Gorreana

A black tea. Green tea was pretty okay, but black tea is different story. Let´s find out.

As I have read previous tasting notes, it seems it is quite weak in flavour, so I let it steep for long 6 minutes. There is nothing on the bags, so it is bit rough estimate. It turned out great. The colour of liquor is clear copper, like from some Ceylon teas.

Aroma is somehow weak and I don´t know if I notice anything. But in taste it is clear black tea. Yeah, little malty, little fruity. I notice as well some black pepper notes. Interesting for sure. Really worth trying this estate.

I have found some Czech web shop which is selling few loose leaf varietes they offer. Maybe we can make some group buy, because I am not really sure if I want to spend quite a lot for tea which goes stale.

And now I checked direct from company. Shipping to Europe is for 4,4 € which it makes even cheaper than from Czech shop. Weird, but yeah. And of course, tea is cheaper there.

I have received a tea bag of this one via Postcrossing again. A tea from Azores, that sounds unique. Let´s try it. Green tea, 3 minutes steep, about 90 °C water I guess. But cold cup, so maybe in reality even less.

Anyway – the liquor was nicely green with yellow notes, bit opaque. In aroma it was bit boring, grassy notes, not very present.

While drinking, debating with family about our garden, I noticed grassy otes, with bit of vegetal. Unfortunately again, quite weak. But it was fresh as well, so in the end it was not bad. It was not great – I certainly had better green teas, but as it is a pure green tea. Okay – I expected more interesting flavour profile.

Certainly interesting tea to try, especially because of origin. Maybe loose leaf version can be better.

Finally getting around to writing about this one. The last of the 3 teas I brought home from the Azores last summer. I had tried it a few times, but I guess never got around to writing about it.

At the basics, it is a green tea from Gorreana Tea Company on San Miguel and added Jasmine.

Brewing is simple, although I might up the steeping time next time I brew it. The green tea base is great, but the Jasmine flavor is so hidden I hardly notice it is there. If I tried it without knowing what it was, I would guess t was just green tea.

So, next time I will up the steep time to see if I can pull out a little more of that Jasmine taste.

Other than that, this is a great tea. Tea from The Azores has a very distinct and specific flavor to it. Probably due to the soil being volcanic remnants, it gives the tea a hard to describe taste. Very different from American or Asian grown tea.

It’s one of those things every tea fan should try. I am a big fan.

Home from vacation, all my new tea is stored and put away, now it’s time to start trying some in a controlled and proper brewing style.

This is the first I will try, Gorreana’s Hysson cha verde. (green tea)

Gorreana boasts being Europe’s oldest tea factory, opening in 1883. The Azores also boasts one of the few places man did not introduce tea leaves, they grew there naturally. Of course, the volcanic rock nature of the islands make them much different from what we are used to, and that difference is apparent in this tea. More on that below.

I used a standard green tea brewing method. After a pre-rinse, I poured 180 degree water over 11 grams of leaves in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam teapot. I clearly have vacation brain, and I forgot to set the tea timer, so instead of a standard short 1:00-1:30 steeping time, this came out more like 3ish minutes. Oh well.

It still came out great. The grassy taste is nice and smooth, with a strong hint of wet Earth and a faint hint of butter. It is there, though.

There are some differences in this tea then I recognize from a standard green tea. First off, it has a bit of tartness to it. It’s not so much bitter, but more of a hint of a higher acidic level. Other reviewers have called it an apple taste, which I do agree with. It actually balances well next to the grass and Earth flavors.

Next brew I will try a short infusion to see if I can pull out a bit more of the butter that I know is there. You know, when vacation brain goes away…

One disappointment: I bought this at the Gorreana tea plantation on Sao Miguel Island in The Azores. I would like to see larger leaf particles in the bag. It seemed like they put it through the grinder as if to make tea bags, and put some in “loose leaf” bags as well. I would love to try this tea in a whole leaf style, I think it might have even more potential than it already has.

I also brought home some dried Azorean Jasmine from a neighbor on Pico Island, I might add some of that for its lemon flavor in the future. Should go well together!

-E

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This is certainly a unique green tea. Due to the acidic volcanic soil it grows in, it is very big in flavor. Most of the time green tea is light and dances on your tongue. This one seems to reach out and grab your tongue with a more solid, robust flavor.

Very interesting, very tasty. I bought 2 bags and I can’t wait to brew a single serving to see just what potential this one has.

A slight adjustment on this tea I brought home from the Azores. I think I over did it last time, thinking it was tougher than it really is.

So, I went with a slightly lower temp, just under 200 degrees, and slightly less leaves. It worked. I got a much more delicate, rich and creamy, velvety smooth black tea this time, which is what I was after.

With a more delicate steeping, I was able to get a much more balanced tea, with every customary black tea characteristic right there and presented in fine fashion.

Just what I am looking for in a straight up, simple, basic black tea. Easily one of my go to standards.

And I love that it has another flavor, something distinctly Azorean. Something about the volcanic soil and rocks there, from what I hear. But there is a flavor, a presence, that is hard to place.

Glad I bought a lot of this, it’ll last me a long time, and I’ll be able to ponder over that extra flavor for years to come.

-E

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This was my favorite of what I tried here. A very good, big and bold, black tea. Very refreshing, something I don’t usually feel when I drink black tea, but this one was. Even hot.

Must be the soil. Grown in volcanic coil on the Azores, it is going to be much different than what we are used to. This is damn good.

I brought home 2 bags and loose leaf. Can’t wait to try it in a single serving!

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This Broken Leaf tea is another basic black tea, but still has that distinct flavor to it that the other teas from the Azores Islands has. Being grown in volcanic rock soil, it’s going to taste much different. And it does.

Again, it was brewed in a large pot, so if I took the time to brew a single serving, it would probably be a little bolder. But all in all, a nice little solid, basic, subtle black tea.

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

It is different. The islands are volcanic in creation, so the tea plants are growing in MUCH different soil than what we would find in Asia, or anywhere else, really.

And you can tell in the tea. This is a basic, middle of the road black tea, but its flavor is different. It’s somehow tropical, if that makes sense. Not super tasty, but the taste that is there is exotic and intriguing.

The sample I had was in their tasting room, and we just in a large container of tea. I’m sure if brewed correctly for an individual taste, it would be even better!

A sample from KittyLovesTea. Another bagged green, this time just plain. I let the water cool to around 175 degrees, and left it approximately 2 minutes. The resulting liquor is medium yellow, with a very faint vegetal aroma. The taste is similar; a smooth, sweetish, mildly vegetal green. It’s nothing amazing, and it doesn’t have a great deal of flavour, but it’s pleasant to drink nonetheless with not a hint of bitterness or astringency to be found.

A tea from the second round return of the EU-TTB (European Travelling Tea Box). From what I read it’s a bog standard black but that fits my mood fairly well.

It’s a light black tea, at least compared to British black tea bags, a drop of milk and sugar has been added. Flavour is light, malty and heavily watery. Very thin black tea, much so than I really prefer, even despite the long steep time. Husband also agree’s that it’s too weak.

Hmmm, perhaps British tea really is much stronger than most other bagged black world teas. Oh well, this goes well enough with my ginger biscuits.

Very nice tea from Azores. When I discovered there is a tea plantation in this beautiful archipielago, I just had to place an order. 4 eur shipping included to Europe (sorry, no information to other countries) is very cheap. They only sell 100gr bags.
This is a very correct orange pekoe black tea. Of course not the best in the world, but the rare growing area is a plus. I can recommend you to try it.

I like this tea but I find that it is easy to overleaf and the tea moves quickly from bright and fruity with breast notes to bitter so I decided to experiment with flash steeping with this tea. I used around twice my usual 1tsp of leaf in 225ml of water and then rinsed the tea quickly before steeping the tea for 10s. The result was that lovely bright fruitiness I found in my last review accompanied by a good white yeast bread note and honeyed sweetness. So far it’s flavour profile is consistent into the third steep. I have added 5 seconds per steep. This tea has a good dose of caffeine and while I don’t feel it coursing through my limbs like I do sometimes, it does create a feeling of lightness and alertness in me. This is a good wake me up tea.

I needed this tea right now. I came home damp and exhausted and this tea does have a certain brightness and cheer to it that it is quickly returning me to a state of alertness and removing my headache.

I found this at a Portuguese grocer ( where I also got new seals for my cafetiera, yay!). It seems that most of the local stores have this or the broken leaf variety. This particular batch was packaged at the end of November. This is my first taste of an Azores grown tea.

The leaf is long and wiry and loosely rolled, the dry leaf smells very fruity, and fresh. The scent reminds me a little of Sultanas. I probably used the normal 3g of tea but because it is so wiry I used closer to two TSP in the @11oz vessel I brewed it in. That would work put to about 1.5 TSP cup.

The brewed tea is a very clear copper colour, that smells slightly like sweet buns and fresh plums (almost heading to peaches) with cane sugar. There is a bright citrusy slightly floral note as well in the scent that did not translate into the flavour.

This tea has a good dose of caffeine ( this is very necessary right now!), and is brisk and light, while at the same time being very smooth and easy to drink. There is a slight astringency which adds a certain robustness and body to the tea and keeps it from being too light.
This is a fruity, sweet black tea with bready notes. The notes blend well in the flavour there is a bite of fresh ripe plum mixed with bready pastry notes, that finish with a very sweet honey note.

This is a really great every day tea when your looking for something bright and light. I’m so glad I picked this up today.

I made a full pot of this tea for my breakfast. This is November here…in July, terrible. Rain, fog…
Thank you cteresa for sharing this tea with mea.It took me ages before trying it because I am not especially a big fan of Orange Pekoe but I was wrong. This one is really pleasant, smooth, medium bodied with lovely touches of stone fruit.

The leaves are quite long without being full and this is a good point. Most the Orange Pekoe I had were broken leaves and probably it counts on my OP’s meh experience.

A tea I would drink with a lot of pleasure.

From the queue. There will be a posting break of a few days now. We are having family over, and as my room becomes their bedroom I will lose access to my computer for the duration.

Another one from the EU TTB, round 2. This is one that I’ve filched.

The aroma is strange. Not strange-strange, but strange in that it is so anonymous. I’m not really picking anything up other than ‘tea’. Perhaps a smidge of sweetness, vaguely caramel-y in nature, but that’s about it. It’s a fairly generic tea aroma.

Taste-wise it’s the same story. It’s fairly mild, and I’m not getting much out of it other than a generic tea flavour. Again perhaps with a twinge of vaguely caramel-y sweetness, but not so much as to be in any way defining. As it cools a bit, the caramel-y note becomes a little more forward, but still not in any sort of big way.

It’s a pleasant and inoffensive tea, but it’s not really a revalation in a cup.

Maybe it is the heart talking, but this Tea is so soothing to me that I always recommend it to my tea lover friends from abroad. Not too strong and with the advantage of being from the Azores – it’s bio!

sipdown on this one! (136). I have quite enjoyed this one, so thank you cteresa for sending this my way. it’s also given me my mission to go exploring toronto some weekend to get into the other neighbourhoods and explore the offerings there. thanks again for being a swap buddy!

Thank you cteresa for sending this one my way. Let me begin by saying, I don’t like most orange pekoe. It never really tastes all that great and i would usually prefer to be drinking water. This tea? REALLY nice! it’s the sort of tea i wish i could buy a giant bag of and give to my parents as i think this would really suit their everyday tea needs. This is a good medium type tea – no bitterness, incredibly smooth, with a hint of sweetness throughout the sip. Thanks so much for sharing Cteresa I quite like this one!

This tea is so cool. I had no idea there was Azorean tea!

This tastes really good. I have to imagine that being grown on one island in the middle of the ocean, nearly a thousand miles away from any continent makes for good growing. It’s light, but it’s still got this sweet, tart taste to it, like apples almost.

It’s also a bit floral, or something perfume-like, but not in any sort of overwhelming fashion. It’s very nice to drink right now while I pretend to study but am actually learning more about Azores. It is an international trade final, so it fits in there somehow.

Thanks for sending me plenty of this, TeaEqualsBliss!

a great light green tea:)