This tea? This tea moved me to buy a tea scale.

I’ve known for a while that if you really want to get serious about making sure you’re able to get good, repeatable results from your tea that you need to watch all your parameters. But I hadn’t bothered to get a scale, until I met this tea.

I got the package, and thought, meh- I can just wing it. So I did. And the tea was awesome. And then my brain finally kicked it and thought – hey, if you can get awesome tea by winging it – what would happen if you actually did it 100% right?? I ordered a scale 5 minutes later.

The dry leaf is very silvery, the large needles are covered with that silvery down that gives this style of tea it’s name. In aroma, it’s got a lot of hay overtones – like summer fields. The liquor is a very light yellow once brewed, with only traces of summer fields. But – the flavor on this tea is where it really shines. It’s got a rich, silky feel in your mouth, and a flavor of newly mown hay and just a hint of honeysuckle for a delicate sweet note on the finish. This is light and clear – not a tea to be drunk with a heavy meal, but a tea to be savored on it’s own or maybe with light fruit. It has almost no astringency, but the very little it does have just invites you to sip more.

Delicate yet rich; smooth and clear. This is an amazing example of a silver needle.

You can purchase TeaGschwendner China Yin Zhen Silver Needle directly from their website.

I was really excited to try this tea because it was my first of this type and my first tea from this company. I’ve never come across a Japanese green that I didn’t enjoy, so I was really hoping to love this also.

The leaves of this tea are quite thin and long with various shades of green from jade to emerald. The smell from the package was much like fresh cut grass, very clean and fresh.

The first time I brewed this tea, I let it steep for around 2 minutes with not-quite-boiling water. At first, it was pretty decent. It was nicely sweet with a taste of the honeydew melon promised on the package. There was a definite grassy aftertaste which wasn’t off-putting, but slightly grassier than other green teas I’ve had. Uh oh. As the tea began to cool, the sweet taste of honeydew disappeared and was replaced by a very strong, unpleasant grass stew.

Okay, I was a bit disappointed after this first tasting so I researched Gyokuro and realized that it is a quite sensitive tea when it comes to temperature. I tried the tea again, but this time I poured the water over the leaves when it just started to steam. Well before even the smallest bubbles formed. I also reduced the steeping time to slightly over one minute. Success!! I was surprised with a nicely sweet brew of a beautiful bright yellow hue. The honeydew melon had taken the lead and the slight grassiness served to balance out the flavors nicely. The flavor stays on the sweet side if you drink this while hot. I wouldn’t suggest letting this cool too much, unless of course you want to drink a cup of warm cut grass. This tea was quite good through two infusions when paying attention to the temperature of the water.

I cold-brewed the last of my sample and it really mellowed out the grassy aftertaste. The honeydew melon flavor was juicy and lovely. Truly delicious. If I ever come across this type of tea again, I will be cold-brewing it for sure.

I can see the allure of this tea as it was the most unique green tea I have had so far. However, since it is so temperamental, I can’t see myself drinking this on a regular basis. Overall, if you enjoy Japanese greens, you have to try this at least once. Just make sure to pay attention to the water temperature! (Or just cold-brew it!)

You can purchase the Japan Gyokuro directly from the TeaGschwendner website.

TeaGschwender describes it as: Mysterious myths entwine this treasure. Handpicked feathery buds shimmer tenderly. The cup is clear as crystal with a smooth touch of green. A truly precious tea experience!

This is one of my all time favorite silver needles- Yin Zhen: Silver needle or “white beatitude”. And it absolutely lives up to the description given by TeaGschwender. This tea is so light and clean and it brews up so clear that it’s hard to believe that it could possibly carry as many health benefits as it does. The flavor is delicate and yet powerful at the same time, complex yet simple. I could drink this tea all day and still truly enjoy it.

I brewed it exactly as was suggested and was glad that I did. It’s such a delicate taste that I suspect you wouldn’t get the full nuances if it wasn’t brewed with filtered water.Drinking it now and smiling at how unique it is and how it makes me feel. It has a soft scent that begs you to hold your cup close so you can inhale it. I can’t think of any words to describe it other than delicate and clean, so I’m going to close my laptop and enjoy this treasure. Hopefully the adjectives will come to me.

You can purchase TeaGschwendner China Yin Zhen Silver Needle directly from their website.

Ok, a warning up front that this review will be slightly more technical, and full of jargon that is not usually characteristic of my writing. So if you want to get to the juicy bit fast – bottom line – this tea gooooood.

Tea from the Darjeeling region of India is known as the “Champagne” of tea. Until now, I have never really understood why that is, but after drinking this TeaGschwender Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1, I have a clearer idea of what it means.

First of all, the technical details. FTGFOP1 stands for Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1. Plainly put – it doesn’t get any better that this. It is important to note that tea gradings like this are based on the appearance of the tea only, not the taste, and are not standardized. However, in this case, given the reputation of the vendor and the estate (Phuguri) we are going to take it at face value, backed up with the white tips in the dry tea that is a character of the “Tippy Golden” part of that grading.

Along with the tea, TeaGschwender included their measuring device, the Teelamass, which is basically a plastic tea spoon. As well, a thick book with all of their teas and the appropriate measurements for brewing (based on the Teelamass) was also included. I could have figured it out, but for beginners, that would be a very much appreciated bonus I am sure.

Before I brewed up my “tasting” cup – I had brewed a couple of cups up just for drinking (trust me, there is a difference, mostly in the note taking…) and I have to say that I went into the tasting with much anticipation. I am not normally big on drinking blacks – I do enjoy them, but not as my “standard” teas. However, my drinking cups were so enjoyable, I could not wait to review this.

I brewed the tea using 2tsp in about 16oz of boiling water, 3 minutes. This produced a light amber liqueur, with a pleasant, almost, but not quite floral aroma. The leaves unfurled nicely, and the high quality of the leaf was again proven with the white tips and greener leaves as well as your standard oxidized leaf.

The brew is slightly astringent (drying in the mouth) with a sweet cooling finish that is again, indicative of a quality Darjeeling tea. The taste is smooth and light, with refreshing muscatel notes that are reminiscent of some muscat wines, but only slightly. Being a second flush, I expected a fuller bodied and bolder tea, and it delivered but not too much so, leaving an enjoyable cup of tea that I will go back to again and again.

There is no need for sugar or milk, and in fact I believe that it would ruin the nuance of the flavouring of this single estate tea. I am not one for milk or sugar in tea in any case, and prefer to drink it au-natural.

It is easy to see now why Darjeeling tea is known as the “Champagne” of teas, it is tea, but on a different level. At $39.90/100 grams I am not about to go and stock up on it, but it is certainly a wonderful treat, and it will become a permanent addition to my Christmas list for the relatives that just never know what to get me!

You can purchase TeaGschwendner Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1 directly from their website.