The Tea Farm
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If it’s vegetarian and doesn’t have bananas in it – I’ll try it!
Lately…the strange, the rare, and the down right ODD have been calling at me.
When I received this one from LiberTEAs I was more than stoked to try it.
I was ASS+U+ME-ing that this may taste like a Salt & Vinegar Potato Chip but it doesn’t. It smells of vinegar but doesn’t reeeeek of it. It infuses pretty quickly and fairly dark.
Once my infusion was finished you could barely smell the vinegar scent – it was more of a smokey or roasted aroma instead. This has a semi-sweet yet bold black tea taste.
Vinegar has many health benefits and people drink Apple Cider Vinegar concoctions so why not Vinegar Tea!?
I would still classify this as one of my morning and mid-morning teas. A great pick-me-up. This was a nice surprise, indeed!
I have wanted to try a Tai Ping tea for a long time!
The leaves are HUGE and flat. Since I don’t subscribe to the gadgetry concept and don’t use any of those new fangled scales :) I eyeballed the amount I put into my smart brewer.
I must have done well with my measuring because the flavor is rich, vegetative, buttery, nutty, and just plain AWESOME. I’m liking it a lot! A very smooth taste but with a nice mouthfeel. The mouthfeel is a little thicker than a Dragonwell, but not quite as thick as a green Oolong. Pleasant!
A very strong buttery taste, and a nice nutty quality to it.
Ah… I love this tea!
Preparation
I am on my second infusion of this tea now. I brewed this one a bit too long because I forgot to set the timer! No matter though, the tea does not taste bitter, it is a bit stronger in flavor than the first infusion because of the length of time it was infused. The nutty flavor seems to be emerging more in this infusion. It has a very nice sweetness to it – not like sugary sweet, but nutty sweet. I am falling more in love with this tea each time I take a sip.
I am currently enjoying a cup of this, now that I have a chance to sit down and relax after a very busy morning. As I sip this, I am thinking that it might make a pretty good iced tea.
One of the strangest teas that I’ve tasted… Although I am glad that I did. It has a slight tang to it – definitely a vinegar note, but it’s not overly sour… I would call it a tangy, savory quality instead. I think that the next time I try it, I might just add a tiny pinch of salt to it, and see how that tastes.
Preparation
Just a quick note – enjoying this at the moment, along with my favorite movie: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
As I’ve written before, it’s important to “rinse” or “awaken” these leaves. I pour enough boiling water over the leaves to cover them, let it sit for about 10 – 15 seconds, strain, and then steep them as usual for 2 1/2 minutes.
This tea is quite robust, with a smoky note which thankfully translates much stronger in the aroma than in the flavor. I like the tangy vinegar note to this tea, that sort of rests upon the palate much the same way as eating something vinegar-y might.
Preparation
Yep – this is another tea that I purchased just because it sounded weird. And yes, I am more than willing to taste a vinegar flavored tea before trying a peanut butter flavored one. I am a bit more fond of vinegar than of peanut butter…
This is a tea that really needs a “rinsing” before you steep. I brought a small amount of water to a boil, poured it over the leaves and then strained after just 10 seconds. This really improved the taste of the tea for me.
This is – surprisingly enough – a really good tea.
The aroma of the dry leaves is a lot like vinegar. Not as pungent-smelling as it would be if I were to open a bottle of vinegar, but it’s definitely vinegar. After brewing, the leaves take on a smoky aroma, as does the liquor.
But, as long as the leaves have been rinsed, the flavor does not present a strong smoky element. Don’t get me wrong, the smoky flavor is there, but it is quite in harmony with the other flavors of this cup.
Preparation
Cofftea, if you’d like, I’d be happy to send you a little sample of it. The smallest I was able to procure of this tea was an 8 ounce package, and even though I quite enjoy the tea, I would have to drink it every day to consume this much! Please feel free to send me a PM if you’re interested.
Anyone else who might be interested in trying this tea – I am happy to offer a sample to you as well. As I said, the smallest size that was available to order was 8 ounces – and this is much more than I need. Just shoot me a PM and I’ll be happy to send some out to you.
Vinegar Black—I’m so intrigued by this flavor. I love vinegary anything—especially on fish and chips!
It is something that I got started doing when I was very young… my gramma would drizzle a little vinegar on her green beans and I tried it that way, and now, I feel like something is missing when I eat them without vinegar.
I’m not brave enough. I do like vinegar. I’ve never had it on green bean though. I’ll have to try that. I got some green beans from the farmer’s market this morning too. Very unique sounding tea though.
This tea has a very light peach flavor and the only honey I can make out is actually just the sweetness of the tea. Although it has a very smooth taste, if your looking for a really peachy tea this one is not for you. Thank you Ricky, I quite enjoyed this.
Preparation
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Preparation
I found it to be sweet also…Going to finish up the sample you sent and write a review in the next few days.
Dragonwell is supposed to be slightly sweet with the green vegetal saltiness. I find that if you brew it for less time: 2-3 minutes, you will get a sweeter brew, but a longer brew 5+ minutes you will lose that sweetness and be hit with the salty vegetal taste.
I don’t know how it is supposed to traditionally taste, but that has always been my experience.
So, got some of this from Ricky, and gave it two old-college-tries before writing the review. First, the leaves a small, dark and tightly curled, mixed amongst them are candied/dried pineapple chunks – first thought: Ooooh! I’m going to love this. The smell of the dried leaves is green, you do not smell the dried pineapple. I thought this was a great sign, because it means no artificial pineapple flavoring was added, this is just tea with pineapple preserved so it can stay in tea. Now for the review:
The first time brewed (backlogging) I infused 1 scoop of tea, hot with no additives, 3 minutes. The leaves after infusing had unfurled nicely into a leafy green mess, but the pineapple chunks appear to have disappeared, they have softened and dissolved and infused into the tea. I noticed the tea itself was bright, yellow brick road color, had a sweetened aroma, but very faint on the pineapple. You can almost smell the pineapple, but it really does taste like a delicate green tea. The taste is very much green tea, slightly vegetal, fresh, crisp, with a touch, and I mean a touch, of fruit flavor.
Second infusion of the first batch: 2 minutes, hot, no additives. The tea definitely lost some of it’s golden yellow color and the aroma seems to have been knocked back a bit too. The flavor is roughly the same, very little loss, still very green with an inkling of fruit flavor.
I thought about the tea without trying it again, was I disappointed that the pineapple was not really there? Should I try and fix this? The answer Steepsterites, is no, I was not upset and I do not think I should try to fix this, because it was a decent tea. Though not strongly pineapple, as in I would probably rename it “Green with Pineapple”, it is still a very good green tea, using natural pineapple to flavor it and not some artificial or oil(s) to try and make it pineapple. It is clean and crisp and definitely vegetal and naturally delicious.
With this thought process in mind, I gave it one last shot, brewed 1 scoop hot, 3 minutes with a pinch of Rock Sugar. The second time around I had similar results with the leaves and with the missing pineapple, as well as the liquor and aroma, the flavor, however changed slightly. The sugar brought out some of the pineapple that was missing. The tea is still clean and green, but the pineapple was brightened, as in I could almost taste it.
Overall, I thought the tea was good although it should be renamed. I do not feel that the sugar added was actually worth the result, I believe the tea was fine how it was as long as you knew you were getting mostly a green tea that had pineapple in mind.
Thanks Ricky!
Preparation
I completely agree with you. I think for it’s price the green tea base was pretty reasonable. Close to $3 for 2 ounce and you get a free tea of the month (2oz).
This should be an interesting review… I told Ricky I didn’t want this because I hate anything banana except fresh ones, but he sent it to me anyway. So here it goes=D
I’m not sure because they don’t say on their website, but by the looks of it I’m guessing that they use the same base for this as their pineapple green. I can also guess that this will be another disappointing tea due to the lack of banana pieces, infact I only had enough for one in my cup.
Wow… I wasn’t expecting that. This smells nothing like the pineapple green. Maybe it’s not the same base after all. There’s no smoky earthiness, instead there’s a little astringency and almost a salty note. It’s also brothy in texture. I was right about the flavor though. No banana. I was completely ready to swallow my opinions and give this a 100 for accuracy, but I can’t. It’s a great tea, but it’s not banana. I love this- which is good for my tongue, but bad for the review.
Preparation
You should see how many bananas are in my pouch ;) (Basically none, same with the pineapple). More of whatever the tea base is. Oh well. Figured you should try the rest of The Tea Farm’s teas =]
2nd infusion, leaves from last nite. Whoa! Is this the same tea? The liquor is ever so slightly lighter and much more bright than the dull golden color of the 1st and the taste is much sweeter. The earthy/smokiness in the 1st infusion is gone and there’s just the faintest astringency at the bottom of the cup.
Preparation
3rd infusionm 5 min. While still a very translucent liquor, it seems more brothy/buttery. The flavor is a bit stronger and the faint astringency in the last cup is replaced by a buttery/brothy note that’s just as faint.
From Ricky! I’ve been eyeing Den’s Tea’s Pineapple Sencha, but wanted to try this also to compare- not only because it’s a heck of a lot cheaper, but because this company is from HI so I’d expect anything pineapple flavored from HI to pretty much be an automatic 100.
The tea has no pineapple aroma whatsoever although I do think that it is, infact, pineapple (candied, not fresh dried) and not the melon that Ricky suspected. I would have tasted it to confirm my visual assumption, but there aren’t many here to begin w/ so I didn’t want to weaken the flavor any more.
This is a weird experience for me. Most of the greens I’ve had (flavored and non flavored) were Japanese w/ the exception of Chinese sencha. This however is Chinese based. I can’t remember Ricky, what did they say this was? Unfortunately they don’t list what they use for their bases on the website and didn’t even answer my question the 1st time I asked.
2.25g/6oz water. The liquor is darker thank that of pineapple, a bit brassy. Ricky was right, no pineapple aroma either. And unfortunately none in the flavor. FATALITEA!Come on Tea Farm… if we can’t expect you to nail a pineapple tea, how can we expect you to give is good flavors using things that aren’t local? All I can taste is the base. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good base. Vegetal and a bit bitter. But I can’t make my rating just on the base…
Preparation
Haha, Chun mee and I have to send you some of the melon candy I’m talking about. I’ll see if I have some time to send you a few pieces and look for some more pineapple pieces, but there weren’t many left in my bag either.
Weird… the bag says 1TB/5oz water and the website says 6. Oh well. I’ll go w/ 5oz.
The raw leaf smells very earthy and complex, although not fecal like cooked pu erh. Aroma is almost that of a hojicha or gen mai cha which kinda scares me… The liquore is a pretty reddish.
While there are some similarities between this and the toastyness of hojicha and gen mai cha, it isn’t as strong and is smoother and sweeter. The toastyness isn’t my cuppa, but for those that enjoy it shui xian is a great oolong to try.
Preparation
Ugh. I found an aspect of summer that I hate. The sun wakes me up waaay too flippin early when I don’t need to be up way to flippin early- and I am not a morning person. Funny though, this is the 1st year I remember this happening.
I have a sore throat today so I decided to ignore their “don’t steep over a min” warning and steep it for 3min. The result it a merky, watery pea soup like cuppa. Pretty darn good. It is just a touch bitter, but it was before. I like that- it keeps teas from getting overly sweet. It says this is made from Japanese loose tea… but based on their suggested I can’t figure out which one. I’ll email them and find out then next time I can steep it according to proper steeping parameters for the base tea.
Preparation
Leaving the house soon and I’m between leaves right now and didn’t want to start new ones only to have to leave after the 1st infusion. Almost like having a cuppa matcha!=D How can something that looks so gross taste so good? lol.
Preparation
As everyone knows, I love flavored matchas and after trying 52teas’ Mandarin Matcha, I’m on a constant search to find preflavored matchas. Now, I know you’re saying “But this isn’t a flavored matcha…” Yes, I know it isn’t- technically. But it is a matcha blend so it’s close.
Their website says this is a 2g bag (how nice that they list that info!), but when I measured it I found it to be 2.33g- quite a nice size for a bagged tea… but then again the tea I had this afternoon was weaker than weak for 3.33g.
Ew… Nasty… Not liking the liquor… it’s a murky (because of the matcha) greeny, browny, yellowy, gray color… But the smell definitely makes up for it. The sweet citrusy of the lemongrass blends wonderfully w/ the freshness of the mint and the complexity and depth of the matcha.
I was a little leary of this particular combo because, while I’ve flavored my matcha w/ both spearmint and lemon verbena separately, I’m just not crazy about the lemon/mint combo just like I don’t like either in my chai. As soon as I sip it, I forget about my reservations. The flavor profile is exactly that of the nose profile and the matcha gives this tea a wonderful, rich, thick, complex mouth feel. I wish they had this in loose leaf, but this is definitely a bagged tea I’ll keep on hand.
Preparation
2nd steep (3g/8oz water) after using the 1st to flavor matcha. I’m still shocked at how dark the liquor is w/ this infusion considering the small amount of green tea in the portion size. Still floral, there’s also a strong sweetness to balance it out.
Preparation
I placed my 1st order w/ The Tea Farm just to get their free dragonwell so I wanted something available in a 2oz size and was less than $3. I also didn’t want to try something that (like dragonwell) I could easily find somewhere else so I went w/ this one. I’ve never even heard of the Champaca flower before. So my apologies, but I really have no idea what I’m doing w/ this review… or more specifically what I should be smelling and tasting to compare to.
What… an… interesting… tea! This is by far the strangest tea I’ve seen. The raw flowers are a gorgeous dark reddish purple color and are huge! They greatly out scale the coiled and twisted green tea leaves. The aroma is that of flowers, sweetness (almost in the form of fruityness), and a hint of pepper.
I have no clue what the base tea is so, until I do, I go w/ the suggested (although suspiciously general) temp and time. I make some adjustments elsewhere though. I do not rinse and I use 6oz of water instead of 8.
The liquor is a light, buttery yellow which is no surprise given the small amount of actual tea that was in my tablespoon. The aroma is that of the raw leaf, only w/ less pepper. The flavor is nearly identical to the aroma, only stronger… I’m still amazed by this tea. It definitely needs time to sink in. Definitely worth the $2.32/oz (~15 cents a cup) to try it. And if you don’t like it, give it to 14 friends (there are ~15 servings/2oz) for one of the most unique green tea experiences they’ve had!
Preparation
2nd infusion, 4min: After the 1st infusion and decantion the tea leaves are much closer in size to the flowers and look like raffia. The liquor of this infusion is darker than the 1st, a beautiful golden color. The aroma is ever so lightly lighter. The flowery aspect to flavor is not weaker, but the tea flavor is stronger which makes for a more balanced cuppa. The flavor lingers in my mouth, leaving a strange, but good, feeling.
It’s one of those teas that leaves you speachless. I can’t decide if it’s like drinking perfume or not… you’d think it would be obvious lol!
4th infusion, 6min: Much lighter in both liquor and taste, but the taste is not weak. It’s still a well balanced cuppa. The leaves are done though. As good as this cup is, I doubt the quality of the next.
No notes yet. Add one?
Preparation
Even though I wouldn’t like this particular tea, I’m becoming increasingly disappointed in them and I haven’t even tried anything from them yet.
I actually tried the black tea and it wasn’t bad. I’m going to give it another go before I write a tasting note for it.
I’m glad you could finish this one, I’m wondering if adding something, sugar or honey even might help to bring out the subtleness of the “banana”. In all honesty, the lack of flavor but the hint of sweetness might be a blessing, the dried banana flavor can sometimes be overwhelming.
Yeah, I’ve certainly purchased more expensive tea that wasn’t drinkable at all. This tea isn’t bad at all for $1 an ounce. I guess I’ll have to try it with some sugar next time. Never had any other banana flavored tea, this would be my first.
Yea, I tried one banana flavored tea, but in general, anything with the dried banana (the chips and snack mixes) or anything with banana flavoring added (a few ice creams I have tried) can be overpowering. It always seems like there is too much banana or not enough, the happy medium is hard to find.
No notes yet. Add one?
Preparation
There’s a lot to respond to so I’m gonna just list my comments:
~What did they charge you for shipping?
~Mine was shipped USPS Priority Mail 5 – 7 Days
~Any surprises in the package?
~Now I need to learn how to properly prepare Chinese greens.
~I don’t like that they don’t tell you the type of tea used as the base.
~WHAT??? Sugared melon??? Were we notified of this somewhere on their website? It really hocks me off when a company commits false advertising and misrepresentation. Kinda like Adagio’s “sour apple”. I don’t want a melon tea! I don’t like melon tea. If I wanted a melon tea, I would have ordered one.
~Per the size of the fruit, I can understand why they don’t go large. Then, whether you portion your tea by weight or measurement the fruit would be in a much larger ratio to the tea. And I can’t stand a tea that is dominated by flavor to the point that you can’t tell there’s true tea in it. It’s not what I like drinking, and a waste of tea leaves IMO.
~Interesting 2nd steep… I’ve heard of increasing and not increasing the steeping time, but decreasing it?
~30 min w/ the rest of the 2nd steep? Why??
~I was really hoping that this would be my much cheaper alternative to Den’s’ Pineapple Sencha…
~I wonder what the return policy of this is?
*What did they charge you for shipping? *
3.95
Mine was shipped USPS Priority Mail 5 – 7 Days
Same, I received it in three business days
~Any surprises in the package?
Nope, unfortunately, no surprises =(
Now I need to learn how to properly prepare Chinese greens.
You mean purchase the right teaware?
I don’t like that they don’t tell you the type of tea used as the base.
Yeah, all they state is the origin, Anhui
WHAT? Sugared melon? Were we notified of this somewhere on their website? It really hocks me off when a company commits false advertising and misrepresentation. Kinda like Adagio’s “sour apple”. I don’t want a melon tea! I don’t like melon tea. If I wanted a melon tea, I would have ordered one.
Haha, well that’s what it tastes like. It’s not real pineapple pieces, more like candy pineapple pieces. I use to eat these as a kid. I’ll chew on a few more to get a better sense of it later. I ate two pieces, but they are really tiny.
Per the size of the fruit, I can understand why they don’t go large. Then, whether you portion your tea by weight or measurement the fruit would be in a much larger ratio to the tea. And I can’t stand a tea that is dominated by flavor to the point that you can’t tell there’s true tea in it. It’s not what I like drinking, and a waste of tea leaves IMO.
Tea taste is there, don’t worry. Flavors are what you should worry about =P
Interesting 2nd steep… I’ve heard of increasing and not increasing the steeping time, but decreasing it?
_The first steep had too much of a tea taste so I lowered it to see if it would help.
30 min w/ the rest of the 2nd steep? Why??
Comparison to see if it would get bitter (white monkey doesn’t get bitter). I actually do this a lot. I pour out half and let the remaining steep for a long period inside the ingenuiTea
I was really hoping that this would be my much cheaper alternative to Den’s’ Pineapple Sencha…
Haha, nope. Den’s sencha can’t be replaced
I wonder what the return policy of this is?
Shrugs, give yours a try ;)
When I meant properly prepare I meant parameters, not teaware purchases… at least for now- parameters are much more important in my book.
Ok, I’ll calm down now- I thought you meant it was melon pieces. I mean yeah they should also taste like pineapple, but as long as they actually are pineapple I won’t immediately return it unopened and accuse them of false advertising regardless of what it tastes like.
They sent me an email saying it would arrive in 5-7, BUT it came in 2-3 which is USPS’s priority mail standard shipping times. I think the 5-7 is set for their own safety so people can’t complain. I mean hiccups happen that aren’t on their end.
There are pieces, but you really can’t distinguish what they are. I’m like 90% sure they are sugared candy melon pieces. I mean I use to eat them a lot so I know how they smell and taste like. That’s the first impression I got from those pineapple pieces.
That sounds… interesting. Haha. Never heard of such a thing.
Hmm…I can see how this one would be good for eating with something, a tea side dish of sorts…or feeling as though you are having a snack :)
lol, I said eating instead of drinking :P You get the picture. ;)
There’s a vinegar tea?! Oh, my. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Steepster is a bad influence on my budget.
Jaime: I think I may have sent you a little bit of this in the package I sent to you. I’m not sure though. The tracking for the package says that it should be delivered today (well, it says “out for delivery”…) If I didn’t send a sampling to you, please let me know… and I’ll send some of that to you.
Funny thing LiberTeas you had sent me some too but the tin that was labeled Vinegar Tea was actually empty. No biggy it would have been a bonus anyway. :)
Oh, I’m all a-tingle with excitement!! You are awesome!!
Rachel -OMG! I am so sorry!!!
LiberTeas don’t even worry about it. Things happen. :)