One never knows what goes thru my mind while choosing my tea-of-the-moment. Today it happened to be me thinking SPRING and hoping for a dancing leaves show in the infuser! Mountain Oolong Spring 2016 from Mountain Tea fulfilled both of those!
Mountain Oolong Spring 2016 from Mountain Tea smells and tastes like…well…SPRING! This has a mellow, creamy, sweet, floral flavor combo going on with the taste on the tongue. It’s also very crisp and clean! I can imagine a breath of fresh air and a cup of this crisp tea at just about anytime! It seems somewhat energizing but then again that could just be me in my own dream world while enjoying this cup! Mountain Oolong Spring 2016 from Mountain Tea is just one of those LOVELY teas!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Mountain Tea
Description:
The character of a pot of tea tells a story about the leaf it originated from. Good tea is a mixed blessing for tea farmers; in general, the harder the tea plant struggles to grow, the more flavorful and tempered the finished brew becomes. For this reason higher elevation with colder temperatures and thinner air produces outstanding leaf.
The 2016 spring harvest of Mountain Oolong withstands high temperature water longer without introducing dryness to the flavor, producing a forgiving and well-behaved pot of tea for the busy brewer. The steeped cup reflects a beautifully clear yet deep honey gold color; the nose is creamy sweet over a faint, nostalgic scent of rice flower bud. Notes for this crop are sharp and floral, paired with a robust body. Expect flavors of citrus blossom mostly, nasal and high in the mouth. Properly brewed we found that this tea has even greater re-steep potential than past flushes, up to six or seven.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jungpana Special Spring Darjeeling Chinary Black Tea from TeaBox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: TeaBox
Tea Description:
With prominent chinary characters, this black tea comes as an opulent offering from Jungpana this spring.
Its dark amber-colored liquor makes for a beautiful sight to behold. Look for sweet notes of honey in its refreshing aroma. Its smooth, full-bodied liquor boasts prominent flavors of citrus and green chili. This tea signs off with fruity accents, particularly those of citrus, that linger on for the good haul. Savor a cup of this medium caffeine spring delicacy at any time in the day.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Jungpana Special Spring Darjeeling Chinary Black Tea from TeaBox is lovely. This is one of those teas that I was intrigued by the origin of the loose leaf and found that Jungpana is within the hills of the Darjeeling Region so it seems these little leaves were once smack-dab in the middle of everything.
I found out that Jungpana is a small estate nestled in the hills of the Darjeeling region and is known for the muscatel flavor of its teas. Pure china bushes is primarily used, coupled with different manufacturing techniques resulting an the finest example of richness in flavor and bouquet that Darjeeling teas are renowned for. Jungpana is a garden of highest quality in Darjeeling, it enjoys the most unique micro climatic and soil conditions. This location and climate produces a distinct flavor and consequently has been established as the the leading quality estate of Darjeeling.
I appreciate the freshness of this tea. It has a delightful aroma – both before and after infusing. It has a smooth body with unique flavor featuring this high quality loose leaf tea. Eventho this is a black tea base it’s a weaker black tea base but can be enjoyed morning, noon, and night. Be careful with this one, tho, it can get a bit bitter if oversteeped.
Back to the aroma because I think that is what really caught my attention with this one – other than the flavor on the tongue – of course. Pre-infusion the aroma is sweet and toasty but also floral and hints at subtle chili notes. The post infusion adds the warmness of honey to the mix. The best part is the long lingering fruit-floral finish.
This aroma and flavor may be a hard one to pin point as you can see. So I guess that means you will have to try it for yourself to see what I mean!
Gopaldhara Spring Special Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Goapldhara is one of the highest tea estates of Darjeeling and is located in the Mirik valley. The garden is planted with high quality clonal bushes and produces exquisite teas. Gopaldhara First Flush Darjeeling Tea has a floral aroma and a sweet & mellow taste. A great tea to relax and refresh your mind.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! What a lovely Darjeeling!
I steeped this Gopaldhara Spring Special Black Tea from Udyan Tea in my Breville One-Touch, and I was a little surprised when the tea maker finished it’s cycle – the tea is not black. It’s not even coppery. It’s yellow! Like the color of melted butter that had been slightly browned – but only ever so slightly – still more yellow than brown.
Parameters: I measured 2 bamboo scoops of tea in the basket of my Breville and added 500ml of freshly filtered water to the jug. Then I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 2 1/2 minutes.
But don’t let this rather unusual color for a ‘black’ tea freak you out – this is some seriously good stuff! Think of it as liquid gold.
Mmm!
Really smooth – much smoother than I’m used to from a Darjeeling. There is some dry astringency toward the tail – but not a lot. No bitterness. Now, I can’t say that you wouldn’t experience those things if you brewed it at a different temperature (I find that with Darjeeling, it’s important to keep the temperature below boiling because the boil is a tad too hot for Darjeeling tea) and a different steep time (2 1/2 minutes is my sweet spot when it comes to Darjeeling tea).
This is sweet and floral. No overt sharpness from the floral notes, it’s very soft and beautiful. There are some delicate fruit notes to this – more like a citrus note than a grape-y note like you might experience from other Darjeeling teas. Imagine a splash of a fruity/grape-y wine added to your orange juice and you would have the fruit-like notes I’m experiencing.
But mostly, what I taste is a delightful medley of flower.
It’s soft and pleasant – a lovely afternoon tea. This is the kind of tea you want to serve to people you want to impress. They’ll be impressed!
Truly a remarkable tea – beautiful!
Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Midori Spring on Amazon.com
Tea Description:
Midori Spring’s Ceremonial Gold Matcha is rich, smooth and creamy with a hint of sweetness when brewed traditionally. Only the best and darkest tencha are used for Gold Class. Gold Class has a fresh, sweet, green-vegetable-like aroma and the colour is a vibrant emerald green – a trait only high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha encompass.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I opened the canister of this Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring – I was excited! I was anxious to try this beautiful powdered tea!
The dry powder is a bright, vivid green color – the color green that Matcha enthusiasts would immediately recognize as top-notch Matcha! This is the color Matcha should be!
I got out my chasen and chawan and scooped out a couple of scoops of Matcha with my chashaku – one scoop using this bamboo scoop is just enough for one serving of Matcha, but I wanted two! Then I placed the Matcha into my sifter (I just use an inexpensive wire mesh strainer for this) and sifted the Matcha into my chawan. I added hot water (160°F) and began whisking. I don’t have a precise measurement for the water – I use the eyeball method and then I taste it after I’ve whisked it. If I need more water, I add some.
This Matcha whisks up BEAUTIFULLY. The color of the tea in the photo above is quite accurate – that is the same color of the liquid that’s in my chawan right now, although it’s difficult to see it since it’s beneath a thick cap of foamy froth. This tea froths up so well and it maintains the froth for a long time after you’ve finished whisking.
The flavor is outstanding. This is a really top-notch, high quality Matcha. This is the kind of Matcha that is used in Japanese tea ceremony because it’s of the best quality. Sweet! Not a hint of bitterness. Smooth and buttery. No chalkiness or gritty texture. The flavor has hints of berry and cacao in it’s complex layers. It’s vegetal. It’s a bowl of Matcha perfection.
If you’re a fan of Matcha – I highly recommend trying this one the next time you need to stock your cupboard. You’ll be happy you did!
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Udyan Tea
Tea Description:
Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea is picked from AV2 bushes at high elevations. This First Flush Tea is plucked immediately after the long cold winter months and is bountiful with fresh flavour as the bushes are full of vigour. The infusion has a greenish leaf appearance and the tea tastes fresh and crisp. This tea is produced from the prime sections of the garden with the earliest production beginning from the 1st Week of March up to 15th April depending on the elevation. They brew into light mellow cups with excellent first flush character and floral ascents.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Rohini AV2 Exotic Black Tea from Udyan Tea doesn’t look like your typical black tea. It doesn’t taste quite like your typical black tea either. Therefore, you shouldn’t brew it quite the same way you’d steep a typical black tea.
I never use boiling water on a Darjeeling black tea because I learned through trial and error that when I do, I get a slightly bitter tasting tea that’s a wee bit too astringent for my liking. I find that if I lower the temperature to 195°F that a Darjeeling is much better tasting. Less astringent and not bitter! Win!
And this tea is SO LOVELY! It’s deliciously sweet with notes of flower and fruit. Hints of muscatel – not a strong muscatel note, but then this is the first flush, so a strong muscatel note isn’t expected.
The floral notes are the stars of this show. I like that they’re not sharp, instead, they’re beautifully sweet and they mingle with a honey-esque flavor. It’s wonderful and very spring-like!
Overall, the cup is a delightfully mellow tea that I’d recommend for afternoon sipping. This would make a lovely tea to serve to special guests. Truly a remarkable first flush Darjeeling.