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Sun tea review:

Still have more of this one left. I love it, and I’m trying it in different ways.

Today’s way: Sun tea. I left it out for longer this time, setting it out at about 7:30AM and picking it up at around 10PM. Band camp week. Long days.

I love the way it comes out. You still get all the crispness, the woodsy, nutty hints. Everything is present, in just the right amount. Great balance, even from outside in the sun, even with a 15.5 hour steeping. hehehe

I have enough of these leaves left over now for one more steeping. Hmm….

4th or 5th time trying this tea, and I think I’m liking it more and more each time. To my tastes, it’s damn near a perfect black tea.

Buttery, velvety smooth, just right the right balance of malt and sweet, with just a hint of bitterness. Possibly my favorite black tea of all time.

Home from vacation, all my new tea is stored and put away, now it’s time to start trying some in a controlled and proper brewing style.

This is the first I will try, Gorreana’s Hysson cha verde. (green tea)

Gorreana boasts being Europe’s oldest tea factory, opening in 1883. The Azores also boasts one of the few places man did not introduce tea leaves, they grew there naturally. Of course, the volcanic rock nature of the islands make them much different from what we are used to, and that difference is apparent in this tea. More on that below.

I used a standard green tea brewing method. After a pre-rinse, I poured 180 degree water over 11 grams of leaves in my 32 ounce Bodum Assam teapot. I clearly have vacation brain, and I forgot to set the tea timer, so instead of a standard short 1:00-1:30 steeping time, this came out more like 3ish minutes. Oh well.

It still came out great. The grassy taste is nice and smooth, with a strong hint of wet Earth and a faint hint of butter. It is there, though.

There are some differences in this tea then I recognize from a standard green tea. First off, it has a bit of tartness to it. It’s not so much bitter, but more of a hint of a higher acidic level. Other reviewers have called it an apple taste, which I do agree with. It actually balances well next to the grass and Earth flavors.

Next brew I will try a short infusion to see if I can pull out a bit more of the butter that I know is there. You know, when vacation brain goes away…

One disappointment: I bought this at the Gorreana tea plantation on Sao Miguel Island in The Azores. I would like to see larger leaf particles in the bag. It seemed like they put it through the grinder as if to make tea bags, and put some in “loose leaf” bags as well. I would love to try this tea in a whole leaf style, I think it might have even more potential than it already has.

I also brought home some dried Azorean Jasmine from a neighbor on Pico Island, I might add some of that for its lemon flavor in the future. Should go well together!

-E

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This is certainly a unique green tea. Due to the acidic volcanic soil it grows in, it is very big in flavor. Most of the time green tea is light and dances on your tongue. This one seems to reach out and grab your tongue with a more solid, robust flavor.

Very interesting, very tasty. I bought 2 bags and I can’t wait to brew a single serving to see just what potential this one has.

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This was my favorite of what I tried here. A very good, big and bold, black tea. Very refreshing, something I don’t usually feel when I drink black tea, but this one was. Even hot.

Must be the soil. Grown in volcanic coil on the Azores, it is going to be much different than what we are used to. This is damn good.

I brought home 2 bags and loose leaf. Can’t wait to try it in a single serving!

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

This Broken Leaf tea is another basic black tea, but still has that distinct flavor to it that the other teas from the Azores Islands has. Being grown in volcanic rock soil, it’s going to taste much different. And it does.

Again, it was brewed in a large pot, so if I took the time to brew a single serving, it would probably be a little bolder. But all in all, a nice little solid, basic, subtle black tea.

Azores vacation teas!

I got to tour the Cha Gorreana plant on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores and got to sample several of their teas.

It is different. The islands are volcanic in creation, so the tea plants are growing in MUCH different soil than what we would find in Asia, or anywhere else, really.

And you can tell in the tea. This is a basic, middle of the road black tea, but its flavor is different. It’s somehow tropical, if that makes sense. Not super tasty, but the taste that is there is exotic and intriguing.

The sample I had was in their tasting room, and we just in a large container of tea. I’m sure if brewed correctly for an individual taste, it would be even better!

More vacation teas.

Last one of the store bought tea bags.

This is a Chamomile tea from Portugal. I haven’t had many chamomile teas in my life, but I have had enough to know good ones. This just isn’t. Tastes thick. Almost syrupy.
But again, sipping it in The Azores on a balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, I’ll still drink it again.

More vacation teas! Just got back from 17 days in The Azores, and I was fortunate enough to try several loose leaf and bagged teas from the islands and from mainland Portugal while I was there.

This is the fruit tea my friends had in their cabinet. I’m normally not a fruit tea drinker, but a was on vacation, so of course I was going to drink it!

My friends described it as made from the red fruits, although the cover of the box shows that and also berries. So, it’s a fruit tea.

And it’s not bad. Maybe one of the better fruit teas I have had, although that number is not very high. But this one, I like.

Vacation teas! Just got back from 17 days in The Azores, and I was fortunate enough to try several loose leaf and bagged teas from the islands and from mainland Portugal while I was there.

This is the basic breakfast black tea we bought at the grocery store.

It’s good, nothing to write home about. Tastes like a simple, solid, black tea. Definitely different from the Asian black tea I am used to. Tastes more… tropical. If that makes sense.

Then again, when sipping the morning tea on a balcony over looking the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, of course it tastes good!