Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
A great find for those looking for a more green tea with more character! Like several of our other teas, Liu’an Guapian is deservedly in the list of China’s top ten teas. Made only from larger, mature leaves that are rolled up during processing, the dry leaves have a distinctively plump shape to them – giving rise to its Chinese name of “melon seeds”. Very uncharacteristic for a green tea, it has a quite sweet taste and strong aroma, that is also overlaid with an almost smoky, spicy tang.
From Qiyun Mountain(齐云山), Liu’an, Anhui province
Harvest Time: April 2, 2013
Round shaped, vibrant leaves without any bud or stems
Produces a bright emerald coloured tea
A distinctive taste – sweet with a rich, slightly spicy taste
Low caffeine (less than 10% of a cup of coffee)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Liu An Gua Pian Green Tea from Teavivre has the mouth watering aroma of milk and honey. When I opened the dry leaf packet I let out an audible ahhhhhh. When I steeped it the moist leaf let off that sticky sweet smell of milk and honey and I was in love. The beautiful hand rolled leaf look like tiny unicorn horns. Yes this tea is what dreams are made of!
The flavor of this tea is like none other. Seriously this is not your average green tea! Yes there is a note of vegetation and unlike my SororiTea Sister I do get a bit of a grassy note, but it is so much more complex than that and I am in agreement with my SororiTea Sister Anne, that it is a stellar green tea to covet! Like her, I think my new favorite.
I too get that kick of a spicy note and a deep earthiness for a green. Something like peat moss perhaps. This is easily a tea that I could get all flowery with the words about but rather I want to just sit back and relax into this sublime cup. It is sweet, a tiny bit tangy and tart, a kick of spicy, a whole lot of grounding earthiness, vegetal, subtly grassy, with a touch of fruit flavor very much like that of a melon yet I also detect something perhaps like lychee with a light floral undertone to it.
Regardless of what verbiage I could use to persuade you to try this tea, I will restrain myself, if you don’t buy it then that just means more for me, and for my SoroitTea Sister Anne too I suppose. Seriously if you are not a fan of green tea you must try this. You will be changed for life. If you do enjoy green tea, you have to experience this one, and if you are a green tea lover you simply can NOT be without this in your stash!
Sinharaja from Golden Moon Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Moon Tea
Tea Description:
For Sinharaja we use rich, dark loose leaf tea leaves that are nourished by fertile rain forest streams in the hills of Ceylon. It has a toasty, molasses-like character with ripe berry notes and a caramelized finish. Serve with a touch of raw sugar and cream for a taste that is smooth, full-bodied and warming.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL:
A sweet, full bodied Ceylon Tea
Natural notes of cocoa and honey with a finish of molasses
A personal favorite of our Owner, Marcus Stout
Pairs excellently with milk and honey
Grown at the basin of a rainforest giving it a wonderfully rich flavor
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL OF:
Sinharaja has a touch of astringency, which is great for first thing in the morning
A bold flavor that is heavier than most Ceylon Teas
While good as an iced tea, it actually tastes better hot
Not as malty as other Black Teas (like Assam)
If you drink the tea without milk and sugar/honey, then the second infusion is better than the first
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of Sinharaja from Golden Moon Tea is delightful. It smells rich, robust, sweet, and full of molasses. Yet to balance out this sweet tea we have an almost spicy, woodsy flavor. It is quite delicious. Now I can’t say it is the most robust black tea, nor the heaviest in the mouthfeel. Actually I have had teas with far more depth of flavor than Sinharaja, however I do love this tea. I like the subtle astringency indicative of a breakfast tea, without the ability for it to easily become bitter when oversteeped. Let’s face it, if I am going to over steep a tea it is going to be when I am barely awake, in the mornings. Well in honesty my mornings are more early afternoon, but you get the idea.
If you like to add creamer, milk, sugar, etc to your tea this is an excellent one to do it with. Although I find this tea to have plenty of flavor on its own and does not need additives, I have to admit that the milk and sugar do bring out new and exciting qualities in this tea. It enhances the richness and makes the tea a bit more robust, rather than drowning out the flavors. I also only added a slight hint of milk, and sugar.
There is a earthy yet sweet balance in this tea that keeps drawing me back. Chocolate notes that seem almost creamy as the cup cools some present. Bright berry notes do liven up the cup giving an almost sparkly like sensation to the palate. The berries taste more red berry, perhaps even a slight cherry or perhaps raspberry note to the cup. Based on the sparkly sensation I am going to have to go with very sweet raspberry.
I particularly love the after taste and while I know that Golden Moon says this is better hot I can’t wait to try it iced. I feel like this is one of those teas that can really match any weather. I can see this being so comforting on a dreary day, or really refreshing on a hot day. I need to get my hands on some more of this.
Genmaicha from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Genmaicha green tea, also known as “poor man’s tea” is a great choice for bold flavor. This earthy infusion of organic loose-leaf sencha and toasted rice kernels pairs perfectly with savory snacks and Asian meals, and has just enough caffeine to pick you up after a long day.
Ingredients
Organic Sencha Green Loose-Leaf Tea, Roasted Rice Kernels
Characteristics
Bold, Organic
Flavors
Earthy, Grassy
Caffeine Content
Low
Steep Temperature
175˚
Steep Time
3-5 mins
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Genmaicha from the Persimmon Tree, One of my favorite teas! There are different levels of “roastiness” in genmaicha this is not one of the roastiest that I have tasted but it is well balanced and quite lovely. Genmaicha is a “go to” tea for me really anytime, but always when I can’t decide on what to steep. Genmaicha always satisfies. I love sencha, and I love the nutty toasty flavor that Genmaicha has to offer. Call it poor man’s tea if you must, I feel rather lavish when I sip on a cup!
The mouthfeel is creamy, buttery, and fresh, with that lovely sencha flavor that I can’t resist. The rice kernels are plentiful too, and I like that! This is also a very forgiving tea for a green tea, it takes to an over-steep quite well if you are prone to forgetting about your steeping tea. Not that I ever do that, (yeah right).
Today I needed something to center my mind. I have had a crazy busy week, missing one day of reviewing entirely (sorry about that), so today I just needed to get focus back, and ground myself. This tea was calling to me and it is doing just what I needed it to. I also find that Genmaicha helps curb hunger pangs and will really get you through to meal time.
I have sampled a lot of Genmaicha teas and this is one of my top three favorites due to its high roasted flavor. Yet, even with its high roasted flavor, the sencha is the star of the show! You do not lose one bit of the wonderful sencha taste. It also just fills my room with earthy, fresh aromas and is way better smelling than any room spray!
I love a tea company that does good. You can read all about the Persimmon Tree here. I personally love this excerpt:
We, at The Persimmon Tree®, contribute to the sustainability of our planet. Where possible, we use recycled and recyclable materials in our shipping supplies and printed materials. Using recycled products increases the demand for recycled material, which increases the rate of recyclability. Our passion is to instigate and experience positive change through the simple things, and we encourage our customers to do the same.
A very good Genmaicha, a very good company!
Maiden’s Ecstasy Organic from Samovar Tea Lounge
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Samovar Tea Lounge
Tea Description:
Wild-crafted from 30-foot trees in the jungles of Southwest China, this tea is a traditional wedding gift and evening mood-setter. Dark, creamy, and luxurious with notes of bittersweet chocolate and espresso.
Details
Tea Type: Pu-Erh
Origin: Jing Mai Mountains in Yunnan, China
Caffeine Level: Medium-high
Processing Details: Tender, young-leaf, vintage, loose leaf Pu-Erh
Tasting and Aroma Specs: Very balanced, smooth, rich and dark, with a slightly sweet, wildflower honey finish. Deep, strong forward notes of earth and moss with a lingering raisin sugar sweetness.
Food Pairing: Dim Sum and Samovar’s Mushroom Quiche
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It is really difficult to sum up a puerh in a review without mentioning each and ever steep. Especially when it is such an excellent puerh like this Maiden’s Ecstasy Organic from Samovar Tea Lounge.
Maiden’s Ecstasy is one of the first pureh that I ever tried and is still one of my favorites. I stopped drinking coffee shortly before I found my love for loose leaf tea, and this Maiden’s Ecstasy provides such a rich, full, and robust cup that it brings back memories of my once loved coffee, but is so much better, and far more flavorful!
With a creamy, heavy mouthfeel, this tea has notes of german rock sugar, brown sugar, raisins, tree bark, oak moss, and so much more. Sometimes you will taste a more woodsy note, while other times you get a taste of chocolate, and other times a savory note of mushroom!
There is something otherworldly about this tea. It is the kind of tea I like to drink while watching a movie such as Avatar, or The Never Ending Story. I would take this and drink it at the Renaissance Festival every year if I could find a way to keep steeping it! It makes me feel like jumping from toadstool to tree trunk and swinging from branches of friendly tress and cavorting with gnomes but beware of the trolls because this tea does have a sparky, spicy kick to it at times as well! Its not dangerous though, it won’t burn your tongue at all, its just a little spark of playful now and then in the middle of an otherwise dreamy cup.
It does evoke thoughts of sipping on a very luxurious espresso, a good one though, one you could probably only find at one of those quaint cafes in Italy, as you sit writing in your diary at a white linen clothed table, dreaming of a romantic interlude. Flavors of molasses peek through resembling the sweet desires playing out in your mind as you gaze into nothingness, while someone, sitting at a table not too far away can see everything emoting through your eyes.
Yes, this tea is that special.
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Jasmine Ancient Beauty tea features fragrant jasmine blossoms permeated with pure hand-harvested oolong loose-leaf tea, giving an amber peach color with a fresh aromatic bouquet and sweet refreshing taste.
This beautiful oolong jasmine tea comes from thousand year-old trees on the Jing Mai Mountain in China. The protected forest reserve is enshrouded in mist and located approximately 5,000 feet above sea level. The best buds and leaves are hand plucked by scaling the tall trees and then oxidized using a traditional oxidation process to reach a specific maturation point. They are then crafted with traditional scenting techniques using whole jasmine blossoms. Drink the Jasmine Ancient Beauty Tea and experience a real one-of-a-kind treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Jasmine Ancient Beauty from The Persimmon Tree is a cup that is full of flavors. It is by no means your typical oolong!
As a lover of oolong teas I can see how some people could be disappointed in this tea if they go into with expectations of it tasting like any other oolong they have ever had before.
Or if you are one who loves jasmine teas, I could see some disappointment there as well as this is not your typical jasmine tea either.
What this tea IS however is a tea with some amazing depth to it. The flavors are heady, hearty, and full, yet there are these berry like notes that give the cup a lightness that is just so cheery.
This is not robust like a morning black tea, yet there is an earthiness to the tea that makes it very full, almost thick.
Honestly, if no one told me, or I had not read the label before hand, I would have thought this to be a puerh. The leaves do come from a tree that is over a thousand years old according to The Persimmon Tree’s description and I believe it as this tea does have an aged flavor to it for sure.
Other notes I pick up on aside from honey, berry, jasmine, and oolong, are mushroom, earth, woods, brown sugar, toasted oat bread, to name a few. You really need to discover this tea for yourself.
The other thing I love about this tea, other than the wonderful flavor, is the look and feel of the leaves. They are quite stunning!
I really respect a company that gives back. You can read more about The Persimmon Tree and how it is working toward bettering our earth here.