Tealux

Received this tea in the awesome package I got from TheTeaFairy.
I was drinking this at work yesterday. It was fine, nothing really wrong with it – nothing really special about it.
Sorry, I’m just indifferent to it. Didn’t really make an impression.
As always glad for the opportunity to try them, even if I don’t love em. Thank you.

Welcome to Day 4 of little terri’s Sipdown Extravaganza!!
I got extremely busy with students yesterday, pretty much non stop all afternoon, & then out doing my musician thang in the evening. So I have a whole bunch of sipdowns from yesterday to log, but I’m going to start with this cup, this lovely Jin Jun Mei from Sil (and Dexter). I love Jin Jun Mei teas, and this one is very nice. The aroma when the hot water hit the leaf was honey, without a doubt. The flavor was honey spread over a perfectly toasted piece of dark honey wheat bread, sprinkled with some pollen (& by perfectly toasted, I don’t mean some wimpy pale toast, I’m talking about a nicely darkly toasted piece of toast, almost, but not quite, to the point of burning…oh, how I miss toast…sigh…).

Dear Dexter,
Sil is MY tea sister, quit trying to steal her from me by luring her with amazing teas!
Love, little terri
p.s. And thanks for sharing this tea with Sil, cuz she shared it with me ;)

Dear Sil,
Thanks for this yummy sample! I have a collection of Jin Jun Mei’s. I’m going to send you samples of ALL of them, cuz you’re MY tea sister!
Love,
little terri
:D
note from Ms Theresa, “little terri is in bratty mode today, because she stayed up until 4am. Please bear with us until we get her under control. Thanks”

Pressing on with pu’erh exploration I grabbed another sample from my dear friend Dexter3657. Thank you again.

I read scribbles’ note on this beforehand. It was not giving much away anyhow so it’s not liked I cheated. In fact reading it now, as I sip, I think to myself “a lighter pu’erh?” “Nuttiness?” Huh. I dream of my French press, I think I will treat myself to a coffee after all this. I’ve been “miss” with teas today.

Well, this is not a miss because I knew drinking it would be an exercise in determination so it’s not like I expected a delicious cup. Knowing there are people out there like mrmopar — who also thought this stuff was insufferable at first but know guzzles it with great pleasure — gives me hope.

This stuff is dark, yo. I steeped for 2 minutes as the package said (after a short rinse that was my decision, not package indicated). 1.5 tsp with boiling 8 oz water. And while it is not offensive, it is not exactly enjoyable. Tastes a bit earthy, but only a little. My lack of enjoyment stems from the fact that this has no taste. Other than the recognizable pu’erh flavour I don’t get much else. … One day…

This was the end of the line for Tealux Dragonwell top grade—my final two glasses from this packet. It tasted even better than usual somehow—bidding a fond farewell!—and I may be restocking the next time I shop at Tealux.

I definitely appreciate their helpful provision of the opportunity to purchase 25 gram bags—and to choose them individually. (Kusmi offers a sampler tin sets, but the five teas are pre-selected.) I managed to enjoy this dragonwell six times, and realize now that it does take some time to get to know a tea. I honestly feel that 25 grams or about an ounce is an appropriate sample size! Certainly, a single experience is bound to be affected by whatever happens to be going on in one’s environs, including the weather, and also what one has or has not eaten, whether or not one has slept well, etc., and those factors may be misinterpreted as properties of the tea!

Anyway, today’s brew was golden in color, smooth and long jingy!

second infusion: I drank this after dinner. Good!

In a recent steep-off chez sherapop, I found this Long Jing from Tealux less impressive than the one from Norbu. I must say, however, that today’s medium-sized tetsubin (two Bodum glasses’ worth) is tasting mighty fine. I kept the steep time down, and the flavor of the light gold liquor was smooth and Long Jingy—for lack of a better description.

I’d thought that this would be a sipdown, but there turned out to be enough leaves left in the envelope for another medium-sized pot. After that, I’ll probably restock.

It’s been a while now since I’ve had any Long Jing, and today’s big tetsubin of Tealux’s top grade is tasting mighty fine. I did not measure the temperature (still have not figured out where my tea paraphernalia is after the move—no doubt in the bottom of a box in the back corner of a storage space), but using the largest tetsubin automatically diminished the heat apparently the appropriate amount, because this tastes very good. Now I’m wondering: perhaps I should dispense with the thermometer and brew loose green tea only in this large tetsubin?

I feel compelled after today’s positive experience to increase my rating of this tea.

In this afternoon’s steep-off chez sherapop, Tealux Dragonwell Long Jing Superior is going sip to sip, sniff to sniff with Norbu Xi Hu Long Jing. I am afraid that the Tealux is suffering by contrast.

The liquor of the brew is golden, not green—and certainly not jade, as promised on the package—so that’s the first red flag that something is amiss. Did I oversteep? Overheat? Overleaf? No, none of the above. My brew has a very neutral taste and seems more baked than steamed. This tea is simply not as good as the Norbu, despite the “top grade” claim on the label. I am lowering my evaluation.

In this afternoon’s steep-off chez sherapop, Tealux Dragonwell Long Jing top grade is going sip to sip, sniff to sniff against Teavivre’s Organic Superfine Dragonwell Long Jing.

I’ve been wondering whether my enthusiasm about the Teavivre had something to do with the fact that it was my first Long Jing experience. Today I learned that the answer is: no!

In a direct preparation, using twin tetusbin, the same amount of dried leaves, and the same temperature and volume of water, I find that that the Tealux is more yellow than green and has a slightly flatter taste. It’s good, but it’s not great.

second infusion: a bit weak and wan. I noticed that there are many twigs amidst the spent leaves, which may explain why this is not as good as the Teavivre Long Jing…

I continue to explore the Long Jing offerings out there—of which there are many!—and today’s pot is the Tealux “top grade” Dragonwell Long Jing.

The description on the package says that the liquor is jade. Hmmm.. Isn’t jade usually green? Well, there’s probably yellow jade, too, and this brew is that: pale golden yellow. The taste is smooth and slightly sweet and very subtle. I used two teaspoons (heaped up a bit, because of all of the space between the large leaves) for about 18 ounces (in a tetsubin pot), and that seems like the correct amount. I brewed for two minutes at about 78C.

The silken texture appears to be a defining feature of this sort of tea, and although it is slightly vegetal, it tastes completely different from sencha. I like this lot a lot and definitely see why people regard Long Jing as one of the best Chinese green teas. I’m going to have to do a steep-off between some of these different loose leaf Long Jings in order to determine which among them is truly the best!

second infusion: just as good as the first; a bit darker (though still pale…) liquor—probably because I used slightly hotter water this time.

Drinking this at work this morning.
Unusual Dancong, or unlike others I’VE tried.
This is less oxidized than what I normally prefer, I would say is a medium oxidized oolong.
It isn’t as green or floral as I was expecting. There are some citrus notes, but none of the woody that I associate with dancong. There is quite a bit of the “suck all the moisture out of your mouth sensation”. I really need to find the proper word for that sensation.
I’m sure there are others out there that would really like this tea. It just doesn’t fit into my favorite style.
Thank you so much TheTeaFairy for sending this sample to me. Always interesting to experience teas that are outside my comfort zone. :))

I’ve got a bit of catching up to do from this afternoon as i’m finally getting a few moments. I’m doing my best to sipdown as many teas as i can in order to get back on track with my mid year goal for July (100).

The TeaFairy sent this my way and it is delicious! and it’s a green oolong. But it’s refreshing and sweet and juicy and honestly? I’ll probably buy more later on when my cupboard is under control for those times when i really want a lighter tea. I’ve discovered that i often don’t like flavoured greens, but the occasionally straight green or straight oolong is what i want from time to time.

Thank you so much for sharing TeaFairy! The last little bit of this is of course off to Terri :)

Oh look, a sample from TheTeaFairy (who probably didn’t know, when she picked her name, that it will be really hard for people to mention her properly since they have to capitalize three letters in what the iPad recognizes as one word. That’s like having to write PaRtY!)

Just kidding, fairy, you know you’re special.

Anyway, this tea was kinda not my thing. I trusted the steeping instructions written on the sample label although I rarely steep a green for 3 minutes and rarely use 185F. I am getting mostly orange, not at all almond although the orange is not in your face so there’s something muting it. Also,the tea is lightly bitter. Not sure if a two minute steep would have fixed that or not. I used the whole sample in one shot figuring I won’t want to drag 1 tsp around so I went for broke: 2 perfect scoops in the 16-oz DAVIDs steeper they went. Did not resteep (yet).

Can be enjoyed as is but to cut the bitterness I added 1 tsp of honey.

I’m polishing off my 1 ounce envelope of Tealux Tenkaichi Sencha Supreme today, and happily I got all the parameters right for this little pot. A flavorful, only slightly astringent and lightly vegetal batch of pale fluorescent green sencha was my first TOD (tea of the day). Yum. This sencha is excellent for right after lunch, and I’ll definitely be ordering it again…

The first infusion of my pot of Tealux Tenkaichi Sencha Supreme was a bit bitter initially. The tea leaves are very broken up, and there were lots of small green tea particles in the bottom of the glass, so my metal mesh coffee filter was not capturing them. I forecast a truly splendid second infusion later today…

second infusion: as predicted, this round was better, as many of the smaller particles were removed in the first infusion.

third infusion: the first glass from this third infusion pot was good but then I then my second glass get cold and nuked it and it was not as good. Note to self (and to whom it may concern): do not reheat sencha.

Today’s brew of Tealux Tenkaichi sencha was gyokuro-esque, and that’s a very good thing! I must have got the preparation parameters just right , because the liquor was iridescent green, and the flavor luscious, with a buttery texture. It really reminded me of some of the gyokuros I’ve tried of late. I feel compelled to increase my rating!

This tea from Tealux, Tenkaichi Sencha Supreme, has very dark broken leaves. After my recent experience with broken sencha, I decided to switch to a finer-gauged sieve from now on, whenever it is obvious that green particles will make it through my regular, larger-pore strainers. So that’s what I did, and the result was excellent!

The liquor was still cloudy but the particles were very small, white and filament like. The flavor of this tea, which is apparently organic, although my package does not make that claim (I am wondering whether “supreme” is supposed to be synonymous with “organic”?), is very fine indeed, with a lot of body. The richness of the brew is due in part to the roasting process, it seems. I always love the roasted spinach note in darker senchas, and here it is in full evidence. Yum!

second infusion: just as good as the first. Same intense yellow-green hue; same small white filaments clouding the view.

third infusion: still bright and beautiful but less cloudy and more of an average sencha taste.

fourth infusion: no cloudiness left, just bright yellow; taste is faint but pleasant

I’m still here and still drinking tea but have gotten more into old favourites which already have notes so telling you they are tasty is redundant.

This one is in my cup right now and the first time I tried it I likened it to DAVIDs Bai Hao Yin Zen. Not anymore. That is more vegetal to me whereas this one tastes a lot more like pine and pu’erh. It is stone cold — been sitting here a while listening to Jann Arden, tweeting and tackling the crossword — and the aftertaste is piney. I like it.

Have a pleasant Saturday evening everyone!

Quick! Someone other than me compare this with Bai hao Yin Zhen from DAVIDs Tea. I would swear up and down that they are the same tea except Bai hao is supposedly white. Maybe they are marketing is as white thinking it works better than saying it’s pu’erh? The teas look the same in dry form and they taste the same once brewed. Even the steeping instructions are the same. Bonus for me is that DAVIDs is $29 for 100 grams when not on sale and the Tealux works out to be $25.00 for the same quantity.

I am serious, you guys. Dexter3657 , I know you have both. Pleeeease have the Bai Hao tonight and let me know? Whoever else has both of them and can compare, please tell me I’m not crazy!

Also, I think now is a good time to maybe address the pu’erh issue. I maintained I do not like it. Maybe I need to clarify by saying I am trying to get an appreciation for the shou kind. The cup I have right now is awesome! But again, I don’t feel like I’m drinking pu’erh.

Many many thanks to Dexter3657 who sent me some pu’erh samples so I can figure out once and for all if it’s for me or not. Dex, you’re a gem.

My after-lunch green today was the final pot of Tealux Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa. The liquor was the characteristic viridescent green, and a bit richer and and darker than usual because I accidentally oversteeped. I looked at the clock thinking that I had set the timer and only one minute remained to wait. Then I went back to eating and noticed that one minute was taking a long time to elapse. Whoops—it was 1pm!

The brew was still good, albeit slightly bitter, and I have been happy with this sencha, though it is somewhat temperamental. I’ll probably be adding another envelope of this single-origin deep-steamed sencha to my shopping cart the next time I place an order chez Tealux. This is easily the most visually stunning sencha I’ve ever tried. Of course it also tastes good!

second infusion: for years I had no idea that green tea was multiply infusable. When I went to Japan I learned the truth, that one serving of leaves can last several pots! It’s hard to fathom the volume of good tea I have tossed out with only once-infused leaves! Well, what’s done is done, and at least I have now corrected the errors of my former ways. This second infusion of Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa was totally delicious and just as viridescently beautiful as the first. The slight astringency of this tea is starting to grow on me…

third infusion: still going strong. Dare I try a fourth pot???

The water I used for today’s pot of Tealux Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa was a bit hotter than last time, and I detected just a touch of bitterness as a result. Still, this brewed up citrine-peridot green, precisely how I like my sencha to appear, and the taste was pleasingly vegetal, if a tad bit astringent. I’ll stick with cooler water in the future. The package recommends 85C, but that seems too hot for my tastes.

I am now planning to avail myself of this steel mesh permafilter cone (intended for coffee but perfect for tea!) for all pots of broken-leaf sencha. Today’s case in point: Fukamushi Sencha Kakegawa from Tealux.

Good news: the brew is much improved through the use of an appropriate filter! Another change from last time is that today I steeped the leaves in relatively cool water (not by design, but I let it overcool a bit while eating): 70F and filtered at the two-minute mark. The resultant liquor is still shimmering and viridescent, but it is much paler and there are no dark green particles whatsoever suspended in the liquid or gathered at the bottom of the glass (as happened the last time I prepared a pot and filtered using a wider-gauged sieve). Zero bitterness, a smooth texture on the tongue, and a clean vegetal taste.

The taste? The Platonic Form of Sencha!

second infusion: I used hotter water this time, but again steeped for two minutes. The brilliance of the shimmering viridescence was awe-inspiring. The flavor still good…

“Shimmering viridescent jade”—indeed. This Kakegawa sencha from Tealux was quite broken up, so the brew ended up very cloudy with tons of particulate material in the bottom of the glass. As a result, the first infusion really had an astringent edge to it. A bit bitter, too. I had a similar experience with two leaves and a bud, so I’m expecting the second infusion to be smoother.

I have to say that the appearance—with little green dots floating about the “shimmering viridescence” cloud—is truly beautiful!

second infusion: lots of shimmering viridescence and flavor; still some green particles floating in the glass

third infusion: the dark green particles are gone; only light filaments remain; the taste is now smoother