Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Teapigs
Tea Description:
Pinkies out, bone china cups and saucers, silk neck scarf and snorty laugh at the ready – this is the poshest tea around. Darjeeling tea without milk has a unique, clean, refreshing taste. Traditionally drunk in the afternoon it tastes equally good early morning from a chipped mug.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Thanks to one of our sisters, Scheherazade, I got a chance to try a few sachets of this tea! Teapigs is a company I’ve been kind of curious about for a while; the Sobeys I work at carries a small selection of their teas (though not this one) and I’ve always found the packaging cute. I just simply haven’t known enough about the company or seen enough reviews to be interested in trying one of their teas.
I steeped up one of the pyramid style sachets I received from Scheherazade this morning during a heavy downpour and sat on the steps outside of our house, listening to the pitter patter of the rain, while drinking it. It was definitely the perfect atmosphere to enjoy and appreciate the warmth of the mug and the clean, well rounded flavour. I thought in particular it tasted rather floral, with a slight bit of malt and a sort of autumnal vibe – probably from the very slight spice notes throughout the cup. The mouthfeel is very, very smooth and silky. It’s not the best Darjeeling I’ve ever had but it’s far from the worst.
Very pleasant, comforting and unobtrusive flavour overall. I don’t know if I’ve been sold enough on this tea to want to purchase more of it, but I might finally pick up one of the different blends we carry at the Sobeys I work at as my curiosity has definitely been heightened.
Tai Ping Houkui Green from Min River Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Min River Tea (However it’s no longer available)
Tea Description:
Hailing from the foothills of Huang Shan’s eternally misty peaks, Tai Ping Monkey King is one of China’s most distinct green teas. The mellow and refreshing Monkey King is processed from a special cultivar prized for its large leaves. Its leaves are individually flattened resulting in the typical often finger-long blades featuring a beautifully deep green colour.
Learn more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
Looks like I’m a little late to the game; Min River Tea has closed up their virtual doors and this tea is no longer available for sale – however I’m still going to review it because I think that even though you can’t buy it anymore you can certainly learn from it!
Personally; I’m way out of my comfort zone here. Not only am I not really big green tea person in general (though that is slowly changing) apart from roaster greens and matcha, but I’ve never had a Tai Ping Houkui before – though the concept has interested me for a long time. Personally, I think the dry tea leaves are one of the most visually interesting and stunning of ANY tea type.
For my first tasting of this I went with a cold brew, purely because my mason jar I use was the only brewing vessel I could think of that was actually deep enough for the very long leaves – each one is nearly an inch longer than my finger, though I do have tiny baby hands so maybe that’s not saying much. I didn’t really know how much leaf I should be using for a cold brew; in the end I wound up using six or seven of the long, steamed leaves.
I’m thinking that was pretty too lightly leafed; the taste was subtle and watery. Although, there were some differences though! The liquor was a very pretty, pale green and the taste was clean and grassy with some light seaweed seaweed notes and some sharpness. There was also a touch of sweetness that reminded me of honey. Honey and green tea is a great pairing; so it definitely worked.
I can’t say that I necessarily loved it, but I also didn’t hate it and to be perfectly fair I was also a little bit strained tasting it too. I definitely plan to repeat this cold brewing process again with more leaf to see how that changes the flavour and my impression.
I’ve also heard about the tea leaves ‘dancing’ when brewed hot so that’s something I’m eager to try as well! For now, I probably wont seek out this tea type but should it happen to find its way to me through a swap or something like that I’m definitely going to be very receptive to the chance to try different company’s take on this one.
As someone who’s done so little exploration into the world of green tea there’s always something really fascinating to learn and taste! I hope to grow to love the taste of this tea type enough to want to put more effort into tapping into that pool of knowledge.
Sencha Superior Uji from Zen Tea Life
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green, Sencha
Where to Buy: Zen Tea Life
Tea Description:
Sencha is the most commonly enjoyed variety of Japanese green tea. Sencha contains more of the beneficial nutrient Catechin than other green teas, because it is grown in full sunlight, thus it becomes yellow-green in color. Sencha tastes gently astringent and smells wonderfully fresh. Sencha is harvested three or four times a year. But with each harvest, the tea becomes slightly lower in quality. This is why the first flush, or Ichiban Cha, is the best. All of our Sencha products are made exclusively from Ichiban Cha. You will certainly be delighted with the fine and generously harmonized flavor of our Sencha.
Ingredients: Sencha, Matcha, Brown Rice, Puffed Corn.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The cup steeps into a clear, nearly neon green color. Its bright and cheery, and just what the doctor ordered on a foggy dreary day!
The flavor of this tea is deliciously green, vegetal, sweet, nutty, and fresh.
As described there is a light astringency to the cup but it does not become bitter if brewed correctly.
The directions say to use 1 to 2 teaspoons so I split the difference going 1.5 teaspoons however I am feeling I could have saved some leaf and went with just one. It is a strong tasting tea, not too strong, just strong enough that you don’t need as much leaf as you could use unless you want your sencha to really punch you in the face.
There is a wonderful fresh cut grass after taste that I adore! It lingers just like beautiful clean crisp blades of summer grass from a full lush lawn.
There is a nuttiness to the tea as well which is another of my favorite flavor notes. The matcha in the tea is noticeable in flavor but does not leave matcha “dust” in the bottom of your cup. This brings me to the following: One thing that does confuse me is that on the ingredients listing it says there is puffed rice, matcha, sencha of course, and brown rice, yet in the leaf itself I see none of this so it must be somehow mixed in here perfectly so it is not detected in the dry leaf. To the naked eye it looks simply like a beautiful deep green sencha. Or the labeling on my sample may be incorrect. Regardless, I can taste the flavor notes listed on the ingredients, I just can’t see them. What the label infers to me is a genmaicha.
What one can’t be confused about however is that this particular tea, is delicious.
Tong Cheng Small Orchid Semi-Wild 800m from Life In Teacup
Tea Type: Green Tea
Where To Buy: Life In Teacup
Product Description:
Life in Teacup is a small tea company that is committed to support small business and small tea-growing operations. Life in Teacup specializes in Chinese teas, particularly those from Anhui, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang provinces, and from Taiwan. The company focuses on direct sourcing from areas of production, and their website and the Life in Teacup blog are a rich source of detailed information about tea, especially those sold by Life in Teacup.
Tasters Review:
I’ve been a LIFE IN TEACUP Fan for a while now and one thing I can say is that they are always consistent! They offer high quality teas that are delicate and flavorful but always crisp and clean!
As for Tong Cheng Small Orchid Semi-Wild 800m I have to say it made it to my 90 percentile because it’s really wonderful!
It’s Light, Clean, Crisp! It has a Juicier finish and aftertaste. And as it cools it tastes a little like veggies – maybe like celery, perhaps! It’s very refreshing and tasty both hot and cold! I great way to unwind at the end of a busy day and/or just take some time for yourself – to relax and enjoy tea…and life!
Sliver Needle White Tea from eTeaket
Tea Type: White Tea
Where To Buy: eTeaket
Product Description:
Silver Needle is the most famous of all white teas, and for good reason. The delicate downy buds (packed with antioxidants and very low in caffeine) give a delicate but complex flavour with a hint of melon, fresh citrus notes and a lingering finish. Forget silver, this tea deserves a gold medal.
Tasters Review:
I can smell the melon in this prior to infusing! Sliver Needle White Tea from eTeaket is very clean and pretty smelling! Once it has time to infuse a little I can pick up more of the floral and sweet grass aromas underneath too!
It’s also VERY Clean and Smooth on the tongue. The aftertaste is sweet-grass, citrus-melon, and fresh spring bouquet all wrapped up into one! This is Nice! One of the better and more memorable Sliver Needles I have tried!