It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Dry Tea’

Roasted teas are interesting.  As a step during the finishing,  they are roasted in a manner similar to roasting coffee beans for a short period. This imparts a “nutty’ or “toasted” flavor and scent.  (Green teas are usually withered by steam, stir frying (think of a huge wok), or occasionally roasting. Green Needles (Lu Zhen) is a spring harvest (Qing Ming) tea, that is noted as a very brisk and strong tea, unusually so for a green.  Roasted teas are sometimes recommended for people trying to move away from coffee.

This tea from the great folks at Rishi, shows a long pine needle shape with a slight curl and whites tips on dark green.  There is a fresh, sweet smell to the dry tea.

2.5 tsp (about 6g) tea in 6 oz water @180F in my green Xing for 3 minutes. Tan with hints of red in the cup, with a brothy, nutty nose with a hint of toasted nuts. Nutty, complex, big flavor with a big astringency and a lingering dryness.

This is a very big green tea!  My first pass at this tea caught me off guard – much larger personality than the usual greens I drink.

Wet leaves unfold to a leaf and a bud shape expected from this type of tea.  Leaf is consistent in size and shape, with almost no broken leaf.  A mark of quality I expect from Rishi.

2nd Infusion 185F for 4 min. Nose more typical green, with more roasted nuances, taste nutty and dry.  I got 2 more infusions out of this @5 minutes before it washed out.

Wow, this is a big, strong, green tea. This is not the soft, introspective kind of green. This is a strong, energizing tea – reminds me of the energizing effect of Yerba Mate – with a good bold, robust flavor. This is a  green for first thing in the morning to get you up and running, or any time you need a pick me up.

You can purchase Rishi Teas Organic Green Needles (Lu Zhen) Roasted directly from their website.

Ok, a warning up front that this review will be slightly more technical, and full of jargon that is not usually characteristic of my writing. So if you want to get to the juicy bit fast – bottom line – this tea gooooood.

Tea from the Darjeeling region of India is known as the “Champagne” of tea. Until now, I have never really understood why that is, but after drinking this TeaGschwender Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1, I have a clearer idea of what it means.

First of all, the technical details. FTGFOP1 stands for Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1. Plainly put – it doesn’t get any better that this. It is important to note that tea gradings like this are based on the appearance of the tea only, not the taste, and are not standardized. However, in this case, given the reputation of the vendor and the estate (Phuguri) we are going to take it at face value, backed up with the white tips in the dry tea that is a character of the “Tippy Golden” part of that grading.

Along with the tea, TeaGschwender included their measuring device, the Teelamass, which is basically a plastic tea spoon. As well, a thick book with all of their teas and the appropriate measurements for brewing (based on the Teelamass) was also included. I could have figured it out, but for beginners, that would be a very much appreciated bonus I am sure.

Before I brewed up my “tasting” cup – I had brewed a couple of cups up just for drinking (trust me, there is a difference, mostly in the note taking…) and I have to say that I went into the tasting with much anticipation. I am not normally big on drinking blacks – I do enjoy them, but not as my “standard” teas. However, my drinking cups were so enjoyable, I could not wait to review this.

I brewed the tea using 2tsp in about 16oz of boiling water, 3 minutes. This produced a light amber liqueur, with a pleasant, almost, but not quite floral aroma. The leaves unfurled nicely, and the high quality of the leaf was again proven with the white tips and greener leaves as well as your standard oxidized leaf.

The brew is slightly astringent (drying in the mouth) with a sweet cooling finish that is again, indicative of a quality Darjeeling tea. The taste is smooth and light, with refreshing muscatel notes that are reminiscent of some muscat wines, but only slightly. Being a second flush, I expected a fuller bodied and bolder tea, and it delivered but not too much so, leaving an enjoyable cup of tea that I will go back to again and again.

There is no need for sugar or milk, and in fact I believe that it would ruin the nuance of the flavouring of this single estate tea. I am not one for milk or sugar in tea in any case, and prefer to drink it au-natural.

It is easy to see now why Darjeeling tea is known as the “Champagne” of teas, it is tea, but on a different level. At $39.90/100 grams I am not about to go and stock up on it, but it is certainly a wonderful treat, and it will become a permanent addition to my Christmas list for the relatives that just never know what to get me!

You can purchase TeaGschwendner Darjeeling Phuguri FTGFOP1 directly from their website.