Song Tea & Ceramics

Can be brewed with a variety of parameters to produce such varied experiences, from sweet and light yet rich, to something substantially driven by an umami with a deeper, grassy vibe. Somewhere along that continuum, you can strike pure gold. Interesting ‘fatty’ feel that’s not quite like the usual butteriness of green teas but something more like pure animal fat, though it doesn’t taste or smell anything like that feeling. Glassy, viscous liquor; little hairs catch the sun like flecks of glitter. It’s so crystal clear.

I didn’t give this stunning tea the attention it deserves. Fancy stuff. Recommended for experimenters with a love for the finer things.

April 2022 harvest

Chicken soup, sweet chestnuts and grassy. Viscous, round, bright and juicy. Good aroma, taste and texture. Not a delicate tea — it can handle 200F water just fine, creating a slightly different taste profile compared to the recommended 185F. More of a refreshing, brisk character prepared in a porcelain cup with steeper basket compared to a glass gaiwan.

This tea is over a year old and it is starting to get that dry grassy taste of aging Chinese greens but the overall flavor profile seems like a mix between regular green dragonwell and a yellow tea.

Interesting tea for sure and good but it never fully commanded my attention and appreciation. If this tea appears in Song Tea’s fresh harvest catalog next year, I might buy another bag to see how it tastes at peak freshness.

Thank you DERK! I really wanted to try this one, and am thankful for swapping to alleviate the problem of getting samples.

The later steeps were a little bit more subdued as I improvised based on how open the leaves were and the changing aroma, but there were fruity green traces. I probably should have done it again, but it’s I got the creamy butter profile I wanted from it. I’m not sure how else to experiement since longer steeps give a more rounded body. I’ll finish it quickly, though I won’t rate it quite yet. I definitely like it.

A gift from derk, and leaves she esteems highly, so… an honor.

I christened my first proper tea bowl with this tea. I was terribly patient in seeking a bowl, and patient to find its first leaves… sitting quietly with it today felt easy and comforting. Patience gets a thumbs up.

It’s been a long week of work-related-but-phenomenal classes, and I head out for a straight 48 hours of actual work in the morning. These minutes were welcome respite and afforded some reflection.

The orchid is just so. So grounding, but so light; so beautiful, but so… hm, practical. The evergreen lets the florals hang in a way that feels tenuous… ah, but they persist. I watched the leaves unfurl and churn and resituate and drop, absorbing water like inspiration for the next right thing. I thought about the so-many hands that had touched them before I sat dumbfounded, watching them rewind.

I need to watch more tea leaves.

April Sipdown Prompt – a grassy tea

This is another gift from derk! Thank you!

The company offers a really long description on this tea – all about the tea garden and their methods and worth a read if you like that sort of thing.

I steeped this in my smallest porcelain pot and the little spears went ping like pellets of TGY do as they fell in. So cute! I picked them up and dropped them in again just for fun.

The dry leaves smelled like warm peas in buttery juice. This was not at all like the description. I searched for the scent of marigold which is quite distinctive but I didn’t find it. Steeped, the aroma changes completely. I went with their longer style recommendation. Now the broth is savory, like a light Japanese soup broth, as well as sharp grassy. Although I do not smell marigold, I do get that this mouthfeel which is very brisk could remind me of such. The savoriness brings in the pepper note, but not like the heat of peppercorns in chai.

Those hard little spears are now soft and cuddly in texture and color. Second steep went the shorter way, just one minute. Now we have more of the buttered peas aroma and less of the savory soup aroma, but surprisingly this is still quite brisk.

I think lovers of Japanese green teas would like this one. Thanks for the opportunity to try something new out on the patio on a crisp spring morning, derk!

On the warm leaf: chocolate covered cherries, raspberry jam, Andes mints… seriously, the milk chocolate is unmistakable. Wow.

Wet dog coming off the pour again — this must be par for the course with Ruby 18? Wintergreen here, too (where the Floating Leaves R18 had it everywhere except the nose). Herbaceous.

First pour tastes of baker’s cocoa, tannin, leather, tobacco. I can’t locate any fruit, mint, or sweetness.

After the first pour, wintergreen is now fully apparent in the wet leaves… medicinal and herbal like a Ricola cough drop, menthol cigarettes… immediately after the next pour there was a distinct celery seed and water chestnut aroma (which changed again before the next fill… smells in the pot are all over the place, haha).

Second pour, wet dog is still heavy on the nose, with ripe fruit and more wintergreen. The taste is more cooling, and I’m able to pick out some wintergreen where I wasn’t in the first pour. Quite drying throughout my whole mouth, with crunchy tannins and cherry. Cocoa seemed to have mostly dissipated, until I took the last sip and found chocolate covered peanuts at the bottom of the cup.

Back to the leaves: chocolate covered cherry and wintergreen now that they’ve cooled a bit. The leaves might be the most interesting part of this tea.

Several more steeps. Some indistinct florality. Biggest pulls are mint, milk chocolate, cherry, tobacco — and it all completely works together. The tannins are what give me pause, which I know is common with Ruby 18s. (derk, I’m shocked you didn’t get any going grandpa style! Maybe I should have followed your lead.) If I had more leaves, I might try this at a lower temperature? Even still: Song recommends 5g in 150ml at 205 degrees for a full minute, and I’m only at 3.5g/150ml at 195 degrees for about 10-15 seconds! I think my tongue might turn to leather if I cranked that hard.

A delightful journey, and probably the most interesting Ruby I’ve had so far. There is so much to uncover here. Thank you so much for the absolute treat, derk!

Something told me to drink it grandpa style. It’s unlike any Ruby 18 I’ve had. Sweeter than any other, softer, complex. No tannic bite at all, which is often an occurrence with this cultivar. Incredible balance of aroma, flavor, texture.

I have a few samples of new-to-me Ruby 18s from Leafhopper to try so it might be hasty of me to say after drinking this tea that there is now no other Ruby 18 for me. Song Tea is going to ruin my tea budget. Their selection thus far has been some of the best leaf I’ve had. The teas make me want to do nothing more than to sit with them and feel, rather than taste.

I will return with more another time.

Song pairing: The Flamingos — “I Only Have Eyes for You”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvzNeh4Mq1o

One of several teas brought with me for camping. Brought my trusty bowl for bare bones tea sipping. Boil water in my backpacking pot/stove setup, fill bowl, store rest of water in the old Aladdin Stanley thermos.

With the filtered water and colder ambient temps and forest environment (redwood, Doug fir, Scotch pine, huckleberry, tan oak), this was so much more floral than brewed at home with my usual unfiltered tap water. I actually enjoy it more at home. It’s foggier here, and warmer. Goes better with the tea. I’d rather be in the woods, though. This city living ain’t for me.

Bowl tea again. Will I ever have this leaf any other way?

Mellow morning, overcast with a light rain falling straight down. Woke up to the solemn and soulful call of the owl that moved into the neighborhood several months ago. Enjoying the cool moisture coming in through my bedroom door to the garden. The cool dampness permeates my space and body. Simple and quiet, just the way I like it. This tea speaks to me. It has a strong sense of self.

Should be a good evening for dinner at my favorite sushi place.

In other news, I got a birthday email from my health insurance provider this morning. “Your doctor has a reminder for you about an upcoming screening or test.” Log-in, read the message. They want me to come in a for a mammogram. I’ve hit 40. I’m officially old. HAHAHA!

After sharing this hilarious moment with Kiki, she came into my room with a flyer she got in the mail this week. “Our free lunch, your lasting legacy. Kiki, you’re invited! Join us for a FREE Informational Luncheon (that’s a word often uttered by those of advanced age)(at Round Table Pizza) to learn the Benefits of Preplanning for Cremation.” Her 70th birthday is coming up in a few weeks. She said, “Let me put that in my file,” and tossed it in the recycling. We had a laugh so hard that my cheeks and abs are sore. It’s a year of milestones for us couple of old coots.

Another bowl tea. Hm. Can be soft and quiet but really wants to shine as crisp and clear in a sense, with a dark, grounding depth and fortitude not expressed in Qing Xin cultivar. Difficult to describe. This is Ruan Zhi, a popular cultivar in the plantations of Thailand. But this leaf is grown on Taiwan, Shan Lin Xi.

My imagination is running away. I feel an enclave of tall, triangular conifers, housing the beauty of orchids in their bark… surrounding a small pond dark, opaque and cool, ringed by hand-carved cold stone. It’s almost a blue-green association, or cyanobacterial. The tea also elicits the feeling of the Temple of Light in God of War Ragnarök. Warms the throat like a pillar of ethereal buttery light.

Bowl tea. Little sweet-dry roast floats above. Hm. Soft and quiet, something to sit with.

Will return.

Steep:
2tsp
212°F
1 min
Adagio IngenuiTEA 16 oz

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet and roasty
Steeped Tea Smell: bread, bakey, sweet
Flavor: sweet, earthy
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: slightly astringent finish
Liquor: Translucent dark brown

Resteep:
More earthy, astringent, roasty

Second Resteep:
Watery, not worthwhile

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Leaf system:
1=Bleh! not again if it were free
2=Acceptable, if it were free or there were limited other tea options
3=I might purchase this tea from time to time, or select it while out
4=A staple in our cupboard from now on, I will purchase and keep purchasing

YouTube Review https://youtu.be/QQafiJTIQi8

TikTok Review https://www.tiktok.com/@circuitswan/video/7095564294900698414

Blog Post https://amazonv.blogspot.com/2022/05/song-tea-company-loose-leaf-black-tea.html

Statement of Sponsorship or Advertisement:
I got this product as a personal gift.

Disclaimer:
All my reviews are as unbiased as possible, whether I buy or receive free product. I accept no other compensation other than free product.

Steep:
3g
212°F
2.5min
kati loose tea system 12oz

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: spearmint
Steeped Tea Smell: herbs, minty, and lemongrass finish
Flavor: herbal, lemony, spearmint finish
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: cool mint
Liquor: translucent green brown

Post-Steep Additives: honey
Comments: delicious

Resteep:
Tasty!

Third steep:
Watery, weak, not worthwhile

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Leaf system:
1=Bleh! not again if it were free
2=Acceptable, if it were free or there were limited other tea options
3=I might purchase this tea from time to time, or select it while out
4=A staple in our cupboard from now on, I will purchase and keep purchasing

Purchase Link https://songtea.com/collections/botanicals/products/meadow

Steepster Link https://steepster.com/teas/song-tea-and-ceramics/100131-meadow

YouTube Review https://youtu.be/9gObMoJeu8c

TikTok Review https://www.tiktok.com/@circuitswan/video/7092900637343534378?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Blog Post https://amazonv.blogspot.com/2022/05/song-tea-loose-leaf-herbal-tea-meadow.html

Statement of Sponsorship or Advertisement:
I was gifted this product by a friend.

Disclaimer:
All my reviews are as unbiased as possible, whether I buy or receive free product. I accept no other compensation other than free product.

Steep:
2tsp
160°F
1 min
kati loose tea system 12oz

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: cucumber fresh green, fresh mixed salad greens
Steeped Tea Smell: fresh spinach
Flavor: light crisp fresh cucumber salad, sweet finish
Body: Light
Aftertaste: hint grassy
Liquor: translucent light yellow green

Comments: beautiful long twisted leaves

Resteep:
2 minutes
more vegetal and grassy
would try less time or temp next time

Third-Steep:
3 minutes
Bitter and watery
for sure need to change prep method

Rating: 3/4 leaves

Leaf system:
1=Bleh! not again if it were free
2=Acceptable, if it were free or there were limited other tea options
3=I might purchase this tea from time to time, or select it while out
4=A staple in our cupboard from now on, I will purchase and keep purchasing

Steepster Link https://steepster.com/teas/song-tea-and-ceramics/59368-fragrant-leaf

YouTube Review https://youtu.be/01wmNhun5PI and resteep-https://youtube.com/shorts/QycNEvY2Y9E

TikTok Review https://www.tiktok.com/@circuitswan/video/7092521461318962474

Blog Post https://amazonv.blogspot.com/2022/05/song-tea-company-loose-leaf-green-tea.html

Statement of Sponsorship or Advertisement:
I was gifted this product by a friend.

Disclaimer:
All my reviews are as unbiased as possible, whether I buy or receive free product. I accept no other compensation other than free product.

Sipdown! (5 | 5)

Another swap sample from a kind Instagram tea friend.

Wow, is this a sweet tea! Oodles of brown sugar, honey, sweet corn, some spun sugar as well. A bit of a toasty popcorn note as well, along with rich dried stonefruit notes that remind me of apricot fruit leather. Among these is also the more usual clear mineral notes and thick, sumptuously silky texture that I often find in greener oolong. There’s a touch of gentle floral as well, especially near the end of the sip.

Reading the description, I can totally taste the crystallized ginger note as well, even if I’m not astute enough to describe it on my own he he. A very interesting and unusual oolong, and I’m thankful for having a chance to try it because of the kindness of friends! :3

Sipdown! (21 | 510)

Another swap sample from Instagram.

This is quite a tasty oolong. It has lovely sweet sugarcane, brown sugar, and nectar notes. The roast gives some notes of toasted bread and autumn leaves, and perhaps a hint of nuttiness as well. There’s just a smidgen of dried fruit, rich yet sweet like golden raisins. Some light floral notes make an appearance toward the end of the sip as well.

I did enjoy this, but it’s not my favorite style. I feel like roasting tends to make oolongs taste more generic to my palate, maybe I just have a hard time picking out the nuances. But I much prefer oxidized and unroasted or very lightly roasted style oolongs!

Gongfu!

Someone brought this into the office for us all to try because they were curious to see if we’d agree with the tasting notes of “kettle corn and cotton candy”. I have to say, I am of mixed opinion. The session was overall really lovely and I greatly enjoyed the tea. Over my six or seven steeps, I got a a wide array of light to medium bodied notes throughout the session: airy sweet sugar snaps, ginger lily, kettle corn, and orchid to name a few! So, I suppose I’d say kettle corn is accurate (for me at least – taste is subjective) but cotton candy feels like a bit of a stretch. I suppose you could argue for that “light and airy sweetness” being interpreted as cotton candy, though.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CR93HoXr5Rm/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzV2A7BM8TM&ab_channel=GingerRoot

Just finished this one and realized I’ve never written a tasting note for it! I guess that happens. This tea deserves a more detailed note, but I’m simply not going to make that effort. It’s another finely crafted tea from Song, which is such reliable tea vendor. I always enjoy the teas I get from them. All the notes are there: peach, almonds, a slightly creamy note. It doesn’t hold up to many infusions – the third one is pushing it. Do not overbrew this one or it will get too tannic and bitter. Super enjoyable. And now it’s gone. May purchase this again someday, but my current stash is too big and I’ve got to drink what I have.

In my search to find high-quality teas that could be used like everyday teas, this one didn’t work out for me. My brewing of it today is much closer to the suggested brewing time and proportions and the taste has already become much more interesting. I have to admit, I was most hopeful that this one would fare well with your more-standard 1.5 teaspoons per cup proportions and five-minute time. It smelled impressively smokey and sweet. The flavors just never came out using those methods. I have a little left that I will attempt to make proper-like so as not to waste it.

[I DID NOT FOLLOW THE BREWING INSTRUCTIONS]

I’m making this at work, looking for fancy teas that can be used as everyday teas. I’m slowly working my way through various tea shops, online and local, and using Steepster to keep track of it all. Song Red was one of the less expensive offerings at Song Tea so I thought I’d give it a whirl. At work, I have a 1 liter tea pot with a fairly sizable basket for the leaves to sit in and an electric kettle with good temperature control.

Since the instructions called for a greater quantity (at least twice as much) of tea leaves than I wanted to use every day, I decided to see what it was like with 1.5 teaspoons per cup of water. As you might expect, the tea came out rather weak using a one-minute brew time.

First I tried five minutes and that still came out a bit weaker than I like. Then I read that, even under the optimal brewing conditions, the tea needs some extra time so I kicked it up to six minutes. This tea was much more satisfying. It’s not as sweet as described but I was happy with it.

I have not yet tried this tea using the brew instructions. I’d expect that it would benefit.

[I DID NOT FOLLOW THE BREWING INSTRUCTIONS]

I’m making this at work, looking for fancy teas that can be used as everyday teas. Eighteen was one of the less expensive offerings at Song Tea so I thought I’d give it a whirl. At work, I have a 1 liter tea pot with a fairly sizable basket for the leaves to sit in and an electric kettle with good temperature control.

Once I kicked up the time to five minutes, it produced a rather tasty tea.

I have not yet tried this tea using the brew instructions. I’d expect that it would be an even better tea.

Wonderful black from Song Tea. I had no reservations about the quality as I had been lucky enough to sit for a tea tasting at the shop that went on for about 2 hours – a really lovely experience. These people are serious about tea.

Brewed this up according to vendor instructions, using my small gaiwan (~100 ml, ~3 g), 1.5 minutes for first and second infusions, then 2 minutes for the third. Keeping in mind this tea is probably way past it’s prime, there was no bitterness at the 1.5 min brew time, but started to get a bit too tannic at 2 min.

According to the vendor notes, there should be cinnamon, cherry and mint notes. I’m getting cherry for sure, and a tiny bit of mint, but no cinnamon, which is fine with me. Getting warm caramel sweetness instead, which is heavenly. Again, this tea is already over 3 yrs old (!), so no telling what it would have been like had I opened it much sooner, and since I didn’t taste this one at the shop, I’ll guess I will never know! Still, very happy with it, it’s warm and comforting, which is exactly what I need right now.

I want to start off by saying that I enjoyed this tea a lot.

It may not sound like it after the next couple of sentences, but I did. The first two steepings were brutal. Very overwhelming roasted flavor signifying some definite over-roasting at some point in its life. I brewed this tea first using Song’s brewing guide but was very dissapointed with the results so went traditional Gong Fu the second time around. Short steeps of 6/4/6/8/10/15/30/45 in 100 ml Yixing.

Something changed in the third steep though and the tea suddenly became very balanced and clear. A beautiful caramel/toffee base with just a slight hint of smoked wood. This remained consistently for the next 6 steeping and probably could have gone more. Maybe next time I will try a longer rinse? Or maybe I’ll just dump the first two infusions altogether? Seems wasteful, but maybe worth it as the third steeping onward was fantastic.

I am generally a huge fan of aged yancha and this is definitely a good one though, ultimately, perhaps not worth the price of admission. I could see myself getting this tea again but would probably have to think about it first.