New Tasting Notes
This pleasant green ceylon comes from an estate thay is better known for rich ceylon blacks. Remember all teas come from the same two varietals of tea bush – the season of picking, the drying time and method, amount of fermentaion, etc etc create the teas we know as balck, greed, red, oolong, la la la… This Silvali Hill is a high grown, slightly rolled green with a distict twist or curl to the leaf. Light yellow in the cup, with a delicate sweet nose. Soft in the mouth, it has the astringecy of a green, but not bitter taste. In fact, it has a sweet pleasant flavor – not herby or grassy like most greens. Holds its flavor well as it cools. 1st steep 2 min at 176F 2tsp tea per 8oz water in My Miric. 2nd and third very nice with minimal loss of flavor.
Yet another of my recent finds from Whittard of Chelsea on my recent trip to London. This wonderful Assam from the reputed Harmuty garden is delightful. When I think of “tea time” I think assam. This is a special grade – gold tips, meaning it is a very small subset of the harvest that was processed to leave a hint of pale gold on the ends of the leaf. This usually results in a very aromatic tea, and this one does not dissapoint.
Bright copper red in the cup, with a heady malty/bready nose with hints of spice. Taste is malt with just a hint of sweetness and a nice dry after with a little bite of astringency, and a thin mouthfeel. 3 Min 12 oz boiling water on 3 tsp of tea. I like my assams with a touch of milk, this one is good black as well. Demands to be paired with a good scone or shortbreak cookies.
At first I was going to give this a thumbs down but then I steeped extra long and made sure I smooshed everything I could out of the teabag. Next to no scent. Light in color and not strong at all. You can taste a little floral sample but it certainly doesn’t stand up to the description so I will stand neutral on this one
I have this sitting in my tea cupboard (and yes, I have a cupboard dedicated to just tea) but I haven’t tried it yet. Not entirely sure how to steep it…any suggestion?
I, too, had this sitting in my cupboard and just broke it out this morning. I made it entirely too strong using 3 needles. Use one and steep at 170 to 195 f degree water. It is very bitter by design. I took those leaves and combined them with my regular tea and it was a nice combination.
Since water brought to a boil in the microwave is not actually up to full boiling temp, nuking it actually brings the water to a proper temp. One needle is enough for one cup. I have frequently enjoyed this tea especially when experiencing chest and head colds and found it to be very beneficial. It does have a very bitter taste but it is followed by a mildly sweet after taste. To me the benefits far outway the taste. I do prefer to drink it without sweetener, you are free to add sugar or honey. Raw unfiltered honey has its own medicinal properties as well so it can’t hurt.
A 15 year plus old tea cake. A limited production from Menghai using aged leaves combined with large new leaves. The tea is exhibiting dust on the nose, with a ruby complexion in the cup. Consistently so, brew after brew, in an aged dark purple clay pot, around 200ml in size. Brilliant finish, and sticky in the throat, leaving an overall sense of well being.
So besides the obvious reasons for me trying out this tea…ahem…I was pleasantly surprised with the taste! I was a little afraid of the cardamom (don’t really enjoy the flavor), but it wasn’t too strong. A little licorice flavored, but over all it was a really nice blend. Great for bedtime!
The taste is sweet enough not to disappoint the expectations provided by the scent, which is just like the cocktail. This tea left a slight afterburn, but that may just have been because I left it to steep a bit longer than I’d intended, and ended up with a deep blood red brew. Overall, I liked it more than I expected.
…I don’t know if I’ll ever give a tea a thumbs down. This one might be a thumbs sideways though. I like this tea overall, but it was a little too fruity for me personally. There was too much flower and fruit and not enough tea. If you like fruity and soothing mild tea though, I would recommend this.
