TeaSpring

I was in the mood. On my second steep now, actually. It’s been ages since I had any of it, but I was in a green mood, coming home from work and decided to make one that I hadn’t had for a while.

Today, I like it well enough. Other days I don’t like it at all. Some days I tolerate it but no more.

But today it’s pretty good. Still, it’ll never be a favourite. Too cat breath-y.

JacquelineM actually inspired me this morning, so after finishing the morning pot of Lapsang Souchong, I switched to this.

I’ve never really managed to get the hang of Dragonwell before and I’ve never really been able to agree with myself on whether or not I like it much. So I was in a weird situation where I had a sort of semi-craving for something that I wasn’t really sure I liked.

What to do, what to do?

It’s not really practical to brew half pots at the time, because I have a tendency to forget that I’m only supposed to fill it half up with water and end up with a totally weakling cup of tea. I don’t really have the brain capacity to do it that way when I know I’ll be steeping it several times. If it’s just the one or two times, it can be done, but more than that and chances are it’ll go wrong at least once.

Cue the little yellow gaiwan that I hardly ever use, because I always spill and/or burn myself. I was feeling brave though, so I brewed in that and carefully decanted after steeping into another little cup. That gave me half a very small cup on each steep which isn’t so much that I’ll give up on the questionable flavour or get too much of it, and it allows me to do a multitude of steeps.

So I’ve been drinking Dragonwell for oh about… let’s see… hmm… about four hours or so. I haven’t got the faintest idea of which steep I’m currently having, the counting got messed up, but JacquelineM totally nailed the primary flavour note when she called it asparagus-y. It’s like with Takgoti and the walnut note in the Pai Mu Tan. I knew it was a well-known clear flavour, very easy to pick up on. I just couldn’t work out what it was.

At this point though, on Steep X, the asparagus-y-ness has diminished quite a lot. It’s not really a flavour that tries to invade and conquer, it’s just sort of there. Much more toned down. The flavour has sort of deepened, if you know what I mean. It’s not as bright and bouncy anymore. It has calmed down and turned darker. Like the difference between brand new leaves on trees at the beginning of spring, and leaves that has been on the tree for half a summer already.

I’m liking these ‘older’ steeps better than the first ones, definitely, so it seems like with this one the gaiwan is the way to go.

As I said, I lost count of what number steep this is, but to give you an idea of how far I’ve approximately come, I’ve become quite good at transferring from gaiwan to cup. I don’t spill every time anymore. And I haven’t burned myself either.

It’s still not a tea that I really see myself drinking a lot of though, so I’ll leave the rating where it is and let first impressions count for this one.

Oh dear.

Looks like I’m going to pay a visit to the post office on wednesday. It’s a really small post office, my local one. Hardly more than a kiosk really. So I often get helped by the same person. This is the third tea order to have arrived in… let’s see… erm… a week.

Oh dear. whistles innocently

I’m in a green mood today. What luck that I’ve presently got a cupboard just teeming with new and interesting stuff!

I’m pretty sure I’ve had dragonwell before, but I can’t remember what I thought of it. The name just seems too familiar for me to not have had it. I just can’t remember, in that case, what I thought of it. So here we go!

OMG these leaves are flatter than a flat thing! They look like they’ve been ironed. Or a steamroller went over them. I’m all fascinated by how they look in the tin. All springy yellowy green and flat and stackable. (Whaddaya mean tea leaves aren’t toys?) They smell kinda sweet but a bit salty when dry.

I dosed the leaves like I otherwise would and let the water cool off a little longer before pouring it on. I’m not worried about the water temperature. It’s more the leaf dosage. For some reason I have a sneaky suspicion that I should have used more leaves. Not sure why. Maybe it’s the flatness of them (OMG flat leaves!) that makes me think so. They look like they take up less space. I’m tempted to throw in another pinch of leaves, but I think it would be better to leave that sort of experimentation for the next time. I’ll just use less water for subsequent steeps.

Okay, this is very very pale! Now I’m even more suspicious about my leaf to water ratio. The aroma is erm… interesting though. Salty and seaweed-y and kinda.. I don’t want to say what this note reminds me of. You’ll laugh at me. No, I don’t want to say. Okay, okay, Royal Canin Maine Coon cat food, okay?! Yes, I know it’s weird, but smelling it, I just got the strongest associations to when Boannan was alive and I’d mix up a bucketful of cat food. (2 parts RC Sensitive, 1 part RC Maine Coon, if anybody’s interested in that side of things)

Hm. Yes. Hm. I definitely should have used more leaf. Just a smidge. Apart from what seems like a slight weakness, it has a very special taste. Kind of like it smells. Salty and seaweed-y, but not as cat food-y, thank you very much. It’s smooth, though, with not a hint of astringency in sight, it’s just this rather special flavour. Right now it’s not my perfect green, but if I was subjected to this often and over a longer period of time, I think I might end up being rather partial to it. Rating is therefore likely to be adjusted a few times in the future.

I saw lately someone (Jillian?) wrote that supposedly the third steep of this was the superior one, so it’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

Good evening, Steepsterites.

Yeah, hi. It’s me. I aten’t ded. At this point in the post I rambled on for a handful of lines and then decided it was a load of rubbish so I deleted it again. Let’s just say I’m just dipping my toes cautiously in the Steepster pool again here because I started missing a lot of people. Also, I received a gift from the wonderful Auggy with samples of some of her favourite smoky teas, some of which I have already tried. Don’t worry though (or worry, depending on how you feel about backlogging) I’ve taken notes on them and some other ones.

But for now, I think a come-back tea ought to be a well-known one. And old favourite. One that will allow you to reflect on the situation rather than the tea itself. One that calms and soothes. Comforting, yet with a refreshing taste.

And this one seemed to fit.

I’m sorry the entire post turned out to be a rambling pile of woe-ness. I tried really hard to avoid it, I swear. I’ll just take my cup to bed and read some Asterix or something.

Feel free to go back to your regularly scheduled dashboards now. Nothing to see here.

It’s been a while since I’ve had my beloved tie guan yin. Jillian even sent me the rest of hers so I could compare that to TeaSpring’s but I haven’t even got around to that yet. But last night when I came home from Lexitus’ it had been snowing. Another five centimeters or so. Not a lot, but we’ve had snow on the ground non-stop since before christmas. And when I went inside and started looking at the news apparently at some point the police advised people to avoid unnecessary driving… Stop! Snowing! OMG!!!

This totally called for a fortifier, so I had a bag of something or other cheap before going to bed, and this morning I’m making it up to myself by having made me a nice pot of this stuff. This gorgous glorious 100 points worth stuff.

The first thought that struck me when I poured the first cup was about the colour. I thought, no wonder I liked the neon-coloured Sencha. I think I’m pre-programmed to like that. This one, after a three minute steep, had that exactly same colour too! Maybe a little paler. But definitely neon-green-ish. It would likely have changed though if I had given it a slightly longer steep, but I was a little impatient.

My impatience also means that the first cup has gone a bit weak. That soft, round grassy/butter-y flavour is still there. The sweetness of it is still there. It’s just more fleeting and not as easy to find. Topping it up with a bit more from the pot that has steeped longer helps, but for another time I’ll just have be more patient with it and let it have the usual five minutes. For me they just can’t be spared it seems.

Favourite oolong… sounds about what I need. (actually what I probably really need is another nap, but I’m tired of sleeping and there’s something on tv in 45 minutes that I want to see)

Teaspring’s is the tie guan yin I’m most familiar with and also, so far, the one I have preferred the most. The interesting legend behind the origins of the tea. The prettiness of the bright green leaves, so clear in colour as if they had been dyed. The aroma so sweet and rich, like a lovely brocoli broccolli broccol green vegetable boiled just to perfection and with just the right amount of butter. The colour such deep yellow, looking like it’s actually a green tea.

The flavour! So round and vegetally sweet and lingering perfection.

It’s just right.

Husband made this for us, and I COMPLETELY FAILED to identify it.

My first guess was a Ceylon.

O.O

I think this illness has broken my tongue.

I take great comfort, while sitting here feeling sorry for myself, in knowing that it’s the Goodest Stuff™ even though it currently tastes all funky.

SQUEAL!!!

slurp!

Together again.

(And the ransom for Tax & Customs turned out to be only half of what I had feared)

♥ ♥ ♥

My brand new mobile phone which I’ve only had for a month and barely started paying for yet has been stolen. Warrenty does not cover theft.

My favourite teapot is in the dishwasher.

I’ve been rained on both to and from work.

I accidentally stepped on a kitten paw coming home (thankfully no injured kitties followed)

Apparently we’ve run out of one of two kinds of cat food. They’ll have to make do with a second breakfast instead of dinner.

I’m in bad need of comfort and calming down tea. Making things right in the world again tea. Tea that reminds me of happier and luckier times and the wonderful friends I’ve made here.

Again, thank you, QG, for sending me this. You saved my day this evening.

Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’ll go somewhere else and be bloody enraged for the rest of the day. I’m going back to only second-hand mobiles. They’re much safer from stupid thieves. >:(

SQUEEEEEE FLAIL!!!!

QuiltGuppy is a right little treasure and I hearts her dearly. Look what she sent me! Look what she went out of her way to get for me!!! Just… just LOOK!!

I’ve been out of this for so long, but having to economise a bit with how many orders I put out in one go and all that rot, so the TeaSpring order had been temporarily postponed. And here it is again!

Oh joy, oh rapture!

I can’t wait to actually make me a cup of this, but I’m afraid it’ll have to wait just a little while longer. I’m not finished cuddling the pouch yet.

On a scale from one to ten, QG is awesome twelve and a half, and if you were here right now I would treat you to a cup.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

GAH! Last cup!

Must restock at earliest convenience after moving!

One of the things I love about the Tan Yang is how resilient it is. This is my third steep of these leaves and they’re still not specifically weakened in flavour. A bit, but not enough to be a problem. At this point the flavour lies almost entirely in the aftertaste which is unchanged from previous steeps. Experience has taught me, however, that it shouldn’t be taken further than the three steeps as it starts to decline somewhat after that.

I seriously need to place a TeaSpring order soon. I’m running low on this. Isn’t it just typical that the Favourite Tea of All Time should be an expensive one? sigh I could have lived without having to buy this regularly at $20 per 100g, but I’m hooked on it now and there’s no getting out. Lucky then that it’s one of those teas where I rarely want just the one steep.

Especially as I can’t conveniently save the leaves for later while having something else. Only one good pot in the right size, you see.

I did see a gorgeous tea for one set in a shop window the other day, though. I wish I knew how it pours. If it pours as beautifully and dripfree as my Roy Kirkham, then I want it desperately. If it doesn’t, then… not so much. So I probably won’t get it. But it was a pretty set. When I get filthy rich I will enjoy buying pretty things like that just to see if they’re useful without regard to the waste of money if they’re not.

Friends, Romans, Steepsterites!

I have returned from my UK holiday. I have nommed some good food, met with some good people of the boyfriend-relatives category, I have had some dialect-related culture shocks and been introduced to some more intrinsic English things (bread and butter pudding, anyone?)

I have, however, also had a lot of english tea, which when brewed in a traditionally (these days) english way is… Well, a beverage. It’s good enough, it serves its purpose and it’s better than nothing, but it does not compare to this hoity-toity fancy-pants loose leaf business that I’m used to.

(And also, this time the boyfriend managed to somehow put it in his mother’s head that I only wanted Earl Grey. Apparently he’s decided it’s something that I drink all the time and was genuinely surprised (and contrite) when I informed him that I’m not actually really a fan of bergamot, which often comes across as dusty-flavoured to me. I have some, yes, but only one of those brands, in recent history, I have bought myself, and that was the A&D which wasn’t really an option, because it came as part of a set, where I wanted one of the others. Poor boyfriend, he tried so hard and got it so wrong. :(

I didn’t want to correct that halfway through the week though, and told him so, as that would just have made his mother feel bad for having consequently given me the one I liked the least all the time. (Even if I strongly suspect the others had BLEEDING LAPSANG!!! wants! cries!) )

I have returned to the nest, however. There will be a trip-report posted elsewhere for those interested in reading about what we did on holiday. It will have pictures! It’ll be ready at some time after friday, and I shall drop a link when it is.

Gosh, it’s been a long day! I have some chores to do before bedtime. Thankfully I won’t have to go to work until Thursday.

Tan Yang Te Ji, favourite tea of ALL TIME YOU GUYS, is just the thing to come home to. I’m on second steep at the moment, the tin is worryingly low, but it’s giving me the right sort of energy to go forth and clean the fridge while it’s nearly empty anyway.

Hurrah for favourite tea!

Very easy to choose a tea today. I didn’t even have to consider the tins first, I just went straight for this one. Another Standard Panel tea. The thing about officially defining my Standard Panel is that now my OCD is taking over and I wonder if I ought to get properly labeled special tins that match for those teas. This is odd because I store my teas in an amalgam of different tins and have actually made an effort to avoid uniformity… But maybe the Standard Panel is different? I don’t know, I’m so confused!

Anyway, I seem to have hit the sweet spot on this tea today. Huge amounts of grainy-ness and underlying fruit notes. I think something along the line of grapes. Touch of sweetness on the end of the flavour and a promise of smoke on the second steep.

I think, actually, the second steep of this one is my favourite. It’s got all the stuff that first one has, but with a smoky note covering everything. And I loves me some smoky tea!

The funny thing is that while I know recognise this flavour profile in the first steep as Just Right, the first time I had it ever, I was a bit put off by the grain and fruit notes. Obviously I’ve changed my mind since then.

Good afternoon Steepsterites!

These are the same leaves as from this morning and I’m having the second steep now. Sort of.

It’s quite immoral of me to do so, very likely outright sacriledge, but I’ve done it anyway. I only hope those of you who have also tried this gem will forgive me.

I’ve experimented. This is an awesome tea all by itself with a complicated flavour profile. The sort of thing where you notice a new aspect almost every time you have it. If there is one thing it absolutely does not need it’s flavouring.

Nevertheless, in a moment of insanity I added a teaspoon of the Tisano Cacao stuff that Wombatgirl sent me earlier. This is either going to work or it’s going to completely ruin the Tan Yang.

The idea was to emphasise the natural cocoa notes in the tea, seeing as I’m definitely entitled to something cocoa-y, because I’m celebrating the loss of 1½ kg since wednesday and I’m not about to wreck that with chocolate. (I’m not stupid) Another 1½ kg and we hit the 10 kg total loss that was my goal when I started back in the summer.

Awesome. I am it.

I’m even happier to report that, WRONG AS IT IS, the experiment is working quite wonderfully. It is indeed quite cocoa-y, but those note are still at the base of the tea. On top of it, it’s still the same grainy sort of flavour. Maybe even a bit grainier than usual, which is a good thing. The smoky note is not as pronounced anymore though, which is rather a shame. I should have liked to see how smoky and cocoa would play together in equal parts.

It’s not better than it was pure, mind you. It’s as good. Different.

Just one more reason for it to have the full 100 points.

Nommm!!! I was just skimming through the posts on my dashboard while eating breakfast and someone used the word ‘tangy’.

It was inspiring. Tangy, Tan Yang… I don’t really have to elaborate on that, do I?

There’s a certain ritual to making this tea. You cannot make a cup of this without first inserting your nose in the tin and sniff deeply. It jsut can’t be done.

It’s been a little while since I had any of it, and I wonder why. Gosh, this stuff is awesome…

This is the second steep as I had the first steep in my travel cup this morning.

Nine times out of ten the second steep of this tea turns nicely smoky. But this one isn’t. It’s not even close. Not even slurping the sip can bring out any smoke. What it is, however, is remarkably sweet.

There’s a sweet note in it surrounded by that cocoa-y spicy flavour. Sort of like if you take a Keemun, brew it just so and then strip away all the smokiness. It’s got that grainy note of rye and brown sugar.

I’m completely floored by this. It’s like the leaves just decided all on their own to skip the second steep identity all together and go straight to a later one.

And I can’t guarantee that making this pot didn’t also involve some dregs in the pot that had been there since early this morning because there wasn’t room for them in the travel cup. They ought to have been unbelievably bitter by now thirteen hours later. And as you can’t dilute your way out of a bitter tea… Why is there not even the tiniest slightest hint of astringency or bitterness in this cup?

I don’t understand a single microscopic speck of this, I just really don’t.

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THIS STUFF COULDN’T GET ANY MORE AWESOME! O.O

Tan Yang, the chameleon of teas.

Good morning, Steepsterites.

This is actually the third steep of last night’s leaves. It’s very very rarely that I have the patience to have the same tea that many times in a row if it’s not because it’s just going into my travel cup for the morning train journey where I don’t really pay attention to what I’m drinking anyway.

That’s how much I love this.

Third steep. Flavour still as strong as the first. And it’s turned so smoky it’s sending up smoke signals.

Really, I dare you to show me a black that’s better than this one.

Fu Jian province, China? My favourite tea producing area, hands down. I’ve also bought a small portion of the higher leaf grade of this one (and it cost a bloody fortune!), and one day when I have lots of time I’ll give it a good tasting and see how it holds up to this one. Even in the unlikely event that it’s even better than this, it’s too expenisve to be a one I’d buy in portions as big as this one.

Those who are still searching for something to replace the now unavailable Dawn from Simple Leaf, may I humbly suggest giving Tan Yang a go? I thought it was similar, only this is better. If you don’t care much for the smoky aspect, use a little less leaf (and don’t steep twice).

SNIFFFFFFFF!

Oh yes, the wood-y lovely autumn-y aroma. It reminds me of dried pine needles, actually. A little spicy and a touch of cocoa-y yumness. I remember that cocoa note being much stronger though. It’s coming through in the cup, but not really in the leaves.

In the cup, I found the funniest strong note, though. A bit like boiling broccoli or green beans. A sort of rough but green note. Weird thing is, I can only find it if I keep my nose at a certain distance from the cup. If it’s too close I just get sweet cocoa, if it’s too far away I get spicy slightly smoky woodness, but at that specific middle distance it’s rough green vegetables with a little butter.

This aroma? This aroma alone was so worth waiting for.

SLUUUUURRRRRRRP

Oh yes. I remember this. The initial very fruity flavour with strong notes of cocoa in it. There is a little smoke on the tail end too, but not too much. It will come. It usually showed up the strongest on the second steep for me.

I used plenty of leaf, water gone slightly off boil and a, for me, half-lenght steeping time. Good experiences were made with this method when I had this tea last. Bit expensive on the precious precious leaf, granted, but I dare anybody who’s tried it to tell me it’s not worth it. As a result I’ve got something that has a little astringency. Just a bit at the roof and back of the mouth, and other than that it’s so smooth and lovely. Such a long flavour.

The smoke comes through on the aftertaste here, building up gradually as I drink, and the same is happening for the cardboard-y Assam-y quality. Little by little it’s making its presence.

How I’ve missed this tea! I grieved and mourned when I used the last of it earlier and finally they have it again. A different year and a different harvest, of course, but this harvest totally measures up the other one. I’m turning it all the way up to a hundred points now. Like Auggy said, when I shared it with her, it just has everything as it is. Nothing about this tea can conceivably be improved. You can find stuff that is as good, but nothing that is better. I simply can’t see that happening.

It’s THAT good!

Now, if anybody needs me, I’ll be in the kitchen drawing little hearts on the label.

(I can’t figure out what people mean when they say a tea is ‘chewy’ because chewing a liquid? Really? That doesn’t sound like something I want to do, but I’ve gathered they mean it as a good thing, so maybe this has that too.)

Goodbye Tan Yang.

You were a truly yummy tea with your cocoa notes and second steep smoky goodness. I’m in great misery and I’ll miss you like an amputated limb. What’s to become of me now?

’Scuse me.

(WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*sniffle*WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!)

ETA: Also, I just noticed I’ve been a Steepster member for a year today. But I’m still mourning the emptying of this tin, so I can’t celebrate. Someone else do that for me, please.

I’m so pleased that Auggy liked this one as much as she did! I knew I was right about it having a strong smoky note, even if by my usual seat-of-the-pants western brewing of standard amount of leaves + standard amount of water for until-either-forgotten-or-impatient brewing style, it was a bit difficult to reproduce.

Auggy went by the recommendations on TeaSpring’s website so I felt inspired to do the same. And discovered that this meant twice my usual amount of leaves in half my usual amount of water. Oh dear me. The tin only have enough left for half a pot by my usual sloppy brewing style now. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Whatever shall I do??? (Order more. Right. Adding Tan Yang Jing Zhi to shopping list and hope desperately that that leaf grade is as good as this one. If not, I think I’ll cry)

Anyway, I’m definitely finding that when I brew it this way I get all those different layers I found at the same time instead of one overpowering the others. Interesting. I’m not as good at identifying each note as accurately as some you other people are, but if I drink this and compare it to Auggy’s post, then I’m finding I pretty much agree completely with everything there. Except the extreme amounts of cocoa notes in the aroma. I’d caught that one by myself.

It does win by being brewed properly like this, but the amount of leaves used this way is a bit of a hold-back for me. I’m too damn stingy for brewing like that, especially with this one! I mean money ain’t growing on trees, Steepsterites! Unless, apparently, you are growing this tea. $10.50 for 50 g. And the leaf grade that they have left now is $17.60 for 50 g. Just saying.

I have absolutely definitely taken this tin this time. I have checked the tin in my hand several times and not put it down between then and scooping out my leaf dosage.

Interesting to see which sort of flavour it’ll have this time. Scent is sweet, fruity and somewhat astringent. Assam-y, although the sweetness isn’t so much a honey note as it is in Assams. There’s a hint there of something that could be slightly smoky, but on aroma alone I can’t really tell if it’s just an aspect of the astringency.

Now for the interesting bit. Are you ready Steepsterites? Has anybody started a pool on this? Will it be fruity? Will it be smoky? Will it be an Assam impersonator? Last chance to lay down your bets!

And the tea is…..

drum roll

Hmm… What is it, actually?

If anybody did start a pool on this, then I’d say you have all won. It’s sort of fruity, with a touch of Assam-y cardboard and a round of smoke. I’m beginning to think that it has been like this all along, but I have discovered these three things one at a time, and now that I’m aware that they’re around, I’m getting the full picture. Like a sort of jigsaw tea.

It is a very nice cup indeed, this jigsaw tea, and I’ll be sad when it runs out. Every time I have it I consider giving it a few more points. It seems to have been in limited supply because it’s gone from Teaspring’s website. They have one of a different grade still though. I just can never remember if special grade is better than refined grade or if it’s the other way around…

And the oddness continues. Seriously there are strange things afoot in this tin!

I shall tell you why.

If you go check my other two posts about this one you will find the first one in january where I said that it was surprisingly fruity and sweet for a black tea, that it had a raisin-y note, and that if I hadn’t known otherwise I would have believed it to be a flavoured black.

The second post was the other day where most likely due to a slight over-steep it had turned totally smoky, and I couldn’t understand how that had happened, but I liked the tea better for it and gave it a few more points, from 76 to 80 if memory serves me right.

Then this morning I made a little pot for my travel mug. I wanted some of that smoke. And what did I get? Well, certainly not anything remotely smoky! Instead there was that distinct cardboard-y note that you’ll find in Assams. It was still a strong cup and I drank it with unusual haste, but it was still the third of three completely different cups.

And it is the same tin. I’ve checked.

I can’t for the life of me understand what’s going on here. Can tea-leaves have multiple personality disorder?

No matter what though, I can’t ignore the impulse give it some more points again.

I wonder what it will taste like tomorrow?