Ceylon Silver Tips Glentilt Estate 2011

Name; Ceylon Silver Tips Glentilt Estate, Low Grown
Type; White, Sri Lanka, Ceylon, Low Grown, Silver Needle, Glentilt Estate, 2011
Price; £ 9.50 for 50 grams from Monsoon Moutains Tea Company.

http://www.teahills.co.uk/Green_and_White_Teas.html

“Slender velvet needles of pale green grey and a hint of rose is how I'd describe the look of this exquisite white tea. This is a lovely mellow tea who's honeyed apricot liquor is delicate, very delicate, and very sophisticated. This is an elegant tea with a smooth silky feel and lovely at any time of the day”

Review; And now for something completely different. There seems to be a growing trend of orthodox estates producing variants from the standard black tea. For better or for worse it is certainly shaking things up. What I do like is it means these variants of the normal mean the teas are truly produced artisanal. Not to become a hipster or anything, but it means you can either get a batch with lots of TLC, or…is complete rubbish. Not too long ago I had the pleasure(?) of trying an Oolong produced in Darjeeling. While it still had much of the muscatel tones, without a full oxidation to release these tastes the tea ended up tasting a bit bland, and slightly off.

White teas are a whole ‘nother pot of tea if you don’t mine me saying. You get a delicious delicateness that means over-brewing is harder, with a concentration of the flavour in the first little leaves. Silver needle personifies this. Silver needle is generally the most expensive white tea to purchase (yes I know this is a major generalization, but at least I’m not calling white teas the rarest of teas like Teavana does). Lets dive into this Silver Needle shall we?

First-off the price. Auch! Luckily Monsoon Moutains does lovely sample packets so I didn’t spend a fortune (50 p a packet, 10 grams in a packet. I wish all tea shops did this). I spoke with the owner and she thought it tasted best brewing for 7-8 minutes (!) and I actually agree. I also brewed mine for around 85 degrees. Perhaps not being from the Fuding Da Bai cultivar means these tea leaves that are normally destined for black need a bit of time to adjust. Regardless, and perhaps only because it’s a white tea, it does not over brew. It also brew quite clear, with not many of the distinctive silver hairs falling off.

This particular sample has wonderful tones of dried hay, and apricots, with maybe lily of the valley in the background. If I was doing a blind tasting of this tea I would think it was a ya bao tea. I have to say the hay is a little dominant on the tastes for my preference. The aroma isn’t as strong on it as I’ve smelled from other Silver Needles, so problem with either 1.) The estate 2.) The Merchant or 3.) Me. As this is my first review of Monsoon Mountains I guess I shall reserve judgement, and as the estate is probably just started producing this sort of cuppa…

This tea is perfect for the summer weather that is starting to happen, cherry tree blossoms, and bright red lobster people mean that winter has gone! (touch wood).

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan

Pre-Rain Organic Anji Bai Cha

Name; Pre-Rain Organic Anji Bai cha
Type; Green, China, Zhejiang Province, Fengwukou Village Garden, Picked between 5^th April and 10^th April 201. Which means the 2012's should be harvesting soon

Price; £ 21.00 for 50 grams from Jing.

http://jingtea.com/tea/type/green/pre-rain-organic-anji-bai-cha

Review; There is nothing like a fresh green, green tea in the morning. That chlorophyll aroma in your pot, before the hectic chaos of the day begins. Pristine. The tea I’m tasting this week from Jing Tea, is the second attempt from them. Last year I tried two teas (a Goomtee Darjeeling and Keemun I believe), and I was left severely disappointed. Perhaps Jing shall fare better this time, as they to claim to be one of the UK’s top tea distributors.

The brew is a slow infusing one, with beautiful pinnate leaves that hang vertically. Aromas of wilted bok choi and spinach. A clear infusion almost, gives off an iridescent appearance. I’m brewing this in a tea pot, but I think a guywan would serve it more justice. This is a gorgeous tea. Delicate, but surprising strong despite the plain nature of the liquid. Tell-tale roasted chestnut with a strong vegetal notes as well. A delightful light and soft crispness awakens the tongue. Mid to no astringency. If this tea wasn’t over charged by Jing it could easily become a regular of mine. Tastes a bit like a Xin Jiang Mao Jian, in the sense that it has a delicious savory nature to it.

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This tea really is over priced, but usually the Pre-Rains are. And one can taste the difference, in reality though the tea just shouldn’t cost that much. Guess this is what market economies are there for though.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan

Bouteaque Blue Mist Reviewed Again

Name; Bouteaque Blue Mist
Type; Black, India, Nilgiri, Coonoor Estate

Price; £ 5.55 for 50 grams from Eteaket.

http://www.eteaket.co.uk/teaboutique/info_A09.html

Review; OMG. I hate to start a review like that, and I thought I wouldn’t ever review the same tea twice but seriously, wow. Here’s the link to my first review (http://criteacism.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/bouteaque-blue-mist.html).

So in my first review of Eteaket’s pride and joy I tried it in their shop, and I pose a question of who is to blame; the tea or the tea shop? The answer clearly lies with the staff to the tea shop. I recently acquired some of this tea and in the past week I’ve had 5 pots of it. It is very nice, and I can see how it has won many tasting awards.

As per my problem when I first tried it in Eteaket, do not let it over brew, if you do you lose all of the flavour and it becomes fit only for milk and sugar. Catch it before, probably around 3 minutes, maybe 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and you get a wonderful bouquet of flowers. Roses, and gardenias, and maybe just a hint of caramel. Brew it til it’s the colour of light amber. I even like to let it cool a little bit as then I can let the liquid sit on my tongue and absorb the flavour. This tea rivals even some nice Nepalese teas I’ve had.

When I first opened the packet I was a bit disappointed in the leaves, long and slender, much like an orange pekoe grade, lacking any luster. They unfurl beautifully though in the tea pot and one can see how the flavour is preserved so well. The price might be a little steep (ha, steep!) but c’est le vie, enjoy tea and splurge. Well worth its money than the crappy Darjeeling last week.

This is probably the nicest Nilgiri tea I’ve had, so hats off to you Erika, though don’t let your staff ruin this delicious tea.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan

P.S. Thank you readers! March 2012 was the most reads my blog has had, stay tuned for a super critical evaluation on Mariage Freres

Makaibari Grand Reserve Darjeeling First Flush SFTGFOP1 2011

Makaibari Grand Reserve Darjeeling First Flush SFTGFOP1 2011

Type; Black, India, Darjeeling, First Flush, Makaibari

Price; £ 13.00 for 50 grams from Pekoe Tea.

http://www.pekoetea.co.uk/

Review; Oh Darjeelings where to begin again. For those loyal readers that remember my passion, Darjeelings are crème a la crème in my eyes. And sadly this one disappoints. And doesn’t just disappoint on one degree but so very many. First Flushes are my favourite, (see post on Marybong which still remains one of my favourites to date) and yet this first flush lacks that distinctive pepperyness that I so crave. Bland. The flavour that does come through gives hints of vanilla, and maybe green apples, but hard to detect. For being a tea from the Rajah Collection that "is selected by Rajah, the estate owner as the best of the first flush season” just makes it even sadder. High promises leave broken hearts and in this case a broken taste.

The blame? Not Pekoe tea where this tea was purchased. This is the 3^rd strike of Makibari in my opinion; I have tried a 2010 First Flush “Grand Cru”, and their second flush, and none of them compare to some of the better known estates.

Makibari prides themselves on being one of the first “biodynamic” estates, and even going as far as to write a propaganda book titled “The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea”. Sadly I can say I bought this book, and it was one of the biggest wastes of money. Full of bull and other crap little info was actually provided about the estate. Written from the perspective of a hippy about nature, it covers little of the realities of a tea plantation while painting a fairy land for people to dream of that “mystic India”.

So Makibari, I look forward to trying your 2012 pickings, but know that you are one of the bottom rungs on the ladder. Manjhee Valley which isn’t even a Darjeeling gives better muscatel tones than you.

Don't enjoy!

-Tea Fan

White Monkey, Chinese Green

White Monkey
Type; Green, China, Fujian, Tai-Mi

Price; £ 4.50 for 50 grams from Anteaques.

http://anteaques.co.uk/greentea/whitemonkey

"Harvested from the Tai-Mi mountain in the Fujian province of China, this green tea has a large number of white tips. The fine white downy hairs on these curved and tangled leaves give the tea its unusual name. It is a superb and delicate green tea with the soft texture of white teas and a grassy and slightly sweet taste.
For this tea, only the tip buds and one leaf are picked during early Spring. The leaves are then gently withered and shaped by hand to preserve the white down. If you enjoy both white and green teas, this is an fantastic amalgam with a sweet silky taste."

Review; At a recent tasting I went to, White Monkey was the favourite chosen by the tasters. It has a unique characteristic of the Chinese green teas, mixed with the silky smooth texture associated with a white tea, that lets it sit on the tongue and dance. I find the leaves to be some of the most beautiful of all, trypanosomes curled around each other. Due to the high number of white hairs on the leaves I find one can actually brew this for longer than one would normally brew a green (I usually brew a green for around 2-3 minutes), as it has such a sweetness to it that follows through with savory chestnuts. Honestly I don’t make this up and dare any and all readers to give this tea a try. To me this is one of the highlights of Chinese green teas.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan

Sencha, Fuji,

Sencha (Fuji)
Type; Green, Japan
Price; £ 3.60 for 50 grams from Anteaques.

http://anteaques.co.uk/greentea/senchafuji

"This is a very high quality large leaf Japanese sencha. It has a wonderful crystalline green colour and a superb flavour that eclipses those of other green teas.
Like all traditional senchas, the freshly picked tea leaves are lightly steamed to prevent them oxidising and turning black. This distinguishes them from most of the Chinese green teas, which are usually pan fried to prevent the oxidation. The steaming process gives the sencha a more intense, distinctive, flavour."

Review; It seems only fitting to write a review for Sencha after the review of Dragon Well last week. As I have mentioned before there is a distinctive difference between Chinese and Japanese teas and that is the nature in which they are dried. Japanese teas being steam-dried gives a stronger freshly cut grass, or seaweed taste. As Japanese Tea Master Mio Shapley said, “only with Matcha does one drink tea, all other teas are but the essence of tea”.

Wiser words have not been said in my opinion and holds true with Sencha. This essence of tea, one can taste the chlorophyll on ones tongue. Senchas like Dragon Wells, and like Darjeelings, have famous regions, and estates that they can come from, though often times this element is missed in the west. A statistic I once read stated that roughly 80% of all Japanese teas stay in Japan for consumption. I find Sencha to be one of the best teas to drink for studying for exams, especially if over-brewed.

Interesting things can be observed when it comes to comparing Japanese and Chinese green teas and where they are pre-dominantly consumed. Chinese teas have a trump in Europe while Japanese green teas are trump in North America and Australia/New Zealand.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan

Dragon Well, Longjing

Dragon Well
Type; Green, China

Price; £ 4.50 for 50 grams from Anteaques.

http://anteaques.co.uk/greentea/dragonwell

"Dragon well is a renowned green tea with distinguishing broad and flat leaves. With its gentle sweet fragrance, delicate, clean, chestnut-like taste and cloudless jade green colour, it is an extraordinary and unique green tea.
Although first documented during the Tang dynasty (610-907), it was in the 17th century when Dragon Well (龍井茶) was given the status of Imperial Tea by the Chinese Qing dynasty emperor Kangxi. The highest grade tea was reserved solely for the Imperial household."

Review; While we’re on the subject of classics, Dragon Well is perhaps the most well known Chinese green tea. And there is certainly diversity to it. Without knowing much about whether this is pre-rain or what grade, lets dive in. Dragon Well is easy to distinguish in the leaves, broad flat leaves that have been pressed flat, yielding a beautiful aroma. The taste follows and magnifies this aroma with the tell tale chestnut taste coming through. Dragon Well is to China what Sencha is to Japan, in that both have surprisingly levels of grades, and can leave an beginner drinking a misnomer. China has a particular problem with its quality not always matching, so as I’ve done before, I urge caution when buying Chinese teas, and to never buy online unless you are buying from a vendor that knows what he is selling. As I briefly mentioned name branding is prominent in the tea world, and if one can sell a knock-off Dragon Well, it’s a considerable amount of more money. Perhaps this is why the distinctive leaf shape and character is important to examine before hand.

The nicest component of a Dragon Well, its sweetness. No sugar need be added, and hopefully I don’t need to mention that no milk should be added (it is a green tea…). This Dragon Well was purchased from Anteaques, however almost any good tea shop will carry this tea. A following review will probably be done in Pekoe with a pre-rain Dragon Well as well as their house Dragon Well.

Oh and please never brew a green tea at boiling water.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan