Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz requires time and multiple infusions so today’s post will be just that…my own personal findings from multiple infusions with Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz.
Infusion 1: The hot water hasn’t fully separated the mini tuo cha and that’s okay because I will focus on multiple infusions with this Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz. My first infusion made the water a light brown. The aroma was a warm woodsy sniff with very faint malty notes. The first sip of the first infusion was nice. It was fairly pale but comforting. It offered delicious warming flavors that were almost cinnamon-like. I needed to further explore this square tuo cha!
Infusion 2: The color of Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz during the 2nd infusion was a dark brown. The nose wasn’t too intense but still pleasant. I could pick up a hint of crust in the aroma this time around. The taste was pretty smooth with a semi-sweet yet malty taste. I enjoyed the 2nd infusion more than the 1st because it was more defined. As an after thought and after taste there was a sprinkle of citrus that I could taste, too!
Infusion 3: I know I could go on and on with additional infusions but I think I am going to end this session with the 3rd infusion because I am very satisfied with the color and aroma. And because there are so many teas and so little time! By the 3rd infusion the mini square has fully separated. The infusion color is very dark brown – almost coffee-like. The aroma is very earthy but not wormy and not overly wet-wood like some pu-erh tend to be. More of a warming, dry-wood, with citrus underneath maybe even a touch of cinnamon powder. NOT cinnamon per say but a powdery likeness instead. The taste is earthy but in a malty way. It’s REALLY smooth, too, but in a malty-way! It’s NOT bitter at all and I really LOVE that. Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz ends with some sort of citrus note but I can’t quite put my finger (or tongue) on it. It’s not really the peel flavor – or as strong as orange zest – maybe it’s more of a citrusy-pith flavor instead. Regardless – I’m a fan!
I really suggest taking your time with Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Red Label – from Teasenz and enjoy multiple infusions. If you don’t care for the 1st – move on to the 2nd. If you still aren’t sure – try a 3rd – and so on! There are so many opportunities here and I am thankful I was able to try at least 3 of them!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Description
If you are new to pu erh tea and have yet to discover the different types of aromas it offers, then this mini tuocha tea mix is the right place to start. Reap the weight loss benefits of this pu erh while enjoying the diverse mix of flavors that ensure you will never get bored.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail
I’ve always been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe’s works and when I saw Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail I knew I just HAD to try it! A funny side-story prior to my review of this tea…when we first adopted Riley…our Corgi/Lab Mix he had terrible separation anxiety and because of it he used to grab books off my bookshelf and shred them to pieces! The Works of Edgar Allan Poe was his first and most graphic causality.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail is a Black Tea and Pu-erh Tea Blend with the addition of bergamot oil and beet root. Digging deeper into the black tea base – Simpson & Vail uses multiple black teas and even adds Lapsang Souchong in the mix!
The color of this – once brewed – is a dark brown but has red glowing thru – as well – thanks to the beet. It’s a glorious color – it really is! The aroma is smoky yet fruity.
The taste will take more explaining! Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail is complex but delicious! Upfront I could taste the Lapsang Souchong. It was smoky but not overly-so because of the other things happening in this tea. In the middle of the sip there is a sweet fruitiness going on that is a nice surprise. Following that welcomed fruity interruption is a wonderful malt flavor AND texture that swim around on my tongue. This blended teas ends smooth, fruity, and slightly smoky. There is an after taste and after thought of citrus that lingers, too. This is REALLY wonderful! I can’t think of anything I don’t like about this blended-based tea! YUM!
What I really LOVE and appreciate about the THOUGHT that went into Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail is the ingredients. To look at the dry blend it’s EVERYTHING DARK which totally explains Edgar Allan Poe’s life, work, and character. Throw in a bit of Lapsang Souchong and it just makes it very more ‘goth’ and mysterious. The beet root offers an immediate comparison to blood which also fits into the life and times and works of Poe. I might be getting a little over-analyzing with this next statement but I feel that lingering flavor from the bergamot symbolizes Poe’s talent that is still appreciated today and makes his literary-legendary live on.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
This dark, earthy blend evokes the damp tombs of Poe’s stories. While it is perhaps the most well known, The Cask of Amontillado is not Poe’s only story in which his fear of being buried alive becomes a major plot point. His vivid descriptions of “utter darkness among a quantity of loose earth” that “threaten[ed] to bury [him] entirely” offered a direction for our blend. It combines the earthy tones of Puerh black with the mellow smokiness of Lapsang and the slightest citrus hint of an Earl Grey. The dried beetroot turns the brewed tea a deep blood red.
Ingredients: Black teas, puerh tea, lapsang souchong tea, beetroot and bergamot oil.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas
Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas is the second tea I have had from this company and I have to say both impressions have been positive ones! As soon as I opened the package of this Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas I could smell a fruity yet crusty combo – much like a jelly croissant! As you can see from the photo above Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas comes in the shape of hearts.
My first infusion of this Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas was a lighter to medium black tea liquor in the cup and a semi-sweet and bit of fruity notes on the first few sips. I knew this would be a black tea I would want to infuse multiple times and I am glad I did. I actually prefer my second cup of Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas to the first because it was stronger!
The second infusion was much more hardy, more strong, more malty, and a deeper flavor all around. It was like I was drinking to completely different teas and I am ok with that. I love doing a compare and contrast with the multiple infusions.
With the third infusion the tea color was much like the first infusion but the flavor was somewhere in between the first and third infusion taste-wise. The differences in the taste in the third infusion that I didn’t notice in prior infusions was the creamier maltiness rather than a hardy maltiness.
This Holistic Hearts (Black) Tea from Beleave Teas is a real thinker. I like that in a tea. One that makes you think. One that forces you to take your time. Sometimes we all need that, don’t we?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Beleave Teas
Description:
Dark Tea and rose petals from the Hunan province of China are compressed into single cup heart shaped pieces. Very smooth with a natural sweetness. Probiotic tea.
Learn more about this tea here.