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: Silver Tips, SORWATHE, Rwanda

"What kind of tea do you like" ? asked the lady at Inzora Cafe in Kacyiru, Kigali, which like all the best tea/coffee places these days, is attached to a book shop and offers fantastic views of Kigali.

At the outset her tea selection was minimal. However when i told her Chinese teas were my thing, she immediately pointed me to Silver Tips by Sorwathe. Sorwathe is a massive tea concern in Rwanda, it may even be government owned, and has started on its journey into speciality tea. I was intrigued.

The cafe lady told me to let it steep for a few mins and I was immediately suspicious....no good Chinese tea should be steeped for more than a minute on first brewing! However this is a relatively common faux-pas in european tea shops too (over-brewing green and white teas).

Note that over brewing usually leads to the teas tasting bitter no matter how careful you are with water temp or how quality the tea is.

Silver Tip [White??, faintly woody] ** $ at Inzora Cafe, Kigali,  Rwanda



This tea looks a little like Silver Needle, I have no idea if its a white or green or black tea but I would suspect from the very faint nutty smell of the leaves and its pale colour it a white tea.

 After brewing for longer than I would ever brew a tea, I still had only the vaguest flavor from the tea. Mind you, they used very very little leaves: a tiny teaspoon as far as I could tell. 

It is certainly a chinese style tea but beyond being warming and tea-like I could discern a flavor...leading me to conclude that the tea is the very definition of inoffensive. 

Similar Teas: White teas?.

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!