It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Tea Company’

Dragon Well is one of the first green teas I tasted and one of the flavors that won me over from my coffee addiction. It’s been difficult for me to find a Dragon Well that I truly enjoy because I find the flavor of green tea to be a bit overwhelming for me but this is a fine grade.

The green flavor comes through at just the right level, not grassy or bitter, just really balanced, nutty and fresh. It is forgiving (over steeped it once and it was still sweet) and the quality stayed true through all three brews on my next attempt with it. This is a very aromatic green that is truly easy to enjoy.

You can purchase the Dragon Well Lung Ching directly from the TeaFrog website.

When I poured the contents of the sample bag into the filter I noticed that there were a surprising amount of fannings in the as well. A certain amount would be expected in a full bag, but having them in a sample does not give a promising preview of the tea on sale.

The brewed tea doesn’t have a particularly strong smell. The initial taste is fairly bitter, which I would consider typical of a black tea, but the aftertaste has an even stronger bitterness, which I do not consider pleasant. This tea would be better if it had another flavor to distract from the bitterness, but otherwise it does not seem much different from a mass produced bagged tea.

You can purchase Red Leaf Tea Black Night directly from their website.

TeaGschwender describes it as: Mysterious myths entwine this treasure. Handpicked feathery buds shimmer tenderly. The cup is clear as crystal with a smooth touch of green. A truly precious tea experience!

This is one of my all time favorite silver needles- Yin Zhen: Silver needle or “white beatitude”. And it absolutely lives up to the description given by TeaGschwender. This tea is so light and clean and it brews up so clear that it’s hard to believe that it could possibly carry as many health benefits as it does. The flavor is delicate and yet powerful at the same time, complex yet simple. I could drink this tea all day and still truly enjoy it.

I brewed it exactly as was suggested and was glad that I did. It’s such a delicate taste that I suspect you wouldn’t get the full nuances if it wasn’t brewed with filtered water.Drinking it now and smiling at how unique it is and how it makes me feel. It has a soft scent that begs you to hold your cup close so you can inhale it. I can’t think of any words to describe it other than delicate and clean, so I’m going to close my laptop and enjoy this treasure. Hopefully the adjectives will come to me.

You can purchase TeaGschwendner China Yin Zhen Silver Needle directly from their website.

Roasted teas are interesting.  As a step during the finishing,  they are roasted in a manner similar to roasting coffee beans for a short period. This imparts a “nutty’ or “toasted” flavor and scent.  (Green teas are usually withered by steam, stir frying (think of a huge wok), or occasionally roasting. Green Needles (Lu Zhen) is a spring harvest (Qing Ming) tea, that is noted as a very brisk and strong tea, unusually so for a green.  Roasted teas are sometimes recommended for people trying to move away from coffee.

This tea from the great folks at Rishi, shows a long pine needle shape with a slight curl and whites tips on dark green.  There is a fresh, sweet smell to the dry tea.

2.5 tsp (about 6g) tea in 6 oz water @180F in my green Xing for 3 minutes. Tan with hints of red in the cup, with a brothy, nutty nose with a hint of toasted nuts. Nutty, complex, big flavor with a big astringency and a lingering dryness.

This is a very big green tea!  My first pass at this tea caught me off guard – much larger personality than the usual greens I drink.

Wet leaves unfold to a leaf and a bud shape expected from this type of tea.  Leaf is consistent in size and shape, with almost no broken leaf.  A mark of quality I expect from Rishi.

2nd Infusion 185F for 4 min. Nose more typical green, with more roasted nuances, taste nutty and dry.  I got 2 more infusions out of this @5 minutes before it washed out.

Wow, this is a big, strong, green tea. This is not the soft, introspective kind of green. This is a strong, energizing tea – reminds me of the energizing effect of Yerba Mate – with a good bold, robust flavor. This is a  green for first thing in the morning to get you up and running, or any time you need a pick me up.

You can purchase Rishi Teas Organic Green Needles (Lu Zhen) Roasted directly from their website.

I got this sample from Teafrog and it lasted me all of two days…

I’ve got a JoeMo travel mug that is brilliant and it keeps my tea piping hot all day. I love that it keeps my tea so hot but it’s made it a challenge to find a tea that doesn’t spoil being in hot water that long. I know that I could just let my tea cool before heading out with it but it’s the middle of winter here and I need the heat.

My commute to work every morning is a bizarre one and it was nice to have two days in my blueberry oasis. Holding my JoeMo like a steel security blanket through the snow, the metros, working my way through the tunnels and up 108 steps… The scent enveloped me as I greeted the same people I pass every day – a ‘namaste’ for the grinning guy at the snack counter, a loonie for the guy selling Karma on the corner, an ‘il fait frette!!’ for the doorman. Crash landing at my desk, smiling and sipping. This tea was wonderful when I first brewed it and even more wonderful when I finally got my last sip (hours later).

It’s a fabulously comforting white tea and the scent is pleasing and warm… Must get more of this tea…. It passed my JoeMo test like no other.

You can purchase the Blueberry White Tea directly from the TeaFrog website.