Gunpowder - Adagio

Gunpowder is a hand rolled green tea from the Guangdong province of China.  And from the background info from Adagio, it is apparently a favorite green tea in Morocco and the Middle East where it is prepared with mint and sugar.  The flavor of this tea is more smoky and leans more towards oolong than the vegetal taste of most green teas.

I steeped just under one tablespoon of leaves with about 2 cups of 180F water for about 3 minutes. At first I was a bit worried because there was a lot of dust and the tea brewed up brownish green.  I was expecting a bitter cup, but was pleasantly surprised by a very light tea.  The smokiness of this tea is nothing like that of lapsang souchang. It sort of lingers at the back of your tongue and is really only noticeable if you really pay attention. 

You may be able to tell from previous posts that I prefer vegetal, grassy green teas, whites with floral notes, or pungently flavored 'kick in the face' black teas.  Gunpowder is not one of those.  This just wasn't a tea that I enjoyed.  I'd like to say that gunpowder is a pleasant hybrid of green and black flavors with a hint of smokiness, but it just tasted like cheap tea from a Chinese restaurant that was used to wash an ashtray.


Technorati Tags: adagio teas, gunpowder, green tea, smoky, chinese tea, brew, moroccan mint, guangdong

Irish Breakfast - Adagio

Irish Breakfast is a smooth black tea that is great for breakfast, as its name implies.  Irish Breakfast is a blend of high grown Ceylon with a malty underscore of a hearty Assam.  The flavor of this tea is more mellow and deeper than the Ceylon Waltz that is also from Adagio.  This tea is very heavy and tends to coat the mouth, so it would be perfect with a bit of milk or lemon.


I steeped one heaping tablespoon of leaves with about 1.5 to 2 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes. The malty flavor of Irish Breakfast was very smooth with just a tiny bit of astringency.  However, the flavors in this tea are really understated, so it didn't really spark too much of an interest in me.

Maybe I need more variety from my teas, but I'm just not a fan of most black teas.  I think Irish Breakfast is a tea that would be appreciated by coffee drinkers and chocolate lovers.


Technorati Tags: adagio teas, ceylon, assam, malt, black tea, brew, blends, irish breakfast

Ceylon Waltz - Adagio

There's really not much to say about Ceylon tea. It's what most people think of when they hear black tea. This tea from Adagio has a very nice well rounded 'black tea' flavor. While there is nothing spectacular about Ceylon Waltz, there's notihing wrong with it either. The tea brews clear and fragrant with little to no bitterness unless you let the leaves steep for more than 5 minutes.

Two heaping teaspoons of leaves were steeped for 5 minutes with 2 cups of boiling (distilled) water. However, since today is 97 degrees (without humidity), it's just too hot for a hot cup of tea.  So about half way through my cup of Ceylon Waltz, I added a bunch of ice, milk, and honey for a cool milk tea.

This is a good tea if you like black teas, sweet teas, iced teas, or milk teas.  However, don't be disappointed by the absolutely unspectacular flavor of this tea.


Technorati Tags: black tea, adagio, brew, ice tea, ceylon, waltz, milk tea

Snowbud - Adagio

Snowbud is a white tea from the Fujian province of China. This tea is comprised entirely of unprocessed leaves and buds. I would describe a cup of Snowbud as very clean and delicate tasting. There was a very light hint of floral, but the flavor is definately more 'earthy' than that of White Peony.

I brewed this tea from Adagio with water that I let cool down for 3 minutes after boiling. About one tablespoon of leaves were steeped in two cups of water for six to seven minutes. This is a very delicate, even after such a long steeping time, the tea had just enough of a slight yellow tint to distinguish it from plain water.

Snowbud is a very mild flavored tea and I would not recommend this if you prefer the stronger flavors of black, flavored, or green teas. Even though I'm a fan of white teas, this one was still a bit too 'weak' and delicate for my taste.

Technorati Tags: white tea, snowbud, adagio, leaves, brew

Lapsang Souchong - Adagio

I have never tasted Lapsang Souchong before, but from the comments on various blogs and forums, the impression I had was that this would be a bitter and muddy tasting tea. When I opened my sample tin from Adagio's, I was pleasantly surprised by the smoky aroma. This is a smooth tea that was only slightly astringent, certainly no more so than an improperly brewed green tea. The flavor is definately bold. It reminded me of blown out birthday candles, barbecues, and bonito shavings. Perhaps I'm weird, or maybe it's because I've been raised on bitter Chinese herbal remedies, but I found the flavor of this tea to be very mild and soothing. The smokiness of this tea is sweet, resembling the bitterness of chocolate or cigars rather than the bitter and stinging scent of cigarette smoke.

I brewed this tea with 2 cups of boiling water to 1 tablespoon of leaves which were steeped for about 5 to 7 minutes. The color of this tea is a deep brown with a slight red tint.

Lapsang Souchong is a good tea if you enjoy a strong tea with a bold flavor. This tea from Adagio's has a balanced smoky aroma that isn't overpowering or bitter. However, I can understand why many people don't like this tea. Drinking lapsang souchong is an acquired taste like drinking black coffee or smoking cigars.

Technorati Tags: black tea, adagio, lapsang souchong, chinese, brew, smoky

Gyokuro - Tealuxe

The color of the leaves of this gyokuro from Tealuxe is noticeably darker than the leaves of Adagio's gyokuro. There is also a huge differnce in the flavors of the teas.


I brewed Tealuxe's gyokuro the exact same way as I brewed the tea from Adagio's. The resulting tea had a very light underlying 'seaweed' or 'vegetal' flavor. Instead, this tea is dominated by a pleasantly fragrant floral aroma. The color of the tea itself is a pale golden yellow with a slight hint of green rather than the brilliant blue green of most green teas. The saltiness of this tea is definately noticeable and the astringency of this tea is pucker inducing. I tried varying temperatures, steeping times, and amounts of tea to eliminate the astringency, but nothing I did was successful.


Besides the astringency, this gyokuro form Tealuxe has a very deep flavor with palate cleansing properties. I was especially surprised by the high amounts of umami in this tea. If you can stand a bit of bitterness, then this is one tea that you'll have to try at least once.


Technorati Tags: green tea, tealuxe, gyokuro, leaves, brew

Tea at Po Lin Monastery

I thought I'd share some of my pictures from my trip to Hong Kong this spring. These were taken on Lantau Island on the trail up to Lantau Peak from the Po Lin monastery. About half way up the mountain trail there was a little area with a group tea plants.

The world's tallest outdoor Buddha at Ngong Ping is 34 meters high and weighs 250 tonnes. I felt like a tiny speck walking up the steps to the foot of the statue.Living in Michigan where all we have are flat plains and tiny hills I sometimes forget how gorgeous the scenery of China can be.


Technorati Tags: tea, buddha, hong kong, monastery, lantau, mountains , scenery

Gyokuro - Adagio Teas

Gyokuro is one tea that many people are passionate about, they either love it or think it's absolutely vile. How do I even begin to describe the taste of gyokuro? It's a bit salty, or 'umami' and many people describe the flavor as grassy, vegetal, or spinachy. I think it tastes a bit like fresh seaweed with a bit of that undescribable rawness of fresh fruits and vegetables. If brewed properly, gyokuro should be slightly astringent and palate cleansing, it should not be bitter! Adagio's gyokuro is not the most flavorful that I have tasted, but it is a nice mild flavorful tea with very little astringency.

Gyokuro is known to be fickle and difficult to brew without the tea turning bitter. I disregarded the brewing times and temperatures given by Adagio on my sample tin and brewed this tea using my preferred method. First I preheat my teapot and cup with some of the boiling water while I wait for the brewing water to cool to the desired temperature. I used water that was about 130 degrees Farenheit which I got by letting a pot of boiling water cool for approximately five minutes. If you're doing this by sensation, the water is just hot enough to be described as hot and not lukewarm. The amount of leaves I used was 1 tablespoon to about 1 cup of water. The leaves were steeped for about 1.5 to 2 minutes and the result was a brilliant lime green cup of tea.

Personally I think this is an okay gyokuro that's a bit bland in comparision to what I'm used to drinking. However, this is a perfect introduction since the flavor is mild enough not to freak out first timers who are uninitiated to the unique and intense flavors of some gyokuro teas. And since this is an expensive green tea, Adagio's sample tins which include enough leaves for 10 cups of tea for $5 allow you to taste this unique tea without a large investment.

Technorati Tags: green tea, adagio, gyokuro, leaves, brew

White Peony - Adagio Teas

White Peony from Adagio Teas is a very smooth white tea with a subtle flavor. A fragrant floral notes dominated this tea with a sweetness in the background that traveled from the tip of my tongue to the back of my mouth.

As with all white teas, this tea required a longer steeping time of 7 minutes to bring out it's subtle flavors. A heaping teaspoon of leaves was steeped with 8 oz. of water at 85 degrees celsius, because the water is at such a low temperature, my cup and teapot were preheated to maintain a high enough temperature for the 7 minutes.

Overall, this is a very good basic 'workhorse' white tea. White peony is a subtle yet flavorful tea that is also very economical at $15 for 6 oz. of leaves. Those who appreciate the 'grassy' or 'floral' flavors of green and white teas will like Adagio's White Peony. Tea drinkers who are accustomed to the bitterness of blacks and oolongs may find this to be a bit bland however.

Technorati Tags: white tea, adagio, peony, chinese, brew

Tea traditions of Dharamsala

The tea loving Tibetans of Dharamsala - India News

"Dharamsala - Tea drinking is an age-old habit among Tibetans in this abode of the Dalai Lama. Not only do they drink different types of the beverage, they are also particular about the way tea is sipped.

Salted butter tea, made of Brick tea from China and Tibetan leaves, is hugely popular. The leaves are boiled in soda and poured into a cylindrical vessel and are then churned along with salt and yak butter."

Technorati Tags: tea, tibet, traditions

It's my birthday!

And look what UPS just dropped off:



White Teas

Green Teas


Technorati Tags: adagio, teas, green, white, black, oolong

Japan Green Tea (Gyokuro and Matcha) - Ito En

This is one bagged tea that may rival many of the loose leaf teas I have in my collection. Ito En is a Japanese company that's famous for their quality Japanese green teas and tea beverages. I'll have to admit that my Chinese isn't really all that great, and my Japanese is practically non existant, but from what I could tell, the box describes this as Japanese Green tea that's a mixture of matcha and gyokuro. I came across this little gem from a relative in Hong Kong who has connections to somebody in Japan so I don't know if this product is available in the U.S.

Ito En Japanese green tea is sold in boxes of 10 individual foil wrapped tea bags. The tea bags are nylon mesh so you don't have to worry about the tea bag altering the flavor of the tea. The strings on these bags attach at the middle so the bags stretch into a diamond shape which gives the green tea leaves plenty of room to expand.

I was hit by a strong fagrant puff of matcha when I first opened the foil wrapper, which really isn't surprising considering the amount of powder that's in each tea bag. Getting the bag out of the package and into my cup without spreading the powder everywhere was a bit of a challenge.

This tea should be brewed like many quality green teas. Use water that's been cooled for several minutes after it's boiled and steep only for 30 to 60 seconds. Using this method I got two good steeps out of one tea bag while a thrid steep resulted in a less flavorful cup of tea. The flavor of this tea is dominated by the scent and flavor of creamy, buttery matcha that teases you to take just one more sip. Swish the tea in your mouth and you'll taste the floral perfume and saltiness of the gyokuro.

While this tea is definately a good quality tea, it is still a bagged tea that's been on the shelves for who knows how long. As such, it is expected that the flavor of this tea is just an approximation of what good quality matcha and gyokuro taste like. I won't be replacing my loose leaf green teas with this, but Ito En's Japanese green tea with gyokuro and matcha is definately my number one choice for a quality green tea on the go. In any case, it's sure to beat the stuff that's currently being sold as 'green tea' in American supermarkets.

Herbal teas help to improve mood

While many tea snobs don't consider herbals to be 'tea', I think herbal teas offer an occasional interesting change of taste. Not only are brews of Camellia sinensis leaves good for our health, but 'teas' of many other herbs and spices offer a myriad of health benefits.

Read more about this at Herald Dispatch


Technorati Tags: tea, health, benefits, herbal

Japanese study reveals more health benefits of green tea

For the first time, scientists have found that green tea is apt to slow brain aging, helping prevent declining memory, cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's.
In fact, drinking more than 2 cups a day of green tea slashed odds
of cognitive impairment in elderly Japanese men and women by more than
half!

Read more at Daily India...

Green Tea Prevents Mental Decline

Technorati Tags: green tea, alzheimers, aging, health, egcg, antioxidant, cognitive, dementia

Pomegranate Green Tea - Republic of Tea

I'll have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of flavored tea or flavored water. However, I was at Whole Foods today and came across this Pomegranate Green Tea. What an absolutely genius invention from the guys at Republic of Tea! My favorite fruit combined with my favorite beverage in one convenient no mess package.

Pomegranate Green Tea comes in a cannister of 50 natural unbleached tea bags. The first thought that came across my mind when I opened the container was that this tea smells like those salty dried plum pits that my older Chinese relatives like to eat. The ingredients listed on the cannister are fine China green tea, hibiscus, natural flavors, and POM WONDERFUL pomegranate juice.

This tea was brewed with a mug full of just short of boiling water to one tea bag. It's fascinating watching this tea steep. In two minutes, the water changes from a light pink to a deep red tinted purple. I found that the flavor is dominated by a generic berry flavor rather than that of just pomegranates, must be all the 'natural flavors' they added to the tea. I wasn't able to taste the green tea in this which is exactly why I don't usually drink flavored teas. The familiar pucker inducing tartness of pomegranate juice is unmistakable, which makes this a wonderful after dinner tea to both cleanse the palate and freshen the breath.

Overall, I highly recommend this tea if you like pomegranates or berries. However, those who prefer 'pure' and natural tasting teas like myself would probably want to pass on this one.


Technorati Tags: republic of tea, pomegranate, green tea

Blue Flower Earl Grey - Tealuxe

I ordered a bunch of tea from Tealuxe a while back and one of the teas happened to be their Blue Flower Earl Grey.

I brewed this tea with about 8 oz. of boiling water to 1 tsp. of leaves. After 3 minutes what I had in my cup was a very nice black tea. While the bergamot was a little bit overwhelming, the tea itself is very smooth and it coats the mouth with just the right amount of bitterness. It's possible to get two brewings out of this tea. I liked the second cup better because the flavor of bergamot wasn't as strong.


For me, this tea is too 'perfumy', but if you're an Earl Grey fan, then you'll definately love this tea!


Technorati Tags: tealuxe, earl grey, tea

Indian tea prices remain steady

In India, demand for tea was steady and commodity prices for tea remained for the most part steady for both dust and leaf prices. While there were slight increases in the prices for brokens, fannings, and highgrowns.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=134858

Emperor's White Tea - Republic of Tea

I'm personally not a fan of bagged teas, but my mom loves tea bags for the convenience.  So last week she got me a tin of Emperor's White Tea by The Republic of Tea.  Maybe I'm too used to drinking loose tea leaves, but this isn't what I expect from a white tea.

 I brewed this for about half a minute with about 8 oz. of water that was cooled for about 1.5 minutes after boiling. 

This tea has none of the delicate sweet flavors that I expect from any good white tea.  Another strike against this tea is that it was bitter!  So I adjusted my boiling temperatures to get rid of the bitterness.  I ended up with an even weaker flavored tea that was still bitter...

For what this product costs, $14 from their website, this is definately an overpriced tea for the quality that you're getting.

Here's another review I found for Emperor's Whtie Tea.
Kathy's review


Technorati Tags: republic of tea, white tea

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