Maison des 3 Thes

Sipdown! Although, I never added it to my Steepster cupboard, so I don’t have the satisfaction of watching that number go down. Oh well. Last time, I had a very vegetal flavor from this tea. This time around, I still had that, but also some nuttiness. It’s surprising that I enjoy this one as much as I do because I usually much prefer Japanese greens. Anyway, I will miss it as I have no idea how I would get my hands on more of it.

Tea & Cards TTB #11
Today was a crazy day with a stressful meeting with my advisor, so I took special care to choose the next tea from the box. A nice, mellow dragonwell seemed to fit the bill, so I steeped this one up in my teapot. It has a nice buttery texture and vegetal taste. I actually looked at some other tasting notes and read “asparagus,” so now that is stuck in my brain about this tea. I actually do think it tastes of asparagus, but it might be partially from my easily influenced mind tricking my taste buds. Anyway, there is awkwardly less than a teaspoon left of this, so I think I will pull it from the box and steep it up in a small cup at a later time. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, calmer tea at this time!

TTB #15

What is this I’m drinking??? I want to know because it’s filling me with light and joy! Oh, it’s another Traveling Box tasting! Wow, this one is all over me.

I am so glad that my SuperHub got me a variable temp kettle because before that I was reluctant about having green tea (as I had to wait for the water to cool down after boiling and then it was always oversteeped anyway). Now I have more and more greens and I see a moment in the future where they might substitute most of black teas for me (except for the Chinese ones – we have certainly established that!) because they make me positively hyper! At the same time, black teas have an effect on me that is slightly similar to what coffee does to me – a moment of alertness followed by a crash.

Anyway, the tea! This tea is awesome! The leaves are beautiful green, the kind of green you only see a very good quality green tea to have (obv. it depends on the kind). They steep into a straw yellow infusion that over time turns into more definite brownish yellow. The fragrance matches its flavor well – it’s vegetal with a hint of citrus. The prominent note is asparagus… Yes, definitely, asparagus. So refreshing and yummy! I might be tempted to re-steep it…. IMMEDIATELY :D

EDIT: It appears that this tea is from one of these “French places”, or, in other words, completely unavailable to me, or, if physically available, then at least financially unavailable. Well, dammit :(

Resteep! It’s so light I actually thought it was a failed steep, but when I taste it it’s almost more delicious than the first cup! Only the sweetest and juiciest of notes are left, so this almost tastes like I’m drinking a pear. This has cooled down some and it’s just exquisite both hot and cold.

Since I doubt I’ll be getting to Paris soon, can anyone recommend a good Dragonwell that’s a little easier to obtain? I definitely want a tea like this in my cabinet once I’ve made some room.

T&C Box 16/18

What a beautiful tea! It has long, flat leaves and uncurls slowly in water in the most lovely way. It also has a surprisingly complex smell, which isn’t something I’ve encountered much with greens. It almost smells like an oolong, with deep green notes and some fruitiness.

Apparently this is a dragonwell, which makes it the second one of that type I’ve tried. It brews up light, but the flavor is intense. Sweet, sweet green flavors, some white flower notes, almost juicy finish. Buttery is a good description but it doesn’t quite explain the rest of what’s great about this tea. I love this but have no idea where to get it, so I think I’ll look out for another company’s dragonwell instead.

Another sent by Sil. I did some sipdowns today. :)

It makes me happy that I suspected it was a dragonwell from the look of the leaves and I read in other reviews that it is. I feel like I’ve actually retained something. :)

When steeping, this had a really strong “cooked green stuff” smell. Not unpleasant but nothing I seek out. The leaves turn bright, bright green after steeping. It is somewhat brothy, grassy, vegetal and clean. It isn’t really my thing but it is quenching.

1.25 tbsp for 375 ml

Very spinach-y tasting. Almost mineral-type sweetness.

Thanks to Sil for sharing!

Sipdown, 141. Thanks again to Sil for a sample of this.

I still concur with my previous tasting note that this tea is a nice example of a dragonwell, but I don’t find it super exceptional. It is buttery and vegetal. This cup I probably brewed a little strong, but it’s tasty anyway. Onward!

Thanks to Sil for this sample! So over the course of the last couple hours I have gone from a bit sneezy/runny nose (common in fall/winter mornings for me) to very sneezy/runny nose, to inflamed mucosa and painful eyes. Yay. I better not be getting sick, because my doctoral dissertation defense is in one week.

Anyway, thankfully I am not stuffed up and can still taste and smell tea fine. This smells like a lovely, buttery green dragonwell, which is not surprising because that is what it is. I don’t LOVE dragonwell, but I do enjoy it and it’s one of my preferred types of green tea. This is a quite nice one. It doesn’t really stand out as exceptional, but it is buttery and fresh and green. A pleasant cup this morning.

SIPDOWN! (169) I’ve been drinking this one all week since i’ve gotten back in an effort to finish it up and enjoy it while it’s still fresh-ish :) I just haven’t logged it until now because it’s a sipdown! woohoo! I’m not sure what possessed my parents to keep the puerh and give me the green tea, but i’ve happily enjoyed this one and shared it, so no complaints here from me. I don’t mind green teas, but 1-2 max in my cupboard is enough to keep them from losing their ZING!

Small cup of this to cleanse my palate while sitting on meeting this morning. Still tasty even if its a green :)

I could have sworn i’ve logged this before but apparently not. Had a small cup of this one tonight to clear my taste buds out while doing some dishes tonight. I like this one a fair bit, though greens aren’t preferred tea but if nothing else i’ve got a fun box once i’ve finished it! lol

Sipdown! 806.

Unfortunately, while good, I got that slight cat pee aroma from this one, which is a little strange. Just seems to be a thing with some greens, for whatever reason. However, I still drank and enjoyed it. Thanks Sil.

Thanks again to Sil for a sample of this one.

Mmmm, dragonwell. My favourite type of tea. This one is no exception, although I admit that I got the teensiest bit of cat pee aroma/flavour while drinking it. There must just be some compound common to cat pee and some green teas. Really not sure what. Anyways, drank it and enjoyed it. However, I really seem to have a soft spot for Verdant’s Dragonwell-Style Laoshan Green. I know it’s not “real” dragonwell, but even though the samples I have are at least a year old, it still has a sweet, rock sugariness/beaniness that I love, that isn’t present in typical dragonwells. Ah well – this tea still made a delicious cup. At least two, in fact, unless cup #2 couldn’t handle the extra minute and 45 seconds it got while I was distracted putting my tomato plants back outside.

ETA: Cup #2 was just fine, but I didn’t give this a third infusion. I find I really prefer the first couple infusions of greens only.

10 brews in a small teapot: 25",30",40",50",…. Taste of cooked fruits and aftertaste of fruit (apricot or something like that).

Awesome !
6g/14cl teapot: 35’’,30’’,45’’,60’’,1’30,2’30,3’30,5’ and more !
During the first infusion the taste was grainy and a little bit fruity. Then it switched to something more flowery and sweet, then it tastes between a dan cong and an oriental beauty. The leaves were endless.
A tea to enjoy calmly and with a lot of time ahead.

Nice fruity taste during the first infusions then a more grainy/malty when reaching the 4th and 6th infusions. Strong after taste.
Brewed in a 13cl teapot, quick rinse 10’’, then 35’’, 30’’, 40’’, 50’’, 60’’, 1’30. Doesn’t last very long though.

C’est effectivement un bon Puerh, velouté, gras, sombre. Notes de tourbe, un peu sucré, il est généreux aux réinfusions.

Brewed in a 15cl teapot:
30’’ rinse then 15’’-20’’-25’’-30’’-35’’-40’’-45’’-60’’-1’30
Incredible ! A strong taste of old wood and a faint sweety/fruity after taste.
One of the best pu erh I ever had.

Gong Fu Cha Style I used:
Beauté Académique by Maison des 3 Thes, Taiwan oolong, 5.5gr in Yixing 7oz teapot; water Sant’Anna sorgente Rebruant 95°.

0 – foot’s water
1 – 45’’
The color shines between amber and topaz. The hot noise takes memories of desert with tiny fresh touch of lavender. Follow more vegetable sensation of toasting and dry wood, always together with a spice herbs like a dry rosemary. Again yellow peony, undergrowth, cooked tomato. At the end all remember me something like a “grandmother’s drawer”.
In mouth stats serious, austere: begins angular, but quickly the soft invades the mouth. Progression taste develops on this theme as something angular submerged by a soft cushion and shake itself to come to the surface. The persistent is long and played on brown/yellow tones, comes back undergrowth, dry herbs, nuts, toasts and dry flowers. Distant peeps some brief hints of ripe summer.

2 – 45’’
Appears tinged with a topaz color with orange highlights. It smells of autumn, pine resin, puffs of dried lavender, undergrowth and woody tones; shows the almond between the nuts and everything is wrapped in a bouquet of flowers which still dominates the yellow peony. The mouth opens with a patina of softness that sticks to the palate. Then emerge sharp and woody feelings. The finish is dominated by feelings of tannic: green wood, green dried nuts that became licorice root any seconds after deglutition.

3 – 1’ 20’’
Topaz with increasingly determined orange reflections. Absolutely floral noise, with hints of yellow peony, almond flower, thistle; all is mixed with more mature and slightly bittering notes of chestnut honey.
Tasting proves round and balanced. The soft and hard notes invading the mouth wrapped tightly to one another. At the end of this triumphant march in the mouth is an explosion and a blaze of aromas that seem to never want to end.

I do again:
4 – 2’ 30’’
5 – 3’ 45’’
6 – 5’

and found still pleasure in this tea.

I’ve only tried a little of all the teas that Maison des 3 Thes sells.
I wanted to know why their prices are so high …
This one is one of the cheapest (and it’s price is already high compared to most tea houses).
I brewed this one in a zhong (12 cl) : 20’’ – 30’’ – 45’’ – 60’’ – 1’30 – 2’30.
I didn’t put a lot of leaves since I’ve read on internet that this tea can quickly give a bitter result.
The taste at first isn’t very strong, but the after taste is ! Fruity, oily. The taste is pure and plain : no off-taste coming from over roasting or something.
I’m almost sure I could have done another brew. Next time I will try with more leaves.
So yeah, this tea is a bit expensive compared to what you can buy elsewhere, but very good.