1346 Tasting Notes
Open the tea bag. This isn’t CTC. It’s dust. The aroma is metallic and slightly woody. Not pleasant. I’m not excited to try this. The color of the liquid is nice at least. Let’s take a taste….. nope…. hard pass. Metallic, resin, slightly woody. Old. But not good old. More like, this tea bag has been sitting here awhile old. Ugh…
Always a new company to explore. I had never heard of this one before. Another one discovered during the Chicago Tea Festival. They are a very nice older couple who do a bit of everything in the tea world.
Dry Appearance: CTC. Twigs and stems, and cut leaves. Mostly dark brown with some reddish brown.
Dry Leaf Aroma: Sweet wood, currant? Or maybe raisin would be better.
Flavor: Smoky with swirling woody notes of mahogany, walnut chest, cedar, and pine forests. Also, a heavy note of overcooked canned spinach. Which, generally, I would be grossed out by, but it plays very well with the rest of the flavors in this.
Liquor: Golden amber.
Liquor aroma: Woody, smoky, Overcooked spinach (canned spinach)
I was fascinated as a tea newbie long ago to learn that this word is pronounced boo-hee and is a corruption of Wuyi!
Oh yes!!!! Thank you for that reminder!!!
Hi,
I just wanted to get your address so that I can ship the TTB to you this week. If you could follow me back I can message you.
-Arby
Absolutely! I’ll send you a message
Another tea from the sampler set. Before I talk more about this tea, I have to say this is probably one of my favorite samplers so far. The packaging is great. Don’t have to worry about the tea being squished and it is very nice looking. I also love how transparent they are. The farmer’s name and the place where it was harvested. The only thing it needs is the date.
Dry aroma: Odd… Nothing.
Dry Appearance: Dusty, dark chocolate brown. Tightly twisted. Long, slightly curling leaves.
Inital Aroma: Sweaty, bready, woody. Sweet.
Flavor: Rose. Floral. Honey. Woody.
Mouthfeel: Slight astringency with a nice silkiness
Wet Leaf Aroma: Slightly bready and a bit of resin.
Aftertaste: Woody. Slight petichor.
Sounds like an interesting experience! According to Volition, Red Jade is aka Bai Ye Dan Cong. Unfortunately, some in Taiwan seem to refer to the TTES #18 cultivar (aka “Ruby” aka Hong Yu) also sometimes as “Red Jade” (eg, at Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co.), and the leaf can appear quite similar. So at first, I thought you had a #18 cultivar being grown and processed in Guangdong-China, but it sounds like not.
LOL, I also thought this was a Taiwanese Ruby 18 with some unusual tasting notes.
Yeah the name is bit confusing on that front but the company is very transparent. Ijust interviewed Anne (the lady whoruns Volition) and she is amazing.
Part of a sampler set I bought at the Chicago Tea Festival.
Dry Leaf: Some are slightly twisted and open, while others are twisted a bit more tightly. Long leaves. Dark brown with a few silver buds.
Dry aroma: Milk chocolate.
Quick rinse because a friend of mine said all Chinese teas should be rinsed. He’s also Chinese.
Initial aroma: My mouth is watering. Hot chocolate. Chocolate mousse. Plums. Wood.
Flavor: Ooo… DANG! That’s so good! Chocolate notes, some Palo Santo, and other woody notes like oak and cedar. If this were a cedar chest, it would be a really nice one.
Mouth Feel: Incredibly smooth.
While this one can be steeped in a mug, I highly suggest a gaiwan. You’ll get more satisfaction.
Honestly, an iced matcha sounds better with the days suddenly warming, but I want to review this using traditional methods first. That is, sifting, whisking, hot water, etc.
The powder is a muted green. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s not the best either. For plain drinking matcha, I’d put this on the lowest tier. But the highest tier of culinary
Granted, none of these terms actually mean anything in Japan.
Dry Aroma: The aroma holds umami, fresh cut grass, and grated frozen parmesan cheese.
Whisking: I used a traditional Japanese chasen that I bought last year in Nara for whisking. It foams nicely.
Flavor: At first, when it just hits your palate, you get a sense of green tea ice cream and other creamy notes. Then it turns a bit grassy. Finishes with a hint of bitterness. Also has some vegetal notes. Like green pepper. But I hate green peppers so I tell you that it is light.
The mouthfeel is a bit astringent, but it’s pleasant and not biting.
Impressive job with the packaging. It’s beautiful, inviting, and informative. However, the tea is unprotected. Yes, it comes in a canister, which is in a box, but I feel a foil package… or perhaps that is foil inside the package that I am seeing? I am not getting enough aroma. There is a small amount, but not nearly as strong as I had hoped.
Dry Leaf appearance: Dusty, dark brown, long leaves, fairly tightly twisted. Not super tight like some teas. Which I prefer for oolongs. Doesn’t take so long to open.
Initial steeping aroma: Oh yum. I am excited. Mineralality. Fruity notes.
Flavor: More roast notes come out the longer you steep. Lovely fresh charcoal notes with hints of charred wheat bread. Note: Slightly charred bread that is still good for some jam.
I tried some cardamom just now to see if her tasting notes matched mine. I do think cardamom is a good descriptor.
Mouth feel: Licking a rock. Silky.
Wet Leaf aroma: Fruity. Mineral. Slight clove.
Ian-san truly sources amazing matcha. This will be the last of this can, but I can tell you it has been amazing. The vibrancy is perfect. A lush green powder that is sensually soft to the touch. The aroma has faded slightly in the dry powder. The punch isn’t quite as strong with the umami and vegetal notes, but it still makes my mouth water. It whisks very nicely, and the powder stays suspended over a long period. The mouthfeel is smooth. Almost no silt. Flavor is full of marine, umami, and vegetal notes.
The description she uses for her teas are so… bland. I guess they get the point across, and they do it quickly. Perhaps she figures most people aren’t going to really read the descriptions? Do you?
This is another sample from the Chicago Tea Festival. The leaf is a bit more broken than I assume the rest of the batch would normally be.
Dry Appearance: Medium-sized leaves and twigs. Dark brown with a few golden buds.
Initial aroma: Creamy, chocolate, slight honey, woody
Flavor: Woody, milk chocolate, perfumy.
Wet Leaf Aroma: Resin, purple raisins.
When I was still receiving paper catalogs from Upton Tea, I would read every last word like a novel.
@gmathis, as a young gardener, I was the same way with seed catalogs, reading every word!
@Skysamurai, I read the descriptions, repeatedly, along with folks’ tea notes here. I’m amazed at the sensitive and refined taste buds people have, snd their ability to identify specific flavors and aromas!
PLEASE NOTE: Chicago Teahouse is no longer affiliated with TeeGschwendner. You can find out why and more here:
https://teatiff.com/2023/02/13/chicago-teahouse/
Brewing: 5 mins. 1tsp. 212F.
I’m leaving it on the other counter so that I don’t try to smell or touch it until the timer rings.
Dry Leaf: Curly and tightly twisted. Mostly dusty, dark brown in color with a few light brown/golden tips.
Wet Leaf: chocolate brown. Fully opened. Some twigs, pieces of smaller leaves.
Wet Aroma: slightly malty. A bit woody.
Flavor: Woody, malty, resinous, and a bit of deep summer fruits.
Mouth Feel: Astringency.
It’s a decent tea. Good for the morning when one doesn’t really want to think and just drink. But it’s not something I would pull out for a special morning.
Our “local” shop in Raleigh, Tin Roof Teas, also began carrying exclusively Teageschwendner but began carrying other teas as well quite some time ago. There are lots of teas there that you can find on other tea company sites, even using the same stock photo and having the same description. A few have name changes. Madame Butterfly, for example, was available from a number of companies but TRT carried it under the name Fuzzy Navel. Sadly, they no longer carry it so I am back to ordering it online when I buy it for my bestie.
Another sample from the Chicago Tea Festival. It was very kind of them to give this to me. If you haven’t checked out this company yet, I highly recommend them. The owner, Alex, is very kind, and he really knows his stuff.
Dry Appearance: White, downy buds. Fuzzy. Silver. Soft to the touch.
Dry Aroma: Beautiful. Floral, slightly spicy with earthy tones.
Infusing Leaf Aroma: Barnyard.
Flavor: Very earthy. Barnyard, hay, composting hay, compost, woody, there is also a nutty tone that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I had never even heard of Bromley Tea until a friend brought me a box of their decaf bags.
This was my first experience with them as well. A rather forgettable experience and one I unfortunately think leads many Americans t o thinking tea is icky