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Compagnie & Co Day 2

Empresses’ Tea! Such a luxurious name gives me high expectations. I steeped the 2 g sachet in 250 ml of 190F water for 3, 5, and 7 minutes.

The dry aroma is of raspberry and pistachio. In the first steep, I notice the pistachio first, followed by subtle, quite realistic raspberry and a little malt from the black tea base. The raspberry builds the more I drink, but though it’s sweet, it doesn’t venture into candy territory. I also notice faint tannins near the end of the cup. Marzipan emerges as the tea cools. The second steep yields even more jammy raspberry notes and clear pistachio flavour; it reminds me of the pistachio filling in a croissant made by a local cafe, complimented by the malty, bready black tea. The final steep has clear but fainter notes of raspberry and pistachio, with some woodiness from the base.

This tea is a decadent treat without being as sweet as the Creme Caramel from yesterday. The base complements the berry and pistachio, and the tea is elegant, balanced, and well executed. It lives up to my expectations for a French tea!

I have to say that the previous reviews of this tea don’t fill me with enthusiasm. I’ve had Vietnamese oolongs long ago, including What-Cha’s famously good Red Buffalo, but don’t remember having any green teas from this region and hearing that they could get bitter. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 250 ml of 160F water for 2, 1.5, 2.5, 4, 5, and 7 minutes.

The dry aroma is quite floral, with hints of spinach and grass. The vendor describes this floral aroma as tea flowers, though my closest guess was orange blossom. The first steep has ethereal notes of orange, pomegranate, kiwi, magnolia, and orange blossom, with background notes of spinach and grass. The next steep continues to carry top notes of pomegranate, orange, honeydew, and florals, with the more vegetal green tea lurking beneath the surface. I get a nice kiwi and honeydew aftertaste from this steep. Steep three is still ethereally fruity and floral, but the green tea is beginning to show its teeth, with spinach, saline, beany, and astringent notes coming forward. Steeped for four minutes, the tea retains some of the magnolia, orange blossom, citrus, kiwi, and melon notes, though they’re becoming a bit soapy and the grass, spinach, and astringency are becoming distracting. The next steep is greener, with notes of spinach, grass, saline, and other veggies and hints of florals and tropical fruit. The final steep is predictably grassy, saline, mineral, and vegetal with slight fruity hints.

This is one of the most fruity green teas I’ve had in a while. I like the tropical and floral flavours, but the astringent, vegetal base gets in the way. I imagine the base would be even more assertive if I’d steeped it using hotter water. This was an interesting tea to try, but it’s not a daily drinker for me.

Also, in case anyone wants even more tea, this is the last weekend of my Black Friday sale. You can get 20% off if you buy three or more items, and a free pouch of Fushoushan Green for orders over US$150. My list of teas is here: https://www.teaforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=2847

Compagnie & Co Day 1

When I saw that my local French gourmet food shop was selling Compagnie & Co Advent calendars this year, I couldn’t resist buying one, even though it’s one more calendar than I planned on doing. I’m also four days behind schedule. This is a special 25-sachet calendar celebrating the fortieth anniversary of their Christmas Tea. The packaging is very pretty, with each sachet having its own little red box within the big Advent calendar. I steeped the 2 g sachet in 250 ml of 190F water for 3, 5, and 7 minutes.

The dry aroma is of rich caramel, with a hint of the cake frosting Roswell Strange pointed out in a previous review. The first steep gives me really decadent, buttery, sweet caramel, with elements of cake frosting and maybe some alcohol notes from the flavouring. The tea is quite sweet and the caramel cream aftertaste lingers perhaps longer than I’d like. The second steep is quite consistent, with a thick creme caramel flavour and a small amount of woodiness contributed by the rooibos. The rooibos is more noticeable in the final steep, though there’s still plenty of caramel.

I enjoy my fair share of sweet things, including a salted caramel cheesecake made by a local bakery, but this tea was pretty sweet for me. The caramel flavour is accurate and totally over the top. This is a tea you have to be in the mood for.

I made a separate entry for this oolong because the existing one mentioned green tea from Myanmar (Burma), which is not what the website says this is. I believe I had some sticky rice oolong from What-Cha eons ago, but I don’t remember much about it. I steeped 2.3 g of leaf in 150 ml of 185F water for 2.5, 3.5, 5, and 7 minutes.

The dry aroma is of sticky rice, nuts, milk, and florals. The smell of this tea steeping made me hungry! The first steep tastes distinctly of nutty sticky rice; I also get faint floral, milky, and grassy notes, but the rice is really the main flavour. The second steep is nuttier and slightly more astringent, though the rice is still very prominent. The third steep is remarkably similar. By steep four, the tea is becoming more grassy and vegetal, though the rice persists.

This is by no means a complex tea, but the Jin Xuan conveys the sticky flavour really well and it was enjoyable to drink. If I end up ordering Thai food later today, this tea will be to blame!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Ya Shi Xiang. Sometimes they’re floral and fruity, and other times they’re roasted to a level that obscures most other flavours, and you never know which type you’re going to get. Though the vendor’s steeping instructions seemed a bit odd for a Dancong, I decided to follow them because their parameters for their other teas have been solid. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 120 ml of 190F water for 40, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of honey, vanilla, and florals (I’m guessing gardenia, violet, and orchid). The first steep of this Dancong is an aromatic treat: honey, vanilla, orange, milk, jasmine, orchid, violet, and gardenia. In the mouth, I get hints of the roast, minerals, and tannins that are characteristic of Dancongs, though I also get many of the florals, especially jasmine. Jasmine, gardenia, and orange are prominent in steep two. Jasmine is the star in the next couple steeps, combined with vanilla, milk, caramel, and minerality, plus other florals. Steeps five and six feature jasmine, gardenia, milk, and banana, but the minerality, roast, and tannins are starting to assert themselves. The next couple steeps are a bit grassy and vegetal, but continue to deliver that lovely jasmine taste and aroma. It’s only near the very end of the session that the tea becomes roasty, mineral, and fairly astringent, though the jasmine and sweetness persist.

This is exactly the kind of Dancong that keeps me interested in exploring these often disappointing teas. It’s no secret that I like florals, and this Ya Shi Xiang has them in spades. It also has incredible longevity. I have a feeling that babying this tea with regard to temperature had a lot to do with mitigating the astringency. Some people might find it too perfumey and not sufficiently roasted, but while I respect traditional tea making, this very floral Dancong was a pleasure to drink.

I remember trying this tea many years ago and not having a favourable impression. However, I like Doke’s commitment to sustainability and hope that they may have refined their processing (or my preferences may have changed). I steeped 2.5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 195F water for 2, 1.5, and 3 minutes, plus a couple uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of honey, grapes, nuts, florals, and hay. Brewed this way, the tea is very delicate. I get notes of honey, chamomile, muscat grapes, hay, nuts, meadow flowers, and herbs. The tea has a dryness in the mouth that isn’t totally in keeping with all of these nuanced flavours. The sweetness builds as I drink the tea, with the grapes and honey becoming more prominent. The next steep features grapes, honey, lemon, oats, chamomile, and herbs, with some noticeable astringency. Steep three has notes of herbs, grass, and honey, but is getting vegetal and kind of metallic. I understand why the vendor advises calling off the session here. My final two steeps retained the honey sweetness but were not as polished.

I enjoyed this tea a lot more this time, possibly due to the steeping parameters. Its honey sweetness and fruitiness remind me more of a very high-quality first flush Darjeeling than a Fujian silver needle. I wonder if the lurking astringency is due to this tea being made from Assam leaves. I admire Rajiv Lochan and the Doke estate for their innovation in Indian tea making, and they’ve produced an interesting take on white tea that I enjoyed revisiting.

This could very possibly be my first tea from Laos. I know One River and maybe The Steeping Room sometimes carry tea from this region, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried any. I steeped 5 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma of these long, dark leaves matches the vendor’s description: honey, fig, smoke, malt, and wood. I get notes of malt, wood, honey, fig, smoke, grain, and caramel. My relatively long 45-second steep brought out some tannins, even though I was using five grams instead of my usual six. Also, fig is a great description for the round, fruity notes I often find in these types of teas. The next steep has hints of fig, but more notes of honey, hay, malt, and especially wood. It’s a bit drying if held in the mouth for any length of time. Steeps three and four are still round and fruity, with some apple hints as the tea cools. Subsequent steeps feature honey, malt, hay, wood, tannins, earth, and smoke. The tea fades into earth, malt, smoke, tannins, and wood.

I could easily mistake this for a Yunnan black tea. Its rustic, fairly uncomplicated profile was pleasant on this cold winter day. It got a bit too drying for me on occasion, but the flavours were nicely balanced and those leaves were beautiful.

Advent Calendar Day 1

I finally decided to do an Advent calendar this year. Thanks, Martin, for suggesting this vendor. Including a Mingqian Anji Bai Cha for the first day is a good indication that they’re dedicated to providing higher-quality tea. Following the instructions on their website, I steeped 3 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 55, 75, and 105 seconds, plus some longer, uncounted steeps. Suggesting this steeping method shows great confidence in their tea, as greens typically get bitter at higher temperatures.

The dry aroma is of green beans, orchids, grass, and soft citrus. The first steep has notes of green beans, green pepper, asparagus, grass, orchid, orange, and umami. There’s a touch of bitterness, but it’s not overwhelming. The next steep features asparagus, green pepper, butter, and grass. Steep three is a little softer, emphasizing buttered green beans, green pepper, asparagus, florals, grass, and minerals. Later steeps lose some of their complexity, becoming grassier and more vegetal but not bitter.

This is a nice, sweet, floral Anji Bai Cha. I’ve been kind of spoiled by offerings from specialist tea vendors, but this holds up really well for the price. Everything is in balance and it takes hot water like a champ!

Since I first reviewed the 2020 harvest, this tea has become something I order from Wuyi Origin every year. It’s managed to remain quite consistent, and while it will never supplant their Floral Lapsang Souchong as my favourite, it has an important place in my lapsang rotation. This is the 2024 harvest. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is a cozy blend of sweet potato, lemon, and squash. The first couple steeps have notes of squash, sweet potato, lemon, and wood. The most striking thing about them, however, isn’t the flavour, but the incredibly thick, silky body of the tea and the persistent aftertaste. The next two steeps add bread, violet florals, oakwood, pine, orange, and some tannins on top of the lemony, squashy background. Steeps five and six transition into a more oaky, bready profile with a nice tannic backbone. The next few rounds focus on bread, malt, maple syrup, oakwood, lemon, and tannins. The final steeps have notes of earth, minerals, malt, tannins, wood, and lemon.

This tea isn’t as gloriously over the top as the Wild Lapsang, but it’s elegant, well balanced, easy to drink, and, based on my limited experience, representative of the type.

I’ve seen a few posts about lapsang here lately, and I’d say Wuyi Origin has some of the best. They even have a sale that I’ve noted in the annual BF post in the discussion section. I think it’s important to support, if possible, great vendors like Wuyi Origin that may be losing money due to the chaos in the U.S. market right now.

Once again, I wildly overbought green tea this year so I could do some educational comparison sessions. This time, I’m focusing on three kinds of Anji Bai Cha, two from Seven Cups and one from Camellia Sinensis.

Tea bush: Bai Ye
Location: Zhejiang Province
Picking date: April 12, 2025
Price in USD/g: $0.46

For the side-by-side comparison, I steeped 2.4 g of leaf in 120 ml of 185F water for 4 minutes, resteeping as needed until the tea faded. I also did a more normal session with 3 g of leaf in 250 ml of 185F water, with times as above.

The dry aroma had notes of green beans, asparagus, cut grass, honey, and magnolia. In the side-by-side session, the first steep featured green beans, cut grass, asparagus, heady magnolia, kale, lemon, and orange. Later on, I tasted green beans, grass, asparagus, kale, and magnolia, with the florals persisting until the end of the session.

With my regular setup, the first steep had notes of green beans, asparagus, white sugar, lemon, orange, and magnolia. Later steeps lost this complexity and focused on green beans, asparagus, grass, and faint magnolia. The end of the session was grassy and vegetal.

This tea was sharper and grassier than the Seven Cups offerings. It had a heady, almost perfumey magnolia aroma and flavour through most of the session, as well as a good amount of citrus. It also had the sweetness of the other Anji Bai Cha, though to a lesser extent in later steeps. If I hadn’t done a side-by-side comparison with the Anji from Seven Cups, I’d say this was a perfectly nice green tea, and it’s still great for the price.