Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Dark Leaves’

Canton Tea recently asked if we could review their Special Puerh, produced for them a small artisan farm in Yunnan Province. They state that it is made from big leaf maocha is from the Big Tree, Arbor varietal, and consists of Grade 6 leaves and above, with some small buds.

I approached this in their suggested manner, using 4g of leaf, 95C water, doing multiple steeps, starting at 20 seconds per steep. The dry leaf appears to be tightly compressed, consisting of mostly dark leaves, with a smattering of light silver-needle like buds here and there. There seems to be a higher than usual proportion of leaf to stem ratio, favouring the leaf side.

The scent of the dry leaf is earthy, but raw. A definite scent of dried hay, or drying grass on the lawn. I can also detect a slight fruity sweetness, like ripening peaches.

1st steep – just a quick rinse.

2nd steep – 20 seconds. The scent of the leaf on the lid of the pot is wet hay, and the color of the liquor is a rich golden yellow – on the lighter side, not dark at all. The scent is raw, and already triggering a drooling response The taste is very light, and a bit flat. In the mouth it is cooling and fresh, sliding off the tongue, not coating it. The most interesting characteristic is the cooling sensation – telling me that it is a high-mountain Puerh.

3rd steep – 20 seconds. The scent is much sharper, with deeper tones. I think this is giving us a hint of what we will see in 3-4 years as it ages, with a sweetness coming out to play. The astringency is starting to show up – but still playing a background role.

4th steep – 20 seconds. The liquor is still the color of golden nectar, but starting to turn slightly cloudy. It seems to have a bit less flavour than the 3rd steep, but otherwise still the same characteristics.

5th steep – 1 minute. I decided to up the steeping time, as it seemed to be getting close to washed out. At 1 minute for the steep, the color is a bit lighter, but the astringency is starting to come out. I can feel it on the sides of the tongue, and a slight tingling in the middle of my tongue. The flavours are still sweet, slightly fruity, and cooling in the mouth. A very clean taste.

6th steep – 1 minute. Now this is what I was waiting for. All of a sudden, the flavour has become very complex, and strong, with a biting feeling in the back of the throat. My tongue is definitely tingling now, and the sweetness has reached an almost candy flavour. It is not as cooling, but there is more depth and character to it now. This is how I envision it in 7 to 8 years from now. This is the steep that I would like to freeze it on – really loving it right here!

7th steep – 1 minute. Back to about where the 5th was. Lighter flavour, sweetness, but definitely starting to feel a bit washed out.

You could probably continue on and easily get another 4-5 steeps out of this before you entirely lose the flavours. As a first year raw puerh – I would say that this is probably going to age very well, the flavours are beautiful and cool, like a high-mountain spring running through a peach orchard. As it ages and gains complexity, it will only get better, I am sure!

As always, Canton Tea never fails to impress. Whether you want to enjoy it young, or let it age and enjoy it later, this beeng cha will not disappoint!

You can purchase the 2011 Canton Tea Co Special Puerh directly from the Canton Tea Co. website.

I love Earl Grey. I used to drink it quite often, but a couple of months ago I came across a couple of EG variations that were bad. They gave Earl Grey a really horrible, perfume filled name. It used to be my favorite variety of tea, so I was excited to try this version from Mighty Leaf in hopes of renewing my faith in Earl Grey.

This is a whole leaf bagged tea which I don’t recall having experienced before. There were a lot of long, dark leaves and very few typical bagged tea sized pieces. The bag smells strongly of bergamot, but not in the perfume sort of way. I am not able to identify the scent of jasmine, but that may be a good thing. I believe my most recent horrible EG experience was with a jasmine EG. As the tea is steeping, the bergamot allows the black tea to shine through in the scent.

I steeped the bag for 4 minutes as suggested by Mighty Leaf and was a bit surprised that the leaves had expanded to fill the entire bag. That is pretty impressive compared to the normal bagged teas I usually have. The taste is of smooth black tea with a nice dose of bergamot. I am once again unable to locate the jasmine, but I’m fine with that. This is possibly one of the best Earl Greys I have had. The flavor is bold, but not overbearing or perfume-like. This tea is great and easy to drink plain, but is equally as good with the addition of milk and sweetener. The tea holds up nicely to the additions and retains a strong black tea base.

You can purchase the Mighty Leaf Organic Earl Grey directly from the Mighty Leaf Tea website.