Hunan Mao Jian from Harney & Sons

by scheherazade

hunan_mao_jianTea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Harney & Sons

Tea Description:

While looking for the best teas in Changsha, we found this organic green tea. Not every occasion demands the best tea, so this is a nice one to drink more often.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Mao Jian has become one of my favourite green tea varieties over the last year or so, and I’m always pleased to try one that’s new to me. This Hunan Mao Jian from Harney and Sons looks pretty much as I’d expect – thin, wiry leaves that are a little curly and twisted, a fairly uniform dark green in colour, and pretty long (most around 2cm, but some more like 5-6cm). Dry, it doesn’t seem to have a great deal of scent. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 170 degrees.

 Once brewed, more variegation in terms of colour is revealed. The wet leaves are a mixture of bright grass green at the tip and a darker kelly green towards the stalk. There are a few yellowish tinges, and the odd patch of brown. The scent is delightful, like freshly steamed green vegetables. Really fresh, vegetal teas like this one are what finally won me around in terms of green tea, and this is a perfect example. The liquor itself is a very pale green, with a mild vegetal scent.
 To taste, this is beautifully sweet and delicate, and very reminiscent of freshly shelled peas. It’s a pretty mild flavour all told, but smooth and buttery with absolutely no bitterness or astringency. There’s a slightly stronger vegetal flavour in the mid-sip, reminiscent of green beans, but it doesn’t linger very long and it’s still very much at the mild end of the flavour spectrum. The aftertaste contains a hint of floral, although it’s not too perfume-like or overpowering. It reminds me a little of lillies. As it cools, I’m picking up an edge of sharpness that puts me in mind of lemon zest. It adds a savoury twist to an otherwise relatively sweet ensemble, and works well as a refreshing, clean tasting element of the overall flavour.
 I’m enjoying this one for its fresh, sweet flavours, and ultimately clean, refreshing flavour. I actually think it’s a green tea I’d enjoy drinking most in summer, possibly cold brewed or iced. It’s good hot, too, and it’s really making me think of warmer days while I sit here in the middle of my centrally-heated winter. This is a really great green tea, and one of the most unique Mao Jian’s I’ve tried. Delicious!

scheherazade

Hi! I'm Sarah, and I live in Norfolk in the UK. My tea obsession began when a friend introduced me to Teapigs a good few years ago now. Since then, I've been insatiable. Steepster introduced me to a world of tea I never knew existed, and my goal is now to TRY ALL THE TEAS. Or most of them, anyway. I still have a deep rooted (and probably life-long) preference for black tea. My all-time favourite is Assam, but Ceylon and Darjeeling also occupy a place in my heart. Flavoured black tea can be a beautiful thing, and I like a good chai latte in the winter. I also drink a lot of rooibos/honeybush tea, particularly on an evening. Sometimes they're the best dessert replacements, too. White teas are a staple in summer -- their lightness and delicate nature is something I can always appreciate on a hot day. I'm still warming up to green teas and oolongs. I don't think they'll ever be my favourites, with a few rare exceptions, but I don't hate them anymore. My experience of these teas is still very much a work-in-progress. I'm also beginning to explore pu'erh, both ripened and raw. That's my latest challenge! I'm still searching for the perfect fruit tea. One without hibiscus. That actually tastes of fruit.

This post was posted in Green Tea, Harney & Sons, Tea Company, Type Of Tea

Pistachio Ice Cream from Butiki Teas

by Azzrian
Pistachio Ice Cream from Butiki Teas
Pistachio Ice Cream from Butiki Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Butiki Teas

Tea Description:

Pistachio Ice Cream has an Organic Mao Jian base with generous amounts of roasted pistachios and a dash of lotus stamens. The sweet roasted pistachio flavor is immediately noticed followed by prominent notes of heavy cream. Light notes of vanilla can also be distinguished. Add some sugar to turn this smooth full-bodied tea into a dessert treat that resembles pistachio ice cream.

Ingredients: Organic Green Tea, Pistachios (roasted, unsalted), Lotus Stamens, Natural Flavoring (vegan)

Recommended Brew Time: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Recommended Amount: 1 level teaspoon of tea for 8oz of water
Recommended Temperature: 180 F

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

It’s been a long while since I sampled Pistachio Ice Cream from Butiki Teas but this fine tea was featured in the Amoda Sampler that I split with my SororiTea Sister Anne. I am happy to have some back in my tea stash!

Normally, when a tea has an oily like top coat I am not too fond of it, but this is so pretty because it literally sparkles like diamonds, or glitter on the top of my cup, and does not take away from the experience of taste of this tea at all. Even with the slight “oily like” top coat the cup is clear to the bottom and such a BEAUTIFUL golden color!

The flavor profile of this tea is lavish, creamy, indulgent, but not excessively sweet, unless you wish to add sweetener, but its not really needed, and just oh so good! The aroma is enticing with that distinct pistachio smell that translates perfectly into the sip.

The aftertaste falls more on the nutty side rather than creamy, but the vanilla does help pull the sweetness through just a little on the palate in the aftertaste.

The lingering result however is the fresh green tea aftertaste which is light but distinct, grassy, nutty, and even a bit buttery.

I love this tea.

Azzrian

This post was posted in Green Tea

Pistachio Ice Cream from Butiki Teas

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Butiki Teas

Tea Description:

Pistachio Ice Cream has an Organic Mao Jian base with generous amounts of roasted pistachios and a dash of lotus stamens. The sweet roasted pistachio flavor is immediately noticed followed by prominent notes of heavy cream. Light notes of vanilla can also be distinguished. Add some sugar to turn this smooth full-bodied tea into a dessert treat that resembles pistachio ice cream.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Today is my grampa’s birthday – I miss him so much.  And this is an excellent tea to enjoy on the anniversary of his birth, because he loved ice cream.  I think he would have really gotten a kick out of this tea, even though he wasn’t much of a tea drinker.

How often do you come across a tea that has you smacking your lips together to keep the taste moving around on your palate … long after the sip is gone?  Well, that’s what I’m doing with this tea.  This tastes like someone dropped a scoop of pistachio ice cream into my cup of Mao Jian green tea and let it melt.  And I’m loving every sip of this!

I’m happy with how every flavor is represented:  I can taste the green tea with its fresh vegetal notes and I even taste a hint of the lotus, I taste the toasted nutty taste of the pistachio, and the cream with its sweet, creamy, vanilla character.  It is sweet, creamy and absolutely delectable!

I’m drinking this hot, because, quite frankly, I’m not patient enough to allow it to cool.  But, I suspect that it is amazing served chilled too.  It has a natural sweetness to it, so you needn’t add any sugar or other sweetener.  It’s stunning as is!

I am so very impressed with just how good this tea is.  It is a flavored tea – and yes, the flavors are strong, but I love that the flavors have not overpowered the green tea.  I taste the green tea – and that’s what I think I like best about this.  I’m drinking tea … but I’m also enjoying pistachio ice cream – and without all the fat and calories of pistachio ice cream!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Green Tea

Organic Mao Jian from LeafSpa

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  LeafSpa

Company Description:

A nice Mao Jian leaf that steeps a lovely green liquor filled with the vegetal notes that make China green teas famous. The sweet finish and well balance mouth feel add to the delight found in this fine tea. A very rare find in readily available organic green teas.

Taster’s Review:

This tea is so good.  I believe that this tea could convert many of the “non-green-tea” drinkers out there.  Yes, it really is that good.

The dry leaf does not really possess a very strong aroma; however, the brewed tea is pleasantly fragrant.  It is a little bit vegetative, a little bit floral.

The flavor is absolute deliciousness.  It has a velvet-y mouthfeel that takes me a little by surprise because it resembles an Oolong mouthfeel rather than a green tea mouthfeel.  It’s very smooth and lush.  Nice!

This tea does possess a vegetative quality, but I wouldn’t call it grassy.  It is more like lightly buttered vegetables.  Not a strong vegetable taste like spinach.  Something a little more subtle, like maybe a sweet winter squash… but not quite.  The tea finishes with a delectable sweet and tangy note.

But the best part of the tea is its amazing sweetness without tasting sugary or too sweet.  It just tastes perfect.

Truly, one of the best green teas I’ve ever tasted.  The only thing that would make it better is if it were organic.  Oh… wait a minute!  It IS organic!  Yep… perfect!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Green Tea