Xin Yang Mao Jian

Xin Yang Mao Jian

Type; Green, China

Price; £ 9.00 for 100 grams from Pekoe Tea.

http://www.pekoetea.co.uk/?pagename=Xin%20Yang%20Mao%20Jian

Review; When it comes to green teas, there are two main schools of thought, pan dried and steam-dry. These two schools represent the Chinese and Japanese ways of tea with Chinese teas being made predominately in the pan dried fashion resulting in the tell tale style undertones of chestnut, and the Japanese resulting in a crisp fresh green of freshly cut grass.

While this tea continues the Chinese traditional method of pan drying it is certainly one of the more unique teas. Relying on a Wikipedia article until my new book arrives, Xin Yang Mao Jian is suppose to be one of the top 10 teas of China. And this I can easily believe, crisp and fresh, little astringency. The light amber hue, tickling the tongue, Xin Yiang teas are wonderfully full of flavour. However despite being a Chinese green, my first thought would not be that of chestnuts, its…hard to explain. While that may seem like a lame response especially for a blogger review, if I try to explain it; sounds more like “the essence of the tea”. And by the “essence of the tea” I don’t mean the freshness or the greenness I associate with the essence of Japanese green teas, but just a slight curl at the edge of the tongue as it sits in ones mouth. Second brew still brings out many flavours, this is a superior tea.

Pekoe tea does a wonderful job of packaging their teas, and it does show. This tea was actually purchased months ago, however is still incredibly fresh. Vacuum sealed in plastic/metal packets this does add to the cost.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fan (changing from Tea Fanatic to Fan, as I’d like to be less of a fanatic this year)

Yellow Gold Oolong/Tie Guan Yin

Yellow Gold Oolong

"There’s a new gold rush in town and while we can’t promise it will make you rich, this Yellow Gold Oolong tea will definitely make you feel like a million dollars. The hand-rolled leaves open beautifully to create a complex mix of sweetness and tangyness topped off with notes of fresh grass."

Type; Oolong, China, Tie Guan Yin

Price; £ 12.98 for 100 grams from Eteaket

http://www.eteaket.co.uk/teaboutique/info_B01.html

Review; As promised, please find delivered my review of Yellow Gold Oolong. There remains two predominant traditional styles of oolongs, if indeed one wants to try and categorize them as such; which can be defined as light and dark. The dark presenting more roasted, higher levels of oxidation. The lights presenting as delicate and floral as buds on a bush. Oolongs are defined, along with being a completely different style to processing tea, as a range of oxidation and fermentation ranging from almost zero like greens, all the way to 90 percent, close to black teas. Yellow Gold Oolong is one of the few teas to have captured my soul. the first time I tried it, I opened the tea pot searching through the leaves for the mysterious source of the fragrance to identify. Years have now passed, the fragrance remains, that of tea. If this review is already seemingly more loopy, and "poetic" than normal, it is a direct testament to this tea. Teas are meant to alter our mind, bring consciousness, invigorate us.

There is literally not a single bad word to be said, floral, delicate, the floral scent first reminded me of a peony, or a gardenia. With such a heady scent, it is truly amazing to realize a tea when it is at its full potential.

I have already done a review upon Tie Guan Yin before for the observant reader to notice. However this one I have felt needs specific notice. For those curious about Tie Guan Yin, this is a surprisingly decent wiki article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tieguanyin. However there has been a growing trend in China to title almost everything Tie Guan Yin. Even greens or blacks have managed to procure the name, as in a failed attempt that the name by proxy deliveries the delicious notes to the palate.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fanatic

Lemongrass and Marigold

Lemongrass and Marigold

"A startling blend of lemon grass, freeze-dried strawberries and marigold blossoms. The strawberry flavours burst through the tangy lemon grass to create an intense lemon berry blend. The marigold blossoms add an absinthian whisper.

Freshly cut lemon grass has an extraordinary, slightly rose like, lemon aroma. Marigolds a bitter-sweet, anise like flavour. Together with the freeze-dried strawberries, the combination is both intense and exhilarating."

Type; Infusion, Indian/Mixture, Lemongrass, Strawberry, Marigold, Lemon , Apple, Pineapple

Price; £ 4.00 for 100 grams from Anteaques.

http://anteaques.co.uk/infusions/lemongrassandmarigold

Review; Describing this infusion is always very interesting. It rapidly became one of Anteaques's best selling "teas" (Tea is strictly defined as from origin of Camellia Sinensis). I'd imagine as summer progresses this will only increase. At the tea tasting comparison I briefly mentioned before with Bouteaque Blue Mist, this infusion actually took first place. (There was a bit of contention over whether an infusion should be allowed to take first).

The taste is very unique. It almost interacts on the tongue similar to Champagne, affecting several locations at the same time. A tart zest that progresses into a distinct sweetness. Complex tastes for an herbal infusion (I am an eliteast), it certainly enjoys a benefit of never over-brewing. I enjoyed this tea with two other friends, and while we got to laughing at some of the descriptions and trying to describe the tea, I feel it is only fitting to relay their opinions. "Yellow" "sweet, citric, lemon out the citri, tantalizing" and apparently "it tastes just like tang". I believe the addition of Marigold flowers was a wonderful decision. In China Marigold tea is the most popular tea to drink during the summer. The flowers have a wonderful tartness to them that just seems to complement the heat of the day.

Regardless the flavours are well presented in this tea, and while I would never have really imagined strawberries and lemongrass ever working together, they both add subtle characteristics and notes to each other.

I strongly suggest trying this infusion for the summer.

Enjoy!

-Tea Fanatic

I have felt the need to include some of the other reviews my friends thought up.

"tastes like pondweed"

"lemongrass and flowers"

"Lemsip without bitterness"

followed shortly by "maybe it just says a lot about Lemsip"

Goomtee Darjeeling 2nd Flush FTGFOP1

Goomtee Darjeeling

"A sensational classic Darjeeling tea."
Type; Black, Indian, Darjeeling, FTGFOP1 Second Flush

Price; £ 17.50 for 100 grams from Anteaques. (Edit 17/5/2011 JING tea removed)

Review; Sending tea, and taking pictures for a friend has prompted a review of this tea. Before I get into the grit, a bias should be announced. I love Darjeeling tea more than life sometimes. This tea is also the second most expensive tea I have consumed. And it has currently ranked as my favourite. Of the 85 known estates (I'm quoting 85 as that was the number published in this book http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/darjeeling-tea-golden-brew-srijeet-book-8181891864, while some website publish numbers as high as 92), I have had the privileged of only trying a third. I've previously lamented over Darjeelings and how wonderful and fantastic they are on my review over Marybong Darjeeling First Flush. However Goomtee is perhaps the first second flush to amaze me.

Goomtee is a small estate, located high in the Himalayan mountains in the northern most region designated for Darjeeling. Perhaps this is what leads to its mythical brew. If one was ever curious about the "muscatel" tones that are so often used to describe a Darjeeling, this is the tea to base your definition. Fruity in a sickly sweet sort of way, this is most certainly not a tea to adulterate with milk or sugar. I have felt the need to put that in bold; a tea of this class, of this quality, to be ruined by such inferiour products is a sin. Floral notes can be tasted too, which bring to mind wild summer flowers growing after a storm. The fruit is hard to distinguish but I would say almost imagine a pear cider wine with cherries mixed in. Muscatel. I know its overly pretentious, but this is a tea that's best description is a mood. Calm. Tranquil. When I was preparing for exams I actually had to limit my consumption of this tea as it is entirely possible to spend hours of inner peace accomplishing nothing but relaxation. Not overly astringent, it does leave you thirsting for more.

I have actually placed an order of JING's version as I am skeptical of the quality that they are selling. An edit may appear later for this review of that tasting.

(Edit 17/5/2011 JING tea; Inferior tea, I have removed the link from the top of the page as I would not encourage people to try it as a good example of what a Goomtee should taste like. JING Goomtee tastes more like a Margaret's Hope, or a mixture of several estates. No to little astringency. Maybe a full review will come at another time, however we will see if time permits.)

Here is the wiki page to Darjeeling Tea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_tea) but I strongly suggest reading the above book to gain a better appreciation behind the tea industry itself. There are too many books published about "tea" without actually saying anything.

Cheerio!

-Tea Fanatic

Hello Again!

Pip pip cheerio!

I'm back. Or at least I think I am. This past year I became over whelmed, and I am certain that will happen again this year, but hopefully I'll post at least at an irregular schedule. I've relinquished some responsibilities (which if you know me, is a very big deal).

I've also done some thinking. While originally this blog was going to be away for me to express my views and generally bitch about tea and what not. I've sort of had a realization that being the "bitchy" friend means that actually the quotes should be around the word "friend". I'll probably still say things that get me in trouble, but I will try to give greater justification, and if anyone has a problem with a review, I'd love to hear their opinion/evidence about how I was wrong.

I'm also going to try and keep this as un-personal as possible. Those that know me in real life...know that I have obvious biases. I plan on keeping this as un-biased as possible and as anonymous as possible.

So without further ado, I give you the tea I breathe, drink, and generally live for.

Bouteaque Blue Mist

Bouteaque Blue Mist

"The production of our Bouteaque Blue Mist tea from India is unique and therefore top secret. The resulting cup has complex and competing flavours that pull together to produce a refined and distinguished tea unlike anything else we have tasted. Like a private members club in Mayfair or an invite to the Playboy Mansion to party with Hugh Hefner, this tea is uber-exclusive and uber-good. Strictly for the A-list fashionista."

Type; Black, Indian, Nilgiri, FTGFOP

Price; £ 9.98 for 100 grams from Eteaket.

Review; Ask Erika what tea personifies Eteaket best and she will tell you Bouteaque Blue Mist. Winner of several tasting awards and a tea unique to Eteaket with Erika having personally visited the estate to choose the best quality. It is not often that one finds a Nilgiri tea by itself. First impression gives a distinct malty caramel notes with a flush of citrus that reminds me of a lemon tea later, hidden somewhere in the "mists". However I will be the first to state that this is not Eteaket's best tea. To me it is their Yellow Gold Oolong. This is the tea that brought me back today. In fact at a recent tea tasting comparison, Bouteaque Blue Mist tied for 6th place. I believe that if Yellow Gold Oolong had been tasted it would have taken its name sake. A separate review of Yellow Gold Oolong will come at some point. I do feel describing the production method of Boteaque Blue Mist as "unique" and "top secret" might be over the top.

Tea or Tea shop at fault?

While this tea is interesting, its not a tea that I feel I will go out of the way to own. In fact if I were to receive it as a gift it might end up being re-gifted at Christmas time. Its nice, but maybe better suited to someone else. Which leads me to the question of if its the tea I didn't like or the tea shop. I've been to Eteaket several times now, and have noticed a re-occurring problem where too much tea is brewed in their small pots. Each pot holds probably close to .5 litres. In each of these pots probably around 5 grams is added. For this size it is too much and to me brews too much on the heavy side. While I appreciate the fact that tea can be taken out, I have received my tea numerous times when it has already over brewed just waiting to be delivered to my table.

Nilgiri

Nilgiri teas are quite interesting. Wiki article below, Nilgiri's are wonderfully fragrant yet offer a good strong body. This often times led to them being used predominately in flavoured and scented teas. In my head I compare them to a Keemun or a Yunnan Indian equivalent to China. As the tea producing regions continue to shift towards Africa this may suggest a growing trend of Nilgiri's being produced by themselves. Though a recent book I have read (Darjeeling, The Golden Brew) talks about the level of marketing required, Nilgiri still has a long way to go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_tea

To sum up my review, Bouteaque Blue Mist offers a nice burnt caramel malty tea with hints of lemon mingled. Certainly something to try, I wouldn't really rank it as a tea I would want to own.

-Tea Fanatic

Link to purchase. http://www.eteaket.co.uk/teaboutique/info_A09.html

Jasmine Pearl

Jasmine Pearl

Type; Green (Chinese), Flavoured with Jasmine

Price; £ 12-13 for 100 grams (shy of 4 oz)

Reasoning;

While this tea is techincally a green flavoured tea, I often times feel that the flavoured teas should be in a class all by themselves. Different production methods do make all the difference, and with different elements added, this adds a new complexity to tea.

Jasmine pearl is perhaps a beginner’s tea. I do not mean that it is simple; merely that it is a classic. Jasmine has long been used as a flavour to chinese teas, and the element is magnified in the pearl structure. I have seen many variations of this tea, and the one that struck me as the most fascinating, was in each pearl, a jasmine flower lay.

The effort and mount of time that is spent on the Jasmine Pearl, usually mean it is a bit pricier, but one can taste the difference in comparison to a simple jasmine tea. The essence is added to the teas by laying layer of tea, silk, jasmine, silk, tea, silk, and jasmine. Rarely letting the elements be mixed. The effort that is spent assures a well flavoured tea that is often strong, but not over powering. In a high quality Jasmine Pearl, each individual pearl is rolled, into its shape with just 2 leaves and a bud. One can judge the quality of the tea by the appearance of the pearls, the leaves once they've unraveled, and of course the taste.

I often times enjoy having a Jasmine Pearl as a way to gauge how serious a tea place takes their tea. Once you have had a nice, crisp, fresh, tasting Jasmine, you can tell which shops focus on their tea, and which ones focus less. I know it is overly harsh to judge a tea shop on a single tea, but the advantage is that Jasmine Pearl is becoming/is so popular that most shops carry it. And while one always has their favourites, there are so many different teas it is nice to see a variant on a fairly stable type.

I enjoy watching a good Jasmine Pearl in a glass tea pot, as it is always fascinating to watch them unravel. Unlike blooming teas, (a blog post hopefully later), these are rolled for their flavour, not for beauty, and yet it is striking to see them as they transform.

I will admit my bias, that Jasmine Pearls were my introduction into the world of teas, and as such, will always hold a place in my heart. (overly cheesy yes?) Though I will admit to be cautious and not to let this one over-brew, as there can be a thing as too much Jasmine.

-Tea Fanatic