Cuppa Crew Tea Company, Super Fancy Formosa

Cuppa Crew Description:
An absolutely stunning Taiwanese oolong that’s nearly a black tea. Look for hints of peach and baked pastry – truly delectable!

Excuse me while I steep another cuppa….

My Review:
I won an ounce of this in a contest - yeah me!

The tea is packaged in a resealable pouch that looks like brown wrapping paper on the outside but it is aluminum or mylar on the inside. Point is, the tea stays fresh. The leaf is broken pieces of leaf that looks like, well, dried leaves. The dry aroma is mostly like hay and bark and is ever so slightly roasted. It reminds me of fall, but it is a wet cool spring day, so close enough.

I used a healthy scoop of leaf in my press with water heated to heavy steaming. My steep time was around 2 1/2 minutes. The brew looks bronze in the press but much darker in the mug.

This is very different than any oolong I have had before. It reminds me of Darjeeling. It is almost a black tea with no smoke and only the lightest roasted notes. I can kind of agree to peach notes because I read it. I am not sure I would come up with that description on my own. I am getting light and fruity with wood notes. This is not a bold black flavor. it is smooth with no astringency, bitterness, or bite. Two thumbs up!

The description says this tastes pastry. I am not sure what that means. It is almost malty but not, almost cocoa, but not. It’s not really yeasty. It does kind of taste like the crust of bread – kind of. Maybe bread dipped in Darjeeling, without the Muscatel. Wow, I’m at a loss. One thing I can tell you is the problem with this tea – it keeps disappearing out of my cup.

This is my very first Formosa Oolong. I must say I really am enjoying this one.

Visit the Cuppa Crew Tea Company and check this one out!

TeaVivre, Liu An Gua Pian 2013

TeaVivre Description:
A great find for those looking for a more green tea with more character!  Like several of our other teas, Liu'an Guapian is deservedly in the list of China's top ten teas.  Made only from larger, mature leaves that are rolled up during processing, the dry leaves have a distinctively plump shape to them – giving rise to its Chinese name of “melon seeds”.  Very uncharacteristic for a green tea, it has a quite sweet taste and strong aroma, that is also overlaid with an almost smoky, spicy tang.

Sample provided by TeaVivre

My Review:
My review today is for the April 2, 2013 harvest. I have already reviewed a previous version of this tea. Instead of showing the leaf as usual, I decided to use a cupped picture. I just thought it was a beautiful image of the liquor.

The scent of the dry leaf is like a cut dried field and slightly sweet. This tea is made from mature leaves without buds, new leaves, or stems. It is rolled so that it resembles little spears or trumpets. In China it is known as melon seed. It is the color of dried grass. I used the entire sample (7g) in my Finum basket and steaming water for a 1 1/2 minute steep.

As you can see from the picture, the liquor is very lightly yellow colored. It is clear and bright. The nose is vegetal and not as strong as the description suggested. The leaf turns brightly green after steeping.

Prepare today with more leaf than last years sample I am getting a different flavor profile from the first cup. This is green and vegetal laid over a mineral water bed, if that makes any sense. The creaminess I caught using less leaf last year now comes in late in the sip. I am also picking up the taste of corn. I don't recall ever using that term in a review before. Using more leaf also brings with it a green bite late in the sip.

My first thought after finishing the cup was that I preferred brewing this in my usual western mug style more than the quasi-gong fu style I used today. My second thought was I need another cup of tea. The leaf has really expanded after the second steep. I only went one minute on this cup. The brew is darker and more honey colored.

Upon sipping I am delighted with this cup. It is creamy and mineral at the same time. It is very green tasting and much sweeter than the first cup. The bite is barely present. The aftertaste really lingers. The third cup will have to wait until I return from the movies. I look forward to both.

 Visit the TeaVivre web site.

Nina's Teas USA, Demain

Nina's Teas USA Description:
Raspberry and strawberry coupled in tenderness will make you melt in pleasure. A green tea to overindulge in!

This is the last of the latest round of samples provided by Nina's Teas USA.

My Review:
I opened the sample packet this evening and was greeted by the delightful scent of strawberries and raspberries. I could sniff this leaf all night... or I could just brew it up! The leaf is dark and shiny just like in the picture.

I used a 6oz Corelle cup and my Finum basket. The water was heated to steaming and I steeped for three minutes. The result was a liquor that is bright and clear and the color of honey. Did I mention the aroma? Smells so good.

The sip is lightly fruity. This is not an over the top flavored tea. The strawberry is the main flavor. I had a strawberry salad earlier this evening. So I can tell you this tastes natural. The raspberry is lighter and supports. It is easy to pick it out in the scent as you breathe will sipping. Also very natural.

The green tea is easily detected in the sip as well. That is something I always appreciate in a good cup. In lesser blends the flavoring overwhelms the green base. Not here. Lovely and vegetal. There is a slight bite at the end. I like it, but a shorter steep would probably eliminate the bite.

I added a small amount of sweetener to make the fruit flavors pop. The second steep was just as flavorful as the first. Maybe my favorite part of the sip is the lingering berry aftertaste. This is a wonderful cup. Thank you Nina's for sharing this with me.

Nina's Paris has been blending masterful fragrances for 300 years. They have brought this mastery to their USA tea line. You can currently find their offerings on Amazon. They plan to open an ecommerce webstore at ninasteastore.

TeaVivre, Nonpareil Huang Shan Mao Feng Green tea

TeaVivre Description:
The historic Huang Shan Mao Feng is well-known as one of the ten famous Chinese tea. This Ming Qian Huang Shan Mao Feng was picked on March 23, 2013, is a kind of pre-ming green tea. Pre-ming tea has strict requirement of the picking time and its making standard, thus the bird-tongue appearance could been perfect formed, as well as the brisk flavor. Both of which are favored by tea lovers.

Sample provided by TeaVivre.

My Review:
You have no idea what I went through trying to make this tea - or apparently how badly I am in need of a introspective moment with a good cup. Let's just say the last several minutes, filled with dropping and spilling, almost resulted in outward cries for something (anything!) to go right. It happens.

I opened the sample packet and took a whiff of the sweet and slightly sour scent of this lovely leaf. In appearance it looks just like the picture. TeaVivre recommends 7g of leaf for an 8oz pot of tea. So I used the whole sample for this review. Today I am using a Finum basket and a mug. I normally would use my press but given my tendency today to drop everything I touch - the fairly indestructible Finum makes more sense.

The water was heated to heavy steaming, then allowed to cool. I steeped for 1 1/2 minutes. The resulting liquor is very clear and light yellow/green in color.

In the sip, the first sensation I get is of clean mineral water. This quickly changes to a smooth creaminess and then the flavor begins to rise with the grain taste of oats accompanied by more vegetal notes. What I call oats, I have read other reviews that refer to this as chestnut. Afterwards, a nice astringent green bite kicks in. TeaVivre calls it brisk, and it is, but not anything like the bite of an Assam based tea. The aftertaste is fresh and hangs around like it is begging me to take another sip. So of course I must oblige. Later I notice there is a fair amount of cooling sensation present as well.

I had the second cup with supper. it stood up very well to a spinach/strawberry salad with orange poppy seed dressing and a honey glazed Parmesan chicken thing my wife made up. This combination brought out some spicy notes that weren't obvious before.

Mao Feng refers to picking one bud and two leaves. Huang Shan literally means yellow mountain. This version is an early picked or pre-ming tea of Te Gong grade or nonpareil. Nonpareil is French for without equal. I really don't understand what all that means but this is considered a better quality grade of tea. I can tell you this is a very nice cup of tea. It is just what I needed to relax my mind and body. I am back in my happy place.

The leaf will re-steep for a total of three times. I will be trying this one again with my normal western approach of 2.5g in my mug with a longer steep. I'm curious to see the difference between the two methods.

If you want to learn more about this tea and how it is grown and processed go to the Nonpareil Huang Shan Mao Feng product page.

You can also go to the main page of TeaVivre's website by following this link.

Misty Peak Teas, 2013 Yiwu Spring Sheng Pu'er

Misty Peak Teas Description:
This is a wonderful tea to drink today, and a very ideal tea to invest in to allow to further mature.The tea is produced in Yiwu, Xishuangbanna Yunnan China: the birthplace of tea and the most renowned village in the world for Sheng Chaa Pu’er. Nearly every collector and enthusiast holds to Yiwu Village as their most prized choice for Pu’er Tea.

Price: $74.95, Available is a Bing/cake/disc of the finest Sheng Chaa Pu’er(Green Pu’er Tea). We also have them available in the bamboo wrap, 7 at a time. ONE BING WILL MAKE ROUGHLY 600-800 CUPS OF TEA…THATS A PENNY A CUP, while tea bags at the store are about 75 cents each cup. Inquire for orders of more than 2, as quantity may be limited. Each cake is 357 grams, and was produced this year.

My Review:
Misty Peak Teas offered several Steepster members a sample of their sheng pu’er for review. I jumped at the opportunity. When they said they would drop a sample in an envelope, well, they weren’t kidding. Upon opening the envelope I discovered a large chunk of compressed leaf and a lot of bits of leaf that had come loose in the mail scattered all over. Having never received a sample this way it amused me.

The chunk of leaf is about 7g. I used the entire sample. Normally I would only use 3 1/2 grams and 10 ounces of water per cup. I am not doing my normal thing because Misty Peak Teas has specific instructions they say to follow. I can’t actually prepare it their way either, because I lack a clay pot, so their directions are also out the window. I’ll try to follow the general idea where I can. I used a Finum basket to hold the leaf and a tiny Corel cup to steep and sip from. I will use about 3.5oz of water in the each steep and cover with the Finum basket lid. This serves just fine as a budget gaiwan.

I used boiling water for a rinse of a few seconds to make sure to remove any impurities. Pouring out the rinse, I let the basket set a moment to further wake up the leaf.

1st steep @ 10 seconds
The brew is clear and honey colored. The wet leaf has an earthy kind of wormy smell. The sip, however, starts light then becomes earthy/woodsy and slightly creamy. There is nothing off-putting about the taste. It seems kind of salty. I do notice strong camphor notes at end of the sip leaving a tingling, cooling sensation, with a feeling of a dry coating all around the checks mouth and tongue – I have never experienced it to this degree. This is slightly astringent which is not surprising as it is a young green tea.

2nd steep @ 10 seconds
The leaf is loosening up nicely. The brew is chestnut in color. The taste is less earthy and now becoming more metallic – it reminds me of touching aluminum with your tongue (I was a weird kid). It changes late in the sip - kind of fruity. Feels dry and more astringent. I now notice a sticky lip feel.

3rd steep @ 15 seconds
Is this the same tea? It seems much sweeter up front this go around. Mid sip it has bite, like one would expect from a green or even black tea. Then it melts into a smooth creaminess mixed with some astringency making for an interesting combination. This is nice.

4th steep @ 15 seconds
The leaf is now nearly filling the Finum basket. This is very similar to the 3rd steep but with less bite and more smooth. The main thing I noticed with this cup was how quickly it disappeared! Yum!

5th steep @ 20 seconds
I am slow to pick up on fruit notes in tea unless I am drinking a flavored tea. Even I noticed it in this tea on the second cup. I just don’t know what fruit it is, apricot maybe? Anyway it is quite strong in this cup and the aftertaste.

6th steep @ 20 seconds
The brew is getting darker with each steep as is now a light orange. The cup has changed once again. Now it is more mineral and copper tasting. It makes the insides of my cheeks and my lips tingle. The creaminess has also disappeared.

Ok, that’s between 18 and 24 ounces of tea already. Time for an intermission! I had to run errands and took a break of several hours. I just left the leaf in the basket. Time to get drinking again...

7th steep @ 25 seconds
Pretty much the same as the 6th. Mineral but very smooth and easy to drink.

8th steep @ 30 seconds
This is becoming lighter in color. It now looks like honey. Throwing a tiny amount of sweetener in really brings this cup to life for me. Of course I am a sugar junkie.

9th & 10th steeps at 1 minute
I decided to combine the last two cups I am going to do for this test run. This cup returns to creamy with a woodsy edge. Once again I added a bit of sweetener. This toned down the astringency and made for a great finish to the review. I believe the leaf has more to give but I have run out of day.

Some Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this young pu-er a lot. I think it would have survived several western mug style brewings with as much ease as it did gaiwan style.
 
A cake of this could potentially make 750+ cups of tea if you steep each 5g of leaf 10 times as recommended. That makes this $0.10/cup not $0.01 as noted on Misty Peak’s website. Someone made a simple math error and I don’t think it was me. Even if you only steep the leaf 5 times that still results in a frugal $0.20/cup. A bing really can be economical over the life of the leaf and a good sheng pu-er will only gets better with age and proper storage.

Visit Misty Peak Teas web site.

Nina's Teas USA, Gyokuro

Nina's Teas USA Description:

(From Uji tea gardens, near Kyoto, Japan)
Gyokuro is the most prestigious of the Japanese teas, its name literally meaning “pearls of dew.” The tea leaves, coming from the first harvest, are shaded for a few days before being hand picked. They are steamed, dried and rolled length-wise. This tea, shiny and clear green in colour, will surprise you with its smooth and silky texture. The jade green infusion is mellow and fresh with slight accents of the sea.

Sample provided by Nina's Teas USA

My Review:
That last couple weeks have not been very conducive to tea drinking or review writing. The spring weather changes and high pollen count have definitely taken a toll on my head. Today I am feeling up to tasting this tea from Nina's. This is my first Gyokuro.

The leaf scent is very fresh and grass-like. I poured the entire sample into my press and added water heated to a temperature similar to what I use for white tea. That means cooler than for a normal green tea. The brew is jade in color and the nose is vegetal, yet reminds me of what I can only imagine is the scent of the ocean as I have never been to the coast.

I have had Sencha on several occasions. This is not Sencha. I think grassy tasting when I picture sencha. This does not taste overly grassy to me. It is more vegetal with light grassy notes, and a light mineral touch. By using the lower brewing temperature there is no bitterness. Nina's description is spot on. This is smooth and silky. Oh, and look, Nina's mentions slight accents of the sea! I didn't just imagine it (I start my notes and while adding them to the blog I grab the company description).

As I mentioned, this is my first Gyokuro. I don't know by comparison if this is a good representation of the type. Given my previous experience with Nina's teas, I suspect it is of high quality. I can say with confidence that I very much enjoyed this cup.

Nina's Paris has been blending masterful fragrances for 300 years. They have brought this mastery to their USA tea line. You can currently find their offerings on Amazon. They plan to open an ecommerce webstore at ninasteastore.

TeaVivre, 2013 Bi Luo Chun Green Tea (Pi Lo Chun)

TeaVivre Description:
Made only from tea leaf tips in an involved process that results in it having a tight rolled up shape, Bi Luo Chun is renowned for its strong fruity aroma and mellow flavour.  A plantation growing Bi Luo Chun is amazing to visit, with the tea plants mixed in with a variety of fragrant fruit trees to give the tea its aroma and taste.  TeaVivre's Bi Luo Chun is premium grade direct from the slopes of Dong Ting mountain, has a bright green color and strong almost citrus aroma to it.  An amazing tea!

Sample provided by TeaVivre

My Review:
This review is for the 2013 spring harvest of this tea. I have previously reviewed the 2011 harvest.

I'm not going to lie to you. I freakin' love this tea. There are so many teas  from TeaVivre that I love, it is hard to pick a single favorite, but this one is really close to the top of the list. First off, the leaf just looks so cool. I called it old time upholstery stuffing last time because it is woolly looking and the color is just so interesting. The aroma of the dry leaf is fresh and a combination of sweet and sour, like a fresh cut field of grain.

This steeps up nearly clear with an amber tint. The wet leaf scent seemed vegetal and lightly floral today.

A good cup of tea should catch your attention. A great cup of tea will block the rest of the world for a moment. A sip of this tea affects me this way. It starts with a touch of grain - oats, and over a year after first tasting this it still reminds me of Cheerios. There is also a floral touch similar to a green oolong. Late in the sip it turns creamy. The aftertaste is pleasantly creamy and grainy.

The leaf resteeps well. I highly recommend this to Chinese green tea lovers. For those who really aren't sure what they like, TeaVivre sells samples of all the teas they carry. Samples are a great way to become acquainted with a variety of new teas without a big commitment.

Visit the TeaVivre website.