Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: The Essence of Tea
Tea Description:
The flavour is thick and pure, with a hint of bitterness transforming into a long sweetness in the mouth. The tea is balanced throughout the mouth and throat, with the strong qi immediately present upon drinking.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m finding this pu-erh to be quite unusual from the pu-erh I’ve tasted in the past. Not that I would consider myself to be a connoisseur of tea by any means … I’m more of a novice when it comes to pu-erh. But I have tried a good number of pu-erh, and it is from those experiences that I can say that this one is a bit unusual.
The sip starts out sweet and smooth – nothing unusual there. But at the point where the palate begins to recognize and appreciate the sweetness, a savory bitterness arrives, and I find the contrast compelling. I don’t find the bitterness to be a distasteful one, so I find myself wanting a different word to replace “bitterness,” because so often it is used to denote an off-putting flavor, and this is not off-putting.
There is an overtone of smokiness to this pu-erh that melds pleasantly with the earthy tones. It has hints of woody notes in the background, and even some hints of mineral. As I continue to sip and throughout the infusions (I steeped this tea six times), I found that the aforementioned bitterness developed into more of a a sour note, which seemed to complete the sweetness in a very pleasing way.
This is a most intriguing pu-erh… I find the balance of flavor and contrasts to be so interesting that it keeps me sipping with curiosity. It also makes me wonder how different the 2010 Mansai Puerh Tea from The Essence of Tea might be from its younger sibling. Perhaps this is a tea I will have to try at some point.
Bai Ya Qi Lan Oolong from Life In Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2011
Production Season – Fall
Production Region – Fujian Province
Style – Traditional green style
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Awesome!
As I’ve said on many occasions, Oolong teas are among my favorites. Yellow teas take the top spot for me, but because they are rare and a bit pricy, I don’t drink them as often as I do Oolong, making Oolong my “everyday affordable indulgence.” And the main reason why I do love Oolong teas so much is that they are different from one Oolong to the next. It’s always an adventure … or as Forrest Gump would say “You never know what you’re going to get.”
There are many fine purveyors of Oolong teas out there, and I’m fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to sample the offerings of quite a few of those Oolong teas. And while I have many favorite tea purveyors, one of those favorites is Life in Teacup, and the reason is simple: Life in Teacup has excellent teas! The focus is on excellence with this company, and the proof is in the taste. I always know that the teas I receive from Life in Teacup are going to be exceptionally good, and this Bai Ya Qi Lan Oolong (harvested this past autumn!) is a fine example.
The flavor is amazing. The first thing I notice is the sweetness. It has a floral quality to it, reminding me of orchid and osmanthus. There is some earthiness in the background, even some toasted, nutty tones. Toward the end of the sip, I notice a slight dryness, and the tail is crisp with hints of mint.
But the most remarkable flavor of this tea has to be the marshmallow-like notes. There is a sweet, almost comforting kind of feel to this marshmallow taste, like sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows: enjoying the lightly crisped edges and devouring their sweet, creamy goodness inside.
This is yet another amazing Oolong from Life in Teacup.
Hand-Picked Autumn 2011 Tieguanyin from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
Typically, spring Tieguanyin is light, sweet and flowery, while autumn Tieguanyin is heavier, grassier and more buttery. This goes well beyond the established flavor profiles of any oolong we have tried. The first steepings yield a sweet leafy green taste, and peppery spicy notes. Soon, the flavor of saffron sets in to bind everything together with its sweet, savory qualities. Next, the saffron is enriched with a growing buttery taste that fills the whole palate, and demands our attention. In later steepings, a juiciness develops until it is almost mouth-watering. We can only describe it as the sensation of biting into a perfectly ripe peach. Late steepings yield notes of kaffir lime, and interestingly, roasted marshmallow. We loved our spring harvest Tieguanyin, but might venture to say that this crop, produced by the same family, is even more complex and rewarding.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The above flavor profile from Verdant Tea’s website is remarkably spot-on as far as what I’m experiencing with this tea.
Brewing this the way I would usually brew an Oolong, I used my gaiwan and started with short steeps (following a quick 10 second rinse, I steeped for 1 minute for the first infusion, and added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. I combined the brewed tea of the first two infusions in one cup, the second cup was the combined efforts of infusions three and four … and so on.)
The first cup offered a sweet, floral taste with vegetal notes mingling throughout. I could taste the peppery notes as mentioned in the flavor profile above. The mouthfeel is thick and velvety – it starts out with the early infusions as a soft sensation and develops into a melted butter taste and feel, and because there is so little astringency to this cup, these buttery tones continue to develop as I sip. The aftertaste offers more of that delightful sweetness and a slight peppery twinge that settles on the back of the palate.
The saffron notes as described were not experienced until I was nearly finished with the first cup, and then it was very slight – imparting a savory bitterness that arrives and disappears just as quickly, and then a smooth, savory sweetness takes its place. While it does have a distinct saffron-like flavor, it is so faint that it was difficult to discern it as saffron, and it wasn’t until the second cup that I could really identify with the saffron flavor.
With the second cup, I also noticed a mild fruit note emerge, almost like an apple. With many Oolong teas, I usually taste a peach-like flavor, but this is much more like a crisp, snappy apple, reminiscent of the Braeburn variety.
What starts out as a flavorful, juicy sensation becomes almost dry toward the finish, as I notice more astringency with the subsequent infusions. There is also less of a peppery note as the saffron-esque flavors begin to come forward. With my third and final cup, I notice that the apple-y flavors begin to fade and instead I taste more of a tangy citrus note. The overall cup is much smoother now as the flavors become more unified.
A truly lovely Oolong, and quite different from a typical Tie Guan Yin. This is one that should be on your must try list!
Temi SFTGFOP1 First Flush from Rare Tea Republic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Rare Tea Republic
Product Description:
This excellent first flush tea delivers a rich liquor with sweet floral notes and creamy undertones. Hints of juicy pineapple are apparent in this well balanced selection. Plucking date: April 19, 2011.
Taster’s Review:
OK, let me say it right now. I’m LOVING Rare Tea Republic. First of all, their packaging is really cool. Not necessarily the box that it was shipped in, or even the pouches that they packaged their samples in. It’s the “packing peanuts.” That’s right. I saying I love their packing peanuts. They aren’t the typical Styrofoam peanuts, or even the new biodegradable cornstarch peanuts… these are little, light-weight (cardstock weight) cardboard bits that have been folded into a dimensional triangle. I love them because they ARE biodegradable, and beyond that, they’re even recyclable and perfectly acceptable to toss into the recycle bin! But, I plan on re-purposing them and turning them into a holiday decoration of some sort (add that onto my list of art projects!)
And… that’s just me excited about the packing peanuts! I haven’t even gotten to the best part about Rare Tea Republic – their TEAS! This First Flush Darjeeling from the Sikkim region is absolutely delightful. The freshness of this tea is apparent from the flavor: it tastes light, crisp and very fresh. 
I would classify this as a medium-bodied tea because of it’s light-weight feel to the palate, but it offers an astonishing amount of flavor for a medium-bodied tea. So many beautiful layers of flavor to this complex Darjeeling: in one sip, I note floral tones, a hint of earth, a musky wood-tone, and an outstanding fruit note. Yes I can taste the pineapple as mentioned in the above description, but there’s something else too. Something that tends to be pretty important to those of us who love Darjeeling: Muscatel! Yes, I am getting that distinct muscat grape taste to this, but, there is a surprising smoothness to this too. I don’t taste much astringency, something that I generally prepare myself for when I sip a Darjeeling … it is quite unnoticeable in this cup.
This is an excellent Darjeeling – one that I would say stands out amongst even the best Darjeeling teas that I’ve tasted. In fact, I even rated it 100 on Steepster. Yes, it’s that good. I highly recommend it to those who like Darjeeling, and I would even recommend this to those who have tried Darjeeling in the past and felt it was not for them. I think this one can change your ideas about Darjeeling.
2011 Pre-Qingming Shi Feng Long Jing (Weng Jia Shan) from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Product Description:
Production Year: 2011
Production Season: Spring, harvested on April 5nd
Production Site: Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Weng Jia Shan (Geographic Patent Site). Single estate.
Taster’s Review:
This is a delightful Long Jing. The liquor is a pale green … very pale green! It is so light in color that I thought that this would surely be a thin tasting tea, but, it is not. It is quite lush; thicker than the color would lead one to believe.
The flavor is sweet and it has a creaminess to it that is evident in both taste and texture. There are hints of nutty tones throughout the sip, and a very mild grassy tone. It’s a barely-there kind of grassy/vegetative note, noticeable but not strong.
I would like to say that I took the time to steep this one in my gaiwan, and ordinarily I would have. But, I was feeling lazy this evening, so I did it the easy way: in my Breville One-Touch. I steeped it for 2 minutes at 170° F, and it still produced a beautiful, lightly fragrant, delicious cup.
A truly refreshing, delicious Long Jing. I recommend this to all the green tea enthusiasts out there! It’s amazing!