171 Tasting Notes
Based on two experiences: my wife’s and my own
Experience buying from Tea Forte: Good. Website is very colorful and easy to navigate. Given free samples after responding to Steepster invitation. Package came in reasonable amount of time. Other than sending my address, no e-mail or phone contact.
Age of leaf: Unknown. Steeped within a month or so of receiving.
Packaging: Creative: a grayish somewhat transparent plastic bag with five smaller “Single Steeps” packs attached to a colorful paper backing describing each tea. The tiny tea foil packs themselves are the most colorful and most professional-looking tea packages I have ever seen.
Dry Leaf: Strong, rich smell, definitely has a berry scent to it. Very colorful looking tea (blue, light and dark red bits).
Brewing guidelines: (package states 12 oz. I used closer to 16 oz.) Two steepings: 1st: boiling, 3mins. 2nd: boiling, 5 mins. (the next day). Small amount of Stevia added. Basket strainer inside ceramic 16 oz. cup.
Aroma: smelled like berries.
Color of liquor: 1st steeping: Beautiful, deep purple-red color, just the way I would imagine a glass of red wine would look! 2nd steeping: not quite as colorful.
Wet leaf: smelled somewhat like candied berries.
Flavor: 1st steeping: Strong berry taste. My wife really liked it, but I felt it was a little too tart, and had some off flavor, almost like it was stale. 2nd steeping: about the same as the first, but not as strong, and the tartness and staleness was muted.
Value: Free sample, but their price on their website is more than I would be willing to pay if I purchased it.
Overall: Overall, it is a fun tea to experience, but the flavor was not very well balanced for my tastes. I enjoyed drinking it once, and I would drink it if someone offered it to me, but I don’t think I would buy it.
Preparation
Experience buying from Harney & Sons http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-online-millerton-new-york
Age of leaf: Lot #11196 (brewed about six weeks after receiving sample).
Dry Leaf: Sample size (roughly four generous teaspoons); a mixture of light and dark green, curly, and somewhat fuzzy, small leaves. There was a very thin sprinkling of ‘down’ on the spoon I used to measure it, and on the walls of the small glass jar I temporarily stored it in. Strong, roasted, vegetal, sweet smell.
Brewing guidelines: Glass Bodum pot with metal strainer/plunger. Four
8-ounce cups of water used. Stevia added to compliment flavor.
Steepings: 1st: 172, 2’
……………..2nd: 175, 2.5’
……………..3rd: 178, 3’
……………..4th: 182, 4’
Aroma: Mildly vegetal.
Color of liquor: Pale yellow.
Wet leaf: Dark green, fresh appearance; smells slightly roasted. Lots of nice-looking small buds and bud-sets. No fragments. A few dark shriveled pieces.
Flavor: Mild and pleasant (somewhat similar to the H&S Anji Baicha I had recently). Slightly roasted taste which comes out more when cooled. No astringency.
Value: Good for a sample ($2). Their price for two ounces ($20 USD) seems to more reasonable compared to at least one other vendor I know of who stocks it (Seven Cups).
Overall: My wife and I both thought that this was a pleasant tea enjoyed without any typical green tea astringency. Flavor held up through four steepings (flavor very mild on the 4th). What I will most likely remember most about this tea is the fine downy covering left behind on anything the dry tea came in contact with, a subtle testament to its authenticity (which I believe is due to its being harvested in early spring).
Based on two experiences: my wife’s and my own
Experience buying from Tea Forte: Good. Website is very colorful and easy to navigate. Given free samples after responding to Steepster invitation. Package came in reasonable amount of time. Other than sending my address, no e-mail or phone contact.
Age of leaf: Unknown. Steeped within weeks of receiving.
Packaging: Creative: a grayish somewhat transparent plastic bag with five smaller “Single Steeps” packs attached to a colorful paper backing describing each tea. The tiny tea foil packs themselves are the most colorful and most professional-looking tea packages I have ever seen.
Dry Leaf: Strong, fresh smell (a little like amaretto to me).
Brewing guidelines: (package states 12 oz. I used closer to 16 oz.) Two steepings: 1st: boiling, 3mins. 2nd: boiling, 5 mins. (about 20-30 minutes later). Small amount of Stevia added. Basket strainer inside ceramic 16 oz. cup.
Aroma: smelled a little like canned cherries.
Color of liquor: 1st: Beautiful, deep red color. 2nd: a little darker.
Wet leaf: smelled a little like cherries.
Flavor: 1st steeping: OK. A little too strong on the cherry flavor? 2nd: Not as tasty as 1st, has a kind of ‘off’ flavor to it, almost stale, and even a little — I’m sure how to describe it, but I believe the correct word here is — tart, since I am experiencing some dryness in my mouth.
Value: Free sample, but their price on their website is more than I would be willing to pay if I purchased it.
Overall: Awesome start, disappointing finish. I love everything about the tea but the taste: as to that we both felt it fell short. I didn’t feel a need to finish the first steeping, let alone the second (my wife didn’t even want to try it). Unfortunately, we would not buy this tea. :(
Preparation
I felt the same about this tea, unfortunately. The only tea I liked out of the sampler was the Mojito Marmalade, which I would purchase.
On another note, I really enjoy your bio. I’ve started practicing yoga and tea drinking for a lot of the same reason. Helps me stay focused yet calms my anxious, anxiety prone mind.
Thank you for your comment.
We still have the Merlot and the Ginger to try (we also liked the Marmalade best so far).
I’m glad you enjoyed my bio. It’s good to hear others are practicing yoga. I practice it at least three times a day, for about 1.5 hrs a day, and have been doing it daily for over six years. It has done wonders for me. It’s an integral part of my daily life, and happiness. I have a few book/video/DVD recommendations; if you are interested, let me know.
Updated on 10-22-11 after doing a second brewing session with it
Experience buying from Jing Tea Shop: http://steepster.com/places/2780-jing-tea-shop-on-line—
Age of leaf: harvested spring 2009; received and brewed summer (and fall) 2011
Dry Leaf: Appearance just as shown on website: beautiful light and dark brown leaves. Aromatic, typical of other Yunnan red teas: malty.
Brewing guidelines: brewed a full six cups in standard ceramic teapot using 2” mesh cup strainer; three steepings, 1st a little of the boil and 2 minutes steep time, 2nd at boiling, 3 minutes, 3rd at boiling 4 minutes (brewed the next day, after keeping in fridge). Used a little Stevia to bring out the flavor. My second go around with this tea yielded three good steepings, and a decent forth.
Aroma: a mild malty aroma.
Color of liquor: Coppery.
Wet leaf: This leaf is amazing. There are very few broken pieces (probably from transport and handling) and it’s composed almost entirely of buds, with very few leaves, and a few stems. They are brown in color, where some have a light brown cast to them. The buds look very healthy (not withered looking as I have seen in some tea leaves/buds).
Flavor: Great! Sweet, similar to other Chinese red teas I have had, with the characteristic Yunnan malty flavor.
Value: Considering the quality of the leaf, and the flavor therein, the value is incredible! $5.99/100grams (currently sold out).
Overall: This is my second go around with this Yunnan red tea, and I was as impressed as I was the first time I tried it. Since the first time I tried it I have had a few other moderately priced Chinese red teas, and this one easily stands up to them. I iced some of it and it tasted wonderful! I warmed up some of it the next day, and it was still yummy. This is a beautiful looking, very reasonably priced and flavorful Yunnan.
Preparation
Experience buying from Harney & Son’s http://steepster.com/places/2779-harney-and-sons-on-line-millerton-new-york
Age of leaf: Lot # 11124; production date: 124 days into 2011 (roughly early May). I opened and steeped the tea within a few weeks of receiving it.
Dry leaf: Advertised as enough tea for 3-4 cups (I estimate about 8-10 grams). Nice looking green leaves mixed with downy white buds that remind me of Silver Needles; sweet and smoky smelling.
Steeping guidelines: 1st: 1.5 mins, 168°. 2nd: 2 mins. 172°. 3rd:2.5 mins. 175°. 4th: hotter and longer steep time. Added Stevia. Glass Bodum pot with metal infuser/plunger.
Aroma: smoky, roasted.
Color of liquor: Very light yellow-ish color.
Wet leaf: Mostly bud or bud sets (lots of plump looking buds), with very few leaves. A few stem pieces, and brown coloring on the edges of some. A healthy green color.
Flavor: Sweet, smoky, vegetal taste.
Value: $2 for the sample. Not bad for a sample as it is normally about $8 an ounce.
Overall: This is my first Huang Shan Mao Feng. I was not expecting the smoky flavor (as it is not mentioned in the description), but I liked how it seemed to compliment the typical vegetal green flavor. Later steepings did not hold much flavor. What stands out in my mind about this tea is the wet leaves: I have never seen such a high ratio of buds to leaves and stems as I have with this one (other than one ‘bud only’ tea). Very impressive. The taste, not so impressive. Not worth $8/ounce in my book. Still, an interesting tea.
