Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

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April 2017 White2Tea Club feat Dancong Drinking Experiment

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April 2017 White2Tea Club! This month features two oolongs – Milan and Yesheng Dancong, and a couple 2017 Grandpa’s Ripe Balls. I was torn on what to do for this review at first. This is a lot of dancong to get through for 2 days, especially if I follow the instructions thoroughly. I am also scared of drinking the recent (March) pressed shou – I personally prefer time on these and my gut will unkindly remind me why after the session is complete. I decided to forgo the 2017 Grandpa’s Ripe Balls for now, I will drink it once it has calmed down. If you… Continue reading, hoot!

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White Tea Puer from Shang Tea

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I have never come across a tea like Shang Tea’s White Tea Puer. Yes, I’ve seen puer cake and aged white tea pressed into cakes, but what makes this tea different is the processing. They took white tea cultivar (Da Bai/ Da Hao) but they treated it as a puer with withering, rolling, couple days of fermentation before drying. After a year of aging, they steamed the loose material and pressed it into cakes. Once I saw this tea on Shang Tea’s website, I had to try it as it sounded like an adventure! On their website, they only list… Continue reading, hoot!

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SAKU Tea Superfood Latte Blends

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SAKU Tea is a tea bar located in Bellingham, WA that I keep meaning to visit. Their tea bar has a large tea menu, as well as some unique tea lattes. They also host events and workshops. What the Tea Owls and I are tasting today is their Superfood Latte Blends line – Maca Cocoa Jade, Vanilla Maple Jade, Ruby Cocoa, Ruby Ginger, Golden Orange, and Golden Chai. These latte blend bases are made with either matcha, beet, or turmeric, and they are all organic. SAKU tea started a Kickstarter to ramp up production and volume of their Superfood latte teas.… Continue reading, hoot!

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Tora Organic Japanese Ceremonial Matcha

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A new matcha today! Let’s check out Tora Organic Japanese Ceremonial Matcha, it has a tiger on the package! Dry Powder and Preparation Method Tora Organic Japanese Ceremonial Matcha has a very appealing looking matcha powder – it has a bright green color, fluffy texture, and sweet grass scent. I sifted 2 grams of matcha, then whisked it in a warmed bowl with 160F water. I then topped it off with more water to taste. Tora Organic Japanese Ceremonial Matcha has a pretty nice appearance with good foam, though the foam doesn’t last for the full session of drinking. Interestingly, I found I used… Continue reading, hoot!

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Varietal Comparison – Sun Moon Lake from Cameron Tea

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I am lucky enough to have a bunch of samples from Cameron Tea, who has multiple grades and varietals of the same tea. Today is a comparison of Sun Moon Lake, both competition grade, but different varietals – Ruby (TTES No. 18) and Assam (Assamica varietal from India Jaipur). Dang, I just realized they also have a Sun Moon Lake Formosa varietal as well – next time! Dry Leaf and Steeping Method For all photos, the Ruby is on the left, Assam on the right. Leaf wise, the two teas look pretty darn close. The Assam seems lighter as there is more leaf… Continue reading, hoot!

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Premium Ceremonial Matcha from Japanese Green Tea In

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I am always on the quest for the most tastiest of matchas. Today’s matcha certainly stands out in the crowd! Japanese Green Tea In’s Premium Ceremonial Matcha is sourced from Farm Master Mr. Arahata at his Arahataen Green Tea Farm. Interestingly, the soil is fertilized with local sugar cane and the leaf is hand picked. Japanese Green Tea In’s Premium Ceremonial Matcha comes in a sealed pull tab tin, with silver flecks on the label. Dry Powder and Preparation Method The matcha powder has an appealing fresh sweet scent with an vivid grass green colour. The performance of Japanese Green Tea In’s Premium Ceremonial Matcha… Continue reading, hoot!

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2015 That’s No Moon Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea

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I purchased 2015 That’s No Moon Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea at release. I live close to Crimson Lotus Tea and tried this shou a few months back with them and enjoyed it. I’m not strong with the force (yet), so my wing waving and “You will sell this to me now,” did not work, thus I had to wait until Crimson Lotus finally listed it for sale on their online shop. I did not give this cake much rest as it literally went from Crimson Lotus Tea’s storage, to my car, to my tea table. This time I… Continue reading, hoot!

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Grand Admiral Thrawn Tea from Adagio Teas – feat. Owlth’raw’nuruodo

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Pushing further into so-called “Unknown space” I have come across a curious race of “Tea Owls.” Their political organization is primitive, purporting to be a parliament but lacking most of the expected procedure as the majority of their time and efforts appears focused their titular concoction they call tea. I have observed the Tea Owls who work brewing tea, cleaning tea pots, and operating cameras in a remarkably diligent effort to document every aspect of this cultural obsession. At the end of each day these owls drink yet more tea and consume “beef jerky,” a desiccated meat product very similar in taste to… Continue reading, hoot!

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Pine Oolong and Honey Red Jade from Golden Tea Leaf

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I came across Golden Tea Leaf at the last World Tea Expo. Golden Leaf Tea had some delicious tea, but also award winning tea. Both teas I will be tasting today placed in the North American World Tea Championships, Pine Oolong first place and Honey Red Jade third place. Pine Oolong Pine Oolong is a blend of two Taiwanese High Mountain teas. Which high mountain teas? They don’t say, so I guess a trade secret? I was only given sachets that contained 3 grams of leaf. The tea inside the sachets look great and appear to be whole leaf. With two sachets, I was able… Continue reading, hoot!

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2016 Cream Shou Puer from White2Tea

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I purchased White2Tea’s 2016 Cream Shou Puer and it arrived sometime early February. I had it air out for about a month before putting into my shou’midor to party with the others. Dry Leaf and Wrapper Cream is a 200g cake and has a simple, retro wrapper. Filthy hoot. The cake is super dark with the odd ripple of dark brown. The smell is a bit like wooden planks. Steeping Method I did gongfu style, of course. I used 1 gram of leaf to 13 grams of vessel size. A bit more leaf here as I broke off a clean 7… Continue reading, hoot!