus notes resemble orange the most. Very subtle once again to leave me with a sweet smooth finish.

For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2013/03/17/the-gift-of-feng-qing/

If you want to bring to life a warm spring day and a walk through the orchard blossoms start brewing. The smell and the taste are the same for this sexy Jasmine tea. I brewed a tea spoon of pearls in 8 oz at 165 F for 3 minutes…again and again. It’s mild and looks mostly clear with a hint of green, but carries a raw floral naturalistic note to it. The taste summed up, your mouth settles in a warm bed of blossoms. I could dare say it may have been kissed by the fairies. I’m new to the world of tea but by far this is one of my favorites and is worthy enough to be in your collection and served to any princesses that cross your path.

This should have been my perfect tea. A first flush darjeeling with a twist of Earl Grey. But somehow it just doesn’t quite work, and it was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe I was building it up high in my anticipation, to a level where it could not match.
The bergamot has a very suspicious role in this tea. It sits there, dominating in its uncompromising way, as if it’s trying to hide something. Of course, in a first flush darjeeling, there is nothing to hide, but the bergamot is too strong for it, and the special-ness of the darjeeling is not allowed the space to impress the taste buds.
It’s not horrible, but I’d rather just have a Darjeeling and an Earl Grey separately and not on top of each other.