Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Gunpowder’

This being the first Tea Forte tea that I have tried in quite some time, I decided to go all out. I am using my Tea Forte Cafe Cup, Tea Forte Tea Tray, and the Tea Forte Tea Timer app for iPhone. The instructions, acquired from the application itself recommend 2-4 minutes of steep time. For a happy medium, I choose three, using just-under-boil filtered water.

I have a decent amount of experience with oolong teas. As this tea is steeping, I cannot help but wonder if the tea is being restricted from expansion by the pyramid in which it rests, as most oolongs like this one do a decent amount of unfurling while steeping.

The colour of the tea is a brownish yellow; the smells wafting from the cup are smooth, mellow, with perhaps a faint hint of spice. After a couple of small sips, I determine to put the pyramid back into the cup for another minute. The strength is okay but not quite as strong as I like. (If you like your oolongs light and mellow, three minutes will probably suffice.) Another minute, and it is back to tasting. Pleasantly, I can still taste the buttery aftertaste of those couple sips, with hints of vegetal flavour. The taste of this tea reminds me a lot of a Ti Kwan Yin.

In my opinion, four minutes was a prime amount of time for this tea. The flavours are much more full-bodied and literally burst in the mouth. There is a bit of vegetal bite on the sides of the tongue, as with a slightly-oversteeped green tea (like a gunpowder), but this is hardly noticeable, and probably due to my long steep time.

Overall I really enjoyed this tea. It was a very pleasant cuppa, and I do not think I have any complaints with it, other than a bit of lacking in the flavour department. I would perhaps be interested to know if this was due to the pyramid or the tea itself. 85/100 is what I would rate this tea on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase Tea Forte Silk Oolong directly from their website.

Gunpowder is one of my personal favourites, for green tea. However I have only ever purchased it from one or two sources, so I was excited to be able to try it from a company whose gunpowder I had not tried before. Gunpowder is a simple green tea, but sometimes the differences between the same tea from different companies can be quite noticeable.

The dry leaves hold the intense grassiness I have come to associate with most gunpowder greens. After steeping this tea and straining off the leaves, I notice that the steeped leaves have a very dark, almost smoky scent, and I worry that I’ve accidentally heated the water too hot and scalded them. One whiff of the prepared tea banishes that negative thought from my mind, as I am greeted by rolling vegetal tones with a touch of sweet grassiness.

These same aromas swell in the flavour of this tea, and the grassy sweetness permeates all taste buds. The smokiness of this tea is stronger than other gunpowder greens that I have tried, and it is a good addition, in my opinion.

I give this tea a 77 out of 100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Gunpowder directly from the Adagio website.

Some teas should just have songs written about them!  This is one of those teas!

First, I must say I LOVE the tins and labels from da.u.de …and so far ALL of the teas I have tried!  I have sampled 3 of them thus far.

My experience with Seffarine from da.u.de was almost surreal.  You can clearly see all of the ingredients in this blend mostly the Lemon Verbena and Peppermint. The other ingredients are NOT hard to find but are more off to the side as a secondary.  It has a very mild but pleasant smell and is very relaxing and pretty.

I can taste the peppermint but it’s not over the top considering how much I can see in the blend. Many of you know I like peppermint and (usually) the more the merrier but this works with the other ingredients perfectly! It’s a little minty but mellow, sweet, and lemony. I can pick up a little floral but it’s the perfect amount for my tastes.  WOW!  Talk about happy herbal goodness! It’s beautiful in EVERY way!

I’m curious about the company’s tasting tip – adding Gunpowder and Sugar Cubes…eventho I don’t add sugar in my tea/tisanes…I just might expand my horizons!  I must also say that usually I’m not much for herbal tisanes but will always try them…I do like my MINT, tho.  With Seffarine from da.u.de – I just officially moved it towards the top of my favorite Herbals!

You can purchase the Seffarine directly from the Da-u-de website.

Ahhh, Moroccan Mint tea! You are either an otherworldly refreshing, soothing treat, or a musty, nasty muddle. The bad ones tend to be old stale pre pack tea sold in ethnic stores, over brewed, with boiling water. This results in a nasty, bitter, musty, medicinal cup. The best are fresh and light, invigorating and restoring. These teas are a blend of dried mint and green tea – usually peppermint or spearmint mixed with Imperial gunpowder or other chinese green. Usually served with sugar or honey, these teas are great hot or cold.

This tea, from those great folks at Rishi Tea, is a mix of peppermint, green tea, and jasmine flowers. The un-steeped tea has a strong peppermint aroma, with some sweetness contributed by the jasmine. Good green leaf tea and nice sized mint pieces with a good amount of jasmine flowers.

Brewing: 1.5tsp (3g) tea per 8oz water in my small glass teapot, 195F water for 4 minutes. Excellent mint nose, with a flowery note, golden in cup. Strong mint taste, with just a bit of dryness, and a sweet aftertaste. Light on the tongue, and not overpowering.

My next cup I added about a teaspoon of sugar, and this really brightened the flavors and aroma, and made the mouth feel a little more substantial. The peppermint flavor is just moderated a touch by the jasmine. This tea steeped twice, the second was a pleasant – I think do to the strong nature of the mint. 3 steep was bitter, I think the green got washed out.

This is what I expect from Rishi, and excellent example of a tea. Very good in the evenings, when you want to moderate the caffeine. Or on a hot afternoon – either hot or iced. (I think this cold also be an excellent tea for cold brewing.) If you are looking for something different, this is well worth the try.

You can purchase Rishi Teas Moroccan Mint, Organic Fair Trade Green Tea directly from their website.