Various Artists

Been a rough week at work and I’ve been hitting the caffeine a bit hard so I brewed some hibiscus for my iced tea. I buy large bags of dried hibiscus “flowers” (I think they are technically sepals) from the Mexican grocery downtown. They are labled as ‘flor de jamacia’ and come in big 1/2 lb bags for only a few bucks. I like it better than any hibiscus blend I’ve tried since it brews up stronger almost like a tart fruit juice. A few cinnamon sticks pieces add a nice bit of spice.

It’s pretty forgiving to brew. Time, temperature and such don’t seem to matter much. It makes it a good weekday tea to brew while making dinner where juggling making pasta and trying to get precise brewing temp/time may not be much of an option.

Everyone has their own ideal masala chai. It is one tea where people rarely see eye to eye, and that’s even before the black vs. milk and sugar difference that can make a harsh chai awesome or a balanced one weak. My local tea store while having a good selection of what I’m sure are good quality masalas just seemed to lack what I was looking for. In my mind masala chai has lots of cardamom and little or no allspice. This is rarely the case as cardamom is usually the most expensive spice in the mix. As for allspice I imagine it must either be cheap or a lazy way of trying to get a well rounded flavor (maybe both). I like the spice itself but it’s presence in chai usually puts me off.

So in order to find my own personal “just right” chai I’ve started to blend my own. It’s actually rather easy if you have access to a strong black Crush Tear Curl tea such as the loose leaf Lipton sold in Indian groceries (not the American one!). As well as access to a spice store or Indian grocery that sells whole spices. I cook a lot so I actually already had everything I needed in my pantry first time around. I’m just now getting to the end of my third batch and I’m ready to make another. I make it starting with 8oz of “Kilimanjaro” a CTC Tanzanian tea from Gong Fu tea then roast and crush spices including cinnamon (both true and cassia), cloves, black pepper, fennel, star anise, the nibs from ground down whole nutmeg, and yes even sometimes small amounts of allspice. To the final blend goes ginger (either dried or candied) and sometimes bay leaves.

Tonight’s cup I made with an almond/coconut milk blend and sweetened with some Mexican cone sugar (a close approximation to Indian jaggery). I like the extra molasses flavor the sugar brings but wished I had used whole milk. I also simmered the tea in water and added the almond milk after which I think makes for a less creamy and aromatic cup than simmering it spin straight milk. Despite this it was warm and sweet and slightly spicy. Perfect for a late winter Sunday and best yet almost exactly tasting how I imagined it should.

My sig fig brought me a hei cha bing from Hong Kong. I’m not sure what it is since everything is in Chinese characters other than “201305” on the back of the wrapper. It’s chopped leaves with some stems and the cake isn’t pressed super tight so I can pull off chunks with my fingers. I don’t know what’s popular in Hong Kong but regionally I would guess maybe this might be a liubao?

I’m just now starting to get into dark tea so I only had some basic affordable pu erh from Gong fu tea to compare it to. I shop there a lot but they by no means specialize in pu erh which I can’t exactly blame them for since the most interest probably comes from dieters who would drink motor oil if it was said to be ancient Chinese miracle whatever. The flavor of this cake is very similar to the pu erh I’ve had. It’s dark, earthy, with a strange brine flavor. No astringency or bitterness, and it’s good for multiple infusions; at least five even with a rinse and some of the infusions being 2-3 minutes. The leaves after are still dark and distinct despite being cut in small pieces.

My guess is that this is a decent everyday drinking tea. I enjoy it and think it does well as an after dinner tea (so long as I don’t need to sleep anytime soon) and probably would go well with some fatty porky dim sum. I’m very happy with it.

2016 Sheng Olympics

As part of the #2016ShengOlympics organized by LiquidProust, I decided to do a side-by-side tasting of all three Verdant “old tree” shengs. I figured with 50ml gaiwans it should not be overwhelming (I was not entirely correct; it’s still a lot of tea!)

Here’s the teas before the start of the session:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBePGVTFi—/

And here’s the aftermath showing the most intact and largest leaves I could find:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBe44bnliwW/

I took each tea through 11 steeps over several hours in round-robin fashion using 3.5 grams of leaf in each 50ml gaiwan with 205F (+/-2F) bottled spring water heated in a clay boiler. I let the tea guide my steep times, ending up with 10/10/10/15/20/30/40/60/90/120/300 seconds for each one.

All of the teas were quite mellow with mild aromatics and easy on my stomach. And the energy imparted was moderate; I never felt too wired.

Summary:

300 Year Tree: Light yellow liquor. Aromas of pine in the first half of the session, turning tart and fruity in the latter half. Medium bodied, slightly oily mouthfeel. The flavor started fruity, turned to sweet-tart citrus with slight spice in later steeps. Some faint astringency in the beginning and again near the end when I pushed the steep times. Overall a decent mild young sheng.

1000 Year Tree: Medium yellow liquor. Aromas of pine in the first half, turning to old books, then spicy-tart near the end. Medium bodied, fairly oily mouthfeel and a soothing feeling coating the throat in most steeps. The flavor was primarily sweet-tart with slight spice and pine notes appearing at times, and citrus and herbs arising in the later half. Faintly astringent in the longer steeps. I liked this one just a little better than the 300 Year, mostly because of the feeling in my throat.

1800 Year Tree: Medium-dark yellow liquor (but not quite amber). Aromas were primarily tart, sweet, faint pine, woody, turning fruity sweet in the long steeps. Medium bodied, slightly oily mouthfeel. Flavors started as a sweet-tart balance with faint pine, citrus emerging in the mid-steeps, some herbal notes, ending with light sweetness and slight pepper. No astringency. This one edged out the other two in terms of flavor, but just barely. My notes repeatedly show “a mellow, smooth cup”.

Any one of these would be a good beginner’s sheng since they were all quite mild and well behaved. In truth I cannot pick a winner since they were all so similar. I had to really focus to pick out the differences. Also I did notice some slight camphor mid-session, but since that can carry over in the mouth from one tea to the next I could not attribute it to any one tea.

So what did I learn after drinking about a liter and a half of tea in one night?

(1) When I closed my eyes I felt I was swooping around the cosmos with “Rocket Man” playing in my head.

(2) Drinking this much tea leads to truly epic pee sessions. (Wife: “Did someone leave the water running?” Me: “Go back to sleep dear”).

(3) A few of my Steepster friends keep weird hours on Instagram as well.

(edited to add “2016 Sheng Olympics” at the top)

A friend asked to come over and make cards together. We had leftover Snickerdoodle cupcakes that my youngest daughter the awesome baker made. I asked my friend what kind of tea she would like it, as I usually serve sweets with a plain black tea unless I have a fruity tea that matches the flavor of the dessert. She said she normally liked fruity flavors but that didn’t seem like a good match with dessert, so I mixed Hot Cinnamon Spice half and half with Queen Catherine to tone it down a little. I don’t want to scare away tea newbies!

It went together really well, the cinnamon was present but not as “in your face” and the more cupcake I ate, the better the tea tasted with it. I think it came out as a really great pairing.

And yes, I just did a review that said we are all sick with a bad cold, but I did tell her and give her the option not to come, and she said, “I’m not afraid of a cold!” :)

Mysterious packet with ‘this tea sucks’ on it came through the letterbox from Mr Bad Pasty.

Has that cloudy thick fruity sour thing, with a touch of mentholated medicine in it, also a leafy Yiwu-esque something.

I think its a white 2 production, 2 late?

I sent some Oolongs to LP & Daylon for a blind test. It was my first curating something like this & I learnt that for these to work best you need to send more than one session. Some I didnt even have 10g for both & I think 10g each should have been the minimum.

Anyway here are the teas:

1 Ling Tou Village ‘Bai Ye’Dan Cong – YS Spring 2016
2 Lao Cong Ba Xian – JTS 2015
3 Wu Yi Zi Hong Pao – YS
4 Honey Mt. Royal Oolong – Imperial Teas of Lincoln 2014
5 2014 oriental beauty competition grade – Mountain tea
6 2014 Ancestor Mt. gabalong – imperial Teas of Lincoln 2014
7 AAA milan – JTS 2015
8 Lao Cong Ya Shi – JTS 2015

Bonus puerh:
Sheng – 2014 Rui Gong Tian Chao – Chadao
Aged Sheng – 2006 Xiaguan 8673 – TeaBranch UK (no longer in business)
Shou – 2009 Gong Ting Seven Son – Abbey Tea

Secret ‘2012 Dan Cong’ given to me as a gift from Mr LP.

its fruity & yummy & honey & orchid and all the good things, a bit mellow in its age perhaps, but also less pungent & a bit more forgiving.. I can taste apricots & other citrus in the fruit which got brought out instead of a really pungent fresh Dan Cong-y bitterness which often happens when some are pushed.

Really nice, but I dont have much experience with 4 year old Dan Cong, mine usually lasts the year & I get more, so I cant tell if the taste is mellower due to its age or the leaf, & I really like the intense ones where I can notice more of a difference in the flavour & aromas, so im having a hard time trying to guess which one it is.

Its one of the Shui Xian cultivars im sure.. it doesnt seem to have the richness that a well baked Mi Lan has (although I get a slight cake smell so there is something there)

if its just the leaf and not the age im tasting im guessing it isnt tooooooo expensive (for a Dan Cong – pmsl), middle price ranged, due to the slight lack of intensity I have tasted in the most expensive ones I can afford.

Whatever it is its lovely, been drinking it all day & im surprised that it tastes quite sheng-like – fruit which was very apricot & a certain bitterness when pushed which would be too pungent and off if a fresh Dan Cong.

Which one is it LP..? im thinking its a Ba Xian. But it does seem to be lacking a certain something im used to in BX, but has this apricot fruityness. Im a bit stumped tbh!

Whatever it is, its lovely. If its cheap I would be very impressed

My other thermos which is the ‘teapot’ shaped one with a spout leaks & amazon couldnt send a replacement, so I ended up with this new one:

http://www.thermosonline.co.uk/store/Thermos-ThermoCafe-Stainless-Steel-Flask-1-0L/sp_296

its a travel thermos, 1L model (im tempted to get a .5L for short jouneys now) which was perfect at the weekend for a picnic.

the lid fits tightly, water still hot 7 hours later after I slept last night, seems solid in all these aspects.

downside is its a bit bad for pouring, as you have to unscrew the lid more to get more pour, as the pouring gap is built into the threads.. but im sure thats something can master – I didnt spoil any dan cong in hyde park even though I panicked a bit trying to not over steep.

basically a pretty good buy, got mine for about £12.

Daylon, skip this one as it has my faves at the bottom..

No. 8.. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I’m done.

Liked this one the mostest. smaller tighter balls than others. Had nice fruit & floral aroma. Some veg. Taste had a nice fruit (cherry & pineapple?) & floral on the tip of the tongue and up the nose while swirling around in my mouth. A bit dan cong in the oil of the leaf, with boldness in this flavour which worked with the fruit. didnt have so much a milk aroma though, unsure if Jin xuan?

Liked this one, defo would buy.

so, I reckon (grouped in my rough scoreage):

8: Yum, the nicest, what is this can I have more
2: yum, cherry & darker leaf taste, same as above, me likey

BTTC: quite nice, less fruity than the WP, which is my fave. I liked 8 more as it has more fruit in it
5: yum, although less so – lishan? – i’ll have to drink some more to decide if I really like it

9: not too bad, a bit vege, taiwanese I think as well
1: not too bad, not the greatest, I think because too much oxidised/roast
7: not too bad, not my type of tea, water sprite or golden turtle or something wuyi?

6: cheap dancong
3: Flavoured! steamed in sweet milk?
4: wtf, tomatoes and salt just seems a weird thing. is it a good bbq marinade though.

over to you LP with the results when Daylon stops drinking coffee

no.5

Now this is a bit more me. really tight rolled greener balls. Interesting aroma, lighter on the roasty, smells more naturally oxidised. Lighter yellow soup with milkyness in there somewhere.. milky thick body, savoury taste. Not getting overwhelming florals on this one, or fruit. But its a nice change from all the more fraggled ones, they seem to be the KFC of the oolong world, whereas this is more like nice italian cuisine, pasta etc..

A bit vegetal.. – Lishan? jin xuan?

no. 9

medium roast green rolled oolong. im getting a slight vegetal, slight floral, & roast aroma. Woody, roasty, with some vegetal & floral hidden under the roast. by the 3rd steep it was getting bitter as I was trying to coax some flavour out of it.

Taiwanese?

no. 7

shu xian? some kind of ‘water family’ wuyi type of tea, i think. slightly nutty woodsy savoury taste. Hint of smoke in the roast, a bit mineral. Not tomato, not so salty :) Slightly drying – although I have drank a lot of these today and ive now got feather-mouth.. Im also thinking maybe I should be spitting these out like in a wine tasting if drinking so many in one day as im buzzing now, but really want to finish them off so I can know wth they all are..

oolong no:6

Another dan cong-y oolong. Although this one had less of the marinade aroma & more of something else I cant picture.

Im getting a light roast I think, some fruity/woodsy/oily but nothing standing out & telling me what it is. Also seemed a bit more robust with brewing than I expected.

Slight thick creamy hidden in there, and a sweet of some kind. I am preferring this to no:4 but still isnt amazing me – but Caveat – I only drink high end dancong & what I get sent in the YS tea club so Im used to some pretty strong flavours & well made tea.

I didnt find this one that bad tbh, but it was jumbled in flavour & without strong fruit or nut or cream to lift it from its slightly bitter oily taste

number 4 oolong test

what the fuzz. I was expecting Dan Cong aroma from steeped leaves after reading your review Daylon but, and this is the weird bit – I got bbq/chilli crisps/potato chips/marinade. Doesnt smell like any Dan Cong Ive ever had before! Are you playing tricks on us LP

Some honey & a slightly fruity dan cong-like taste & body by the 3rd steep but the first two completely threw me off guard.

Whats with this BBQ marinade thing anyway, and I havent even tried the other one thats supposed to be good for putting on chicken yet

idk, confused.com about this one

LP/DRT/RU Oooooollonnnnggg taste test #3

jin xuan aroma, like doughy & creamy. smells like cooked cream.

This one was a bit broken, it had met miss fanning somewhere. So im expecting cheap end of the scale.

It even soured a bit like cooked cream would. interesting fruit, less roast.

Was a bit rough around the edges/strong/mushed together, as the leaf was. unnameable fruit/sharpness along with the creamy taste. drying aftertaste. Bit of sweet twig taste in there too

A nice tea but cheaply/roughly processed. I did exclaim on how this tea was a good one to show off a milk oolong taste to someone as its very forward & proud about itself

LP/DRT/RU OOOOOlllloooonngggg taste test #2

this was darker, more morello cherry fruit & sweet.

less creamy more watery or glassy or honeyed ., defo less roast than #1 & i liked it much more for that because of the fruit, which was quite well represented although not tropical, more wet night rainforesty :D

Ya, I liked this one. it has honey & fruit but they both dont lead the pack I would say 1/3 cherry, 1/3 floral/vegetal jin xuan, 1/4 honey, 1/4 watery/glassy.

Nice! deep dark and cherry ish

My LP & Daylon Oolong taste test package arrived.

So #1

Its a medium, slight earthiness or woodiness, slight cream with its med roasty Vegetal profile. smooth, not smoky but ashy? so the woody is greyish & thick with hints of brown in there.

certainly wasnt fruity or creamy forward, more thick and spread out in taste

Nice but I think the roast overshadowed the taste a bit – im thinking more in the 20-30% roast range, towards the topper of the end for this type of oolong

Random cheap eBay Tie Guan Yin, was originally for trial for bulk alcoholic tea making, it turns up and its a roasted version. bummer. Didnt mention that in the listing. I was presumptuous :D

But – its not too bad, hints of milk, chocolate & hazelnuts in the medium-light roast, if steeped strongly the floral/vegetal tgy comes through and while isnt the best ive had it isnt bad either. Quite sweet, so it reminded me of cadburys dairy milk or even galaxy (shudder) type of chocolate (but only hints). Later steeps became a mix of vegetal and lighter roast, aroma was hard to place. Nice though.

£8/200g, pretty cheap. I dont really drink roasted TGY. I always wonder about perceived quality when drinking cheap or expensive tea but I havent any other to compare it to so I just have to judge on whether I liked it or not. It was ok – Im not knocking it, and probably nice if you like sweet chocolate milkshake :)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272144512168