Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Floral Aroma’

The leaves of the Castleton Darjeeling are very green and twisted. When I first tried one of these 1st flush Darjeelings a few days ago, I was thrown off by how similar the 1st flushes are to green teas. I don’t have any prior experience with Darjeelings, but I really thought that they were black teas and perhaps the later flushes are. I don’t know.

What I do know is that this tea is much more like a green tea. If you go into it, like I initially did, expecting a robust black tea that would take milk and/or sugar you will probably be disappointed. However, I’m going into this tasting thinking that this is a green tea.

The dry leaf had a very green smell, but not vegetal; almost a bit musky, but not off-putting. This Castleton brews up a rich, golden hue similar to that of apple juice and has a medium floral aroma. The first sip begins slightly buttery, followed by a light floral taste. As the cup begins to cool slightly, the fruity scent begins to come into play. It is a bit hard to identify the fruity taste however that Darjeelings are famous for (well, from what I’ve read).

This tea is pretty good, but is best when drank before allowed to cool too much. A light, pleasant floral aftertaste lingers between each sip.

You can purchase the Castleton FTGFOP 1st Flush 2010 Darjeeling directly from the Lochan Tea website.

Keemun Hao Ya B is one of the very best grades of  Keemun teas from China, so I brewed Vicony’s import with great anticipation.  I was not a bit disappointed–indeed, I felt rapturous.  A good Keemun tea opens up a universe of surprising and complexly melded taste treats.   This tea is fairly tippy and has a distinctive floral aroma in addition to the naturally malty taste that a good Keemun provides.   There’s an underlying but subtle smoky aroma and taste which serves as a vehicle to enhance the floral aroma.

The deep brownish-red liquor is splendidly inviting to look at and would grace a glass pot.  As one continues to drink, other flavors unfold and rise up.  I could detect a bit of toasty chocolate and chestnut.  I enjoyed this Keemun Hao Ya B from Vicony teas black and appreciated a touch of natural sweetness.  The tea is strong and robust enough to stand up to additions of cream and sweetener. 

After enjoying this tea, my mouth was left with the an exceptionally  pleasant smoky, toasty, floral flavor.    All of the best Keemun’s I’ve enjoyed are both hearty, robust teas with a capacity to roll out waves of wonderful flavors that can be almost ethereal.  Vicony’s Keemun Hao Ya B outstandingly  highlights the complex beauty of tea.  I plan to make a full purchase because Vicony’s tea morphed, in just a few minutes, from an unknown brand and brew to an essential ingredient to my happiness.   Strongest recommendation.

You can purchase the Keemun Hao Ya B directly from the Vicony Tea website.

Argh! I had a nice tasting notes written up for this tea when Bob the computer decided to die on me. *swears*  So I’ll try and reproduce what I remember from it. >:(

I have to say that I feel a little spoiled with the size of the samples Mike’s been giving me, there’s a good 30-40g of tea in this pouch, for instance!  Dry it has a sweet, vegetal scent, and the leaves are rolled like most green oolongs – although fairly loosely in this case – and the leaves look to be a bit paler than what I normally see. The steeped tea reveals how “Imperial Gold” likely got its name – it’s a deep, warmly-golden liquid. It also has a rather delicate floral aroma that teases the nose rather than punches it.

This is quite a ‘green’ green oolong, with a vegetal flavour profile and, oddly enough, little of the sweetness that I’m used to tasting as an oolong cools off. The first steep, at 4 minutes, is a little weak – not too surprising as the leaves take time to unroll and open up. I’ve been told that the 2nd steep of a green oolong is usually the best, and what I’ve experienced so far with this type of tea seems to bear that out, more or less.

The 2nd steep, at 5 minutes, has a fuller flavour and a more substantial body. It has a flavour like cooked greens with a faintly spicy or peppery note that lingers on the tongue. By the third steep, at 6 minutes, I can tell that the tea is starting to lose its omph, as it has a thinner liquor and a sweet, green taste that’s more fresh than cooked – although there are some buttery notes on the end.

Not my favourite – I like my oolongs sweeter, though I think you can put that down to a matter of personal preference rather than lack of quality in this case.  I gave this a Steepster rating of 69/100.  

You can purchase the Imperial Gold Oolong directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.

Leaf Spa’s Organic loose leaf “Bi Luo Chun” green tea is a delight. The dry aroma evokes a strongly wooded vegetation–almost like a green vegetable garden with fragrant grasses that abuts right against a forest of trees.  In the distance one can detect a tertiary floral aroma–perhaps some light jasmine.  It’s most certainly an inviting, even alluring fragrance. The dry leaves are a medium  curly length;  they are not the coiled or tightly rolled balls that I’ve seen with some Bi Luo Chun teas.  

Steeped, the leaves unfurl into the typical bright green color.  The tea liquor is very brisk and bright. It does not have a lot of the buttery taste of some greens, but I’m not missing the butter here because this is more of a woodsy journey.  This astringent green tea is less delicate than many greens but the compensation is in the deep, robust flavor.  It would be a great morning tea for those who drink only green teas. It is delicious and drinking it evokes a walk in the fragrant  woods instead of a more genteel visit to a solarium or a small greenhouse. I’ve just enjoyed my third steeping and I think that this tea is good for at least one more, so it’s also an economical tea.

You can purchase the Organic Bi Luo Chun Tea directly from the Leaf Spa Tea website.