Cultivate Tea

It wasn’t windy at our house. It wasn’t windy on the drive. All the wind in Minnesota has converged on this beach. Why am I mentioning this? Because it is difficult to have a tea session with sand and hair in your mouth. Cup. Everywhere. We are also cold steeping. This white tea is gorgeous. Almost all of it is silver fuzzy leaves with a few dark brown leaves mixed in. The wet aroma contains a lot of stable notes. Dry hay, wet hay, sweet grass. The mouth feel is incredible. Very silky. Lots of different flavor notes hit the palate. Sweet grass, marzipan, stable notes. Wind. A strong gust and none of the tea went into my cup.

Putting a QR code on a tea package is an awesome idea! The initial aroma was bursting with longgon and woody notes. Bits of lychee too. Now I really want a longgon. The first steep started with minerality and fruity longgon notes but as the steep went on it changed to heavier wood notes with the longgon taking a back seat. Second steep held up nicely. There is a flavor in there I can’t quite pin down. I find it in other oolongs from China the mix of fruity, woody, and minerality brings it on and my palate doesn’t quite know where to put it. I brought this one to Greece with me but I think I brought too much tea with. Just didn’t have the time to get to all of it and there were some mornings we woke up too enjoy a good gong fu session. You don’t rush gong fu. Third steep is losing flavor but if steeped longer than five minutes it gains some nice dry wood flavors.

Minerality and grittiness and Petrichor. More of a wet concrete than wet forest. There is also a bit of earthy chocolate, a deep rich dark chocolate that I taste in Laoshan teas. There are also woody notes like wet twigs and slightly wet compost. Not that I’ve tasted wet compost, but hopefully you get the picture. Wet aroma is subtle. Earthy. Thank you very much, Vallhallow, for this sample! I’ve been feeling a bit down, partly vacation depression, partly women stuff, partly people being jerks. This blew it all away. Tea is awesome.

Sipdown theme: A Rose tea

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note:
So I was ready to write off all rose teas because they seemed to be mostly pungent and perfume-y which usually causes me to take two sips and dump the cup (with a few exceptions in certain fruit blends). Then I came across crimson rose and I feel a lot more comfortable drinking rose teas again. This tea has more of an alpine taste and the rose flavor is there very, very lightly which I think is what I finally needed from a rose tea. I actually enjoy drinking this from time to time and fun fact, it is another fun color changing tea. If the tea is brewed with an acid (lemon juice etc) the tea becomes more red-pink, if the tea is brewed neutral to basic it has (yellow, green, even pale blue colors). It is a really great tea to brew in a glass tea pot or mug.

This tea deserves a lower water temp. I began with 160, which I know is pretty low already, but it just didn’t do this tea any justice. Now at the lower temp, the flavors are popping a bit more. The osmanthus seems to be predominate. Mouth feel is very soft. Also bits of roasty notes as well as grassy and overcooked veggies. I’ve come into this one with a bit of a bias… The Laoshan (anything) from Verdant is fantastic and while this one is good I just don’t think it quite compares with the Laoshan green from Verdant.

Predictive AI is getting a little too good these days. The last four teas I’ve typed in gave me exactly the one I wanted on top even though there were plenty of others to choose from. This tea has the fuzz! Trichomes SQUEEE! Look at these leaves! That is precision picking right there! These silver tips are just gorgeous. And the scenting with jasmine must have taken forever. I really applaud the effort they go through to make scented teas like this. The dry aroma is rich with jasmine. As it steeps the aroma carries me away to Kaua’i. Even with 1 – 2 minutes of steeping the watercolor has barely changed. A slight bit of amber but nothing more. The jasmine flavor is light but amazing. You really need a steeping time of at least 4-5 mins in order to taste it. There is a bit of earthiness to it too though it is difficult to describe as it seems like its just a mix oh and a bit of melon.

Vallhallow Trade #4. Oh, the earthy goodness! Slightly smoky (which increases with steep time). Smooth mouthfeel with barely any astringency. Hardwood notes. There is a bit of bitterness that pops up as you steep longer. It is not unpleasant but I can’t say I enjoy it either. I need to go smell more wood because I can’t quite put my finger on what this reminds me of. Probably closer to oak with a bit of cedar mixed in. Walnut maybe? And a hint of malt. The leaves are gorgeous. Dark brown when dry, chocolate brown with hints of red when steeped. There’s a slight briskness to it that would pair well with milk drinkers.

Vallhow Tea #3. Whiskey? Vodka? Kinda… GIN! As the tea cools it reminds me so much of gin it is uncanny. But when hot the citrus notes of the Yuzu fruit mesh really well with the wood notes. If you are looking for a gin alternative you just found it. While it is good hot because it really brings out the woody notes, I actually like this one more cold. The wet aroma is incredibly perfumy. Like some lady who overdid it just a little bit too much but is mellowed out with deep wood notes. The liquor color is clear, amber.

Preparation: Gongfu
Tasting Note: First off, this is a really pretty wet leafed tea. I didn’t steep it in a clear vessel but I should have, the tea blossoms and brown leaves have a beautiful contrast.

Actual tasting note: I have never had a Laoshan white before but it reminds me of another tea I have had maybe Gong Mei? This tea is also herbaceous and a little sweeter than that. There are some faint floral and earthy notes as well. I will admit this is only the first steep so I will probably edit this as the steeps progress.
Second steep got a little more mineral-y I think.
Ran out of time to steep more.

So this is the chrysanthemum that is top tier for me. It’s my favorite one I have come across so far.

Preparation: Western
Tasting note: One first taste there is no indication that this is a chrysanthemum tea. It is light and sweet like nectar. It has mandarin orange notes. The liquid is bright like sunshine. There is absolutely no haylike qualities to it. I had no idea an herbal tea could be so nuanced.

Preparation: Gongfu
Tasting Note:

First steep: Floral notes, little astringency, very faint wood notes. Very pretty colored liquid though: it was sort of a peachy-amber.
2-4th steep: Floral notes fade and wood notes more prominent, slight astringent
5th steep: Least astrigent, more wood notes but not overwhelming, and something very faintly fruity in the aftertaste- mix between peach and cherry.

So I definitely didn’t double check my order before I checked out for this tea. I order a quantity of two (each 25 g )for this tea when I hadn’t even tried it yet. After tasting, I wish I didn’t accidentally buy that second bag. It’s by no means bad or boring, it just didn’t stick out to me as something that I would drink that much of. Definitely something I would be willing to share in a TTB or swap.

Preparation: Gong Fu
Tasting Note:
Opps, I didn’t realize that this tea recommended using 95C water instead of 100C so I think I may have messed this batch up a little bit. Oh well, it doesn’t taste bad but I think since I have plenty of these leaves, I can try again. These gongfus were a little stronger and more “pithy” and a little tinsy astringent. I will retry again later to see if I can get a more accurate tasting note.

Just a comment about the Cultivate tea: I had a lot of really good experiences with Cultivate tea in the 6 to 8 orders I have had with them this year as an online customer. 1) They let you know if they don’t have the full quantity in stock or if the leaves are from the last bit of their stock and they are broken and ask if that is want you still want and sometimes adjust the price depending on how much they have left. 2) If you ask them about a tea that is out of stock or you are interested in (especially on Instagram), they will let you know when it restocks personally, and maybe send some recommendations your way.

Preparation: Gong fu

First steep (20 fast counted secs): more rosy-plum sweetness, black tea was smooth and zero astringency. It had such a pretty amber color from the rose petals.

Second step (15 fast counted secs): Black tea came out more this infusion, richer and deeper.

Third steep: (25-30 sec): Faint rose, black tea still has caramel note, but is more refreshing. Pairing this with sakura themed Desserts so this steep is a little harder to detect all the nuance.

As I’ve mentioned previously – I have a coworker who is currently getting her Sommelier Certification & I’ve been helping her with the course work/tastings. This is the same coworker who was recently in BC and picked up a bunch of teas from Cultivate Tea to bring back for us all the taste.

She drinks Gongfu w/ me all the time in the lab when I’m brewing, but a couple of my coworkers and I were finally all free at the same time for us to give her a crash course on brewing Gongfu so that she could take her first crack at it! It took my two years+ to build up to brewing Gongfu, but she got there in less than six months! She picked this tea to make for us all, and with some gentle guidance she brewed it up like a pro!

We went light leaf and longer steep times, because we all agreed that was probably the best choice since strong leaf and small steeps seems like a recipe for burnt fingers and over brewed tea for a first time using a gaiwan. I certainly remember the burnt fingers…

She brewed for about five people and it was a small approx 80ml gaiwan so we basically all got a sip or two of each infusion – which was three in total. It was a short session, but they all came out nicely and it was a really great starting point in her Gongfu journey! I thought the Rou Gui she had purchased was nice enough; it was a little light for my tastes (a result of the leaf used I think, not a reflection on the tea) but had some mineral/rocky and toasty roasty notes that I love in Rou Gui along with a dry cinnamon/woody quality and a finish that was very cannabis heavy! The last infusion was beginning to break into that floral territory but we didn’t steep long enough to really get into the floral part of the tea.

It was just a really nice experience just getting to be a part of her first time brewing Gongfu!

Gongfu!

I had these super ripe, juicy cherries with me at work this week for any afternoon snack, and I wasn’t sure what tea to have them with. My default probably would have been shou if I had my entire tea collection with me to pick from, but alas I did not. In the end, I remembered I had this tea which has some BEAUTIFUL honey, wood, and cherry notes all on its own so I decided it was the perfect tea and fruit pairing!

Long session – totally brewed out, and delicious!

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B71tqABgSW6/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq-4X3-1Anw

Gongfu!

This is another tea that my lovely coworker brought back with her during her recent Vancouver trip – it was the first from Cultivate that I tried, and I actually brewed it up Gongfu for three of us to share. We got a good twelve or so steeps – but I did stack them two at a time so that I had enough steeped tea in the cha hai to fill all of our cups at once…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5SqGgUAi70/

Not only is the loose leaf appearance absolutely breathtaking, but the tea was rich and nuanced as well!! Quite sweet with a viscous and coating mouthfeel, we all felt like this tea had distinct dense, sticky maple notes and a strong woody character. I experienced notes of overripe black cherry juices, and buckwheat honey as well. It was a remarkable tea session to end the day on, though I wish the leaf would have had just a smidge more longevity.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2oDxnNtllM

A coworker was recently in Vancouver and stopped at Cultivate tea; she’s getting her Sommelier degree right now and has been really diving into straight and traditional teas as of late – she picked up a nice sampling of teas and was kind enough to bring them in to the office for us to all try/experience as well so that we could compare notes and thoughts!

I tried two other teas from the company – notes on those to come at a later date. However, I ran out of time during the work week to try this one as well so she let me take 7g of it home with me to brew Gongfu this weekend. I did that yesterday morning and took notes to share with her. I also wrote a nice summary on instagram so I’ll do what’s become habit lately and just share that write up here…

I was a little skeptical because the aroma of the dry leaf was a little sharp and sour/grassy, but the tea actually infused quite wonderfully throughout this tea session. The roast is quite smooth and present, along with a nice minerality and dry peanut/brazilnut note. It also progresses into quite a juicy and floral lychee and red apple note with an undertone of wildflower honey in the finish. It was a great intermission to my afternoon today!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5OsVGnAJjs/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRdavHUV5XM&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=6

I actually went into Cultivate because I wanted to grab their tieguanyin (was shared some and actually really quite liked it). But they didn’t have any that I saw, so I grabbed this.

A nice reminder of why I love Chinese black teas. They’re always nutty and sweet, rarely astringent. I always enjoy them. Wouldn’t say this one had a whole lot of depth to it—drinking it Western in my owl mug—but it’s pleasant, wouldn’t quite say chocolate, package says cocoa which I can accept. Maybe brow sugar in the context of baked treats, I think.

Sipped this at a club meeting and scribbled some notes down while I was there. I brewed it in my travel gaiwan, didn’t have my scale but filled about 1/3rd, and it expanded to fill my gaiwan. Didn’t really count seconds for steeps, but less than 30 seconds.

“Light, coats the mouth; floral mainly, lightly vegetal. Magnolia, lightly sweet, almost buttery. Very smooth. Pick some up for me, I think.”

“Mostly lost count of the steep (>5); floral topnotes dissipated, vegetal and buttery body. Butter still lingers as an after taste, & breathe out.”

I did quite like it, the leaves were mostly green, some red oxidation on some leaf edges but not all; I might pick some up next time I’m over there.

This was on my wishlist and variaTEA obliged! I have to say, that this is a really good cup of tea. I’ve only had the one steep right now, but plan on having a few more today while i get through work. It’s smooth, some sweet potato like notes coming through…sweet and not at all astringent. This isn’t a BOLD brew but rather more of an easy drinking tea – a good intro tea for someone who wasn’t really a fan of black tea i would say.

Count: 110 (down from the 120 VariaTEA has me up to….need to get to 80 by end of july…)

Possibly the most divine thing I’ve smelled in the last few months (mother even called it ambrosia), sniffing the dry leaves in the heated pot made me do a double take on the “raw Puerh” sticker. I don’t know to describe that pre-steep, post-ziplock aroma but it was good. Very good.

The aroma of the 15 second steep isn’t quite as fantastic, but it is pleasantly reminiscent of the grapefruit and cinnamon-like qualities of petunias (that’s what the ones in our garden smell like). The taste is floral, sour, somewhat vegetal, and slightly sweet. My brain is also stuck on cinnamon so I’m getting that too. NOTE later steeps didn’t come out as dynamic, which was disappointing after that amazing first impression.

Now I’m off to steep this to death for the rest of the day (and evening, and potentially tomorrow). It looks like me a Puerh are best friends now, thanks to OMGsrsly.