China Breakfast

Ugh FINALLY I can write this note…Steepster was down, then I was stuck in traffic getting things done. I don’t get why everyone felt the need to leave early for trick or treating, like calm down. This guy in a convertible beetle was just letting people in everywhere, specifically people who would get a light to turn, holding up the lane. At the highway, I got in the lane he wasn’t in, and could then see he was on his phone. I made sure to get him behind me, after all I was in the left lane and the right had to merge in.

Well, he didn’t like that, apparently I was supposed to let his entitled rear end in, so he honked at me. So I mimed crying at him. Needless to say he didn’t like that LOL so after he flipped me off I did the hang up one complete with flipping him off right back. He had no response to that of course, but since he added at least a good 5+ minutes of time onto people’s drives behind me who got stuck at the light changing for nobody, I felt like I made it up for them. Mostly at first I just had a problem with him driving a convertible new beetle, but then when I saw he was on his phone, just no.

OKAY ABOUT THE TEA.

I had a problem steeping it at first, mostly because the instructions say to use a tablespoon per 8 oz of water. I think it ended up steeping for about 4 1/2 minutes, and I added milk…but it was disgustingly bitter. I had added the milk worried this was going to happen but it didn’t cut it at all. And it was horrible, because up on the platform it was so windy and I hated the tea so much I would rather shiver than try drinking it for warmth.

I didn’t try it again for an hour or so after it’d been sitting in my thermos, and it was much better then. It is very stout, it actually feels like I am drinking the beer version of it right now, a black saison. (Actually I don’t really care for it and I’d rather drink this tea again.) It’s kind of roasty/malty with cocoa powder with a hint of spices. Not much sweetness, which is why I didn’t like it at first, but either it cooling off or the milk being in there a bit helped to soften that.

Next time I think I am going to cut the leaf by at least 1/4 and steep it for only 3 1/2 minutes. I’d like to be able to enjoy it without adding anything to it.

Also since I’m probably going to be making lip balm all night for a fall festival on Saturday (just at a nearby school, nothing big but hopefully it pans out well!) HAPPY HALLOWEEN! here is a cat afraid of a kitten: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/59642_547982145228695_1941908471_n.jpg

I am trying to be good about trying my samples from swaps. You would think it wouldn’t be difficult, since I’ve gotten sent some very intriguing tea. However, one, I want to write about the tea I’ve gotten sent and I tend to spend a fair amount of time writing logs.

Two, I have enough that I tend to get overwhelmed when it comes to making choices. Really, I should just put all the samples in my cupboard and use the randomizer [find it here if you don’t know what that is – http://www.jaydeee.net/pickatea.php – thanks Jon [and teaplz, for the assist]], which I started doing but it makes my tea cupboard look absolutely insane and unwieldy to navigate. Can I just say that I find it hilarious that I have over a thousand searches on the randomizer even though I know that I personally haven’t used it that many times? You sneakersons! Maybe I should just make a dummy Steepster account so I have all my tea swap samples over there. Is it ridiculous that I’m thinking about doing that? Maybe, Overlords, we could have the option to make separate cupboards [like by tea type, or so that I could have a separate cupboard for swap tea]? Just thinking out loud. I would find that useful. I should also put that on the discussion board instead of just assuming the Overlords are going to read this…

Zeus, this post is a brain dump. Anyway, three, I just love Samovar so damn much it’s difficult to tear me away from them.

With all of that mess being said, I am going to be drinking swap tea near-exclusively so that I can start to pare down my not-so-mini-mountain of tea. As I’m sure you all are familiar, the vast quantities of already-owned tea has not stopped me from continuing to order more. Steepster Select is not helping.

So, here we have a tea that LENA sent me. [I like that little bolding thing y’all have been doing. To whoever started that: I think Angrboda did? thanks, Ricky! Clever.] LENA sent me enough that I had multiple brewing opportunities, all of which this log will be touching on.

When I see “Breakfast” in a tea name, my mind automatically assumes that this is going to be some kind of a blend. Reading the description on Steepster, though, it appears that this is straight Dian Hong, which was surprising. I haven’t had a lot of Dian Hong before, but I think I like it. It reads as a bit milder to me than other black teas.

This blend is smooth, which I appreciate. Rishi calls it robust, which it very well may be at longer steep times, but at 4 minutes and beyond the bitterness began to creep in for me and it makes it difficult for me to find other flavors when it’s there [in an elephant in the room kind of sense]. So, I retreated back a bit. I tried 2 minutes, which was way too mild for me. At 4 and 4:30 the bitterness wasn’t enough to make things undrinkable for me, but if I can get it to a place where that bitterness isn’t present it’s preferable. And so, 3 minutes was the magic number for me on this tea.

The scent of the liquid was rather lovely. It actually reminded me of coffee beans, mixed with scones. It brought forth many breakfast-like thoughts for me, which was appropriate. There was a definite sweetness to it that wasn’t terribly present in the taste.

The flavor was pleasant, but not remarkable. On the second steep of a particular run, I got this delicious, bite-a-ble, malty, almost salty, edging on savory flavor. It reminded me a lot of these belgian waffles I get from one of my favorite places to hit up for breakfast. Otherwise, I wasn’t getting a ton of flavor notes from it in general. Mainly, it tasted of that kind of default black tea flavor. There was a very, very slight, natural sweetness that waded in at towards the end of sips from time to time [more noticeably when the tea had cooled]. Reading the description after finishing my sample off, I didn’t notice any chocolate notes, but had I been looking for it, I might have been able to find it. [It would have been more of a dark chocolate/cocoa type of taste, I think.]

Lastly, I didn’t add anything to any of the cups, but I think that this could stand up to a splash of milk and a dash of sugar, for sure.

ETA: [because this log needs to be longer…] the third steep was very watery. I stopped at two on consequent runs.

All in all, this was a nice, unassuming, solid cup of black tea. Nothing mind-blowing, but if I were a black tea in the morning type of person, I could see this being an easy staple. As it is, I don’t think I’ll be ordering it, but it was nice to try. If I find myself gravitating more towards black tea in the future [as my tastes tend to shift over time], I’ll be keep this one in mind, though.

It is well past breakfast time, but this has been calling to me for a few hours now. So I’m trying this thanks to the Traveling Tea Box (A).

I tend to prefer flavored teas, but am finding that unflavored ones are slowly creeping onto my shopping list.

There’s very nice balance to this even though I’ve let my cup cool a little too much. I can’t see drinking this in the morning, as I usually tend to reach for something more on the punchy side. (I’m not a morning person!) But this will be a nice lunch or early afternoon tea for me.

I’ll keep an eye out for as one of the local grocery stores carries Rishi Tea. This will fill a void when I’m in-between staples coming in from Asia and can’t wait for them to arrive. :)

I just. don’t. know.

It’s STOUT! As dark as black coffee and a little bitter. My 1st cup was super bitter, but then again, I left it to steep for WAY too long. I’m drinking the 2nd steep now, and it has calmed down quite a bit. I’m still unsure about this one. I need to tinker around with it. I’d like to add some milk to it, but my milk at the office is all gross-ified and I refuse to use powder creamer. Ick!

In the wise words of Tim Gunn, I will “Make it work”.

Rishi’s China Breakfast tea is made from ancient tea trees in the Mannong Manmai reserve in Yunnan Province in China. And, yeah, they’re trees, which is what would happen to all tea bushes if tea estates didn’t prune them regularly to make them easier to harvest. These trees are also used to make Rishi’s Golden Yunnan and Rishi’s Golden Needles.

So what’s the difference between the three — aside from the price? Rishi’s China Breakfast tea is composed entirely of mature leaves. Golden Yunnan is composed of leaves and buds (leaf buds that have yet to unfurl). And Golden Needles is nothing but buds.

Rishi’s China Breakfast is rich and malty, just like the label says. What it’s missing, however, is the sweetness that you’d find in Golden Yunnan. Buds typically are sweet since the plant tends to pump sugar to the buds to nourish them and get them to open up. No buds generally means less sweetness. Rishi’s China Breakfast is a good tea, but it doesn’t give you the full spectrum of flavors that Rishi’s Golden Yunnan provides. My wife says the tea tastes like it has no bottom. I liken it to playing your stereo through one channel — it’s like you’re missing half the music.

So here’s my recommendation. If you take your tea with milk (or rice or soy milk) and sweetener, Rishi’s China Breakfast tea is great. It’s rich, malty and can really hold up to milk. If you take your tea straight, I’d recommend spending the extra dollar and get Rishi’s Golden Yunnan. You’ll appreciate the extra sweetness that buds can provide to the mix. And if you’re feeling really flush financially, really splurge and get Rishi’s Golden Needles and experience the joy of an all-bud tea.

Another Traveling Tea Box Tea!!!

Delicious! I taste a molasses-y raisin-y darkly sweet flavor. It’s full bodied enough to drink with food – it is getting along rather famously with my bagel and cream cheese! Excellent with half and half and sugar.

I also have to say that I’ve been reducing my coffee intake and replacing it with black tea, and I LOVE the calm focused energy I feel (rather than the scattered energy I feel after what I’m finding is Too Much Coffee for my system (errr…approx 24 oz – all within the first half hour of waking). I love coffee and plan to keep drinking it, just Not As Much!

I really need to stop discovering so many amazing teas!!! I think April’s tea budget is going straight to Rishi :) I love their whites, greens and their rooibos too!

“China Breakfast is a pure Dian Hong style black tea harvested from Yunnan’s antique tea trees”
This tea used to be my favorite everyday breakfast tea. It’s both full-bodied & smooth. Not a hint of bitterness. However, years ago our first bulk order was $20/lb. Today, the same order would cost $30/lb. – a 50% increase.

3/22/13 Update: This tea now costs $42./lb. There is a 5% discount for 2 or more lbs. http://www.rishi-tea.com/product/gram-tin-china-breakfast-organic-fair-trade-black-tea/chinese-black-tea

From the aroma I was expecting more fruit and spice than malt and chocolate, but upon tasting the smoothness is definitely chocolate. Very flavorful, but a bit harsh plain. A dash of milk improves it, bringing out the chocolate even more, and a bit of that fruit I smelled. I’m still not getting anything that I’d call malt, none of the rich bakeyness of an assam, but judging from Fujian Baroque and this? I love me some chinese breakfast teas.

A second steep at 5 minutes is smooth enough to drink plain, but visibly weaker (copper, rather than the dark red color of the first), so I wouldn’t expect a third out of these leaves.

I have found the tea to wake up for! Except I can’t drink it in the morning because I like it so much that I won’t bring it to work and have it associated with an office in any way so I have to wait until I get home to drink it. Hopefully I am not up all night tonight.

I first tried this tea at Spot Coffee, my favorite coffee shop which is 45 minutes away. They are one of the TWO places here in south florida to serve or sell loose leaf tea, since the third recently closed.

Anyway, I first tried this tea on a nice rainy day, my favorite kind of day, and it was in a very large mug. Ah, a nice mug of tea it was! With just a bit of raw sugar, I truly enjoyed the taste and boldness of it. I am still learning ways to describe tea taste so bear with me… that’s actually a good way to describe it, it tastes comforting like a big hug from a nice big bear.

After my first cup, I kept thinking about the tea and when I went back to the shop a week later, they said they sell it! So I bought some and had my second cup yesterday in my own big mug. Usually I use glass and infusers but I wanted to drink it the same way as in the shop so I filled an empty tea bag for my mug.

Each sip was better than the last and I felt nothing lacking in the tea. Its just pure awesome, and even though its very drying to the mouth, I see this as a good thing because it reminds me to drink a glass of water after, which is always a good thing.

Not only does it taste good, but its origin is very interesting to me. The tea comes from ancient tea trees! I study trees and am obsessed with both subjects so I am in love.

TTB sample!

In the package, it smelled comfortingly familiar, if a little faint. I decided it was worth a try.

As soon as the water hit it, the comforting, soothing smell increased. I want to say it’s almost like your favourite perfume, smelled from far away. Wafting on the breeze, teasing you to come find its source. Except, you know, I was standing right over the mug, watching and waiting. But I digress.

It quickly turned a reassuring dark brown, as you’d expect. The smell never changed, the longer it steeped—-only the colour.

On first sip, it’s remarkably smooth and velvety. The flavour is familiar and more-ish, but not overwhelming. The slight aftertaste is nice, though. Like a lingering sigh of tea.

I’m a big fan of black teas, especially first thing in the morning. While there’s no way this could ever hope to replace my beloved Yorkshire as my go-to first-thing-in-the-morning black tea, it’s not bad! Not overwhelming, and not particularly surprising…but kind of like that comfortable pair of socks you had that you forgot about. And then found when you were cleaning under the couch.

Per Lena’s review, and a story from Cofftea yesterday, I think I’m gonna have to bake some cookies later on to try this again. I’ll update if I do. ;)

I’m really beginning to love Yunnan teas. This one is 100% Dian Hong (Yunnan Red) tea. it has a full body and a malty-sweet taste. This one is organic and Fair Trade which is a plus. This tea is not as bold as some I have drank, but it has that raisiny sugar smell and taste. I found a health food store in Freeport today that carries all of the Rishi and Mark Wendell teas. nice….

It was good, but nothing special and a little disappointing. I feel like my batch might have been a little bit stale as it was pretty bland. To me, it tasted a lot like the Tazo Awake teabags, which certainly wasn’t what I was hoping for. On to the next one.

Thank you Ricky for sharing this Yunnan with me.
I am on a quest to find that morning tea that I want to reach for each morning. This is not for me, but if you like Yunnans, this is your tea. Brisk and bright…but not my cuppa.

Another tea I got from Ricky. This looks a fair bit like Adagio’s Yunnan Jig with twisted, wiry leaves and some gold tips. It lacks the smokiness and the cocoa notes of the Adgio’s tea however. It has a bit of a toasty quality to it, but I found it to be rather bitter, at least initially. I kept drinking it and realize about half-way through the cup that “Hey this isn’t that bad”. I’ll have to try this tea with some milk and honey to see if that helps things.

Pretty good tea. I take it black, steeped to the point where it’s a bit bitter. The tea itself isn’t very spectacular, tastes like a staple black tea. It finishes off quite smoothly with a noticeable aftertaste of chocolate, but that could just be my mug; still tainted with the stench of death from an ill-advised battle of gas station cappuccinos and myself.

This is what kicked me off the coffee habit, and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone. Despite the pretty average taste, it still comes down smooth, it’s certainly malty, one might even say comforting.

Basically, it’s a decent, fairly priced cheap breakfast tea. Great with pastries, if you swing that way, and I’d imagine it tasting good with milk.

Can’t get enough of this one. I’m an addict.

Rich and sweet. Excellent with our without cream.

A surprisingly brisk Yunnan. Bold taste. Cocoa and a hint of pine. Aroma of leather. Liquor is a deep reddish brown.

Hearty, dependable, invigorating. I drink it for breakfast and afternoon; milk, never sugar. Have been drinking it for many years now. It’s our house leaf. Always good w/ a piece of cake or scone.

To be fair I have never been fond of strong teas in general, which I think is why I was not fond of this one.