Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Another classic puerh from Xing Hai, made from authentic leaves, grade 5 –7, harvested from the large, mature tea bushes of Meng Hai.
A good quality raw puerh, it will keep improving for 10 years or more. For best aging results, store in a well-aired location with a constant temperature. The Xing Hai Beeng Cha is a young puerh and shows the classic characteristics of mild flowery notes with a traditional bittersweet finish. It will develop more woody notes as it matures.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the more I am sampling different Pu-erh teas, the more I’m realizing that I really do like them. I still suffer a bit from a couple of bad experiences concerning Pu-erh, but, really, the number of good experiences I’ve had outweigh the number of bad at this point.
This is a really nice raw pu-erh, quite sweet with pleasing floral notes. I don’t think I’ve had a pu-erh where I really noticed such well-pronounced floral tones before. Usually, I taste earthiness, and yes, I taste that here too, but, I don’t think I’ve had a pu-erh where the focus is more on the notes of flower over the notes of earth.
The sweetness is very molasses-like … in fact, had I not prepared this cup myself, I would have thought that whomever did prepare it for me added a dollop of molasses to the cup.
Overall, the cup is very smooth – no bitterness, no astringency – and it has a very mellow character. A very enjoyable cup of tea, I find it to be an especially enjoyable tea to enjoy in the early evening while watching the sunset.
Giddapahar China Delight First Flush Darjeeling from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Product Description:
The Giddapahar Tea Estate is a small, family-owned Darjeeling tea estate and is also known as ‘Eagles Cliff’. The slopes are shrouded in mist most of the time, giving the Chinese tea bushes just the conditions they need to produce wonderfully fragrant leaves. Once they have been skilfully processed according to age-old methods, the Giddapahar China Delight Darjeeling is one of the very best teas available of this grade with wonderfully sweet, mildly nutty, complex characteristics.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is such an interesting Darjeeling. Usually, one of the first things that becomes apparent to me when I sip a Darjeeling is the grape-y, wine-like flavor to it … the muscatel. But here, I noticed first a warm, toasty nut flavor. It tastes sweet, like almonds.
That is not to say that the muscatel is not there … it is. But, it is presented differently. Instead of a straight-forward muscat grape flavor, I notice this almond with mere hints of the muscat. Toward the finish, I notice a slight black currant flavor peeking its way through.
It is a light tasting tea, as is usually the case with a Darjeeling, and this lightness allows for the lovely complexity of the tea to shine through. It begins sweet and crisp, with the aforementioned almond taste, by mid-sip, I notice hints of musty wood … again, mere whispers of flavor, and the fruit-like tones begin to reveal themselves as the sip nears the finish.
There is a fair amount of astringency that arrives toward the end of the sip … but, even as astringency is generally expected with a Darjeeling, I am noticing that the astringency here is a bit softer than in other Darjeeling teas. It finishes sweet with a lingering nutty tone in the aftertaste.
A deliciously intriguing Darjeeling, one deserving of the time to contemplate it’s many layers of flavor.
Jasmine Pearls from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Product Description:
The long silvery tea buds are hand-picked from the white tea varietal used for Silver Needle, but are heated as in a green tea process. They are then carefully stored for several weeks until the Jasmine flowers blossom. The tea buds are very skilfully hand rolled into perfect spheres and layered over several nights with the fresh Jasmine blossoms. Just a few pearls yield a highly fragrant liquor, bright with refreshing jasmine and sweet with the soft creamy undertones of the tea buds.
Read more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What an exquisite tea!
Jasmine has long been one of my favorite tea flavors, and I am especially fond of jasmine pearls. Up until about a couple of years ago, though, I was of the belief that a pearl is a pearl … and boy was I ever wrong there. Not all pearls are created equal, and this one deserves to be recognized as one of the very best!
The flavor is so soft and creamy. Not a buttery kind of creamy taste (although every once in a while, I could swear I taste a buttery note). Instead it’s a smooth, rich kind of creamy taste. The green tea/white tea tastes so fresh and even though it is a lighter tasting tea, it has a richness to it that ties in to that creaminess I mentioned.
But a jasmine pearl is not a jasmine pearl without the jasmine, right? Here, the jasmine tastes so light and sweet, it does not have a perfume-y taste to it at all, nor does it have that chemical-y kind of taste that sometimes is detected in jasmine teas. This must be the real thing, folks!
This is a phenomenal jasmine pearl, certainly one of the very best I’ve yet to try. I’d recommend it highly to all those jasmine aficionados out there.
Ye Sheng Wild White Tea from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: Canton Tea Company
Product Description:
Other names: Wild White
This is a glorious, limited edition tea with a great story. This tea farm was once owned by the government but had been abandoned for many years and the tea bushes were left to grow wild. Our producer recognised the potential in the farm, the natural tea bushes, the excellent terroir and particularly the yellowy, rocky soil – perfect for giving the tea a delicious mineral note. He bought up the estate and produced this great tea from the first, small harvest of all the tea bushes that had been left untouched, in a natural state for decades.
We are the only people in the UK (and probably anywhere outside China) to have this tea. It is an ideal all-day, summer tea, very soft on the palate with a creamy depth and a satisfying full-bodied, warm fruity note, lifted by the mildest hint of flint (from that excellent ground).
Taster’s Review:
I find myself somewhat surprised when I hear someone say “I don’t like white tea.” It is such a blanketing statement and it almost irks me because I have learned that just because I have tried one white tea, does not mean that I’ve tasted them all. There are many white teas out there, each with their own unique nuances. Just because you may not like one that you’ve tried, doesn’t mean that you’ll dislike all of them.
This is a wonderful white tea that is so very different from others that I’ve tried.
The dry leaf smells a bit like hay, and it keeps that fragrance after its been brewed. The liquor is such an enchanting color. So pale, almost like alabaster!
After seeing such a lightly colored liquor, I figured that the flavor would be equally as light. And, it does start out that way. But by the time I’ve reached the bottom of the cup, the flavor and body have both developed significantly.
The flavor is very pleasantly sweet with a mild undertone of citrus and wood. It feels incredibly soft on the palate, almost creamy, which seems to encourage my taste buds to taste a cream-like flavor as well. These delightful flavors intensify as I continue to sip it, and by the time I reach the end of my cup, I recognize it as a bright, full-bodied, delicious cup of tea.
I highly recommend this one!
Bai Mu Dan from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Product Description:
Other Names: Bai Mu Dan Tea, Pai Mu Dan Tea, White Pekoe Tea
White Peony undergoes very little processing. Made from just the unopened silvery buds and the small, top two leaves it is picked in spring and gently withered to yield a refreshing, easy-drinking tea, full of soft fruit flavours and melon notes with a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Taster’s Review:
This is the second tea that I’m tasting from the “Migration” themed Steepster Select Package. At first, I kind of wondered why a Bai Mu Dan would be offered as part of a “Migration” theme … but after opening the pouch, I understood. The leaves are crisp and dry, just like the fallen leaves that cover the ground this time of year.
The tea these beautiful, whole leaves produces is exquisite! Definitely one of the very best Bai Mu Dan teas I’ve yet to taste. It is surprisingly rich and flavorful. Many White Peony/Bai Mu Dan teas that I’ve tried in the past tend to be somewhat pale in flavor – delicate – but, this is not a typical Bai Mu Dan!
It possesses a delightfully sweet flavor and as the description above suggests, I taste the melon notes! That melon flavors intensify as the tea cools. There is very little vegetative/grassy taste to this Bai Mu Dan. Instead, I taste a crisp, clean, and sweet delicious flavor unlike any other Bai Mu Dan I’ve tasted in recent memory. Sure, many of those white teas tasted good, maybe even great, but, this one stands out as exceptional.