Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: What-Cha Tea
Tea Description:
A unique black tea rolled into huge marble sized balls. With a sweet aroma and taste, and an incredibly thick texture.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
These pearls are beautiful! They’re larger than a jasmine green tea (or white tea) pearl, about double or maybe even triple the size of one of those smaller pearls. So, you don’t need quite as many to produce a cup of tea (I used five for my 12 ounce cup of tea). The aroma of the dry pearl is somewhat earthy with notes of leather and sweet notes of honey and cacao.
Rather than brewing these pearls in a teapot, I chose my glass teacup so that I could watch the unfurling process. They unfurl rather quickly, and after the first minute of steeping they were open and revealed many different leaves. For this first infusion, I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes. After those three minutes and observing how the leaves unfurl and seeing how much leaf is in the glass strainer, I think that for the next cup, I might only use four pearls! Each pearl has a whole lot of tea in it!
The color of the liquid is a dark copper and it smells very much the way the dry pearls smelled: earthy, hints of leather and a strong overtone of cacao. Nice.
So good! I love a good Yunnan tea, and this Dragon Pearl is one of the nicest I’ve had. It’s so rich and full-flavored. After steeping the five pearls, I have a robust cup of tea – this is the strength I like first thing in the morning! It’s got the gusto to shake the sleepy right out of me, you know what I mean? On those days when you need an extra kick to wake you up and get you going, just drop another pearl into the cup.
Beautiful top notes of cacao – delicious! There is an undertone of caramel that keeps everything sweet, and the cacao is more of a dark, bittersweet chocolate that balances out the sweeter notes. The earthy tones and notes of leather offer a solid backdrop of flavor while the malty tones, cacao, honey and caramel play in the foreground.
It’s sweeter right up front, but then as the palate explores the sip, I find notes that offer some contrast to the sweetness. I’m also noticing notes of stone fruit, reminiscent of plum and peach and faint hints of flower dance in and out of the sip. This has a lot of complexity for such a robust cup!
This is a remarkably good black pearl. I’ve tried several different black pearl teas now, and I’ve enjoyed the various ones that I’ve tried. This one from What-Cha is really good, one of the best! And I highly recommend re-infusing the leaves! The second steep is almost as good as – and in some ways, even better than – the first steep! The second steep is a little lighter … it’s not quite as hefty as the first cup, but this allows for more exploration of the complexity. It is sweeter and I’m picking up on more of the notes of fruit and flower. Amazing!
First Flush Long Jing Green Tea from Teasenz
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Tea Description:
A first flush Longjing tea picked in early spring. An exceptional quality rarely seen outside of China.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Nice! This is an exceptionally fresh-tasting Longjing! I’m not surprised, of course, because I can’t recall being disappointed by any of the teas that I’ve tried thus far from Teasenz! This company is one that is committed to offering the very finest (and freshest!) teas. I like that in a tea company.
And I’m finding myself really appreciating the freshness and flavor of this first flush Long Jing (aka Dragon Well). It’s sweet and smooth and delicious. Not a trace of bitterness and a very low astringency level.
This Dragon Well has a light vegetal tone and tastes more of sweet butter with nutty tones than it tastes grassy or vegetative. I also taste notes of fruit and flower in the distance.
The sip starts out sweet, reminiscent of the nutty flavor you might experience with a browned butter. The nutty flavor has a light, toasted taste to it. About mid-sip, I start to pick up on hints of fruit and very delicate whispers of flower in the distance. More sweetness! The sip ends smooth with a slight dry sensation – a very, very slight dry astringency here. If I wasn’t focused in on the sip and really concentrating on everything I’m picking up on … this astringency is so low that it would have escaped my notice.
I love how this tea washes the palate with sweetness with every sip. It’s so enjoyable. It is more sweet than it is savory or brothy, this isn’t one of those “nourishing” type of teas, this is one to drink for the sheer celebration of a superbly beautiful and satisfyingly sweet green tea.
Another AMAZING tea from Teasenz!
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This Organic Dragon Well Long Jing tea origins in organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain in Lin’an, Hangzhou. The organic tea base of Tianmu Mountain, has passed the organic certification of European, USA and Japan, is a significant base of planting organic dragon well and green tea. This dragon well long jing tea persists a high level in picking and producing while meeting the standard of organic certification. The tea should be picked as one bud and two leaves or three leaves in order to reach the standard. Tea workers also have excellent skills, which help keep the natural features of fresh tea leaves. Combined with the advantages of organic tea and high grade tea, this dragon well long jing tea is suitable for tea lovers of organic tea as well as dragon well green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I previously reviewed Teavivre’s Spring 2014 She Qian Dragon Well and I absolutely LOVED it. It would seem that the She Qian is sold out now, so if you’re looking for an alternative, this Organic Superfine Dragon Well from Teavivre is an excellent choice.
The flavor is sweet and vegetal, with notes of butter and a nutty taste in the background. The nutty flavor is slightly “toasty,” like fresh, roasted chestnuts. I like the way the butter and the nutty flavors unite to offer a slight creaminess to the flavor. It’s not a heavy cream taste, but just a little something to contrast with the mild vegetative flavor.
The texture of the cup is light and refreshing. With every sip, my palate feels clean and energized but i don’t feel overstimulated with this drink. It’s a calm, peaceful sort of beverage to sip, but at the same time, I can feel it “renew” me. It’s not a drink that feels “weighty” on the palate, nor does it feel “brothy” or creamy. It’s smooth and it has a light richness to the flavor, but, it isn’t a real overbearing texture on the tongue.
And what’s great about this Dragon Well from Teavivre – besides the fact that it tastes awesome and it’s organic! – is that it’s a tea that keeps on going. You can infuse it several times with no loss of flavor. In fact, it’s well worth the effort to infuse this at least two or three times because I find that the later infusions are more flavorful than the first cup.
If you’re looking for your Dragon Well tea source for this year, you can’t go wrong with Teavivre. This is true of any tea that they offer – everything that I’ve tried from them has been top notch.
Sleeping Dragon Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Sleeping Dragon green tea is grown at about 3,000 feet in the mountainous Fujian province. The tightly rolled leaves and silvery fuzzy buds give this tea its signature shape and name. In the cup, it delivers a soft, fruity sweetness enfolded by a rich smokey note similar to a gunpowder, but more complex and crisp in the finish. Sleeping Dragon remains a great cup for a green tea novice or those who oppose the grassy character of some varieties.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
The fragrance of the dry tea has a strong vegetal scent, reminding me a little bit of the smell that fills the kitchen when I’m steaming broccoli. Maybe with a tad of seaweed in the steamer. Although … I’ve never done that. I probably won’t either.
Fortunately, this Sleeping Dragon Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf doesn’t have a seaweed-ish taste to go along with that aroma. This is actually quite lovely!
The flavor reminds me of something between a green tea and a white tea. It has some of the fruity, melon-y notes that I might find in a white tea, but with a more forward presentation. It isn’t quite as delicate as I find most white teas to be, although it is a little more delicate than most green teas that I’ve encountered.
I also taste hints of citrus with the melon, and there are sweet, vegetative notes of a green tea that meld in a harmonious way with the fruit tones. Not grassy, but, with a non-aggressive vegetative note that reminds me of a sweet, mild green vegetable, perhaps a perfectly steamed artichoke. As suggested in the above description, I am also tasting a very subtle smokiness. There is only a very subtle dry astringency to this – so subtle that I think even those who tend to be sensitive to astringency can enjoy this.
The tightly wound leaves of this tea didn’t fully open with the first infusion, so I decided to take them for another steep! The second steep was very similar to the first. It was darker in color, and a little stronger in flavor than the first infusion, but, overall, the flavors were very similar. I noticed that the citrus notes that I detected in the first cup were not very noticeable in the second, but, these seemed to be replaced by a creaminess that I didn’t experience in the first cup.
Overall, a very interesting and delicious green tea. I don’t know that I’ve experienced a “Sleeping Dragon” green tea in the past, and so I’m glad I got to try it. I love that I’m being exposed to some new and exciting teas thanks to the monthly Selection Club box from Simple Loose Leaf!
To save 25% when you sign up for the Selection Club, use this code: SISTERSELECTION25. This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Product Description:
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls are perfumy, hand-rolled jewels of tea from Fuding, in Fujian province, China. Any fan of jasmine tea should try this specially crafted wonder. When added to hot water, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls majestically unfurl, releasing their delicate scent and flavor. Also known as ‘Jasmine Dragon Pearls’, their liquor is sweet and almost sugary. Very soft, airy mouthfeel. The delicate quality of the flavor is due in part to the leaves used to produce this tea: two tender, tiny new leaves and one plump unopened leaf bud. Younger leaves will yield softer flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a little bit like my revisiting a tea, because I did previously review Jasmine Pearls from Adagio. However, since these are loose pearls, and my review was of Adagio’s sacheted Jasmine Pearls – which were part of Adagio Teas’ lovely Artisan Comfort gift box – I feel like I can get away with revisiting this one.
And as you are probably aware by now (assuming that you’ve been reading my blog regularly!), I adore Jasmine Pearls!
I brewed these pearls in my gaiwan and I combined the first five infusions in my designated especially for Jasmine Tea Yixing Mug. And what a lovely experience these Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio offer! The jasmine notes are soft and sweet and exotic. The green tea has a fresh, subtle vegetal tone that marries beautifully with the flowery essence that has been imparted onto the tender tea leaves by the jasmine flower.
And the fragrance is heavenly! Every time I lift the lid of my Yixing mug and raise it to my lips, my nose is enchanted by the aroma of jasmine and green tea. It’s so wonderfully perfumed without coming across as something you’d find in a bottle of perfume. It doesn’t come across as something that belongs at a department store cologne counter. It is light, airy … almost like a sweet breeze that has been delicately scented with the flower as it passed through the vines of a jasmine plant. So beautiful!
The sip begins with the sweet notes of jasmine that wash over the palate, and as my taste buds experience the soft floral notes, they start to also pick up on the notes of lush green tea. Not really grassy, and there isn’t a heavy vegetative flavor. Instead it just has a soft “green” sort of flavor. It has a soft, silky texture and there’s a hint of buttery flavor to it. The flavor remains smooth through to the finish, and there’s very little notable astringency. The aftertaste is sweet with floral tones.
A really good Jasmine!