Life In Teacup
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I’ve finally broken into more of the “sampler order” I made with Life In Teacup and am so happy that I did! I was really having trouble putting into words how this tastes – the closest that I could get was “you definitely know that you’re drinking plant water.” But that sounds bad, and this is anything BUT bad. I really think the other reviews do a better job of breaking down the aroma/flavor of this tea. And when I read “marshmallow” I had a “EUREKA!” moment of finally being able to nail down the aftertaste. Sort of like a marshmallow that’s been over a campfire (but just barely). I may have to order more of this! NE (would be TG, but I want to spend more time with this one with better steeping parameters than I have here at work).
Ok so I’m assuming that this is a Wuyi cultivar either grown or processed or both in Taiwan. It is roasted and rolled in typical Taiwan style. It is good. Gingko puts it in grapefruits: http://steepster.com/teas/homemade/11640-tea-grapefruit-made-with-taiwan-wuyi
It’s also benefited from a little ageing which gives added character to the juicy, chocolaty flavors. I’d say it’s like a well roasted Dong Ding but somewhat heavier in the chocolate department a la Da Hong Pao. The hui gan is beautifully light, fresh, and surprisingly green.
Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.
This is a really fantastic green – it has a rich, brothy kind of texture to it, and yet, it is so light. It may seem to be a bit contradictory, but try this tea and see what I mean! The sip is savory and then sweet and finishes quite clean.
A very contemplative cup.
Experience buying from Life in a Teacup http://steepster.com/places/2861-life-in-a-teacup-online-easthampton-massachusetts
Age of leaf: advertised as spring 2011, received early fall 2011, brewed up weeks later.
Dry leaf: Small, tightly curled leaves and buds; smells fresh and vegetal; reminds me somewhat of Verdant Tea’s Early Summer Green Tea.
Brewing guidelines: Standard parameters for my green teas Loose in glass Bodum pot. Stevia added. 1.5 tsp, 1.5 cups water. I used slightly less water after each steeping. Two separate steeping sessions: < first >/< second >:
……….1st: 165/170, 1’
……….2nd: 165/180, 1.5
……….3rd: 180/185, 2’
……….4th: near boiling/< didn’t do >, 3’
Aroma: mildly vegetal.
Color of liquor: light yellow.
Wet leaf: fresh, vegetal smell; whole leaves and buds, a few were shriveled, and there were a number of long, thin, green ‘pieces’ that didn’t look like leaves or stems; they may have been buds, but I couldn’t tell.
Flavor: mild, vegetal, fresh, good.
Value: This green tea is as good as or better than any other green tea I have had in this price range.
Overall: this had a mild but pleasant taste that held up well through three steepings. This is clearly a fresh, mild and pleasantly vegetal tasting green tea. I would be happy to drink this on a regular basis.
Preparation
I absolutely love your reviews! So thorough! I look forward to them. Seriously, I saw “SimpliciTEA” and thought, “Yay!” Would you ever consider contributing to my blog in some way? PM me if interested. :)
Thank you for your kind words. : )
At the moment I have lots of writing that I want to catch up on (mostly reviews), but I will keep your invitation to contribute to your blog in mind.
I’ve never really done gong fu style steeping before (isn’t that what you’d call multiple short steepings? Correct me if I’m wrong!) but I had this packet left over in my sample collection and really wanted an oolong today, so I gave it a shot. I only managed 3 6 oz. infusions (used the whole 7 gram packet) but it was my inaugural attempt at this, so I’ve got to practice before my body can accept that much liquid that fast!
*Followed Gingko’s directions on the pre-rinse and steeping suggestions.
1st infusion: 30 sec. steep. Very vegetal, buttery green. I got notes of spinach in it, which I like. Liquor a yellow brown, reminiscent of a green tea. Texture was thick to me (in a good way), but I expected that because this is a lot higher leaf to water ratio than I traditionally use. No real ‘roasted’ notes this go around.
2nd infusion: 30 sec. Color is still a yellow brown; scent is buttery vegetal; this doesn’t appear much different than the first infusion, so far. Flavor is much lighter on the “green”; seems more buttery, less spinachy. There’s a roasty note now – genmaicha-esque. (It tasted kind of nutty and rice-ish.) The roasted note is also more prominent in the smell now.
3rd infusion: 30 sec. Much lighter yellow color, the taste has faded too – less buttery, but still a vegetal green flavor. The roasted taste and smell are gone again. I like stronger flavors so I think this is as weak as I’ll go – I could definitely see how on further infusions a longer steep time would be required.
I waited to try the gong fu method largely because I didn’t trust my ability to discern the taste changes between steepings. Maybe this was just an easy one to figure out, or maybe I’ve gotten better, but I found the whole process really fun! I liked how the toastiness was so fickle in this – it was like drinking two different types of tea.
I would guess this is more of a green oolong, though I have had little to no experience with oolongs to really know for sure. I suppose that oolongs will be my next area of tea education….
Preparation
Very pleasant! Slightly minty, definitely get the "orchid fragrance " floral flavor from this. Not even the slightest bit bitter at first steeping. Earthy, tastes very green. Reminds me of a nice floral garden. Okay this is going to be a really weird analogy but it kind of tastes like I’m chewing on very pleasant, very fresh cuttings in a perfume shop, but in a good way. Really… good way. It’s kind of confusing, but the flavors combine well and create a generally very nice experience. I’m still getting my bearings with unflavored oolongs, so I might update this score later, but this is pretty darn good.
Preparation
Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a sampling of this Long Jing. It is very nice.
This brews up to a very light color, but the texture is so smooth and soft and surprisingly thick for such a light brew. Before sipping I thought this would be rather thin, but, it is not.
A really delightful Long Jing.
This is a very mellow keemun, it has such a subtle taste it reminds me of tea from a chinese restaurant. It doesn’t have the distinctive smoky or chocolate flavor I was expecting. It has a light crispness to it. Drinkable but not very exciting.
Preparation
Revisiting this tea this afternoon. A nice tea with which to unwind. My full-length review of this beauty can be viewed here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/10/23/2009-shou-mei-from-life-in-teacup/
Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me this tea! It’s really nice and soothing. Lovely fruit notes in this – I taste hints of apple and peach. It’s quite sweet, I find this to be sweeter and stronger in flavor than a typical Bai Mu Dan or Silver Needle. It has a rich, brothy kind of texture to it too. Very nice.
I have been thinking about Tibet and the Lama lately and thought I would sip this in their honor.
When piping hot this tastes like a pu-erh but as it cools for just a few moments it’s like a blend of both worlds both worlds of pu-erh and black tea. I am enjoying it more once it has had a chance to cool a bit.
It did smell earthy pu-erh like prior to infusing and now that I am drinking it – it has a lovely hint of sweet. It’s a tad malty but smoother that I thought it would be. This is pretty good!
I’ve short steeped this one a few times before but I always got too lost in the moment to write down any tasting notes. Not the best resteepster, but still very satisfying. Okay now onto the tasting notes;
The sweetness in the first steep is very strong, which leaves behind a nice honey flavour and texture at the back of my throat. This black tea body is nice and mellow, with enough (initial) depth to keep it interesting.
Second steep was different, with a strong malty and grains flavour coming out and the sweetness toning down.
Third steep was pretty similar but with a new tart almost bitter tomato flavour appearing. This character is what really reminds me of “real” SML.
Fourth steep had a weird battle for flavour between the tomato and sweet honey. Normally the flavours are just layered or appear at the beginning or end, but the tomato and sweet honey really do fight for my sense’s attention. That’s the best way I can put it.
Fifth steep was very mild with not much of the tea flavour remaining. Just cinnamon, spices and tomato flavour.
Ending on the sixth steep, I mostly just taste sweet honey. It’s not a disappointing cup to end on, but also not interesting enough to warrant a resteep.
I quite like this small leaf cultivar SML, it’s not as memorable or amazing as SML but it’s easier to drink more often. For me, “real” SML has a strong distinct flavour that I find I can’t have too often. My purchase of this also included a small sample of SML which was a great learning experience. And while that extra SML sample is included, I highly recommend trying this out, just to taste how different the teas are.
100ml gaiwan, 2 generous tsps, 6 steeps (30s, +15s resteeps)
Up’d rating for the wonderful short steeping experience.
Preparation
Looking inside the bag, I see beautiful long twisted leaves (and this is the small leaf cultivar! lol). So right from the start I decided this was a tea for the gaiwan, because it’s my favourite way (besides glass teapots/mugs) to admire tea leaves.
First sip, suddenly reminded of another Taiwanese tea I’ve tried (Hualien Feng Mi), except this is not as roasted. Then I’m picking up on a menthol/minty like flavour that I’ve heard about before with this sort of tea. There is also this soft malt flavour, but it’s not a “in your face” type of maltiness, it’s more like Ovaltine drink. It has a very smooth texture from the initial sip and an almost fuzzy, chocolatey, velvet aftertaste.
Second steep I’m picking up more of a honey flavour, with the other notes becoming more muted. Same fuzzy, chocolatey, velvet aftertaste (but muted).
At this point I examined the leaves before trying a third steep. The wet leaf is long, thin and has a hard leathery feel to it.
Third and final steep is a bit too muted for my liking. Still picking up notes of honey and malt. Enjoyable, but it can’t compare to the experience from my first steep.
This came along with a Red Jade sampler, so I can’t wait to try that as well. Also I’ll be playing around with the rating by the time I go through this bag (score might go up). So far I’m very fond of it, just not sure if I’ll become smitten by the last teaspoon. ;)
Preparation
Are you one of those people who have tried LS’s to find they are too smoky for you? If so try this one! It’s a bit on the gentle side but here’s the neat part…it’s a tad smoky but it’s more roasty and toasty! It’s somewhat nutty but it’s sweet, too! There is a nice addition of a charcoal tinge to it too! This one is more mellow than most smoky teas but very yummy!
Wet leaf aroma of cumin, cinnamon, clove and cooked bitter greens. The liquor vapor carries the light scent of wet cedar.
The taste is light and sturdy with an underlying sweetness that gives warmth and cushion to the relatively straightforward flavor profile. The flavor of the roast comes out in the back end and develops into a hiu gan that is beautifully alive with a bit of its Taiwan youth shining through. Delicious.
Later steepings become more perfumed and woody on the tongue. The soft warmth is still there and provides a nice backdrop for the slightly grassier finish.
Overall this one is an interesting combination of subtle warmth and brisk simplicity.
This is the priciest tea I’ve ever drank. I was lucky enough to try this tea this afternoon in a tea gathering with friends. The tea broth was clear, slightly yellowish green. The flavor was wonderful. It tasted roasty, like half roasted nuts or peanuts. There is some astringency. But based on my experience with LongJing, I think they all have some astringency to some degree. The tea left a mouth watering, sweet-like aftertaste. Overall this is a good tea. But after I check the price for this tea tonight, I think it’s a bit expensive. But what do I know about tea pricing! Honestly, I would give this tea a higher rating if I didn’t check the price.
lol @ “plant water”! You’re right, tea is plant water if you think about it. :)
Heh – yeah, “vegetable” or some sort of varation on that word might have been nicer, but “plant water” kept sticking in my head. :)