Single Origin Teas

First time to try this with milk. Isn’t bad, but the deep-wood flavor is much better solo. However, around here, milk in any tea signifies that there was a bit o’time to putter and enjoy it, and that is well worth a gold star and a smiley or two.

Another thumbs-up for Single Origin. Perfect when snow’s on the ground, clouds in the air, and eyes will not open. Strong. Fruit and cocoa scented this morning, makes me think of dark walnut or cherry wood.

If pressed to make a judgment call, I would have a difficult time choosing a favorite Single Origin Tea: have spent quality time with this Kaporet Kenya, a Vietnam OP, and an excellent decaf Ceylon. This one has the deepest flavor of the three—dark wood with a little fruit. Kept meaning to try it with a little milk, but the cup has always been three-quarters sipped up before I think of it.

Straight-up black morning tea Steepsters, this is a vendor worth checking out.

Of late, mornings have been hard. Seasonal blahs coupled with flannel sheets that are so comfy I snoodle down under them until the absolute-last-have-to-get-up minute; so tea has been whatever I can fling into the cup and still make it out the door on time. (Looking at the weather forecast, much more snoodling ahead.)

At any rate, I took time for a good cuppa this morning. This is. Smooth and deep without being so strong you have to temper it with milk. Not a bad one in the batch of Single Origin Teas I’ve tried so far.

Dark burgundy steep; deep autumn fruit sensation on the tongue. Single Origin, this is ex0.c3222222222222222222222222222222222 (that’s excellent in cat typing).

I got this one sent to me as a free sample from the company (along with a few others) and since I was wanting something unflavored, I grabbed this off the top of the pile.
I’m not really sure of a dry leaf smell because I’m not sure how much cross contamination scent there is (the packages are just plastic lined paper bags with a little viewing window. Nice to see the tea, not so good at keeping the scents to themselves), so I’ll skip that.
There wasn’t any sort of brewing instructions on the website or package, so I just went with 1 1/2 tsp @205* ish for 3 min. It’s my standard formula for black teas. Though usually I use just 1 tsp, not really sure what possed me to use more. /shrug/
As soon as the water hit it, it started turning reddish and got really dark red by the time the 3 min was up. Nice malty scent in the cup, maybe with a bit of fruity-ness, but that might be my imagination since I couldn’t pin that down again.
My first sip was malty, and slightly astringent (the astringency got stronger the cold the cup got) but unfortunately it was also mildly bitter. Actually so much so that I couldn’t really concentrate on anything else. I’m not sure if it was because I steeped too much/for too long/too hot so I’m holding off on a rating until I try a couple different things. I’ve still got quite enough of my sample left that I can experiment alot, so I’ll give an update with my next try.
Overall it’s definitely a promising tea. And reasonably enough priced that if I do find that magic steep combination that clicks for me, I’d consider keeping this around.

A very neat tea! I admittedly drink more Chinese and Japanese greens, so I was excited to try this fair trade, organic Sri Lanka tea out.

I didn’t get the leather notes others described, but I got some fantastic lychee and floral flavors!
Especially in the resteep, the lychee flavor tasted like all the milk out of a lychee was extracted into this tea. This tea is backed up with a stern grassy flavor that add some strength, as well as some bitterness to this tea.

Full review on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/idulgashinna-ceylon-green-tea-single-origin-teas-oolong-owl-tea-review/

What happens when you aren’t quite awake and lose track of time and leave this steeping two minutes more than you should have? Stout, malty, slightly cocoa-y wake-up yumness. Can’t recommend this one strongly enough for lovers of morning tea with some strength to it.

A sipdown of a really fine Ceylon—-smooth and deep, no bitterness. On the short list for a reorder.

While house-puttering this morning, let the cup get cool, and now I’m getting essence of molasses cookie. Tasty!

You need to try this. That’s all there is to it.

As I was picking a couple of samples, the Single Origin proprietor recommended this due to my obvious preference for heavy and malty teas.
An excellent call. This steeps to a rich ruby-mahogany tint, and shows off best in the baritone range. I’m picking up red grapes, maple, good rye bread; things that make you hold your tongue like that. Thick, satiny texture.

The vendor description says it takes milk well, but some teas are just too tasty to alter. Thanks to Single Origin Teas—this is superb.

2023 An Ode to Tea – K

Age has blanded this terribly.  Shame.  Not a sipdown yet, even considering not even steeping this one again and just throwing it away (gasp). Even sadder that I gave this a rating of 96!

Additional notes: I bought some of this one from Shadowfall a while back. thanks so much! Having it again this morning, it was different than last time. Today it was very grassy but there weren’t any plum notes. The only thing different was the amount of leaves. Today, one teaspoon. Last time, one and a half. So I definitely suggest trying this with one and a half teaspoons! It’s still a nice tea, but I love the special plum notes it had the first time. It’s very sweet grassy dried hay this time around!
Steep #1 // few minutes after boiling // 3 1/2 minutes
Second steep later today

I had to try this one because it isn’t even in the system yet! Thanks again for the samples! I just know I’d love every tea on the site… which I didn’t even know existed until I saw the sample offer! Three minutes steeping a teaspoon and a half after waiting a few minutes after boiling, this one is so good. The quality of Kenyan teas is NOT why most Kenyan teas go through the crush-tear-curl process. I rarely see a Kenyan tea that isn’t CTC. But Kenyan teas have a flavor profile all their own that I just love… it just sometimes doesn’t need the astringency of a CTC. I had a non-CTC Kenyan tea the other day that had more malty dark chocolate notes. This one has less of that, but it is so complex! This is a medium bodied tea. Notes of plum and hay. The aftertaste is dark chocolate, more than the actual sip. One sip was even spicy! Different from the Kenyan tea I had recently, but DELICIOUS in its own way. I definitely need to have a Kenyan tea stocked in my collection at all times (and NOT a CTC)!

Water: 8oz

Leaves: medium sized flat leaves

Steep: 1m~2m

Aroma: Vegetable

Color: Light green

Taste: This is my second Japanese green tea, I was quite excited to try this one see that it was a good everyday type of tea from what i had read online. So i went a head to steep it the smell was nice and vegetable. One thing that I found quite surprising was the size of the leaves, they were larger than that other green teas I’ve tried. Overall this tea was very nice and packed quite a bit of flavor as well.

*Thank you Single Origin Teas for this sample!

White Monkey Chinese Green from Single Origin Teas is a delightfully fuzzy tea. I reviewed a different White Monkey at the end of September and spent a large chunk of the review waxing poetically about Trichomes and how entertainingly diverse this type of tea is, I do really enjoy fuzzy teas. White Monkey fascinates me because it seems to have its velvety leaves straddling two worlds bringing the best characteristics of White Tea to a Green Tea. The aroma of this particular White Monkey has a touch of citrus sweetness that mixes with a paper like aroma I always associate with Pai Mu Dan. Yes, I said paper, trust me this is a huge compliment because I love the smell of paper, especially artisan Washi which is what I think some White Teas smell like. There are also very subtle notes of cedar and and fresh greenery.

It is time for the leaves to lose their fuzz and steep! The aroma of the steeping leaves is delightfully complex blending the delicate sweetness of citrus with artichoke and fresh greenery. The leaves lose their papery aroma and take on a more vegetal tone expected from a Green Tea. Once the leaves are removed the aroma of the liquid is sweet and vegetal mixing chestnuts and fresh spinach with a tiny note of green beans. The aroma of this tea is drool worthy, not just because the right side of my face is still numb, I promise.

I have fuzzies in my mouth, I love trichomes so much, they really are so wonderful. I have heard some people (my mother for example) say that the trichomes in tea are a bit much and make you cough but I have never had this problem, the only problem with fuzzy teas I have ever noticed is sometimes it makes my mouth itch just a little. The taste is initially savory, blending artichoke with a hint of spinach. The aftertaste is honey sweet with a little bit of an orange blossom sweetness lingering in the back of the mouth for a few moments. As the tea cools it takes on more of a chestnut taste. I decided to give this tea a second steeping and noticed that it has even richer, the mouthfeel becomes buttery and the chestnut taste is much more prominent. I would have taken a photo of the slightly paler second steep, but I forgot to not drink it all first, whoops! I really enjoyed this tea, it is subtle and refreshing, a tea I wish to sip while sitting outside on a spring day or with a delicate dessert. Now, if you will all excuse me, I am going to go brew up some more of it!

For Photos and Blog Post: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/single-origin-teas-white-monkey-chinese.html

A very nice tea. Much like a Darjeeling, but not as thick as I think of second flushes as being. It’s very light and mildly vegetal but with a bit of the dryness of Darjeeling in the background. I’ll have to try again and pay a bit more attention to steeping time. I think I did this about 3 1/2 minutes but it could have been longer. I was also cleaning the cat water fountain and may have gotten a bit distracted… :)

Thanks, James, for putting this in with my sample bag. It’s one I’d drink again. I’ll bet when I share this with my Darjeeling fan coworker, he’ll like it as well.

I’ve been wanting to have some more green teas lately. That might be do to visit a Tea House on Sunday. Pretty sure I’ve never had this type of tea before. Nice scent, kinda like veggies. The flavour is mild, and a little sweet.

This is a super late blog for me, but I was so distracted earlier! It was one of those days where I felt overwhelmed by stuff to do and just life, but I was given a gift of thunderstorms by nature so that made things much better. Now that the world is quiet I can focus on writing my daily review! Today I am reviewing a tea that was sent to me by the lovely Single Origin Teas, a company that loves to supply teas from all around the world, plus they have awesome recyclable bags made from recycled paper. Awesome!

Idulgashinna Ceylon Green Organic is a Green tea from the Uva region of Sri Lanka, a region that is more known for its Black teas. I tried a Green Ceylon a few months ago (It made a really good iced tea) and was excited to try this one, I was very surprised when I noticed the teas were completely different, exciting! The aroma is very mild and green, like fresh grass and citrus leaves. Similar to Ceylon Black teas it has the slightly tangy, citrus aroma that makes them very brisk and invigorating, but it brings in a floral aroma similar to orange blossoms.

Once I put these beautiful leaves in their nice sauna the aroma takes on a slight chestnut aroma that mixes with a bit of an artichoke aroma. There is still the hint of orange flowers but it is a bit of a whisper at the end, like a breeze bringing in a distant blooming flower’s aroma through an open window. Once the leaves have been removed (they are still really lovely to look at) the liquid has a sweet aroma with a bit of a tangy citrus note. I do not notice any real vegetal aroma in the liquid, it has stayed in the leaves.

Surprise! I love surprises and the taste is certainly a pleasant one. The taste is honey sweet with citrus notes, the website states that the taste is reminiscent of Lychee and I completely agree (I should note that I tend to not read the tasting notes on teas before I taste them, the power of suggestion might taint me!! I just noticed this when I added the above link and thought it was awesome). There is a slight note of floral, it is orange blossom and very light, finishing with a tiny bit of the astringency that compliments the other flavors really well. There is a floral aftertaste that finishes the whole experience with a smile. As the tea cools the aftertaste becomes vegetal and less floral. This tea has a very fascinating quality where it is intensely delicious while still being very mild, I really enjoy it and I think it will help when I am craving Lychees and cannot find any fresh ones.

For blog post and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/10/single-origin-teas-idulgashinna-ceylon.html

This was a tasty cup this morning. It’s strong and does seem like it would go with some chai spices and even milk. I don’t know if I steeped too long but it’s just shy of being astringent. It’s a little sweet somehow and a bit peppery at times. Thank you Single Origin Teas for the generous sized sample, I wouldn’t have found you otherwise :)

This is an unflavored decaf that actually retains some of the sharpness of a good-quality Ceylon instead of tasting like used dishwater. I think my dream unflavored decaf will always be elusive and imaginary, but this is one of the best I’ve had.

Reacquainting myself with this Very Decent unflavored decaf. My notes from last winter mentioned molasses as a general flavor profile. Even after a long spring and summer of so-so storage, it’s still good, strong, and mole-y.

I may spend the rest of the life seeking out a Gee-I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Irish-Breakfast plain decaffeinated, but at this point, I haven’t found one that’s better.