Category: Tea Reviews

Tea reviews and tea tastings

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Puer Green and Puer Black Tea from Pique Tea Crystals

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After being impressed with Pique Tea‘s Wuyi Oolong and White Peony White Tea, I had to get my hands on their puer. Their puer sports 250-year-old trees and triple toxin screened for mold and metals. Pique Tea’s Pu’er Green Tea I used their suggested 175F/ 79c water, but I find going around 185-200F/ 85-93c has a more pleasing, stronger taste. However, if you do not like bitter, go to the 175F/ 79c water temperature. Pique Tea’s Puer Green is surprisingly good. It sips in smooth in texture tasting of driftwood with a strong stone fruit floral aftertaste that lingers for… Continue reading, hoot!

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HER-CHA Tea Discovery Collection Review

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HER-CHA is a tea startup from California that specializes in premium teas that are packed in small serving tins to preserve their freshness. In the HER-CHA line up are six teas – Green Oolong, Dark Oolong, Black, Wild White, Green, and Ripe Puer. Each tin has 1 to 2 servings, comfortably to do a small teapot brewed western style, or a 100ml gongfu style. The Discovery Collection contains one of each tea in their selection. The packing of this tea collection is well put together and of high quality, ensuring the leaves are kept intact. It is packaged perfectly for… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 Bi Luo Chun Green and Competition Grade Wenshan Baozhong from Eco-Cha

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Today is an interesting selection of Eco-Cha teas that were featured in previous months of their monthly tea club. I always enjoy getting teas from their club as they are of high quality or interesting teas to drink. Eco-Cha‘s Spring 2020 Bi Luo Chun Green Tea I haven’t drunk a Bi Luo Chun for a long time, actually, I cannot remember the last time I’ve had this green tea. Eco-Cha’s Bi Luo Chun is a spring 2020 tea grown in Taiwan. The dry leaf smells like simply like pine nuts. Instructions say 1 gram of leaf per 40ml of vessel… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Well, Well Sheng Puer from White2tea

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I am slowly going through all my White2tea samples I’ve bought over the last year and finally got to 2019 Well, Well sheng puer. The material is a blend of different regions, promising to be subtle, “elegant, and ruthless”. Sign me up! Leaf and Steeping Method Well, Well’s leaf scent is light and leaning floral and sweet. For this tea like other sheng puers, I went gongfu style with 1 gram of leaf per 15ml vessel size, steeped in boiling water. The hot leaf has steamed rice in banana leaf and candle wax smell but with a slight nose wrinkle… Continue reading, hoot!

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Zach’s Breakfast from Zadiko Tea Co – Tea Review

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Back when I moved to the US and had not much to do, I started writing this tea blog in 2013 but also watching a lot of Youtube. I had subscribed to Buzzfeed’s many channels and over the years watched four guys eventually form a team, The Try Guys, and become successful internet celebrities. I always had a smile seeing Try Guy’s Zach drinking tea – he even has the Tea Spot’s Urban Tea Tumbler, one of my favorite tea bottles. Recently, Try Guy Zach launched his own tea company, Zadiko Tea Co, with 2 teas. He also made a… Continue reading, hoot!

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Chiran Matcha 2019 Limited Edition from Naoki Matcha

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Today’s matcha is from a new cultivar that hasn’t hit commercial production. Naoki Matcha’s Chiran Matcha 2019 Limited Edition is from Chiran region in Kagoshima Prefecture using the SeiMei Cultivar. Googling up the SeiMei cultivar doesn’t get too many hits, but I do find a paper dated in 2018. Matcha Powder and Preparation The matcha powder smells of mowed flowers and chestnut shells. I used 2 grams of matcha powder, usucha style, whisked in 5oz/150ml low temperature (175F/79c) water. Chiran Matcha whisks up amazingly well and high amounts of foam. I did a finger drag test across the surface and… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Modern Witch Shou Puer from White2Tea

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I love everything about White2tea’s 2019 Modern Witch on paper – the wrapper has cool skulls and the description of interesting bitterness and balanced flavors. I could not resist and blindly purchasing a whole cake without sampling. Leaf and Steeping Method 2019 Modern Witch Shou has a cream funky caramel scent. The compression is quite tight on this shou cake, so you will need a good puer tea knife to get at it. I went with 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu (with 2 rinses) steeped in boiling water. Once the leaves are introduced to hot… Continue reading, hoot!

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Bitterleaf Teas’ Guanyang Baimudan Set feat 2018 Wander Through the Garden and Venture Into The Woods White Tea

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I could not resist buying Bitterleaf Tea’s Fuding Experience: Guanyang Baimudan Set. In this set is a pair of 2018 Baimudan (White Peony grade) White teas from a small area in Fuding. Wander Through the Garden white tea is from a tea garden, whereas Venture Into the Woods is from tea trees left to their own devices. My only hesitation here is 2018 white tea I consider in an awkward phase of being stale but not old enough to show aged notes. However, this set is perfect to let age and continue to comparison taste. It is too bad I… Continue reading, hoot!

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2020 April White2Tea Club feat. Mao Jian and Emerald Buds Green Tea

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It is no secret, I dislike green tea that doesn’t come in powdered form. There is something about green tea’s grassy taste and chill energy that doesn’t settle well with me. White2Tea has a tea club month that is green tea and with covid scramble, I decided it was too much hassle to arranged this month to be skipped, so here I am drinking it before I ship it to a friend. Both green teas I used 1g to 20ml leaf to vessel ratio. I usually go 1g/30ml for greens but I’m feeling spicy today. The handout said to steep… Continue reading, hoot!

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2019 Shan Lin Xi Bai Mu Dan White Tea from Wang Family Tea

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I purchased two bags of this Taiwanese Shan Lin Xi white tea at the 2019 Seattle Northwest Tea Festival from Wang Family Tea. As said in the name of this tea, it is from Shan Lin Xi, and if I remember correctly, Qing Xin cultivar in Bai Mu Dan style. High Mountain Shan Lin Xi with Qing Xin cultivar is one of my favorite oolongs, so I was hooty giddy to get my hands on this white tea. Each bag had a different hand-painted art so I was able to pick the ones I like the most. Leaf and Steeping… Continue reading, hoot!