The Tao of Tea

This was the second loose leaf white tea I ever tried. The greatest thing I noted was how it had the subtle scent and taste of apricots. It was the first time I ever picked up on a fruity note in a tea and tasted anything but “leaf”.

While not a fan of most Japanese green teas, gyokuro is an exception. While this is not the best gyokuro I’ve had (a little too roasty), it still soothes quite nicely.

Oh, Jin Cha, how you’ve ruined me. I had a note for this up from several months back, but it was in error. That was actually a note for the Tippy South Cloud – a Dian Hong. Totally the wrong tea. This…was a Yunnan Gold Bud with everything I loved about the tippy tea. Honey-ish texture, fruit-ish lean, creamy finish. No black tea negatives. Again…I should’ve picked up some, but I wanted to try it first. Next time. Next time. Oooooh, so yum!

I’ve had Lapsang Souchong’s before that were mainly just…well…burnt tea. I like ‘em, but not much can be said about ’em. This one had a chocolaty note to it that added something extra. And it’s cheap if you buy in bulk. Can’t beat that.

This herbal is pure WIN. It has all the nut-sweetness of it’s redder sibling, but none of the blandness. Compliments honey well, too.

It’s lemongrass. There’s not much that can be said about it other than it’s citrusy, slightly grassy and light. Not much of an impression by itself, but it can be added to other teas perfectly. Really goes well with their Jing Mai White.

I feel I may be getting close to oversteeping this tea at 4 minutes. Granted, I’m pretty new to reviewing tea, so maybe this is normal.

I like this tea. Slightly fruity, good smell. It’s about in the middle as far as the caffeine index reads on the side of the packaging.

Used up the last of my tin and added some matcha. Tasted a bit too thin, vegetal and decidedly un-toasty. It’s like the best part of each tea was “cancelled out” instead of enhanced. Maybe there’s an art to creating a proper “Genmaicha Matcha-Iri” than just tossing the two together.

I brewed this in my Travel Mug last night and brought it to work today. I walked to work and it was in my bag (which is a crossbody/messenger-type style). And when I arrived at my desk and took the mug out, the top of the inside was all foamy! Like really thick, latte-ish foam. It surprised me, but I guess it makes sense because matcha foams up and matcha and genmaicha are both green teas. It makes me wonder…do all teas foam or just green teas?

The tea itself tastes good, as always. Even cold like this. There is no bitterness.

Very toasty scent. The taste is mostly of brown rice with just a hint of grassy green-ness. This is a soothing, warm, savory tea. I love genmaicha and this brand is very good.

I had really high hopes for this tea. It sounded so good and was out of stock for quite a long time, so I was really excited to try it out, but in the end I just couldn’t get into it. Too vegetal tasting for me. I love green teas, and don’t mind grassiness (Dragonwater’s Green Yerba Mate is quite grassy, but also one of my favorites) but this was a little too much for me. Tried different steeping methods, times, and temps, but ended up just throwing away the last couple ounces of the four ounce bag I bought.

This is fantastic. I love the Bergamot in Earl Grey teas. The combination of the richeness in the darjeeling leaves and the citrius notes coming from the bergamot creates a well rounded flavor. A friend of mine loves to use a warmer water temperature and then add some soy milk to it, she finds the flavor to die for. If you are looking for a rich and deep flavor, deffinately try this one out.

This is one of my favorite teas. The pine smell alone is intoxicating and reminds me of going camping. The tea is quite nice. Very smooth.

Visited the Tao of Tea shop yesterday and among my purchases was this oolong tea. I asked the attendant for one that has a “buttery” flavor. First pick was the Ali Shan but they were out so this was the next best option. I picked up a can. To keep freshness, each of the two ounces in the beautiful tin was shrink-wrapped.

The leaf of this tea are tightly curled and a dark forest green in color with some lighter yellow-green color showing in places. The aroma of the dry leaf did indeed have the buttery flavoring, but it was not strong.

I steeped the leaf in about 185 degree water for 3 minutes. It came out a pale yellow with a hint of green to it. The aroma of the brew was wonderful. The flavor of the brew is equally wonderful with a smooth buttery flavor that is not overpowering. This is a great evening tea. I’m enjoying my 2nd steeping and I believe I will get another one easily, maybe more from this quality tea.

This is currently my favorite store-bought tea. It is very flexible with regards to temperature: steeps well at cool temperatures as well as at nearly boiling (though boiling water does taste noticeably worse). It is also very flexible as regards steep time: it gets a nice full flavor steeped lightly (under 3 minutes), but when I’ve forgot and left the leaves in the water for more than 8-10 minutes, it doesn’t taste over-steeped. It does seem to demand a rinse, though a few seconds’ cold water rinse is all it really takes. Delicious, and I enjoy it at any time of day (though I have to be careful not to drink too late in the day…)

This is a great evening tea. It’s hardly oxidized so very low caffeine content. It’s leaf is from the tips of the plant and is a downy light weight leaf. I like to refer to these type of white teas as “fluffy” teas. I use a scales to weigh out the proper amount as using a spoon and the volume it fills doesn’t work so good with fluffy teas. The leaf of this one is light greenish brown and has a soft texture. I steeped 2 minutes at a reduced temp of 165 degrees F.

This tea steeps up a pale yellow. The brew being a white is subtle to begin with. I did not add anything to this brew wanting to enjoy the full flavor it offers. Its taste is slightly nutty with hints of smokiness and a little roasty, with some honey notes tossed in. It’s a great white tea. I was able to steep a second time with no problem, adding about another minute the second time. The leaf opened up even further the 2nd time. I find this one a great tea to wind down with after a long day.

Enjoyed this excellent assam with my breakfast today. It’s leaf is nice a tippy, it’s brew a dark amber. It has a nice malty flavor that is smooth and bold but not too strong. Yummm!

As the leaves are so large and airy, I doubled the amount of tea I used to 2 teaspoons per 8 oz and the resulting cup was liquid honey. The liquor was a deeper gold and the sweetness was much more pronounced. Floral honey and apricots. Tao of Tea recommends 1 -2 teaspoons. I think 2 is the winner. This is how I’ll be brewing this tea in the future.

The smell is earthy with a hint of currants. Taste is solid Yunnan, minerally with a gentle honey sweetness. A hint of astringency at 4 minute steep.

I haven’t been overly impressed with other teas I’ve tried from Tao of Tea, but I love this tea. Discovered it at my local co-op (and for $20/lb less than on their website, which I don’t understand, but I’ll take it!) It’s going to be my new ‘everyday’ oolong. Has a light, fresh, slightly fruity taste (the company describes it as nectarine/peaches, while I think apricots).

This end of the work week after lunch tea is a rich brew tea with notes of chocolate and fruit. It’s a very smooth tea with a nice delicious aftertaste. This is a great tea and I highly recommend it.

This morning’s tea is this classic tea from China Hunan province. It’s a tea with wirey leaf that is dark, actually rather black colored with small amounts of gold color occasionally thrown in. The brew is dark with a bold flavor that has notes of fruit and dark chocolate. I drink it black with some sweetener added but you could add dairy to this.