Hooty Tea Travels – 2019 World Tea Expo Trends

2019 World Tea Expo Highlights | 2019 World Tea Expo Haul What was Trending at the 2019 World Tea Expo I go into more detail about some of these teas I mention below in my World Tea Expo Highlights. 2019 is a Rough Year A repeated topic during the World Tea Expo was the 2019 teas weather. Most regions are late or poor yield due to bad weather. A lot of stuff is now crazy expensive as there isn’t much tea out there. The overall message is the tea hits are dazzling, whereas the misses are dreadful. I heard the same… Continue reading, hoot!

Hooty Tea Travels – 2019 World Tea Expo Highlights

  2019 World Tea Expo Trends | 2019 World Tea Expo Haul  The 2019 World Tea Expo was in the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 11 to 13. If you are unfamiliar, the World Tea Expo is the biggest tea industry tradeshow in North America. The World Tea Expo is the place to check out the newest tea gadgets, trends, and teas. This is the place to network and learn about tea. This is my 6th World Tea Expo, so I’m no stranger to the three day tea bender in the desert. I took a lot of Instagram Story videos… Continue reading, hoot!

2018 Winter Wild Garden GABA Oolong from Mountain Stream Tea

Today’s review is Mountain Stream Tea’s 2018 Winter Wild Garden GABA Oolong. This GABA is a little different than the usual GABA teas as it is from a wild tea garden and promised to not be sour like other GABA Oolongs. That sourdough off taste is something I’ve grown to dislike in GABA tea, so I am looking forward to this. I purchased this tea on a whim with my first Mountain Stream order. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells roasted sweet potatoes and a bit fruity. Some sniffs are pumpkin like. I used 1 gram of leaf per… Continue reading, hoot!

White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea from Bitterleaf Tea

I cannot resist white tea cakes, so I purchased Bitterleaf Tea’s White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea. The wrapper art is super cool! The tea smells like sweet straw hay. Cake feels firm and is on the thick side. It is easy to pry off pieces thankfully, but you do need a pick or knife. I used 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel used, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The hot leaf smells like straw and cactus. Tasting of Bitterleaf Tea’s White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei White Tea First and Second Infusion: White Crow 2018 Lincang Shoumei… Continue reading, hoot!

2018 Dabo Black Tea from Old Ways Tea

Today’s tea is Dabo, a black tea from Old Ways Tea. I am sorry but the sci-fi nerd in me just won’t stop laughing every time I see the name of this tea, as it is the same name as a game on Star Trek (most featured in Deep Space 9). I’m laughing more as the tea is packaged in gold, just like gold press latinum. Anyways, Dabo means Uncle and this is a Spring 2018 large leaf tea from Masu village in China. Leaf and Steeping Method Inside the packet is 5 grams of leaf. Plan accordingly or open… Continue reading, hoot!

2019 Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha and Shi Feng Long Jing from Masters by Adagio Tea

2019 Spring tea time! Today I’ll be drinking two new green teas, Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha and Shi Feng Long Jing, from Adagio Tea’s new Masters Tea line. Masters by Adagio features limited edition, fresh, and exceptional teas. I love trying the newest, freshest teas but sadly I’m just not a green tea drinker. That said, you get a review from a more cranky perspective. Steeping method for both teas will be grandpa style, I’m throwing in 3 grams of leaf, small The Wall mug (9oz/280ml), 79c/175F water and letting it do its thang. Yu Qian Anji Bai Cha… Continue reading, hoot!

GABA Oolong from Floating Leaves Tea

Lately, GABA teas have been popping up a lot and are trying to be trendy. I don’t write about GABA oolong much these days, as the more I drank them, the more I disliked them as they all have a distinct bad sour taste to me. Most recently I’ve discovered there are a few vendors that have found the good GABA teas. Floating Leaves Tea’s GABA Oolong is one of the special ones. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells golden raisins. The rolls are dark browns and plums. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size,… Continue reading, hoot!

2019 April Essence of Tea Club feat. 2007 WuZhou Liubao

I decided to give the Essence of Tea club a try for a few months. I’ve always been a fan of Essence of Tea and want to explore more of their teas. April 2019’s tea club is a 2007 WuZhou Liubao. I got around 100 grams of tea. For $35 including shipping, that isn’t a bad price. Leaf and Steeping Method Opening the package, the tea has a wet wood and chestnuts scent. It’s has a moderate humid funky scent. I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu style. I used boiling water and did two rinses.… Continue reading, hoot!

2018 Wild Ripe Shou Puer from Denong Tea

I am a huge fan of Denong Tea’s wild ripes. They are some of my favourite shous, but I’ve all had them with age on it. Today is Denong Tea’s 2018 Wild Ripe shou puer, so I get to try it young.  The website description is vague but mentions, and certainly backed up by all their other ripe teas, on how clean their shou processing is. Leaf and Steeping Method The leaf smells like herbs and dirt. Thankfully this tea is broken up as the individual lumps are pressed hard and tight. I used around 1 gram of leaf per… Continue reading, hoot!

Teaware Tea Owl Tuesday – Crimson Lotus Tea’s Budget Jianshui Bian Xishi Teapot

This was one of those teaware purchases I didn’t think about, I just pulled the trigger as I knew these teapots would sell out fast. Crimson Lotus Tea briefly sold Budget Jianshui Zitao teapots back in 2018. These teapots are “seconds” so the price was slashed due to the imperfections of the teapot. I talked to Crimson Lotus Tea afterwards, and there were issues like the spout wasn’t aligned and other blips. The kind of thing if you paid that $120 and spotted, you might make a fuss about. I snagged the Matte black Bian Xishi style. In retrospect, I… Continue reading, hoot!