I’ve recently found that I’m getting more and more into straight teas. I’ve tried a few flavored teas to recently but I just felt that pull to pull out my gaiwan and experiment. I’ve found myself eager to sit down and spend the time to enjoy the tea sip by sip in smaller quantities and this tea is a beautiful example of why.
Not too long ago, I brewed this tea up in the traditional western fashion- teapot, few scoops of tea with water prepped at a bit below boiling, steeped for a few minutes, poured into my tea cup and enjoyed. While the tea was tasty with soft chocolate notes , I wanted to see how the flavor would change if brewed with gong fu style.
Now when I do gong fu, I do a modified version that works with not only my crazy busy job but my house in a whole. I don’t get too deep into measuring and making sure everything is on point. I 100% should because I’ve over leafed and under leafed on more occasions than I would like to admit, but in the same- I have a very go go go 8-5 and after work so I have just decided to pour and go. Eventually I’ll get to the point where I measure out the night before so I’m all prepared for the next day. Please forgive me that I don’t have all of the measurements to how exactly I steeped up this ditty.
Using my gaiwan, I popped in some leaf and water at 200F. Gave the leaves a quick rinse and quickly added in more water to go about my first infusion.
-First infusion: Delicious toffee notes with a small hint of chocolate and no astringency and a hint of malt. At this point, we are talking dessert tea here. Really lovely and nice. Can not get enough and the brew was gone in no time.
-Second infusion: Still those same delicious toffee notes but the chocolate touches are becoming a bit stronger.
-Third Infusion: Toffee notes are pretty distant now and the chocolate notes have also subsided a bit with the malt touches and a new astringency coming in.
-Fourth Infusion: The astringency is really the power player at this point and I’m thinking about taking the leaves to make a cold brew. Not a huge fan of super astringent teas and the brew is taking a turn in that direction.
Now, I was working the whole time I enjoyed this tea so probably if I would have timed the steeps, etc- the tea would have probably lasted for more infusions to my liking. All in all, love the adventure this tea took me on. I’m a big fan of this black tea anyway so I was excited to try a more intimidate way to enjoy the tea.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealyra
Description
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Jin Jun Mei (Beautiful Golden Eyebrow in Mandarin) is a famous Chinese tea known for its deep auburn golden hue and delicate slender leaves, like a beautiful women’s eyebrow. It is one of the most beloved Chinese teas, grown and produced in Fujian province. In the springtime, the two small leaves are plucked from the stem and allowed to fully oxidize; this full oxidation gives Jin Jun Mei its deep and malty aromatic profile. Jin Jun Mei is made of slim black and gold tips, covered in a delicate golden fuzz. Once steeped, it has a smooth body and well rounded mouth-feel; its taste is sweet, honey-like, malty, velvety smooth and has hints of vanilla. Jin Jun Mei is best enjoyed straight, and try multiple steeping it multiple times! |
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Black Gold Biluochun/Tea Runners -Skysamurai-
What a gorgeous tea!
Tight balls of dark chocolate brown woven along with a soft brown that reminds me of a tortillas or bread in a bread basket. Looking closer I realize they aren’t tightly rolled balls but instead each is a unique shape.
Tiny ‘balls’ of twine one would almost think with the way the fuzzy leaves look. The first cup was the best. The steepings have become progressively more tannic with the earthy flavors fading into astringency.
Though the bag says you will enjoy multiple steepings. What started off as a great matly and woodsy cup has turned into dried hay.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Runners
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for what is available.
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Whisky Tea/Whittard of Chelsea -VariaTEA-
I have never been a fan of whisky. My step-dad likes it and so when a young me meandered up to the side of of my mom’s bed and looked at the glass of whisky on the night stand and then at my mom and then back at the glass and back at my mom, my mom had no qualms about giving me the okay to taste it. Why? Because I reacted in the very way she expected…I took the tiniest sip and then spat it out and yelled “EWWWWWW!!!” I did not like it then. I still do not like it now. So when a tea friend sent me a whole bunch of this Whisky tea by Whittard of Chelsea, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.
That is until the other day when my family made pulled pork, which required 2L bottles of coke. My mom bought the off-brand coke figuring it was going in the food and wouldn’t really matter thus no sense spending the extra money on actual Coca Cola. So when there was a bit leftover, we were unsure of what to do with it. I felt inspired and decided to use it in a teapop. That left me with the question of which tea to use and it was this one that came to mind.
I brewed up both a plain hot cup of the tea and a teapop. Both were steeped for 3 minutes in 200F water.
The hot cup is malty. Malty but brisk. The underlying flavor is dry, like alcohol. It is like a breakfast tea but with alcohol. Definitely not the tea for me. I like softer and more dessert-like flavors. Astringency and briskness with a touch of alcohol is just not for me. However, for those that like breakfast teas and whisky, this could be right up your alley.
As for the teapop, it’s more of the same but with the off-brand coke, it has a pretty strong medicinal quality. It latches on to the dryness and gives this a bit of a cough syrup element. Like cherry cough syrup but without the cherry.
This tea smelled good in the bag but ended up being quite the bust. I think that is more due to my personal tastes than a reflection on the tea. Plus, it was not helped by the off-brand coke flavor since I am a Coca Cola girl through and through. So while this was not good for me, I do see that it has potential for those that enjoy these flavors.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whittard of Chelsea
Description
Specially for those who love a tipple, we’ve concocted a rich black tea laced with flavours of fine Scotch whisky, adding a highland fling of heather petals in true Scottish spirit. With its warm, rounded flavours and malty sweetness, this tea is as good as any hot-toddy – so you won’t be needing that hip flask after all…
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Mist Valley Estate TGBOP1/Upton Tea
I usually drink black tea from China, but today I am making a little excursion to Nepalese black tea! My expectation is that it will taste more similar to tea from India than from China, and I was correct. It even had a tiny darjeeling vibe!
This is a high-grown tea from an estate that has been in operation since 1989 and has been processing their own tea since 2004. They are currently converting their operations to all organic, so I am looking forward to trying it again in the future!
This is indeed a broken orange pekoe with shades ranging from golden tan to deep brown. In the photo online it shows a lot of green like a darjeeling but my own sample is more tan and almost a cream color mixed with the darker leaves.
I kept the steep on the short side (two minutes) in case this was more reminiscent of an Assam, a tea that is tasty but wreaks havoc on my tender tummy, but I must say it was very well-behaved and perfectly drinkable without additions.
Being high-grown, I thought it might be a bit on the astringent side, but it is only pleasantly brisk. It has a truly classic black tea aroma and taste, mild but not wimpy, lightly brisk but not tart and puckery, and I would call it all around a good basic black tea. It is not overly complex drinking it western style as I am, but at this price I do not expect complex tea. It was a very good accompaniment to my lunch.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Upton Tea
Description
In hues ranging from light to dark brown, the small, neatly made leaves of this Nepal black tea offering are sprinkled with silver tips. The golden amber liquor is fragrant with a light, fresh aroma. The flavor is rich with floral notes and a sweet, lingering finish.
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Muguru Ceylon/Lumbini Tea Valley
Take a large tea leaf, processes it, roll the leaf in twisted fashion length-wise, tie one end, and you end up with this unique looking large leaf ceylon tea. If Liu An Gua Pian had a brother, this would be him.
Even after steeping past the directed 30 seconds, which I thought was too light, I found that the flavor is incredibly subtle. Almost to the point that if you don’t swish it in your mouth a few times you miss some real unique honey and malt notes.
It must have taken some very sturdy, very careful hands in order to craft this tea. To tie each tip must be incredibly time consuming. As we come around to the second steeping the tea becomes somewhat floral with very sweet overtones. Almost like someone added sugar. The malt still remains. The sweetness continues into the third steeping. No astringency after steeping over 4 minutes.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lumbini Tea Valley
Description
Natural malt with a hint of lingering sweetness
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