Jungpana Tippy Musk Black is a cross between full leaf and CTC. Meaning all have been cut but not all have been cut to be small like many do for tea bags. This one unfortunately isn’t listed on their website.
This does, however, give me insight into what their teas are like. No dry leaf aroma but the luscious scent emanating from the wet leaf more then makes up for it.
So earthy!
A wonderful mix of forest floor, wet wood, and musty mahogany. The flavor is also wonderfully earthy with with no astringency. It has a clean mouth feel and smooth finish. If you haven’t yet been to the Udyan website go head over there and give it a look.
They have many teas waiting to be discovered.
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available on the site but click below for more offerings.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Caramel Brownie/T2 – Super Starling –
I grabbed this bad boy in a T2Tea shop in a bougie bit of Boston. One sniff and I was smitten. It smells like fudge. I added it to my pile. (My husband generously and diplomatically did not comment this pile’s financial end-sum.)
The tea itself, upon brewing, becomes a nice cloudy light brown and still smells great. That’s exciting. I let the anticipation build.
T2Tea promises that the brew is “so mouthwatering it rivals Mum’s homemade brownies!” I mean, how charming is that? “Mum”? They’re Australian.
All right. Time to try it.
Oh my! The caramel! The chocolate! It DOES taste like my Mom (not “mum”) might have made it. It’s warm, gooey, and moist (it’s a hot liquid, so obviously). It’s smooth. It’s basically, yes, hot chocolate; the insides of a cookie; or one of those brownies you stab and the goo comes out.
My American Mom makes her brownies from a box, but let’s not knock the box. There are food scientists calibrating that box. Those are good, brave, hardworking people with focus groups and academic credentials. They uncringingly use the word “mouthfeel”.
They do a great job, and so does T2. Nice work, guys. I like this one!
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Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: T2
Description
A baker’s blend of rich chocolate and gooey caramel – so mouthwatering it rivals Mum’s homemade brownies!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Huang Guan Yin/Harney and Sons – Ashmanra –
Huang Guan Yin goes by several names. The tea plant is a hybrid/cross of a Tie Guan Yin cultivar and a Huang Jin Gui cultivar. The name literally translates as “Yellow Goddess of Mercy.” It is sometimes also called No. 105 or simply Yellow Goddess. It is a fairly new cultivar.
This particular one from Harney and Sons is very light. There is none of the roasty toasty or smokey flavor found in many TGY or Wuyi oolongs. No Tung Ting nuttiness. I think some companies do sell this processed a little more roasty if their descriptions are accurate.
The scent cup revealed floral aroma reminiscent of baby powder – that light magnolia or osmanthus scent, and a baked sugary treat smell that made me think of cream filled dougnuts. Then a herbaceous savory note rises.
It was prepared gongfu style. The liquor is yellow. There is quite a mix of flavor here. The floral scents are still there, but there is a savory note overlaid on all the sweetness. Sipping the tea, I taste the floral aspects first and then the savory nips in at the aftertaste like vegetable liquor from leafy greens, like tender greens (popular in the South where I live) or perhaps bok choy, perhaps more well known.
The leaves held up for steep after steep, delivering a lot of flavor. It was a very interesting tea to try. I wouldn’t want to waste this one by drinking it with a meal. I prefer to enjoy it on it own to tease out all the flavors.
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Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description
This is a light Oolong from the Wuyishan area of northern Fujian Province. We have been buying from Mr. Chao for many years. This Spring we stopped by and saw him and his wife. This is one of the 3 teas that we bought from them. This is a cross blend between Ti Quan Yin and Huang Jin Gui, so you have nice floral notes and a bit of sweetness.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
**this tea was purchased and not gifted in exchange for a review**
Jin Jun Mei/Tealyra -CuppaGeek-
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! |
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roselle x Ginger aka Morning Booster/Immerse Tea -Skysamurai-
Do not give this bag of herbals a big smell. A small one, at an appropriate distance maybe but do not put it straight to your nose.
If you do tiny little ginger ninjas will assault your nostrils. You will go back in again for a second whiff because you know that scent but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Luckily the Roselle is there to a assist with sweetening the smell.
Tiny little ginger ninjas dancing with fan blades and pouches of hibiscus. Oh but that isn’t all. Wait till you drink it. Any ginger loving human knows the potency of this herbaceous perennial.
It creates a good kick.
Pretty sure if I had a cold I no longer do now.
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Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Immerse Tea
Description
Roselle and Ginger Tea – Roselle will wake your nerve, while ginger will boosts up your energy, activate your brain and metabolism without a touch of caffeine
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
**teas were provided in exchange for a review**
