Han Xiang Ecological Tea

This was one of the free samples included in my Han Xiang Ecological Tea order on AliExpress. I’m not the hugest fan of floral teas, but jasmine can be an exception to that rule. These pearls look and smell like others I’ve had – the scent is strongly sweet and jasminey. I set the timer for 3 minutes but I didn’t hear it go off because the TV was too loud… So I’m not sure how long it steeped. It came out lovely though, so I guess it’s hard to oversteep this tea.

Now, it may have just been a while since I’ve had a jasmine tea, but I’m enjoying this one immensely! The jasmine is pronounced but still very lovely and sweet. There seems to be a fruity note that’s similar to apricot, not sure I’ve experienced that in a jasmine pearl before. I can only taste the green tea slightly, it’s quite mild and sweet and melds nicely with the jasmine. Overall, very tasty and appreciated! :)

This was one of the free samples included with my order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea via AliExpress. I was unsure of what to expect from this one, not knowing whether it’s a smoked lapsang or not. Turns out, it doesn’t seem to be smoked. The leaves are rather small and very dark, almost black. The dry scent is somewhat musty with raw grain and hay aromas. I did my usual 3 minute steep.

Once brewed, the tea has a very roasty aroma combined with grain and molasses, and a hint of dill. The taste is much the same. It’s a very robust tea with a strong dill presence that I’ve found in several Fujian teas so far. It’s quite roasty and reminiscent of coffee because of that. I am reminded of a strongly flavored rye or pumpernickel bread because of the combination of grain and dill notes. Interestingly enough, the aftertaste is distinctly raw peanut, like the Spanish kind with the red skins.

Overall, very flavorful and what I would call “manly” tea. :P

Another of my samples from Han Xiang Ecological Tea this morning! I must say, these leaves are very beautiful. They’re long and thin and quite stiff, they almost remind me of pine needles or slender twigs. The color is about half golden and half black. Dry scent is a bit sweet but not much else, which I’m finding a lot with black teas. I did a 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

Ooh, the brewed aroma is an interesting combination of sweet honey and dried fruit with savory, almost smoky meat scents. And I find that the taste follows along those lines as well! The beginning of the sip has a lot of dark, syrupy dried fruit flavor, maybe raisins and figs? Then in the middle, the smoked meat savory flavor comes to the forefront, and it stays there for the rest and into the aftertaste. Intermingling between the two are notes of honey and rich molasses which unexpectedly help to bring everything together. Yums. :D

Sipdown!

I find that I really do like this tea, even though it’s an odd one for me. And the name is totally inappropriate! In my opinion, it should be called “Jinjunmei Smoked Meats Fragrance”. Lovely light smoky, savory tea. Yums! :)

I wanted a nice straight black tea after trying so many Fauchon offerings in the past two days, and this was the jinjunmei from Han Xiang that I hadn’t tried yet. The leaves are thin and twisty, and mostly dark with some golden strands. I must say, the name doesn’t seem accurate at all – this smells nothing like any kind of flower. Dry, I smell smoked meat and beef jerky. I’m not sure it could be further away from orchid, lol! I brewed a generous teaspoon for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.

The brewed aroma is also quite smoky and savory. Sipping this tea, I am absolutely reminded of smoked beef jerky. Obviously the salt element isn’t there, but there is an obvious smoked note here and a savory quality that makes me think of smoked meats. There is also some malt and a touch of richness reminiscent of molasses. Overall, this is quite delicious, but the name is definitely misleading! And there’s no way I’m mistaken about which tea this is since it’s one that comes in a colored presealed packet… Odd!

I’m not usually super big on green teas. It’s not that I don’t like them, I really do enjoy some. It’s just I love black teas so much that I never want to sacrifice a cup of black tea for anything else. I usually relegate greens to bedtime duty. But it’s ones like this that make me rethink that status. This is my favorite (non-genmaicha) green. Not grassy like sencha. Sweet, fresh and just a little vegetal. Really a delightful tea.

Sipdown 17/75

Another tea from Han Xiang this morning! I find that it has kind of become a habit for me to try a new-to-me black tea (assuming I have one) for my first cup of the day. And that’s the case today! This is the second of three different jin jun mei teas that I ordered samples of, and the leaves are so teeny compared to the first one! They’re almost like miniature versions of the same leaves. They’re quite thin and slightly twisty, and about half golden and half dark. Dry scent is mildly sweet with a hint of herbaceousness that I often find in Fujian black teas.

Brewed, this tea smells very rich with dark fruit notes and a definite scent of molasses, along with that herby smell. Yum, this tea is dark and rich with a very strong flavor. It has a very potent herbaceous note that I find similar to dill? But not quite exactly there. This note always frustrates me, as I can never identify it! :P Otherwise, this tea has a strong fruity presence, in a dark, syrupy dried fruit kind of way. Specifically, I would identify it as a mixture of raisin, prune, and dried dark cherry. Alongside this fruitiness is a lovely rich molasses flavor that goes perfectly with the dark fruits. I catch the slightest suggestion of floral in the aftertaste, which does nothing to deter me.

So I’m wondering if that herby dill-like note is the result of the roasting? I don’t think I’ve ever noticed whether other Fujian black teas I’ve tried were roasted or not, so I guess I should keep that in mind from now on!

Sipdown! (109)

I wasn’t planning on writing a sipdown note for this tea since I only had two servings and I just wrote about the first a day or two ago. However, I discovered a note that I didn’t notice before that I thought was interesting. In the extended aftertaste, after the lovely stonefruit and such, I get the taste of sage, and it lingers on my tongue for some time.

I might have to order some of this tea just because it’s very unique and interesting. :)

This was one of the free samples included in my (very generous) order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea via AliExpress. I must say, so far I am quite impressed with this seller – their tea seems to be of high quality, especially for the price I paid. The samples were two bucks for two small baggies of tea, and I was actually sent three baggies in some cases, along with four bonus samples and a little tea strainer. Huzzah! Thanks to yyz for the awesome recommendation!

So, this tea itself. The leaves are quite beautiful, they’re a lovely combination of white/silver and dark grey/green colors. The contrast of the two colors makes them very striking. I don’t really get much of a dry scent from the leaf, there’s a bit of jasmine but that’s definitely just contamination from the jasmine pearls that they also sent. I was unsure how long to steep this tea, so I started at 1 minute and then kept going until 2 minutes after tasting it.

The brewed aroma is surprisingly smoky and mineral? There’s a bit of the expected vegetal quality hiding in the background too. At first taste, this tea is definitely different from what I expected! At the forefront are fairly sturdy savory smoke and mineral flavors combined with a bit of a seaweed note. The smokiness almost reminds me of smoked meat, ha ha. Somewhere near the middle, that vegetal tone starts to come out and assure me that this is, after all, a green tea. At the end of the sip is a nice mild floral taste that suggests honeysuckle to me, and a light dried apricot flavor, and these continue into the aftertaste. I am left with a fresh and sweet taste in my mouth that lingers long after I’ve finished drinking.

Overall, this tea was unexpected and very enjoyable for me! I’m very happy that the seller chose to include this sample in my order. :)

Trying another tea from Han Xiang Ecological Tea via AliExpress this morning! I’m very happy to have new and exciting Yunnan teas in the house! Some of these may end up going in the cupboard, but I have to try them all first to determine whether or not they’re keepers. I must say, these are very generous samples for only two bucks, especially since I got three baggies of some of them when I was only supposed to get two! Plus free samples! Anyway, this tea. It looks similar to the other biluochun black tea I’ve had (the Whispering Pines version). The little curls are almost all golden, with some little black stripes mixed in. Dry scent is mild and honey-sweet with stonefruit notes.

Brewed, this tea smells strongly of sweet potatoes. Yum! There are also bread and nice sweet honey scents. This tea is lovely and malty with a rich sweet potatoey taste that fills the mouth. Underneath the sweet potato is a nice bready quality that reminds me of light, crisp, crusty toast with honey spread over the top. Near the end of the sip and in the aftertaste, I taste faint stonefruit notes and something that seems a bit floral. Overall, very tasty!

I need to do a 3-way tasteoff between this tea and the Whispering Pines and Yunnan Sourcing versions (as soon as I order the YS one, teehee).

This was the first tea to try from my sample order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea on AliExpress. There’s no particular reason that I chose this one, I just pulled it out of the pile and went with it. The leaves are slender and curly, and it’s about half golden tips and half dark brownish grey leaves. Dry scent is vaguely honey sweet with some fruit and malt notes. I did my general “black tea” 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

Mm, this smells delicious! Brewed, the aroma is rich and sweet, reminding me of molasses with dark, syrupy dried fruits. There’s also a bit of a mineral edge to it. Yum this is a great start to my Han Xiang experience. It’s definitely a somewhat earthy tea, with a little bit of mineral quality to it. But there’s a lovely rich molasses sweetness that really helps to moderate that earthiness, along with a nice dark dried fruit note similar to raisin, prune, or cherry. There’s also a bit of a grain element that pokes its head out occasionally. Interestingly enough, I also get a flavor that somewhat reminds me of slow-cooked green beans? It sounds very odd, but it’s actually very nice in combination with the other flavors. It’s worth noting that this tea didn’t get bitter even as it cooled, and still remained very tasty at room temperature. :D

I think this is the correct tea. I received this as a sample from the seller. The little snails are very furry and reasonably tightly curled. They are mostly all bud but some have a single leaf wrapped in the snail as well. Once brewed most of the leaves look like lobster claws with two buds present or a very immature furry leaf and one bud.

I’ve had the sample for a little while, but it is still very nice.

I took i1 TSP through 6 steeps ( 45*2, 50,65,90s and 4.5 min) in 150 ml of around 85°C water.

The tea brews up a pale yellow and smells sweet, fruity and spicy, with peach, a hint of smoke, and a slightly sweet savoury spice mix with cinnamon a hint of oregano and time.

Flavour wise the first steeps are a mix of honeyed fruit and sweet cooked vegetables, with cream a bit of zest and faint floral spice. In later steeps the nature of the vegetable notes change first to a fresher green pea and then to artichoke and the floral spice notes become stronger.

Flavour notes I noted include: honeyed plum, peach, sweet but indistinct vegetable notes, fresh green peas, artichoke, cream, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, orange zest with orange juice at times, and a spicy but bright floral note.

A nice medium bodied, creamy and resilient green!

http://instagram.com/p/ru-dx-mK2x/

mmmmm another tea from YYZ Now while i stand fast in that green teas generally aren’t my favourite tea, i DO admit there are a fwe out there that i love. This falls in to that category as this is a deliciously great green tea. it’s got a sweet green bean taste to it and there’s none of that after taste that sometimes hangs around with some green teas. This is just a really solid tea. Again, probably not going to stock it since i never drink greens with any speed but this would fall to the top of my list if i were going to :) thanks a bunch YYZ!

Opening up the bag, i was greeted by the rich scent of cocoa and molasses, which eminated from the pile of golden, downy, corkscrews of the biluochun black tea contained within.

They looked like this: http://instagram.com/p/pCIOe-mKxW/

or for better pictures go to the product description:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2012-yunnan-dian-hong-tea-gold-screw-black-tea-125-70-pehcans/868995273.html

I used 1 TSP of leaf/170ml Taiwan/@ 92*C and brewed it 8 times (60,45,45,60,90,120s, 180s, 5 min)

After an initial steep of 1 minute I had a just deeper than sepia brown broth with a gold a greenish brown ring at edges of the cup, with some bubbles on top while brewing. Future steeps had a warmer honey brown coloured brew with the surrounding ring.

This tea had a scent of cocoa, molasses/ dark honey tone, sweet potato, light spice cinnamon touched with nutmeg, a hint of citrus, a hint of clover.

This tea consistently maintained cocoa, dark honey, and malt tones. It also had roasted sweet potato, clover flowers, cream, citrus, plum, amber and spice notes. Generally the cocoa, honey, malt and sweet potato notes generally competed for dominance. The first steep tasted very much like scalded milk hot chocolate and was very creamy. Overall I am very happy with this tea!

1 min. Cocoa, floral clover note, dark honey, hint of spice from a smoke/ roasted note, almost an amber tone, which as it cools develops into a tone that when mixed with cocoa reminds me of hot chocolate made with scalded milk. hint of citrus and the brighter tones of malt, slight hint of cooked plum it feels creamy on the tongue.

45s Roasted sweet potato, cocoa, honey, citrus tones of malt, plum, cinnamon, cream. There are stronger chocolate and malt notes, with hints of clover and dark honey/molasses. It feels tingling from spice tones in the front of the mouth. Sweet potato note mixed with cocoa, citrus and plum tones and opens up to a cream tone that blends with the other flavours. this steep is much more tannic than the first one.

45s. Cocoa, roasted sweet potato, honey, citrus floral note, spice, and plum, before opening up to the deeper tones of malt.

60s. Roasted sweet potato, honey, malt and citrus tones, cocoa and spice.

90s. Malt, cocoa and honey, sweet potato, citrus tones, less spice.

120s, honey, sweet potato,slight floral , malt, very faint touch of cocoa.

180s. And 5 min. Malt, honey, cocoa.

Backlog – I was drinking this tea that yyz so generously sent to me on Friday.
Thank you so much for sending such a wide selection of teas from various Aliexpress distributors. This has defiantly been a learning experience for me.
This was just an ok black tea for me. I enjoyed it, it was fairly rich and bold, hint of sweetness – but didn’t really stand out for my tastes.

thank you yyz… this sample was awesome!

a light, sweet fruity green… with a hint of musk that is not smoke and is also not pungent.

i swear my reviews are getting briefer by the day! =0(

Green tea has been marketed as a distinct Rizhao Brand in Rizhao, Shandong,
China since the 1998, though tea has been grown here on a wider commercial basis since the 60’s. It is often referred to as Sunshine, sunfall tea. Sometimes it is referred to as jiangbei ( north of the river tea) as well ( though this many not be unique to Rizhao tea). It is a popular enough tea in China that it has been subject to the problem of fakes ( with some
counterfeiter going so far as to dying tea, and some sellers cutting it with
tea from the south of China).

Rizhao tea is often marketed as a “health tea” because it has been shown to have higher levels of Catechins, amino acids, and selenium than other green teas produced in China.

It usually is known for having a blue green colour ( though those grown under green houses can be a lighter colour) and a chestnut/pea/fruity flavour. It is produced in xueqing ( curled ) form, a lonjing type form and a needle like form, over 4 seasons. It is one of the more northerly teas produced in China.

Some good sources of articles are ( when viewed by translator):

www.rzlc.cn
www.rizhaogreentea.com
www.rizhaolvcha.org

Currently I have two greens from the same plantation, both picked in late
winter/early spring and grown under greenhouses ( if the taobao site is to be believed: http://chayedian.taobao.com/category-334660585.htm?spm=a1z10.4.0.0.Lc8DRm&search=y&parentCatId=323244125&parentCatName=%C8%D5%D5%D5%C2%CC%B2%E8&catName=%C8%D5%D5%D5%C2%CC%B2%E8+%B4%F3%C5%EF%B2%E8#bd )

The first one sold as snow sunshine on aliexpress and early spring on the taobao site was harvested on 20/03/2013.

The second one was sold as Xianshuang type ( a thick and dense aroma/flavour
type) or spring tea and was harvested on 01/04/2013.

The snow sunshine tea is thick and loosely rolled coils with the leaves seeming wider than the xianshuang type. Short white hairs are visible on the leaves with the colour ranging from deep blue, green , through spruce green to a lighter grass green colour. The scent of the dry tea is fruity, with a touch of a roasted scent and touch of alfalfa/legume type scent. It smells less intense than the xianshuang type.

The xianshuang type is more tightly rolled with the leaves appearing smaller and slightly more coiled. The colour is a deeper spruce to blue green with pale green patches from furry buds and hairs. The scent is more of a fresh green scent rather than fruity, with a hint of a roasted savoury note.

They both steep to a pale greenish yellow, with the first steep appearing quite light after 45s at 82*C and with the colour intensifying and yellowing in later steeps (55, 70s).

The snow type smells very fruity with melon tones accompanied by chestnut, a
hint of smoke, and cooked peas, while the Xianshuang type has stronger chestnut notes with peas, and a faint floral/fruit plum note.

The snow type taste of a refreshing honeydew melon , a hint of fresh snap pea with a bit of chestnut underneath, accompanied with faint flavour from
roasting. In later steeps it remains fruity but savoury notes of chestnut, a roasted note and a slightly bitter spinach note develop more prominence. This is a refreshing, smooth, fruity green.

The Xiansuang type tastes of chestnut, spinach, and alfalfa/peas, along with a tone of warm, ripe, plum with a hint of papaya ( the small, rounder, sweeter ones). It is buttery, heavier, and more savoury than the earlier harvest tea with a denser broth. It smells and tastes fruitier as it cools.
Later steeps taste heavier and denser. This tea is refreshing but leaves a more tingling feeling in the mouth and has a bit more bitterness than the earlier harvest.

These teas both make really nice fruity greens with chestnut notes and with
references to peas and other legumes. I really enjoy the melon tones of the snow type and appreciate the more savoury notes of the later harvest.

**These teas were bought from aliexpress store Chinese Tea Distributor.
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/723612
Which appears to be an online seller for Qingquan Yu Ming ( Yu Ming Springs
also known as Imperial Ming Cha), a company which has been buying and selling tea within China since 1984 and seems to be specializing in Kim Chun Mei, Jasmine teas and Teas from Shandong( mostly green, but some Laoshan black teas).

I brewed this tea at a slightly higher temperature and away from the other one and it was really nice today. The higher temperature ( @85) produced a thinner brew but it had this lovely caramel/honey sweet spice note found in the black tea from this region. This tea had more melon in it today, but chestnut was still present in the background as well as a crisp sweet green bean note. Suited me perfectly this evening.

Green tea has been marketed as a distinct Rizhao Brand in Rizhao, Shandong,
China since the 1998, though tea has been grown here on a wider commercial basis since the 60’s. It is often referred to as Sunshine, sunfall tea. Sometimes it is referred to as jiangbei ( north of the river tea) as well ( though this many not be unique to Rizhao tea). It is a popular enough tea in China that it has been subject to the problem of fakes ( with some
counterfeiter going so far as to dying tea, and some sellers cutting it with
tea from the south of China).

Rizhao tea is often marketed as a “health tea” because it has been shown to have higher levels of Catechins, amino acids, and selenium than other green teas produced in China.

It usually is known for having a blue green colour ( though those grown under green houses can be a lighter colour) and a chestnut/pea/fruity flavour. It is produced in xueqing ( curled ) form, a lonjing type form and a needle like form, over 4 seasons. It is one of the more northerly teas produced in China.

Some good sources of articles are ( when viewed by translator):

www.rzlc.cn
www.rizhaogreentea.com
www.rizhaolvcha.org

Currently I have two greens from the same plantation, both picked in late
winter/early spring and grown under greenhouses ( if the taobao site is to be believed: http://chayedian.taobao.com/category-334660585.htm?spm=a1z10.4.0.0.Lc8DRm&search=y&parentCatId=323244125&parentCatName=%C8%D5%D5%D5%C2%CC%B2%E8&catName=%C8%D5%D5%D5%C2%CC%B2%E8+%B4%F3%C5%EF%B2%E8#bd )

The first one sold as snow sunshine on aliexpress and early spring on the taobao site was harvested on 20/03/2013.

The second one was sold as Xianshuang type ( a thick and dense aroma/flavour
type) or spring tea and was harvested on 01/04/2013.

The snow sunshine tea is thick and loosely rolled coils with the leaves seeming wider than the xianshuang type. Short white hairs are visible on the leaves with the colour ranging from deep blue, green , through spruce green to a lighter grass green colour. The scent of the dry tea is fruity, with a touch of a roasted scent and touch of alfalfa/legume type scent. It smells less intense than the xianshuang type.

The xianshuang type is more tightly rolled with the leaves appearing smaller and slightly more coiled. The colour is a deeper spruce to blue green with pale green patches from furry buds and hairs. The scent is more of a fresh green scent rather than fruity, with a hint of a roasted savoury note.

They both steep to a pale greenish yellow, with the first steep appearing quite light after 45s at 82*C and with the colour intensifying and yellowing in later steeps (55, 70s).

The snow type smells very fruity with melon tones accompanied by chestnut, a
hint of smoke, and cooked peas, while the Xianshuang type has stronger chestnut notes with peas, and a faint floral/fruit plum note.

The snow type taste of a refreshing honeydew melon , a hint of fresh snap pea with a bit of chestnut underneath, accompanied with faint flavour from
roasting. In later steeps it remains fruity but savoury notes of chestnut, a roasted note and a slightly bitter spinach note develop more prominence. This is a refreshing, smooth, fruity green.

The Xiansuang type tastes of chestnut, spinach, and alfalfa/peas, along with a tone of warm, ripe, plum with a hint of papaya ( the small, rounder, sweeter ones). It is buttery, heavier, and more savoury than the earlier harvest tea with a denser broth. It smells and tastes fruitier as it cools.
Later steeps taste heavier and denser. This tea is refreshing but leaves a more tingling feeling in the mouth and has a bit more bitterness than the earlier harvest.

These teas both make really nice fruity greens with chestnut notes and with
references to peas and other legumes. I really enjoy the melon tones of the snow type and appreciate the more savoury notes of the later harvest.

**These teas were bought from aliexpress store Chinese Tea Distributor.
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/723612
Which appears to be an online seller for Qingquan Yu Ming ( Yu Ming Springs
also known as Imperial Ming Cha), a company which has been buying and selling tea within China since 1984 and seems to be specializing in Kim Chun Mei, Jasmine teas and Teas from Shandong( mostly green, but some Laoshan black teas).