Red Blossom Tea Company

Damn this heat wave. Early October and it’s 97 degrees today. Not exactly hot-tea-with-breakfast weather, but oh well. I seem to straddle the line between tea elitist and tea junky. Either way I’m OK with it.

Up for today is the 1st steeping of the Nannuo Shan Shou Pu-erh 2001 harvest I bought the last time I was in the City and could drop in to the good folks at Red Blossom Tea Company in Chinatown.

This is a straight up, damn good, full flavor, big and bold Pu-erh. Nothing special, no added flavors or spices, none of that unneeded crap. Just straight up great leaves.

I felt like the first time I brewed this tea a few weeks ago I steeping it a bit too long, so first the first steeping, after the rinse, of course, I steeped this for the short end of the recommended time, only 1 minute. Perfect.

In that short steeping time it still came out a deep, dark, amber, reddish black color, with a strong, sweet aroma containing hints of malt and fruit.

The taste is simply incredible. It has so much delicate sweetness, while still kicking forth a big, dark, malty taste. Even the finish is dry and clean.

I do recommend the much shorter steeping time, there is so much flavor, anything over 1:30 would ruin the delicate balance between sweet and dark malt.

I missed reviewing the 3rd steeping of these leaves yesterday, as I was running late to work and barely had enough time to pour it from my tea press into my travel mug.

But no worries, I went for a 4th steeping today! Same leaves, day 4, 4th steeping. I upped the steeping time to 2:30, up from the recommended 2:00.

And yeah, these leaves are still kickin’. The aroma as the same as it was on day 1, big and bold, with a strong malt smell. The taste is still great, although the flavors have mixed a bit more and are harder to notice individually. The clean sweet malt taste is still there, but not as eye poppingly clean and crisp as before.

Still a damn good tea, even on the 4th steeping. 4 steeping in a 32 oz press is pretty damn good, in my opinion.

2nd steeping of the same leaves. I did not add steeping time, instead keeping that at 2:00. I probably could have gone up to 2:15 or even 2:30, but it still came out great.

Aroma: Brilliant. The first thing you notice is the big, malty, slightly chocolaty smell. There is a hint of dryness, but only slightly. You can tell right away, before it even hits your tongue, that it is bigger and more complex than that.

And then it hits your tongue. The balance between the dry, sweet, clean initial feel and the complex, rich, thick, almost creamy malt taste is amazing. That’s really all I can say. It’s a great, super solid, all around very well balanced Pu-erh. I might just stash some somewhere, or buy some more and leave it bagged, and let it age a few more years.

Oh, wait. The Red Blossom website says they are out of it. DAMN!

For the third steeping tomorrow, I will add a bit more time, maybe up it to 2:30. It can take it.

Time to get more familiar with the thing called Pu-Erh. Here is the jem I bought when I was in the city last weekend and stopped in to see the good folks at Red Blossom tea company. They recommended this on, and I can see why!

The aroma is so big and bold, with hints of smoky chocolate and malt. It smells dry, but still has that sense that there is so much more to it.

The very first taste is subtle and non-assuming, but 1/2 a second later all those flavors hit your pallet and soar. Slightly dry tasting and finishing, with a big malty middle.

This is one hell of a tea! Glad I stopped in and picked it up!

Finding this tea strangely… not as satisfying as I’d hoped, considering the cost, how much trouble I had getting it back to my place in Canada (from San Francisco’s Chinatown), and then how much the staffer raved about it.

It’s a standard puer, with a bit of a sweet, almost bitterly so aftertaste. It’s smooth and medium-bodied, with that je-ne-sais-quoi that makes it a puer… that earthiness, without being really smack-in-your-face about it.

Do I love it? Nope. Will I reach for it? Maybe. I doubt it. This was REALLY expensive tea, too, so… yeah. Going to try re-steeping it at least a few times to see if I enjoy it more.

Delicious! I will say that this has a very thick, buttery mouthfeel. The first time I drank it after coming home from San Francisco, I literally thought “wow, this is feels like butter in my mouth!” The taste itself is lightly floral and slightly creamy. I wish it wasn’t as expensive as it is, but it’s worth it. Very, very good :)

I’m very bad at describing teas, but I got this one not long ago at their store in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It’s so yummy! Very light with a nice mouthfeel, it reminds me of the very first ‘nice’ tea I tried, which was a Silver Needle. I don’t know if this is the correct terminology, but it has a nice earthy minerality to it. My second steepings sometimes have a bit of a lemon-y, citrus taste as well. Delicate. Delicious.

This is the second tea I ordered from Red Blossom and I am excited to finally do a tasting and prepare my notes.

Dry leaf aroma: Sweet potato with a malty background.

Dry leaf appearance: http://instagram.com/p/rnyl0zlcCK/

Preparation: Brewed western style in a glass infuser cup (which I also purchased from Red Blossom – and love – I think it is a Bodum).

First steeping: 1 minutes 45 seconds at 200 degrees. The aroma stays true to the dry leaf – sweet potato and malt, with a slight suggestion of orange. The liquor is a beautiful amber brown which seems appropriate paired with the aromatic suggestions of malt and sweet potatoes (perhaps I am ready for autumn; this color and fragrance combination is lulling me into nostalgia this evening). The flavor is multifaceted and at first it is hard for me to separate the different layers. Foremost is a pleasant maltiness with a delicate sweet potato undertone and I find as I let the cup cool notes of brown sugar appear. I was a bit disappointed I did not detect any raisin or maple syrup in this steeping (as per their website tasting notes). However, when I smell my empty cup the aroma is a heady raisin. The aftertaste is a reminiscent of sweet potatoes, with a slight starchy mouth-feel.

Second steeping: 2 minutes 5 seconds at 200 degrees. A sweet potato and malty fragrance still prevails. I do not detect any scent of orange with this steeping but as the cup cools I pick up notes of raisin. For this infusion the brown sugar and raisin notes are shining through the base flavors of sweet potato and malt. The aftertaste is also sweeter, with a refined raisin finish.

Third steeping: 2 minutes 35 seconds at 200 degrees. The third brewing has a much weaker aroma; sweet potato and malt again. The flavor is much the same as the second steeping though not as strong. The aftertaste is malty raisin and the starchy mouth-feel is still present.

The fourth steeping was unremarkable though not unpleasant. I think three steepings is a good cutoff for me.

This tea intrigued me with its description so I am pleased to finally be able to taste it for myself and post notes.

Dry leaf aroma: Sweet and slightly malty with a mild trace of tobacco.

Preparation: I prepped the leaves with an initial 1 second rinse and then proceeded with my session western style (my gaiwan is on the way, so for now I am steeping western style).

First steeping: 2 minutes at 205 degrees. The aroma is basic, a moderate black tea scent with the ever-so-slight hint of something more intricate which I cannot describe accurately. The taste is much more complex and the initial mouth-feel is extremely creamy. I’ve not experienced a black tea quite this creamy before; very nice! Buried in the creaminess is a hint of honey and a very subtle aftertaste of baked bread and banana. At the end of this cup, after it had cooled quite a bit, I detected a citrusy aftertaste in addition to the bread and banana essences. Interestingly, the creamy mouth-feel lingered after each sip. Very unique.

Second steeping: 2 minutes at 205 degrees. I am detecting a subtle baked bread and banana scent along with the straightforward black tea fragrance. This steeping is not as creamy as the first but is still quite rich. The flavors are less complex but the brew still retains the initial profile of cream, honey, baked bread, and a trace of banana. While the cup is hot I am experiencing more of the citrus aftertaste.

I’d like to try another session using a gaiwan and multiple short steepings to experiment with influencing the flavor profile.

This is a tea that I will add to my permanent stock. Well worth the price and experience!

This was the 3rd and 4th steeping of the same leaves, and they really hold up. It’s not as crisp and clear as the 1st, and the individual flavors are more mixed, but they are all still there.

The aroma is the same for every steeping. Sweet, charcoal smoke with a hint od coffee and caramel. The taste has a little less pop, but it’s still very good.

Aaaaaaand, that was the last of these leaves. I think I’ll be ordering more soon, they ard worth it!

First day of Fall today, yeah? Good day for a Formosa Oolong. Steeping #2 for this Charcoal Roasted Tung Ting.

Same leaves as yesterday, I little more than normal since I didn’t want to leave a single teaspoon in the bottom of the jar. Although, now that I think about it, I probably should have saved it to try a little mixing and blending. Oh well. I’ll probably be buying more of this, so no worries.

Anyway: This is such a big, roasted tasty brew, I did not up the steeping time for the 2nd go, I kept it at 2:00. Here we go:

The aroma is exactly the same. Big and bold, very sweet charcoal roasted smell with hints of coffee and caramel. A bit of a dry feel.

The taste is much the same as yesterday. The roasted charcoal taste is not quite as heavy today, allowing the coffee and caramel colors to shine through more, and the whole flavor pallet is more balanced. It’s also not quite as sweet as the 1st steeping, and it has turned more towards the dry feel away from the sweet.

The natural Earthy tea flavor and feel is more apparent today as well. I think now that the roasted charcoal flavor has subsided some, those flavors are just more apparent.

Yup, this is a good one. I’ll be buying this again sometime soon, in hopes and dreams of sipping this while reading a book with rain pattering on the window and hockey on the TV.

I had almost forgotten about this one. I’ve been rotating through my most recent Red Blossom Tea Company purchase, and I guess I skipped this one!

I had a little more remaining than the normal 2 heaping tablespoons for my 32 oz Bodum Assam tea press, so I just put it all in, not quite 3 tablespoons but probably close. I kept the steep time to the short end for a Formosa Oolong, and hot damn did it turn out good!

The aroma is nice and complex, with an initial burst of charcoal roasted goodness, followed quickly by sweet, caramel, almost coffee hints.

The taste is just as complex. The roasting process is definitely the first taste and feel, I can actually imagine Mr Chen controlling the longan fruit wood fire in order to get the perfect amount of roasted taste. Big, but not at all overwhelming, and certainly plenty of room for the sweet, caramel second tastes.

I’m sad that I used the rest of these leaves in this batch, I’ll definitely need to steep it 4 times to enjoy this incredible brew the next 4 days.

3rd steeping. 1st steeping went too long, 2nd too short. Today’s was right around 3 minutes. Let’s see…

Aroma is great this morning. Nice and earthy, just a bit of bitter sweetness. Beautiful golden brown color. The taste… Yep. Spot on. Might be a bit overdone for some, but it’s right where I want it. Big and bold, bright and earthy. Just the right bitter to sweetness balance.

Good stuff.

2nd steeping: Finally got the steep time right. 2 minutes. And to be honest, it could have used another 30 seconds to a minute. (But not the 5 or 6 minutes yesterdays got left at…)

Subtle but smooth aroma of earthy charcoal, and a nice rich, sweet taste. This is a damn good Oolong.

Screwed up this batch. I got to reading the opinion pages again, and let it steep for 5-6 minutes. Oops.

Oh well, it’s still really good. Smokey charcoal aroma and taste, but much sweeter than Red Blossoms Lapsang Souchong, which tastes like a campfire. This Tung Ting has a much more complex taste. Still big and bold, but the earthy, nutty, wonderful sweetness is much more present.

4th steeping. Aroma still there, just a bit more subtle. Coffee and woodsy, earthy, nutty scent still noticeable. The bold tastes of a few days ago have blended together more, and while each individual flavor is more subtle, the flavor all together is still bold and big.

Let it steep a little longer for the 3rd steeping of these leaves. Totally on purpose. Totally. That’s a lie, was reading the opinion page and forgot about it. It went around 4 minutes. Oh well.

The coffee aroma isn’t quite as strong as yesterday, not sure if that’s due to the longer steeping or the 3rd use of these leaves. Taste is a little more bitter, as expected. Still a great tea, still hints of smoke and earthy nuts. Have to remember the timer tomorrow morning.

That being said, screwing up the steeping time didn’t make this tea undrinkable. It’s still wonderful, and I’m still enjoying each sip. It’s that good!

2nd steeping. I noticed a stronger coffee aroma today. Still full of earthy, smoky flavor. Even better the second steeping!

Wow, some serious bold flavor here! Strong smoky feel from the charcoal roasting, with hints of caramel sweetness.

Roasted the traditional way, using charcoal made from longan fruit wood, the thickness of the ash layer over the charcoal controls temperature, and the aroma and appearance of the tea determines roasting time, all controlled by a master tea roaster named Mr. Chen.

Well, very nice work Mr. Chen. This is an amazing brew!

Looking through my tea collection this morning, I found this gem hiding in the back. Super solid green tea, smooth, with hints of straw, wet grass, and wet earth. Great, great, great Springtime early morning brew.