Review: Japanese Bancha by Clement & Pekoe, Ireland

There were plenty of green tea temptations in Clement & Pekoe but there were only so many teas I could actually try as they don't taster menus. There was a wide selection of teas for take away and drinking in the shop, the ones I tried where at decent quality for the price point.

Japanese Bancha [Japan, grassy/floral] **** $$   by Tea Tf, CN

Other names: 番茶, common tea

I agree with the Tea person in Clement & Pekoe that Bancha is much easier to like than Sencha, and this Bancha had an absolutely fantastic smell, beautifully floral with grassy and citrus notes. The taste didn't come off quite that strong but it remains a very pleasant tea, very smooth and with its lively green colour like its neighbour Sencha. I took a bag away with me! 

Similar Teas: Sencha, Chinese grassy teas such as LongJing.

Footnote

On further reading Banchas are later picked Sencha leaves and so are considered lower quality. I think I'll still stick with Bancha over Sencha any day!

Review: Shui Xian Oolong at Chi Asian Bistro, Ireland

One cold christmas night, an old friend and I went to try and find the famous fish and chips at McDonaghs only to have our efforts thwarted by missing last orders by a nose. My friend Brian didn't appear to have sufficient coats on for the evening so we quickly replanned and after a christmas of meat and potatoes with our respective families an authentic noodle soup seemed like just the thing.

Imagine my surprise on finding an oolong on the menu that I had never heard of....I think Brian liked it too.


Shui Xian Tea [Green, woody] **** $$ at Chi Asian Bistro, Galway, Ireland

Other Names: 水仙茶 , Shu Hsien, Sacred Lilly, Water Sprite

This tea has leaves that look more green (small leaves like white teas) than usual WuYi oolongs, intially had more woodiness on the nose than in the taste but the colour was unmistakably the brown-red of a semi oxidised oolong. It has a taste that is neither floral, like Guan Yin, grassy like Longjing or strongly woody like most of the other Wuyi oolongs but is a distinctive mellow taste that incorporates elements of all three. Me likey!

Similar teas: Semi Oxidised Oolongs, WuYi teas, Da Hong Pao, Fancy Oolong, Zui Jia Ren

Review: The de Grancy

The de Grancy [Black, flavored] *** $$ by Cafe de Grancy CH

Other Names: None

With my natural distrust for flavoured teas, I approached this one with little expectations. Black flavoured teas especially can be a sh*t show, as european blenders seem to think that the heaviness of black tea can accomodate a serious melange of diverse flavours. The discription of Earl Grey flavored with ginger and rose looked like it might be such a mix but in contrast the blend does very well with all three main flavours (bergamot, rose and ginger) being used sparingly and creating a very pleasant brew. This tea smells very strongly of earl grey.

With flavouring, less is most definitely more...

Similar teas: other european flavor teas, earl grey, lady grey

Tearoom: Cardas in Lausanne, Switzerland

Cardas Tearoom

One could be forgiven for wondering if one is in the right place on entering this teashop as its disguised in as an eclectic interior store - you know the type, one where you can quite put your finger on the category of the store but it has good lighting and lots of cool stuff.

There are a couple of separate areas in the store for tea and coffee in small groups and a small but interesting menu with the possibility to buy larger quantities of most teas for take home. This teahouse stocks House of Gaia blends. 

Their coffees are fair trade, from unusual locations and very smooth.

A ne pas raté!  

Review: Mystery Pu'erh produced by Yongde Xinwen Tea Factory

One of my new favorite pastimes in African teas to trawl Chinese stores in search of new and exciting teas to try. At the T2000 shop in Kigali (Rwanda), I came across this little number. I was reliably informed by the T2000 lady that its a Pu'erh Shan, as the packet didn't leave me any the wiser about the type tea.

I was a little suspicious given that I'd never seen a loose Pu'erh before and especially since the leaves looked a rather vivid green in the packaging (they are in fact the usual dark brown colour), but decided to give it a go....

Mystery Pu'erh [Black, China] *** $$$

Other Names: ??

Quite a fine little pu'erh tea, earthy and grounding, i'll be interested to see how it does in the taste test against my cake Pu'erh once I get home. It reminds me of the floral pu'erh tea bags I was given from China.

Produced by www.teatf.com

Simliar teas: Ozymandias Pu'erh, Pu'erh, Pu'erh Shan

With my friend Patel in the background, who used to be one of the finest chai makers in east africa before he was converted to being a coffee drinker :(

Review: Black by Satemwa, Malawi

This tea is a heavier hitter than many of those on the market in Malawi which tend to be lighter and more darjeeling-esque. Satemwa gains a dark colour within moments of brewing. A very tannic tea that will delight those who like their tea with a punch, or with a good dollop of milk.

Mystery Black, Satemwa, Malawi [Black, Tannic] **, $               - Satemwa, MW

Other Names: None

I could have sworn a caught a slight floral taste in this tea but I'm not sure, it may have been caused by using the same cup to drink from as my Guan Yin....

The second brew i let steep for a very short time (20 secs maybe) but it brought out a LOT more tannins. Holy crap, this tea is heavy. This time I thought I got a little honey flavour but i might be going mad.

Similar teas: Most heavy Indian or Kenyan teas are in this vein, UK and Irish bag teas will therefore also be a good match  

Review: Chombe Tea

Apparently in the days of the Banda dictatorship in Malawi folks would come from all over the country to drink Chombe tea. All I can say is either the tea has changed radically in those days or Malawians have terrible taste in tea. {or just maybe this stuff tastes very different with tons of sugar and milk powder}

Chombe tea, Malawi [Black] no star -$

Other Names: None

OH MY, what is this awful brew? The office stores ran out of Rabs and I was subjected to this awfulness, I got through about half a cup and gave up. It doesnt even taste like real tea, maybe something that someone got half way through washing up and decided to drink. Yuk!

Simliar teas: Lipton black bags

Review: Rabs Teabags

Rabs tea, Malawi [Black] ** -$

Other Names: None

Light in flavour, Declan, my irish collegue in Malawi doesnt like them because they give too pale a colour when he uses milk (the heathen!!). These common little bags are so far the best I've found in malawi, mild enough to be enjoyed black.

Simliar teas: Darjeeling, Kaschmir, Rwanda teas

Review: Chun Mee by Dogan & Acer

Chun Mee, China [Green, Grassy] * $$ -Dogan and Acer, AT

Other Names: Mai Cha

I picked this up on a trip to Vienna but was never very fond of it, slightly grassy in taste and without much of an aroma, I always feel like its a bit of a “nowhere” tea. I returned to it on three different occasions but it never really clicked. I mean, its a typical green tea but otherwise I cant seem to say much about it.

Similar teas: Xin Yang Mao Jian

Review: Alishan Oolong

A simple green oolong that seems to fall somewhere in the spectrum between Vital Leaf's Thousand Mile green tea and Te Guan Yin, both in terms of the quality and floral taste which is in abundance in Te Guan Yin but almost entirely absent in Thousand Mile (a “straight” green tea).

I've occasionally seen Tekoe selling something called Alishan Oolong but I'm unable to determine if Alishan is a standard tea name or not. Internet search doesn't clarify either and tellingly Alishan doesn't show up in the product lists of the highly specialised tea shops.

Alishan Oolong, Taiwan [Green, Floral] *** $$ - Vital Leaf Tea, USA

Other Names: ??

First Brew:

Second Brew:

Similar teas: Te Guan Yin, green oolongs, Zomba Green

Review: LongJing

For some reason, known as the poets tea. For me this wasnt the most accessible tea at first, its grassy and astringent and I found it bitter. After two years of drinking oolongs and Te Guan Yin I revisited it because I found a Japanese [HL] tea I liked. Also due to a shopping error by Alessandra, but in this case it was getting the right tea by accident.

LongJing, China [Green, Grassy] *** $$

Other Names: Dragonswell

Attention: This tea is very sensitive to temperature, make it with boiling water at your peril!

First Brew: Mild taste with noticable grassy aroma

Second Brew: Flavours develop significantly

Similiar teas: Sencha from Japan, grassy chinese teas, Reserve de Sichuan

Review: DaHongPao

My first exposure was at a workshop in London and I loved it so much I had a friend hunt for it while on her holidays in China. This is a fantastic little tea that holds you in its arms and makes you feel that life is just fine.

I became so addicted to this tea that I recently found myself on holidays in northern Mozambique skulking around chinese stores and accosting anyone vaguely east asian looking to see where I could get some chinese teas....I found my bonheur eventually at the flagship chinese store in Maputo!

DaHongPao, China [Blue-Green] ***** $$$

Other Names: Buddha Hand tea. 

First Brew: Great aroma, floral and slightly spicy, Take care not to brew too long.

Second Brew: The taste deepend and I find 2nd and 3rd brew to be the most comforting

Subsequent brews: This tea will loose flavour before it looses colour, I often try to do one brew over the line and have to throw out cause the leaves are too used

Similiar teas: Buddha Hand (Fo Shou), Wu Yi

Review: Zui Jia Ren by TheTeaTee.ch

Having been tempted by a Sencha from Thé Tea Tee, which I had found at a local workshop, I set out to find the teashop. As well as a little Sencha, I came away with Zui Jia Ren and the knowledge that semi fermented oolongs are sometimes called bleu-vert in French (literally blue-green). I like this blue-green appellation as it makes these oolongs more easily distinguishable from green oolongs or other green teas.

Confusingly, for us Swiss based folks, the Germans seem to call semi fermented tea Roter Tee, literally red teas. This is not only confusing for trans rosti-graben shopping but also because the Chinese name for what we call black teas translates as red teas. (The chinese use the term black tea only for Pu'erhs). As Chinese teas increase in popularity in Europe, expect more confusion.

Zui Jia Ren [Blue-Green, woody, China] *** $$$  by The Tea Tee, Switzerland

Other Names: ??
I found a comment on a post of another tea blog which suggests Zui Jia Ren is a new varietal of Dan Cong Oolongs (单枞) . These normally have a Xiang somewhere in the name. 

This is in the style of my favorite oolongs, dark and woody. I liked this tea but prefer Da Hong Pao or Tie Luo Han, as this one has a slightly harsher taste. It occurred to me that those who like Lapshong Souchong tea might like this harsh possibly slight smokey character to the Zui Jia Ren.


Similar teas: Oolong teas, Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, Fancy Oolong

Review: Tie Luo Han

I found this treasure in Langassetee and it was love at first....bite...or something. There are no words for my obsession for this tea. Well, maybe there are some words....

Tie Luo Han, Taiwan [Blue-Green Oolong, woody] ***** $$$

Other names: Wu Yi Rock Tea

Fresh, fragrant like a garden after the spring rain...this tea is like the more charming younger brother of DaHongPao. The small packet I bought as a special treat practically drank itself, its woodyness is typical of this kind of oolong but there are dark chocolate notes in the fragrance that are just marvelous.

Similar teas: DaHongPao, Thyiolo Oolong, Fancy Oolong

Review: Buddha Hand

Buddha Hand, China [Blue-Green, Floral] *** $$

Other Names: Fo shou

I'm sure this is a close relative of DaHongPao and I just love this family! Sweet to the taste with an ever so slightly woody finish. Gimme More!

Simliar teas: DaHongPao, WuYi

Review: Bai Mu Tan

Bai mu Tan Superior China [White, Floral] *** $$

Other Names: Pai Mu Dan, Bai Mu Dan

The leaves dont give much smell, slightly grassy if anything but I find the smell of this tea exremely comforting....almost milky. Light floral taste with smooth, sweet finish.

Simliar teas: Satemwa antlers

Review: Pu'erh Shan by Langassetee,

Pu'erh Shan, China [Fermented, Tannic] *** $$

Other Names:

Clove, pepper...there's something spicy going on in these leaves, that makes it seem like its food and not tea. Beautiful golden colour brew but packs an unexpected heavy taste, which might turn off some folks, it feels like it should be a much darker tea. 

I think I like it, but I'm not quite sure...however I do generally need to be in the mood for pu'erh.

Simliar teas: ?

Review: White Needle

White Needle, China [White, Floral] *** $$

Other Names:白 毫 银 针,Baihao Yinzhen or Bai Hao Yin Zhen, white hair silver needle,  

Heavier colour than Bai Mu Dan and somewhere between its taste and that of Silver Needle teas. A bit like a version of Bai Mu Dan where the astringency and creaminess have been turned up a notch.

Simliar teas: Bai Mu Dan

Review: Xin Yang Mao Jian by Langassetee

Xin Yang Mao Jian, China [Green, Grassy] ** $$$    - Langassetee, CH

Other Names: 信阳毛尖  , Xin Yang Fur Tip, Maojiang, Mountain Tippy Tea

Higher quality versions of this tea are called Yu Qian Tea
Origin: Henan, China

This was the wochentee in Langassetee when i went there so I thought i'd give it a whirl. Pleasant enough tea with a slight floral smell but a taste more along the Longjing than the Guan Yin teas. No complaints with this tea, but it didn't excite me.

Similar teas: Chun Mee (but its nowhere near as good as Xin)

Review: Kaschmir Tea by Dogan & Acer

Kaschmir Tee , India [Black] *** $$$          - Dogan & Acer, AT

A lingering light black tea in a similar vein to Napal Malum from the same teashop, although this one has a sweetish aftertaste which finishes into a faint smokey lingering finish so its reminiscent of the heavier typical Indian teas. I bought these two as I was missing the Rwandan bag tea which is lighter than your average irish or UK tea.

Similiar teas: Nepal Malum, Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Rabs

Review: Te Guan Yin, Cloud Mist

Once Kenny in the tea shop in San Francisco had determined that I liked Te Guan Yin, we set about trying a lot of different types of Te Guan Yin and also various oolongs. I decided to treat myself to a small quantity of this very high quality Te Guan Yin. It wasnt the most expensive variety but i liked this one better than the rest.

Te Guan Yin Cloud Mist, China [Green, Floral] **** $$$$$ - Vital leaf Tea , USA

Other Names: 铁观音, Cloud Mist Iron Goddess
Origin: Anxi, Fuijan, China

First Brew: Very light flavour and very pale green colour. The smell is a little floral but I would also say vaguely of potatoes boiling. The taste is a little silky.

Second Brew: The silky quality develops a little more and the colour is noticable green

Similiar teas: Green Oolongs in general, floral chinese teas

Review: Sencha Organic Tea by ThéTeeTea, Switzerland

I was told is quite difficult to get organically grown teas from Asia...maybe there's a good business idea there somewhere. I came to this tea via a surprising discovery on TheTeeTea's Symphonie tea, surprising because it turns out their Symphonie mix is a flavoured tea and (worse!) a fruity one. However I liked it enough to seek out the house and try the Sencha which is the base of Symphonie.

The success with Symphonie and Sencha, then led me to re-visit LongJing (Dragonswell), which I found I had now developed a taste for.

Sencha BIO, Japan [Green, Grassy] *** $$$     by TheTeeTea, CH

The leaves smelled grassy and are quite crumbly, especially when compared to LongJing or other chinese greens. 

Attention:This tea is VERY sensitive to water temp, do not use boiling water, make sure to cool to around 80C or the tea will be bitter.

Similar teas: Dragonswell, Reserve de Sichuan

Review: Napal Malum by Dogan & Acer

Nepal Malum, Nepal [Black] *** $$    by Dogan & Acer, Vienna, AT

High altitude black tea from Nepal, not too different from 
Darjeeling

Similar teas: Kashmir Tee, Nilgiri

Review: Pai Mu Tan by Yumchaa

I picked up a 50g packet of Pai Mu Tan on a recent trip to London and bought it at the Yumchaa teahouse, 
drank it continuously for a few weeks. Yum!  

Then it ran out and I regretted the decision to leave a good dose of the tea at my friend's place in London. 
Cry!

Pai Mu Tan, China [White, Floral] ***** $$$           by Yumchaa, UK 

Other Names: 白牡丹, Bai Mu Dan, white peony, 

The leaves are really colourful and both the taste and

smell was very unlike my only other white tea experience

Silver Needle. 
First Brew: can be quite subtle unless you give it a long 

enough brew, first taste is smooth

Second Brew: the floral notes really start to open up on 

this brew

Simliar teas: Chinese florals

Review: Reserve de Sichuan by TEKOE

The tea guy in Lausanne train station asked if I wanted sugar with this, and when I told him 

"certainly not"!  To which he replied, he would not have given it to me anyway! 

Ahh...I love tea dictators, especially when its for the benefit of the consumer.

Reserve de Sichaun [Green, Grassy]  *****  $$$$$          by Tekoe, CH 




This a high quality harvest which I can assume comes from Sichuan.

The leaf looks and smells like LongJing (Dragonswell) and smells also not unlike

pure Sencha. The tea really lives up to its quality and is a joy to drink...something

like LongJing in its taste but without any of its sharpness and instead is quite silky. Colour looked pale straw/brown, it was a bit difficult to judge in a lime green cup, similar to the colour of later brews of Silver Needle.




Similar teas: Dragonswell, Sencha

Review: Pu'erh Ozyimadias

To accompany the classic puerh, my friend also brought me this little box of tricks. As much as I love my 

push button teamaker and tea leaves, sometimes its nice to have a tea bag for tea on the go. Mostly its a 

treat as its not easy to find great tea in a bag.

Puerh ozyimandias, China [Black, floral]  ***


This bag makes a dark earthy puerh with a lovely floral 

nose and can be reused about twice if you really want.

I didn't quite like this tea that much at first but it 

definitely grew on me.  

Similar teas: Puerh, floral black teas

Review: Pu'erh

Puerh, China [Black] ****



is tea was brought by chinese friend, further details appreciated. This is my first

real foray into Puerh, which like LongJing I didn't like when I first tasted Puerhs in

San Fran. This cake is really densely packed, I had to get a friend to break it up for

 me, the tea smells of earth and has a dark black colour. 



First brew: Brewing a very modest quantity of leaf for a relatively short time gives a tar black tea that packs a punch. Nice warming quality in the abdomen area after drinking it. I find it both a fortifying and comforting tea. 

Subsequent brews: Pretty much the same, after around the 4th brew the colour gets lighter (looks like normal black tea) and its time to ditch the leaves.



Similar: DaHongPao 1990



Update: About 2 years later I finished this Pu-erh cake and it kept its flavor very well.

Review: Mystery Black Tea

I sent my friend Alessandra to China with a little shopping list of teas to get for me while she was there. She went into one shop where the lady was impressed by her tea list and/or her attempts to shop with next to zero knowledge of mandarin that she threw in a sample of this tea. We have no idea what it is.

Mystery Black Tea, China [Black], *** 

First brew: quite astringent, bitter  - a little like DaHongPao 

but without its subtler flavours. Light brown-golden colour even

 on long brewing

Second brew: less long, milder and more flavorful

Similar teas: DaHongPao, Aroma Red Robe

Under Starters Order....

aka Me and Chinese Tea

My love affair with green and chinese teas began in 2010 when I found myself on holiday in San Francisco's Chinatown. My companion and I were looking for a tea house to try out some teas. We wandered into Vital leaf tea and were treated to the trademark style of Kenny, surely one of the quarters most idiosyncratic sellers. 

I left after some hours with a lot of tea and a lot more knowledge. The first teas I sampled and liked were oolongs and in particular Te Guan Yin (Iron Goddess), I also left with some basic black tea (Aroma Red Jacket) and basic green tea (Thousand Mile). 

When I first tried LongJing (Dragon's Well) in San Fran I did not like it but I later developed a palate for it. This blog speaks to my journey with high quality teas since the trip to SF, written from a beginner-amateur perspective...hopefully others will find it useful and I'm particularly interested in other opinions and suggestions on teas. Please take note of my preferences and biases when reading my reviews. 

Things to you need to know

CONFESSION: I really hate fruit teas and many of the mixes that are popular in tea stalls. Especially if there are many flavours in a tea mix, black tea mixes seem particularly prone to this. Apologies to all fruity tea lovers out there but you wont find many reviews here on fruity teas or blends...there are simply too many flavours going on for me to enjoy them!

CLAIMER:I have no affiliation with any tea company or vendor mentioned on this blog, should this change I will state it clearly here.