Erik Dabel Send Message

It takes a few tries to get just the right technique to get the best out of good tea leaves. Tea bags, no problem. Just dunk ‘em in and go. But high quality tea leaves deserve a bit more. It’s like they are screaming, “Here we are, treat us right and we will make you purr. Get it wrong and we will revolt.”

These leaves are a great example. Get it right and they will give you a wonderful, sweet, smooth, absolutely incredible aroma and taste. Get it just a little wrong and they will bite back.

32 ounces of water that has just reached a boil poured over 3 tablespoons of leaves (rinsed, of course) and steeped for 2 minutes. Not too long, or the bitter will take over the sweet and smooth. Not too short, or you won’t get the sweet potato hints out.

But find that Goldilock zone, and this tea will surprise. For a black tea, it is VERY smooth and gentle. And that sweet taste, with that hint of sweet potato, is soooooo gooooood. A great choice for a cool, wet morning.

-E

I don’t normally drink this tea by itself. I’ve been using it a lot lately to add flavor to other teas, as anything even a little bit of these campfire tasting leaves go into immediately gets a nice smoky flavor.

But the other day I decided to give it a go solo again.

It really is a good tea. Red Blossom Tea Company has two different brewing methods outlined on their site, one a normal black tea brewing method for a thick, rich and robust taste, and a shorter time at a slightly lower temperature for a lighter and sweeter taste.

That’s what I went for. I tried it a week ago or so, and it was good, but needed refinement. Here we go:

I used 3 tablespoons of leaves, NOT heaping tablespoons, if anything not quite full tablespoons. I used water not quite at a full boil, just after bubbles begin to form. And I only steeped it for 1:30, very short for a black tea.

Those three things gave me a nice, light, but still super flavorful brew. The smoky flavor is still right there on top, like I’m sipping an actual campfire. You know the taste. You get home from a camping trip and crash, and the next morning you unpack your clothes and they have that smell. That campfire smell.

But with the shorter brewing time, it’s not overwhelming, it’s balanced and yummy.

Only problem is it does not bode well for multiple steepings. The 2nd steeping was pretty good, although not nearly as crisp and clear as the first. The 3rd, well, let’s just say I won’t do a 3rd next time I use this method. It’s kind of bland and the flavors just don’t pop anymore.

But that first steeping is damn good.

-E

It’s been a while since I have had this one by itself. I’ve been using it s a base to blend with fresh mint, or my super smoky Lapsang Souchong. Or both. Because yum.

But today, even though it is rainy and dreary out and that usually puts me in the mood for something thick and in my face, I decided to have a go with this one.

I did want it a bit bolder than the nice summer tea, hot or sun. So I added more leaves. A bunch more. I went from my normal 3 tablespoons to 4 heaping tablespoons. I kept the steep time where Red Blossom Tea Company recommends, right at 2:00 for my 32 ounce Bodum Assam teapot.

I like.

All of the regular Shou Mei tastes are there. Woodsy, nutty, earthy aroma and flavor. There is no bitterness and very little tannins present. But there was something extra there today. Something almost, well, Autumny. The woodsy flavor, my favorite aspect of this tea, had a bit of extra flavor. Closing my eyes I could almost picture myself walking through my grandparents walnut orchard in the winter. The fruits and nuts are gone, and that strong, pungent, but somehow soothing wet wood scent wafted through the air. It’s not the same flavor, this tea does not taste like walnut wood, but it has that feel. That special orchard in the Winter feel that you really can’t explain without demonstrating.

If you ever get the opportunity to walk through an orchard in the Winter when the sun pops out after a rainstorm, take it. There is not much like in this world.

The taste is the same. That woodsy flavor has really been released and let loose to run in the open. It’s not overwhelming, by any means, but it has been given permission to show off just a bit.

I’m glad I discovered this, with slightly less leaves this is a great Summer brew, either hot or sun tea. But add more leaves, and it takes on a new life, totally fitting for a cold, wet, rainy Autumn morning.

-E

Got this as a free sample from Red Blossom with an order a while back, and this lazy, rainy Saturday is a great day to give it a go.

First things first, I’m not a big white tea drinker. Not because I don’t like it, but because I guess don’t know it very well. Guess I should try more it then, yeah?

As far as white teas that I have tried go, I like this one a lot. It has a nice light aroma and taste, and that taste is clear, well balanced, almost buttery with a clean, clear finish.

I do like a bigger, bolder tea, I think the next steeping I will use less water. I might also buy more of this one in the future. Good stuff!

Hot damn this is a great black tea. Super smooth, almost creamy. Ever so slightly sweet, with a hint of sweet potatoes.

I haven’t even tasted this steeping yet, and already my room is filled with a wonderful, warm, smooth and sweet aroma. I almost don’t want to drink it, i just want to keep smelling it, to continue to let it waft through my room, filling every corner with it’s existance.

And then comes the taste. It’s a little sweeter than the smell, still incredibly smooth and ellegant.

Hot damn this is a great black tea.

Sitting here bloated and guilty from overeating yesterday, it’s time for some tea.

In the past, I have used too much Lapsang, giving it too much of that smoky flavor, hiding the white tea goodness of the Shou Mei, or too much mint, making it bity.

I think I got it pretty close this time. 3 heaping tablespoons of the Shou Mei mixed with about ½ of a teaspoon of Lapsang Souchong, and only 2 dried mint leaves in a 32 ounce Bodum Assam.

That mix gives plenty of smoke flavor from the Lapsang, plenty of mint flavor from the mint leaves, but neither hide the light, delicate, woodsy and nutty flavor of the Shou Mei.

I’m learning, and having fun discovering new blends and then trying to perfect them.

Sitting here bloated and guilty from overeating yesterday, it’s time for some tea.

In the past, I have used too much Lapsang, giving it too much of that smoky flavor, hiding the white tea goodness of the Shou Mei, or too much mint, making it bity.

I think I got it pretty close this time. 3 heaping tablespoons of the Shou Mei mixed with about ½ of a teaspoon of Lapsang Souchong, and only 2 dried mint leaves in a 32 ounce Bodum Assam.

That mix gives plenty of smoke flavor from the Lapsang, plenty of mint flavor from the mint leaves, but neither hide the light, delicate, woodsy and nutty flavor of the Shou Mei.

I’m learning, and having fun discovering new blends and then trying to perfect them.

I was all ready this morning to go for one of my favorite, albeit unusual, tea blends, the white Organic Shou Mei, with a pinch of my good old Lansang Souchong. But then I thought, you know, I haven’t had just the Lapsang by itself in quite a while. And that sounds wonderful on this wet, rainy morning.

So I cruised over to the Red Blossom Tea Company website to make sure I had the brewing and steeping directions correct, and I noticed they had an alternate brewing method to get a slightly lighter, sweeter liqueur. Basically, slightly less leaves, slightly lower water temperature, and a low steeping time for this black tea.

So I used about 2.5 tablespoons of leaves instead of the normal 3+ in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam teapot, rinsed like usual, added water that was just starting to boil instead of at a full boil, and only steeped it for 1 minute, instead of the regular 3.

Success. Damn, it’s good. The color is still dark reddish black, but it is not quite as opaque as normal, I can see the tea basket in the middle of the teapot.

The smell is the first thing I notice as pleasantly different. It still has that strong campfire aroma, but it is not as overpowering as when I use a standard black tea brewing method. You can smell more of the underlying black tea qualities, and everything has a very nice balance.

Speaking about balance, here comes the taste. I am a big fan of balance, in all parts of my life. I am a classically trained trombone player and music teacher, and my hobby is extreme long distance cycling. This brewing method brings out a balance in this tea I did not think was possible. Yes, it is a Lapsang Souchong that is actually light and sweet. The earthy, malty, almost woodsy black tea flavor finally has a voice, while the wonderful campfire taste is still the dominant voice, but it has a stage to stand on now, and that stage is what it needs for that proper balance.

Basically, I can almost taste what kind of wood is burning in the campfire, and it is sweet and light and allows the natural black tea flavors to shine through.

And they are wonderful.

-E

This is a sad day. This is such an amazing, rich, sweet, incredibly wonderful tea, and after what I used for today’s steeping, I have enough left for maybe one more cup. And the Red Blossom Tea Company website says they are sold out, and have been for a while.

I may be coming to the end of the road for one of my favorite Pu-erh teas. I’ll have to enjoy this one slowly, and will certainly pull it out to 4 steepings.

The Red Blossom website also says this is a good one to collect and age on your own. I should have listened.

Oh well. All good things must come to an end. This was not my first Pu-erh, nor will it be my last. And in time, I will probably find something I like even more.

But this will always be the Pu-rh that educated me the most about the style, that made me love and appreciate just what a good Pu-erh really is.

-E

Currently my go to for a basic, solid, simple black tea.

I am an unusually organized person. My bookshelves are sorted first by genre, then by author, then by book size. My iTunes gets a makeover 2-3 times per year when I get the bug to further organize, or I just need to make sure everything is properly marked and in the right place. All of the clothes in my closet are sorted by season, type, and hung in the correct direction.

However, I have had every hair color imaginable, a mohawk at times, and I am constantly searching for new foods, beers, and teas to enliven and excite my day to day life.

This tea fits that lifestyle. Basic, but not boring. All the right flavors in all the right places. I am in complete control with this one, if I want to add something extra to change the taste or feel, I can. And I do. I’m not a fan of milk in my tea, but a bit of honey, a sprig of mint, a touch of Lapsang Souchong for that smoky taste, all of those things I can do for myself if and when I want. And they all work. Or I can go bare, and just enjoy this tea by itself, which it is fully capable of shining all by it’s lonesome.

All too often tea companies try too hard creating new blends that in the end come out bland and confusing, too many tastes lost in a mix of a tea that sits on the shelf of a store for too long, each individual flavor loosing its sense of self and personality and blending into a, well, blend.

Blend starts with ble(h).

You want a great, basic, super yummy black tea with just the right amount of bite, surprisingly smooth and tannin free, with a hint of sweetness, that can also work very well as a base for experimenting with creating your own tea blend adventure?

Here ya go.