Life In Teacup

Crisp, delicate high notes and a dainty floral ting ornament this tea. It is not unlike a mild and timid jasmine though the finish rolls downward into lush vegetation.

Akin to a fine brass bell, this one rings out clearly.

The dry leaves on this were intimidatingly black and twisty! And indeed, it is a very roast-y tea. It doesn’t have the sweet undertones of some other roasted oolongs that I’ve been trying lately, either, although there’s a lot of tea going on underneath the smoke.

Here’s a picture from the third steep, although the reflections off of the side of the teapot are keeping the twistiness of the tea from being clear:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cait_tea/4514585111/in/set-72157623664718933/

(That’s my newest teacup in the photo as well, by the way. I had been feeling like I didn’t have enough drinkware to support my telecommuting tea habit and also like I wanted something better sized to my wee Samovar teapot, but I didn’t really have the budget for full-on-fancy teaware — and then I was wandering around the outskirts of the farmers’ market on Saturday and found someone selling a punchbowl and eighteen nice little punch cups for, y’know, flea market prices. So, uh, now I have three new glass teacups and a fifteen-cup backup stack in my storage cupboard.)

This tea is magical. Really, truly, magical. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I love it.

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this. No tasting notes yet, no description, no steeping parameters even. it was just a free sample that I won by replying first to a thread. But, intrepid tea explorer that I am, I went in head first, and boy was I rewarded for my bravery.

I decided to start off with a 45 second steep. I used about a teaspoon and around 8 ounces each steep, and gradually increased the steep time as I went on, up to around 3 minutes by steep 6. I would have kept going as it was still strong and delicious, but I had to stop in order to get some sleep and pack, as I had a flight in the morning.

The first steep was like stepping into a garden at dawn; lush, dark greenness, a heavy mist in the air, and large white magnolia and gardenia flowers all around you. Steep 2 and onward were even more magical. Each cup was like gardenias, magnolias, and milk. There was the most delicious buttery component, like orchids and unsalted butter, and a hint of sweetness, like lactose or white bread, or maybe just from the flowers themselves. And something else, like the taste of “comfort”—the smell of warm skin, or your kitty’s fur, or your favorite fleece blanket—I don’t know how to put a name on it, but it was surely there.

The mouthfeel of the infusion was remarkable. Absolutely luscious…it was thick, and rich…just a “whole mouth experience.” Like something that you needed to bite into, but would give way easily to your teeth and tongue. Not that the tea was actually like gelatin or something, but it had an impression, if you will, of smooth thickness.

I wasn’t expecting to re-order anything from Life in Teacup when I first received my samples, but after trying this I know I’ll be placing another order soon.

A pleasant blend of citrus tang and grassy sweetness comprises the body of this tea. There is a subtle nutty element that broadens the profile adding depth to a verdant finish. Purdy good.

Light and airy golden green oolong with a surprisingly rich homegrown vegetalsweetness. Low maintenance, down to earth, and easy to hang out with(as every good hippie should be).

Soft mocha sweetness and subtle spice open a rustic Wuyi which balances its smokiness and juiciness quite well.

Hmm. This tea smelled intriguingly nutty, but it tasted very weak. When I tried steeping it longer, it got distressingly bitter without getting any more flavorful. Probably I made it too weak — I’m still figuring out the best way to judge proportions. I will definitely try it again, because a tea which tasted the way this smelled would be fantastic.

(Backlogged from Saturday.)

Light mocha and muscatel sweetness and mild toasted almond character round out a thin base of warm vegetation.

What some may perceive as mundane and uncomely is, in this tea, revealed as inviting and understated. (Welcome home.)

Has a slight earthy taste I have found common in Pu-Ur Teas. There is nice sweetness to taste as Gingko describes. Very warming taste.

Ah! A cup of real tea!

I tried this with short steeps, but the resulting tea was barely there (despite turning a beautiful deep golden color almost immediately). So I steeped the third time for two minutes, and what a change! This tea isn’t sweet, per se, but there’s a hint of burnt sugar around the edges; there’s still not a lot up front, but the back of it hits almost immediately with a savory grilled flavor that just keeps going.

This is wonderful stuff! The best Jasmine I’ve had. The second steep is absolutely exquisite!

Dear Tie Guan Yin from Life in Teacup,

You are a fine grade of tea,
Grade II in fact,
O fare Tea,
Green thumb in picking,
Green tongue in tasting,
Unfurl and steep,
Unfurl and steep,
I got like, 5 infusions
Whhoooooooooooo

Sincerely,
I want to sip you

Thick lush water-filled spring fresh orchid petals. That is what this tea tastes and smells like. It’s unbelievable. I am absolutely buying this.

2010: A Tea Odyssey. This tea is full of stars! Its like drinking a garden bouquet. I am completely in this tea’s awe. If this grade II blows my mind I can only imagine the Euphoria of the higher grades.

this time did the rest of my sample in zarafina green-loose-medium
light, sweet, delicious, slightly vegetal, slightly astringent
no bitterness

Steep Information:
Amount: a bit under 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces / 8 ounces boiling filtered water let cool to 175 then steeped in cup with mesh basket
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: AmazonV: Nothing / MilitiaJim: Faint green tea
Steeped Tea Smell: green tea (slightly vegetal)
Flavor: green tea (slightly vegetal)
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: sweet
Liquor: translucent green (MilitiaJim: de-neon-ed mountain dew)

This was a sample from Life in Teacup

I was very pleased that this tea is not bitter! I tend to over heat or steep greens and get bitter tea. This is a nice mellow green tea and I am enjoying it. I wouldn’t mind getting it again, although I know I am more a black tea / red tea person than green.

Post-Steep Additives: honey = sweetened green tea

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/life-in-teacup-loose-leaf-green-tea.html

Very unusual tasting green. I drank this first thing in the morning and perhaps my nose was still blocked but it seemed to smell of Turkey dinner. Not in a unpleasant way. Not something I would drink daily but enjoyable.

I tried a shorter steep this time, and the tea was a bit different — it tasted strongly and smelled even more strongly of raisins! I’d heard people describe tea as tasting of raisins before and always wondered what that would be like, since I’d never found it before. Well, here it is, and unfortunately it’s reminded me that I don’t like raisins. Alas!

Hmm. I used the brew-in-mug method here again, with cooler water, and this tea began and ended very strong, although it was smoother in the middle. Oddly, the leaves never floated at all, but only unrolled slowly at the bottom of the mug. I was liking it in the middle, for the second steep and around the edges into the first and third steeps, but there’s a bitter aftertaste lingering from the third steep.

Still, many thanks to Gingko for letting me try it! (I feel more than a little embarrassed to have forgot to actually, y’know, sample this for several weeks! All the excitement of the very first tea of the year — and then I let it go to the end of March.)

You know, I’m starting to wonder if I didn’t do something wrong in storing this — I put it in a tin, but it’s a biggish tin for a small sample. This pot, like the previous one, is just not as flowery as the very first one. I mean, on any other tea I’d be calling this flowery, but here? Only barely.

Well, I’ve already ordered a bit more. I’ll have to see if I can treat the next batch better!

Mmm, flowers.

Interesting! I made this in my larger pot this morning because I wanted to take a full-sized mug and go, and I don’t know if it’s that I got the proportions different or that the bigger pot is making the water temperature change or what, but this is a much less flowery tea this time! It still tastes of orchids and sugar, but they’re much farther back and the tea taste is much thicker now.