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: 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: 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

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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