thepuriTea

Tea of the afternoon….

I am down to one jasmine-ish tea in my stash. Lucky for me it is my favorite one. I think once I get through a pound of this (I bet I have at least 10 oz), I won’t likely buy more as it is the only tea among my staples that comes from thePuritea. I am definitely getting lazy in my tea ordering. Efficiency is starting to come into play. Does that mean I am an old tea drinker getting set in my ways? ;)

Still choclatey with a nice, sweet floral note. Yum.

Usual teapot method.

(Oh darn-it, I went and put this log under the wrong company and didn’t catch my error before at least a couple of you read it. Oh well. It’s where it belongs now.)

What a neat looking tea. The pearls are much bigger than I thought they would be. I wasn’t sure what an appropriate serving size would be, so I just went with a default teaspoon which fit about 5 pearls. I steeped them for 3min30sec and it made a very strong smelling cup. It smelled like a black tea alright, and a bit earthy too. Something about it was even reminiscent of a pu-erh, but not quite. The flavor is quite malty, but not quite as sweet as other malty blacks (like the Hong Jing Luo also from thepuriTea). It’s a good robust cup of black tea nonetheless.

EDIT: as I near the bottom of my cup, I can’t help but think that this tea really could use some sugar or honey. I prefer my tea straight, though, and would rather drink a cup that doesn’t ask for extra frills.

I had to try Milk Oolong sooner or later just to know what it’s all about. This one had spectacular reviews, so I went with it. I didn’t expect to like Milk Oolong based on descriptions, and, unfortunately, it turns out that my expectations were right.

The dry leaves and the brewed cup smell very buttery. I had a very buttery flavored tea before and it was not my cuppa, so I was afraid to take the first sip of this one. The flavor is not so buttery, though. The first taste I get is very similar to a green tea; sort of vegetal. I almost thought I was going to like it. But then there’s a coconut after taste. I knew of the potential coconut encounters going into this, but sometimes descriptions don’t always match my personal experiences, so I had to give it a chance.

I can now officially say that Milk Oolong isn’t my thing.

I just love the way the leaves are all coiled up. They look so cute.

The first sip I took, I thought it tasted sort of musty, like a moldy bath towel. I was about to call this one no good, but that flavor was a fluke! Maybe it was still too hot to get a proper flavor out of it. I really shouldn’t be so impatient about taking the first sip.

I am now tasting the sweetness, like sweet potatoes and malty goodness.

Brew Notes:
2 level tsp in 14oz of water
3 min. steep

Tastes like a roasted oolong. A bit nutty too, like Houjicha. It’s quite good, but not exciting. Lots of roasted oolongs out there. I like this better than some and less than others. This one could be one of many roasted oolongs that I cycle through me regular stash (I always like to have at least one)

I do, however, like the name, so it may get preference once in a while just for that.

I’ve had a pouch of this tea in my collection for a little while and haven’t wanted to open it as I can go through all of this tea in the matter of a week. Same wonderful flavors: peachy, milky, leafy — all so pleasant and just perfect on this rainy evening. I’d like to make a little pot of this tea, but can’t seem to find it at the moment so I’m going back to the kettle for cup after cup.

Double Sipdown, 170. This was a combined cold steep of this tea and the Mango black from thepuriTea (half and half). I had about half a tablespoon less than I usually use for cold brews, but I left it in the fridge for at least 30 hours and it still was very pale in color. I worried it wouldn’t have enough flavor, but it was quite tasty! These two teas do cold brew very well, and they were great together.

Something really awesome just happened. My husband loves this oolong! Imagine that, one who likes a select few flavored teas and drinks mostly coffee really loves a simple delicious unflavored oolong. He will be converted soon >)

As for me, I like it quite well enough. It smells both floral and vegetal (exactly how I like my greener oolongs). The flavor is smooth, vegetal, slightly floral and I think I pick up a little lemon too.

Thanks again moraiwe for helping me to find some fantastic oolongs :)

EDIT:
I just tried a second steeping (I figured I’d try to get the most out of my sample). I steeped it 4min30sec (first time was 3min).
I liked the first cup better. It lost a lot of flavor the second time around, but maybe only because I steeped so long the first time. Although, a longer time was recommended for this tea, so I dunno. It’s still a pleasant cup though. Not much floral, but a but mineral-ly. Not sure if thats the right word. I’ve hear it used to describe other teas. It’s the same flavor I’ve often associated with second and third steepings of mostly japanese greens. I always call it a flat muddy flavor, like dirt almost (but Ive yet to hear anyone else describe it as mineral…) However, in this tea it’s not an entirely unpleasant effect. There is still just a hint of the original flavor left too.

Backlog from this morning. I am trying to be good and write my dissertation chapters today instead of procrastinating on Steepster so I am drinking teas that are not new to me so I don’t feel like I have to review them right now.

This one is pretty good but I am less enamored with it this time around. It’s mango-y and the base tea is smooth and tasty, but for some reason it was not that impressive. Still, it’s probably the best straight mango black tea I’ve had. I think what I am not sure of now is whether I need a mango black tea in my cupboard or not. Not sure if I will restock this one; I have one more cup left so I’ll have to see how that one goes before making a decision.

Well Steepster seems to be back up so I can backlog this one. Sipdown, 179.

This is an old sample but it also has been heat-sealed in an airtight foil-lined pouch so I don’t feel like it would have degraded that much. I have to say that the smell of the leaf was less sweet jasmine and more bitter jasmine, like what happens if you cold steep a jasmine tea too long. Sometimes I just want to bury my nose in the dry leaf of a jasmine tea and be enveloped in the aroma; this was not one of those teas.

However upon steeping it really mellowed out. The jasmine was obviously the main event here but it was soft and slightly sweet. I think this tea made me realize that silver needles are not my favorite vehicle for jasmines; I think I prefer pearls or even just a fresh jasmine green. It’s those hayish, brothy notes really; at times this almost seemed savory, which is kind of odd in a jasmine.

All of that makes it sound like I didn’t enjoy it, but I did. I had steeped up half the sample pouch, drank it, and then said heck with it I am going to steep up the second half and have another cup. It was pleasant and tasty, and it was a nice accompaniment to the afternoon.

Man, I thought this was going to be a sipdown and then it wasn’t. Also, I have some medicated lip balm on for my lip and it’s kind of making the tea taste like petroleum jelly, even though I thought there wasn’t much on my lips anymore. Bleh. I guess today is not the day to drink anything too special.

Sipdown, 183. I never know what to do with all the tea dust at a bottom of a sample. It can be hard to separate from the good leaf. I often try to shake the dry leaf in my infuser, so that it sifts out a bit, and this time I actually rinsed the leaf with cold water, but it clearly wasn’t that effective. Or maybe it was and my cup of tea would be like matcha if I hadn’t done it.

I started off planning to steep this for 2 minutes and after 30 seconds I knew the infuser had to come out. The leaf is so small and broken that the liquor is already a yellowy-amber color. It smells green but also pretty earthy, perhaps a bit like fall leaves. The flavor is nutty and a bit brothy, even. I don’t get the chestnut notes that I identified in my first tasting of this; it actually seems more… walnutty? Maybe? It’s pretty tasty, and a nice post-lunch tea to clear the palate and reset for the afternoon.

Woohoo! New jasmine pearls to try! Thanks Dinosara :)

This one is not quite as naturally sweet and delicate as some of the others I have tried. It is still quite good though. I can’t get enough of jasmine pearls in general!

Malt, cocoa and tobacco! What could possible be wrong here? The first steep started as a malty brew with cocoa hints that faded to an earthy tobacco flavor. I didn’t notice any astringency but it has a dry quality that melts away nicely. The second and third steeps were sweeter, but no less tasty. (Plus the tea is really cool looking!)

I so enjoy it, I am addicted to this jolly tea and all my friends do too. They can’t wait to come to my place and do the milk Oolong tea ceremony (a la Aussie). I recommend it. I have two teapots per day 1,200 mls of tea.

Tea of the morning…..

Surprisingly, I am having a tea other than a plain black or black blend this morning. I must be feeling Spring in the air for jasmine to appeal. I do end up forgetting about this one as I keep it in my long term stash cupboard rather than the small number of tins I keep in the cupboard by my teapot and kettle. Plus, the tin is very different than the bulk of the others and easy to glance over. I have another jasmine black that needs some attention, but this one is my favorite of the two.

Notes of chocolate and of course the sweetness of jasmine. Momo was right that it reminds me of Cadbury Mini Eggs-my all time favorite chocolate (thank goodness they are a seasonal offering!) Hello, Spring?

Usual teapot method.

It has been forEVER since I have had this tea. I have been pushing it around my sample drawer for a while now, never wanting to use it up. Also it brings back good and bad memories. Good memories of kind Steepsters sending generous samples, which is how I found out about this in the first place. Bad memories of that one year that a bunch of us ordered samples from thepuriTea during a Black Friday sale everything came in shoddy sample packaging.

This is still pretty good to my tastebuds, although I am not entirely sure it deserves the 90+ rating I had given it before. It’s pretty authentic passion fruit, and the black tea base is smooth and slightly honeyed, which is a lovely combination. You don’t find a lot of straight passion fruit black teas out there (and I don’t like Harney’s), so I may eventually pick some of this up, one day. We’ll see how long it takes me to drink the rest of my sample pouch (probably 1.5 cups)

Dinner was delicious and a hit all around :) My hard work was rewarded with clean and empty plates so I couldn’t have asked for more.

I’m due some more tea to finish the meal and this was chosen at random from my samples bag. It looks like you would expect but unfortunately my Sencha is not as bright green as the picture, instead it’s a very dark green. Long and thin leaves with a crisp dryness and grassy yet floral scent with a perfume kick.

Once brewed the tea is yellow in colour with a slight sweet and grassy scent with buttery tones. It’s gentle in flavour with grassy and dry highlights with a touch of floralness. There is some sweetness but it essentially gets lost amongst the dry starting to get perfumey essence. It’s too subtle for me, I like fresher Sencha that has a thicker grassy quality.

It’s by no means great quality but is suitable for every day drinking, still it’s not something that I would buy again.

Time for more tea and this shall be yet another sample that I can remove from my cupboards. I have been busy trying to find some cool designs to make with my laces on my new shoes but there are so many designs out there I’m just not sure what to pick. I also made an orange sponge cake this morning to surprise my husband with when he gets home.

Anyway let me get to the review. I have 5 pearls/balls and shall be using my new teapot again to brew them. Unfortunately they have very little scent whilst raw so at this point I can only imagine what they will taste like other than the musky malt scent I could detect.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown/red (mahogany) in colour with a rich malt aroma with a musky sweetness.

So far this tea is very similar to other black tea based pearls/balls but this one seems to be a little muskier and not as sweet. The malt is rich with a cocoa like sweet/sourness to it and dark musky tones. It’s smooth in body with those sour tones coming through just before the after taste of thick malt.

It’s so similar though to other pearls that I am wondering if they all come from the same manufacturer? I mean they are from the same place being Yunnan, China.

Backlog:

this is a really lovely White Peony, which is no big surprise, because I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve ever tried from thepuriTea … (Earl Grey Fans … try their Earl Grey!) this is a lovely, fruity, deliciously delicate – but not too delicate – bai mu dan. By that, I mean, that this has a fuller flavor than most Bai Mu Dan teas that I’ve tried, it really blew me away!

Really good!

Yikes,what an odd tea!
I’m generally not a black tea fan (get that out there). This one smelled and tasted strongly of chocolate and cocoa powder to me. I may have made it a bit strong (used 4 balls for about 12 oz). A tad astringent and as described bittersweet.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/01/23/thepuritea-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-oriental-beauty-tea/

Steep Information:
Amount: 4-5 tsp
Water: 1000ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: toasty, floral, sweet
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, toasty, woody
Flavor: toasty, woody
Body: Light
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent light yellow-green

true to the description it is reminiscent of a Darjeeling.

Post-Steep Additives:
1000ml at 195°F for 2 minutes and 30 seconds
slightly fuller body
still smooth and woody with a floral smell

Rating: 3/4 leaves