Veri-Tea

Ok… so this is asample I bought from Serenity Tea House in Box Hill, Vic. It’s not like any oolong I’ve had before, even other highly-oxidised ones. The dry leaves smell of musky roses and maybe orchids (as opposed to gardenias or peaches); they’re dark and fine but only loosely twisted, so I didn’t bother with a rinse to open them up.

The liquor is dark amber and, again, tastes nothing like any oolong I’ve ever had before… it tastes smooth and dark and sort of chocolatey like the Keemun I had from Santion a few weeks ago. A second infusion and both the taste of the liquor and the scent of the wet leaves is beginning to take on fruity Darjeeling notes…

Most odd. Quite enjoyable though. Like drinking several different teas in one!

Drinking this again this afternoon, the last of the batch. Shall have to get my friend to bring me some more from Sydney when she comes down at Easter time, I think.

This is nice so long as you don’t use too much – 1/2 a teaspoon per cup is plenty – the quantity of leaf seems to be more of an issue than the steeping time; I let this go for up to about 20 minutes as I couldn’t finish it all in one go and it was still pleasant, not astringent. Nice smoky smell but not overpowering like a Lapsang Souchong. I added some fresh mint to the teapot too for a Moroccan-y experience.

Peachy, buttery, sweet… this is just a delicious tea. You can get 3-4 infusions out of it easily. It also cold-brews beautifully if – as I sometimes do with oolongs – you don’t have time to keep going gong-fu the whole day long. Going to make myself another pot of it now, don’t have much left though!

So this is different… green tea from Yunnan? Didn’t even know the region produced green tea. The dry leaves are amazingly delicate looking, fine silvery-green twists. They smell like the Yunnan Golden Tips that I’ve also had from SanTion – caramelly and rich with a hint of strawberries – but the infusion tastes more like a Pi Lo Chun, though not quite as apricotty. The wet leaves have a scent that is kind of green-vegetal in the first infusion, more fruity/sweet from the second. The flavour follows suit – green-vegetal and quite rich, then a bit more fruity. Nice sweet aftertaste that lingers a little. This is a really tasty tea, I recommend it!

This is a pretty ordinary tea but sometimes that’s just what you want. Comforting and reminds me of the tea my dad used to make us with our breakfast when we were kids. Brews up nice and dark, a little malty and a little sweet, and takes milk well. Doesn’t really need sugar unless you totally overbrew it. I use this as a base for the black teas that I blend up for my etsy shop, and keep a supply of this on hand, plain, to serve to my folks who are not renowned for being adventurous tea drinkers. Surprisingly refreshing in the hot weather.

This is a dark oolong, plenty of toasty fragrance overlaying an orchid-y, fruity sweetness in the dry leaves. I got 4 steeps out of this, one minute duration each, by the 4th it was getting pretty ordinary so I don’t think I’ll bother with a fifth. Orchid flavour in the first and second steeps, and for some reason ‘melon’ popped into my head as well… mellowing out to toasty, new-leathery and woody flavours in the 3rd and somewhat in the fourth steeps. This is a great tea for a grey, cool and rainy day which is what we’re having in Melbourne today (not that I’m complaining after the heat we’ve had the rest of the week).

This is another of the samples I purchased from SanTion, think I’ll be going back for more. Beautiful dry leaves, thick with golden buds and some smaller dark leaves, finely twisted. The dry leaves smell of dark caramel, milk chocolate and hints of something musky like rose. The wet leaves are kind of malty, burnt caramel possibly? The liquor doesn’t have a strong aroma but is an awesome dark amber colour, like maple syrup. The flavour is slightly burnt and bitter, in a good/chocolate kind of way; I’ve read that some people find molasses-y tastes in Yunnan and I see how that could be one way of describing this flavour. Medium body I think, and slightly astringent with a bit of malt. I liked this so much I drank the whole sample (4 single-cup pots’ worth – 2.5g at a time, 2 steepings) this afternoon. The second infusion had good colour and the same but slightly less flavour, although it was pretty good considering that I steeped the leaves for about 4 minutes each time.

I have had a theory about sencha, that it would go well brewed with coconut, ever since I drank some sencha alongsidea vaguely coconut flavoured (amongst other things) tart from Silo Bakery in Canberra. So I added a tablespoonful of dried flaked coconut to my pot of boiled water that was cooling for the sencha, then after three minutes added the sencha. Fail. No coconut taste noticeable. Ah well. I’ll just have to eat coconut flavoured things alongside.

This is not one of my favourites, to be honest. I’m gradually working my way through it. Too toasty for my taste, sencha-wise; I prefer a greener-tasting cup. It comes into its own iced though, whether cold-brewed or hot-brewed and poured over ice (which is how I’m drinking it now). It was a gift; I wouldn’t buy it again though. The hunt for the sublime in sencha continues…

Managed to restrain myself from drinking the rest of the sample until this morning. Brewed it a little stronger this time (slightly less water, slightly longer) and it produced an even more amazing coloured cup, such a dark amber – and a really strong flavour of bitter chocolate – but in a pleasant way (if you already like bitter chocolate; if you don’t this might not be for you) and still the smoothest of smooth mouthfeels. I meant to try adding a little milk to see what that was like, but whoops! I drank it all before I remembered to do so.

Will be interested to try some other Keemuns to compare with this experience, before I invest in a larger quantity! Yay for exciting experimentation!

Had another cup of this at my mum and dad’s house this afternoon. Perfect post-lunch pick me up.

Like it. A lot. Had to blog about it here: http://joiedetea.blogspot.com/2010/02/keemun.html

Drinking this on ice this morning (and last night). It’s the remains of a trial batch I made for a custom blend for one of my etsy customers – Earl Grey and I added rosebuds and jasmine flowers. It’s gorgeous to look at and the roses add a really delicious note, they soften the bergamot which I can sometimes find a bit overpowering in straight Earl Grey. Tis is awesome over ice whether stronger (more Earl Grey flavour) or weaker (more rose flavour). May have to mix up some more when I run out (oh, and the customer’s aunt, for whom it was a gift, loves it too apparently).

I bought this and a bunch of other samples from Santion the other day. This is the first Dragonwell I’ve had for a while (like, a couple of years) and it is very pleasant. I brewed about 2.5 grams in 200ml of water. Strong scent of toasted white bread in the dry leaves, the wet leaves have a scent of cooked green vegetables, I’m thinking asparagus, but possibly also a little broccoli? The taste is nice and savoury-green, a little astringent, a little sweet – seems well-balanced to me. Not sure if I would describe it as ‘nutty’ but perhaps that’s just my tastebuds today. The finish is possibly a bit short. Offers a good second infusion, haven’t tried a third yet. This is not the highest-grade Dragonwell offered by SanTion but it’s extremely drinkable and seems like good value.

I just used up the last of this the other day. The dry leaves are attractively twisted and the jasmine aroma is good. This is my go-to everyday jasmine tea. It’s refreshing and flavoursome, and difficult to brew wrong – one of the few non-black teas I am relatively confident about ordering in a cafe or restaurant. I think it’s best brewed with slightly cooled water, but boiling water won’t completely ruin it. It cold-brews nicely too. Not the highest quality jasmine out there but for the price it’s pretty good.

Interestingly this was one of the only 2 teas I could stomach early in my pregnancy (the other one being T2 chai) when I was constantly nauseous and couldn’t drink tea !

I just love this tea, it is fragrant and refreshing hot or iced. Not too heavy on the bergamot or on any one flavour. Iced it goes well with some peach slices floating in it!

This is seriously one of my favourite ‘strong black’ teas, it is a terrific breakfast cup or a pick me up for any time of the day. Deliciously flavoursome without being bitter or astringent. Takes milk and sugar well at a longer steeping time (5 mins). Wonderful deep colour as well.