I’ve really enjoyed sampling the Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix from Teasenz and next up on the review list is this Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Yellow Label from Teasenz.
Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Yellow Label from Teasenz was lighter in color than the other mini tuo chas. It had varying shades of leaves within the tuo cha as well. It seemed to infuse to a much lighter color of infusion so I went a little longer with the steeps with this one.
1st Infusion: The first infusion of Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Yellow Label from Teasenz was a glowing pale yellow. Once the infused leaves were swimming in my steeper they looked like various herbs and shorter, lighter green and yellow tea leaves mixed in. This tastes like mellow sticky rice with a mouth-watering sweeter taste on it.
2nd Infusion: For the 2nd infusion of Mini Yunnan Tuocha Tea – Yellow Label from Teasenz I noticed the color of the post-infused leaves to be a brighter and more vibrant color of a yellow-orange color. The bouquet was more prominent this time around…a more enhanced version of herbs and sticky rice. The taste is a large step up from the 1st infusion with a noticable jump of herbal, vegetal, and sticky rice nods in addition to a semi-bitter-floral flavor that wasn’t part of the 1st infusion. This infusion was still yummy but MUCH different from the 1st. Overall I enjoyed all 4 of the tou chas in this medley. If you are just starting out with pu-erh’s the mini pu-erh sampler from Teasenz is a safe bet and at a doable price! Thumbs-up-ski-from-me!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Description
If you are new to pu erh tea and have yet to discover the different types of aromas it offers, then this mini tuocha tea mix is the right place to start. Reap the weight loss benefits of this pu erh while enjoying the diverse mix of flavors that ensure you will never get bored.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz #VeganMoFo2016
Vegan MoFo is pimping Monochrome Meals today which means we will be seeing a lot of food that is all based around ONE color so for our Vegan MoFo Tea choice today we are pushing Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz.
This Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz is part of the Teasenz Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix. If you purchase the 70 gram TIN for $10.89 you will receive 12 or 13 mini tuo cha. I think this is a pretty fair price for 12 or 13 mini’s of which you get to try 4 of their pu-erhs!
We are specifically reviewing the Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz in this review. The scent of this one once wet and infused is an earthy, woodsy, wormy type. It infuses to a dark brown. I was pleasantly surprised that the taste on the tongue was mellower than I thought it would be based on the scent of the infusion. It was really quite nice. Sure it had woodsy notes but they weren’t over the top or anything I winced at. Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz was even a bit smooth, too! I’m not saying this Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz was dull or lacking in flavor at all! It’s just more smooth than I thought it would be based on the scent! I’m very excited about this offering!
Because Mini Yunnan Tuocha Mix – Brown Wrapper – from Teasenz is a solid brown color DRY and WET I figured it would make a nice connection to the Vegan MoFo Monochrome theme of the day, today!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teasenz
Description:
Pu erh tea is an important part of the Yunnan culture. For a beginning pu erh tea explorer there is definitely a long way to go in order to fully appreciate the complexity of this type of tea. Sip and feel its richness in taste that evolves after each steep and imagine the history that is within this tea. Order today and have some of those high quality leaves that made it to our Teasenz website right in your teapot. Each and every piece is source directly from Yunnan and you will love it. Read our guide below as a roadmap for your puerh journey!
- Brown: Start off with the flat tuocha wrapped in brown paper to experience the classic taste of pu erh tea. Note: Don’t underestimate those small tuocha teas. One piece can easily steep you several pots of tea. Instead of moving too fast from one color to the other, first strive to get as many steeps from each piece! Try to notice differences in flavor between the different steeps.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea
2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea is a sheng pu-erh that brews up to be a lovely shade of glowing gold-light brown color. Right away I could smell the outdoorsy aroma – more specifically cotton and hay.
As for the flavor 2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea has a sweeter-earthy flavor with the aftertaste of subtle almond. I have found that I like the flavor best after the piping hot pu-erh has had about 10 minutes to cool at room temperature. The flavors of the 2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea really stand out after about 10 minutes or so.
2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea is a VERY pleasant pu-erh. The more I sip it the more I really like it and the more I seem to crave more. Another thing I should mention is that 2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea is pretty thirst-quenching! This isn’t a strong -fueled pu-erh but of the more delicate flavor type. I can see this one pleasing the masses! It certainly did, me!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu-eh
Where to Buy: Wymm Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
2013 Xiaguan “Holy Flame” Baoyan Raw Puerh from Crimson Lotus Tea
Hello Tea Friends,
Today I will be reviewing an interesting and somewhat traditional Tibetan tea called Holy Flame. This tea is intended to be used as the base for Tibetan Yak Butter Tea (Po Cha) which is consumed daily in Tibet. I have tried some instant mixes for Yak Butter Tea in the past and honestly found them disgusting, though saying that I am not a buttermilk fan in general. I found it to be far too salty and sickly that I couldn’t drink it. Perhaps having it fresh would make a difference but I may never find out. Either way when I saw Holy Flame for sale and the intention for the tea I was immediately interested to try it. I may not have liked Yak Butter Tea but I may like the Sheng base. I also like the idea of drinking something that is common in Tibet and actually what they would drink themselves. Though I have never visited, Tibet has always been a wondrous place in my mind
Opening the packet (which has awesome wrapper art by the way) I can note the Chinese characters for Xiaguan which is a district in China as well as being a town near the Southern end of Yunnan. Primarily speaking this region is very well known for their tea production and have some wonderful teas to boast. The brick is rather dark in colour with a hue of brown, dark brown and dark green colours. I can also note some stems/sticks are present and the leaves are a mixture of sizes as though they were loosely chopped before processing. It smells musty and wooden though subtle with a hint of smoke.
The tea has some steeping instructions on the website.
Use 5-10 grams of leaves and brew with 75-150ml ( 2.5-5oz ) of water at or near boiling. Rinse once for a few seconds. Start with quick steeps under 10s. With each re-steep adjust the steep time to your taste.
My steeping parameters: 100ml gaiwan, 7g leaf, boiling water. I will also rinse the leaf as suggested.
First Steep – 7 seconds
The tea soup is light brown in colour and bares a dry earth and smoke scent.
The flavour is mild in comparison to it’s pungent aroma. There is a smoky taste with some astringency in the after taste that leads to some dryness. Further bowls show an increase of depth and it becomes stronger though not by much.
Second Steep – 7 seconds
The astringency is stronger and now bares a wooden must that somewhat matches the scent. It’s certainly strong and powerful considering such short steeps. The smoke still lingers in the aftertaste.
Third Steep – 10 seconds
This is a more balanced steep in terms of astringency and smoke, either that or my pallet is used to it. However, the dryness has increased in the aftertaste and leaves my tongue almost dry.
Fourth Steep – 15 seconds
The first sip comes across as astringent but it quickly softens into a smoky melody that envelopes my tongue and dances on the taste buds. Also the dryness is still present though not much of an issue.
Fifth Steep – 20 seconds
Even on this steep it’s strong with ever pressing smoke and astringency. Also some sweetness coming through in the after taste.
Sixth Steep – 25 seconds
This is starting to relax in strength but it’s still at a nice level. Smoke and wood with astringency still hang in the aftertaste.
Seventh Steep – 30 seconds
It’s certainly starting to calm down but still has each flavour present.
Eighth Steep – 40 seconds
And the flame burns out. There is little left in this steep apart from subtle smoke, a distance memory of a once lively Holy Flame that burnt bright.
Conclusion: This Sheng packs a pleasant punch with a lot of mouth feel that makes you wonder what each steep will bring. Like the flame of a candle; it burnt brighter and intensified until it inevitably burnt itself out to leave a smoky finish. Alright that is enough fire talk, I will extinguish any more fire based puns before I get on someone’s wick.
On a more serious note, it promised to be a strong tea and it delivered. Not only that but considering I used average leaf weight for minimum steep time it produced eight successful steeps. While this may be cheap and intended to be used as a base tea I like it as it is. It’s very suited for an everyday tea and I know I will end up taking this to work to drink so I can close my eyes with each sip and pretend I’m in Tibet.
Until next time, Happy Steeping!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Raw/Sheng Puer
Where to Buy: Crimson Lotus Tea
Description:
This tea is a literal staple of the Tibetan diet. Xiaguan is the largest supplier of tea to the people of Tibet. This brick is cheap and affordable and a great source of energy. It is primarily used to make Tibetan Yak Butter Tea. It is consumed daily with barley powder. These bricks are called “Baoyan” (宝焰) which means “Holy Flame”.
We found these bricks without wrappers being stored in Tibet while traveling there this Spring. We bought what we could and created our own wrappers. This isn’t a fancy tea. It is however unique and cheap. It is meant as a daily drinker for people living in the highlands of the Himalayas. This is a very strong tea. It will be smoky with hay and alfalfa notes. It brews smooth but with bitterness and astringency. It pairs perfectly with yak butter.
These bricks were Tibetan stored since early 2013. The Chinese characters stamped into the face of the brick say Xiaguan (下关).
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
2006 Xinghai Golden Peacock Ripe Pu-Erh Tea from Yunnan Sourcing
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-Erh
Where to Buy: Yunnan Sourcing
Tea Description:
A classic Xinghai ripe tea produced from the late 90’s until. Xinghai tea factory is the 2nd producer of ripe tea in Menghai town (after Menghai tea factory), and has an excellent “wo dui” fermentation process. Our 2006 Golden Peacock was aged Donguan town in Guangdong. It’s a “Guangdong dry-stored” tea that has already lost it’s “wo dui” (fermented) taste. The tea brews up a deep, dark but clear burgundy-brown tea soup. The taste is sweet with a expansive lubricating taste and feeling in the mouth. Both subtle and complex at the same time, a high quality tea leaf was used, each session lasting many infusions.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hello tea friends!
Whilst sorting (more like rummaging) through my tea cupboards I spotted this tea had been pushed to the back. Probably when I had my aversion to all Pu-Erh tea at the start of the year. I cannot say what made me feel that way but it does happen from time to time, at the moment I dislike Jasmine teas but give it a few months and that will change. Perhaps it has something to do with the change in weather? I digress, this tea was still sealed in it’s sample packet and the words ‘Golden Peacock’ left me with some fascinating images in my mind. That is how I settled on reviewing this tea today. I also want to made a note before I begin that I am not at home while I do this review, I’m at my parents house dog sitting for the day while they go shopping in Birmingham and may not be back until late. I mention this as it changes a few things, I do not have filtered water for an example, nor do I have a self boiling kettle for each steep. At least I bought my tea ware with me in preparation.
Opening the packet is tricky but I do it eventually. Once opened I pull out a large piece of cake which has remained whole despite it’s journey. There are quite a few golden tips present on the outside of the cake and a beautiful shine. Some of the golden tips have downy hairs that I can stroke, as though the Pu Erh were an animal. I don’t know why I decided to stroke it…perhaps the heat is getting with me? Further inspection shows dark brown leaves the colour of old, dark chocolate. The cake remnant bares a soft, dry wood and clay scent.
Steeping Parameters: 220ml Glass Gongfu Teapot. Tea Leaf 12g. Boiling Water. 2 Rinses each of 15 seconds.
First Steep – 15 seconds
Colour is golden orange with a soft clay scent.
Flavour is mild with some sweetness and an earthy, dusky wood tone toward the after taste. The more I drink the more I can define the sweetness to being brown sugar like.
Second Steep – 20 seconds
Still soft with brown sugar and dusky wood tones, but with added dryness.
Third Steep – 30 seconds
Darker though still soft. Less sweet and more musky now, with old wood and dry earth notes that linger in the after taste. Also the tea liquid is dark at this point too, like red soy sauce.
Fourth Steep – 45 seconds
Slightly sour in this steep and the wood is coming through with some cocoa notes. Still dry and mildly sweet.
Sixth Steep – 1 minute
Similar to the previous steep though with more clay and dryness. It reminds me of autumn, the dry, musky leaves crunching under my feet as I walk through a forest. The smells of an autumn forest match this flavour quite nicely.
Seventh Steep – 2 minutes
An increase of musk though still soft and the sourness is slight. Very wooden.
Overall – I found this Shou to be mild and delicate throughout the steeps which made it difficult to describe the flavours. At least it was consistent throughout. I would say this is an everyday Shou for Pu new drinkers or those that prefer softer teas. Personally I like strength and depth in my tea which this just didn’t have, though despite that it was drinkable and pleasant enough. I had some difficulty breaking up the cake piece so I did it by hand in the middle of my steeps, partly to see if it increased strength.
I honestly cut this steeping short, originally I planned on 10 steeps rather than 7. Don’t get me wrong, it really isn’t a bad Shou when it comes down to it; my personal preference is just that and I can’t like them all. I still think that for the price it’s a decent every day Shou for new drinkers and would recommend it for that. If I can be nothing else then at least I’m honest.
Happy Steeping!