Mountain Organic Indonesian green tea from Tea at Sea

“I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” 

- Fvodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

The time has come to open another sample package and try a tea I've never had before.  Today I broke into the free sampler from Tea at Sea, a Mountain Organic Indonesian green tea.

The sample came to me in the beautiful packaging with a tiny sail boat included.  Now, that's something different.  I adore Tea at Sea presentation.  It's creative and very pretty.

The dry tea had delicate vegetal scent and the leaves themselves were rolled up in balls similar to oolong tea.

I placed an entire sample package into my teapot and rinsed with 85°C water and then I let it sit for about a minute to let the leaves unfurl a little and release some of the flavour.  I then steeped in 8 ounces of 85°C water for about a minute.

The resulting liquid had delicate yellow colour with a little tinge of green.  The aroma surprised me a bit because the tea smelled more like oolong, with the hint of flowery notes, than the green tea.  The vegetal notes which I enjoy in the scent of the green tea were absent here which was a bit of a disappointment.  I love my green tea with strong grassy smell but I do realize that not every green tea comes with it nor that it should. Some people love green tea but dislike the spinachy scent and this tea would be perfect for them.  In addition, I'm sure every oolong lover would love this tea as well.

Taste wise the tea was great.  The vegetal notes which were absent in the aroma made an appearance as a flavour.  The tea was smooth and buttery with spinachy and seeweed like notes.  In addition it left a tingle in the back of my throat with the ever so slight astringency which I really enjoy.  

All in all, it was my pleasure to spend a Sunday with this yummy tea.  Upon reflection I can't help but think that this was a rare cross between typical green and oolong tea.  Some happy middle perhaps. 

Thank you Tea at Sea. 

Sunday Afternoon with Sun Dried Jingshan Green

Happy Sunday everyone!  I hope it finds you in great health and spirit.

This morning I decided to break open the sample package of Sun Dried Jingshan Green from Verdant Tea.  I've had it in the past and remember how great this green tea was.  Once again I wasn't disappointed.

The dry tea leaves are gorgerous.  Small, delicate and beautifully curved.  The aroma of the dry leaves is flowery and vegetal.

For my first steep I placed about 3.5 grams in 79°C water for about 1 minute.  The tea turned out light cool green colour with a wonderful vegetal aroma and a smooth sweet complex taste.  Although it was not astringent, there was a hint of it in the back of my tongue, something that I'm always happy to experience. This tea has a lot of body and it's one of my favourite green teas after Dragonwell.  It is somehow very different from Dragonwell and I'm not sure what makes it so, but it is all in a good way.

Currently I'm on my second steep and it is just as delicious as the first.  It took a bit longer to get the desired effect, about 3 minutes to be exact but that's expected since I did not use a lot of tea leaves.  The tea lost most of its vegetal aroma but held up the complex taste and the ever so slight astringency which once again tickled the back of my tongue.

I only have enough in the sample for one more fresh steep which I find a little sad especially that I checked the Verdant Tea website and this is out of stock temporarily.  Hopefully they'll get some more soon and I'll be able to restock.

It's sunny but cold outside and I'm having a pyjama day.  Together with the buzzing fireplace and the hot tea in my hand, there is nothing else I would rather be.  Except maybe in the little hut in the woods... but still with the hot tea and the buzzing fireplace for company... and my cat.

Cheers my friends.

Sunday Reflections over Jasmine Tea

Isn't it amazing, how much we work, prepare, shop and await the holidays and then they come and go in a blink of an eye?  I've had such a wonderful time with my family that I feel a little sad that Yule and the Christmas have already passed.  Most of my children have left and by the time the New Year hits in couple of days, my son who is still here with us, will be leaving as well.

These are the times when I remind myself to stay in the moment.  To enjoy the present and not think of the past or the future.  We don't do enough of that.  We let our thoughts wonder and torture us and we forget about the present moment which in itself most of the time is nearly perfect.

As I'm sitting here with my kids, writing this blog post while they are watching the Avatar show, I sip on the  Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls tea I got a while ago.  It is by Nourish Tea and I got it at our health food store.  I completely forgot about it and it was just sitting at the back of my tea cupboard getting older by the minute.  I have about 2 or 3 servings left.  I wasn't sure if it didn't get a little to stale to drink but I steeped a cup and the tea is just lovely.

This tea is very temperamental and it's easy for it to go bitter but today it is perfect.  I used two teaspoons of dry leaves and steeped it at 82°C for one minute.  The dry leaves are rolled into beautiful balls and half the fun is brewing this tea and watching the pearls unfold.

The ready tea is fragrant with jasmine flowers and smooth as well as delicate in flavour.  I've heard that the fragrance is too much for some people but for me it always was and still is just right.  This reminds me that I definitely have to try other jasmine teas on the market as this is the only one I've ever tried.

Sunday Afternoon with Master Han's 2013 Sheng Pu'er

This tea has a character, that for sure.  I think all young shengs do.  It will treat you well if you prepare it right, but it will bite your tongue if you don't pay attention to what you're doing.

The very first time I tried a young sheng I steeped it for one full minute.

That was a wrong move.

When I took a sip I was stunned at the bitterness.  I went all the way back to the drawing board and figured out what I did wrong.  Young sheng loves short steeps.  Yes.

Last year I acted on an impulse and got a whole brick of fresh young 2013 Master Han's Sheng from Verdant Tea.  I was a little scared at first because I knew first hand how temperamental young sheng can be.  It cost me a pretty penny and arrived in a tightly packed square brick with aroma to die for.  I prepared a special spot for it in the bookcase in my bedroom, away from all the household smells.  If all goes well I should be able to age it successfully.  That is of course if I don't drink it all too fast.

2013 Master Han's Sheng Pu'er brick

2013 Master Han's Sheng Pu'er leaves

When I want to enjoy it, I prepare it with 7 grams of leaf per 6 ounces of 95°C water.  I rinse the leaves first and let them sit for one minute.  My first steep is only for 5 seconds, followed by subsequent steeps of 10 seconds each.  I like to have 3-4 steeps overall.

Prepared cup of 2013 Master Han's Sheng Pu'er 

The prepared tea is fragrant and a little fruity with a hint of orchids and wood.  Because the steeps are so short there is not even a hint of bitterness.  It's exquisite.  There is something else.  When I first steep it I swear I can smell bacon.  Yes.  Bacon.  If I learned anything from various kinds of teas that I've tried, it is that they can surprise you in more ways than one.

Cheers!

Of Big Packages and Pretty Tea

Ohhhhh yes!! Another week and another order arrived on my doorstep today.  This package was bigger than usual as I ordered three varieties of tea and a silver tin.

I stuck a flower in the picture to show my love :)

The package included my beloved Dragonwell, Japanese Sencha and Creme Brule.  I just can't wait to try Creme Brule.  It's a mix of red and green rooibos with added safflowers, calendula and natural flavoring.  The label claims it to be organic... Hopefully. :)

I didn't know what calendula was so I googled it.  It is a variety of marigold in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to area from Macaronesia east through the Mediterranean to Iran.  It is said to be anti-inflammatory and anti-viral.  The petals are edible and can be used in salads, to color cheese or as a replacement for saffron.  Apparently, they can also be used in my tea. :)

Orange Calendula

I couldn't resist and opened the package of Creme Brule to sneak a peak... Beautiful aroma and very pretty looking tea.  Look at all the colorful flowers in there!  If I'm not mistaken, the yellow ones are from calendula  (which can also be yellow) and the red ones are safflowers.

My package as usual, besides the ordered tea, included three complimentary samples... the mystery tea...the present within a present. Today I got:

1. Orange Pekoe (Fine black tea from Sri Lanka and Assam, India)
2. The Skinny (Oolong tea, pu'erh tea, ginger, ginseng, orange peel and natural flavoring)
3. Coco Chai Rooibos: (Rooibos, coconut, cinnamon, ginger root, cardamom, red pepper, cloves, pink peppercorns, artificial and natural flavoring)

All of the above I already got before which is a bummer because I love trying new teas, but if I remember correctly The Skinny was pretty good and it's all natural.  Coco Chai was delish as well but I'm not crazy about the artificial flavoring.

There is another order on the way, somewhere between Minnesota and here.  It's pu'erh from Verdant Tea and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  Straight pu'erh tea is such a mystery to me, everything I heard about it makes me want to try it even more.  Hopefully it arrives soon.

Cheers!!!

High Mountain Oolong by DAVIDsTEA

Just few months ago I didn't know what oolong was.  I knew about green tea, white tea, black tea and herbals.  Oolong was not in my vocabulary.

Ever since I switched over to loose tea I started paying closer attention to different kinds of teas and learning as much as I could.  The word oolong was being thrown around quite a bit and I began noticing oolong tea bags at the local health food store. I often wondered about this mysterious tea with a fancy name.  What exactly did it taste like?

About two weeks ago I decided to find out and ordered High Mountain Oolong from DAVIDsTEA after reading some great reviews on Steepster.  At $10 per 25g this tea is in the premium price range and as a result, my expectations were high.

Opening the package revealed beautifully curled green tea leaves with mild, unassuming aroma.  The smell was reminiscent of green tea only a lot more subtle.

I began the brewing process by first steeping the tea for 30 seconds to rinse and open up the leaves a bit.  I followed that with a 5 minute steep.  The water for both steeps was at near boiling at around 94C.  The leaves unfurled taking up a lot of space and looked gorgeous.

The steeped tea smelled delicious, a little sweet with a hint of wet wood aroma.  By taking a sip I was thrown into an array of flavors very foreign to me.  Oolong tea production lies somewhere in the middle between gentle handling and non-oxidation of green tea and complete oxidation of black tea.  What I was tasting here was definitely complex and very different from both green and black teas that I know.  There was something to this tea I couldn't put my finger on.  A very pleasant aroma that hit me every time I put my nose to the teacup and a delicious flavor that lingered with every sip.  It tasted buttery and a bit vegetal but not the same vegetal taste you would get from green tea.  I also detected a mild and very pleasant astringency at the back of my tongue.

By now I should be done with the tasting but no... something was luring me back.  That taste and aroma that returned every time I took a sip, that made this tea distinct from all the other teas I tried.  It intrigued me and made me sip over and over to try and figure it out.  It was sweet and a bit floral and when I closed my eyes I  imagined wild flowers in the woods after a pouring rain.

Overall this was a delicious tea, the kind that I wouldn't mind having every day.  In this price range though, it will have to remain a treat but a treat I'll be delighted to have.

Steeping temperature: 94C

Steeping time: 5 minutes

Steeped in: glass teapot


Cheers!!!

My journey with Dragonwell

I love dragons.  I did since I was a kid.  If your tea has a word dragon in it I will definitely try it at least once.  Hopefully it will live up to the name.  To me a dragon means that it's something out of ordinary, exciting, something that will make me pay attention.

When I first got introduced to loose tea, I had no idea where to go to find me a good green.  Even with the bags it was hit and miss and mostly miss.  I didn't even know what I was looking for but I knew that if I found it I would know.  I researched the world of loose green tea and found out that Dragonwell is the most popular green tea in China.  I just had to try that!

I decided to go with DAVIDsTEA for my first time.

I have to say this tea has surprised me in more ways than one.  I can't really compare it to anything else because this is the first straight loose green tea that I've tried and the only one so far.  For sure I cannot compare it to the bags either.  This one is a whole new animal all on its own.

I still remember the day that I got this tea.  I was so excited, the leaves looked beautiful, their aroma was delicate and nice.

I brewed myself a nice pot.  I counted the minutes in anticipation.  The water in the pot was turning a lovely shade of green.  All was good.  I lifted a lid and took a whiff....

This couldn't be.  I went back to the package to re-check whether I got what I ordered.  Yes, this was Dragonwell, but if this was the most popular tea in China why did it smell like that?  I couldn't put my finger on the smell... It was vegetal, grassy, asparagus like, spinach, or maybe all four together?  Definitely not what I expected.  I was disappointed.

I tasted the tea and the taste was definitely going hand in hand with the aroma.  Vegetal, grassy, asparagus like, spinach or all four?  I finished the pot and contemplated whether I should return the tea or give it another shot.  I knew from reviews that people liked it.  Was there something wrong with me?

I decided to give it another shot.  And another.  And another.

This was about two weeks ago and I am pleased to say that this tea has grown on me.  It has wrapped itself around and plunged it's roots into the very core of my being.  I love this tea.  After about few days I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and steep myself a nice pot.  It became an integral part of my morning.

I know I have to keep trying other loose green teas because drinking bagged green tea all these years has definitely taught my palate nothing, but for now this one has won my heart.  It's very much vegetal and a little grassy with some earthy tones thrown in there for good measure.... and it's delicious.  I know I want Dragonwell in my cupboard.  Always.

Steeping temperature: 82C

Steeping time: 5 min

Steeped in: Clear glass teapot

Cheers!!

How did it all began?

This blog happened because I wanted to log my tea experiences.  Not because I'm some kind of tea connoisseur, tea critic or any of the sorts.  It happened because I rediscovered loose tea again.

My tea affair began before Christmas when I was buying presents for the family.  Couple of people suggested tea gifts and I remember thinking "what could be so exciting about a tea?".  I mean, I like to drink tea, I have a cup of green and white tea every day but popping a bag into the cup is hardly exciting at all and how many exciting tea gift choices could there be?

Without further due, I dived into the world of tea and discovered that:

1. There are countless gift ideas for tea.  Who would have known?
2. Tea in Canada doesn't only come in tea bags!  

I'm obviously being sarcastic here, deep down inside I already knew that there are options other than tea bags, but that thought haven't entered my conscious mind for years.  You probably reading this and laughing but to me this is not a laughing matter.  Unless you buy your tea somewhere other than supermarket or convenience store, you would never know that loose tea exists in Canada.

Silver Needle White Tea

Since I was a little girl, as far as my memories take me, my mom always drank tea.  I remember tea leaves on the bottom of tea cups, the cool little tea infuser my mom had and the intoxicating aroma of tea when you popped the lid of the tea can.

Somewhere between that and my adulthood the image of a tin filled with little wonders that were the beautifully rolled whole tea leaves has been replaced with image and convenience of a tea bag.  And so my excitement fizzled.  I find that sad.


Now that I've rediscovered this wondrous plant again, I want to document my journey into its world and I want you there with me.  We might not always agree on everything that I'll say, but I think it will be fun.

Cheers!