Arbor Teas

Backlogging – I enjoyed two steeps of this after lunch today and it was wonderful. See previous notes for more info. Also I noticed my notices are fixed now – thanks Steepster!

It seems like I go through lots of phases in my tea drinking journey. For whatever reason I have not been drinking too many oolongs lately but I’m having this one this morning.

It definitely seems typical of a wuyi type of tea, nice mineral quality with sweet roasted plum type of aftertaste. I really do like this a lot and wonder how it would be as a cold brewed tea. The wet leaves smell of burnt toast and jam.

see my previous notes for more info…

A nice little oolong from Arbor teas – my favorite compostable packaging company.

This one is very good if you like the darker style of oolongs. Naturally sweet, grilled charcoal peach/plum aroma. Great aftertaste and a very nice mouthfeel. Would definitely consider getting this one again. Brewed this one up in the xi ying for about 2 minutes. It goes on my shopping list. The man friend likes it too.

Organic a plus…

I’m slowly coming to the end of my Arbor tea samples overall this is a pretty good tea – very nutty, vegetal, and rich smelling, I’m getting some nice seaweed type flavors. This definitely lingers in the mouth for a while. The flavor is quite good but I am getting the slight bitterness with the finish so I don’t know if I will be ordering this again, although I did enjoy it. I am a bit biased because senchas have been known to give me heartburn. I only steeped it for 60 seconds so I do not think the problem was oversteeping or water temp. I am a bit ambivalent. I definitely prefer the gyokuro but this one has a lot of flavor, sencha fans should try it!

Delicious, calming. Sweet and vegetal, best gyokuro I’ve ever tasted.

Amazing. High theanine content relaxes my nerves. Perfect cup. I drink this every day.

I have not been sleeping well lately due to my noisy radiator (grrr) and so I chose this today to give me a little vitamin and energy boost. the last of this sample from Arbor teas but definitely not my last experience with gyokuro.

I was very excited to try this after my new found appreciation for Japanese green tea…

When I opened my sample package to smell the leaves are so fresh it is like smelling a bunch of spinach. I brewed this up in my glass mug for about 2 minutes using cooled boiling water.

I have to say I am in heaven! This is a beautiful greenish gold color with slight “bubbles” in the brew. It has such a creamy mouthfeel, it is VERY buttery, slightly grassy and creamy. Truly delicious. Another tea I would rate at 500 if I could because it sort of blows the other teas straight out of the water. I only got a sample of this stuff, and YES it is expensive but I am getting more. It would be very expensive for an every day tea but nice to drink on the weekends or when you needed a pick me up. It is very energizing and refreshing. A++++

note: I got four steeps out of it before I gave up and put the leaves in a smoothie. they are so mild you can eat them with no problem.

Finishing off the rest of my sample this morning, it really reminds me a lot of Constant Comment but better – see my previous tasting notes.

I needed a bit of a pick me up this afternoon, feeling kind of in the doldrums. This definitely seemed to do the trick.

It is a wonderful smelling tea – did you ever have oranges and stick cloves into them during the holiday season? So festive and bright! I really like the orange here, it reminds me of a satsuma mandarin. There is a bit of clove and cinnamon but is more subdued. Again I am thinking this is a black ceylon which actually works quite well in this combination. I do feel much more cheerful already!

This tea is a sipdown… finally gone

I have enjoyed it but don’t think I need to get any more! Have a great day, Steepster.

The first cup of the day. This tea is proving to be quite a versatile mixer for experiments, today I mixed it with some ceylon from the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants. Drinking it with soymilk and sugar for the full-on eye opening experience.

By the way I have a bit of news, I got a new refrigerator/freezer from my Landlord. The old one must have been over 30 years old and still requires a manual defrost. The new one is beautiful, compared to what I am used to. I feel like such a modern woman. ;-)

Backlogging – this tea was great with a pinch of keemun from the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants. I used 2/3 vietnam black and 1/3 keemun. Now I know what to do with all my leftover keemun samples I don’t want to drink straight. :)

Since this tea is lightly malty, I decided to add a pinch of ceylon this morning for a bit of a breakfast blend. Pretty good combination. :) See my previous notes for more info.

This is only the 2nd black tea I’ve tries from Vietnam (the other was from TeaGschwender)

I really like this one, it’s malty and smooth with a hint of chocolate. A little bit brisk but not too much. I’m enjoying it this morning with some soymilk. If you like assams it is a good one to try. See my previous tasting note.

I was glad I got the opportunity to try this, for me it is a good solid morning tea.

This is reminiscent of an assam, slightly malty, slightly on the sweet side. It is not very astringent at all which is a bonus for me. Smooth and rich, with just a touch of briskness. I would recommend this as a nice breakfast tea! I steeped mine for 4 minutes with boiling water but I like my tea fairly strong, I think you could get away with 3 minutes for a less potent cup.

I’m finishing off the rest of my sample today, I am going to order more. yummy yum yum

Sometimes I DO need a break from caffeine, I know, this is crazy talk. :)

I really like this herbal blend from Arbor teas. It’s a perfectly balanced blend of lemongrass, orange and ginger. Evidently there is cinnamon in here as well but I am not picking up on that too much. All of the ingredients mix together very well and nothing is too dominant or pushy. I’m drinking this hot but I think it would also make a really good iced tea. It’s refreshing and soothing with a tiny bit of sweetness. I am enjoying this as my after lunch tea and it’s making my tummy very happy! A+ delicious….

This afternoon I am drinking Part II of this sample. I am new to the world of raw puerhs and this is a very mild tea with some nice sweet and malty things going on. It is pleasant enough but I can’t see keeping it on hand all the time.

My first time trying a green pu-erh so I really have nothing to compare this to…

I infused this for about 3 minutes western style. The tuo cha does not want to open up and come unfurled – is this a good sign? A bad sign? Who knows.

First infusion is very mild, green tea is not a very prominent flavor here. I am getting apple and a bit of malty sweetness. Like many pu-erhs this reminds me of mushrooms, but a delicate white button mushroom instead of a deep, dark shiitake.

Second infusion is very much the same with no loss of flavor… a very light and aromatic brew. Not sure I will need to buy this again because I think I prefer the black pu-erhs but it has made for a very nice sample. :)

Ah… I love cinnamon in tea and I found this one to be particularly yummy… again I think this is probably a ceylon due to the description – a coppery Indian tea. It IS a decaf tea and I think this could be impacting the flavor… a bit. But it’s a great evening choice for me with some soymilk. It’s brisk and delicious and rich. A great dessert type of tea for me! I might need to get some of the regular caffeinated tea just so I can compare notes.

Organic, free trade + compostable packing is a bonus!

I actually liked this a bit better today for some reason so I upped the rating – can’t remember what I did last time but steeping it here for 3 minutes seems to have done the trick. It’s medium bodied and smooth with a hint of mango, this seems nice to drink just plain. Nevertheless I just seem to be gravitating away from flavored black teas a bit.

I really love the organic teas & backyard compostable packaging and this will definitely have me going back to Arbor Teas once my supply is depleted a bit.