Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Leaf Size’

I’ve never had a plain Assam before. The closest I’ve come is the Irish Breakfast by Twinings which is a blend of Ceylon and Assam. I’m always fascinated by the string of letters found in the names of many teas, but I really have no clue what they were supposed to mean for me. I did a bit of research and apparently STGFOP stands for “Special Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe.” Since that still doesn’t tell you much, I continued to peruse the internet looking for more information and from what I have read the letters refer to the leaf size. With STGFOP being the second largest leaf behind the FTGFOP designation.

I expected the dry leaves to be plain black leaves, but there is a fair amount of golden hay colored leaves as well. The scent of the dry tea is earthy and malty. While steeping, the aroma takes on a heavier malty aspect which I love. The brewed tea is a medium-brown in color.

I tried the tea plain at first and was surprised to find a very robust cup with little astringency. The additions of milk and sugar were handled nicely and encouraged the malty aspect of the tea to shine. As the tea cools, a slightly sweet honey flavor creeps in for a pleasant surprise.

This is a great example of what a plain black tea should taste like. Smooth and bold with a bit of sweetness thrown in.

You can purchase the Rani STGFOP 1st Flush 2010 Assam directly from the Lochan Tea 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.