Treehouse Tea

Gongfu!

Finally getting around to trying the last sample I received from Treehouse earlier this year. I have to say, this was probably my least favourite tea but all of these were very delicious and quite impressively good compared to other Hawaiian teas I’ve come across. Quite!

It’s surprisingly rich and smooth, with equal parts crisp cooling vegetal notes and almost fatty feeling cream – this first thing that came to mind was if someone had made a cucumber buttercream. The finish is also quite a bit different in taste; more autumnal feeling and cozy with some nuttiness and a note of lightly toasted brown bread.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClJhByzOmoZ/

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

Gongfu!

Steeped up another of the Hawaiian grown teas from Treehouse Tea this afternoon! Once again I’m finding myself really impressed with how approachable yet deeply flavourful and nuanced this tea session has turned out to be! The dominant note of the session is definitely a sweet and lively cherry note that reminds me of the perfectly ripe cherries you pick up by the pint from the Summer farmer’s market …and have then finished eating before you can even make it home. Just totally fresh and delicious, and addictive snack – or in this case steep – worthy! Alongside that I’m getting some other notes that really work with that summer market feeling that this black tea is building for me as I sip it: golden honey, Saskatoon berry jam or syrup, and just a little bit of a freshly baked bread note on the tail end of the sip! It’s bright, sweet, & warming and honestly reminds me of more than a handful of my favourite fruitier leaning Chinese black teas that I like to keep stocked up. Thanks again to Treehouse Tea for sharing!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgSTBoTugfE/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP9RJnmniDU

Steeped as a Western cuppa!

Big thanks to Treehouse for gifting me this sample! In the package they said it was part of the last of this production batch, so I’m especially flattered to have been deemed worthy enough to try it. I definitely want to go back and taste this gongfu since I was so incredibly impressed by the black tea production that I steeped in that method. This cup was also really mind blowingly good though! It was so much thicker and more full bodied than I’d have expected with some pretty brown leaning tasting notes. Brown in the sense of that “sweet brown” confectionery type flavour profile though – think molasses, hazelnut, or chestnut cream. I typically like my white teas more light, crisp and vegetal but there was something so strikingly unique and delicious and this one!

Gongfu!

The tea was expectedly delicious. I’m on record as saying the Hawaiian grown teas I’ve tried from Treehouse are the nicest I’ve had the pleasure of tasting, and even years since first sampling them that continues to be true. This one was medium bodied with jammy top notes of different red fruits (but largely cherries) and a darker, more nuanced notes of chocolate covered raisins, thick golden honey, and pressed wildflowers are the initial burst of bright sweetness. Quite a syrupy tea overall, with lots to love about it. Plus, look at how beautiful that tea leaf is!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA9aSFBS0hp/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpwDSTjDW0U

Gongfu!

Started my morning with this tea while diving into some Starstruck!! It’s such a beautifully dark and heavy tea with a thick and syrupy mouthfeel to suit. Though I still taste fresh, aromatic roses in many of these steeps I’m finding that it’s the slightly more bitter taste of the fudge-like dark cocoa that is commanding the most attention today. It’s a bold, in your face kind of profile with subtle naunces to elevate: leather, Ovaltine, Bordeaux cherries. Lots and lots here to love and still one of the best teas I’ve tasted out of Hawaii!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CukO6Nsuk6u/

It was another very grey, overcast and rainy day so it was a challenge to get good natural lighting in the apartment…

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

Gongfu!

This afternoon I’m sipping on a 2022 Spring harvest black tea called Bo Peep! This Hawaiian grown tea was kindly gifted to me to taste and review, and I have to say that I’m impressed! The leaves are long and twisty in a way that I find very attractive, but most striking was the sweet floral fragrance that was radiating off them even before they had touched water; and once the water hit!? Ooh baby, now that was a beautiful explosion of fresh roses! The liquor of this tea is super syrupy and thick in a way that I’ve not experienced from other Hawaiian tea and I find that the tasting notes of dark chocolate and roses described by Treehouse are spot on, though I would also add raisins and golden syrup or honey to the list as well, and maybe even leather.

For the last few years I’ve personally found the quality of Hawaiian grown tea to only be steadily increasing, and I feel like I can safely and confidently say this is the best one I’ve tasted to date – a perfect balance of striking bold flavours and coquettish florals. Definitely a terroir that I think we should all be keeping an eye on in the next few years!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfzlfY6OMYZ/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ekyiUA3c2I

This tea hit the spot last night. I think we ended up making up about 6 infusions from it. The twins loved it and asked me to order more. I love it when they share my love for tea. Roasted toasted fresh & crisp. So good and this will be amazing as the weather starts to turn fall-ish in a month or so. .

For more on this fresh crisp gemaicha. .

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/08/24/epic-sipdown-continues-genmaicha-from-treehouse-teas/

BTW- This is sipdown #4. . I have a long way to go and I may have just ordered 32 more teas :/ but I’ll get there. . . . .right?!? There is such a thing as a manageable tea stash. . yes???