Leaf

the only thing i hate more than camomile tea is racism, and even that is being generous to racism.

I allowed myself to be talked into some rather pricey yellow tea on my last shopping extravaganza — no branding, no name; it was one that the owner of TeaMaze had encountered at an expo over the summer and she had not yet put on her shelves.

Y’all know that I am a sloppy steeper; I don’t own a gaiwan (don’t judge :) and sometimes even grandpa style is a little too much work for me. I just want to throw and go. And this whatever-it-is variety has cheerfully taken whatever abuse I have thrown at it so far.

With conventional green tea parameters, it is lightly buttery—like buttermilk biscuits with a hint of honey. Second steep, same leaves, longer steep time, the buttered greens flavor intensifies a bit, and the texture is like heavy satin. And when I couldn’t stand to waste the rest of the pot and poured it in a tumbler to refrigerate overnight, it turned a beautiful golden brunette color with that same silky biscuit-y texture.

So, experts … tell me what I need to know about yellow tea. Other prep recommendations?

Today in class we tasted yellow tea. I’m not sure what the name of this one was either, but I think it might’ve come from a mountain. I thoroughly enjoyed the earthy taste of the tea. Apparently it’s rare now, which is disappointing because I would’ve liked to explore this tea some more.
11/09/2018

It smells really strong, smells savory almost, had a nice taste though. Brewed the second round for not as long so it was not as heavy as a taste.

The aroma is slightly almondy, but the flavour is a super fruity concoction that has a sharp and sour kick in the aftertaste. This is combined with a light musty undernote. There wasn’t really a spiced note to this, however it is very flavourful!

More on tea: www.tastethetea.co.uk

It is a very nice tea with its natural sweetness. For a while, I was not really fond of it for reasons, but now I take it whenever I urge something smooth and naturally sweet. I like to drink it during the nights, personally.

Camomile is a cure-all for Greek families. Whether your problem is internal or external, camomile can help! I have mild epilepsy and it helps with my dizziness, it helps me sleep, it helps my stomach if it’s sore. it’s fantastic!

When I got home from work I had a sudden craving for cupcakes, so I baked some, but I overdid it with the icing (decided to go with vanilla buttercream, and made way too much) so I needed a refreshing tea to stop myself from feeling sick. I was going for mint when I remembered I had this and decided to give it a shot.

Very clean and light. Tastes sort of woody, and I’m getting a strange taste that’s almost like lemons but without the sourness – if that makes sense. Doesn’t taste of olives, which is nice. I think I might get this one in again, it’s a pleasant drink for cutting through overly sweet flavours without overwhelming them entirely (the way lemongrass and mint can.) Also, breaking up the leaves into my teapot is kind of satisfying in a weirdly tactile way.

later edit: The lemony notes come out more when resteeped.

It’s a basic chamomile tea, nothing to make it stand out from the rest. I drank it with a Stash honey stick (now while I am frankly baffled as to why their teas are so popular, credit where credit’s due: the honey sticks are genius) and it was a nice, soothing, relaxing cup. Not nice enough for me to restock from them though, I’d rather buy a cheaper brand when I can’t taste the difference.

A one cup sample I got from Leaf:

The leaves are nice and big, not like the finely cut stuff from my local herbal shop (when I run out of my home-grown, home-dried stuff) and it smelt good dry, but I think it might have been cross contaminated or something because the overwhelming flavour when I drink it is liquorice o_O Quite pleasant minty liquorice, but it’s still liquorice.

I don’t particularly mind since I was drinking it for nausea anyway (oh epilim, how I despise thee) and liquorice helps, it was just very unexpected.

(brew notes: as always with herbals, splash of cold water before adding the boiling.)

My first thought was ‘pleh’, but the second mouthful was delicious (god bless my inability to pour stuff away/throw stuff out – even though it means I’ll be finishing that box of foul white tea dust from Jackson’s.)

It seems like the first sip coats my mouth (possibly because of the liquorice?), then the rest tastes good, and I think to eat or drink anything else while having this would be a mistake; it’s one to sit and savour on its own. It’s warming and a little spicy, and it’s really soothing my sore throat. The liquorice is definitely the strongest flavour, avoid it if you’re not keen, but the rest of the ingredients balance it out so it’s not as stringy as liquorice tea can taste.

I’ll be buying more, probably when I need to restock my stash of fillable teabags from Leaf (those are very useful, and they let the leaves unfurl more than other empty teabags I’ve tried.)

All gone! This was a really nice tea and I’m glad I had it. It was a wonderful present from my friend. I saved her the last bit and showed her why it was worth waiting 20 minutes. Such a strange type of tea, but it was a good addition to my cupboard while it was there

I finally did what the instructions said on the packet. I just didn’t believe that something that is so similar to a green tea could need the brewing instructions they gave it: boiling water (leave water to stand for 30 secs before pouring) and twenty minutes to brew. After all, I’m used to sencha, that often needs under a minute with 70-75 degC water.

But I have always found this tea very mild and pale, so I was curious what would happen when I actually followed the instructions. The instructions said that the tea tastes okay after 5 minutes but best after 20, so I put it in a pot with a tea cosy to keep it warm, and had a cup after 5 minutes and left the rest brewing for a bit longer.

The five-minute cup was still very pale, and mild tasting. It tasted no stronger than an unripe pear or melon. The taste that was there was nice, but it was so pale that I could easily taste the water it was brewed with rather than just the tea. Unfortunately, water in this area tastes pretty horrible, so it wasn’t pleasant.

After 20 minutes, it is much better, as the packet suggested. The tea never went bitter, it just tastes slightly grassy but with a flavour that I can only describe as being interesting. By which I mean that it’s not exactly the same as any green tea I have had, there’s something individual about it. And I like that.

The tea company was right and I have paid the price for being so stubborn and independent not to follow their advice. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had other good cups of this tea, but I was missing out a bit by not brewing it properly

Haven’t drunk anything this light for a long time. It came as a bit of a shock, but by the end of my big pint-mug I was really enjoying it. Might have to have some more ;-)

After a day of drinking horrible tea at work (it was £1 for 100 bags so it was never likely to be good), this was a nice change – and I brewed it well enough for it to seem like a nice treat this evening

My wonderful housemate Kelly bought me this tea and it is very nice and gentle, with large whole leaves and a pale colour to it. Mmm, perfect for a hot day like today

Tasty and refreshing. I think it’s one for after a rich meal, possibly as a change to peppermint. TBH, it’s making me think about getting some of the herb and try making my own mixes; it’s nice but I think I’d want to do something extra to it if it was going to be a regular drinking tea.