McNulty's

No notes yet.

This is very dark, and a little bit smokey for an Earl Grey. I adore it.

I had a cup of this last night and it’s been a while. It’s starting to lose the flavor. I do have more left but am afraid to pass it on to anyone…sigh…

I’m hopping thru my stashes and going a little crazy – but that is a good thing! LOL :)

I have had a really lazy Saturday, and thought I would wind down with a cup of decaffeinated Lemon Mint Spice from McNulty’s.

When I opened the bag, I could immediately smell mint. Even after steeping, the primary smell I am getting is mint.

I think I am only getting a slight lemon note when I sip this. I first taste mint, but it isn’t overpowering. A moment later, I can taste the tea. It has a very light taste.

In my opinion, this is a good tea to have at the end of a day. I find mint teas kind of relaxing in general, and this one is no different. I wasn’t looking for a strong tea to have a night. I wanted something light and refreshing, and that is my opinion of this tea.

This is the second day I’ve had this, and damn am I enjoying it. This is my favorite black tea that I have had so far.

Also, I feel more energized after a cup of this tea than when I have coffee in the morning.

Time to go make more!

Originally published at The Nice Drinks In Life: http://thenicedrinksinlife.blogspot.com/2012/08/first-harvest-darjeeling-tea.html

Origin: Darjeeling, India
Type: Black Tea
Purveyor: McNulty’s
Preparation: One teaspoon steeped in about eight ounces of boiling water for three minutes, sipped plain

Darjeeling tea is harvested a few times over the course of a season – first flush, second flush, autumnal flush – and each yield has its own characteristics, its own personality, its own charm and identity, making its own mark on the world of tea and on the palates of tea drinkers. (Che bella!) I have heard that the tea made from the first flush is the lightest, as the leaves are plucked before the full length of the season has given the plant day after day of bountiful nutrients and minerals and other goodies to be imbibed from the soil, eventually yielding an autumnal leaf that makes a richer and stronger (and more bitter) cup of tea. That all makes sense on paper, I suppose, and yet I must say that if the tea that I sipped is the lightest crop of the season, then by the autumnal flush the tea must brew like crude oil.

The dry leaves of this First Harvest Darjeeling (as McNulty’s calls it) are medium sized, and all shades of brown. They are rolled, and not quite crumpled so much as gnarled. The bag of tea leaves could easily pass for a bag of tiny twigs. These leaves offer a thick, winy nose, not unlike a tawny port, with fruity undertones, perhaps peach-like.

When brewed, the tea is the color of tawny port, with a rich visual texture like honey. That is appropriate, because the aroma is of honey as well, and somewhat floral – honeysuckle, let’s say. When sipped, the tea has a smooth texture, soothing to drink, almost like a tisane. Is it hearty, per se? No, although the question does arise. It is rich yet semi-delicate. Maybe that is what people mean in describing the first flush as “light”: delicate to the touch. The flavor is certainly no kind of weak. There are plenty of tannins around the edges, while a vanilla-honey flavor – soft but superabundant – takes center stage. There are hints of peaches and nectarines.

Overall, the cup of this First Harvest Darjeeling is mellow but deep. It seems more like an afternoon tea than a breakfast tea. Sipping it does more to provide a platform for the collected thoughts of a day to play themselves out than to provide a spark to generate the day’s events.

I brewed the same leaves a second time, in the same manner, and the result was what one might expect. The color of the tea does not diminish, and the nose, aside from exuding more tannins, is the same. But on the sip it offers a muted, slightly more bitter version of the first cup of tea, with a lighter texture. The finish is tannic.

By the way, half-way through the second cup, the caffeine starts to really hit in. Maybe it can work as a breakfast tea after all!

The stamp on the bag says “Jasmine China Green Tea”. I thought this tea was refreshing, and was a good afternoon pick-me-up.

After steeping, I thought it smelled more on the vegetal than jasmine. You could definitely taste the green tea with just a hint of jasmine.

I would have preferred just a little more jasmine, but I really like green tea, so I still give this tea a good rating. I will most likely drink this again tomorrow morning.

Originally published at The Nice Drinks In Life: http://thenicedrinksinlife.blogspot.com/2012/08/organic-hairpoint-green-tea.html

Origin: China
Type: Green Tea
Style: Hairpoint
Purveyor: McNulty’s
Preparation: One teaspoon steeped in about eight ounces of boiling water for 2:45, sipped plain

Of all the tea varieties, green tea is my favorite. It has the perfect balance of flavor, tannins, and body. It is healthy, delicious, and good for any occasion. The organic Hairpoint from McNulty’s is a great specimen; it tastes and feels the way a green tea ought to.

The dry leaves are a curious rendition of green. The closest hue that comes to mind is a sea green, but having endured, as tea leaves often do, a substantial extent of physical strain (steaming, rolling, drying), many of the leaves have either deepened or lightened in shade. The have not balled up, but rather twisted and curled themselves, simply unable to withstand the stress of their treatment remaining straight. Still, wrinkled and gnarled though they are, one can see that these were (and remain, where it counts), lush, healthy leaves with much to offer. Even their aroma betrays the quality of the brew to be made with them: a hint of malt, just a tad of salinity (grown near the sea, perhaps), and all of it underlined with sweetness.

When brewed, the color of the liquid is a delicate yellow with plenty of green tinge – lemongrass, one might say. The aroma is a malty sweetness, not quite that of green tea ice cream, but not far from it either. Medium-bodied, the tea is tannic, as a green tea should be. There is the slightest iota of citrus around the edges – unless that is just some more sweetness from the aroma mixing with the tannins. As green teas go, this Hairpoint is a little on the brisk and malty side. But then, it casts some lovely floral notes back to the palate as a surprise farewell token before plunging down the throat.

This is the first organic green tea that I have sipped. Whereas I certainly look forward to trying the rest of them, I am already so satisfied as to convert to this Hairpoint as my standard green tea for now. And I am glad to recommend the same to my kind readers.

Originally published at The Nice Drinks In Life: http://thenicedrinksinlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/china-keemun-tea.html

Origin: Anhui, China
Type: Black Tea
Purveyor: McNulty’s
Preparation: One teaspoon steeped in about eight ounces of boiling water for three minutes, sipped plain

Of the various tales surrounding the origin of Keemun tea, the most ubiquitous is also, perhaps, the most likely. A failed government bureaucrat set out to earn his fortune in the private sector (alright, that part is unlikely) with tea. He learned to make black tea in Fujian province and brought the skill back home to Anhui province, where only green tea had been made up to that point. Having quite the knack for his craft, out hero found a great degree of success, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Indeed, Keemun is often an ingredient in English Breakfast Tea, with those blends that do include it being generally more expensive. So successful is this tea, in fact, that it virtually always appears in those omnipresent lists of “Ten Famous China Teas” (no single list is definitive), even though it just came about less than a century and a half ago in a large country renowned since ancient times for dozens of different high-quality teas.

I set out to solve the riddle of its success. This was expressly not difficult – one cup, and the mystery vanished.

The dry leaves I picked up from McNulty’s are the color of carob seeds. They are small, mostly straight, and twisted so tight that if I did not know any better I would assume that they were solid twigs instead of flat leaves rolled up. Their aroma is mainly vanilla, with some florals – sweet, sweet florals.

The brewed tea is of a caramel hue and has such visual texture that one would think that a few spoons of honey were already mixed in. The aroma is similar to that of the dry leaves. Some malt also appears, but sweet florals predominate. The taste, much like the sight, is enough to perpetuate the illusion that a plain cup of tea includes a great amount of honey. But now, though the sweetness is so strong, it is joined by other strong elements as well: acidity, tannins, briskness. There is a moderate degree of malt, at least enough to support the other notes, which is important because the body is medium – not weak or thin by any means, but still dwarfed by all of the flavor elements.

And yet this Keemun is not a grab-you-by-the-mouth-and-kick-you-around kind of beverage. It shows its strength but uses it gently. Next time I intent to brew it for only 2:45, and am confident that that will even it out the right amount. Three minutes just let the flavor get a little too big; we are left with gentle giants that occasionally bump shoulders by mistake. But they are still beautiful, playful, even thoughtful, with plenty of instinct for grace (if not quite plenty of room, in my particular cup). They are good for either waking up or calming down; drink it in the morning or afternoon.

On the way down, the Keemun settles back to sweet florals, releasing them with a full body at the back of the mouth. We are brought to the classic question that accompanies all finishes: is it goodbye or a forecast of hello? In this case, definitely both.

No notes yet.

This tea smells like a bouquet of berries! I think the primary smell I am getting is strawberry.

When I taste it, I first taste the berries, followed by black tea. It is very smooth. I definitely get a lot of berry flavor, but it isn’t so strong that you don’t taste the tea.

This is one of those teas that grows on me as I drink more of it. I am about half way done with my cup, and keep raising the rating slider.

I could see this being a very good fruity iced tea in the summer time.

I am starting my morning off with a cup of this, and I think this is an excellent cup of tea.

It has a rich taste, and is not bitter at all. It leaves a good aftertaste in my mouth.

I haven’t tried a wide variety of black teas, but this is definitely one of the better ones that I have had.

A slightly more oxidized Tikuanyin, so the color of the dry leaves similar to some first flush darjeelings, but in the classic rolled Tikuanyin oolong style. Absolutely delicious aroma – when I opened the bag I knew it was going to be a special oolong. Slightly earthy, just enough punch. The color of the brewed tea is lighter than expected given the leaf color, and the aroma transforms into something lighter than that of the leaves. Just buttery enough, just green enough, just floral enough. Very solid Tikuanyin.

Very solid Tikuanyin. I especially like the scent of the dried rolled leaves – it is clear that the brewed cup will be dense with flavor, and sure enough, it is. The brewed scent is on a floral/vegetal boundary that is rather pleasant.

The complex color of the brew is less green than others of this variety that I’ve tried, perhaps the leaves are oxidized a bit more.

The taste is what one might expect from the scent but less buttery than the greener versions. It’s floral and sweet, a very soothing mixture that is best enjoyed as one reflects and relaxes.

this is a mid-level blend, not distinct enough to include with estate offerings
it is a good foundation for chai

this special mixed is good as a basis for ‘milk tea’ blends.
I often blend it with an Assam and a ctc like red label or Taylor’s gold
I settled on this for it’s chocolate notes.

After being told by one of the employees at McNulty’s that this tea wasn’t exactly new (but what do you expect for the price?) I was skeptical. After purchasing 1/4 pound I can say that it is well worth the price. The leaves are not broken (at least not any more than your average sencha) and it produces up to three refreshing infusions that tolerate varied steep times quite well. While this tea won’t be winning any awards anytime soon it is a perfectly acceptable affordable every day sencha.

I was pleasantly surprised by McNulty’s Golden Assam. The tea has a very pleasant smell that produces a very flavorful infusion. It has also been my experience that this tea can survive a 10 minute infusion without losing flavor or becoming overly bitter. The leaves are fairly uniform and open up quite well. Overall this is a good everyday tea.

A nice tea for breakfast as it has some body, but is not overwhelming. Especially tasting some sweetness and roasted notes this morning.

A very average green tea. I’ve steeped every which way but I cannot get a satisfying cup.

This is a decent black tea. It is fairly mild, not what I would call bold but it does have a certain strength to it. It has some lovely fruit notes to it. It is sweet and pleasant, with an agreeable astringency at the tail … it is quite a gentle astringency that allows for the sweetness to continue through to the aftertaste.

This is one of my favorite teas. It is simple, straightforward, and beautiful to watch in a glass tumbler as it unfurls. Each pearl is comprised of two leaves and a fuzzy bud that are rolled by hand, which means between actual human fingers. The care and precision that goes into making each pearl is apparent in the taste, which is silky, honeyed and refreshing. My notebook reads, “[the flavor] is subtle and sweet. I get the image of goose down floating on still, clear water.”

An after-sweetness in the back of the throat provides a nice cooling sensation. It’s similar to sucking on the rind of a honeydew melon. The cooling sensation is not so strong as menthol, but there are similarities. The tea itself has the effect of focusing the mind and inducing a sense of calm, more so than other green or white teas. (Is this a white tea? McNulty’s is unclear on the subject…)

I could drink this every day. For a while, I did drink this every day, and when I didn’t feel like steeping and re-steeping in a teapot, I’d simply drop a few pearls (3 or 4) in a mug that I would refill with warm water until the flavor slipped away. Delicious.

No notes yet.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

This is really good. Before reading anything about it, by the look of it I assumed it was a black tea and brewed it the way I’d brew a black tea. Fortunately, if there is any green tea or Oolong tea in there, I don’t get any taste in this cup that indicates that I scorched the leaves, so that is good.

I definitely taste black tea – but a lighter black, perhaps a Ceylon or a Darjeeling, but, I am not detecting any of that muscatel that would indicate to me that it is definitely a Darjeeling. I also taste a toasty flavor in there – possibly a roasted Oolong or a Kukicha? There is earthiness to the cup, and a fruit note.

Overall, a very pleasant cup that is keeping me guessing. But I like that!