Life In Teacup

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea!

A lovely Oolong. A very rustic appeal to it, it is woody, earthy, and deliciously roasty-toasty. I really like this! My review of it will publish in a couple of hours on SororiTea Sisters … watch for it!

Enjoyed this in two summer sessions today. This is a very clean, bright, fresh green. My tastes in Chinese greens run spinach and vegetable and this has got it, as opposed to more of the roasted, toasted chestnut flavors, which I tend to like less. It is light and the returning flavor is not really there. A solid price for a fresh, lively tea. One of those reasonable daily drinker type of green teas, if you’re a fan of the myriad of Chinese greens that exist.

For starters, I habitually, but unintentionally, brew this style of TGY too strong. I think it’s probably because I don’t drink this type of tea too much and hold it up to my practices with puerh and wuyi. As a result, the first few steeps are always a good bit too sour.

I read Gingko’s thoughts (http://gingkobay.blogspot.com/2010/05/concept-tea-1-special-edition-tie-guan.html) about this as a concept tea as a blend of tie guan yin and mao xie. I don’t think I have enough experience with the varietals to really understand the effect, but I do find this an enjoyable example of charcoal roasted ball-style oolong.

Lately, I’ve been focusing more and more on a tea’s texture, returning flavor, and feeling, as opposed to just flavor and aroma. I think great teas beat out many good teas by combining all of the elements in an emergent and transcendent way. This one doesn’t quite get there, as I think the aroma is pretty soft and the texture a little thin. Perhaps I haven’t noticed the internal energy of previous oolongs, but this one has a nice, soft, deep wave to it, with a considerable amount of warmth, which is helping me sweat on this first 80F+ day of summer. It also has a long, long pleasant returning herbal ginger taste that rings for an hour afterward.

Love this. We drank this coming home from the mall, steeped in two to-go cups of hot water that the Marche kindly gave us with our baguette. Not very civilized, but far better than what was offered in the mall, even if lacking in style of serving vessel!

My husband thought it was very seaweedy. I found this fresh, and lovely. The liqour is a light grey green, the smell fresh, spring like and green.

This is definitely a vegetal oolong. Even in the dry scent, it’s reminiscent of celery or green peppers. 195/1 min.

Vegetal… confirmed. It’s actually not too overwhelming. I can also taste a woodiness in the flavor. And zucchini. It’s not exactly toasted or roasted, but somewhere light and in between. The oolong itself isn’t bitter. This would make a great afternoon tea.

Well, I had to use a bag on this one because I’m at work and didn’t bring my infuser. I guess that makes this Snowflakes in Green Lake? Mine didn’t have a chance to dance.

I don’t know the exact water temp, but it’s pre-boil, around 170 ish. 1 minute steep time.

It smells very floral, very fresh. Even the scent in the package had me thinking that this would make a wonderful soap. (For the scent, remember, I hadn’t tried it yet!) It’s just such a clean, fresh and invigorating scent. I really love it and if I get more, I might store it in my closet so that my clothes smell as lovely.

The taste is very floral. It’s still the nice, clean scent, however, it’s also quite strong. It’s not bitter, which is nice, but it’s still a very floral cup of tea. I cannot make out the green tea with which it is paired.

I sipped down the last of this today. I enjoyed the slightly smokey notes, its bold “I’m here” presence, and its warming cup. The afternoon went by more quickly accompanied by this pleasing keen. The dry leaves had a particularly wirey appearance.

Oh lovely tea I could write poems about you. Beautiful to the eye, nose and mouth. Refreshing and sweet, welcoming spring. I have one more sample left. I’m saving you for a special day.

Beautiful oolong. Deep oxidation. Large leaves. Rinse smells sweet and slightly floral. First infusion is a pretty pale amber with a rich honey and pitted fruit scent. The liqour is heavy and pleasing. Second infusion brings out a bit of the orchid tones as well, and the honey sweet carries through.

Finally, a few hours later, I do a third infusion over ice. This is really nice! Not even my usual 1/4 tsp of sugar needed.

Great tea, as usual gingko!

nom nom nom. This is great white chocolate. The green tea taste is really pleasant, and the cocoa butter fresh, not at all off (I find such soft white chocolates go off easily – but this one was very fresh and tastey!). I’m defniitely going to get more next time I order from Life in Teacup – but it will be a while, given my rather large order!

This is definitely something I would stock up on! The taste of the green tea is dominant but there is also the sweet creaminess of the chocolate supporting that. I loved the little particles of tea leaves as well, they added texture, which made the whole thing more interesting.

This is a very pleasant oolong. It has a faint floral note and is very smooth, velvety. It is full of flavor and has a pronounced lingering sweetness that is very satisfying. I don’t know how I missed ordering it before, it is inexpensive for the quality that you get. It is the kind of tea that an oolong drinker will want to have around because it is consistently good.

I was boiling water for black tea, then changed my mind. I have to write the methods of a systematic review…and Oriental Beauty caught my eye.

So, steeped in an atypical teapot in somewhat too hot water.

This is a nice, light floral bai hao oolong. The liquor is amber brown and enticing. While floral dominates the smell, on tasting there are layers as well of something slightly smokey or nutty, I can’t figure out which one (and I just had an oatmeal cookie, which doesn’t help). Overall, a nice solid tea, not a top favorite but I think that is me, and not the tea.

Got this sample from Life in Teacup a while ago, and I found it while reorganizing my stash today.
The charcoal roast in the name scared me a little bit, mostly because I was not sure I’d like it – given my tendencies to hate anything with a charred flavor – but when I tasted it the flavor reminded me mostly of hojicha, though it’s not as…dark as hojicha. It’s roasted more in the way of the green – and as it cools a lighter flavor kind of takes over and that’s where I get some vague flowery scents and taste.
This tea nicely stands up to extended steeping times, getting stronger rather than bitter. I’m glad I was able to find this on a day when I had plenty of time to sit and appreciate it. :)

I received this tea as a sample from Life in Teacup. I hadn’t tried it before and was looking forward to something nice and fresh this afternoon, so I picked this one out of the box.

This is a really nice, delicate yet solid green tea. It has a vegetal taste, but also a natural sweetness to it that’s really pleasing. I was surprised. I was concerned that it would be too vegetal tasting, but it’s not.

Wet aroma opens with a toasted earthy sweetness and, because of the purely dry storage, is not at all musty. The aroma is not bright but subdued and cellared. There is an interesting dichotomy present throughout the cupping of this tea and that is the interplay between a cooling menthol/eucalyptus quality and a more wild and rugged tanned animal skin quality.

The liquor has a silky texture and the cooling aspect floats to the top of the palate as somewhat of a vapour. Anchoring the flavors is that subtle yet heavy primitive leather taste and a tree bark dryness left on the tongue. The hui gan is surprisingly profound and delicious reminiscent of a sweet and earthy Yunnan red.

Stiffer brews do nothing to ruin the profile of this tea and instead push each quality into greater pronunciation. It’s that versatility and durability that impress me most. Also the returning sweetness becomes fuller as one progresses through the cups.

So in the search for the best aged sheng on a budget I’m left with a couple of contenders, this being one. Actually, in all fairness, I’m left with 1a and 1b because the other one is a wet stored puer. The differences are not of quality but of characteristic.

And how cute is that butterfly :-)

Life in Teacup never fails to please. This is my go to source for unadulterated great tea.

This Keemun Black is a really nice tea. A little smokey and woody, it smells a bit like a Finnish sauna. Its liquor is warm and steamy, along the same theme. I oversteeped this cup but it’s not bitter at all, and the deep, almost chocolate coloured liquor is comforting, cozy, and complex.

I’m referencing a long paper right now, and this is just the cup to keep me company. Thank LIT, I love your teas.

Lucky dip of the morning. I had no real preference for type today so I thought why not? It’s a green type oolong and the leaves are a lovely green colour although it could be a bit deeper in hue, I think.

The dry leaf aroma is fresh and strong, but otherwise there isn’t really anything about it. It’s fairly typical for this type of tea. Same after steeping, really. Not quite as strong as in the dry leaf, but otherwise the notes are unchanged. Fresh, sweet and somewhat grassy.

Flavour, again fairly typical. Sweet and fresh, and I’m getting a rather strong apple note in it. A sweeter apple type, not the tart crispy ones that I tend to prefer for eating. Yes, apples and also a bit of grass, a touch of butter and something vaguely flowery on top.

This is not half bad, but also not super memorable for me. Green type oolongs do tend to flow together somewhat for me. I should practise tasting them more, I suppose.

I didn’t follow the directions for steeping. I oversteep tea so often and I only had one sample. So, it’s quite possible that I’m tasting something very different from the others.

I couldn’t smell this tea when dry. I could only smell my teacup. 160/3 min. Now, I can smell it and it smells slightly vegetal. It’s got a lot of the black tea scent to it, the taste as well. It tastes like a golden yunnan and even looks like one with the golden brown color. I’m tasting something reminiscent of honey or cane sugar. It’s a strange kind of sweetness that is not very pronounced. There is no astringency to this tea at all, nor is it bitter. It’s just a pleasant late afternoon tea.

I like the way that Life In Teacup has steeping notes on their site for every tea. This tea packs a punch for flavor but is not overwhelming, for me the toast is mild and it is woodsy but settles into a sweetness at the end. A complex combination of flavors, very pleasant and will keep on the shelf. A nice late afternoon tea.

To me this tea had a very smooth and subtle flavor, it is sweet and buttery. It’s nice in the morning because of its calming, clear taste. The lingering taste is strong in effect, sweet, but gentle in flavor. I can see why this tea is coveted. One more thing, Life in a Teacup will answer any tea questions you have, so ask away. She has been very helpful to me.

After the epic letdown that was RIshi’s Osmanthus Silver Needle it is nice to be pleasantly surprised by the the quality of a tea, especially one which is, to me, uncharted territory.

The wet aroma is delicious and pungently earthy. It smells alive and welcoming with notes of wilted florals and virile soil. Everything about this tea is soft and striking. The mouthfeel is thick and coats the tongue with a low buttery “sweetness” that is not typically sweet yet not exactly savory either. Can it be the ever so elusive and ambiguous “umami” quality? Truly a rare species to behold especially in such a seemingly unlikely habitat. The woody malt sits heavily on the palate and a wet wood hui gan fills the throat leaving a lingering dark, nutty flavor in the mouth.

It is lighter, more complex and with a taste more like “tea” than most shu puer though with some overbrewing there can be a similar wo dui or piled fermentation greasy taste. It’s also softer and more pastoral in taste than typical Yunnan red teas. I know I’ve never had a tea from Sichuan before so this one stands out as unique to me.

And check this out: a 200 gram hand-woven bamboo package of this is, wait for it . . . $28.

Read more here: http://gingkobay.blogspot.com/2011/03/tibetan-hei-cha-ya-xi-grade.html

This was one of the free samples I won from Life In Teacup’s Valentine’s contest…

This does not seem like a white tea at all. It brewed up a brownish color – really like a black tea. It smelled sort of like a cross between a black tea and a puerh- I got a hint of earthiness in the nose after it brewed, and the black tea scent that I’m very familiar with as that is one of my favorite tea types.

Tastewise, I’m thinking it reminds me of a black tea as well, with a small honeyish note. I don’t get white at all, but to be fair, I’m so inexperienced with white teas I may just be missing it.

Overall, though, this is a very pleasant and relaxing evening tea.

Interesting find . . . thanks, Gingko, for sending me some to try!

The mini-cakes are loosely pressed and can be broken apart very easily. The dry and wet aroma is of a very good high-mountain type and actually surprised me with its sweet and creamy pungency.

The broth is thin and easy on the palate displaying typical sweet and green floral notes very well but does not command very much attention. There is sufficient depth and no unpleasant sharpness even when brewed with boiling water. The lasting hui gan brings the elements found in the wet aroma around full circle along with a very nice grassy flavor. At around the third steep the flavor really reveals a warm, almost spicy sweetness and a pleasant marine quality.

I would specifically serve this tea with food for this very reason as it strikes me as an excellent restaurant style tea. I usually refrain from serving hot tea with food because the tea may tend to get lost in the flavors of the meal (and I am not a gourmet chef though I would imagine that some creative soul out there can pioneer the art of pairing pure tea to a customized cuisine). I would not hesitate to serve this with any light meal and not because the flavors of the tea are disposable in any way. In fact, the flavors are so well balanced and comforting and the mouthfeel is so smooth and unassuming that it would enhance any meal made to accommodate it.