Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Leaf Shape’

White teas are generally early spring pick, young growth leaf, that are picked early in the day.  They are delicately handled, to ensure the leaf is not damaged, and sun dried for short periods, and are minimally oxidized. White teas have very delicate aromas and taste, and need some patience to prepare and appreciate.

This white tea has a classic big leaf with round tight shape.  The leaf is covered with silvery fluffy down, and has a mild sweet aroma.This fluffy down is indicative of proper processing and high quality.  (And proper storage and handling by the vendor.)

The down begs a choice: some classic tea masters advise a very quick rinse with at temperature water prior to brewing, others advise against it. I am going to forgo the rinse – it is purely about cosmetics in this case, to wash away any loose down, so it does not float in the cup.

There are also two schools of thought as to the brewing temperature. Classically, whites are brewed with “warm” water in the 155F-170F range.  Some modern masters advise “very warm’ water in the 170F-180F range, but very short steeps.  My view is that this is a high quality tea, and I will stick with the classic thought which is consistent with the vendors suggestion of 75C/about 165F.

Brewed 1 TBLS of tea (about 5g) in 6oz water @ 168F for 2 minutes in my for green Xing pot. Pale golden in the cup, like a Chablis wine – with a very very small amount of the down floating on the surface.  There is a very delicate aroma of chestnut, with a hint of sweetness.  Dry, refreshing taste, just a small amount of astringency, with a hint of mellon in the aftertaste.

Plump wet leaves unfurl to the classic two leaf shape expected.  These are good looking leaves.

2nd Steep @ 168F for 2:30.  Creamy, smooth on the tongue, more astringency.  This is a most satisfying cup. The flavors are not prominent, more expressions of sweetness, dryness. 

3rd Steep @ 170F for 3:00.  Aroma almost gone, and the flavors an afterimage, but still nicely refreshing.

This is an excellent, high quality, satisfying, white tea.  It is worth the attention to detail it demands.

You can purchase the Silver Needle – Bai Hao Yin Zhen directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!

Oolongs come from primarily 3 regions Fujian & Guandong provinces PRC, and Tiawan. The mainland oolongs tend to have a savoriness to them – some describe this as a buttery feel. The Taiwan produced Oolongs, tend to be more delicate, and have a sweetness to them. Oolongs are teas that undergo a fermentation step during their processing. This process converts between 10% and 80% of the available sugars in the leaf, which produce the unique flavor and aroma characteristics of oolongs. These are some of the most complex, most inviting teas produced anywhere.

This Formosa Oolong Finest from Teafrog is a great example of a Taiwanese Oolong. Short reddish-black leaves with a faintly sweet aroma, with some broken leaf.

1St Steep: 3g (2tsp) tea in 6oz of 190F water, in my for Oolong Xing teapot for 4 minutes. Bright brown in cup, with a pleasantly strong spicy/perfume nose expected from Taiwanese Oolong. Spice with a bit of citrus sourness to the taste, with a nice smooth mouthfeel. The astringency is balanced and the dry aftertaste lingers.

Wet leaf shows good leaf shape, short leaf with a brown green color, and a musky smell.

2nd Steep (190F for 4.5 min) – Still a good spicy aroma, flavor much more balanced, and a slight sweetness to it. There is a bit more dryness to the aftertaste. This is a refreshing cup.

This is an excellent, every day Oolong. If you are looking for a Oolong to try, this is a good one to start with.

You can purchase the Formosa Oolong Finest directly from the TeaFrog website.

This green tea is also known as “precious eyebrows” due to its descriptive leaf shape. The rolled leaf is delicate, and boasts shades of dark jade green.  A slightly sweet smell to the very small, uniform leaf size, indicative of good finishing and quality tea.

Brewed 3g (1tsp) tea in 6oz water @170F for 2 min in my for green Xing teapot. Bright yellow Spicy nose with sweet notes. Warm, soothing mouth feel, with honey accents, and a spicy dry aftertaste.

Wet leaf has a nice musky aroma, and the leaf opens to a consistent size and shape.

2nd Infusion 2:30 @ 175F. More general sweet nose, less honey in taste, but overall a more subtle and nuanced cup. Smoother, drier finish.

This is an excellent green tea – it leaves one refreshed, brightened, like good green tea should.

You can purchase the Chun Mee directly from the TeaFrog website.

If there is one single tea China is known for it is the green teas produced around the Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. (Just south of Shanghai.) These teas from gardens in the Xi Hu (West Lake),Mi Jia Wu (Mi Family Valley), Long Jing (Dragon Well), and Shi Feng (Lion Peak) districts are what most westerners know as ‘green tea’. Today, cousins of these greens are grown in various parts of china, but the best are from this region.

This is the everyday tea of most Chinese households – it comes in many different grades from most common (cheap) to Imperial Tribute (extremely rare and expensive). It is consumed in great quantities by the masses, and is found in virtually every home and tea house.  Long Jing (sometimes Long Ching or Lung Ching) is a great entry into green chinese teas. Picked in the early spring, these leaves are hand shaped and tend to have a spear head or “sparrows tongue” shape.  The traditional characteristics of the style are the leaf shape, a bright green liquor in the cup, a fresh taste with a little dryness in the after, and a delicate flowery nose.

This specific tea is a Special Grade Long Jing Ten Ren Teas (the less unbroken leaves the better the grade – this one has very little broken leaf.) It is equivalent to a better tea served in a better tea house in China. It is a vivid spectrum of green and jade, and the leaf is long and uniform. Unsteeped it has a very earthy vegetative smell.

Brewed in my green xing teapot, 2 tsp (3g) of tea, infused in 6oz of water at 160F for 2 minutes. ( If you are brewing this in a normal tea pot, 2 tsp tea per 8oz of water, plus 1 extra tsp “for the pot”.) Bright light Jade in the cup, with a green fresh vegetation nose. Taste of chestnuts, with a touch of astringency and a good mouthfeel. The great thing about this green, and most greens is they can be re steeped multiple times – I use a little hotter water – 165f and add about 15-20 seconds, and got 4 more decent steeps. The aromas fade and the flavors as well with each, but it is still a nuanced cup. This is an all day every day good drinking tea – and if you are new to greens, I would recommend trying some.

You can purchase the directly from the Ten Ren website.

Had to order a sample of this tisane because the name and the ingredients intrigued me. Teafrog description: “A delightfully refreshing non-caffeinated tea with and aroma both sweet and subtle. A subtle fruity taste leads to a nutty finish in this unique flavored blend”.

Now their description is accurate but this tea is so much more than that. It truly is ‘love’ flavored, like holding hands and dancing in the rain (thanks for that moment, Vittorio). Yes, I’m a romantic but hear me out. This blend let me escape for a few minutes just like you do when you get a hug. Not the kind of hug you give your aunt to thank her for the amazing socks she got you for your birthday, the kind of hug that you get from your partner when you’re having a ‘meh’ day. When there are no words spoken, no ‘tell me why you feel ‘meh”, just a look then that hug. (Yes, I know that ‘meh’ isn’t in the Oxford dictionary – yet – but it’s more descriptive to me than ‘blah’). Anyway the tea, the love, the soft flowery scent, the warmth of the rooibos, it truly is an experience.

I know you may be thinking that’s it’s impossible to have instant (seven minutes brewing – close to instant) love in a bag (just add water) but I promise you that, if you just close your eyes while you sip and think about that hug, you will feel it.

You can purchase the Rooibos Love directly from the TeaFrog website.