Halcyon Tea

First roasted Ti Kuan Yin I’ve ever had, I was pretty excited to try this tea to see how it compares to regular TKY’s.

The tea gives off a toasty sweet aroma, reminds me a bit of roasted honey. The dry leaf is made up of big curled up balls with a mix of dark brown and greenish brown color.

I prepared this tea using a gaiwan and following the suggested brewing guidelines of 195F water and 2 min steep time.

The first infusion gave me a light yellow-brownish cup with a sweet toasty aroma. The tea itself was light and creamy, very sweet, with a lightly roasted honey-like flavor, and some floral undertones. In the second cup, the honey like fragrance and flavor remained pretty much the same, with little or no change. From the third cup onwards, each subsequent brew became less flavorful than the one before. I steeped this tea until the 5th cup, where I got a non-aromatic tea with just hints of flavor.

The wet leaf was a mix of broken and unbroken leaves with a lot of dust. A dark green-brown color was revealed after many infusions. The leaves were also stiffer compared to regular Ti Kuan Yin’s.

Overall, this is a great tea with a nice flavor and subtle aroma. Perfect for chilly days. I didn’t know what to expect from a traditional roasted Ti Kuan Yin since I had never had one before. Still, I enjoyed the flavorful cup this tea brews compared to the more complex subtle flavors of regular TKY. I still prefer the greener variations of this tea though.

A nice everyday green tea.

The leaves are tightly compressed in to tiny pellets that have a shiny dark green exterior with a smoky earthy aroma. Unlike other gunpowders I’ve had, this one truly resembles real gunpowder due to the compactness and shiny exterior of the pellets. Other gunpowders I’ve seen are loosely curled up, sometimes even resembling an oolong.

I prepared this tea using a gaiwan and following the suggested brew time (1min) and water temp (175F).

This tea brews a brown-yellow cup with a faint earthy aroma. Unlike other green teas, this one tends to have a strong smoked green flavor with a hint of earthiness.

The wet leaf was made up of mostly small broken and unbroken leaves.

Overall this is a great everyday green tea. In terms of flavor, I’ve never thought much of gunpowders as I think they’re pretty average taste-wise. But, you can tell this batch is of pretty high quality, as the pellets are beautifully compressed.

This is the first tea I fully review from halcyon even though it’s not the first tea I’ve bought from them. Their small shop and high quality selection of teas have made them one of my all time favorites.

I bought an ounce of this tea recently and as soon as I opened the bag, I was hit by a very noticeable sweet floral fragrance. Even after I had placed a teaspoon of dry leaves in a small plate for further inspection, the aroma managed to scent my surroundings.

The curled up leaves had a very rich dark jade color with some lighter greens in between. The dry leaves had very different shapes from one another, some were tightly curled up, others were more “open” akin to Pouchong leaves. The dry leaves were also not very oily to the touch compared to other TKY’s I’ve inspected.

I prepared the tea using a gaiwan and following the suggested brewing guidelines of 195F water and 3 min steep time.

The resulting brew gave me a clear deep yellow-green cup with a very aromatic orchid like fragrance. As with my other Ti Kuan Yin’s, I re-steeped this tea at least 7 times.
My first cup had a very aromatic sweet fragrance, the taste was very floral and sweet, with a very smooth texture. After a few sips, I could feel the warm orchid-like fragrance filling my mouth, it was a very pleasant feeling. The second cup was even better than the first. While it remained mostly the same, all the delicious properties of the first cup became intensified. The tea became more floral, more aromatic, smoother tasting, and now with a creamy hint. In the third cup, I noticed a slight fading of the flavors and the tea became “greener” tasting. The 4th and 5th cup remained with a smooth texture but with a less pronounced floral taste and aroma. By the 6th cup, the resulting brew had no aroma at all and only had hints of the first cups. The seventh and final cup still had a yellow-green color, but no aroma and just a hint of flavor.

The wet leaf was a mixed bag, it contained from well preserved leaves to leaf pieces. It had very few stems and contained different sizes in the leaves.

Overall, this TKY is one of the most fragrant I’ve had so far and I really enjoyed the flavor of the first cups. It is a shame it quickly went downhill after those first two wonderful cups.

I’m about to run out of this tea and I noticed Halcyon tea is also out of 2011’s batch (I’m excited for the 2012 crop, hopefully it’ll be as good or better than last year’s). Anyways, I decided to give this tea a proper review.

This tea is made of twisted dark brown leaves with a subtle charcoal-like aroma.

I prepared this tea following Halcyon’s directions, using a Gaiwan, 195F water, and 1.5 min to 3.5 min steep time.

My first cup had a nice clear amber color with a toasty coconut aroma mixed with sweet sugary hint, similar to the smell of a bag of mixed sun dried fruits. The tea was subtly toasty with a mixture of several notes and flavors. It was slightly sweet, with hints of fruit, coconut, and a nice fresh aftertaste. After having a few sips of this tea, it left my mouth with a slightly dry sensation mixed with a freshness in my breath, just as if you had a bite of fresh fruit (grapes come to mind). My second was more of the same, no noticeable changes. Third cup I noticed a slight loss of flavor, coconut hint was gone, but the aftertaste was still there. In the 4th and 5th cup I increased the brew time from 1.5 min to 2.5 min. Still, flavor was weaker than in the first two infusions. The toastiness of the tea increased, most of the fruity flavors were weaker, and aftertaste was not as intense. I did feel a slightly chocolate hint in this cup similar to a mild dark chocolate. The fifth cup did not have the chocolate notes though, flavors by now were really subtle, but still enjoyable. By the sixth cup (this time steeping it for 3.5 min) the tea had a yellowish brown color, no aroma, and very faint flavors. After the 6th cup I decided not to re-brew.

The wet leaf now had a dark brownish green color to it and was made of well preserved leaves mixed with few broken pieces.

Overall, I really love this tea. I appreciate it a lot for its unique broad complexity of flavors and aromas. Honestly this is one of the hardest tea to describe, so many flavors and aromas that I don’t know what it reminds me of, I just know that I love it. I also like the fact that it is not very toasty, the dry leaf makes you think it will have a strong overpowering burnt flavor, but it surprises you with subtle fruity flavors. Even though the tea did not last many infusions compared to other high quality oolongs, the first cups are so delicious that it makes me keep coming back for more. Definitely one of my favorite Oolongs.

This Oolong impressed me a whole lot. Many roasted oolongs I’ve tasted tend to have a similar flavor but not this one. Was very surprised with the delicious toasted coconut hint at the end. Brewed it according to the directions on the bag using a Gaiwan.

After drinking my first few Puerh teas, I now know why flowers love rich healthy soil.

Of the dirt people! This tea smells of soil, peat, damp wood, and all smells alike. And who doesn’t like the smell of peat? It’s like brewing a rich garden in your cup…………… all winter. I’m not sure how to describe the taste, I mean, it doesn’t taste like peat, but then again I’ve never steeped peat in nigh boiling water and drank the infusion? hm…

In any case, the steep time is short and I’ll be getting at least 10 steeps in my 5oz guywan cup/gaiwan cup.

Good times!

Woke up this morning to dense fog blanketing the apartment complex and much of San Diego, I surmise. But, (never thought I’d be saying this, especially after living seven years in San Francisco/Daly City) I kind of like it. I guess, when you live somewhere outside of San Diego that actually HAS weather, you start to appreciate a change in climes.

Decided to brew up/finish off the last bit of Yunnan Golden Silk today. It makes me sad to see the bottom of the bag, but at least I know a trip to the tea shop is in my immediate future. Anyway, the tea leaf itself appears luxurious – you can see the down on the leaves…and they’re gold, man. GOLD. The leaves smell earthy, savory, and kind of like tobacco. I brewed up the tea at just under boiling this time and the liquor of the tea was a deep, dark chocolate brown. Its taste is congruent with its aroma. It is not heavy bodied, rather easy to drink actually and has a bit of a peppery bite. It also tastes a bit sweet/malty and finishes round, fresh, and with a tiny bit of astringency.

I picked up this tea a little while ago, but haven’t gotten around to making it myself at home until this morning. I opened up the bag and got a nose-full (apparently that’s not a word, so I added a hyphen to get rid of that annoying, red, squiggly line) of that grassy aroma that is so characteristic of green teas. Brewed it as directed by the good folks over at Halcyon Tea – steeped for a minute at ~180 degrees (I REALLY need to get me a thermometer or one of those Zojirushi hot pots…) – and it was just as tasty as I recall (I’d tasted it at the shop during previous Friday Night Tastings)! The tea was light yellow/green in appearance and tasted warm, grassy, and vegetal. It had a pleasant mouthfeel; the tea was not astringent and not heavy on the palate.

Brewed the tea at a higher temp just to experiment a bit and found the tea to be even earthier than when brewed at 195˚F. It was bitter, but still pleasant. The richness of the tea was a bit more hidden when brewed at this higher temp. The appearance of the tea was much darker this time – almost a chocolate or mahogany brown. The roasty notes, in both taste and aroma, were much more apparent at this temp as well.

The tea leaf, when dry, gives off an earthy, roasty aroma which is further intensified as it steeps. The taste of the tea is consistent with the aroma and its mouthfeel is velvety and lasting. The tea also tastes almost of honey. It brews up a beautiful amber color. I am very impressed with the tea overall. Definitely a favorite!

Work was absolutely exhausting today. Lots of running around. Lots of difficult people. Felt like the walking dead by the time it was over and caught myself several times staring at nothing in a trance for what could very well have been minutes. Drove home in a zombie-like state.

If there is anything on this planet that could shake me out of the funk caked on from this kind of a day, it would be winning the lottery. Since I didn’t even buy a ticket, however, I figured some tea would have to do. Very little snaps me awake like a cup of good tea.

Turns out I picked the right one. Kukicha has become a favorite tea of mine, and I decided to give Halcyon’s a whirl since I haven’t cracked it open since I brought it home. Tearing open the seal on the bag, I gave it a whiff and was greeted by sweet, grassy freshness that made me excited to give it a try. Too tired to go get my kyusu, I dumped a large quantity into my Breville thingy and set it.

I haven’t had kukicha for a while, and drinking this made me wonder why the hell I’ve kept it out of my life. This one tastes buttery, with a definite hint of popcorn, and a grassy sweetness throughout. There is an astringency to it, but it isn’t overpowering, and it actually works to bring the other flavors out – notably the sweeter tones in the tea. The aftertaste rings of chlorophyll, but then it mellows out a bit and becomes like…kind of like after you brush your teeth and the sharp mint flavor fades away and you’re left with that soft, sweet flavor in your mouth.

I got very small quantities of all the tea I brought back from Halcyon, mainly because I wasn’t sure how well they would travel cramped into my suitcase. This is going on the list of teas to replenish after I move, though. I’m glad I have some left, because I plan on trying this out again tomorrow – in my kyusu, and alongside Samovar’s to see how the two shoulder up to one another. I suspect it may be a draw because they are tasty in different ways, but hey, I can think of fifty-seven reasons why I want to have a couple of awesome kukichas readily available.

This is going to have to be a quickie, otherwise I will find myself very late to work. However, I have a sleeping dog resting his head on my leg and snoring softly in the morning sun rays and I’ve decided that whilst I am stuck here [because I really cannot bring myself to wake him up] I will write a little well-deserved note on this tea.

I am already to the end of my silver pouch, so I know this is something I am going to need more of, and soon. I wasn’t wrong when I thought that this tea would be something special after brewing it à la microwave, and, unsurprisingly, brewed “properly” it has become considerably more complex.

This tea has a subtle earthy note that makes me think of pu-erh. It tends to hit in the middle of my tongue, but subsides rather quickly to silky smoothness. There are loads of subtly sweet, dark chocolate tones to be found in the liquid and I find myself slurping and sipping in search of them. The malty flavor has not been as pronounced for me at home as it was back at the hotel. Instead, I have been getting a simply salty note that I do not find unpleasant and meshes quite nicely with the chocolate flavors. And at the tip of my tongue, I can get that distinct peppery tingle that I am becoming more able in identifying in yunnan teas.

All being said, this tea is quite delightful. I am going to chance leaving the leaves in their infusing basket to see if I can eke a few more cups out when I get home, because this is the last of it [for now]. I suspect that 2011 will see numerous trips to Halcyon. At least until I move to San Francisco and then it will be a Samovar Party 24/7, though I do think it’s saying something that it is probable Halcyon Tea will nevertheless retain a spot on my ordering queue.

ETA: Crap. Once I get going, I can’t stop myself. Now I’m going to be late for work.

…Whatever. That was totally worth it.

“This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: huge success.”

[Name the song and the reference will make more sense.]

Right. I’m going to skip the “I’M SO SORRY IT’S BEEN SO LONG”s because I feel like I’ve done that a lot and, you know what? I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry at all. I didn’t miss any of you, I hope you all over-steep your tea, and also, your mom sucks.

No, I’m kidding. I’ve missed you all and I’m sure your mom is a very sweet lady. I do feel badly about being so absent on Steepster. Small life update: I’ve been working and trying to do everything I’ve meant to do for the 26 years I’ve been in Virginia but haven’t gotten around to doing because there is a high possibility I will be moving across the country to San Diego at the end of this year.

I am currently visiting San Diego, which brings us to why I found myself sprinting through the rain [I picked the perfect, overcast, rainy four days to stay, apparently] to duck into Halcyon Tea. Yelp reviews had spoken extremely highly of it and I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, the rain that has been dousing San Diego has led to lots of hydroplaning and a nasty traffic jam on the way down [also apparently, it doesn’t rain much in San Diego]. By the time that I got there I only had time to buy a few different kinds of tea to try later, instead of sit down with a hot cup and a book, before I had to dash off to a prior commitment.

Later tonight, as I found myself sitting in my hotel room with the latest installment of Professor Layton and the new Linkin Park album in my ears, the shiny silver sealed bags glinted softly at me. Calling, as only bags filled with tea can call. You all understand, I trust. I had to crack one open and try it. Except…small problem.

No kettle. No proper cup. No gaiwan or straining utility. So, instead of packing the bags away and ignoring the whispering, whiny voice telling me that I needed to drink some tea [like a normal person], I decided that I did, in fact, need to drink some tea.

Some might say that my impatience is a problem. I say that the real problem is that is seems as though bags of tea speak to me.

I decided it was time to MacGyver the situation. Luckily, I have a microwave in the room, so I poured some filtered bottled water into one of those plastic-wrapped plastic cups the hotels always give you and heated it for about a minute. Once it was hot enough to cause physical pain, I let it cool a second or seven and tipped some tea into it, whirling it into the water with a coffee stirrer I found on the bathroom counter. [In a display of rampant drinkism, the hotel has provided a coffee maker, but no means to make a good cup of tea. That being said, it’s a decent enough hotel and the staff are very nice and accommodating, so yadda, yadda, yadda, pick your battles.] As the tea steeped, I searched wildly for a method to separate the leaves from the liquid. Taking the cup to the sink, I unwrapped two more plastic cups [the wastefulness of this situation is not lost on me, but in my defense, 1. I was desperate; 2. I used the cups two more times to resteep; and 3. I was desperate] and awkwardly used one to filter the tea whilst pouring the tea into the other.

Maybe it’s because it’s rainy and cold and I came back cold and tired, but regardless of the unconventional means it was made, this tea was lovely. Sweet with a little hint of that signature Yunnan kick of pepper, a mellow note of malt, rich in flavor, and absolutely delicious. I’d write more about it, but it’s been a long day, my brain thinks it’s 230 AM right now, and I have an indisputable need for a hot bath before I go to sleep. If nothing else, it has made me more excited to see what I can get out of this when I’m back home with all my tea paraphernalia. I’m leaving the rating off for now, but I can tell you it’s likely to be high.

On a related note, I have made tea with bottled water before with little success – it typically leaves a lot to be desired in the flavor department. However, I can now say that VOSS water does the trick, though it’s a bit expensive. [Yes, I will cop to being a water snob.]

Hey, Joey Roth, want to design a collapsible, travel-safe gaiwan? I would love you long time.

And now, it’s time for that bath. Peace out, Steepsterites!

One of my favorite oolongs, earthy and sweet but not floral at all.