Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Cup Of Tea’

I have tried to write this review for something like 3-4 months. Every time I get excited about drinking this tea, get excited about brewing up tea, and then as I start drinking the tea I lose focus and end up working on something else.

So today, I’m trying to actually focus. This tea review, it SHALL be written. But as I’m drinking it, I think the fact that I am easily distracted is part of the review itself. The tea is just not holding my attention long enough to really get a good review. The aroma of the unbrewed leaf is malty with overtones of pepper. It’s got a lovely chestnut color. But the flavor is more subtle. It’s got a hint of sweetness, and some richness and a hint of earth to it. When you take a sip, the brew tastes good – but it just slips your mind quickly. It’s a nice tea, it’s just not my cup of tea.

You can purchase the China Yunnan Silver Tip Choice directly from the Grace Tea Company 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.

“A perfectly balanced blend of superb Assam teas steeps a great cup, morning, noon or evening. Enjoy with milk and a touch of sugar.” This description from Tea Forte sums up what I said when I first took a sniff of the dry pyramid and then my first sip “balanced and surprisingly mild for an EB.”

Two minute infusion time yielded a dark brown brew that tasted like it needed an additive. I reached for milk and viola…perfection in a cup. I did not add sugar, but if you like sweet in your tea then add away, this tea could handle whatever you throw in your cup!

This particular blend is made with different types of Assam leaves. This may be why I do not think it is very robust. My PG Tips are much more robust than this tea. The combination of the same type of tea results in a balanced brew, one that I am enjoying very much. Mild is the word I would use to describe this tea. The second and third infusions reveal a brownish red brew in my cup. As I sip this cup, coffee comes to mind: The richness of coffee. Memories come flooding back of “milk coffee” that is what my Grandma called the coffee/milk mix that she put in my bottle when I was a baby. I have always blamed “milk coffee” for my 5’1″ height!

I love it when teas invoke a fond memory. Holding a hot cup of tea reminds me of my Mother, thoughtful as she embraced her morning cup planning out the quilt she would work on that day. I am so glad the cooler weather is upon me, I missed holding my morning cup this summer. Thank you Tea Forte for all the nice memories this morning!

You can purchase the English Breakfast directly from the Tea Forte website.

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a number of the Canton Tea Company’s teas, and have been very pleased with their products. Their teas have been very flavorful and enjoyable to drink. Therefore, I’m finding the current cup of tea I’m trying a disappointment. On opening the packet, the scent of the tea was very light – almost non-existent. As I always look forward to that first scent of a new tea, I was disappointed. The aromas did increase upon adding hot water, but were still not strong.

Watching the leaves dance was lovely. I always enjoy how the teaspoon or two of rolled oolong teas can turn into a cup bursting with soft tea leaves.

Drinking the brew, the flavors were very subtle. A light sweetness greets the tongue on first sip, followed by a much stronger aromatic floral note in the mouth long after the liquid had left. For me, the floral tones overpowered any other flavors in the brew, and once the cup cooled, were the only flavors I could taste. And I’m not really fond of strong floral flavors, so didn’t really appeal to me.

However, the tea does have good features. It maintained these floral flavors throughout multiple steepings. I got three from each of my attempts, and I’m sure they could have gone for more cups. I also did find this tea was forgiving in brewing, I lost track of time in one steeping and the resultant brew was only slightly bitter.

Yellow Gold Oolong was not one of my favorite oolongs. I found it floral and a little boring. I much preferred their Ali Shan. Unless you really like floral, I’d recommend that one instead.

You can purchase the Yellow Gold Oolong Tea | Huang Jin Gui Wu Long directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

These tea leaves are awesome. They look like they’ve been pressed in a book like wildflowers. Flat spiky leaves that smells delightfully like something like I’d like to have as a vegetable side dish with my dinner; well spiced green vegetables. Almost reminiscent of green beans. Once brewed up, the spicy green bean scent is enhanced tenfold.

The tea is very light colored, and as mentioned very, very fragrant. It’s both savory and sweet with hints of nuts and grass. The cup does leave some astringency to it, but just enough to make you want to drink more. Green teas can run the gambit of so tannic they make you pucker more than lemons all the way to spring water. This tea is slightly tannic but nowhere near the lemon end of the continuum.

This is a very enjoyable cup of tea – light, flavorful, fragrant, and just plain yummy.

You can purchase the Dragon Well Green Tea | Shi Feng Long Jing directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 10% right now when you use the code IIATL at checkout!.