Camellia Sinensis

2022 sipdown no. 27

I’ve polished off this sample and still this is all Fruit Loops! The bergamot is really lovely here, against a smooth black base with no astringency, but the EG Cream edges it out.

The bergamot is really lovely here, against a smooth black base with no astringency. I don’t know how to describe the flavour except to say that is is like the essence of Fruit Loops.

Geek Steep S2E20 – Birdemic: Shock and Terror

Gongfu!

This one is for all the fans of bad movies. Like, really bad movies.

I’ll be honest in saying that I had another tea in mind when I went to rewatch this movie. It doesn’t even matter what the tea was because I got about a minute into the six minute long real time car ride scene that starts the movie and I IMMEDIATELY decided that my chosen tea was not ridiculous enough.

Now, you might be looking at this tasting note and the way I’ve prepared this tea and thinking that it very much does not seem like I ended up picking something ridiculous. However, that’s sort of what I was going for. In this moment the most ridiculous pairing I could possibly think of was to choose a tea that takes itself very seriously and drink it with what is definitely the least serious movie possible.

This is honestly such a beautiful tea and the steeps have such a delicate but defined evolution of flavour. Soft floral lilacs and perfectly toasted golden hazelnuts – and every time I took a sip of that delicate, nuanced liquor while a bird squawked or a machine gun went off I could just feel the largest smile crawling up my face. Pure insanity, and the mismatch of this serious type of tea and steeping method with this CHAOS was just lovely. Lovely.

I was giddy.

The right tea at the right time is a blessing. Due to change of schedule, more running around over the holidays than usual, and probably some general sloppiness and inattentiveness on my part, I’ve caught myself a good old fashioned head cold—the kind you wouldn’t have had to apologize for, pre-plague ;)

So I taught kids from a distance and behind a mask this morning (we’re blessed with awesome adult volunteers who kindly do any legwork needed…today they were scorekeepers and measuring judges for the Forest Park Junior Olympic Fake Ski Jumping Competition). I’m home now spending the afternoon feigning invalidism and pampering myself with a beautiful mugful of wintergreen steam, RX courtesy of Dr. derk!

These were big, flat leaves straight off the plant, and I gave them ten minutes over a warming candle. In retrospect, I should’ve thrown a towel over my head and the mug for the duration. Even though the final product is so pale I can see to the bottom of my pottery mug, the flavor itself is warming and gently mentholly (no burn) and sweetly medicinal.

Quiet house, fragrant tea, one sleeping cat in each corner of the living room, sunshine on my toes…if one has to be under the weather, this is the way to do it.

This was the first of three teas that was served by Marika when I was over at her place for supper this past week. I actually thought, with my first few sips, that this might be a Phoenix Oolong because it had some of those almost lychee like fruit notes alongside a distinct mineral taste and gentle roastiness, but notes of honey, cocoa butter and muscatel grapes settled in as well and something about that made it more distinctly like a Bai Hao/Oriental Beauty to me. It was very smooth and just a good tea to get conversation going and appetites up while waiting for supper.

2021 sipdown no. 110

This one has a fairly strong vegetal mixed with the sea scent when dry. Thank goodness it wears away a bit as it steeps. I can safely say that my reigning green oolong favourites are still Ali Shan and Si Ji Chun.

1st steep: 200° F, 4 minutes
2nd steep: 200° F, 5 minutes, 30 seconds

2021 sipdown no. 108

I prefer the second steep to the first for this tea. The first steep had more of a strong vegetal flavour. The second steep is more mellowed, with some sweetness coming out and perhaps the subtlest hints of hay. There’s some vegetal-ness, but it’s fallen to the background now.

I’m not sure I need to re-order this.

1st steep: 200° F, 4 minutes
2nd steep: 200° F, 5 minutes 30 seconds

This tea was a new sample I ordered to try. There is a distinct vegetal flavour, with a creaminess layered over.

Lovely, very gently sweet wintergreen. There’s a berry undertone to the aroma. The cup offers an embrace at once warming and cooling. Some may consider the taste medicinal because of an association with Pepto Bismol or Icy Hot. It’s nostalgic for me in the way that Teaberry gum is, or pink Necco wafers and Conversation Hearts.

Gongfu!

Sticking with something pretty familiar and comforting with this session!! Immediately, I’m welcomed with the pleasant notes of burnt sugar, vanilla, oak, and smoke from the early infusions. The liquor is also smooth and medium bodied, with a lovely brassy red brown colouration. It did catch me a little off guard early session, as I was more drawn into the more molasses-y brown flavours of the tea, but there’s a very nori-like marine quality to the finish of each steep. It is quite fleeting, swiftly disapparating after the swallow. I can’t be too surprised, as it would almost be more weird to not taste anything oceanic when drinking a Japanese tea. It does add an interesting umami element to an otherwise kind of darkly sweet and woody brew!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuNXpIJOdBf/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9yv4UzL_pU

Brewed this lovely tea up yesterday afternoon. This Japanese black/pu’erh (whatever the fuck you wanna call it) tea is quickly becoming a comfort tea for me and I’m not sure whether to blame or credit that fact to Marika, who introduced me to it through Geek Steep way back in our first season – it’s definitely one of the two, though! Cozy, dark and slightly funky w/ notes of burnt sugar, petrichor, forest undergrowth, raisins and vanilla extract. Lots to love!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpizuPRO8C1/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJy2R31xpl8

Gongfu!

This was our second gongfu session of the evening, and it was definitely a crowd favourite. It deserves the love because it’s such a beautiful and unique tea no matter how you steep it. I loved the very subtle smoky hints and the general woodiness that I got from the few cups of it that were shared.

It did steep out quickly, though.

This was the last tea of the evening served by Marika when we were over for supper. I have to admit, it was a little weird to taste this tea steeped Western style in a large teapot instead of Gongfu and I didn’t like it quite as much prepared that way. However, it was still quite good with distinct notes of vanilla and tobacco. A fitting tea to end the evening on!

Geek Steep S2E2 – Usagi Yojimbo

Look, I’m not gonna tell you why I picked this tea for the episode – you should listen to it and hear in the podcast why I chose it because, I promise, it was for a good reason! Instead I’ll leave you with the tasting notes that I wrote on instagram the afternoon I steeped it up and read through the first volume of the comic we covered this week!

After Marika raved about this tea in our “Top Teas of 2020” episode of Geek Steep I simply had to try it! With the exception of Lapsang – we don’t always have the same tastes, especially when it comes to #blacktea, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I stacked steeps of this while reading and it honestly BLEW MY MIND!! This was honestly the best Japanese black tea I’ve ever had, easily – such interesting and engaging flavours of vanilla, burnt sugar, oak, blackstrap molasses, and smoke! I loved how complex and well balanced it was, and I see why Marika has been returning to it for years!

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLjmJCvAGXK/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15aciktA-ho&ab_channel=Lim%C3%B3nLim%C3%B3n

Sipdown (1524)!

Truthfully this was a lot better steeped Gongfu. The Western style cup I made with the last odds and ends of the tea leaf was fine, but not memorable in any significant way aside from just being very full bodied. All in all, I still drastically prefer the Nadeshiko anyway.

Gongfu!

The new Geek Steep episode this week is very Japan centric and features Nadeshiko from Camellia Sinensis so I felt inspired this afternoon to pull out the other Japanese black tea I own from CS – their Yakushima!! It’s very round and full bodied with a low tannin/astringency liquor that has notes of rich syrupy red fruit, malted barley, slightly charred freshly baked bread, dark honey, and an overall woodiness and delicate minerality! The Nadeshiko is definitely a bit more up my alley, but this is very pleasant and perfectly complimentary to an indulgent afternoon red bean mooncake!!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdWYQ_g7EO/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Rv75pFQDc&ab_channel=Flo%26Behold