Sunday with 2005 Fengqing Zhuan Cha Raw Pu'erh from Teavivre

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

- Fvodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

Today I've decided to try the sample that I've had in my collection for a while.  I only have one packet and have been waiting for a special occasion that never came.  Today, while the winter storm circles my neck of the woods and snow slowly descends, is the perfect time to curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of delicious tea.

I've had raw pu'erh before but I've never tasted aged raw pu'erh.  I like both young sheng and a good shu, but what will aged sheng taste like?

I opened the package and took a whiff of aroma.  It was great.  Very aromatic, a little vegetal and woodsy at the same time.  The leaf was part loose, part in moderate chunks and of dark green/brown colour.

I steeped the entire sample package (10g) at 95°C in 8 ounces of water for 30 seconds.  The result was amazing.  The tea turned out golden brown in colour with aroma that made me think of wet forest after a good summer soaking.  

The taste knocked my socks off.  It was delicious.  I would say this tea was right smack in the middle between a good shu and a young sheng.  Sweet, woodsy notes were intertwined with a hint of flowers and mushrooms to give this tea an incredible depth and made me want more. There was a slight astringency at the back of my tongue, just enough to add to the complexity of the tea but not too much to make it bitter.

I'm currently on my second steep (50 sec) and it's just as good as the first if not better.  I could probably get away with shorter steep of 40 sec or so and there is still a lot of life left in the leaves for more steeps in the near future.  

I just checked on Teavivre website and this tea is still available.  I'm seriously considering purchasing a brick.  It's good, really good and I want more of this golden goodness.

Of Zombies and Chrysanthemum Pue'r

Happy New Year everyone!

This is the first post in 2015.  I'm quietly enjoying Chrysanthemum Pue'r while watching the World War Z.  I'm not sure which one I'm enjoying more, the movie or the tea, but since this is the tea blog I suppose I'll talk about the tea.  Secretly I'm itching to talk about zombies too though. :P

I got Chrysanthemum Pue'r from Verdant Tea few months ago.  It was a complete shot in the dark, as I never tried it before.  I am a pu'er lover and I was intrigued by the fact that this blend included chrysanthemum flowers.  For some unknown reason, I'm drawn to flowers in the tea and since I've never had tea with chrysanthemum flowers before this one was a must try.

The dry tea presents itself beautifully.  It's got gorgeous white chrysanthemum flowers, large juniper berries, coriander and spices.

I steeped two full teaspoons in boiling water for 1 minute and I should be able to get another two solid steeps out of that later.  The result was red dark brown liquid with flowery and spicy aroma. The tea is smooth, very fragrant and crisp, with with sweet and earthy tones. It's got phenomenal depth.  It's a perfect companion on a cold, wintery night with fireplace buzzing and zombies running amok. I like it today just as much as when I bought it for the first time.

I checked the Verdant Tea website and currently this tea is out of stock.  I have only a little bit left so I hope they'll be restocking this little wonder soon.  If you want to try it out, I highly recommend it.

Ingredients: Master Han’s 2004 Loose Leaf Shu Pu’er, Burdock, Juniper Berries, Coriander, Holy Basil, Chrysanthemum

Of Personal Notes and 2004 Willow Grove Shu

Today I received a much anticipated delivery from Verdant Tea.  About two weeks ago I've ordered my very first pu'erh tea.  Never had it before, never tasted it, I couldn't wait to try it out.  I've read so many different reviews of various pu'erhs, the good and the bad and the more I read the more I wanted to get in the club.  You know, the club of people who know what pu'erh is all about.

For those of you who don't know what pu'erh tea is, there is an awesome Wikipedia article on pu'erh tea with all the details one can handle.

Verdant Tea's selection was not the largest at the moment. I don't know all the ins and outs of the pu'erh tea but apparently they are waiting for the new stock to come in.  Never the less, I've ordered Tea Trail 2004: Willow Grove Shu 50g, and a sample of Mt. Banzgang Farmer's Cooperative '03 Sheng.  I also received a complimentary sample of Flowering Green Jasmine tea.  I have never brewed flowers before and I just can't wait to do it.  Thank you Verdant Team!

The box was neatly packaged and included a personal note from the staff.  I thought that was such a nice touch! :)

I waited until after dinner to open the shu and steep a pot of it.  I didn't want to be rushed.  I wanted to savor and enjoy the moment.

The aroma of the tea was very delicate, mild, a bit musky and sweet.  The leaves were clumped in chunks and very dark in appearance.  Definitely did not look like any other tea that I've seen.

I wanted to make sure I steep this one correctly so I followed the Western brewing instructions from Verdant Tea website.  I rinsed the leaves first at 208F and then steeped the tea at 205F for 3 minutes.  I steeped in the glass teapot because I don't have a dedicated yixing teapot yet.

While brewing, this pu'erh was almost trying to tell a story.

The aroma of the steeped tea was very woody.  Actually, the moment I smelled this pu'erh and took a sip, I was thrown back in memory lane to the mushroom picking trips I used to take with my grandpa when I was little.  Every time I took a sip I had this flashback.  All of a sudden I was seeing myself in the deep forest, picking mushrooms and being surrounded by pine trees.  That was quite a time travel! :D

Back to the tea.  The liquid color was gorgeous deep reddish brown and it was crystal clear.  The taste was full bodied, mild, delicate and pleasant.  I could smell and taste the woods and the pine and there was this ever slight astringency that started developing towards the end of every sip but which disappeared before the sip was over.  I can say with confidence that I very much enjoyed this delicious and special tea.

You might think, this is it but this shu wasn't done with me yet.  As I was sitting and sipping my tea, all of a sudden I was hit by a head rush.  I heard about this before but totally forgot and it took me by a surprise.  It was not bothersome but I definitely felt different.  This is some tea!

I gave the tea two steeps, second time I brewed it for 3 minutes as well.  To my surprise, after the second steep, the tea was darker and stronger.  Still very earthy, woody and full body.  I have never seen a tea getting stronger with subsequent steeps, this was the first.  Unfortunately, it was getting late in the evening and I couldn't continue with steeps.  Next time I will steep it earlier in the day and continue steeping until the flavor is gone.  This is definitely a lot of tea... It packs a punch.

Steeping temperature: 205F

Steeping time: 3 min

Steeped in: glass teapot

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!!!

Of Glass Teapots and Ginger Spiced Brew

Have you ever had one of these days when luck just smiles at you?  Of course you did, they happen to all of us every now and then.  Today it was my turn to have one of these days.

I walked into my favorite second hand shop and found Teaopia (now Teavana) glass teapot with infuser, completely intact.  I've been checking out different teapots for almost two years now.  Whenever I'm at my favorite second hand shops I always check the teapot and tea sets section.  I have never seen all glass teapot yet until today.  I'm so happy because I really wanted one and they are quite pricey.  Today I didn't need to worry about the price because at $2.99 it was a steal.  On the side note, there are so many things that I want and it's nice to score a steal every now and then, right?

Such wonderful turn of events simply had to be celebrated and the only way to do it was to brew something good in my new teapot.  After washing the pot carefully (oh my, this thing is so delicate, I can imagine it could shatter just by me staring at it for too long) and drying it thoroughly, it was time for the after dinner cuppa.

This had to be a special brew, possibly something I haven't had yet but wanted to try. I decided to try one of the samplers sent to me with my latest order of DAVIDsTEA: The Skinny. It's an organic oolong blend and I've been having my eye on it for a while.

The Organic Skinny Ingredients: Chinese oolong tea, Chinese pu'erh tea, ginger, eleuthero, orange peel, natural orange and ginger flavorings.

Upon tearing the sample package I was greeted with a delicious aroma reminiscent of citrus with a tiny hint of ginger. I really enjoyed that. Usually when the tea smells yummy pre-steep it is an indication of good things to come.

I steeped the tea for about 5 minutes at which point the color was beautiful shade of red, not too light and not too dark. The scent has now changed slightly. It was spicy with bigger emphasis on ginger. Taste-wise ginger was also very prominent but still not overwhelmingly so.  You have to know that I'm not a big fan of ginger in my tea (unless I need it for health reasons) and so this could have potentially been a tasting disaster.

I was pleasantly surprised. The tea was delicious in taste, very smooth and with a subtle hint of sweetness. My youngest daughter, who joined me in this sample tasting, added a tiny bit of organic cane sugar to it and she too has enjoyed his tea. It's maybe not something that I feel compelled to have a tin full in my tea cabinet but if available, I will most certainly have a cup of.

I give this tea a handsome 8/10

Till next time,

Cheers!!