Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Sweet Hay’

The smell that came wafting out of the canister when I opened it up reminded me of nothing so much as fresh-cut, sweet hay on a warm, sunny day. It’s a smell I’m used to associating with summer because many of the ranchers around here grow and cut hay crops during that time to feed their livestock over the winter.

The flavour of the tea is also reminisent of sweet hay, but without tasting too grassy or bitter. It’s not too vegetal either – a problem which I noticed with some other silver needle teas that I’ve tried. It is slightly drying to the mouth, but only a bit – nothing too unpleasent. It makes for a light, fragrant, and flavourful drink, and perhaps it’s just the hay association, but it seems like a tea that’s very much suited for sipping in the summertime.

The resteep is considerably paler in colour and lighter in flavour. It has an almost delicately flowery quality to it now. Still very drinkable and it could probably go for more steeps, but it’s late and I don’t want to be more caffeinated than I already am!

You can purchase the Organic Silver Needle White Tea directly from the Leaf Spa Tea website.

According to the Vicony Teas website, Keemun tea is the result of an embarrassed civil servant who lost his job in the 1870′s. His father advised him to pick up a “real trade,” which he did-tea farming—and the result is a long-lived line of unique teas. The fruity and winey flavor, which is most often attributed to Keemun teas, is evidently a result of the soil and cultivation techniques in Keemun County, China.

I’m still learning the terminology, but to the best of my understanding, “Hao Ya” refers to the grade of tea instead of a particular flavor, and the “A” means best-of-the-best. The dry leaves are long and whole, and the tea itself is a nice red-brown, with a little sharp bite to the first steep.

When I’m drinking Keemuns, my sensory connections evoke strong thoughts of sweet hay, wet burlap, and cattle fodder in my grandmother’s barn. Grainy instead of fruity–but that’s not an unpleasant comparison in my book. This particular tea from Vicony made a nice strong first cup (water just boiling, about 4 minutes steeping time).  My experimental second steep had slightly less tang, but still very pleasant.

This is a must-try for people who prefer nice, natural, unflavored, un-doctored black teas.

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