Norbu Tea

Finally decided to give this guy a rating. Reminds me why I love Wu Yis!

I received a sample of this with some gaiwans that I ordered last year. I decided to give it a whirl this afternoon.

I opened the packet and gave it a sniff. Initially, it honestly didn’t smell that good – it reminded me of a wet cat. I gave the leaves a quick rinse with hot water in a gaiwan, then moved them to my Adagio ingenuiTea to steep. The wet leaves didn’t smell great to me either, but I continued on.

I whipped some splenda and half & half in a cup and dispensed the tea into my cup.

I took a hesitant sip. Light, smokey… it smelled fine now, and didn’t taste bad either. I added more water to the leaves and will try a second steep plain.

My current cup is pretty good – I think it’s a decent tea, but it’s not something I feel compelled for find more of. I definitely would not refuse a cup of it, if offered one, though.

This is a lovely Sheng – sweet, smoky, with a malty taste. The brew is very light coloured, and tastes great brewed gongfu style in my new Yixing teapot (dedicated to Shengs). It’s still a little rough at the edges at this point and I have a feeling that with time it will mellow and grow even sweeter, but it’s still lovely to drink now.
I got this a free sample in my latest order from Norbu and I most certainly will buy a cake during my next shopping spree there.
P.S. Norbu have changed the packaging of their tea, and their new bags are really lovely.

One of my tea loving coworkers had a birthday today, so as a treat, I asked him to pick the tea of the day. “White tea!” he exclaimed in glee. So this popped out of the cupboard and white tea was had by all. Hands down my favourite white tea, and a really lovely introduction to “bread flavoured” white teas.

Yay! Our last reservist came back today and I made a large batch of Norbu’s Ya Bao to celebrate (he loves white tea). He was 36 days on reserve duty, which is a long long time, and we are glad to have him back.
Now if only there was a permanent ceasefire…

P.S. This tea is awesome. My favourite white tea and one of me favourite teas. Recommend.

End of day relaxation tea, brewed three times in a Gaiwan, and then all merged into a single class cup. Yes, I am sacrilegious, blending East and West with such abandon. But this tea can take it, and the result was as comfortingly “bread-y” as usual.
Still one of the weirder looking teas that I own.

I had a truly exhausting day. Having this before bedtime. Tomorrow perhaps I’ll have some time for a few more sip downs. Trying to clear some tea cupboard room, and to get a taste of more than just my go-to teas.

Last cup of the day. This tea smells and tastes like freshly baked bread, or sweet wheat sheaves. It has a completely different flavour profile than Verdant’s Ya Bao, and in my opinion is much, much better. It is smooth and soft, where Verdant’s is harsh and prickly, and it recalls sweet rice or bread or wheat, and not green pines. And for a nice surprise after every sip – open your mouth slightly, and let air waft in.
One of my favourite teas, with a constant place in my cupboard, and my top five. A true evening comfort tea, and an instant pick-me-up.

Backlogging a cup of this on my birthday a few days ago. I tasted Norbu’s Ya Bao again (in a gaiwan, for three resteepings) after I tried Verdant Tea’s Ya Bao, because I remembered enjoying Norbu’s more. Verdant’s Ya Bao is excellent, but it’s somehow harsher, more “in your face” flavour-wise, whereas Norbu’s is sweeter, more mellow, and it gently caresses your tastebuds with its cooling, soothing, toasty goodness. There was also a greenness – almost pine-like – to Verdant’s Ya Bao that was not present so much in Norbu’s. I’ll have to do a side by side tasting to make sure, but I’m certain that Norbu’s is the tea I will reach for when I’m feeling the need for a comforting white tea.

Last tea of the day – a great way to unwind

Backlogging a 7 (!) brew evening with this tea, after a horrid, tough day at work. Its toasty goodness and low caffeine content made me reach out for it. This is turning out to be my “comfort cup” tea – not finicky, always sweet, positive, comforting, warm. I’ll most certainly stock up on some more on my next Norbu buy.

Backlogging from yesterday. This tea when dry looks like monster white buds from outer-space, the buds are so large and impressive. Most definitely a tea to brew in a glass gaiwan or teapot. The dry leaves smell like plain white rice, a very soothing smell (for me). The tea brew is practically colorless, and once again smells like rice. It tastes like sweet white rice with a slight roasted tinge to it that is very pleasant. The tea is silky and light bodied with no astringency. Its tastes are so delicate that it won’t hold well to adding milk or sugar – but then again I don’t believe it needs them. Yummy!

Opened a new batch of this tea, but didn’t have the time to brew it Gongfu, so the wonderful cinnamon-y taste took a backseat to a more generic, roast green beans flavor.
Still one of my favorite oolongs, but one that NEEDS to be brewed with respect.

Nearing the end of this tea (enough for two more gongfu steepings of it) and it’s no longer available from Norbu. Was slightly saddened until I rummaged around my kitchen and discovered that I have another 50g of it stashed away. Hurray! Brewed some of and and am drinking it now while working on my thesis – in full celebration mode :) Also bumped up the tea’s rating.
I’ve also ordered all the new oolongs from Verdant’s site, plus some of the new sheng pu’erh and a small amount of the Yunnan that got such high ratings here. A friend will pick it up for me if it arrives when I’m in the UK, but I really hope that it will get here before that.

Was having a nice cup of this tea, when the sirens next to my house started blaring. Caught me completely by surprise, and sent me rushing to the sheltered room (minus the tea, which was in a glass cup…). I thought that it was probably a drill, but as we weren’t notified that there was going to be one today, I thought it better to be safe than sorry. After an uncomfortable minute or so, the siren died out and I went to check out what it was all about. It turns out that it was a drill, but there was no mention of it in the paper or the news last night, so it gave me quite a fright.
I’m now back at my desk, sipping this tea and relaxing before getting back to work. Brrr…