Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Tbs’

This oolong from Canton Tea, hailing from the Wu Dong Mountain, Chao Zhou / Guan Dong, China. Yu Lan is associated with magnolias, and Dan Cong indicates a tea picked from a single bush. (There is some controversy in the Tea world about “single bush” vs another interpretation of the word as ‘single trunk’, a sub varietal in which tea trees uncommonly branch off a larger single trunk.  Oolongs need about 8-10kg of fresh leaves to produce 1kg of finished tea – which makes it unlikely that any tea commercially available in the west is sourced from a single tree and can be affordable.    This is uber-tea geek silliness , and all I really know is if someone offers me a Dan Cong, I say as graciously and politely as possible – “YES! PLEASE!”)

This Yu Lan is a long, twisted leaf with golden tips and olive and blacks – indicative of a moderate to high level of oxidation (40-60%) associated with this region and style.   The dry leaf has a very inviting floral nose, with a hint of stone fruit.  This is a physically big, good looking leaf, and with this type of oolong, I recommend weighing the portions. 

Brewed 3g of tea in 6oz water at 185F for 3 minutes in my oolong Xing teapot.   There is an excellent floral nose with strong notes of apricot or peach.  Clear bright yellow orange in the cup, with a bright taste of flowery stone fruit.  Refreshing mouth feel, with just the right amount of dryness, and a pleasant sweet aftertaste.  Both the aroma and aftertaste stay with you.

2nd infusion at 190F for 3:30 -  this is a very nuanced cup, the aroma and taste become more balanced, more satisfying.  This is the best infusion. 

3rd infusion at 190F for 4 min. – The aroma remains pronounced, and the taste is not unpleasantly faded.  There is a good dryness to this infusion.

The wet leaf opens to a full whole shape, with a excellent musky green smell and even olive green color, consistant with a high quality tea.

This teas leaves one fulfilled, content.  It is perfectly suited to a quiet conversation with a friend, or some contemplation.   Canton Tea’s YuLan Dancong is a very high quality tea and an excellent experience, that I recommend.

You can purchase the Yu Lan Dan Cong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!

I like green tea but it’s never the first tea I reach for. I generally oversteep it and then fight to get past the bitter taste of my own forgetfulness. A friend of mine swears by the bitterness of green, says that you don’t get the full benefit without oversteeping it…. erm I don’t know. He’s cool but always leaves me shaking my head, so misguided. So green tea is just okay for me unless it’s Pouchong.

Pouchong green from Canton is among the best Pouchongs I’ve had. It’s a triple threat when it comes to tea. It’s an antioxidant and an antimutagenic and it’s tasty all in one. The leaves are big, dark, and twisted just right (reminds me of another one of my friends hmm). The tea brews to a light golden yellow, almost clear, like liquid sunshine. I put stevia in the first brew (out of habit with greens) but found it was a bit much and it took away from the clean taste of the tea. Second steep, without stevia, brewed up just as clean and with a slight melon scent. Third steep was a bit longer (on purpose) and it still was smooth and almost clear.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Pouchong or who shy away from greens the way I do, this is one tea you must try. This is a high quality tea that will not disappoint.

You can purchase the Pouchong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!

This Taiwanese tea is actually an Oolong, not a green, though I can understand the purveyor classifying it as green.   Oolongs are fermented between 20%-80% of their total sugars.   The ones on the low end of the scale are very flowery in nose, very delicate in taste, and very light in leaf color. These oolongs are sometimes referred to as green oolongs, and tend to need to be steeped at lower temps (below 180F)  The ones on the high end – think Da Hong Pao (Red Robe) – tend to be more robust in taste, aroma, and darker in leaf, tend to be steeped in the 180-200F range.  

The tea is a dark jade green leaf, twisted and furled, with a inviting perfume smell,  The leafs are  quite long, common with well processed Pouchong.

1st Steep: 1 TBLS tea (3g) in 6oz water @ 175F for 3 min in my oolong xing pot.  Yellow and bright in the cup, with a nice floral perfume nose.  Excellent sweet “oolong perfume” taste, and a dryness that is much like a green tea.  A touch of that savoriness in the aftertaste that lingers.

Wet leaf is well shaped, long and broad, with a good musky smell.

2nd Steep:  4 Min @ 180 F.  The aroma is much more balanced, with suggestions of Peonies, very pleasant.   The taste has mellowed to a very distinct flower presence, with hints of butteriness, that I associate with Taiwanese Oolongs.  The aroma and taste linger well after.  This steep is the best.

I got two more good steeps from this leaf,   This is a satisfying, refreshing, bright tea, of excellent quality.

You can purchase the Pouchong directly from the Canton Tea Co. website. Save 15% right now when you use the code LEAF at checkout!