Taiwan Tea Crafts

I seriously love this tea. I don’t love whoever edited the tea and removed the lot number. Sometimes when multiple lots are in cupboards you need that information. So i beg you..whoever you are, please don’t remove lot numbers! even if that lot never comes back…

This was one of the two teas i packed up in a hurry this morning when i discovered my plan for getting work done and drinking tea at home was not allowed because of my computer issues. Every time i have this, i’m reminded of just how much i love these teas…

Another backlog from friday – one of two teas that went on our road trip with me to get me from toronto to detroit. I knew we wouldn’t have time to run around findind water for me, so i just brought the two travel mugs for the trip and then went nearly the entire rest of the weekend with no tea. eep! it sucked. haha but this tea? Still loving’ it’s juicy tastiness.

My other morning tea! I have a bunch of TTC teas that i need to start working my way through before i end up placing another order. I have a sneaking suspicion that i should stick to sample orders with them, though i love their teas. It just takes me so long to get through 50g that the lot is either finished by the time i try them or another 4 have come out haha. So yeah. Love their teas…just want all of them!

mmmmm had a few cups of this one this afternoon to have a tea that i was familiar with. I have zero desire to go in to work tomorrow so i may just ride out the rest of the week, working from home haha. I still love this tea and i’m glad i have a bunch of it to drink and share with friends!

sipdown! I tucked this into my travel mug today because it was very nearly a sipdown AND i wanted something lighter and refreshing today. Lighter while still clearly being a black tea. I have enough left for a cup, but i’m choosing to pass that on to a random tea swapping friend to share the Taiwan Tea Crafts love. :) This has been a delicious time drinking this one and #154…so not sure which i love more :)

stupid steepster…ate my tasting note. soooo tried to use today to compare this vs stacy’s taiwan tea but i forgot which was which…and not that it should be difficult to tell but it’s been a while. soooo at least i have enough for another cup of this and i’ll just do a three way comparison with this, lot 157 and stacys’ haha

I’ve been trying to make my days a little better by having a teas I really like rather than risking the only tea I’m managing to make with sip downs or samples. Makes for awful tasting note because I’m so exhausted but good tea times.. This is a tea I want to save some to compare against Stacy’s Taiwanese Assam and lot 157? That I also have from this company. Regardless, anyone who enjoys Taiwanese teas should really check this company out. They have excellent customer service, sample sizes that are great for sharing and delicious, delicious teas….

nom nom nom nom nom tea = good, tasty delicious, more to write later!

Welcome to day 15 of little terri’s Ultimate Sipdown Extravaganza!
For the final session with this tea, part of a joint order Sil & I placed a year ago, I decided to go with about 5G steeped in 8oz at intervals of 1,2, & 5 minutes.
It’s tart & tangy tea, still reminding me of Apricot, more than anything. There is also a spicy quality, like maybe allspice &/or clove.
I’ve enjoyed the teas we got from Taiwan, & they are of high quality, but truthfully, none of them will become permanent members of my cupboard, as I don’t really love them.
323

Special Announcement
Little Terri’s Ultimate Sipdown Extravaganza will begin this Thursday, May 1st.
We (that would be little terri, Ms Theresa, & myself) don’t plan on some crazy mass drinking schedule of 15 teas per day, just for the sake of polishing them off, but rather, a relaxed month (maybe less) of savoring that last cup of anything that is in small quantity. Ms Theresa is compiling a collection of teas, & will attempt to create a daily sipdown schedule, carefully curated to make each day interesting, varied, & productive. We aren’t sure how long this extravaganza will last, but our goal is to drink up all the odds & ends, the remnants of various TOMC bits & pieces, the lingering random packages from various friends (Mostly Sil), & the ultimate goal is to get our crazy tea collection under control. Please feel free to join us!!

Now on to this tea, my morning gongfu session:
5G + 4oz (rinse) 15/30/45/60 sec
This first round, poured into separate cups, starts out fruity, tart, bright, & spicy. It brings to mind the sweet tartness of plums or cherries, & coriander. My favorite cups were 45 & 60 seconds, where the flavor & mouth was so rich & thick, filled with everything this tea offers.
2min: Still a nice full flavor, although a bitter tannic quality has arisen, like white willow bark tea (from which aspirin was invented).
3min: Nice cup! Still sweet & rich, no longer bitter, but starting to mellow out.
4min & 5 min: less sweet, almost has a root like quality to it, kind of woody-earthy. Still plenty of flavor.

I have a tendency to go overboard when I measure out tea, & today was one of those days. I over-tea-ed, & it was too potent. I divided it between 2 cups, adding more hot water to each, & then it was better, although I realized afterwords that I much prefer this tea brewed gongfu style. The leaves are gigantic, & I feel that the short potent steepings do it much more justice.

I drank some of this earlier in the day, shared with one of my morning students. I’ve reviewed it several times, so I won’t go on & on, but I did enjoy it! All in all, it’s been a wonderful day. I woke up, did my taichi, qigong, yoga mix, made a nice breakfast, & found myself singing throughout. I don’t know for sure, but I think the return of the sun, just a little earlier each day, is responsible. That & good tea ;)

I thought I’d brew a cup of this, as comparison to the Eco-Cha Red Jade. Both are tres 18 teas, & they are very similar. The appearance is slightly different, as these leaves appear to be larger, & less tightly twisted. Flavorwise, they are both tart, fruity, & spicy. The Eco-Cha features more of a minty sensation, more clove, & more bitterness. I’d say this one is sweeter, but the re-steep was weak.

To be fair, although I used the same steep times, I can’t be entirely sure I used the exact same amount of tea, so don’t take this comparison too seriously. I didn’t weigh either tea, & their leaf size & shape is very different. On my next steeping, I’ll weigh them both, & use same sized Gaiwans.

I drank this earlier today, while warming up on the Harp for a rehearsal. It’s a lovely fruity cup, with a sweet thick scent as well. I can’t believe I haven’t drank it awhile, because it really is divine!

I’m gonna be working from home today…oh wait, I almost always work from home, although sitting around in your pjs drinking tea is not exactly work, LOL. But I’m jumping back on my 45/15 plan, because I’ve got some very serious practicing to do! Benjamin Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols” is not for slackers, so I can’t be one. I will live, eat, & breath this music for the next month, with performances on the 8th & 21st.

But first, TEA! Gotta be fueled with food & caffeine. I decided to give this one the gongfu treatment this morning: 5G of tea in my 4 oz blue lotus tiny porcelain teapot (I love this little tea pot). 15 sec/30/45/60/etc…you get the idea. the 45/60 steeps were very potent!!
But all in all, success! Delicious fruity sweet success. Cup after cup of it. I think I made it through about 10 steeps, & although the last few were losing strength, they were still tasty & worthy of being enjoyed.

I’m feeling like a grumpus. In part, it’s due to lack of self-care. I haven’t been getting enough sleep, haven’t been spending enough quality time alone doing yoga, reiki, & such, & have been on a potato eating binge so my feet hurt (yes, it’s documented, more than once now…dammit).
I also have a bit of a resentment going, which I need to resolve by sending Reiki to the person in question. “Just for today, there is no anger.”
And I need to relax & enjoy more tea. Starting with this one, introduced to me by Sil. Thank you, tea sister, thank you.

Another tea from Sil, Thanks! You’re slacking on your reviews, sister, get with it! ;)
THIS is more like it!
I’m enjoying these teas from Taiwan Tea Crafts. I’ve decided I like the Assams from Sun Moon Lake. They all share a rich fruity flavor that is very different from the Assams I’m used to, but in a really nice way. This one is really lively in the mouth, with a full sensation, & a nice high note that reminds me of Apricot.

I’ve got a slow start going today, in part because I slept in, & in part because I wanted to really savor that last Golden Fleece by drinking a number of resteeps until it was spent.

Next up was this Aged Sun Moon lake, which was part of a shared order with Sil from Taiwan Tea Crafts. Their teas are very interesting, & today is the last day of their sale, BTW.
http://www.taiwanteacrafts.com

So this tea is probably my least favorite of the ones we tried, but still an interesting one, tasty, & worth drinking. The flavors are very savory, like roasted root veggies, especially beets. It’s not what I expect a cup of tea to taste like, but still a decent cup.

If you take those sun moon lake taiwans I was sampling earlier this morning & age them for 30 years, this is what you get! The flavor is of roasted carrots & beets, sweet, rich, & very very different!

This is another tea from my trade with Sil, & my first tea of the day.
The other sun moon Lake blacks I’ve sampled were rich with fruitiness, both in the flavor & aroma, & very smooth. They are very different, really in a lovely & unique way. If I understand it, this is one of ose same teas, aged 30 years. It is very smooth, & the fruit flavors have transmuted to root veggies: notably beets & carrots. There is also an earthy taste, like a root cellar, hinting at a Shu puer, but just a hint, with a touch of salt. It’s mellow & grounding.

First sipdown of the day, first sipdown of the week!
I took the weekend off from sipdowns. I just really needed to enjoy some of my favorite teas, so that’s what I did! Now I’m ready to dive back in, clearing out teas that are taking up space, teas that have been around for awhile, remnants of tea clubs, etc.
This has been a tasty tea, rich & fruity, and while I have enjoyed it’s company, & may eventually reorder, I don’t plan on making it a permanent resident. I was originally enamored somewhat with it’s interesting qualities, but the truth is, it just doesn’t really fit the profile of the kinds of teas that I really love. At least not today.
But that isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy it! It really is tasty, it’s just not a tea I crave.
345