I’m not usually a pu erh tea drinker but I saw the lovely label from Kelly Puissegur on the Yiwu Spring 2016 blend from Bitterleaf Teas and had to give it a go. This is a limited run of tea, so you won’t be able to get this exact blend anymore, but the same tea harvest for 2017 can be found in the year of the rooster blend.
This tea starts off like many of my past pu erh tea sessions. The scents are intense and fermented, and off-putting to me as a prelude for something I’m about to taste. The aroma isn’t bad exactly, in fact with smells like old books or leather or wet grass, I find the flavors to be nostalgic and dreamy; they just aren’t something I’d personally want to smell right before I take a sip.
I steeped this tea over the course of a session, brewing several times. Before I even tasted it, I stepped for 1 minute in 200F water to rinse and let the leaves open up. After that I steeped for increasing 5 second intervals.
The first brew had the typical hay barn scent I expect, but less fermented and much more fresh. Almost like green grapes or wet peony flowers. The brightness in the first steep was a pleasant surprise.
In the second steep there was more white tea buttery earthiness, but still the green grapes and peony came through on the aftertaste. The tea is very smooth on the tongue.
In the third steep the hay scent was more gentle and the overall flavors were more relaxed. The brew was sweeter almost like cacao earth tones and smooth honey floral flavors, paired with a very pleasant caramelly mouthfeel.
On the fourth steep and beyond, the tea still holds up the fresh grape and peony tones, but eventually the earthy cacao flavors end up taking over.
I’m not a pu erh expect but this tea took me by surprise and contained pleasantly complex flavors that I wasn’t expecting. Be bold and try one of Bitterleaf Teas’ pu erh harvests for your next brew.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu erh
Where to Buy: Bitter Leaf Teas
Description:
This Yiwu raw puer is one of our two Year of the Monkey puers. The material for this tea comes from a recently transitioned fang yang (literally meaning “left to grow”) garden that receives minimal human interference, to the extent that all weeding is done once a year by hand (taking up to one month) and is harvested only in the Spring. The tea itself has an initial and surprising honey-like sweetness at the front, which yields to some slight roughness and unique lasting aroma. With good cha qi/tea energy and a solid mineral fragrance that lingers, this is a strong candidate for storage.
Typical of Yiwu teas, this one is on the softer side of things for now, but still maintains a solid backbone with plenty to offer. This also makes it a very drinkable young raw puer, and well suited for beginners and experienced drinkers alike. Don’t be fooled though, Yiwu teas tend to age well, even if they seem lighter in their early years.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tea Break White Tea from Plum Deluxe. . .
Everything about Tea Break blend from Plum Deluxe feels like a spring or summertime brew. The white tea base has a gentle caffeine level and flavor strength, well-suited for a for a light afternoon break, and holds up when brewed both hot or cold. I always associate white teas with classy tea cups or brightly colored iced tea travel mugs. There is just something both classical and whimsical about white tea blends.
This Tea Break blend is very fragrant in the dry leaf, with lush tangerine and sweet melon in equal parts. The leaves smell like a fresh bowl of fruit salad, or a fruity sorbet. Brewed, the tea carries much of the same flavors. There are notes of bright citrus, but the predominant flavor is honeydew melon. The buttery, earthy white tea matches well with the creamy and juicy melon. The melon provides a smooth mouthfeel, and keeps the tangerine from being too sour or biting. The tangerine adds some much-needed liveliness to the laid-back melon, the two flavors working in harmony.
If brewing hot, keep your water temperatures a little lower to be gentle on the white tea leaves. Also try this as a cold brew, where the melon flavors make the blend extra refreshing on a warm day. Versatile and naturally sweet, Tea Break blend makes it easy to take a moment to yourself and relax with a cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description:
Sometimes you just need a break. And whether it’s 5 minutes or 5 hours, our Tea Break white tea is the perfect companion. A fresh, flavorful Fujian white tea base is paired with tangerine and honeydew melon flavors that create not just a heavenly aroma, but a truly relaxing, calming, nourishing, thoughtful cup of tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tsuei Luan Oolong Tea by Tea from Taiwan . . . .
I steeped this tea for three minutes with five grams of leaf in six ounces of water at 190 degrees.
It smells so lovely in the packet that I kind of want to eat it. The tiny densely rolled-up leaves (which I let float free in the cup so I can watch them moving around and unfurling) are so cool! It seems about half of them are floating and half are sinking. It smells fruity, orchidy and a bit savory.
First sip: Super rich! So much flavor!! The tea leaves have unrolled into large, intact leaves and the tea liquid is a gentle yellow that reminds me of winter sun.
As I sip the tea, it’s astringent, creamy/buttery, a little grassy, viscous, and a little nutty even, with some floral/orchidy notes flying around too. It’s also a bit “leafy” so I may have steeped it a bit long, or maybe that’s just supposed to be part of the flavor. Either way, it’s a very interesting combo with the buttery and the fruity and the vegetal/savory aspects.
It’s a full and rich cup, and I don’t think it needs sugar or milk. I really enjoyed finishing this cup off and I’d love to have more of it sometime. Apparently this tea is very popular with aficionados of Taiwan teas (according to Tea from Taiwan’s website), and although I myself am not an expert in that area, I can definitely see how that would be the case.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Tea from Taiwan
Description
Tsuei Luan Oolong tea (wulong tea) is grown in the Tsuei Luan district of Li Shan (Pear Mountain). This area is a former fruit producing region which was converted to tea plantations in the late 1970’s. The soil quality of the former orchards is excellent, and the high altitude (more than 2,000 meters) of this district provides a cool, moist climate – ideal conditions for growing tea.
Tsuei Luan oolong tea has an exquisitely sweet aroma and interesting flavour profile. The slightly floral taste has a definite fruit undertone – said to be the result of growing tea on orchard land. This tea has a very pleasing flavour that makes it one of the most popular teas amongst Taiwan tea connoisseurs.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roasted Chestnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail #VeganMoFo2016
Today for the Vegan MoFo prompt it’s “Comfort Food” and since here at Sororitea Sisters we post about teas and tisanes I have chosen Roasted Chestnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail to be featured today. This Rooibos offering surprised me on so many levels that I just HAD to share my experiences with you!
Not only is Roasted Chestnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail one of their holiday blends that I could totally see myself sipping on while under a blanket and/or near a fire but it’s super tasty and comforting on the flavor level, too! Right off the bat I can tell you that the color of Roasted Chestnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail infuses to an exciting and vibrant orange-golden-light-brown color that really draws me in!
It’s smells wonderful with the sweet yet creamy notes, the orange pokes, and the nuttiness! There is a butteriness that I haven’t tasted in other rooibos offerings that I am super stoked about in this S&V creation. This just might be one of my favorite flavored rooibos tastes of this year! Roasted Chestnut Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is a terrific comfort cuppa. I think the reason I am overly excited about this one is because I am not a Chestnut Guru or a Rooibos Rabid Fan! Which makes this even better, I think!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description: Usher in the holiday season with this joyous brew. If you like chestnuts roasted on an open fire you’ll love this caffeine free tisane! The dry leaf has the aroma of nutty, heavenly goodness and the brewed cup explodes with this flavor followed by a light buttery taste. So curl up by a fire with this delicious cup while you read your favorite book and listen to holiday songs. We dare you to try not to sing “that” song!
Ingredients: Red Rooibos, orange blossoms and flavoring.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine free. Certified Kosher
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pyin Green Tea from Shan Valley
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shan Valley
Tea Description:
This tea hails from Pyin Long within Northern Shan, Myanmar. This is also a first flush tea and is an everyday drinking tea. This tea is a reddish color.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Although I drink a lot more green tea than I used to, I still consider myself a learner when it comes to my familiarity with different types. This green tea looks like none I’ve seen before. For a start, the leaves are pretty much a uniform dark brown, almost black. They’re also wider than I’m used to seeing, kind of rounded or bowl shaped at the tip, tapering in to a narrow, short stalk. Intriguing! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 170 degrees.
