Taiwan Sun Moon Lake Ruby Black Tea (Competition Grade) from Cameron Tea

CameronRuby1Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Cameron Tea

Tea Description:  

Region: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

Type: Black Tea

Harvest Time: Winter 2013

Oxidation level: Fully oxidised

Taste: Natural flavour of cinnamon with a slight hint of mint.

When to drink: Throughout the day

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Having tried and LOVED the Premium Grade Sun Moon Lake Ruby Black Tea from Cameron Tea, I was excited to try their Competition Grade Ruby Black to see how it would compare.

CameronRubyI brewed this tea in my ceramic teapot which I warmed using hot tap water prior to measuring out the tea leaves.  I pinched out what appeared to be the equivalent of two bamboo scoops of the tea into the vessel.  This tea – because of it’s long, wiry leaves – is difficult at best to attempt to actually measure out with my trusty bamboo scoop.  So, unless you have a scale, you’re probably better served to use the noggin here and give it your best guess rather than to try to measure this tea with scoops or spoons.  I personally do not have a tea scale – and I don’t want one!  Tea should be simple and scales = scientific.  Science = not simple.

Anyway, after putting an estimated 2 scoops of tea into my teapot, I then added 16 ounces of near boiling (205°F) water to the teapot and let the tea steep for 3 minutes.  The result is a near perfect cup of tea!  (Well, actually, a mug of tea!)

It’s been a little while since I last tried the Premium Grade Sun Moon Lake Ruby Black Tea, but what immediately caught my attention about this tea is the cinnamon-y spice notes!  I don’t remember the spice notes being quite as forward in the Premium Grade version of this tea, and I’m not sure why that is.

Just beneath the cinnamon-like notes I notice flavorful notes of cacao – now those flavors, I remember!  I think that the big difference, at least in flavor, between the two grades is that this Competition Grade has a more pronounced spice note and the Premium Grade has a stronger cacao focus.

Other than that, this tea is very similar to the Premium Grade … both are rich, satisfying teas that would serve well as a breakfast tea or mid-to-late morning tea.  There is a strength to this cup that I find appealing, it’s the kind of tea that I want early in the day to keep me going.

This is really quite lovely on a day like today, when the weather is getting just a little cooler.  Not a lot cooler yet, but, I’m certainly ready and eagerly awaiting more signs of autumn to appear!  But this tea definitely has an autumnal sort of flavor going on and I like it a lot.

Another cup of AWESOMENESS from Cameron Tea!

Jasmine Special Grade Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf

Jasmine_Special_GradeTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.

Tea Description:

Enjoyed for centuries in China, Jasmine tea is an extremely popular scented tea. Special Grade Jasmine is a quality green tea with long, dark twisted leaves and sweet jasmine buds that produces a blonde liquor and delicate jasmine flavor. A delicious tea for any occasion.

Ingredients:  Jasmine Special Grade Green Tea

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.

Taster’s Review:

I think that August’s Selection Club box from Simple Loose Leaf is my favorite box yet!  Take a look at the selections that came with this box:  Lady Earl Grey (I mean … hey, if you’ve read very many of my reviews at all, you know that I’m all about the bergamot, right?), Blueberry White (I absolutely LOVED this and it’s phenomenal served iced!), Milk Oolong (Um … YUM!) and even the honeybush was really nice.  And now, I’m drinking Jasmine!  Yep, I love August’s box!

And I’m loving this Jasmine Green tea.  I steeped it in my gaiwan, starting with a 15 second rinse, and then I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds using 180°F water, and then I strained the liquid into my special Jasmine Yi Xing Mug.  I steeped the leaves four more times, adding 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion, until my mug was full with yummy Jasmine goodness.

The flavor is sweet and delicate.  The jasmine notes are not aggressive, they are soft and exotic and sweetly floral.  These notes marry beautifully with the lush, lightly vegetative taste of the Chinese green tea.

The tea has a pleasant mouthfeel.  It’s smooth throughout the sip and dry toward the finish.  The aftertaste is sweet and lightly floral.  A really enjoyable Jasmine tea.

To learn how you can join the Selection Club, click here.  And don’t forget the coupon code for 25% savings.  Just type in SISTERSELECTION25 in the coupon field and save 25%!  This discount is applicable only to the monthly Selection Club subscription and not the retail selection of teas.

Taiwan AliShan High Mountain Oolong Tea (Premium Grade) from Cameron Tea

AlishanCameronTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Cameron Tea

Tea Description:  

AliShan is one the famous oolong tea growing areas in Taiwan. Located at altitude of 1500m, the mountain has a rich soil and ideal climactic conditions. The cool climate and moist from daily mists make the plants to grow very slowly and produce tender, flavourful tea leaves and buds.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Not too long ago, I reviewed the Competition Grade of Cameron Tea’s AliShan High Mountain Oolong Tea.  According to the website, one notable difference between the two grades is that the Competition Grade has been lightly roasted.  And tasting this Premium Grade AliShan, I can say that the roasting definitely does make a difference in flavor.

That doesn’t mean that this one is better nor does it mean that it’s not as good.  I really enjoy both!  This tea has less of the roasted, nutty flavors that I discovered in the Competition Grade.  But I’m tasting more of a creamy note here as well as a floral tone that melds beautifully with the natural vegetal tones of the green Oolong tea.

As I’ve said many times, AliShan is my very favorite type of Oolong.  I love the creaminess of the tea and how that almost vanilla-esque note softens the somewhat sharp flowery tones.  I love how the two flavors meet on my palate – sweet and sharp – and how they interact with one another.  And I love the soft, silky, lush texture of AliShan.  I love AliShan so much that I bought a special mug just for AliShan tea!

And this AliShan is simply magnificient.

The dry leaves look very much like what you might expect from a greener Oolong type tea:  they’re tightly wound into pellets and they’re a dark, forest green color.  They are very aromatic, smelling of flower and vegetable.

I brew these leaves in my gaiwan using 180°F water and short steeps.  The first infusion – the “rinse” cycle as I sometimes call it – lasts for just 15 seconds and I strain off the liquid and discard it.  This process is often referred to an ‘awakening’ of the tea leaves and it’s something that I think is crucial to ensuring a properly brewed cup of tea.

Then I infused the leaves again, this time for 45 seconds and I strained the liquid into my special Yi Xing “Ali Shan” mug, and I started infusing the leaves again … and again … and again!  I added an extra 15 seconds onto each subsequent brew time, and kept on resteeping until my mug was full (this usually takes 5 steeps).

The combination of the first five infusions (following the rinse cycle) is smooth, sweet, and amazingly good.  There is sweetness from the floral tones as well as the aforementioned vanilla-like flavors.  There is a lightly savory aspect to the flavor from the very faint vegetal tones, although there is definitely more sweet than savory to this cup.  It’s like a blanket of sweetness that envelops the palate.  Like liquid candy, except that it’s not cloying.

Love this tea!

And I got 2 mugs full of tea from the same leaves.  This is a very high quality AliShan, one of the finest I’ve had the opportunity to taste.  I highly recommend it to all you Oolong fans out there … and if you love AliShan the way that I do, then you simply must – I said MUST – try this tea!

Well, what are you waiting for?  Put it on your must try list now!   Once you try it, you’ll be glad you took my advice!

Taiwan Sun Moon Lake Assam Black Tea (Premium Grade) from Cameron Tea

SunMoonLakeAssam1Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Cameron Tea

Tea Description:  

Sun Moon Lake is located at altitude of 700m, surrounded with mountains and lakes with remarkable environment and typical climate. Heavy moist and stable yearly average temperature make the tea trees grow thick and rich tea leaves which produce carmine and perfectly clear liquor. 

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I previously reviewed Cameron Tea’s Competition Grade of the Sun Moon Lake Assam Black Tea from Taiwan, so I was eager to also try this Premium Grade of the Sun Moon Lake Assam.  I also found myself curious to know what the difference was between the Premium Grade and the Competition Grade teas.  Here’s how Cameron Tea explains it in their FAQ section:

The competition grade means the tea leaves are being specially prepared (normally by selecting with extra fine leaves) to the highest standard for regional tea competitions. The competition grade only means that the tea has the same process treatments as the competition ones, it does not necessary mean that the tea has entered/won the regional competitions. The premium grade also uses carefully selected leaves, therefore sometimes the difference between “competition” and “premium” are very minor.

So I don’t know if I’ll be able to notice much difference between the two teas.  But, as the Competition Grade of this Sun Moon Lake Assam Black was a really outstanding tea, I’m really looking forward to trying the Premium Grade!

The leaves look very much like I remember the Competition Grade looked:  each is long and curly and each is a dark, rich chocolate-y color.  They smell sweet and fruity.  The brewed tea has less of a fruit smell and more of a sweet molasses-y scent.

And it tastes very similar to what I remember from the Competition Grade:  Sweet, lighter in body than a typical Assam but still rich and flavorful.  There is a lovely note of malt that marries beautifully with a caramel note.  The result is a rich, satisfying taste and texture.  I also find myself appreciating that this has neither the astringency of a typical Assam – the astringency is soft here – nor does this have the slight twinge of bitterness that an Assam often carries.

Notes of molasses, honey and cacao!  I taste an earthy quality to this:  notes of leather and a slight woodsy note.  It’s smooth and it has a thick texture – very satisfying! – and while it would make an enjoyable morning cuppa … this may be the tea that you want to save for those mornings where you don’t have to rush off.  This isn’t a get up and get going type of tea.  This is the type of tea that you want to sit back and enjoy for a while.

I loved the Competition Grade of this tea, and I’m loving the Premium Grade too!  This is a tea that … is just worthy of LOTS of love!  It’s a really great tea.

Supreme Bi Lu Chun Green Tea from Grand Tea

supreme BLCTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Grand Tea

Tea Description:

Grand Tea’s Supreme Grade Bi Lu Chun consist of 1-2 cm size buds. As expected from such top notch tea, the flavor is smooth, light and delicate. The distinct sweetness from the bud make it really stand out.

Due to the very high demand of high quality tea in China, such small quantity fine tea usually never leave China and reach the mass market. We are fortunate to have 20 kg of this very best Green tea. So don’t wait to long before order, I promise it won’t last very long.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

There’s something just so … lovely about a top notch Bi Lu Chun like this Supreme Bi Lu Chun Green Tea from Grand Tea.  The leaves are so beautiful, so tiny and tender and covered with soft, fuzzy down.  They look, smell and feel so fresh.

The brewed liquid is very pale green and it has a delightfully delicate flavor.  The sweetness is so profound … like a sugary sweetness!  It has a smooth taste that is softly vegetal with hints of butter-like notes.  There are layers of flavor to this as well, and I can pick up on whispers of fruit and floral notes, as well as a sweet, nutty tone in the distance.  As I continue to sip, the nutty flavors come a little more into focus, but, these flavors are never strongly pronounced.

That’s because the overall cup is so beautifully delicate.  This delicate quality doesn’t allow the flavors to come through strongly, instead, it beckons your palate to discover them.  It’s a tea that you want to sit and consider rather than one that you want to rush through.  This tea wants to take things slowly with you and allow you to discover the flavors and enjoy them as they’re revealed.

This Supreme Bi Lu Chun is truly an exceptional Chinese green – and it’s a tea that should be experienced by every tea drinker out there!