Tea Runners

Had a mug of this today and just enjoyed how straight forward and accessible the fresh peach flavour was. Not a candy style of peach at all, but more the kind of tender yellow fleshed peach you might pick up at a roadside fruit stall in the summer. It compliments the white tea base well as it’s still pretty light but has just a bit more coarseness and body compared to some "fluffier"or more delicate and floral white teas and has some of that hay/strong undertone to it as well.

Cold Brew!

Pleasantly surprised by how lovely this was! It wasn’t super complex tasting, but the balance was very well executed. I could distinctly taste the fresh, grassy and almost bamboo-like medium bodied green tea as well as a very authentic raspberry note. The raspberry had just a little bit of a tartness to its top notes, but was mostly fairly mellow with a nice natural sweetness. The whole cold brew had the sort of vibe of a really “classic” RTD iced tea like Pure Leaf, but was just clearly using much nicer ingredients/flavours.

I liked how straight forward everything was. No need for added sweeteners to delicious, but classic and neutral tasting enough to still have room for customization if you wanted. I’m thinking a splash of lemonade cold be nice, or as the base for a more summery cocktail? It’s a “backyard BBQ” feeling tea where you’d make a big ol’ pitcher of it and it would be a really nice crowd pleaser.

I’ve had this a couple times now and as much as it might be the tea for some, it’s not one i feel compelled to keep in my cupboard. the description says malt and molasses but for me it’s just semi astringent and has a taste to it i’m just not up for.

Gongfu!

I haven’t gone out of my way to put together a really solid tea and cheese pairing in a while, so this afternoon I decided to treat myself to a nice session of Big Red Robe paired with some dill infused gouda!! I already know that I love the way the rich, nuttiness of gouda pairs with a more roasted and earthy oolong, so I was pretty sure the inclusion of dill to this cheese wouldn’t be too “out these” with this session – and it actually worked even better than I could have imagined. Sometimes with rock oolongs like this one I already taste more savory, herbaceous notes like dill, thyme, or even occasionally sage so the consistent note of dill in the cheese really riffed those elements of the tea creating an overall profile that was umami foward with such unctuous and buttery notes of grilled nuts, warming spices, and mineral-rich exotic woods. Sometimes I get lychee notes with this Dahongpao in particular, but with this session the fruitiness was kind of pushed to the backburner and really just translated into a general sweet, very round feeling sweetness after the sip. Very fun combination, and a nice way of elevating both the tea and the cheese!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9qLSuEup7h/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ElKk4yTg1M

Gongfu!

Even from the first steep, I found this oolong to be surprisingly sweet with notes of lychee and sugared plums that were almost just as strong as the roasted nuts and woody mineral notes that were more expected! The lychee, in particular, leaned floral with a delicate finishing flavour. Overall, this tea was rich, with a beautifully coating medium body and a gentle astringency that drew emphasis to the nuttier elements. Very nice way to kick off the day!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3TbqaiOcVK/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce-Q8CI8m_8