Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Chado Tea House
Tea Description:
Gold prize awarded three consecutive years by prestigious Monde Selection of Brussels, Belgium. Japanese Sencha at its finest. Uses only those tea leaves produced by master tea makers. The highly skilled artisans steamed the leaves with exceptional care and then roll them to perfection. This deeply steamed Fukamushi Sencha tea has delightful Shincha like tastes and fragrant aromas that make them highly sought after by tea connoisseurs. Rich full bodied tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Amazing!
This Chasi-Meijin Imperial Gold from Chado Tea House is unlike any other Sencha Tea that I’ve tried … no wonder it has been awarded the Grand Gold Prize. I agree with the description, this tastes a bit more like a Shin-cha … like maybe somewhere between a fresh Shin-cha and a Gyokuro.
Oh, sure, it has some of the characteristics you’d expect from a Sencha, including a sweet, vegetative taste with a hint of bitterness. But this is so much smoother than other Japanese Sencha teas that I’ve tried. And sweeter too. Less of a bitter note. The vegetative note is a cross between kelp, sweet grass, and mild, lightly steamed spinach. There is a buttery note to this, but it isn’t really a creamy buttery texture so much as it is just a hint of the sweet, creamy note that butter would impart if it were melted over a serving of the aforementioned steamed spinach.
The body is very smooth and lush, not so much a creamy body, and it isn’t heavy like that … I am finding this to be a little lighter than a “full-bodied” tea as described above, but then again, I steeped this tea for just 1.5 minutes in 170°F water, and the infusion was so pale that it almost looked like water that had just been barely tinged with a hint of chartreuse. But that was all that was required to create a very delicious cup of tea. It is a pleasantly smooth, easy to drink tea.
Chado Tea House is a company I’d highly recommend for the very best teas that Japan has to offer. The quality of teas offered by Chado is outstanding, and this Award-Winning Sencha is just another example of what I’m talking about!
Glitter and Gold from David’s Tea
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Tea Description:
This deep dark Chinese tea is like a gorgeous starry night, glimmering with gold and silver sugar crystals that shimmer as they steep. Take a sip and the slow suggestion of cinnamon will warm your body. Your toes will tingle and your mind will turn to fireworks, falling stars, late-night seduction. It’s basically magic. (Is it getting hot in here, or is it just the tea?)
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is really fun! The dry leaf has lots of sparkly appeal – it is sprinkled with bright gold sugar spheres and glittery sugar crystals. These bits melt when the tea is brewed to sweeten the tea … but what’s even cooler is that the tea SHIMMERS. If you look at it you can see little twinkling sparkles in the brewed tea! At first, I didn’t think I’d be too keen on having a tea with a luster like this, but, now that I actually SEE its glistening beauty, I must admit, it’s really cool looking.
And it tastes good too. This is what I’d call an understated cinnamon tea … with so many cinnamon-orange flavored black teas out there that are really heavily spiced with cinnamon to the point of tasting like liquified red-hots, this tea instead allows for the sweeter, softer side of cinnamon to be experienced.
I like that it is sweet, but not too sweet. I like that it has a warmly spiced character, but it isn’t bombarding my palate with overwhelmingly strong cinnamon flavors. I like that I can taste each component to this tea: I taste the cinnamon, the clove, the vanilla, and the orange … as well as the black tea. These flavors all come together in a nicely rounded tea. Very enjoyable, indeed!
Yunnan Gold Rush from BigTeaHouse
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: BigTeaHouse
Tea Description:
This beautiful gold-tipped organic black loose leaf tea from the Yunnan Province of China is full-bodied with hints of spice and a delicious flowery undertone.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is indeed beautiful – lots of golden tips!
The flavor is also beautiful! It tastes rich and has a full, satisfying flavor that is warm and inviting. The kind of tea you want in your teacup in the morning. Something that will embrace you and invigorate you at the same time.
The flavor is complex, with sweetness that starts out as a heavy caramel undertone, and then lightens as the sip progresses to a honey-esque tone. The spice note is a gentle peppery taste, and it contrasts with the floral tones of this tea quite nicely – sort of sweet and exotic melding with warm peppery heat. There is an earthy/leathery kind of taste, as well as a malty tone that emphasizes a freshly baked bread note in the distance. The astringency is what I’d categorize as medium, and it leaves the palate feeling energized and ready for more! Yeah, as I said … complex. So much flavor!
A very lovely cup, indeed; a thoughtful cup, one that you’ll with which you’ll enjoy spending the morning.
Royal Gold Yunnan Needle from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Tea Description:
Exquisite, rare, high-altitude Royal Gold Yunnan tea. This needle tea, along with our Silver needle, is considered to be one of the finest teas in the world. Ours is completely comprised of copper-y, soft, curly buds. The dry leaf is quite aromatic; deep woodiness, tobacco, and floral hints. Once steeped, the leaf denotes hints of honeysuckle, with an autumnal richness. In the cup we find a deep caramel color and complex aromatics; bing cherry, baked bread, dark chocolate, roasted nuts,and spring blossoms. A long aftertaste leaves an incredible tobacco-y cacao finish.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I just love it when I take that first sip of a tea and I exclaim: “Awesome!” … or something like that. Sometimes it’s “oh, that’s good.” Or, just simply “mmm…”
That was my response when I first tried this tea. It was first “mmm…” and then “Awesome!”
This tea has such a deliciously rich character – smooth and complex and full-flavored. The first thing I noticed is just how well-rounded it is. It has a richness – almost creaminess, but that’s not quite the right way to describe it. This isn’t creamy the same way an Oolong, for example, is creamy. But, it has a thickness to it … a satisfying quality that seems to warmly blanket my taste buds in a swathe of flavor that ranges from flower to cacao, from caramel to fruit. This tea seems to have it all.
There are distinct cocoa-y notes – a deep, dark chocolate-y note that seems to set the tone for the entire cup. The cup is sweet, but not so much from the cocoa as it is from the burnt-sugar caramel notes. After the first couple of blissful sips, I begin to notice the fruity tones emerging, reminiscent of fresh plum that has been ripened on the tree in the summer sun. More sweetness and just a hint of tart from the fruit. Just a hint – just a touch of tartness – and it helps to keep the cup interesting.
By mid-cup, the floral notes begin to reveal themselves. The description above suggests honeysuckle, and yes, I suppose I get that. But it isn’t quite the honeysuckle one might find in other teas that possess honeysuckle-like tones, these floral notes have the subtle qualities of chamomile, but with the flavor of honeysuckle. That is to say that they are soft, not sharp or overpowering – just a gentle hint of honeysuckle, as if a warm breeze filtered through a honeysuckle vine and the essence of the air and the flower met in the teacup.
By the time I reach the bottom of the cup, I can reflect over the different flavors that I’ve tasted and might also mention a slight spiced tone that peppers the cup – not heavily, just a touch of warmth here and there that tastes of freshly ground pepper that has been finely ground and used to season modestly the overall cup.
A truly wonderful experience, this Royal Gold Yunnan Needle from Zhi Tea. It’s one of those teas that will serve you well as a breakfast tea and takes the additions of milk and honey well. I prefer it straight though, as I find that it allows me to explore the many facets of flavor it offers.
Emperor’s Gold from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Tea Description:
Only certain tea plant varietals can produce the golden colored tipped leaves. The golden color emerges during processing and after accurate withering (moisture drying) of the leaves. Few areas in Yunnan contain these type of plants. Other areas known to have golden tipped varietals Hunan and Fujian in China and Assam in India.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ahhh-maa-zing!
This tea is absolutely incredible. Sure, I probably say that about a lot of teas; trust me when I say I mean it about every tea about which I say it. And trust me when I say that this one might even need to be considered even better than absolutely incredible! Because this is one of the best teas I’ve encountered in a long time … and I’ve encountered a lot of delicious tea!
When I opened the tin, I could smell the notes of cocoa and caramel. YUM! The brewed tea has those same cocoa and caramel-y notes. As does the flavor!
This tea has well-defined chocolate-y notes, with a delectable caramel sweetness. It is remarkably smooth, there is no bitterness and no astringency. There are some deep earthy tones that meld with the chocolate-y notes very well, giving it a rich, luxurious flavor.
I can see why they chose to call this tea “Emperor’s Gold” … because I feel like royalty to have this opportunity to be drinking it. This is one that you want to have in your tea cupboard for those times when you want a little something special … this one is VERY special!