Tin Roof Teas

I am sorry I don’t have a description for this one. I had a cup of this Friday at the store and just hadn’t logged it yet. I can’t find a description on their website. The owner mentioned that he might discontinue it when his present stock sells out, which is a shame because it was really good! Grab some now if you want it!

The liquor was a medium red/brown. The body was light but the flavor was not, and I love it when a tea does that. I think this would resteep well based on how it tasted. It had a little sweet caramel taste and some…sweet potato? I know I was reminded of Yun Nan Dian Hong a bit. It was not smokey as some gunpowder black teas can be, unless my lunch at Noodles had sedated my taste buds and I didn’t pick up on it. Good tea!

I was delighted to find Tin Roof Teas yesterday. I was even more delighted when the owner offered me a sample along with my purchase. I must say the dry leaf smells wonderful, floral, and medium bodied.

The liquor is indeed a pale straw color, just as the packaging promised. (Good thing to know – their packaging says right on it a description of the tea and directions for making it.) I was bracing myself for an astringent and puckers experience, but what I got was YUM! This has a fresh green taste, and I reminded of the very best buttered brussels sprouts, sweet and soft, not the bitter, pithy ones. After the sip, there is a tingling sweetness, not dry and puckery, but downright kissable! This does cleanse the palate, but instead of feeling like it got stripped clean, this simply comes in and freshens freshens freshens. I made three steeps, tasting each individually and then combining the rest into one pot for our nightly tea.

This is excellent, and now I can’t get the Fig Formosa off my mind. Maybe my son will pick it up for me before he comes home next week. :)

I have purchased this tea several times but somehow it wasn’t in my cupboard, and I have nearly finished another bag. I probably shouldn’t bother to remove from cupboard when I finish it because I hope I will have a new bag again soon.

I have been saving this to be my woody tea for the scavenger hint and kept thinking Ashman and I could have a big pot together, but it has been so hot by day and we have been mostly avoiding caffeine at night so it hasn’t worked out.

The aroma…oh, it is so good. All Tung Ting/Dong Ding teas have a woody aroma and taste to me, but this one is also one of the most floral. Ashman dislikes most floral things (he even finds pears and pear flavor too floral for his taste) but he really likes this tea.

The liquor is light to medium yellow and lighter for me because I combine first and second steep. It is smooth and only very lightly brisk. The woody and mineral notes make it excellent for pairing with food, especially sweets.

Since Steepster is refusing to let me review two of the teas that derk sent, I will put up a new note on this one.

Earlier today I had a gong fu session by myself with the 2013 Hei Cha from Yunnan Craft. It was SO CHOCOLATEY in the aroma, and that came through in the taste as well. I don’t remember if I have had any/much hei cha, but I expected it to be as dark as ripe pu. This was much lighter. I will definitely be looking for some hei cha to buy based on my experience today.

This Tung Ting delivered as always. I got a hankering for some Krispy Kreme chocolate covered doughnuts with sprinkles, something we rarely buy. I would usually pour two huge glasses of cold milk to go with doughnuts, but I decided tea was much more responsible. It was absolutely delicious, as usual.

Speaking of hankerings, I gave my daughter-in-law known as ChelseaR here on Steepster some pickles in her stocking at Christmas just because she loves pickles so much. She got them last year, too. These particular ones were Woodstock Organic Bread and Butter Pickles and they are delicious. But this year, thanks to hankerings, she finished the whole 24 ounce jar AND DRANK THE JUICE in three days. Yes, friends, I am about to become the grandmother of TWINS. I have sent two more jars of pickles and she will get them tomorrow! Maybe they will last the week, but I wouldn’t bet any money on it! :)

We went to Raleigh a couple of weeks ago and since I had just polished off a whole tin of Ti Kuan Yin and my dark roast Da Hong Pao, I decided that I would allow myself to go in Tin Roof Teas at the their new location. After all, I need TKY to serve to my husband who doesn’t enjoy as many types of tea as I do, so it was really for HIM. :)

Obviously, I didn’t just buy TKY. Now that I think about it, I didn’t even buy any TKY. Oops. But I DID pick teas that I thought my husband would like. Then I came home and read a tasting note on this tea that said it wasn’t a favorite of his. Hmmm. Eight years is a long time and tastes change.

Of the four teas I bought, this one was bested suited to go with our breakfast of everything bagels. And….he liked it! A lot!

I steeped it western style and I should try it gong fu style to see if it gains more nuance and reveals more flavors.

Initially I perceive the body as thin but then right away it transitions to a medium body. And this happens with each sip. There is the barest hint of roastiness (not smokiness) and some floral and baked bread notes.

It gave a satisfactory second steep. We will probably burn through this 100 gram bag pretty quickly. When I bought it 8 years ago, it only lasted two weeks. That is the fastest I have ever polished off any tea. It isn’t a champion award winning highly nuanced tea, it is just super easy to drink and pairs well with many flavors, from everything bagels to pie.

Hmmmm. So yesterday I said this was a sip down, and in a way it was because I threw away the packaging for this tea. There is no way I am tossing these leaves, though, until every last bit of goodie is wrung out of them.

It started raining last night and has rained all morning so far, and will probably continue. I am having some quiet time alone today as hubby and kids go to church and I stay home with the puppy.

What else can you do on a quiet, rainy morning but make tea? :)

This is the second steep of these leaves and this is one of those teas where subsequent steeps are best. I suppose I could do a quick rinse of the leaves, but the first steep is enjoyable as well and I don’t want to waste. This second steep, though, is really excellent. When the timer went off for me to pull out the basket, I walked into the kitchen and was hit by this marvelous aroma.

Today’s steep has none of the astringency of the first steep and is lighter and more delicate. It is slightly floral but also has a mild walnut flavor. I am glad I used the huge tetsubin because I will definitely want lots of this, and I anticipate making yet another pot since hubby and my bestie will be joining me for tea later.

This is a sip down, albeit a very long one. Hubby and I did yoga this morning and I think we both needed a little relaxation and stress relief. I lit the warmer for my tetsubin and made a huge pot of this and we have been sipping on it all morning. Well, I have been sipping on it all morning! Hubby said it was good but not his favorite, and only drank two cups. I will be extremely well hydrated by the time I finish all this, plus I am taking Tropical Green to my neighbor and we will drink that together, AND he ordered some Numi Emperor’s Puerh for me so I expect we will be drinking that as well. Note to self: don’t get too far from a bathroom. I know, I know, overshare! LOL!

I loved this tea when I bought it, and I still like it a lot, but it did come out a little sour and drying today. I was making such a big pot that perhaps I botched it. It isn’t bad, it isn’t ruined, it just isn’t as good as I remembered. Maybe I have been spoiled by Silky Green.

This is something I would prefer to have with or just after a meal or snack. It cleanses the palate very nicely. This pot has walnut notes and medium body. One bag off the shelf!

My friend who is trying to learn to like green and oolong teas is on spring break right now, so we are getting together to do yoga and drink tea every day!

Yesterday’s tea was this oolong from Tin Roof Tea. They used to source everything from TeaGeschwender but now use several different German companies for their tea.

We steeped this western style and made two pots. We have another winner for our tea convert. Hooray! She really liked it. And what’s not to like? This has such rich, full flavor. It is very smooth, not astringent, and resteeps well.

I sent some of Teavivre’s Jasmine Dragon Pearls home with her and based on the text received last night, I will probably be ordering some of that for her as well! Since I have lots of ironing to do for hubby, I better go make a pot for ME right now. :)

Hubby and I left the house early this morning to go to an estate sale waaaay out of town, not far from the beach. So of course, we kept going! It was nearly eighty degrees, we had a picnic in a garden on the Little River, saw a bald eagle fishing right in front of us, a woodstork, and a cormorant, and then went walking on the beach. When I was walking to the strand the fresh sea breeze brought some wonderful scents that reminded me of this tea. I seem to smell tea aromas more and more where I never did before! Even when I was chopping and cooking carrots and other veggies last week, I was reminded of one tea or another.

Anyway, after a long and tiring – but exquisite! day – I made a whole pot of this, and drank it all myself! Once again there is a lingering sweetness that stays in the back of my throat, making me want even more of this tea. I want to try more Tung Ting/ Dong Ding teas and see how similar they are.

This is a resteep of the leaves from this afternoon’s pot of tea. These leaves are still going strong, even being steeped western style and for the second time. Now I am picking up that same phenomenon that I got from Chun Mee by Teavivire. This steep is more woodsy, and at the end of the sip there is this amazing sweetness that lingers in the back of my throat. Perhaps there is a taste of dried hay as well. I didn’t pick up on the sweetness earlier today. Either it wasn’t there or it was hidden by the foods we were eating or the lively conversation. Now as an evening cuppa, oh my goodness this is marvelous. I am so glad, because I had really had a hankering for Chun Mee and I am out. This will hold me until my next Teavivre order!

This was the first tea of tea time today and I just have to say, “WOW!”

My guest loved it, I loved it, and I want more. I also want to know why autocorrect changes the word “more” to the word “romper” even when I don’t mistype anything. That could be a very awkward substitute. Moving on…

This tea has such full flavor. It is both buttery and woodsy, and is going to be a tea shelf staple for a long, long time to come I do believe. Wonderful cup!

My daughters were very insistent that we must have tea time today, and before my middle daughter had to leave to take her grandmother to an appointment. I went to a neighbor’s house for a few minutes and came home to discover cute little vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles – mine had a candle in it because today is my birthday – and this lovely oolong.

I made it gong fu style before. This time it was steeped western style. It didn’t lose a THING! Oh my! Floral and wonderful! My daughter was amazed at how large the leaves got when she made it – she drinks black tea only. The liquor is a soft yellow and looks positively elegant in my Old Country Roses teacup, and the floral headiness of the tea was beautiful against the sweet vanilla cupcake. The flavor fills your mouth and dances on your tongue. Oh my cow, this is a lovely pot of tea. Or it was. I just polished off the whole thing by myself!

I can’t wait to try more teas from Tin Roof Tea!

I am absolutely, positively pooped. I didn’t sleep well last night, probably because I knew it was critical that I wake up on time this morning to get oldest daughter to the airport over an hour away for her flight to N. Ireland.

I am also elated and delighted. I found a new tea shop! It has actually been there for three years but I had never seen it before, and it is a shopping center I have only been to twice that I can recall.
They have a web site, too: www.tinroofteas.com. They had great teaware as well as a big selection of high quality teas. They will also make you a cup of tea, and they have tea flights two weekends a month, with the final tea being paired with chocolate. Oh, joy!

The proprieter was fun to talk with and very sweetly let me sniff dozens of canisters. There were some delectable smelling teas that I hope to try in the future, especially the Fig Formosa. For today’s purchase I chose this Tung Ting as I have never had one before and wanted to try it.

The dry leaf appearance was as expected – tightly rolled and deep dark green in color. The fragrance is excellent! There is a floral headiness that just intoxicated me.

Because I was fall-over tired, I didn’t do my best job steeping this. I didn’t cool my water enough, I didn’t get the timer set on the first pot, and yet the tea forgave me. I am now on the fifth steep and the tea is more floral than ever. The first steeps had a hint of astringency, possibly my error or possibly for palate cleansing. Either way, it was pleasant then and is still gong strong. I am going to go for a couple more steeps. I am enjoying the natural floral taste too much to quit now.

This is one of those oolongs that are the reason I drink oolongs. I am so so glad I got 100 grams.

Edited to add: I just walked past the living room where I made this tea and had the tea set still sitting out. The aroma wafting from that room was so lovely I had to come in and make another steep. This must be six or seven, but the floral loveliness is still going. Wow, I am glad I bought this!

Another sample from Courtney, and another first, because I’ve never knowingly had a rhubarb tea before. Maybe in a blend, but not on its own. The dry leaf smells exactly as I’d expect. There’s a sweet creaminess, and the slightly tangy, fruity scent of rhubarb.

I gave it three minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk. This tastes much like it smells. There’s an overriding creaminess, almost like coffee creamer or something of that ilk. Then comes the tangy, slightly sweet-sour rhubarb, and then the cream returns in the aftertaste. It’s quite an intriguing tea, and definitely lives up to its name. If I’d had some actual cream to spare, I would have added a dash, but life isn’t perfectly synchronised. Ultimately, a very enjoyable cup, and another I’d be pleased to sample again in future. Thank you, Courtney!

This is one of the first teas that I tried from Tin Roof Teas. It has a nice fresh flavor of ripe strawberries that is wonderful. The flavor is tangy and fruity, like a ripe strawberry, with a light strawberry and cream aftertaste. There is a little of the green tea noticeable in the flavor, but not too much. Overall, this is just a very light and refreshing tea that I think would be excellent iced! I would have rated this a little higher, but there is a little bitterness even when steeped at the recommended time. It’s not terrible, though, and this is still a great every-once-in-awhile tea!

-Dry blend has a mixture of medium and large green tea leaves with pieces of dried strawberries.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of green tea and fresh strawberries. Tea liquor aroma is of strawberries and sweet vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark yellow color.
-Tangy and fruity strawberry flavor and finish. Light strawberry and cream aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Fresh strawberry flavor with a hint of cream. A light and refreshing cup.

I’m procrastinating. I have a whole list of things to do, and while I’ve been mildly productive today, all I want to do now is sit and read for the rest of the afternoon. So one more cup of tea and a few more chapters, and then I’m off to clean out my closet (ugh).

I was sad to see that Tin Roof Teas discontinued this tea. It’s been a while since I’ve had it, but I remember it being so watermelony and delicious. The dry blend looks like a large trail mix, with pieces of dried fruit. It smells like sweet dried fruit, like dried apricots or berries. The tea smells more sweet, but I can detect a little tartness also. The flavor is of lightly tart fruit with a very fresh watermelon finish. There is a lingering aftertaste of watermelon that reminds me a little of watermelon bubblegum, but without any of the fakeness. This tea tastes surprisingly like real watermelon, while still being fresh and not artificial. A little sweetener brings out some more of the sweet watermelon taste, but too much will overshadow the light flavors. This tea is the perfect cup to have before bed during the summer, or for a light caffeine-free treat during the day. I can imagine it would be wonderful iced as well. Why oh why did TRT have to discontinue this one? Sad!

-Dry blend has a mixture of large pieces of dried fruit.
-Dry blend smells like sweet dried fruit. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet and tart fruit.
-Tea liquor is a clear deep orange pink color.
-Lightly tart fruit flavor with a fresh watermelon finish. Lingering watermelon aftertaste.
-Best with the smallest amount of sweetener.
-Very good tea. Light fresh watermelon flavor.

First cup of the morning. I need something strong to wake me up today! Yesterday we had a costume contest in our running group, so I spent a good part of the day gluing feathers, etc. to get ready. My running friend and I ended up winning, so it was worth it. :) We’re keeping one of my mom’s dogs this weekend, so with 3 dogs, our 2 cats, and 5 foster kitties, it was a little busy in the house last night and I didn’t get much sleep. Today is another busy day, but I’m thankful that it’s Friday!

I’ve had this tea for awhile, and I can’t remember anything super special about it, but I haven’t rated it yet. The dry leaves are very pretty, with a mixture of black and green leaves and small pretty blue blossoms. The aroma from the dry leaves is heavily of bergamot. The tea itself smells malty with a hint of sweet citrus. The flavor is floral and malty with an unfortunate slightly bitter bergamot finish. I added a little bit of milk and sugar and that eliminated the bitterness. Overall, this is a very lightly flavored Earl Grey with just a little floral note. It’s nice, but I wouldn’t consider it an exceptional Earl Grey. It did the job nicely this morning, though!

-Dry blend has medium black and green tea leaves and twigs with small blue petals.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of bergamot. Tea liquor aroma is malty with a hint of sweet citrus.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium golden brown color.
-Floral and malty flavor with a slightly bitter bergamot finish. Light citrusy aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Light Earl Grey with a small floral note.

Courtney sent me enough for a cup of this, and I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s not as rhubarb-y or as creamy as the name would imply, but I still thought it was a nice, subtle tea. I enjoyed the tartness that I did get from the rhubarb.

I probably wouldn’t ever order it, but I’m so glad I got a taste!

I’m agreeing with Josie Jade on this one. Needs more coconut flavor. The sencha in this is thick and grassy. Is it really Japanese sencha? Maybe I’m just spoiled from Den’s because this is not what good Japanese sencha tastes like to me. This reminds me more of the cheap Chinese sencha that I really don’t like. It doesn’t seem to get astringent, which is good, but neither is it fresh and springy like a quality sencha should taste like. This is overall, a pretty meh tea.

Unless you’re not picky about green tea quality and don’t mind a weaker coconut flavor.

Thank you Josie Jade for the sample of this. Tonight was clear with a phenomenal sunset but it was still pretty nippy out, enough to where I decided to stay inside with a cup of tea instead of going for a run.

This is a really lovely tea. The green tea has sort of a vegetal, buttery taste to it (not at all astringent) and it blends beautifully with the coconut flavoring. (the coconut isn’t as as sweet as I thought it would be. Instead it lends itself as more of a subtle, smooth, rich element, much like full fat coconut milk, which is fine by me) I kind of wonder what it would taste like if it had actual coconut milk added. Although it may be a while before I decide to try it iced, I am definitely planning on doing so. (as soon as it warms up to at least 60 degrees)

EDIT: as this has cooled down 20-some minutes later, the coconut has taken more of a dominant flavor. so good! I’m going to look into pricing for this one, I think. :D

Yum yum. This tea has me smacking my lips after every sip! My first milk oolong of any sort, I have a sample from Teavivre sitting around as well so I will have compare the two later. They are both flavored I think (not super sure about this one), but that’s no problem.

Creamy and delicious, milky sweet. Just plain delicious! First steep, we’ll see how the others go. I’m glad I got a decent sized back of this!

ETA 75th tasting note!!

Got a sample of this from Josie Jade – thanks!

I honestly didn’t taste a whole lot. A hint of slightly bitter fruit (the rhubarb I suppose….is rhubarb even a fruit??) and a bit of cream. Not super creamy though.

I forgot about the leftovers in my cup and ended up drinking it room temperature (office temperature really, always chilly up in here!!) and the flavours seemed to come out a bit more.

Ultimately I was a bit disappointed with the lack of tastiness with this one!

Ugh, this weather. I suppose I shouldn’t complain since so many Steepsters to the North are still getting snowed in, but this cold weather is just so abnormal for the South at this point in the year. When we went out to dinner last night I saw some older lady in shorts and a tank top and she looked so crazy (and cold)! Now, to her credit, it was in the almost-70’s last week and I think she was just really confused, like the rest of us, bless her heart.

Since we are having such a dreary, wet, cold day I’m having a cup of a little something tropical to warm me up. My tea doesn’t look exactly like the picture, because my coconut pieces are a really bright green color!? I imagine it’s just from being mixed in with the green tea and am hoping it doesn’t kill me :) The tea has that really fresh coconut aroma. The flavor and finish are mostly of green tea and the coconut comes in afterwards. It’s a creamy coconut taste that is more of fresh coconut than sweetened coconut. I tried adding a little sweetener to see if that would bring out the coconut more and it didn’t really help. This tea is alright. I think that I just love coconut a lot, so I like for it to really stand out in a tea. If the flavor of this tea had more of the creamy coconut in it, rather than just the very end aftertaste I think it would be perfect!

-Dry blend has large flat green tea leaves and twigs with small pieces of dried coconut.
-Dry leaves smell like green tea with a hint of coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of fresh coconut.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy bright medium yellow color.
-Vegetal green tea flavor and finish. Light creamy coconut aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. Very subtle fresh coconut flavor.