Tian Hu Shan

Just a so-so dragon pearl tea. Least impressive dragon pearl tea I’ve had. The base pouchong/green tea doesn’t seem to have much character and the jasmine is not very happening. I probably should have bought the classic giant orange tin of “chun hao” jasmine tea instead.

Had an Amazon gift card. I realized some of the Amazon tea vendors I’ve relied on in the past are kind of sketchy – Goarteastore, Fullchea, and the like. I will attest, however, that I have had pretty good luck with Goarteastore. Only a couple of bad buys out of quite a few over the years. Which Amazon vendor to buy from, then?

I decided to go with Tian Hu Shan, as they seem to be pretty reputable. Know more for gigantic tins of low-priced jasmine tea, maybe, but an established brand with some street cred.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this Bai Mu Dan to be more than decent. Of course, at $19.99 for 4 ounces it is not exactly a budget buy and I would expect it to be pretty good.

A little minty, a little fruity (mostly grapes, I think), some grassy notes giving a slightly bitter edge, and finally, a surprising amount of toastiness. Every Bai Mu Dan I’ve had previously is of the fairly light and more delicate sort, and I’ve never noticed any toastiness in the mix – but I like the addition. Makes it a bit more substantial. Maybe a slightly lower grade of leaf than others? I don’t think so, as the leaves look pretty comparable to the fragrant, intact, and lovely leaves I’ve sipped in the past. Maybe a slight variation in processing technique, or just a garden with more toasty flavor notes? I don’t know, but I like it! I lucked out and scored some good tea on Amazon.

I enjoyed the tea for quite a while, however, recently I was making a cup and I found a piece of hair in it. Now I thought it was my hair, it was almost white and my hair is very blonde. So I pick it out and it’s extremely long, I have shoulder length hair. So I scrunch my nose but decide I’ll just pick it out and move on with my life because I’m poor and this was a lot of tea to throw away for a piece of hair.

When I pulled all of it out at the end was a clump of scalp. I’m not buying from this brand again and I suggest you all to be very careful if you decide to get this.

Compared to other floral teas, I believe jasmine is one of the bitterest, but nothing unpleasant of course. Jasmine was one of the first teas that I stated to drink and still continue to drink it. It is bitter at first swig, which off put some people if they are not into bitter tastes, but there is a lovely woodsy and floral at the same time.

This tea should probably be considered a jasmine tea rather than a green tea. The scent (strong jasmine) is quite true to the flavor of the finished brew. The color is pale yellow.

The way I brew it – 175 for a bit over a minute – it is very smooth and sweet, with only the tiniest hint of bitterness that tickles the tongue. The hot tea is excellent without any additives, so it’s a nice tea to drink throughout the day (assuming that the caffeine doesn’t bother you). It remains pleasant and floral as it cools and makes a great iced tea – maybe add a smidge of cane sugar.

This tea stands up pretty well to second steepings, but I do recommend adding another pinch of leaves at subsequent steepings. Then again, I recommend doing that for most teas.

If you want a nice jasmine tea for daily use or iced tea, but you don’t want to break the bank, I really don’t think this one can be beat.

(60 = I think maybe I don’t like rose tea?) This “tea” is essentially a jar full of rosebuds and I’m not sure what to do with them. I put 4 buds in a teaball and infused for 4-5min, it still had a light flavor. Might be good cold or possibly mixing the roses into a loose black tea.

Here’s Hoping TTB
Sigh… this doesn’t taste like rose.
It doesn’t even really taste like oolong.

First impressions of the loose tea was of how lovely the rose buds look with the tea leaves, but the brewed tea itself has only the slightest of rose aromas. I doubt I’d really notice if the roses were missing. Pale yellow-green tea with a subtle flavor.

Weak flavor, it smells like sourdough, and the roses aren’t really detectable. Great price, and you get a lot of tea, the packaging is also great, but this tea is sadly lacking. Makes a good option for a cheap, “everyday” tea.

This is a solid Dragon Well, with the added beauty and fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. I don’t think the osmanthus adds any flavor, but with the fragrance, who needs it?

Looks pretty, tastes like Ti Kuan Yin. I don’t think the rose adds any extra flavor, but it adds some fragrance and, as I said before, looks great.

’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #27
Steep #1 // 20 min after boiling // 4 min
I may have waited too long for the water to cool for this one. But maybe there isn’t too much flavor to begin with. The little roses are pretty but I don’t think they impart much flavor to the oolong, not like the infused rose flavoring that Adagio’s has. The oolong doesn’t have much flavor either. The oolong looks gorgeous though. It is very sweet and it kind of tastes like blueberry but that could be what was in the infuser before that.

This tea is not your typical relaxing cup of bliss that you may be used to. However, the benefits of pearl ku ding tea are many: according to traditional Chinese medicine, it eliminates toxins, disperses wind-heat, reduces inflammation, enhances focus, memory, and improves digestion plus more. It’s not consumed for its great flavor but it is very good for you.

Sweet floral taste, very good flavor for the price. It’s found at my favorite Asian Grorcery store. I always keep it in stock if I can. Also makes a very good iced tea.

It is a common type of jasmin tea found in many stores. When it is steeped, Its jasmin parfum is stronger than the flavor of the green tea. I didn’t find it delicate. But if you are doing iced tea, it is fine.

I normally don’t like oolongs, but this one has me hooked. Slightly fruity, with floral overtones. It’s even good iced.

Picked this up at my tea shop for $4.95 for a 15 oz tin. It is a Chun Hoa grade. I have to be a little careful with this and steep times. I get 2 good infusions out of it. I like it for a daily all day drinker.

A mild and inexpensive tie guan yin. Very good for everyday drinking, cheap enough and of high enough quality to season a teapot.

Tastes extraordinarily bitter, as any ‘bitter nails tea’ should. Color develops quickly, with hints of purple. A beautiful brew, but only truly suited to drink as medicine.

I have such a terrible case of the winter ‘blahs’ and it is seriously sapping my desire to do much of anything other than play Terraria (because it is so green and full of life! sometimes). As soon as the weather stops being insanely cold (it was -18 degrees here the other day) I am going to haul myself outside and find a speck of green and just sit next to it. This may prove awkward for my neighbor who has the only pine tree in a several mile radius. I do not think my SAD is related to sunlight, having Lupus means the sun hates me, but the lack of green things and most of nature being asleep does make me want to hibernate. So, like yesterday, I am pulling a tea that reminds me of livelier times from my notebook to review.

Today we are looking at Rose Ti Kuan Yin by Tian Hu Shan. I came across a jar full of this tea at my favorite Asian Market and was so enchanted by the idea of mixing rose (one of my favorite tea additives) and Tie Guan Yin (and all its spelling permutations) that I had to grab it, plus I loved the jar it was in. I pop off the lid and give the leaves a good sniff and alas, I am disappointed. With rosebuds that size I was expecting the aroma to be intense and like stepping into a rose garden during summer, instead it was like coming across a single dried rose leftover on the vine from last summer. Dry, mildly floral, and a little perfumed. The Ti Kuan Yin had the aroma of sweet, baking bread and a hint of roast, it was also pretty mild.

Brewing the tea does help both the oolong and the roses have more distinct aromas, the rose is very much so an English rose style and not a spicy wild rose (I might sniff too many flowers) and has a soapy, perfumed quality. The oolong has notes of green beans, chestnuts, and yeasty bread with a fading hint of orchid. The liquid is mostly oolong with a hint of rose as the finish, sweet with notes of chestnut and oddly a hint of popcorn.

The flavor is sadly, a bit uninspiring. The rose is fairly mild, a finishing note instead of being front and center. There are very mild notes of orchid and chestnuts, but mostly what I am getting is yeasty sweet notes, like baking bread, and roasted notes. I was disappointed and put it back on my shelf until my gaiwan arrived, perhaps giving it a Gongfu steeping instead of Western would change things up a bit. The flavors were a little stronger but still nothing spectacular. It was a beautiful tea to look at but uninspiring to sip, the quest for a rosy Tie Guan Yin continues!

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/01/tian-hu-shan-rose-ti-kuan-yin-tea-review.html

Globe amaranth tea is an herbal (caffeine-free) tisane known for containing many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This tea brews hot pink and is distinctly vegetal with spinach undertones, herbaceous like chrysanthemum tea and mildly sweet.

Please see my full review here:
http://thirstyfortea.com/2013/06/28/tian-hu-shans-globe-amaranth-tea/