Review: Mi Lan Xiang (Phoenix Dan Cong)

I wandered into TheTeaTee determined I didnt need any new tea. I failed. I saw the leaves and aroma of this tea and thought I had to give it a try. 

Mi Lan Xiang [China, green, oolong] *** $$   by TheTeaTee, Lausanne, CH

Other names: 米蘭香,Honey Orchid, Phoenix Dan Cong
Origin: Phoenix Mountains, Guandong province, China

Almost a citrus notes to dry leaves of this tea but it doesn't get picked up once the tea is brewed, as there is definite floral smell to this tea in the cup. I didn't pick up the orchid at first smell but after having seen the translation of its chinese name I would agree its noticeable. 

This is a semi oxidised oolong as evidenced by nature of its leaves and the brownish colour when brewed, although taste-wise I found it an interesting mix of the strongly oxidised oolongs (such as Wu Yi, Dan Cong) and the less oxidised varieties such as Guan Yin. It has a distinctly green oolong after taste, although the first flavours are like typical woody oolongs. 

Very interesting little tea and a good price!

See Also:  Rui Gui, Guan Yin

Review: Kekecha

Try as I might, I can't avoid tea shops and it was quite risky for me to go near Chinatown while in London. i resisted but finally gave in to the temptation of a yellow yea in a fabulous little tea shop near Covent Garden.

This tea was newly arrived at the shop when I bought it and doesnt seem to be listed on their website yet, but from other tea providers, it seems that kekecha is from Fuijan.

Kekecha [China, yellow, grassy] **** $   by The Tea House , London, UK

Other names: ??

The leaves are quite twiggy looking when dry but unfurl into Smokey and mineral nose on the wet leaves, its a nice smooth yellow tea with a deep golden yellow colour. Be careful not to steep it too long as, I found, that it more quickly developed a bitter note when oversteeped than other yellow teas. 

Typical of yellow teas, its very easy drinking and the quality-to-price on this tea was very good. Very slight smoky taste to this tea. 

See Also: Yellow Mountain Fur Peak

Review: Lune D'Or by Marraige Freres, Paris

A chance visit to Paris on the eve of the Presidential Election sent me searching for some good tea shops. The French have always favored style over substance, and though the teas at Mariage Freres are excellent, I'm not so much excited by their penchant for giving Chinese tea varietals their own "romantic" names. I like to know what I'm drinking!!!

Lune D'Or Yellow Tea [China, yellow, grassy] *** $$$   by Marraige Freres , Paris, FR

Other names: ??

Like most yellow teas, this is an exceptionally delicate flavored tea which will need a longer drawing time to show a distinct flavor. The wet leaves have a gorgeous bouquet but I found the tea itself wasn't as complex in the drinking as the nose would suggest. Clean, slightly grassy taste, without a hint of bitterness. A soft likeable tea and I wish I knew what type it was....

As the temps are hitting 36C this week, I'm trailing this leaf as a cold tea and seeing how it works.  

Similar Teas: Bai Mu Dan, Yellow Teas

Review: Huo Shan Yellow Bud

Langass Tee is a fantastic tea seller and tea shop, certainly well worth a detour if you happen to be passing by the Swiss capital sometime. That's Bern, not Zurich. Nor Geneva.

I spent some time in Bern last year and had been looking to try a yellow tea....mostly because I didn't know what the term yellow tea means nor how it differs from green tea. It would appear Yellow Tea is all about post production processing, something to do with using a humid cloth which I don't quite understand. I also read that yellow teas were the preserve of Emperors in days gone by.

I wasn't sure about buying a 75g of a tea I had not tried but the shop assistant told me it would drink faster than I expected and she wasn't wrong!

Huo Shan Yellow Bud [china, yellow, grassy] ***** $$$   by Langass Tee, Bern, CH

Other names: 霍山黄芽,Huo Shan Huang Ya, 

First off, the smell this tea is amazing: fresh, buttery, slightly nutty. I could smell it all day long. For me the nutty notes become stronger when the leaves are wet and reminds me of Silver Needle white teas, with a long note of some astringency. In the cup, it turns to a rather sweet nutty very pleasant smell.

The leaves look somewhat like Long Jing leaves but these two teas are quite different. 

I'm someone who likes to steep my teas for quite a short time, most green teas are steeped too long for my taste even in speciality shops to extent when all I can taste is the bitterness. By contrast, this yellow tea needs a good 1m30 to 3min infusion or you risk missing its extremely subtle flavours. 

I find its taste very pleasant but rather difficult to explain, you can certainly taste the tannins but beyond that there's not too much to say apart from a slight bitter notes. Very easy to drink, very easy to like and one of those teas that is very comforting in the feeling it brings after drinking.

Recommended as a gift tea or for anyone who is starting out on the exploration beyond green tea bags. 

Similar Teas: The des Acores, Silver Needle

A sweet comforting little brew

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.  

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: 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: 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: 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