Red Blossom Tea Company

Blend review:

The continued steepings of a blend of Organic Shou Mei white tea and Lapsang Souchong black tea, both from Red Blossom Tea Company. This review is for the 2nd and 3rd steepings.

2 tablepoons Shou Mei
1 teaspoon (at the most) Lapsang Souchong
1st steeping 45 seconds
2nd steeping 55 seconds
3rd steeping 1 minute
4th steeping (?) 1 minute
195(ish, when bubbles first showed)

The 2nd steeping is not quite as good as the first. These two teas have very different lives through multiple steepings, and with much more of the Shou Mei white tea leaves than Lapsang Souchong black, the 2nd and 3rd steepings are pretty much all Shou Mei. The campfire smoke aroma and taste of the Lapsang is much more subtle in the 2nd, so much so that if I didn’t know it was there I would not notice. And the 3rd steeping it is gone altogether.

So, long story short, I really like this blend. I think I got the mix right, and the steeping time and temp was right on. However, for the 2nd and 3rd (and beyond) steepings, I will add a pinch more Lapsang to keep it going.

Short and sweet today. This tea makes one hell of a great sun tea. It’s literally everything I think of in a sun tea. Delicate, gentle, just a bit sweet with a hint of nuts, grass, earth and wood. A perfect sun tea!

I did use a bit less leaves today, only about 2 tablespoons in my larger tea ball. Seemed to do the trick.

This review is for the 2nd and 3rd steeping of a blend of this Shou Mei white tea and Red Blossom’s Lapsang Souchong black tea.

Yesterdays 2nd steeping was wonderful, even better than the first. The 1st steeping, in my opinion, had too much Lapsang taste, too much campfire smoke. I wanted more balance. The 2nd steeping took care of that. The campfire smoke was much more subdued, and the white tea background was able to pop through.

Now on to today’s 3rd steeping. I upped the steep time to 1:15 from 1:00, everything else is the same. Just under 3 tablespoons of Shou Mei white with 1 teaspoon of Lapsang Souchong black.

The color is still golden straw, just a tad darker, closer to a green tea color. Almost looks like a filtered hefeweizen, for those beer fans out there.

The aroma also reminds me of the fruity, almost banana-y beer. The 1st steeping aroma was all campfire, but now the balance is much better, the white tea is actually more in front, and the thick, malty smoke of the Lapsang is secondary. Still has that same dry, clean finish.

Taste and mouthfeel are exactly the same as yesterday’s 2nd steeping, it hasn’t lost any of it’s power, strength, or balance. I still have a strong sense of malty campfire smoke from the Lapsang, but the Shou Mei is much more present. It has an almost bitter, dry aftertaste, but still crisp and clean. 3rd steeping and it’s still kicking nice and strong.

The next time I do this blend, I might try rinsing them separately, and giving the Lapsang some extra time to possibly clean off some of that extra campfire.

Home made blends! My first time taking this step, and I started with the two most opposite teas on my shelf. This Shou Mei white tea, and my uber smoky, campfire-esque Lapsang Souchong. Let’s see how this goes:

I used mostly Shou Mei leaves, about 2.5 (maybe close to 3) tablespoons of it to only one teaspoon of the much more potent Lapsang Souchong. I figured that might give me a decent balance, especially with the short 1 minute steep time of the white Shou Mei, instead of the 2 minute + time of the black Lapsang Souchong.

Now to dig in:

The aroma right off the bat is dominated by the smoky, campfire Lapsang. It’s not as in you face as when I brew the Lapsang alone, and it does have that light, almost airy smell of the Shou Mei.

First sip is all Lapsang. It is a nice flavor though, it’s s much more subdued and light compared to a cup full of Lapsang leaves. The first taste is all Lapsang, and it dominates the pallet, but I can certainly taste and feel the lightness of the Shou Mei, followed by that woody, earthy, nutty taste. I would like to have a bit more of that in the balance, so next time I will probably cut down the Lapsang leaves to 1/2 or even 1/4 teaspoon. It’s that potent.

I think, in the end, what I have done is actually make a REALLY good Lapsang Souchong by giving it a light white tea base. I’ll certainly be mixing these again.

I gave it another go at creating a sun tea using these leaves. Here ya go:

I used 2 tea balls, one that held, 1/2 full, about 3 tablespoons, the other 1/2 full held 2 tablespoon, into my 2.5 quart jug, and left it sitting in full sunlight for about 8-10 hours.

That ratio seemed to work pretty well. I got a nice, dark colored tea, with all the flavor I can expect from this tea brewed the traditional way with hot water. The fresh Earthy, nutty, woodsy aroma and flavor were all there, present and accounted for.

I prefer the longer brewing time to really pull all the flavor out, and I don’t mind a bit of bitterness getting into the mix. Shortening the steeping-in-the-sun time down to 4-6 hours might lighten up the flavor a bit, maybe I’ll try that next time.

Long story short, this basic white tea makes one hell of a great sun tea!

Experimented with using this for sun tea again. The last time I used a tea ball that was nowhere near big enough, and I still can’t find my old ginormous one. So, this time I used more leaves and just let them loose in the water. I decided to use more than I thought necessary, so I used 6 heaping tablespoons in my 2.5 quart jug.

It came out damn near perfection. This white tea makes one hell of a sun tea. Nice and light in flavor and feel, but still enough presence for flavor fans like myself.

And, of course, right when I brought it inside, I found the old ginormous tea ball. Next time!

At it again with this one. This has become a staple the last few months, but it was time to try something a little different with it. So, I upped the amount of leaves used in my Bodum Assam 32 oz tea press from 3 tablespoons (heaping, of course) to 4 and a pinch extra. I rinsed them before steeping, and let it steep for (ish) 2 minutes.

The result was a bigger, bolder white tea full of flavor. The nutty woodsy flavor jumps out much quicker, but it keeps that delicate, tranquil feel and dry, clean finish.

I was never very experienced with white teas before this one, I’m glad I bought extra to do some experimenting. I think I’m close to figuring it out!

2nd steeping….

Want to know what happens to a tasty, light white tea when you forget about it and let it steep for somewhere’s about 6-8 minutes? Well, I’ll tell you.

It still has that light, earthy aroma, but it’s more in your face bitter and bitey. The taste is also very similar to a properly steeped white tea, but with an added bite that feels like it could cut through teeth.

That being said, it is still very good. I do like a big, bold, bitey, bitter cup of tea now and then. And I do like to oversteep my white and green tea from time to time. Glad to know this one can take it and still come out with all the qualities it should have.

Crisp, clean, light aroma leads to a crisp, clean, nutty taste. Super bright, almost shiny in feel, while still bringing out that earthy, woodsy taste. So good!

I experimented this morning, using a little more leaves than I normally do, and only letting it steep for 1.5 minutes. I wanted to get the full flavor of this tea, and I think I really got it this time.

I’m liking this white tea more and more as I keep brewing it. It’s got a complex taste, but in a simple, subtle way. It’s bright, clean, earthy, just plain refreshing. What a way to start the day!

2nd steeping for these leaves. My allergies are going crazy this morning, so I don’t notice much aroma, but I do get a touch of that earthy, woodsy feel. Taste is as wonderful as ever. Nice bright, nutty, earthy taste. I really love this tea!

This review is specifically for a batch of sun tea I made with this tea.

I used a loose leaf tea pod into about 4 quarts of water. I’m going to have to adjust that next time, probably to use two tea pods. It still had that earthy, nutty, woodsy aroma and taste, but it just wasn’t a prominent as I like. This tea might also be to subtle and light to make a good sun tea.

I used it because I had a lot of it and wanted to just try. It’s still good, just not as bold as I like my sun teas.

1st steeping on the 2nd time through. Subtle earthy, nutty aroma. Nice, bright, woody taste. I let it steep a little longer this time, it went about 3-4 minutes. It got a bit more bitter, but nothing overwhelming or brew-ruining. It’s just a bit more bold. Great simple white tea!

So good, so tasty. Still full of great flavor on the 3rd steeping in a 4 cup tea pot.

Great basic white tea. Nice light, mellow flavor.

Yet another of my favorites to reach the end of it’s jar on my tea shelf. This has become one of my standard black teas, the benchmark I compare new black teas to. It’s super solid, sweet, uber smooth aroma and taste amaze me every time I brew it up.

I had a little more than what I normally use in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam, but not enough for a single serving later, so I just brewed it a little strong today with just under 10 ounces of leaves in 32 ounces of 200 degree water.

And hot damn. I didn’t think it could get much better, but here it is. The complexity is amazing, such a strong, rich, velvety smooth malty base, with hints of dried fruit, brown sugar and syrup.

Possibly my favorite fall season breakfast. Goes great with oatmeal or cream of wheat. Such good stuff.

I’ll certainly be ordering more of this!

-E

This tea has really grown on me. It is easily one of the best black teas I have tried. I am almost out, and although I love trying new tea and rarely buy the same one twice, I think I will need to reorder this one. It’s going to be a must have on cool wet winter mornings.

Everything about it is perfect. From the initial aroma while hot water tumbles over fresh leaves and during steeping, to the end products’ aroma, to that first taste as it’s creamy smoothness hits your tongue for the first time.

When I think of a sweet, subtle black tea, I think of this.

4th or 5th time trying this tea, and I think I’m liking it more and more each time. To my tastes, it’s damn near a perfect black tea.

Buttery, velvety smooth, just right the right balance of malt and sweet, with just a hint of bitterness. Possibly my favorite black tea of all time.

Best sign of a tea being good quality and worth the money: 4th day, 4th steeping, still going strong.

More new tea! I got this as a sample from Red Blossom years ago, so I decided it was time to get it for real. Good call, Erik. Good call.

Brewing is simple, I used 10 grams of leaves, rinsed, in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam teapot. 200 degree water, just under boiling, and 2:00 of steeping time.

The leaves are actually pretty light colored, so I was surprised at how quickly and fully the water turned dark brown when I poured it in.

This black tea is so smooth, so rich, so velvety, I was almost surprised when I took the first sip. From the dark reddish brown color, to the rich, smooth, malty aroma and taste with hints of dried fruit and syrup.

This is one of the smoother, richer, maltier black teas I have tried that still keeps a GREAT balance between all of its characteristics.

There are few basic black teas that I can call daily go tos, this one just made that list.

-E