Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Canton Tea Company’

Flowering teas originate from Southwestern Yunnan Province. Flowering teas are prepared primarily for their aesthetics; often in glass / transparent vessels so that the blooming of a flower right before your eyes within seconds can be fully enjoyed. The tea leaves are harvested and while damp, they are sewn into various shapes and bundles with cotton thread. One single, more elaborate bundle may take as long as ten minutes to sew. Flowers commonly used are globe amaranth, chrysanthemum, jasmine, lily, hibiscus, and osmanthus. Flowering teas can be refreshed several times, and do not get bitter with extended steeping. The taste profile is usually light, fragrant, and aromatic. Here I have posted pictures of my steeping of Canton Tea’s Sweet Osmanthus.

This flowering tea is in the shape of a bulb. It is made up of silver needle and orange osmanthus flowers so I steeped it at 88C. The aroma coming off the pot smelled very sweet like nectar and a little like medicinal herbs. It did not smell floral at all.

The infusion was a light orange colour similar to the colour of the osmanthus flower that emerged from the bulb. This is interesting for a silver needle. Most infusions of industrial white teas are yellowish-orange but not premium quality white tea which brings up the point of the quality of the tea that goes into flowering teas. I would think that they are on the lower end as the point of flowering teas is more for aesthetics than for taste.

The bulb opened up completely in about 3 minutes, just enough time for the tea to steep. The website said the tea tastes like lilies and orange osmanthus. I do not know what that tastes like but this tea did not taste floral or fruity, or crisp or refreshing but it is on the opposite end – more robust, grounded, a hardier taste. It tastes a bit like sugar cane. Not bad if that is what you like. Sometimes I opt for the less fruity and floral teas myself.

You can purchase the Sweet Osmanthus Flowering Tea directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Utilising one of my larger gaiwans and about a tablespoon of this tea, I rinsed the tea and got right down to the first infusion of 30 seconds.

First impressions:
Smells a bit fruity, a bit sweet, yet mellow and slightly grassy at the same time.
The liquor is very clear and bright.
The taste is a bit darker and more woody than I expected from the smell. Also, I noted the taste to be a bit more watery than expected Perhaps more than 30 seconds are necessary for the second infusion.

Continuing impressions:
The 45 seconds I gave the second infusion brought about a darker hue, perhaps not as bright, yet still clear.
It definitely improved the flavour.
Over the next three or so infusions I put these leaves through, this tea never grew very strong, but sipping it truly was a delight. The aftertaste of this tea is stronger than expected, composed of floral and fruity notes.

Overall, a thoroughly pleasant oolong that I would definitely recommend. On my personal scale, I give it an 85/100.

You can purchase the Anxi Rou Gui directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Wow. The aroma of the dry leaves, an intensely sweet and grassy smell, was incredible. I opened the package and it wafted instantly to my nose from a foot away. That, I must say, was impressive. I went ahead and steeped two teaspoons in one cup for a little over 2 minutes.

The aroma of the steeped liquor retains some of the same sweetness, but it is also much more mellow. The flavour suprises me. It comes out much more light and subdued that I had expected. I think that perhaps the second steeping I shall try for three minutes to see how it changes the flavour. There is not much aftertaste, but the small amount that lingers on the tongue is soft, and not overly vegetal at all. Traces of the original aroma of the dry leaves hang for a moment in the throat before they are gone. It is time for the second steeping.

The leaves dance about in the tiny glass pitcher for three minutes more. These leaves are beautiful, tiny buds with the slightest small hairs. The aroma of this second steep seems to be thicker, somehow, yet not stronger. The flavours remain much the same as they were in the first steeping.

While this tea was good, I am left with the impression that my taste buds missed something significant that this tea had to offer. It certainly is a tasty green tea, and I would recommend it for fans of more delicate greens. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it an 80/100.

You can purchase the Snow Buds (Xue Ya) directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Lapsang Souchong is also known as Wuyi Yunwu. The name Lapsang Souchong came from Tibet which once lay on the route of tea trade to Europe. In Tibetan language, Lapsang Souchong means “perfectly made by hands.” The Fukienese word “Souchong” literally means little variety or subvariety (of other black teas from Wuyi mountains of Fujian). Lapsang Souchong is famous for its smoky flavour. Legend claims that the smoking process was discovered by accident. During the Qing dynasty an army unit passing through Xingca (Star Village) camped in a tea factory filled with fresh leaves awaiting processing. When the soldiers left, the workers could finally get back to work, but they realized that it was too late to dry the leaves the usual way and make it to the market in time. So they lit open fires of pine wood to speed up the drying process. Not only did the tea reach the market in time, but the smoked pine flavour became a bigger hit than the slower dried Lapsang. A new product was born.

I was excited to taste Canton Tea’s Lapsang Souchong as I have enjoyed Canton teas in the past. I steeped 5 grams in 600ml of water for 2 minutes. The leaves are a twisted coppery brown colour. Now I have had bad luck with Lapsangs before, many tasting too smoky, and the last one tasting very medicinal like tiger balm to be exact. But Canton Tea’s Lapsang Souchong is nothing like that. The website describes it as like a campfire and that’s exactly how it tasted to me. Not too smoky, a natural soft smokiness, and hints of fruit. A quality Lapsang. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be able to find one.

You can purchase the Original Lapsang Souchong Black Tea | Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

Jade Sword also known as Mao Jian is a favoured tea among many for its light refreshing vegetal flavour and pale liquor. Canton Tea has again provided an exceptional sample. In digging around on the internet, I found a comment in an article by Jane Pettigrew about the difficulties in sourcing tea in 2010 due to climate conditions. This Jade Sword tea sample is from another region that i was receiving more rainfall: ” … Edgar Thoemmes, the founding partner of Canton explained that “we have had to be agile this year!” and instead of sourcing Canton Teas Jade Sword Mao Jian from Zhejiang this year, their supply has come from Guangxi province”. The Canton Tea web site says this tea is sourced from Da Ming Shan which is located in Zhejiang.

Could you find a prettier tea? The long thin fronds are so tender and graceful and the colours are muted sage and silver tips. This tea is so pleasing to the eye and so celestial looking. If you have guests, put this tea out for a visual inspection, to smell and for admiration. The scent of the dry leaf is heavenly – sweet with grassy freshness. I used a Gaiwan for this tea using 2.5 grams tea in 150 ml water at 90 degrees C. for 2 minutes.

The scent of the wet leaves is light and fresh, with a note of asparagus. The wet olive-green coloured leaves were opened only lightly, leaving room for additional steeps. I used a shorter 30 second timing on the second but had a weaker cup rather than one producing more flavour with a more open leaf. I would not want to be dissapointed on a 3rd steep so I stopped. Examining the wet leaves, I could see the long bud and even some chopped leaf.

The colour of the liquor was very pale yellow almost clear! This Jade Sword is a smooth drink, but not as full in the mouth or as astringent as other Mao Jian’s I’ve tried. There was an exceptional aftertaste though. Sometimes, one has to wait for the best experience at the end rather than at the beginning. The umani lasts and lasts. There is an astringency and minty-coolness across the tongue. And the natural sweetness stays in the mouth.

I would not serve this tea with anything other than a light almond cookie or cucumber or watercress sandwich least it mask the subtleties of this tea. This is an all-day any-time drinker. Frankly, I would love this in the spring or early summer. I would sure like to know what the Zhejiang-sourced Jade Sword is like in comparison.

You can purchase the Jade Sword Green Tea | Mao Jian directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.