Verdant Tea, Yu Lu Yan Cha

Verdant Tea Description:
Fresh young Xinyang Maojian leaves are traditionally oxidized over three days and hand roasted in Laoshan Village as a black tea.  The Spring harvest of this ingenious tea finds the perfect balance of sweet potato, chocolate notes, honey, and silky smooth texture. Closest to a fine Jin Jun Mei in profile, this collaborative tea continues to prove that the world of tea is still young with room for innovation everywhere.

The name Yu Lu Yan Cha Black comes from the ancient names of Henan and Shandong province. Yu is Henan, and Lu is Shandong. To commemorate this landmark cooperative tea producing effort, Yu Lu is added to the tea name. Yan is the first part of Wang Yanxin’s name, honoring her innovation in creating this new tea.

My Review:
I cut open the brown sample bag and poked my nose in... WOW! is all I could think to describe the aroma. It is deep smooth creamy chocolate, with some roasting, and another scent of a particular type tree that my brain won't associate a name with. But just WOW! should suffice.

The dry leaf looks like Dian Hong or a Jin Jun Mei. Beautiful, and my favorite types of straight black tea. I took out about a 5 g scoop and placed it in my press with 10 oz of 202 F water. The steep was 2 1/2 minutes. The brew is a deep caramelly orange. The wet leaf is roasted and brownies in scent.

The sip is different from the dry or steep aroma. It hints at malt and chocolate but only hints. This kind of suggests sweet potato.  It sounds like I am saying this has very little flavor but that is not true at all. I am just having trouble finding the right words. What I can put into words is the roasty taste is very present and it is honey and grain flavored. Underneath and very late in the sip I am getting floral notes that say rose to me senses. I've not read that in any one else's description. The liquor is kind of thick and almost creamy, or silky, as it glides across the tongue.

I have to say I quite like this one.

Visit Verdant Tea online.

Remembering My Roots

My first post on The Everyday Tea Blog was published in 2011. This will be my 486th post. Man, have I experienced some amazing teas from around the world since those humble beginnings. Before launching this blog I had a website dedicated mainly to bagged teas that I had found in local shops and grocery stores. For posterity I incorporated my early thoughts on those teas into this blog.

Before the blog and the website my experience with tea was limited to Bigelow, Twinings, and later Ahmad tea. Most of it was Earl Grey. Much of it was bagged. What loose leaf I could buy I prepared in a tea ball. I had several of them of various sizes and styles. I eventually settled into using a 2" mesh tea ball as it seemed to provide the best room for leaf expansion.

So what prompted me to bring this up today? I ran into a friend and former co-worker. Over the years we had shared a lot of tea together. Knowing me well he almost immediately started bragging how he had just opened a tin of both Twinings Earl Grey and Lady Grey. They were always his favorite teas. That's when it occurred to me that in all my vast collection of teas I did not have a single plain black Earl Grey. If you have been following my blog awhile you may be aware Earl Grey is my number one addiction.

I have Earl Grey teas made with green tea and white. I have Earl Grey with mint, and several with vanilla. I hadn't even noticed the omission. My friend chided me, wanting to know how could I stray so far from our roots? I had no answer. So today I repented. I got in my car and drove 30 miles to the nearest store that carries Ahmad Teas and purchased a 200 g tin of Earl Grey. Arriving back home, I immediately brewed a cup and sat back to remember my roots.

So what favorite tea and old friend from your early days have you neglected lately? Isn't it time you did something about it?

Simple Loose Leaf, Decaf Breakfast Black

Simple Loose Leaf Description:
A delicious whole leaf Ceylon Black Tea, decaffeinated by CO2 natural processing. This Decaf Breakfast provides a deep robust, yet gentle flavor with a dry and smooth finish that has a subtle hint of honey. Delicious as a traditional black tea, served either hot or iced, and often enjoyed with sweetener and milk.

Brew at 212F for 3-5 min.

My Review:
I mentioned in the Strawberry Black post that it was the last tea from the 6 month subscription I was given by Simple Loose Leaf. I also mentioned that one tea had slipped past me during review. It was this Decaf Breakfast Black. I had originally selected it for my wife. She cannot tolerate caffeine so she drinks mostly herbal teas. Most grocery store type decaf teas leave a lot to be desired. I thought she deserved better.

Opening the resealable pouch I catch the dry leaf aroma and it smells like grain. The scent is very pleasant. One more mention of the pouch - it has a vent in the back that helps to force the air out of the bag once the top is sealed. I really like that feature.

I steeped it for 3 minutes in a Finum basket with microwave heated water. In my opinion this is not the proper way to prepare tea. It is the method I often use late inn the evening when fixing a bedtime cup. Here it appears to have turned out OK. I think my normal kettle/press method might have resulted in a darker cup.

This was a nice gentle tea, soothing and relaxing. It is just what I needed this evening. Decaf is never going to taste as full as regular tea because the caffeine is part of the taste. That said this is still really pretty good. It is actually far better than I expected. The taste is slightly malty and earthy or wood. Definitely a solid decaf black. My wife might drink it for breakfast, as for me this is a great last cup of the day.


Visit the Simple Loose Leaf site.

Tea Temptations, Ginger Apricot

Tea Temptations Description:
Ceylon Apricot flavored tea with Ginger pieces.

My Review:
A sample of this tea was included in a recent order from Tea Temptations. This company has been reviewed many times on The Everyday Tea Blog, but under the name Empire Tea Services. Tea Temptations is the retail side of the business and Empire Tea Services is the wholesale. This company is located in Southern Indiana and is a couple hours drive from my home. They remain the only local establishment I am aware of that actually blends their own teas. Once or twice a year I visit the warehouse and so I only recently realized the two names involved.

Opening the sample, the leaf looks very much like the picture. The Ceylon tea leaf is very dark and healthy looking. The ginger takes two forms. One is little cream colored nuggets, the other is like tiny dried planty hairs. The tea is flavored with apricot. The dry leaf scent is nicely apricot. At this point I am not sure I am smelling the ginger.

I used about 3 g in my press with 212 F water. The steep time was 3 minutes. The brew is kind of cloudy and a deep muddy orange. It looks a bit like fresh apple cider. Of course the apricot aroma tells you it is quite something else.

Sipping, the apricot steps down allowing the spiciness of the ginger to come into play. Neither flavor is overly strong. The ginger adds a depth of warmth along with its spicy notes that builds under the apricot. My mouth is filled with a tingling glow long after swallowing. The Ceylon base is the least noticeable element. It is there but is mostly filling in any voids in the profile. Usually Ceylon adds bite and that may be the case here though it is not apparent as it is mixing with the ginger.

I have never encountered this combination before. Though I think the quality is high enough, it is is not something I would order for my self. Their Peach Apricot is much more to my liking.

Visit Tea Temptations online.

Simple Loose Leaf, Strawberry Black

Simple Loose Leaf Description:
Our bold South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Tea joined with the mouth-watering flavor of strawberries for a delicious combination! This tea can be enjoyed hot or iced for any occasion.

Ingredients:
South Indian Flower Orange Pekoe Black Tea, Freeze-Dried Strawberries, N/A Strawberry Flavor

My Review:
I pushed this tea to the front of my 'to review' list because I noticed on Steepster that Simple Loose Leaf is running a promo where you can sign up for a 3 month plan and the first month is $1. After the first month the rate is $15/month including shipping in the US. There is a five dollar additional fee per month for Canadian tea drinkers to cover their really high shipping rates. Depending on your selection each month you will choose two teas from a choice of 5 and they will ship one or two ounces of each. Alternately you can choose to receive a sample of all 5 teas. The code to use is 1DOLLAR3MONTH For more information check How It Works.

I feel comfortable mentioning this tea of the month club as this tea completes a six month subscription I received from Simple Loose Leaf. I have enjoyed all of them and loved the Winter White Chai. I did just notice I have forgotten to record one of the teas and will fix that in a few days. Anyway, I think Simple Loose Leaf is a solid value - a good product at a reasonable price.

Now on to this one. The South India leaf is really dark. Submerged in my scoop is a chunk of strawberry. The scent is intense strawberry but almost like it has been dipped in chocolate malt. Yeah, it smells that good.

I steeped it for 4 minutes in boiling (212 F) water in my press. The brew is deep orange/red and sparkly like a fruit juice. The wet leaf is broken orange pekoe and has expanded nicely. The scent is strawberry.

The taste is more reserved than the scent suggested. Yes it is strawberry but it is not in your face STRAWBERRY. I can catch the black tea base late in the sip and it shares space in the lingering aftertaste. As is usually the case for me, I like the flavor more as the cup cools. I think this would make an excellent iced tea. Perfect for a porch swing on a lazy summer afternoon. All I need now is a porch, a swing, and a lazy afternoon!

Visit Simple Loose Leaf online.

Verdant Tea, Master Han’s Wild Picked Yunnan Black

Verdant Tea Description:
Every batch of tea from Master Han is very different from the harvests before. This is because, instead of trying to reproduce results through identical processing, Master Han tastes, smells and carefully evaluates each harvest he picks to determine what will bring out the most in the natural leaf.

This unique black tea is lighter than Master Han’s last harvest, closer to a sheng pu’er in its perfumed florals, crisp vegetal aftertaste and bright body. Yet, it is definitively a black tea in its caramel, malt and chocolate notes. A tea like this challenges the hold fast lines between categories and in doing so, challenges our palates with new pairings. To find so much bright citrus in a chocolatey black tea is something that many strive for through blending.

The creamy sweet body, nutty aftertaste and herbaceous undertones evoke that certain olive oil taste that all of Master Han’s Qianjiazhai teas seem to have.

My Review:
Did someone say Yunnan black? Yes please! Verdant Tea is pricier than most teas that I drink but they have yet to disappoint. There have been a scant few that were not to my tastes but the quality remained high. So Verdant and Yunnan black, I'm trying not to raise my expectations too high but it is probably too late.

The aroma out of the bag did not reveal much. I only have enough for this one session. A larger bag will most likely have a lot to say. The leaf, however, speaks volumes. There is a lot of beautiful color in the twisted leaf. I'm not noticing it in the picture above but mine had some green and silver mixed in with the brown and orange.

I used 205 F water and a one minute steep which gives me a cup that is caramel in color and very clear. The wet leaf had a forest leaf scent with some darker sugary cocoa scent.

The sip has some bite on the edges of the tongue. This is really light tasting. I am used to Yunnans packing more, well, just more. Hmmm. Maybe the one minute recommendation was not enough. I am getting a light earthiness with what I can agree is olive. In the aftertaste I catch a hint of malt.

Oh, there it is. As the cup cools the flavors come out of hiding. If you drink your tea very hot you might miss a lot with this one. It is still light and earthy with olive, but in addition I am getting more typical yunnan notes of honey, grain, and malt. There is also the taste of grape. The leaf more than the fruity berry.

I thought this when I looked at the leaf, now I am going to share it. This reminds me of the Oriental Beauty Oolong, mixed with a black from Nepal. It's kind of lightly Darjeeling like but subtly.

With the second cup I steeped several minutes on purpose. It did not get overly bitter but it was potent. The flavors remained the same as the first with the added power of over brewing. Not my favorite from Verdant (stupid expectations got in my way) but it is good and an interesting experience.

Visit Verdant Teas here.

Temple Road, Tiger Monk

Temple Road Description:
Inspired from the power, strength, and courage of the Tiger Warrior Monk in the great and millennial tradition of Chinese martial arts, the distinct woody and smoky aromas of this triple roast, medium fermentation, high mountain oolong tea combine with exquisite balance to create this strong, rugged yet smooth taste. Aroma: Smoke, Wood, Wheat  Flavor: Strong, Deep, Malt

Sample provided by Temple Road

My Review:
My sample was shipped directly from Taiwan. It was packed in a vacuum sealed bag along with an oxygen absorber to insure freshness. The leaf is rolled into tight little balls with part of the stem sticking out. The leaf is dark and has a shine to it. The aroma of the dry leaf matches the company description well. - smoke, wood, and wheat. The combination comes off as kind of like the puffed wheat cereal I ate as a kid.

The sample is 10g. The steeping instructions said to use 3g and brew for 6 minutes with 95 C water, so that is how I prepared it. The leaf began to uncurl and stretch toward the surface of the water. That is always fun to watch. The brew is a very pretty bronze color. The aroma of the wet leaf has more emphasis on the roasted aspect, as does the brew. The leaf expanded quite a lot but has not completely relaxed.

When I take a sip I get the strength right away as mentioned in the description. I also get the roasted note strongly at first. This quickly melts into a more green oolong taste than I expected. I cannot say I detect malt in this first cup. I am noting a prickly sensation as I sip. That is not a bad thing it is just unexpected. This leaves a fruity aftertaste that reminds me of mango.

If you like dark roasted Taiwan oolong, this one is nicely complex.

Visit Temple Road online.