Darlene's Tea Port, Blue Lady

Darlene's Tea Port Description:
The flavors of passion fruit, grapefruit, orange and grenadine mix to create a naturally sweet infusion. Try this one iced for a hauntingly delicious experience!

Ingredients:
black tea, freeze dried orange + papaya + pineapple, natural dried papaya and pineapple, cornflower + calendula + sunflower petals, natural flavors

My Review:
Before I even review this let me state, at the time of this writing, Blue Lady is priced at just $5.49 for 4 ounces. Next let me say I have no idea why this is called Blue Lady. There are no blue flowers or blueberries in it.

The leaf does look like the picture so it is pretty enough. I am not really sure of the dry scent but I am guessing it is the papaya mixed with orange. I used one scoop which is roughly 2 tsp in my press with boiling water. The steep was 4 minutes. The wet leaf aroma was fruity with a peppery note. The brew is deep, deep, red.

Three minutes on the steep would have been preferred. This is more potent than I was expecting. The black base is very present bringing with it briskness and astringency in the form of tongue tingle and dryness. I added sweetener to calm it. Next time I will know better and use a shorter steep.

It is weird that passion fruit is not a listed ingredient but that is the predominate fruity flavor. The other standout note is peppers. Not pepper like in a shaker but little red peppers that should add a lot of heat but don't. This is not heat spicy. It is taste spicy. I like that.

I have not heard of Darlene's Tea Port before. That is a shame because this is an interesting tea.

Visit Darlene's Tea Port here.

Teavivre, Taiwan Oriental Beauty (Bai Hao) Oolong Tea

Teavivre Description:
Oriental Beauty Oolong also have other beautiful name as “Bai Hao Oolong” or “Dong Fang Mei Ren”.  It is named “Bai Hao Oolong” because its buds covered much of white tips.  It has honey aroma and sweet smooth taste.

This tea is special because it needs the bite of small green insect / leaf hoppers for its natural sweet aroma or honey aroma.  The small green insect called leaf hoppers or tea jassid prefer to bite young leaves (buds).  The leaf than reacts to defend and recover from the bite.  This causes a partial oxidation and the very specific high pitched Oriental Beauty fragrance.  So, organic leaves should also be more appetizing for tea insect / leaf hoppers.

Sample provided by Teavivre.

My Review:
This is the last of the latest round of samples Teavivre sent for review. I saved this one for last. Why? It's oolong. I like oolong but I never wake up and say, "I need oolong." So keep that in mind as you read through my review.

I opened the sample and as is my custom, I sniffed the leaf. What? I sniffed again. This is oolong? Yep, that is what it says right there on the label. The scent is like a cereal grain - wheat or oats? Also there is obvious malt. Malt in an oolong!

I took out half the sample to examine. The leaf shape reminds me a lot of a quality White Peony only this is much darker. Still, there is some bright brown buds, some silver, and even traces of green. It is a pretty leaf to look at.

I steeped the leaf in 10 oz of 185 F water, in my freshly scrubbed press, for 4 minutes. The liquor is a deep honey color. The wet leaf is dry forest leaves and malt with hints of fruitiness in aroma. I notice some of the leaf is now quite green while most is deep brown.

The taste is honey. Wonderful beautiful honey backed up by delicious notes of malt. I know I made the comparison to Bai Mu Dan (White Peony) earlier, but honestly the taste even suggests it. There is a certain light earthiness with hints of floral and fruit. If you can't tell, I really like this one and it's an oolong!

I am so used to green oolongs have that strong floral geranium taste and dark oolongs that are generally heavily roasted. This is just different. It is not overly floral and definitely not roasted. I can see myself actually waking up with this in mind for my morning cup, and surprisingly, it's an oolong.

Visit the Teavivre website.

Teavivre, Fengqing Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea 2013

Teavivre Description:
This Ripe Pu-erh Cake Teavivre choose is from the representative Pu-erh production area Fengqing. Fengqing is the original place of the world-wide famous Dian Hong Tea. And it is also a classic place of Yunnan Pu-erh. It is a place in Lingcang which is one of the four famous Pu-erh production areas. The taste of Fengqing Pu-erh is mellow and sweet, deeper than Pu-erh in other production area. And it usually has the flowery flavor of Dian Hong Tea. The tea leaves used to make this Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea are all pure leaves hand-picked from 50 to 100 years old Large-leaf Arbor Tea Trees.

Sample provided by Teavivre

My Review:
Today I will be reviewing this puerh tea from Teavivre. It is a shu or ripened puerh, also sometimes called cooked. This is a recent production method invented in 1973. Ripe Puerh is made from Green maocha with an additional step of wet piling.

One thing of note from the Teavivre website that is not mentioned in the description above is that the leaves for this tea were picked in 2006 though the production date is 2013. Another item that caught my interest was the price. A cake of this is $42. I initially thought that is a lot but then I realized that is for a 400 g cake. That is about $10.50 for a 100 g or roughly 3 1/2 oz. That is pretty good if this is a tasty tea. You can also get a 20 g sample for $3. I always recommend trying a sample first to judge for yourself.

I opened my sample and took a whiff. It did not reveal much. It sort of has the aroma of Chinese black tea. The sample was mostly one chunk with some smaller pieces that had broken off. The label did not mention a rinse so I placed the entire 10 g sample into my press and added 12 oz of boiling water. The steep time was around 4 minutes while my computer booted up.

The brew is very dark and looking of molasses. I wish I hadn't let the computer distract me as around 2 minutes was probably more than sufficient. The wet leaf has some barnyard aroma with sort of a cinnamon note.

The sip has a lot of a rough edges to it because I oversteeped. It is not bitter or astringent just rough. The taste is leather and wood. I added sweetener trying to calm it down. It helped but this is still way more intense than intended and it is all my fault. Wow, I'll do better on the second cup, I hope.

Second cup at 30 seconds! It is still very dark. I wanted to go with even a shorter steep but my the press did not want to pour. Sometimes the screen gets tea resin built up on it and it creates sort of a tea vacuum. I pushed the plunger and broke the vacuum but 15 seconds would have been more what I was shooting for. While it looks like this review is plagued or something, it is really me being an amateur.

The tea is much more drinkable now. It is leather and wood with some cinnamon notes. It is still more potent than I intended. This is all my fault since I was not taking proper care of my tea brewing equipment.

Day 2. Same leaf. For my third steep I began by thoroughly scrubbing the screen and plunger assembly of my press. It still needs an overnight soak but it will work for today. I heated 16 oz of water to boiling and steeped for 15 seconds. This leaf has already produced 24 oz and been through 4 1/2 minutes of steeping abuse, yet the brew is now a beautiful burgundy wine color. I finally got it right.

The wet leaf still has a barnyard scent but there is nothing like that present in the cup. Instead I am getting a strong sweet note of honey. In addition it has a nice leather like taste. I am also still detecting what I would call wood. When properly prepared this has no rough edges. There is no bitterness or astringency. I have two highly drinkable cups from this steep and I am sure it will go more, possibly many more.

I am glad I survived my incompetence and stuck with this one until I got it right. Turns out this is a very nice puerh.

Visit the Teavivre website.

The Persimmon Tree, Cinnamon Orange

The Persimmon Tree Description:
An aromatic combination of premium black loose leaf tea, spicy cinnamon, pungent cloves and tangy orange peel.

Ingredients:
Premium Black Loose-Leaf Tea, Cinnamon, Cloves, Orange peel

Sample provided by The Persimmon Tree

My Review:
I wanted some black tea to start my day. I grabbed this one. Cinnamon Orange - at first I thought that is kind of an odd combination then I thought yeah but it just sounds good.

I opened the tin and orange and cinnamon filled the air. The tin was stuffed to the top with orange peel and pieces of cinnamon. This was surrounded by a sturdy looking black tea leaf.

I didn't notice until after I had steeped that The Persimmon Tree recommends a steeping temperature of 195 F. I used 2 tsp in my press with boiling (212 F) water. Oops. I steeped for 3 minutes. The resulting brew is deep orangey red. The wet leaf scent kind of reminds me of a Christmas potpourri without any pine cones of course.

I was half expecting a Constant Comment type taste with this but that is not what is in the cup. The orange and cinnamon blend together very tightly and strangely produce what I first perceive as hot apple cider. As I stop to think it through I realize it is orange. The cinnamon with a light tartness adds to the illusion of cider. There is a touch of clove present but it is subdued. I am getting a little dryness from astringency in the black tea which may or may not be due to my using boiling water. This is not bitter or what I would call brisk.

This is certainly not unpleasant but as a morning tea it is not really doing it for me. I think this might work really well around an evening fire. Be aware it is not decaffeinated.

You can find Cinnamon Orange here.

About The Persimmon Tree:
(From their website) The Persimmon Tree® offers our customers some of the world's finest organic teas and botanicals. Not only are most of our fresh high quality teas from around the globe hand-blended and organically grown, some of our teas are also fair trade, ensuring fair working conditions, fair wages, and a better life for tea workers from countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

At The Persimmon Tree®, our mission is simple: to enrich people's lives through the pleasure of tea.

Dragon Tea House, Yi Heng Xiang Pigtails Old Tree Puerh 2008 Raw

Dragon Tea House Description:
Handmade, old tree leaves from snowy mountains in Linchang, Yunnan, China.

My Review:
I have several puerh samples to review. I am really trying to get to them. Honest I am. So much tea, so little time! But not this day. Today I find this cool offering is up next on my 'to be reviewed' list. Notice how the cake looks more organized than most? Taking a quick look it almost has the appearance of feathers. As the cake is broken up it comes apart in hand rolled plaits or pigtails. The art of tea processing is so varied and fascinating.

This is a sheng or raw puerh from 2008. Putting my nose in my sample bag gives hints of light smoke and citrus. Interesting. Let's see how this profile changes when steeped.

I used boiling water and steeped 1 minute with about 8g of leaf. Normally I would steep for 30 seconds or so but I did not do a separate rinse with this tea. The liquor is deep golden colored and the aroma is dark and smoky. The leaf scent offers an additional kelp note. I'm intrigued.

I oversteeped and kind of overleafed on purpose. The result is leaving me searching for words. What I experienced is the light aroma of smoke as the cup is lifted to the lips. It disappears as soon as liquid hits the lips. Next, I get a creamy vanilla sensation, quickly followed by a sharper metallic or mineral sensation. Sharper is maybe the wrong word. More pronounced maybe, as this is a mellow cup. That sensation changes to a floral orchid meets light lavender note. All this is followed by a sensation like kind of like sniffing ashes except here it is pleasant, so that description doesn't seem to correctly identify the experience. Truly a unique sheng experience.

If I sip quickly it is almost leather like and spice in taste. This cup does have some cheek tingling and a dryness in the aftertaste. There is also a kind of sticky sensation but not as pronounced as I sometimes get with puerh. As I sit here typing I have a cooling sensation in my lungs from this tea. Awesome!

This is a very cool puerh. If you like raw puerh this one is worthy of a try. At the time of this writing a 100g cake is a very reasonable $10.99

Visit the Dragon Tea House website.

Teavivre, Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea

Teavivre Description:
A cup of Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea will not only attract you by its taste, but also by its appearance: so dark and strong with tight and long tips. This tempting appearance is produced in Yunnan. While if you want to describe its taste, you can use the word elegant. It can serve you a cup of elegant gongfu tea or afternoon tea.

High mountains and proper environment produces good tea. Chinese Red has a price of high value. Its special tea tree and superb making skills make this tea carrying a unique fragrance as rich as perfumes. The top notes make you delighted; the middle notes fresh your mind; the base note of strong floral fragrance make you intoxicated.

Sample provided by Teavivre

My Review:
The first thing I want to comment on is this seems to be a lot more expensive than my normal everyday teas. Preparing it as Teavivre recommends for western style, with 2.5 g of leaf for an 8 oz cup, works out to only about $0.75/cup that is hardly outrageous. If you steep more than once with the same leaf that brings the price down even more. The initial price of some teas keep us from giving them a try when the price per cup really is far less than mediocre (or even plain bad) tea will cost us at a cafe.

What we in the west call black tea, the Chinese call red tea, so named for the color of the brew, not the leaf. What is unique with this tea, according to Teavivre's website, is the tree used to produce the leaf is actually of the variety used for oolong. So though this contains a generous amount of buds they are darker in color than typical for this tea type.

Opening the sample the aroma is, to my nose, malted milk balls (chocolate included) and Cheerios. I know, I know, I have such a sophisticated palate. Removing the leaf it is thin twists of dark leaf with just a little tan showing through. This appears to be full leaves and not the tiny broken pieces common to black tea from India and Kenya.

I used 2.5 g in my press with 8 oz of 194 F water. I steeped for 3 minutes. The recommended range is 1 to 5 minutes. The color is dark orange. I don't know why that always surprises me, but it does. The aroma of the leaf is brownies and honey - more sophistication for you. It is warm and inviting.

The taste is very reminiscent of honey without being extremely sweet. This is dark browned sugar or molasses. It has some indistinct fruity notes. Very easy to drink. It has some astringency but no bitterness. I detect some notes from the roasting process. I find this similar to a Fujian tea in taste and complexity. I keep catchy fleeting traces of cocoa and malt but I can never decide if they are really present of just expected.

With Yunnan and Fujian black (or red) teas topping my favorites list, I find it totally expected that I would enjoy this tea.

Visit the Teavivre website.

Verdant Tea, Master Han's Shu Pu'er 2002

Verdant Tea Description:
The liquor is perfectly light and clear, with the green plantain and olive oil flavor distinctive to Master Han’s Black Tea and his Qianjiazhai shu pu’er. The tart notes in the tea are reminiscent of a blend of hibiscus, elderberry and rose. Herbaceous hints of coriander and fennel sneak into the aftertaste.

The musty and aged quality of this tea is so refined that it moves away from earthy and more towards the satisfying smell of old libraries. The more you sip, the more a camphor-like aftertaste and cooling sensation build up in the back of the throat. The aftertaste continues to build and get sweeter and juicier the more steepings you enjoy. It is exciting to see Master Han innovating and trying new things even when he has an established tradition of sheng pu’er. May future years bring more of this precious pu’er.

My Review:
Today I am having a go at a 2002 puerh. It is out of stock, which means it is gone forever but reviewing this one will give some indication of what to expect from new cakes from Master Han.

The portion I have to sample is very dark and tightly compressed. The dry scent is a bit fishy to my nose but Verdant calls it sweet raisin aromatics with mossy forest undertones. I placed it in my press and added boiling water for a 30 second steep.

The brew comes out ruby red and grows darker in the cup. The wet leaf still has some fishy aroma to me, call it raisin all you want. But there is now darker notes like cocoa and brown sugar mixed with musty old book leather. This is starting to interest me.

The sip is like sniffing book leather along with wheat notes. Late in the sip it turns, not exactly brisk and not bitter, maybe more pronounced is the word I am thinking. As it cools I am getting what I will agree to be raisin notes. The aftertaste is kind of nutty and fruity. This is not fishy, or barnyard (beyond the leather). It is harsh but not completely mellow either.

Verdant is very specific and colorful in their description. If they get all those notes out of this then God bless them. Maybe with more steeps I'll come up with a few of them myself. My opinion is this is a much better puerh than the initial leaf aroma suggests but it is not one of my favorites.

Visit Verdant Tea online.