I’ve recently found that I’m getting more and more into straight teas. I’ve tried a few flavored teas to recently but I just felt that pull to pull out my gaiwan and experiment. I’ve found myself eager to sit down and spend the time to enjoy the tea sip by sip in smaller quantities and this tea is a beautiful example of why.
Not too long ago, I brewed this tea up in the traditional western fashion- teapot, few scoops of tea with water prepped at a bit below boiling, steeped for a few minutes, poured into my tea cup and enjoyed. While the tea was tasty with soft chocolate notes , I wanted to see how the flavor would change if brewed with gong fu style.
Now when I do gong fu, I do a modified version that works with not only my crazy busy job but my house in a whole. I don’t get too deep into measuring and making sure everything is on point. I 100% should because I’ve over leafed and under leafed on more occasions than I would like to admit, but in the same- I have a very go go go 8-5 and after work so I have just decided to pour and go. Eventually I’ll get to the point where I measure out the night before so I’m all prepared for the next day. Please forgive me that I don’t have all of the measurements to how exactly I steeped up this ditty.
Using my gaiwan, I popped in some leaf and water at 200F. Gave the leaves a quick rinse and quickly added in more water to go about my first infusion.
-First infusion: Delicious toffee notes with a small hint of chocolate and no astringency and a hint of malt. At this point, we are talking dessert tea here. Really lovely and nice. Can not get enough and the brew was gone in no time.
-Second infusion: Still those same delicious toffee notes but the chocolate touches are becoming a bit stronger.
-Third Infusion: Toffee notes are pretty distant now and the chocolate notes have also subsided a bit with the malt touches and a new astringency coming in.
-Fourth Infusion: The astringency is really the power player at this point and I’m thinking about taking the leaves to make a cold brew. Not a huge fan of super astringent teas and the brew is taking a turn in that direction.
Now, I was working the whole time I enjoyed this tea so probably if I would have timed the steeps, etc- the tea would have probably lasted for more infusions to my liking. All in all, love the adventure this tea took me on. I’m a big fan of this black tea anyway so I was excited to try a more intimidate way to enjoy the tea.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
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Jin Jun Mei (Beautiful Golden Eyebrow in Mandarin) is a famous Chinese tea known for its deep auburn golden hue and delicate slender leaves, like a beautiful women’s eyebrow. It is one of the most beloved Chinese teas, grown and produced in Fujian province. In the springtime, the two small leaves are plucked from the stem and allowed to fully oxidize; this full oxidation gives Jin Jun Mei its deep and malty aromatic profile. Jin Jun Mei is made of slim black and gold tips, covered in a delicate golden fuzz. Once steeped, it has a smooth body and well rounded mouth-feel; its taste is sweet, honey-like, malty, velvety smooth and has hints of vanilla. Jin Jun Mei is best enjoyed straight, and try multiple steeping it multiple times! |
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Lychee Jasmine Green / Tealyra
Lychee is one of my favorite flavors. Jasmine is a long time favorite for tea flavoring as well as my first tea I tried. Needless to say this was one I had to try. It has a fairly sweet smell. Nothing overly artificial like some companies and no sugar so my hopes are high. The initial few sips through me for a loop.
The taste reminds me more of artificial flavors at first. Though as the sips progress I find myself enjoying it more. Fruity notes are the core with some hints of jasmine. There is a bit of astringency but nothing too major. This just depends highly on the steep time. This would make an awesome bubble tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description:
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Inspired by enormous Shanghai; China’s most populous city- it is ever changing, ever growing. It is a booming, fast paced modern city, yet has remained true to rich culture and to tradition- our Lychee Jasmine Green is a celebration of tradition among change! One of the more popular teas in the neighborhood is this delightful blend of Lychee and jasmine. Fragrant, floral and fruity notes of lichee fruit complement the exotic tones of night blooming jasmine flowers; two very distinctly Chinese favorites. Our green tea base has a bright flavor with touches of honey, citrus, flowers, and green apple. This inspired blend stands the test of time; it could have been enjoyed in old tea houses 40 years ago as easily as it could today at a trendy milk tea shop!
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Cheerful Blend from Tealyra. . . .
One can often tell something about a tea from it’s name. Teas like Foggy Coconut or Chocolate Delight come to mind. These teas make it clear what will be in your cup when all is said and done. Sometimes tea companies get a bit creative and come up with fun names like “Ghoul Gulp”, “Fairy Dust”, or this Tealyra tea, “Cheerful Blend”. These teas appeal to emotions or create certain associations in order to pull you in. The issue is, when you don’t really know what is in a blend, it is easy to overlook a tea. That is what has happened to this blend that has been bumping around my tea stash for over a year without ever being tasted.
The other day I was inventorying my teas and I looked this one up. I was intrigued by the unique ingredient list: apple bits, carrot bits, ginger bits, pumpkin bits, coriander, banana chips, and natural flavorings. I thought it sounded like it would make for a nice cold brew so I dumped the whole sample in a water bottle and left it to steep overnight.
Taste wise, it is unlike anything I have had before. It is sweet but not dessert-like. It has a lot of carrot and banana chip flavors. Almost like I am drinking the little bit of water that always seems to be in bags of baby carrots, while snacking on banana chips. The more I drink, the more pumpkin sweetness intermingles with the carrot. Unfortunately the sweet together just builds and builds and eventually the tea, though interesting, is just too much. I was hoping for some ginger to cut through and add something different to the layer upon layer of sweet but I never got any.
I think with some more ginger, this tea could be a real winner. It is different than most of the other fruit tisanes I have tried which rely heavily on apple or hibiscus but unfortunately it quickly becomes one note: sweet. This needs something to gives this more flavor and more depth. As it is, I am content with just the one cup.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
Cheerful Blend is a sweet, orange-hued veggie infusion ideal for those looking for a healthy veggie tea with a pleasant mild fruit taste!
Brew up a taste of a freshly juiced health tonic with our Cheerful Blend! Our organic Cheerful veggie fusion blend features a fine base of dried apple bits, pumpkin, carrots and banana chips, to that we have added pure dried ginger and coriander for a sweet and healthy treat!
At first sip, a rich banana nectar flavor takes the lead, it is wonderfully complemented by naturally sweet carrots, then finishes with pumpkin-ginger. The veggie tisane has a thick velvety body, similar to fresh made juice.
Cheerful Blend will encourage a gentle detox and strengthen your immune system health from the inside out! Sunny days are ahead! Try it hot or iced for a zingy refresher!
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Magic Moon from Tealyra. . . .
Black green blends, such as this tea, Magic Moon by Tealyra, are always a bit perplexing to me. Should I brew them more aggressively like I would a black? Or would it be better to let cooler waters prevail as they would when making a green? Do I split the difference? Well with this particular tea I decided to steep it in 185F water for 2.5 minutes.
This one is interesting. No bitterness from the green or black but also not much flavor. It does have a fuller body than a green tea alone would and yet not as full as a straight black would be. Flavorwise it is mild and fruity, though not the typical fruit flavors of apple, orange, berries, etc. Instead it has a slight tropical fruit/passion fruit vibe which is quite nice. Also, thankfully, the rose hips don’t make this tart at all.
This is gentle and sweet but in the big scheme of things, maybe not one I will remember. Plus, for my personal preferences and though I can appreciate the benefits of a blend, I think I would prefer either a green tea or a black tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Green Tea Blend
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from Tealyra. . . .
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is one of many Tealyra teas shared with me by a friend. It is also the first Tealyra tea I am ever trying. Comprised of apple pieces, hibiscus blossoms, rose hip peels, white chocolate chips, flavoring, freeze-dried yoghurt and rhubarb pieces, I decided this might be best as an iced tea. I steeped the tea per the recommended steeping parameters, brewing this for 4 minutes in 200F water and topping it with ice.
In light of the hibiscus and rosehips, I expected some of that familiar tartness but there is none of that here. None at all. If I am being honest, in a strawberry RHUBARB pie tea, you would expect some tart so this is one instance where the absence of hibiscus is not really desirable. Without any tart component, the sweet of the apple takes over. I get some semblance of what could be strawberry flavor if I put my mind to it but more than anything it is a generic apple/fruity flavor. Between the sweet and the creaminess from the white chocolate, this does have a dessert vibe but not pie per se.
Drinking this tea, I have to say it is a bit of a miss for me, at least when prepared as an iced tea. That doesn’t mean that it is bad because it isn’t but it does fail to deliver on what’s promised by the name. If I stretch my imagination, I can taste a fruit and whipped cream dessert or maybe even a strawberry and white chocolate mousse but nothing says baked goods here and rhubarb is missing entirely. It’s a fun tea to try and I would be interested to see if this is more reminiscent of its namesake when brewed as a hot tea. One thing’s for sure…despite not being what I expected, it does have me excited to try the other Tealyra teas in my stash.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Fruit Tisane
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
Classic flavors of home baked strawberry rhubarb pie! Reminiscent of summer harvested rhubarb baking extravaganzas, our Strawberry Rhubarb Pie has real rhubarb pieces blended together with a touch of hibiscus and apple, giving it the authentic sweet and tart taste of summer’s harvest. Garden fresh, light and comforting, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie herbal tea is naturally sweet and will convert any rhubarb naysayer with its deliciously mouth-watering flavor and appeal
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!