JK Tea Shop

Tried this with a tiny bit of honey. It tastes like candy. (One of the chewy sorts, kind of like taffy or those sugar-water-filled wax straws.) My teeth are aching in sympathy.

Six flowers and a partially-steeped tie guan yin leaf in a mug. I’m on the second steep now, and I can already feel the flowers putting me to sleep like Dorothy in the poppy fields. I fear that if I left off logging this until I finished the second mug my tasting note would look more like this:

Six flowersssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**snore**zzzzzzz

So tasty, though!

I had this for dessert last night: three flowers in a small punch teacup, continual topping up of the water. This was a bit weaker and the tea itself didn’t turn as bright green, but it was still very tasty — I think I like it a little better a bit weak, actually. The flowers started out floating on top of the tea but eventually sank to the bottom of the cup (and were very pretty to look at as I sipped). Interestingly, given the lesser coloration of the tea, when I washed out the cup this morning the flower petals had streaks of green staining them!

Reading up on chrysanthemum teas, I hear that they aren’t generally soporifics; apparently it’s just coincidence that I conked right out after finishing my last cup of this last night! I guess it was just plain old soothing.

I was one of the lucky requesters to get a sample of this tea from JK Tea Shop’s offer — I’d never had chrysanthemum tea before, but I was intrigued by the concept.

The scent of the dry leaves was…odd. Definitely floral, but not floral the way any other tea I’ve ever had has been. Heavier somehow. I put eight flowers and a small shake of loose petals into a pot, and steeping it was the same scent even stronger. The color was a pale virulent green which wouldn’t be amiss at a mad scientists’ cocktail party!

So I sipped cautiously, and it’s amazing! It tastes just like it smells, and while I still have no idea what that taste is, I can now tell that it’s juicy and extraordinarily sweet. It’s not cloying, but it’s just this side of it — I can’t imagine putting more sweetener in! And it leaves behind a plainer, less confusing aftertaste that’s just sweet and sweet and sweet. I had to go make a second cup right away after finishing the first! (Second cup came out just like the first; I’m not tasting any change at all for the second steeping.)

The flowers were a lot smaller and paler than I expected: I think I was picturing something like an American Black-Eyed Susan flower in a dark purple, but these were about half that size and nearly white. So I have a lot more left than I expected! This is a very generously-sized sample packet.

Flowers steeping in the pot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cait_tea/4523798781/in/set-72157623664718933/

I tried brewing these at just a minute this time, and I think I prefer it when it is brewed for a longer period of time.

This is a very light brew, it has virtually no color. The flavor is pollen-esque with honey tones (this honey flavor is further emphasized with the addition of a drop of honey) It is floral and vegetative although the vegetative nature reminds me a bit of straw or hay. I haven’t ever eaten straw or hay, but, this is what I would imagine it to taste like, anyways.

It is a very unique taste – not a bad one, just different. And… different IS good.

I received this sample from JK Tea Shop on Monday, but, my Mondays and Tuesdays are generally pretty hectic since they are typically hubby’s days off, and we’re always out running errands and such… so I saved trying this tea until this evening when I could really give it my full attention.

Based on AmazonV’s suggestion, I brewed these beautiful blossoms 3 minutes. The resulting liquor is a very pale, even paler than pale yellow. The aroma is vegetal and floral, but perhaps more vegetative than floral.

The flavor is very smooth and fresh tasting. It has a floral taste to it (not surprising, right?) and an interesting vegetative quality as well as a pollen-y characteristic – almost sweet, but not quite.

Because I found the flavor a bit in need of a little something after my initial taste, I added a very small amount of raw honey and the result was very pleasing. The addition of honey seems to pump up the natural sweetness of this tisane. It is just ok without the honey, but with the honey, it’s much more pleasant to drink.

Steep Information:
Amount: I put 10, because that’s what came when I took a tsp
Water: filtered, boiling, 16 oz
Tool: in my ceramic Tea Forte solstice teapot
Steep Time: a little over 1 minute
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: floral, very vegetal like walking in a muddy flower field
Steeped Tea Smell: floral, vegetal
Flavor: odd, different, smooth, vegetal, it’s not bitter but there is this almost bitter like taste I can’t describe, it makes my mouth
Body: Light
Aftertaste: that funky fuzzy tingly feeling
Liquor: translucent light green

I was sent for free Purple Chrysamthemum Wild Flower Tea thanks to an offer posted on Steepster

JK Tea Shop Website

I paid $1.70 shipping

The tea arrived Tuesday April 13 in waterproof shipping bag. Inside the bag was a well bubble wrapped package of tea.

Inside the bubble wrap was a silver foiled resealable pouch.

Inside the pouch, gorgeous whole flower heads!

1 minute was too short, I couldn’t taste much. So I left them in for a bit while working on another tasting note, next thing you know it was at 8 minutes! I think that may have been a bit long, but it still taste very similar to the tins and plastic bottles of Chrysamthemum tea I have gotten in Asian grocery stores.

I am sorry that my descriptive skills and vocabulary are not up to the task – if you’ve had Chrysamthemum tea before, this is it. I had it this time unsweetened, but I think that I enjoy it more sweetened.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: not sure how long, but just the same as the first!

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/04/jk-tea-shop-loose-leaf-herbal-tea.html

My previous experience with loose leaf Wulong teas has been limited to Tie Guan Yin and Taiwan teas, but after reading about Da Hong Pao teas I was very curious to try them. Thus JK Tea shop’s free sample was a very nice treat.

I have to say I am now a big Da Hong Pao fan! I followed JK Tea shops brewing instructions, but unfortunately I had to use a glass pot since my Yixing pot broke :(

The dry leaves have a sweet, slightly smoky fragrance that for some strange reason reminds me of brown sugar. Strange, I know…

I steeped the first batch of tea for 25 seconds. The tea came out looking clear, bright and golden-orange. The scent that I originally got from the dry leaves was even stronger coming from the tea itself. It had a sweet, candy-caramel like taste as it first hit my mouth with a veeeerrry slight bitter note at the end.

For the second batch, I steeped it for around 30 seconds and there was less of a sugary fragrance and a little more smoke. The sweet taste became more pronounced and was a good combination with the hint of smoke.

I could smell more of the floral fragrance with the third steep, (around 40 seconds) and a little less of the sweet fragrance. The taste was a little more floral and less sweet.

The succeeding steeps had progressively lighter tastes and fragrances.

Overall, one of the best Wulong teas I’ve had so far, and a nice way to get introduced to Da Hong Pao tea!

I just got the teas from my Shi Feng Long Jing farmer friend yesterday, and cant wait to try it.

Super fresh, floral aroma. rotate the teas in the warm-uped cup, sharp chestnut aroma comes up, makes me wanna inhale the aroma longer. Anyway, I cannt wait the taste the tea liquid.

Actually I compared two teas last night. Both of them are Shi Feng Long Jing, and are from the same supplier. The only difference lies in the bush variety. One is the Long Jing No. 43 bush; another is the Long Jing old bush.

First infusion; old bush enjoys much high floral aroma and thick & sweet taste.
No. 43, still good, but comparatively weak aroma and taste than old bush.

Second infusion; much obvious; old bush also enjoys thick taste, super sweet aftertaste.
No. 43, flavor is also pleasing, but taste has some water feeling; in other words, its tea liquid contains some water taste, because of lack of interior substance brewed out.

Third infusion; much much obvious. Old bush, still thick, sweet taste,
No. 43. a lot of water taste.

Fourth infusion; old bush, has a little water taste
No. 43. more water taste to cover tea taste.

So I am more difinitely sure what teas I need to purchase, and as always I am supportive of the old bush.

after causal brewing the purple bud Pu Er tea, I decide to brew this good Wenshan tea seriously, to satisfy my mouth thirst. I guess it is one year’s old, so its floral aroma is not as strong as the new one, and it is aging slowly and slowly. Tea liquid is changed to yellow from yellow-greenish. Super soft as usual and thick. Long-lasting sweetness and smooth throat feeling.

A strange thought strike me, what would the taste like if I brew the purple bud Pu Er tea in the glass mug(with a glass insert filter), instead of the traditional Gaiwan brewing?

So I put around 4 g of the tea buds in the glass filter, rinse it quickly with temp around 92. Then pour the water with temp 90 degree and steep for about 1.5 minutes.

um, smell the aroma first, and found out its aroma is not as delicate, or exquisite as brewed in Gaiwan. Tea liquid is brown yellow color, which means it has already changed a little bit due to one year old. Taste is still as mellow, thick and unique taste as usual.
But in all, I still prefer the Gaiwan brewing, which can hightlight its unique natural honey floral aroma, and much thick & mellow taste.

I found this wild purple chrysanthemum all by accident. Last year, I went to visit one of my tea friends in Zhejiang, and visited his tea shop and found this flower tea.
Unlike many other commo chrysanthemum flower tea, this chrysanthemum is wild-growing in the mountains behind his parents’ house. Also, unlike many other common chrysanthemum, they will attract the insects to eat them; this wild growing one volatilizes the aroma that keeps insects away.
Super delicate/exquisite natural flower aroma; No matter how many times you blew, the delicate aroma still exisits.

This organic rose bud tea has a natural rose aroma, which is super soft and mellow in taste. Unlike other rose buds, this tea is long-lasting aroma after many time’s infusion.