Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘canton tea co’

My preference when it comes to pu’erh is certainly for a nice cooked and aged pu, but all the same, this 2004 Ji Xing Yi Wu sheng pu’erh was a gift from a friend and came highly recommended. So I decided to first give it a shot in my gaiwan and take it through it’s fragrant paces.

After the first infusion, the wet leaves smell a bit smoky, like burning logs, and quite musty. The infused liquor is a lot lighter, still with mustiness. My first cup left my mouth with a distinctive dry feeling. The earthy, vegetal taste is quite full and leaves a lasting impression on the tongue. Quite frankly, this pu’erh has the biggest aftertaste of any pu’erh I have ever had.

For the second infusion, I let it steep for 30 seconds, which I found to be a bit too long for this tea, when using the recommended amount of 3-4 grams. 20 seconds will be certainly sufficient for the first few infusions. This second, strong infusion very much emphasizes the dry notes of this tea. As I finish this infusion, I very much enjoy how robust the flavour of this uncooked pu’erh is.

After five additional steepings, these leaves were beginning to lose much of their robustness. Canton Tea Co.’s website does recommend at least six infusions for this tea. Overall, this tea was an excellently smooth example of a tasty raw pu’erh. My rating for this tea is 85/100.

You can purchase the 2004 CNNP Ji Xing Yi Wu Raw Beeng Cha directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

I have to be honest and say, I don’t drink a lot of yellow tea. In the past, it was because yellow tea wasn’t readily or easily available at my local tea shops. But now, I guess it’s not a tea I normally think of reaching for from my tea stash (I currently only have one on hand, a Jun Shan Yin Zhen). So doing a tasting of Canton Tea Co.’s Meng Ding Huang Ya Yellow Tea (as per label on sample) was actually something I was looking forward to.

I admit though, I have always been fascinated as to what makes yellow tea different from white tea and green tea, and how it is produced. The extra step from Chinese green tea production called men huang (literally “cooped up” yellow) seemed reminiscent to me of the steaming of Japanese tea leaves or, even more so, the way the Burmese process tea leaves for eating. However, it is not the same as Japanese tea or Burmese tea leaf processing (which both incorporate steaming in their production), as the still moist fired tea leaves are wrapped with cloth and stored for 1 – 2 days & then the drying & wrapping in cloth is repeated for up to 3 or 4 days in total.

I have heard yellow tea described as a cross between white tea and green tea because of its softer assertiveness and mellow flavour. However, knowing how it is produced always give me the expectation that it would have some aromas & flavours reflecting Burmese “pickled tea leaf” because of being stored or “cooped up” in cloth for a period of time.

Interestingly enough, some of these notes did pop up while tasting Canton Tea Co.’s Meng Ding Huang Ya, which literally translates to Mount Meng Ding Yellow Bud. I actually tasted this tea twice, on two separate days. I used a temperature of about 78°C (173°F) and steeped three times. The first steep was for about 1 1/2 minutes and I upped each steep after by about 15 seconds (really no methodology to my actions, just what I thought might work for this tea).

Here are some of my tasting notes on Canton Tea Co.’s Meng Ding Huang Ya Yellow Tea. Both times that I tasted yielded similar thoughts.

I quite enjoyed this Meng Ding Huang Ya. The first steep was the best tasting and by the third steep, the flavour was gone. I didn’t expect to get more than two steepings from this tea so I wasn’t disappointed. I liked how the flavours were soft yet I was able to discern varying tastes in my mouth ranging from sweetness, vegetal/seaweed, to a sort of fresh tanginess. Very nice.

You can purchase the Meng Ding Huang Ya directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

I have had AWESOME luck with Canton Tea Company’s teas!  I have enjoyed MANY and this one certainly followed suit!  It’s Creamy, Tangy, and a little semi-sweet grassy type taste. Light and Clean. Sometimes I think the creamy and tangy seem to contradict each other but in this tea they work really well together!  It was a pleasant surprise!  I love the fact that it’s a semi-sweet grassy type taste because I don’t think the stereotypical grassy-grass taste would work with this tea.  It’s just the right amount of sweet.   Having said all of that – this tea IS very Light and Clean.  The clean taste goes on to the aftertaste and it’s just delightful!

You can purchase the Anji Bai Cha directly from the Canton Tea Co. website – Save 10% right now when you use the code IIATL at checkout!.

Pu-erh tea is named after a small town in the Yunnan province of China where tea leaves are harvested from an ancient broad-leaved variety of camellia sinensis called Da Ye. The sample from the Canton tea Company is a cooked, loose pu-erh that uses forced microbial biodegradation to promote further oxidation known as fermentation. Pu-erh is distinctive as a black tea with a deep mahogany-red liquor and an intriguing scent of damp earth and wet forest leaves. Aging defines the flavour of the tea, tempers the tannins and develops the sweetness of the tea. As an aged tea, some pu-erh tea cakes are kept for over 50 years and can command among the highest tea prices. As for health benefits, pu-erh is known to reduce cholesterol and to aid in the digestion of fatty foods and to provide weight-loss especially among those in the ages of 40-50. It also seems to stain the teeth rather badly.

The Vietnamese Cooked Loose Pu-erh from the Canton Tea company in London received One Star (that’s almost perfect) at the 2010 Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Award. According to the Canton tea web site, this pu-erh was hand-made made in 1999 by a small artisan producer on the Yunnan/Vietnam border. A Yixing teapot is often used as a traditional serving vessel for pu-erh. The teapot is used only for pu-erh as it stains the insides of the porous clay pot and can end up rather smelly of damp earth.

It is recommended to wash the leaves briefly with a quick first steep for 20 seconds then drain the water off. Let the leaves cool down before proceeding with the second steep to help develop the flavours of the tea. Use 100 degrees Celsius (205-210 degrees F.) water for each infusion. Usually 3-5 grams tea is used per 100 – 250 ml. water. A short steep using a Yixing teapot would be about 30 seconds with multiple infusions. For the second infusion, let the steep go 25 seconds then with each subsequent infusion, steep 5 seconds longer than the one before and you may manage to get to the 10th steep with a final 90 second steep. For a deep rich earthy-tasting pu-erh a longer steep is called for about 4 minutes after tossing out a brief 1st infusion to wash and open up the leaves.

Now, my notes on this tea: The dry leaves were large, shrivelled with a lazy twist and a reddish-brown colour. There was a white downy microbiological coating over the leaves, a good sign of fermentation. There was some fine dust in the sample package, probably from the culture. The leaves smelled of “damp basement”, reminding me that my Grandma’s house produced many treasures from hidden trunks in her basement. I measured out 5 grams. After rinsing off the tea with an initial steep, I used 100 ml. Water at 100 degree Celsius and steeped for 4 minutes. I wanted full flavour head-on but was actually a bit disappointed as I found the liquor cloudy and didn’t get the fullness in the mouth expected. The liquor was black like coffee. I had to wait for the 3nd steep to fully appreciate what this tea had to offer. The liquor poured out red. I could see through to the bottom of the cup now and the rich red liquor with the intense yet sweet smell of the earth. I was beginning to think that this tea was better suited for a multiple steep.

While the liquor was cooling, I noted the wet leaves were brown-black in colour and the leaf was very large, typical of pu-erh. The scent of the earth combined with other musty notes made me very happy thinking of my grandmother and my ancestors. I could discern deep barn scent and even sweet hay. I was recently at a barn and while there, I made special note of the smells of hay, leather and horse as part of my pu-erh training. This Vietnamese pu-erh provided warm comforting scents that lingered pleasantly in my memory stores.

The liquor, was smooth and felt full in the mouth. There was no blatant astringency but there was a small catch of dryness at the back of my tongue. There was an almond flavour with a hint of chocolate and there was a slight liquorice flavour. What a great quality pu-erh to accompany a meal as this tea is able to hold up to multiple infusions and would last the entire meal. It would be excellent as an accompaniment to seafood, game, meat and cheese at any table where there is some fat. I tried a second tasting with 4 grams in 150 ml, using the quick steep method and had much more mellow results with a clear bright liquor and a pleasant earthy lingering aftertaste. I recommend the quick steep method if you plan to start developing a taste for pu-erh. See photo.

I compared the Vietnamese Loose Pu-erh to a 12 year old Pu-erh from the same region The 1999 Vietnamese pu-erh, while somewhat younger stands up well. There is a lightness to the tea as it imparts its energy and it lifts and refines your body chemistry. You feel something healthy is happening. There is a consistency to the flavour and a taste range that you don’t get tired of it. This a very drinkable tea for all times of the day, and is truly a tea to be enjoyed and shared with friends. I would certainly give it One Star too.

If you would like more information about pu-erh tea and its processing, there is a concise section in “The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook” by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert L Heis, Berkley, CA, Ten Speed Press, 2010.

You can purchase the Sunrise in Tibet directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

For this review I decided to brew this tea using a two-cup glass teapot. Canton Tea Co’s website suggests using 1 tsp of pearls per cup, which is difficult to estimate using pearls, so I believe I added about 35-40 of the small pearls to the teapot. Continuing to follow the directions, I steeped the pearls about three minutes, stopping to taste the tea after two minutes (the website had recommended 2-3 minutes).At two minutes, the taste really wasn’t very far developed, but I could already tell that this was one very sweet tea.

With the dry pearls, one could very much smell the jasmine, yet the scent was not overpowering, nor was it almost sickly-sweet, as some teas are that contain jasmine. The aroma of the brewed tea was even less bold and had an even softer nose, with only faint hints of jasmine.

Upon taking the first big sip, the tea flow smooth and thick across the tongue, and the fruity sweet taste of jasmine infiltrated my entire mouth. If a flower could be described as being delicious, this would be the epitome of such a description. The amount of jasmine is enough to lend great character to the tea, while not completely dominating it.

The website recommends steeping this for at least three separate infusions. I most certainly shall.

On my personal enjoyment scale, I rate this tea an 85/100.

You can purchase the Jasmine Pearls directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!