Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Sucker’

To begin this review, I have to say that I’m a bit of a sucker for pu-erh sold in bird’s nest form, just because I think it looks really cool. However, I will attempt to not let this affect the bias of my review. Soooo, without further ado…

The dry tuocha smelled dark, dark and rich. Its very earthy scent had a touch of spicy notes to it as well. Wet, it had spicy and tobacco tones about it.

I chose to infuse this using multiple short infusions of about 30 seconds each.

First infusion: The liquor was still very bright and clear, a light brown in colour. It smelled faintly of the dry tuocha. The taste is very light, and I wonder if 30 seconds is not long enough. It certainly does taste earthy though. It is not as spicy as the smell led me to believe.

Second infusion: This time, the brown liquor deepened and darkened in colour, while maintaining its brightness. The scent is now very earthy, with almost a bit of fishy smell to it. Mmm, the taste has deepened. Full-bodied, the liquor tastes earthy and mellow. It goes down smooth, as though it barely brushes the tongue and throat.

Third infusion: The colour of the tea is now a deep brown, nearing dark chocolate in colour. The aroma has not changed much, but the flavour is much stronger and feels more mature. Very delicious at this point. I am quite enjoying this tea and I wonder how long this tuocha will last.

Fourth infusion: This cup was just as enjoyable as the third and had the same strength and characteristics. It seems as though this tea could certainly continue with more infusions. When I have more time, perhaps I will give one of these tuocha a test of how long it can last.

I loved being able to try this tea as it continued to grow and mature in taste and aroma. I truly cannot wait to drink it again. I rate it an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale!

You can purchase the Pu-Erh Tuocha directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.

First off, I am a sucker for clever packaging, and the little pyramid single-serve boxes from Tea Forte just scream “adorable.”.  I pried mine open very gingerly so I could preserve the pattern—I work with fifth graders at my church, and I’m seeing triangular game pieces in the near future. For more adult purposes, the paper pyramids would make lovely little gift basket tuck-ins.

Packaging, however, does not a tasty tea guarantee–so I checked out the contents of the little mesh pyramid bag more analytically. First sniff—grape! Second sniff—more grape! Which made me curious: is a currant like a raisin or like a blackberry? The picture I pulled up on Wikipedia looks more like a grape-ish blueberry. So what does the tea taste like?

Grape.

This, however, is not a bad thing. It’s nice and strong and round and fruity. Furthermore, it’s what I call a forgiving tea—I got sidetracked and left to steep about a minute more than recommended, and it was just right without being bitter.

Tried half of my sample straight up and half on ice. I’m thinking the on-ice half will be worth a repeat this summer when the temps start to climb.

You can purchase the Black Currant directly from the Tea Forte website.