wombatgirl

Hrm.

I was at Whole Foods the other day, getting some Rishi tea in bulk, and the sales girl started telling me about Shang Tea and it sounded lovely. So, I picked some up and thought I’d try it. I am at work, and that means uncontroled steeping variables. And I think it’s hurting its tea. It’s bitter, but it’s not a extra tannic bitterness. It’s more a too-much Jasmine bitter. So I need to go and try this again at home where I can make sure I’m controling the parameters better.

I’m holding off on rating this for now. Has anyone else out there tried this tea?

When I first tried this tea, I wasn’t particularly impressed with it. But I’ve been drinking it iced over the last week. Yum. The orange flavoring goes wonderfully with the cold tea. I’m out of my sample… Boo…

Bleah. Got this in a swap from TeaEqualsBliss and I made it up for the husband who likes rooibos more than I.

Even he’s not digging it. He’s drinking it at least – I couldn’t have finished an entire cup of it.

My husband accused me of huffing this tea. I don’t know I’d go that far, but oh my goodness, the olfactory treat when I opened the package! This tea smells amazing. Hints of apricots smothered in cream in a sea of oolong-y goodness. I couldn’t wait to get it steeping.

The flavor of this tea is a little more delicate than the scent would suggest. It has a bright, clean taste. The product description said it would be floral – I didn’t getting flowers, but rather almost a spicy afterglow that lingered on my tongue, post swallow. It also has a very silky, smooth texture to the liquid, making it a joy to sip.

And this tea doesn’t disappoint in the visual aspect either. It’s a lovely pale light green. During my first steeping, it was a joy to watch the leaves dance around in the water, unfurling and transforming the water into something special.

Like almost all oolongs, this tea is good for multiple infusions. Perfect for sitting at your desk at work, or relaxing on a lazy afternoon. I also, in deference to the season, tried something which may horrify some purists – I tried this iced. It’s very cooling, and tasty but doesn’t take the ice as well as other oolongs. But all in all – this is a pretty darn good oolong.

Also reviewed at http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/649/tea-review-canton-tea-co-ali-shan-oolong-tea/

Today is an amazingly annoying day. I’m herding cats, apparently through minefields. So I’m trying to not scream at people and drink lots of tea. I’m starting with some of this iced.. I think I brewed this too strong, but I think overall I may just like this better iced than not. We’ll see..

Cross your fingers for me!

On a shopping trip the other day I saw a box labeled Chinese Red tea. Chinese red tea? I’ve never heard of that, I’ve heard of white, green, black, herbal, oolong, honeybush and rooibos teas, but not Chinese Red. I’ve heard rooibos called red, but don’t think Rooibos grows in China. So what is this red tea? Then, a package arrived in the mail with a packet of Bai Lin Gong Fu in it, and it said Red Tea on it! YAY! I get to try this thing!

Then, I found out that Chinese red tea is the local Chinese name for black tea. Oh. Phooey. I was hoping for a whole new experience. But upon further thought, I don’t know how many non-blended Chinese black teas I’ve had – most have been Indian, Sri Lankan, blends, or flavored. So this is still something new. Excellent. Time to open the packet.

This leaf is absolutely gorgeous. Light brown fuzzy leaves make up about 50% of the sample. And the aroma is luscious. Malty, with hints of cocoa and sweetness. Once brewed up, this is a lovely light orange. And the flavor? Mellow, smooth and sweet smelling. If it wasn’t for the caffeine content, this would be the tea equivalent of wrapping up in a blanket in front of the fire for a nap. I tend to sweeten my black teas, and I am just fine drinking this without any additives.

As an introduction to Chinese red teas, this is a great start. I look forward to trying others, especially if they’re at all like this one.

Also reviewed at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/654/tea-review-canton-tea-co-bai-lin-gong-fu/

Buzz, buzz nom. Nom nom nom.
Buzz.

This is a nice tea. Very complex. In fact my first thought when having this tea was “mmm.. this is complex.” I am a genmaicha fan, and this is one of the better ones I’ve had.

It also has a lot of caffiene. Or at least I’m getting a serious buzz from this one. (Nevermind the fact I’ve had 3 other cups of tea today… :P )

This tea is the lovely green color others have mentioned, murky, deep, flavorful, and just pretty awesome. Liking this tea!!!

(And possibly twitching at this point, but I won’t dwell on that… )

Not a bad silver needle.

I tend to judge all silver needles against the first one I ever tried – which was a oddly magical experience. I was in Nashville, TN for a training course, and I went to go scout out the tea shop I’d be meeting Lena at later in the week. I got there right as they closed, so I couldn’t stay long, so I ordered something I’d never tried before to go, just so I would have tried something.

I then drove around trying to find a restaurant that didn’t exist.

Because I was driving at the time, I let the tea cool more than I tend to normally, and the buttery flavor of the tea got amplified. I was really in awe. (And I think the lady was a little heavy on the leaf). It was good tea.

Trying this tea – I get the buttery, and even some of the peach overtones they mention. But the flavors aren’t as strong as I’d like. And yes, I know this is a lighter tea, but the mouthfeel and the light flavor of the white tea are lighter than I’d like.

I wish there was more in the sample, so I could try the other steeping method mentioned, but alas, this is just a sample. I am enjoying it, and I do enjoy silver needle in general. However, I think I’ve had other silver needles I enjoy more.

This was very creamy, smooth, and yummy. I have to admit, it had more of a peppery or spicy bite than I was expecting, and I almost didn’t like it as first, but it grew on me.

I had samples of this, so I don’t know if it says this on the larger package but my sample mentioned that I should add another tbsp of black tea to the package. And honestly, I found this a little disapointing of them. Samovar charges some of the higher prices out there for their sample sizes, and to have them provide a sample that you then are supposed to add more tea to yourself? It felt a little cheap. If they want to offer the possibility for higher or lower caffiene, I’d personally prefer that they just offer two different blends. But that’s me.

But in general, this was pretty darned yummy.

A sample I got from TeaEqualsBliss. It smells awesome, but I can’t get any peach flavor from the tea. It’s a nice dark oolong however. Almost a meh, but on the positive side of meh.

Interesting. I’ve never tried a Kukicha before. It is sort of like drinking tea made of twigs, but in the best way possible. It definitely tastes of wood, but nicely so. And for being made of wood, it’s very mild. Yum.

Brewed this up last night, in the traditional stovetop method. It was a nice solid cup of chai. No notes stood out, nothing detracted. Nice cup.

Very pepperminty, good flavor. It’s a nice, simple peppermint tea. The sachet it nice, and the leaf is of good quality.

I wanted to like this tea. I really did. But it’s just not oolong enough for me. This is too mild, and even when steeped extra strong tastes a little like it’s watered down to me. The aromas are nice, and I taste some of the sweet. But this just isn’t gonna be one of my all-time favorite oolongs. Sigh.

Big, bold, brassy. This tea is by no means a delicate wall flower of a green tea. Or a delicate anything, really. It comes right out and lets you know that it’s here, it’s a green tea, and that it means to be taking center stage, thankyouverymuch.

However, in its efforts to inform the world of it’s intentions, it may scare some people off. It almost scared me off. Opening the pouch of tea, the scent is an inviting green tea aroma with an enhanced nutty quality, brought about by a roasting step during the processing of the leaf. Steeping the tea, it’s a delicate, pale green color with just a hint of brown; the very picture of an inviting cup of tea. But then, sipping shocked me. Very astringent. Almost a sour quality. And the drying sensation wasn’t restricted to just the mouth, it went down the throat as well. As the brew cooled, the sour faded, leaving a sweeter quality to the cup.

To try and get the best out of this tea, I tried multiple steeping parameters. My first two tries, I used the method referred to on the packet – 1 tablespoon per 5-6 oz of water, steeped in 180 degree water for 3-5 minutes. Their website also recommended trying more leaf with a shorter steeping time. This method resulted in a brew where the sour flavor held on, even once cooled. I then tried the old tried and true proportion of 1 tsp per 8 oz. This resulted in a much lighter brew with reduced astringency and reduced sourness, and a hint of nuttiness at the back of your mouth.

If you are a fan of the big, bold and dry red wines, you will likely love this tea brewed to the original directions. I preferred the weaker brew, but other greens have tickled my fancy more than this one.

Also reviewed at http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/504/tea-review-rishi-teas-organic-green-needles-lu-zhen-roasted-2/

I’m surprised I haven’t logged this before. I’ve been drinking this for a while – and it’s good warm and great iced. (I’m getting really into this iced oolong thing lately).

Nutty overtones, beautiful leaves, and just a lovely tea. Yum.

First time I try a tea, I always go off the instructions on the front of the package. This has gotten me into trouble (I’m looking directly at you Samovar Royal Garland*) a few times, and this was one of them.

I was making 16 oz of tea, so I added slightly over 2.5 heaping teaspoons per directions (1 heaping tsp per 6 oz water) and brewed for the 5 minutes it noted.

It smelled like a fishtank and the hubband poured his cup down the sink after two sips. In protest. I just didn’t finish mine. I have a bunch of this – it was on sale @ specialteas. So I took it to work and tried it again. This time, not quite 2 for 12 oz of water, and about 3 minutes.

Much more palateable. The orange does add a nice note, and it doesn’t smell like a fishtank anymore. However, this is not my favorite pu-erh, by a long shot.

(*My container of Samovar Royal Garland called for 2-3 tbsp to 6 oz of water. It was not pretty. I haven’t reviewed yet because I haven’t gotten over that, even though I know I need to try it with a much more reasonable parameters.)

OMG-OMG-OMG

This? Iced? Holy heck – this is awesome. I’m totally bumping this rating a little, because this is just yummy.

A darker nuttier white brew than other white teas I’ve had. It’s got a scent of fresh hay and a flavor that’s slightly astrigent but quite pleasant. It’s got some sweet notes as well as a few sour ones – but the sour works.

This is one of those teas that takes a lot of leaf with a shorter brew time. The leaves are light and fluffy and all over the place. It’s almost like clouds.

I think I still need to work on my brewing parameters, but overall, this is pleasant.

When brewed to reccomendations – this was a little weak. However when brewed a little stronger, it’s quite nice. And, this just is LOVELY as an iced tea. It does brew up very lightly – the color is just a light, light green.

I got distracted from this tea (I know, I know) and forgot all about it until an hour after it was brewed.

I don’t find it anywhere near as good cold. You can taste hints of caramel and fleeting bits of pear, but overall the rooibos comes out more – which does not endear it to me.

I’ll need to make more tomorrow night to remind me of why I like it. (Oh dear, I have to drink more good tea. Boo hoo! :) )

More of this iced today, and it’s really growing on me. I steep double strength, then pour over ice cubes, and it’s just awesome. I don’t get much of the pomegranate, but it’s just yummy.

A sample from Meghann M – thank you!!

Smelling the sample was wonderful – the aromatic qualties of the tea were amazing. The smell is powerful and strong.

However, the flavor profile is nowhere as strong as the smell. In taste, the bergamot is fairly mild. If you like your Earl Grey smooth and mellow, this may be your cup of tea. The tea base is mild and flavorful, and a lovely dark brown color when brewed.

However, I tend to prefer my bergamot a little stronger. So, not my cup of choice, but not a bad cup at all.

Did a work day out in the woodshed with my husband – where I’m getting over my power-tool phobia. I used a table saw, hand-held jigsaw and a evil little something else saw and didn’t a) freak out or b) hurt myself or others.

It’s a cold miserable day today, so I made us tea to help us through the work. A giant pot of this tea was PERFECT. Warm, sweet, and cookie-ish. Perfect.