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Alistair of What-Cha sent me a sample of his Darjeeling First Flush 2014 Rohini Emerald Green Tea with my recent order knowing of my last disastrous attempt at Indian green teas this year. Generally I don’t care for Indian green teas, I feel they overbrew to easily and become bitter; drinking Indian greens makes me feel like that particular type of tea novice who likes all teas except greens because they had a bad experience with them. I like to think that I am not prejudiced against Indian greens, but I do know that I can be overly critical of them. So take anything I say about this with a grain of salt.

The dry leaves are not particularly interesting; there is a lot of variation in the shapes, size and color of the leaves although this is fairly common in Indian greens. Generally I prefer tea that has a uniform shape and size so I always cringe a little when I see Indian greens.

For my first infusion I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. Even before it was done, I could smell the hay aroma. It had a very pure grassy taste, there was a little fruit notes, something like unripened apricot. It almost had an umami taste, but not exactly.

I decided against doing a third infusion, I didn’t feel it had much more to offer and in my experience Indian greens don’t make it past the second stepping. It wasn’t a bad green tea, but it definitely benefits of adding some form of sweetener to it. While I didn’t use anything in my tea, this teapot easily serves two, so I served the extra cup to my guest who happened to add a little honey to hers, and hers tasted considerably better.

I don’t think I would try this again, I much prefer second flush Indian greens, the muscatel taste in later harvests make Indian greens so much more interesting than first flushes. I don’t think this is a bad tea, just not one for me. I am not a fan of ratings, but if I had to give it a score I’d probably place it somewhere between seven and eight (out of ten).

(Photos at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-darjeeling-1st-flush-2014.html)

Next I decided to tackle the Pure Organic Ginger, now I’ve had ginger tea before, but I have always used the outer skin before and saved the delicious insides for cooking or use ginger pellets, but Chaidim’s uses whole slices.
The dried ginger looks similar to dehydrated apple, but it has a very spicy ginger smell. It had an aroma that was like dried ginger powder mixed with fresh ginger.
I used boiling water and let it steep for twenty minutes. While it was not as spicy as I expected, it was had a very nice ginger taste, it tasted more like fresh ginger then dried ginger powder.
If I was going to brew this again I would probably add a little brown sugar to the teapot to get a little caramel note to it, although it was perfectly palatable without any sweetener.

(Images and more at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/chaidims-pure-organic-lemongrass-tea.html)

The dried lemongrass looks a bit like dried bacon, celery and wood shavings, but it had a surprisingly strong lemongrass smell. It was stronger than fresh lemongrass, so I was excited.
I used boiling water and let the tisane steep for ten minutes, I know traditionally one would let it steep longer, but I was getting impatient as the aroma started to fill the room.
I found that it brews up quite nicely. If I was going to make it again I’d probably let it steep for around twenty minutes. Overall I was really surprised with this, it tasted very similar to a Tom Yum Goong, but from my understanding most Thai broths use the softer inner stalks and the tougher outer layers are used to make tea. Regardless I found this very delicious and it had a slight spicy edge to it and a sinus clearing aroma.
(Images at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/chaidims-pure-organic-lemongrass-tea.html)

The dry leaves are a remarkably bright shade of green for a Long Jing, the leaves are a little broken up, but I most note that the box that my What-Cha order was shipped in was really banged up; even my postman apologized for the shape of it. I haven’t encountered any of What-Cha’s teas being that broken up, so I am confident saying this happened when it was in transit. There is a little yellow on some of the leaves as well; the most notable part of this tea is the scent. It has a really intense Chocolate-Mint aroma, not chocolate and mint, or chocolate mints, but the chocolate-mint plant; this was quite interesting, I don’t think I have ever encountered a Dragon Well with dry leaves that smell like mint. Already I knew this was going to be a really interesting tea, although I should have known it was going to be interesting when it said “What-Cha” on the label.

For my first steeping I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. I was greeted with a nutty aroma, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have the chocolate-mint aroma from the dry leaves, but I won’t hold that against this tea. This tea had a very dominant nutty taste, think lightly roasted nuts, but there also was a green bean undertone to it that was quite lovely. The liquor was very light, although if I used a white cup rather than a clear glass cup it might have been easier to see.

For my third and final infusion I brewed at 190°F for four minutes. The aroma was very weak at this point; I could only get the nutty scent this time. The strongest flavor this time was peas, and then a very generic nutty taste.

(Pictures are on my blog http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-zhejiang-wild-growing-dragon.html)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kabusecha it is similar a Gyokuro, as it is a green tea that is shaded, the difference is a Kabusecha s shaded for the final fifteen to twenty days before being harvested. So it is somewhere between a Shincha and a Gyokuro.

Teasource’s Kabusecha is very shredded, Kabusecha traditionally is shredded, and slightly curled differentiating the larger leaves from the traditional Shincha dry leaf. Yet the dry leaf is very reminiscent of a gyokuro, perhaps a little more tart smelling. With this tea I brewed two western style infusions and once more to make iced tea.

For my first infusion I brewed at 160°f for two minutes. The liquor was silky smooth body, with a light green color. It had a mellow vegetal notes and slight grassiness undertone. Interestingly it had both a unami and a sweet edge to it. It had a very sweet grassy aroma that was quite refreshing.

For my second infusion I brewed at 176°f for three minutes. This time the body was still smooth, but had a considerable darker green color. This time the grassy taste was almost completely absent, instead the vegetal taste became more pronounced, while it still was sweet, it was more like caramel then anything else. The aroma was muted this time.

I used the leaves and flash chilled them to make a really delicious iced tea. I left it in the fridge for a little under eight hours. The tea was the best of the previous two infusions, grassy yet tart, sweet and unami. It was sweeter than an iced sencha, but less grassy. It had a very sweet aftertaste.

When I first saw this tea, I was expecting it to be more lightly steamed then it is (while it is not a moderately steamed Kabusecha, it is not light either). Also for those unfamiliar with shredded tea, some leaf sediments is going to escape even the finest filter, so be prepared for some sticky leaves at the bottom of your cup, while some do not like the texture of drinking leaves, I do not, so this was not a deal breaker for me. Teasource’s Kabusecha undoubtedly is going to be a staple of my tea stash! I am positively in love with this.

I’ve been looking forward to trying What-Cha’s Nepal Monsoon Flush 2014 Pearl Oolong Tea since it was added to the site. The dry leaves are rather large even compared to the already large Nepal 2nd Flush 2014 Cannon Ball Green Tea and the smaller Nepal 2nd Flush 2014 Dew Drops Green Tea. Like the Dew Drops and Cannon Ball, this tea has a rather strange shape and is wonderful to watch as it slowly opens up. I am not sure if I would describe this tea as Lovecraftian, but if Cthulhu drank tea I wouldn’t have trouble imagining him drinking this particular one. As this tea opens up it transform from large tea pearl to embryo-like monstrosity insect emerging from a cocoon.

I began with a short ten second rinse with boiling water, then for my first infusion I brewed at 176°F for thirty seconds. Their was a peppery aroma and hints of a very dry wine. It had a very light apricot taste, that seems to be common in many teas from Nepal, as well as cherries.

In subsequent infusions I added five degrees and ten seconds each time, while the liquor became considerably darker around the five infusion, the aroma disappeared in the third. This tea kept getting sweeter and sweeter as I went on. Because I was so fond of this tea, I almost immediately (okay three hours later) brewed it again. I brewed it at 176°F for four minutes and was meet with slightly different results.

This time the liquor was a beautiful dirty golden color. While it still had an apricot taste, it was riper and generally more enjoyable. It also had a slight tart cherry undertone and a completely new hay taste. The aroma was a little hard to recognized, there was a little murky white wine smell to it, as well as a something similar to wet stone.

I rather enjoyed this tea, I think I prefer longer steeps on this tea while not as complex as either the Cannon Ball or Dew Drops it certainly warrants trying. I still have a large amount of What-cha teas to look at.

(Want to see my amazing photography skills? http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-chas-nepal-monsoon-flush-2014.html)

Today I was really in the mood for a smokey green tea and I felt like trying What-Cha’s Yunnan Graceful Purple Zi Juan tea, although I mistakenly grabbed the Zhejiang Purple Bamboo Shoot ‘Zi Sun Cha’ Green Tea package without realizing it (and even when I brewed the tea I completely ignored the name on the bag). So I was a little confused during my tasting when I thought I was brewing a purple tea. I didn’t realize my mistake until I brewed it a second time and looked at the bag.

I tried to do a gongfu session with this tea, but the liquor was very light so I decided to skip that and go straight into western brewing. I know the liquor color is not always indicative of the brewed tea, but I decided to be vain and judge the tea by its appearance.

For my first infusion I used water at 176°F for three minutes. I couldn’t really discern an aroma while the aroma of the dry leaves was very intense (spinach, mushroom and spinach). The liquor was very light I tasted a very dry hay taste and slight nutty undertones.

For my second infusion I brewed at 180°F for four minutes. This time I was getting a very slight orchid scent. The liquor was still light, but not as delicate as the last infusion. This time it was nuttier than anything else, although it was vaguely vegetal.

For my third and final infusion I brewed at 190°F for five minutes. It still had the orchid scent from the last infusion, but it also had cherry hints. The taste was pretty much identical to the last.

(I was confused here, because I had not realized that this was not a smokey tea. Ok in my mind I knew it wasn’t a purple tea, but I have yet to have a mislabeled tea at What-cha.)

Round 2

I decided to start again (still did not look at the name on the bag) and steep the tea even longer than before. With my new leaves I brewed at 185°F for four minutes. This time I was getting an orchid and vegetal scent. As for the taste, it wasn’t drastically different from my first infusion, it still was nutty, and the hay taste was the star.

For my next infusion I brewed at 195°F for five and half minutes. This time it was very different. The liquor was pale like all earlier tries, but the taste was amazing. This time it had a sweet edge as well as being nutty. The sweetness tasted raw like freshly picked sugarcane.

(At this point I finally discovered that this was not a smokey purple tea)

I am rather fond of this tea, even though before my realization it confused me while it is a lot lighter than my everyday type of green tea. I found it enjoyable. This Zi Sun Cha feels like a white tea drinker’s introduction to greens, as well as the reverse. Although if I blindly tasted this I might think it was an oolong because of the floral notes to it. This is too light of tea for me to recommend gongfu brewing this; it becomes interesting the longer it is steeped. I also found it interesting that the leaves feel like they can be continuously reused even though I had relatively long steep times, it never felt watery or thin. I feel that I can serve this to any guest without them complaining about the bitterness (all my guests are unenlightened plebeians who mistake astringency with bitterness).

(Underexposed pictures at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-zhejiang-purple-bamboo-shoot.html)

I’ve had a few purple teas from Kenya before, but all that I have had before were closer to black teas then greens let alone a purple tea from Yunnan, so What-cha’s Graceful Purple Zi Juan really interested me. Because of my little mix-up yesterday I did not have a gongfu session with this tea, but I may return to it at a later date.

This is a wonderfully smoky green tea, the dry leaves smell like beef jerky and dry gourd. The leaves are very dark for a green tea, but even with the pungent smoky smell, I could smell it was a green tea. The dry leaves remind me a little of a long jing crossed with a very tippy white tea.

For my first infusion I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. Instantly I was greeted with a very smooth texture. It had moderate (if it was a black tea, I have never had a smoky green tea before), but it also had a tangy grape taste as well. It had a mild smoky aroma, also a little vegetal.

My next infusion I brewed at 185°F for three minutes. This time it had a very silky creamy texture. While it was still smoky, I was starting to taste very mild floral notes, there was also some fruity notes and a little earthiness at the end.

Overall I found this tea to be really nice; I enjoyed the lingering smoky taste while the initial smell may stop a veteran green tea drinker, if you take the plunge and brew it I am sure you’ll love it. It almost reminds me of an oolong/Hei-cha hybrid, but in the back of my mind I could always see how it is a green tea.

(Originally post on http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-yunnan-graceful-purple-zi.html)

According to Chaidim’s website OrganicShin Chin No. 17 is a hybrid tea cultivar otherwise known as Ruan Zhi, I’ve had Ruan Zhis in the past, but I never had one from Thailand before, in fact this is my first tea grown in Thailand. Ok that is not exactly true, I’ve had Cha yen (Thai Tea) before, but this is my first loose leaf tea from Thailand.

The dry leaves are large hand rolled similar in size to jasmine pearls, but a lighter green with a little yellow in some of the leaves. I didn’t have enough tea to do both a gongfu session and my preferred western brewing, unfortunately. I’ll have to buy some more later on and revisit it.

For my first session I brewed at 190°F for three minutes after a quick ten second rinse at the same temperature. It has a very similar mouthfeel to a Taiwanese Four Season, perhaps a little thinner. It has a very floral aroma and taste; it also has minor honeysuckle notes in it. As for taste, it has a very soft grassy taste; interestingly it is a little milky although nowhere close to a Milk Oolong.

I brewed again at 200°F for four and half minutes. The floral aroma became more distinctly orchid than anything else, it had a slightly thicker mouthfeel than the last infusion. The taste was still milky, but not grassy like the last infusion, although there was a new nutty taste that was quite nice. I’ll have to buy a couple more teas from Chaidim in the future, this is such an interesting tea that is very similar to Taiwanese oolongs, but at a more modest price.

I rather like Chaidim’s Organic Shin Chin No. 17 and I can imagine this being one my staple teas. It’s interesting that Chaidim list under the feature tab on this tea that it was harvested October 2013 and that is was grown between 600 and 800 meters above sea level which completely blows my mind. While it isn’t as distinct as a Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong, it is remarkably similar even when grown at such a comparably low elevation.

(Images at http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/chaidim-organic-shin-chin-no-17.html)