Review: Thé des Açores by Saveurs PimenThe, Switzerland

I was wandering around Lausanne city centre last Saturday, catching the last of the weekly market of local products. I went down a street I knew well and found a tea shop that I didn't know at all. The lady in the tea shop seemed surprised as the shop has been in her family for 3 generations....though it might not help that its easier to see the "Au Cafe do Bresil" sign then a sign of a tea shop.

The window display has the feel of an olde shoppe and the place is small and cluttered, so easy to miss that it is a shop selling loose leaf tea. They do also sell spices, crockery and a good selection of coffee from around the world - Guatemala is particularly smooth if memory serves though I'm not much of a tea drinker.

Thé des Açores [Azores Islands, grassy, green] **** $$   by Saveur PimenThé, Lausanne, CH

Other names: None

So there is tea from the Azores islands of Portugal. Who knew?

The leaves scent reminded me of some of the green teas I'd had in Malawi, and as the lady in the shop mentioned, there was a vague hint of vanilla.

The colour is a dark yellow, the first hint that this was not a typical green tea and in fact the taste was much more reminiscent of white teas to me, very subtle and extremely smooth. Azores green tea is a throughly likable tea and the kind of tea that will get along well with most people. This should make it an excellent gift tea. There is no bitterness at all and no hint of the vanilla comes through in the taste. 

The leaves are good for about 3 brews before it looses flavour, the tea also does well on longer brewing times, and doesn't appear to be very temperature sensitive. This tea is very good for those venturing into green teas for the first time. 

Similar Teas: Bai Mu Dan

Review: HuangShan MaoFeng

Another mystery tea from the stocks brought into the T2000 Chinese shop in Kigali in the run up to Chinese new year. Comes in one of those intriguing boxes where the only thing I can read is the name. Good luck reading their website :)

I vaguely recall having a MaoFeng sometime in Switzerland and not liking it but I find my tastes change from time to time and the other teas I bough were such good quality I thought I'd give it a go.

Huang Shan MaoFeng [China, grassy] *** $$   by  by Tea Tf, CN

Other names: 黄山毛峰,Yellow Mountain Fur Peak

The leaves were short and spiky, somewhat like white tea and there was a fresh, definite chocolate nose to the leaves which was divine. Indeed the "shan" part of the name would suggest that its a young tea, given my very limited knowledge of Chinese*

In the cup the tea was a light green, much like LongJing and the colour stayed pale even with longer brewing. There were grassy fresh tastes again like LongJing but also has a soft milkyness like some of the floral Oolongs. Overall a very likable tea indeed and recommended for it smooth drinking and wonderful colour. 

Similar Teas: Chinese grassy teas such as LongJing, Bancha, oolongs.

* Yes I know Chinese isn't a language, I'm using it here as shorthand for all of the dialects and languages in China!

Review: Moli Maojian

So it turns out Chinese new year was an unexpected boon for me, as the local Chinese mega-store (and in the running for Kigali’s oldest department store) T2000 got a whole bunch of awesome teas that they don’t normally stock.

I took the opportunity to restock on Puerh and Guan Yin and also found two others I didn’t recognize. First up, MoLi Maojian....

 MoLi MaoJian [China, grassy/floral] **** $$   by  by Tea Tf, CN

Other names: 信阳毛尖, Fur Tip

I had a vague recollection of having something with a name like Maojian in Switzerland and not being that impressed, however with the first smell of the tea when I opened the package I knew I was in for a treat.

Fresh, floral notes very reminiscent of Guan Yin and another aroma I could not quite place. In short this tea smells awesome! The freshness carried through to the taste and for the floral notes, it certainly contains some flower looking thing. Ozymandias maybe?

Footnote:

I am an idiot, the flowers in the tea were JASMINE. In my defense I didn't have jasmine tea for a very long time, however its one of the easier flavors to discern. Usually. 

That said, this is a remarkably well put together jasmine tea as the grassy notes from the MaoJian play off well against the Jasmine, which is not overpowering. Note that like most jasmine teas, if you try to reuse the leaves too often all you will taste is jasmine.