Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Astringency’

Indian tea estate names are fun to say and to think about: Goomtee, Moondakotee, Namring, Tumsong. In the case of Thurbo Tea Estate, the name evolved from “tumboo,” the Nepalese word for “tent.” Evidently, British troops set up camp there in the early 19th century. Had they had the opportunity to sample this excellent first flush tea, they would have permanently occupied the plantation!

Historical kidding aside, this is definitely a Darjeeling to linger over. The dry leaves are a light greenish gray with plenty of those blond tips that tip you off to “this is really going to be nice.” The first whiff was almost reminiscent of chocolate–dark and sweet.

With water just under boiling, and 3 1/2 minutes or so, the tea steeps into a beautiful honey color, but don’t let the lightness fool you–this has plenty of flavor. Close your eyes, smell the steam, and you’ll wonder if you accidentally put your nose in a bottle of Welch’s unsweetened grape juice.

Newbie tea drinkers often wonder why they can drink cups of certain varieties of tea and still feel a little thirsty. That’s astringency (I’m so proud of myself when I learn new tea tearms!) and Thurbo Darjeeling has plenty. The champagney-grape flavor puts a puckery wrinkle in your tongue and lips, which makes it that much more desirable to take another sip. And another. And another.

You can find Lochan Teas directly from the Lochan Tea website.

Dry smell of the leaves brings forward a “sweet” wafting.

Dry appearance of leaves: At first glance, it appears to be just broken tea leaves, but upon further inspection you notice the small black pellets known as Gunpowder. Gunpowder is made up of leaves hand-rolled into tiny pellets. These resemble gunpowder, thus the name! (Now, that is a cool fact). Small green Mint leaves against the black Ceylon leaves and the blackish pellets create a nice mixture. I admit I did not notice the gunpowder pellets at first, but now they are what I see first! It is funny how your perspective can change when you have gained new facts.

I was curious about the gunpowder pellets so I took just one and put in hot water and watched in amazement as this teeny little speck turned into a tea leaf that measured over 1″ in length! As I am watching the agony of the leaf, I realize that whatever amount of gunpowder that is in my infuser basket has not unfurled all the way. I can see a second and perhaps a third infusion in my near future and that is what makes loose leaf tea so affordable. Not only are you getting a better cup of tea, it is also cost efficient costing just pennies per cup, NOW that is a bargain!

Brew this tea like you would a green tea. A quick 2 minute brew and my first sip is a mild peppermint sensation. The more I drink the more I notice the peppermint taking center stage in this blend. Not the lead role, but certainly a good supportive role. Since this is a blend the astringency was masked from my detection radar.

I do not taste the Ceylon base or the Green tea base, one over the other. It is just a mild peppermint in a good tea base. I have been drinking black and green tea blends lately and I like what I taste. The bitterness of a black tea base is camouflaged by the often times grassy taste of a green tea and vice versa. Separately I have to put additions in most black teas and I pour out most greens that I brew. But together, they forge a mild tea with a lower caffeine level that is most enjoyable after a meal. As this cools down the peppermint is less noticeable and the black Ceylon has come forward to take a bow.

As I finish up this pot of tea, my mouth has become very dry. One way to combat the amount of astringency in teas is to brew at a lower temperature and/or a shorter amount of time. My last sip is much cooler and a bitterness has set in that I did not notice when I first started this review. I like this tea well enough to play around with the brewing parameters a bit until I find just the right combo for my finicky taste.

I do agree with TeaFrog, this tea should be a staple in every tea lover’s cabinet.

You can purchase the Asian Mint directly from the TeaFrog website.

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.

If there was ever an occasion for having tea, it’s as part of a chocolate tasting! An expert chocolate blender in England sent an exquisite box of chocolates that combines two well-known anti-oxidants for review. Both Mike and I were more than happy to oblige.

To do a proper tea and chocolate pairing, you need to know a bit about chocolate tasting and what happens. The tea warms the mouth and prepares the palate for tasting and provides flavour notes to compliment the chocolate tasting. The chocolate which is made with a high butter fat content will coat the tongue, protecting the tongue from strong tannins and astringency in the tea but may even prevent some chocolate flavours from being sensed. A quick sip of tea, however helps to cleanse the palate between chocolates and refreshes the senses.

Typically, a chocolate tasting starts with the lowest cocoa content, usually the milk chocolate (about 40% cocoa content) and moves towards increasing densities of cocoa arriving at the dark chocolate (about 70% or more cocoa content). The notes in the tea can either compliment the flavours of the chocolate, elevating the flavours of the chocolate or can even mask the flavour notes of the chocolate. Getting a good pairing is a challenge!

The tea is selected to provide delicate tasting balance and should enhance the chocolate. Tea provides a depth of flavours, high citrus notes, floral fullness, marine and vegetal qualities and even some smokiness. Chocolates have these flavours too. A chocolatier provides a tasting and sensory experience to the consumer by playing with the blending, complimentary and contrasting flavours and aromatics.

As this is a chocolate tasting, we wanted the chocolate to be the focus and not the tea. To that end, Mike and I met at a local tea shop that could provide us with a range of teas while sampling the chocolates. We looked at the notes in each chocolates and selected the tea with the aim to either compliment or to elevate the flavours in the chocolate. We had some hits and misses. That happens when you sample a product for the first time and don’t know where it will lead you. We had some surprises as well.

Here is the list of chocolates sampled and their characteristics followed by my review and recommendations, Mikes review to follow at a later date:

Jasmine Silver Needles White Chocolate – A white chocolate shell filled with white chocolate ganache infused with jasmine silver needle tea. 2 Gold Star Great Taste Award winner.

First, thanks for sharing, Bro! This little morsel of white goodness with a swipe of gold leaf over its creamy god-send, was the perfect way to kick-start a chocolate and tea tasting. Having no prior expectations, a sampling of this sensational white chocolate immediately spirals one’s head into lofty clouds of sensual pleasure. I kid you not!! I was completely overwhelmed with the instant gratification of the intense jasmine floral flavour filling the mouth and nostrils. The soft sweet mellow centre carries the jasmine tea flavour and the white chocolate combines with the warmth of the mouth in a smooth rapture. The white chocolate is merely an accessory yet is a needed buttery component to this master bon-bon to disperse the flavours throughout the mouth. Having warmed the mouth with white puer tea was a necessary preparation.

If you are looking for a head rush, this is it. You have arrived at the moment in time when you can allow the taste sensation to completely overwhelm you into a state of bliss. The experience lasts longer than you’d expect and then ever so gently glides you down back to earth with caramel notes to finish off with a creamy aftertaste.

I did note that the green tea flavours were lost completely to the jasmine notes however. The white puer meant nothing to the bold jasmine. Using a white tea to prepare the pallet by warming the mouth and setting up some flavour profiles would be lost on this chocolate that would overpower most white, green or even black tea. Consequently, this delightful chocolate is best on its own.

China Rose & Raspberry Caramel – Milk chocolate heart filled with caramel, flavoured with an infusion of dried pink rosebuds and the season’s best China black teas, blended together with raspberry puree.

I’ve always found China Rose a heavy black tea with a cloying oily intensity. One bite of this chocolate and you have a very long experience ahead of you. The heart-shaped milk chocolate with a red swirl is filled with caramel. The chocolate shell very thin and fragile and the caramel was a bit runny but smooth. I was surprised it made it this far in its container without accident.

Like the jasmine white chocolate, the rose was overwhelming, intensely cloying and irreverent to one’s wishes that it go away quickly. It just doesn’t do that. Maybe its a good thing if you are a rose lover because I’m sure someone would swoon over it the sensation. However, it was like having a bath in rose oil. I was expecting some raspberry seed to break up the monotony of the rose and as a reminder that there really was raspberry in this confection. I just couldn’t find much strength of the raspberry in the except weakly as a middle note.

Still, the overall feel was very smooth, a rich chocolate followed by the tannins from the black tea as evidence a dryness in the mouth. Overall, an interesting experience but one that should be taken on its own.

Mint & Green Tea – A square of milk chocolate ganache infused with mint and green tea, has fresh mint and aromatic floral green tea notes.

While this sample looks heavy, this square piece of mild chocolate provides an ample mouthful. The first sample was not very pleasant however and it would seem to have had no mint in it. Put it down to an omission, I sampled another piece and was happily engaged in yet another flavour experience. While I was anticipating an overwhelming powerful mint freshness, it just didn’t come through. I was a bit disappointed but then there was an understated herbal mintyness coming through as discernable by drawing in the breath. I thought a Nilgiri tea boasting floral and spice was an excellent compliment to this chocolate. The tea stood up well with its mild astringency to offset the creaminess of this larger square. The chocolate used for the shell was also excellent with complimentary light fruity and floral notes to the herbal background. I found the finish was a bit heavy of cream taste and a bit gamy for my liking but was impressed that the tea and this chocolate were an excellent match of all the tastings. With any more mint, there might be an interference with the tea tasting. There was no point is having more green tea or a mint tea with this chocolate as the tea would overwhelm the subtleties if the tea in the chocolate. Also, the flavours dropped quite quickly, leaving you with lots of complex tastes in the Nilgiri tea to savour afterwards. It was a classic moment in pairing.

Lapsang Caramel – A dark chocolate heart filled with a caramel flavoured with lapsang tea, a sweet, delicate smoky fragrance with a hint of fruitiness.

After some thought, a Ti Kwan Yin tea was selected to work with the smokiness of the Lapsang heart with the elegant blue swirl. This darker chocolate has an overall thin shell and the caramel centre carries the largely smoke flavour. The smoke flavour is reminiscent of bacon flavouring so I placed the flavour as both pine and hickory-smoke. Combined with the tea, there was an immediate flood of strong marine and seaweed notes not unlike the umani tastes you would find with Japanese Sencha tea. It was quite alarming because the chemistry was truly there for this chocolate in combination with the tea creating a synergy of flavours. The smoky flavours resolve quickly though, unlike the rose or jasmine chocolates that lingered for more than 5 minutes. It could leave you asking for more but a 2nd chocolate just doesn’t have the same effect. You can’t repeat the experience because your senses are already over whelmed. So, sit back, sample one of these bonbons for a one-of-a-kind show, enjoy the Ti Kuan Yin as a chaser and wait on the Tao.

Phoenix Honey Orchid – A square of dark chocolate ganache infused with Phoenix Honey Orchid tea, an Oolong tea with flavours of honey and lychee. Decorated with a white and red swirled motif.

The tea selected for pairing was Golden Leaves, a type of honey Oolong that was intended to help bring out the orchid flavours in the chocolate but not cover up the subtleties of the oolong. This was a mistake. The tea did not do a thing for this chocolate. The decorative colour circles on top of the chocolate suggests a complex taste is ahead of you and indeed it is a ‘finisher” chocolate for après dinner. You would need nothing more. But what tea could compare with the velvety deep rich chocolate with a slight leather tannin to complete the sensation? While there is a fullness in the mouth, the cream does not interfere by coating the tongue.

In fact, I find this a superior bonbon. Exposing myself as a dark chocolate lover, I will share with you that giddiness when you’ve hit your high. Oh, yes, this chocolate does not disappoint. But where’s the tea? It no longer matters when the rich chocolate elevates you to euphoria and sustains you for the full hit. But really, what tea does go well with this? I tried a Japanese Sencha but the tea was completing with the chocolate, heaven forbid! I tried a Keemun but it was too smoky to the chocolate. Next, one of my prize possessions – a 1st rate 2010 Darjeeling, 1st flush Makaibari clonal tips from Kurseong Valley (think sweet, buttery, rich muscatel, floral and other complexities). Finally – the right tea. The chocolate complimented the tea by accenting the muscatel and floral notes. The chocolate remained unchanged (a good sign). I enjoyed the tea even more as the tannins in the tea held up to the creamy dark chocolate. The Makaibari became the finisher to the chocolate. I was in heaven again for a long time.

In conclusion, I would rate these chocolates as follows and to be sampled as recommended:

Jasmine Silver Needles White Chocolate – on it own and away from any other food or drink. Drink what you will before to warm the mouth. Other than that, any tea selection won’t matter because the Jasmine will overtake all tastes. Plan some solitude to fully enjoy the experience.

Mint & Green Tea – Milk Chocolate with Nilgiri is a perfect compliment with neither the tea or the chocolate competing with each other. It is a perfect taste pairing to accent the aromatics.

Lapsang Caramel – Dark Chocolate with Ti Kuan Yin. Such chemistry is rare.

Phoenix Honey Orchid – Dark Chocolate with Darjeeling. This must be the taken as the last morsel, even after a dessert to finish off the meal and to welcome the evening.

China Rose & Raspberry Caramel – Milk Chocolate must be taken separately from other food or drink and only when a long-lasting sensation of rose is desired. It will complete with everything else.

You can purchase the Matcha Chocolat – China Tea Collection directly from the Matcha Chocolat website.

I discovered upon opening the package that the leaves of this tea were considerably larger and more ‘whole’ than the leaves of the First Flush from Goomtee Estate that I also sampled from this same company. These leaves were an interesting and attractive-looking mix of dark green and silver, almost as though they were the buds of a silver needle white tea rather than a black tea. But then supposedly Darjeeling teas get fermented less than most blacks, so it makes sense, I guess.

The smell was sweet and hay-like with some floral notes, though brewed it took on a toastier aroma. It had a more typical Darjeeling flavour than the Goomtee first flush did – resplendent with muscatel flavours, though with considerably less of the drying astringency you’d taste in a later-picked Darjeeling. It was sweeter too, which becomes more noticeable as the tea cooled, and it had a nice, full flavour that lingered in the mouth and kept me from forgetting about it. As it cooled it also took on some fruity characteristics, with an interesting nutty undertone.

Of the two First Flush Darjeelings I’ve tasted now I think this one is my favorite of the two, although in my opinion both are excellent, complex, and interesting teas.

I gave this a Steepster rating of 87/100.

You can find Lochan Teas directly from the Lochan Tea website.