Tea Review

 iteaworld kindly sent me some new samples of their oolong teas.

 

I know I have reviewed them before, but each time they send me tea I am just blown away by their beautiful packaging. Inside are individual packets of tea, which is just the right amount for an average sized teapot or Asian style gaiwan or small teapot. This time they even included some ready to fill teabags with the box of samples.

With each day that I tried another oolong tea this past week I thought "oh, this is my favorite". But of course, I must have liked them all because I said it with each of the four different samples. I steeped all four in a gaiwan on separate days. Each was steeped 10 times and held up quite nicely.

Zhangping Shui Yian was a flowery, smooth tea. It was what I would expect from a nice oolong. It came in a pressed cube and reminded me a little of a white tea.

Tie Guanyin was a bit more earthy, but still definitely an oolong tea. It had a nice light sweetness and really opened up to a beautiful, clean tea.

Da Hong Pao was quite pretty with a beautiful color and fragrance. It was slightly roasty and rich. It was a nice full mouth feel then changed flavor as it hit the throat.. Roasty in the front and more fruity in the back with sort of a pineapple taste.

Fenghuang Dancong was full body with a slight tartness, similar to a pretty tropical fruit. It was rich, golden with an intense flavor which accentuated the sweetness of the grapes I was nibbling after drinking this tea. I had not noticed how a tea could effect the flavor of my food before.

A second tasting of Tie Guanyin, English style was just as good.

Check out https://iteaworld.com/ 

Sending love,

Marilyn

Tea Review - ITeaWorld

Recently ITeaWorld sent me two boxes of their Classic Tea Selection samples. They asked if I would review their teas and their website. https://iteaworld.com   I found their website easy to move around and loved that they included an About page. Right now they are doing a lot of marketing, as I believe it is part of their re-branding. The choices of tea are definitely "classic" tea choices and each one is worth a try.

 

Black - https://iteaworld.com/products/black-tea

 

I often drink Yunnan black teas; so it was fun to review the Yunnan Black. This one was more subtle than the one I usually drink, very smooth, unpretentious, and a nice breakfast black tea.

Lapsang Souchong is in the picture, but there were two different packets of Souchong varietal teas. The Lapsang Souchong was not particularly smokey, as expected, but a bit woody with a touch of golden straw sweetness.

Wild Souchong was definitely smokey and what I normally would expect in a Souchong tea. In some I find the smokiness to be over powering, but this one was just the right amount of outdoorsy smoke. It felt like sipping a black tea while sitting by an outdoor bonfire.

 

Yingde Black was probably my favorite of the black teas. The first hit was a nice simple black tea, but then it hit my back throat with a touch of sweet raisins. I quite liked it.

All four blacks would sip well for a morning tea.

 Oolong - https://iteaworld.com/products/oolong-tea

The oolongs were steeped gaiwan style as in the picture. The packaging is in the background.

Minnan Narcissus was probably the most different of the oolongs. It reminded me of my grandfather's fruity tobacco, which I quite liked as a young girl. Smooth and comes alive in the back throat.

Da Hang Pao was like walking through a mulchy forest floor with gradually turning to corn silk with subsequent steepings becoming a bit sweet.

Fenghuang Dancong had a pretty amber color and smell a bit smokey, a bit of toasty plum.

All the oolongs had at least 5 steeps before I noticed a bit of change.

 

Tie Guan Yin was steeped outdoors in the forest, but still gaiwan style. I don't know if it was that I was sipping in the forest, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It reminded me of what I love about oolong teas. It was like sipping a cup full of glorious spring flowers.

 

If you want to become familiar with a variety of Chinese teas I could suggest the Classic Tea Selection. The packaging is amazing and each tea comes in individual packets just right for making a 3-4 cup English pot of tea or a gaiwan. They make it easy by changing the color of ink on the packets to represent either a black or oolong tea. Very clever. https://iteaworld.com/products/classic-tea

I made the oolongs in a gaiwan and the blacks English style and both work just lovely. 

 

Have a great weekend, dear friends!

Happy sipping~ 

 

 

Assam Heritage Tea - Tea from India

Today's post is a review of three Assam, Indian teas. I am reminded, as I mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth that her "go to" teas each day were all from India. Her favorites were an Assam, Darjeeling, and Earl Grey teas. They were all brewed in a fine china teapot and served in a pretty teacup. England has quite a tea history with India in the help of developing the tea industry. They secretly took plants from China and transported them to India to help with the tea growth there. About that time they did find an assamica variety, which has a larger leaf, growing wild in the Assam district and that was also cultivated.

  Recently Assam Heritage Tea sent me three special 2022 teas to taste. They are always so generous to share with me to review or just to taste. Normally I don't drink Assam because I find most of them quite astringent and too strong for my liking. But Heritage Tea company works hard to develop extraordinary, special teas that just delight me. Rajen and June Barauh's love of fine teas just shines in the teas they develop. 

 White tea in a cup.

 

The white tea (2022) had a fresh floral flavor, like walking through a field of wildflowers. A touch of sweetness, but not overpowering. I was surprised I liked it because often (for me) I find white teas a bit weak in flavor.

Black tea in a cup.

Assam STGFOP (June 2022). Most of you might not know that teas are graded and identified sometimes by letters. This particular tea stands for Special Tippy Golden Flower Orange Pekoe. It was very smooth and a bit buttery in flavor. Not at all what I often taste from a black Assam. Yes, it was "Special" and delightful.

Another - Black tea in a cup.

Artisanal Long Leaf (2022). I shared this with my son and we had fun reviewing it. We both agreed it was like walking through a dewy field of tea with a touch of sweet mushroom or through the forest on a cool Autumn day. This was our favorite.

We found no acidity in any of the three teas. I steeped all three at boiling temperature for 4 minutes.

If you would like to find teas from Heritage Tea you can find them at www.teaanditspeople.com   Look for teas from India and then search out Heritage Tea. You would definitely not be disappointed. 

Happy tea drinking, Happy weekend - dear friends!

A Tea Review

 Because I most often write about the experience of tea I don't often get asked to review tea.  I am always surprised when a company contacts me and offers to send tea to review. Recently a fairly new company (2019) contacted me from China and asked me to review some teas. They have quite a long list of greens, which I don't drink; so I said not to send me green teas. They also have oolongs, black, and a long list of puerh teas.

There were three teas to taste and enjoy this past week. An oolong (da hang pao), a raw puerh (Guihua 2018), and Phoenix black classic S8 JD01. 

The Da Hang Pao oolong was steeped in a gaiwan and came out a beautiful clean, golden color on the first brew. With each sequential steep it lightened. I steeped the tea 6 times. It would be a nice winter oolong with a slight smokey flavor, full leaf, fragrant, and quite peaceful on a early morning sip.

The Raw Puerh (Guihua 2018) was also steeped in a gaiwan and held up quite nicely with 7 steeps. The fragrance and the taste told me "Yes" this is a puerh. It was sort of an earthy, down on the ground scent and flavor, like a walk through the spongy, mossy, and damp undergrowth in the forest. If you don't know, puerh teas are quite good for cutting fat and lowering cholesterol, one that was recommended to me many years ago. I can even sleep well after sipping this late in the day, even though there is caffeine.

The Phoenix black classic S8 JD01 was steeped English style. It had a clear red/orange color and a clean taste. The fragrance for me is like the after taste of a citrus, slightly smokiness. Most might not get this explanation, but it is the closest to what I can relate it to. This is a tea I would choose for a morning breakfast tea and I quite enjoy.

In this bottom picture you can see the puerh tea after steeping. It was a full leaf, which I do love seeing in my gaiwan.

Natural Puerh company was established in April 2019 located in Kunming which is the capital city of Yunnan, China. You can visited their website and see the wide selection of puerh and other teas at www.naturalpuerh.com

I find it is always worth tasting and sipping, as I learn more about tea with each sip. I enjoyed the sips.

 

Heritage Tea - Assam

Handmade Black Tea, November 2018 harvest

First sip seems like a basic, good black tea, then comes remembrances of my grandfathers pipe smoke. It was not really smokey just something in my remembrance. Not even cherry like my grandfather’s tobacco, but the fragrance of walks with him in the orchard, the humus of the spongy ground and an after taste of citrus at the back of the throat. Thinking the citrus was touched with a hint of wildness, a honey like flavor. It think it is very pretty for tea too.

This tea was a treat from the Heritage Tea Company in Assam, India.
Thanks Rajen and June Barauh!
This was a surprise, handed to me this summer at TeaFestPDX by Elyse Petersen of Tealet.
Hoping we get a chance to meet next year when I fly off to India.

Thunderbolt Tea

Not long ago I received my annual order of Darjeeling teas from Thunderbolt Tea.

It is always so exciting to get to taste this years teas from India.

You will notice they are either first or second flush.

The first flush is the early spring, first plucking.

You guessed it then, the second flush is later spring plucking.
I invited a few friends to come and help me taste in the garden house.

My tasting notes for Thunderbolt Tea:
Darjeeling is sometimes referred to as the land of thunderbolts,
sitting up against the Himalayan mountains.

Arya Diamond (Gold Edition) 2nd flush, 2019

Slight sweet with a back of citrus tang.

Turzum Himalayan Mystic (LC05) First Flush, 2018

Yumm! Light delight! Oten I compare some top Darjeelings to oolongs,

but instead of the floral I taste in Taiwanese oolongs I taste more fruity in this tea.

Turzum Himalayan Mystic (DJ-47) Second Flush, 2018

Not the lightness of a moonlight, but a more musky flavor

with still a touch of a citrus, fruity after taste.

Sungma Organic Musk (DJ-146) Second Flush, 2018

Generally I go for a light spring Darjeeling, but decided to try a "musk".

I definitely could taste the muskiness in this tea and decided it made a nice

fall tea to head into cooler days. Not quite sure how to describe "musk",

it is a bit more black than the lighter moonlights. It tastes of autumn grapes

at the front of the mouth and doesn't linger like some teas do.

The two steeped teas in this picture are on the left the Castleton Moonlight 2nd flush
and on the right the Castleton Moolight 1st flush. Even the color is different.

Castleton Moonlight (DJ-248) Second Flush,  2019

Though I will say this is my second favorite, it is the first flush that delights me.

Both are light, more like a oolong tea, but still there is something different that 

comes from the hills of India. A bit musky, a bit citrus, almost like a
lovely gypsy dancing in the moonlight and incense following through the air.

Castleton Moonlight (DF-4) First Flush, 2019

This tea tops my list of favorites. When I opened the tea the scent just takes my breathe away.

How can I even explain, but the sweetness, the fresh blossom just delight me. It just speaks

to me of springtime steeped in the sun and sipped in my cup. As I shared it with friends, it

reminded them of grapefruit juice, a touch of citrus, sunshine and a bit sultry.

And just because we must always have flowers to enjoy when tasting,
there were flower.

For those of you tea connoisseurs, I hope you love Darjeeling teas as I do.
For those of you that just dip a teabag from time to time, there is delight in savoring
a good quality tea when given the chance. Come by and I will make you a good cup of tea.

Lochan Tea Review

In the cup is Mokalbari TGFOP 1 S, Second Flush 2019, Assam

Just a warning, this is a long list reviewing twenty samples sent to me a couple months ago.
What a treat to get to sample so many.
It has taken me awhile to sip each one and write this review.
Thank you to Lochan Tea for sending me these delicious teas.

Darjeeling teas often have a touch of oolong to me, 

very little astringency and a bit fruity. What a treat to taste all 20 teas.

1.      Doke Black Fusion - Second Flush 2019, Bihar, Hand Made Organic Black Tea

A nice morning black tea, lightly toasty.

2.      Doke Silver Needle, Second Flush 2019, Bihar, Hand Made Organic White Tea

Pretty leaf, with dusty white leaves. Until recently I didn’t particularly like white tea,

But finding a light sweetness/tartness together was delightful. Not as honey as some

White teas I have tasted lately, but good. My tastes have changed.

3.      Doke Green Diamond, Scond Flush 2019, Bihar, Hand Mad Organic Green Tea

Not being a green tea lover, it wasn’t my favorite, a tiny bit of astringency. I do believe I like a bit of fruitiness or floral, which wasn’t there in this one.

4.      Doke Black Fusion Tippy – Second Flush 2019, Bihar, Hand Made Organic Black Tea

For some reason I forgot to jot notes on this one, but if I remember it was a hearty black

And a good breakfast tea.

5.      Mokalbari TGFOP 1 S, Second Flush 2019, Assam (in the picture)

Rich and full, nutty, a good breakfast tea.

6.      Hattialli Golden Delight, Second Flush 2019, Assam

No astringency, smooth. A simple straight forward flavor with a slight caramel flavor at the front of the mouth.

7.      Latumoni Royal Tippy, Second Flush 2019, Assam, Naturally Grown Small Grower

A soft touch of sugar cane, with the second taste I steeped too long and it became bitter.

8.      Giddapahar Spring Wonder, First Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Exclusive

Smooth, not astringent, fruity/peachy, lovely.

9.      Arya Spring Wonder, First Flush 2019, Darjeeling

My first scent was of a green tea, but sipping was more apricot in flavor. Of course I love all Darjeeling teas, so fruity, which is “me” (I love fruity anything)

10.  Jungpana Spring Wonder, First Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Organic

A bit of greenness to this one.

11.  Niroulla Smoked Wonder, First Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Exclusive, a surprise

Indeed a surprise delight, I really liked this one, very smooth. Almond/apricot in taste.

12.  Goomtee Spring Delight, First Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Organic

Sometimes I find organic teas to be a bit flat, but this was not. The final taste and it reminds me of my love of first flush Darjeelings, smooth with no astringency.

13.  Goomtee Classic Mascatel, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeliing, Organic

The first taste was made in a gaiwan and tasted tannic and astringent, but a bit citrusy. The second was made English style and I like it much more, fruity and in enjoying it I almost forgot to review it. Just enjoyed it.

14.  Jungpana Vintage Muscatel, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Organic

Preferred this steeped English style also, lower temperature, richer, and apricot with the lower temperature.

15.  Castleton FTGFOP 1 SPL, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling

Nice simple black tea, good with sugar. Not the same as Castleton Moonlights, which I love, but a richer black tea, a bit toasty.

16.  Giddapahar Summer Delight, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Exclusive

A touch of summer delight, slight fruitiness and warmth of the sun.

17.  Upper Fagu SFTGFOP 1, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling

Smooth, a touch of something special, not fruity as some, but maybe a bit citrus and almond. No astringency or bitterness.

18.  Niroulla Summer Smoked, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Naturally Grown Small Grower

Simple, light tea. A bit woodsy-mushroom, very lightly. Prefered their smoke tea better, might be the difference between 1^st and 2^nd flush.

19.  Sourenee Clonal Special, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Organic

A bit musky, not light and fruity, nice simple black tea, not sweet. A bit like walking through a spongy humus of the forest floor.

20.  Arya FTGFOP 1 CH, Second Flush 2019, Darjeeling, Organic

Nutty and toasty and smooth.

If you haven't tried a Darjeeling tea, I highly recommend trying a good quality one or two.