TenFu's Tea

Well how shall I put it, I found a bunch of these little blue bags in my basement filled with tie guan yin. The production date stamped on it says 10.25.2006, so that makes it about 5 years old. Though it is vacuum packed.. I’m sure this kind of tea is not meant to be aged, so I am really drinking some old tea. 10 means October too, so that puts this as an autumn harvest tea and that means this is a grade lower than the ones cultivated in spring. Anyways, I pretty sure this was something my parents brought back from a trip to china (which trip, I wouldn’t know).

Tenfu (same thing as Tenren) is a massive tea company so really, if anyone ends up ever getting some of this will be beyond me. That’s one thing about steepster, most teas from North America or western Europe, can be found with ease well what about that crazy amount of asians and asian countries that drink tea? Well those will most likely never be found here at all even though they represent a significant portion of the tea consumed in this world. That’s just me saying, as I drink a lot of green tea that was brought back from China, yet I have no means of listing it or any clue who made it. Luckily this bag had a little url printed on the side that lead me to the tenfu website.

Getting down to the tea itself, I tried making it gong fu style (lots of leaf, less water, more infusions) It’s a light tasting tea, not as dark or heavy roasted as some TGY teas. I’ve gone to 5 infusions and it still tastes alright. Anyone curious to try some? I think I have like 3-4 more bags of this stuff. Figure it might be more educational to some of you than it will be for me. Swap me anything that I have never tried before, I’d be down.

A nice light, traditional green tea drank mid-day.

Two days ago I had a discussion with Barbara and cteresa about jasmine teas and I was saying I stupidly never think to drink Jasmine teas except when I am in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant.

Then I remember I had an untasted sample from a swap with LaFleurBleue and decide to rectify the affront I make to Jasmine teas.

The smell of the dry pearls has nothing especially noticeable, the liquor smells very delicate.

Jasmine is not overpowering vs the tea base, the mix is perfectly balanced.

In spite of my fear with green teas, there is absolutely none hint of astringency with this tea.

Looking the small pearls opening is a real pleasure too

I really appreciate this tea even if Jasmine isn’t my favorite floral tea – I am very rose and very violet (and strangely this is exactly the same with Perfumes) thank you LaFleurBleue to permit me to taste this lovely tea.

I bought this at the Southeast Market about a year ago. I bought it when I was first getting into pu-erh and to be honest… this tea kind of scared me away from pu-erhs because of the fishy smell it has. I’ve only had it one other time but I thought I’d give it another shot since I found that pu-erh is actually pretty tasty :]
It’s very mellow. It’s earthy and sweet. It has a bit of a floral-ish note. It is actually pretty satisfying for super cheap pu-erh.

Light and earthy.

It’s not overpowering or too weak. It’s light and earthy. It has a bit of a “fishy” note but only in scent, not taste. VERY clean and smooth. Velvety almost. The taste of the whole process is apparent but the taste of the tea itself comes through as well. Just a great tea. Probably a good introduction into pu-erh.

I tried those pearls (3) with the Kusmi Rose green tea (about half serving).
The result is quite good. I’ll have to put more rose tea or only 2 pearls next time, as the jasmine overwhelmed the rose flavor. The result is a bit milder than pure Jasmine.

While visiting TenFu’s in Beijing, I could not resist this tea and bought another jasmine tea to compare them both. Not sure exactly what the price difference between the two was; I would say something like 40% more for the pearl.
The little balls make it quite easier to use and for evaluation of the right quantity (2 balls for the first cup + 1 each, more or less). The smell is not very strong when opening the bag, much lighter than “regular” jasmine teas.
I always find the steeping disturbing (even after something like 20 to 30 teapots). The color remain very very light, however long I steeped it; once I probably forgot it for more than 10 minutes. The smell is quite delicate : not too strong on the jasmine, neither on the tea. Same thing when drinking : the taste feels really delicate, stronger on Jasmine at first then the green tea takes over.
A real bonuss : the tea never gets really bitter.
I really have the feeling those two smells and aromas just managed to be perfectly mixed together in this tea. And every time I prepare it, I get the same feeling “wow this is way better than jasmine tea”.

There were a few different quality jasmine tea at TenFu’s (5 or 6 if my memory is right); the highest being Pearl, the others ranging from full / almost full leaves to small pieces / fannings.
I bought both the pearl (to be reviewed separately) and the highest grade of jasmine tea leaves.
Most of the leaves / pieces od leaves are around 2 cm long; some stems also found their way into the bag :(
The tea color is a golden yellow. The smell is nice; the taste strong both on tea and jasmine – the two tastes being quite distinguishable. I noticed it’s important not to let it steep long, as it turns quite bitter.
Overall this is a nice jasmine tea, but nothing wowed me; it jut felt like a good very standard and bland blend. I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish the pack I have.
I’ve also tried it iced (with a hot steep, which I believe is imperative to avoid the bitterness); it’s just ok.
I would recommand to any potential buyer to put the few more bucks required to upgrade to the Pearl rather than get this one.

Found this shou puerh at such a bargain! It was >$7 for 150grams. With that being said, I prefer it well above any of the other puerhs I have found in this pricing structure.

It infuses very fast and is a nice clean tea to the palate, even on the first steeping (after, of course the leaves being washed). The fragrance of the leaves resembles a green oolong, yet when steeped it looses most of that fragrance. Honestly, it smells like gold fish food; no joke! That is the only thing fishy here though, because the taste is excellent. It sips very smoothly and lingers this smoothness well after you are done drinking (for the moment:) It certainly has you coming back for more!

Thanks for sending me this one PoliticalMachine! It was a learning experience to be sure.
The leaves are typical, nice and rolled, and smell like a mild spring flower. Once steeped, it leans more toward the green side of Oolong. It has some of those irritants that make my throat all itchy but nothing like jasmine tea!
There is also a vegetal aspect when I first sip, followed by a fresh water note. It finishes with a nice nutty aftertaste.
I added no sugar, but there is a slight sweetness to it that comes out in the finish as well. There is the tiniest hint of milkiness, but I think that is more an extension of the nutty note.
The first infusion was a bit strong for my liking, but the second was much more balanced. I’ll try and do a third now!

First steep

Not much of a smell. Fairly strong jasmine taste. Aftertaste quickly fades away to nothing.

Jasmine teas tend to all be pretty much the same, and this is no different. That doesn’t mean that it’s bad though.

Deliciously light, golden clear liquid. Thoroughly infused with the fragrance of jasmine, yet not overly-powerful so as to upset the delicate balance of the tea. This may indeed be my first tasting note for a non-black tea. I was quite surprised with how satisfied I was drinking the tea as is without the need to add anything. Now gearing up for a 2nd infusion. A new favorite to add to my collection!