As promised, here is a gathering of tea cuppings I've had in diverse shops where they let people sample tea (or in one case, as it was a tea house, sit and enjoy tea). The only problem is that tea temperature and steeping times might not be have been adequate. I wrote down my impressions on the teas in my little book which I carry with me at all times. Most of the tastings occurred at the Ronnefeldt shop.
But before I start, since I mentioned as well that I would update on Primeur and Flugtee, here are the answers I got:
One of the best answer for Flugtee was from Kevin Gascoyne, one of the owners of the Camellia Sinensis in Montréal:
"As far as I know Flugtee is just another name for First Flush and refers to the
way the first, early teas of the year were flown back to Europe like the Beaujolais nouveaux wines. So it has a bit of a marketing edge to it."
So it is indeed very fresh and you can smell the difference. If you were to close your eyes as you smell down a bag of Flugtee, it's as is the whole room was suddenly full of it, but as the same time it feels like the room is much bigger and outside where it's breezy and the weather is nice.
As for Primeur, the owner of Ronnefeldt confirmed that it was a name they made up for their own tea products. They did not grow the tea, but they made up a name for this special very first flush of Darjeeling they were about to receive. I guess it also gives it an edge. It's commercially appealing.
So on with the main subject...
Note that the teas were all already brewed except the ones at the teahouse, thus I didn't get a chance to properly evaluate the leaves.
Here is what my booklet has to say about a Oolong Ti-Dung:
The liquor, a bright light brown colour smelled awfully nice. Almost like sweet smoke even if the clerk insisted it wasn't a smoke tea. I knew that, it still reminded me of sweet smoke and maybe a little floral too.
The taste was light so I thought they may have diluted it or something. Maybe they didn't steep it long enough?
I tasted the liquor a second time and this time it tasted like burned or smoked twig. The twig taste is something that comes up often. If like me you put everything in your mouth as a kid, you may remember the taste of twigs from say an oak tree leaf. There was no amertume which shocked me pleasantly! It tasted like a forest if that makes any sense to some of you and was definitely smooth in the mouth.
Then I had the Rapp Bari Sommer (Summer) FTGFOP1 Darjeeling 2nd flush. I was able to smell the dry leaves which had a faint berry & chocolate aroma.
The aroma of the liquor reminded of a Nilgiri. Or rather if I were to translate the taste of cheap Chinese incense sticks to aroma (those that do not contain wood) that's how I believe it would smell. I ate a lot of strange things in my youth.
The taste had none of the aroma's features, but was smooth and had a sort of burnt taste that was strangely enjoyable. There was an interesting lasting finish, almost a sour tip tickling me. Was it kiwi? or a fruit such as the dragon fruit, when it's not ripe yet and is barely sweet and slightly sour? Definitely something like that.
I tried a green tea Lung Ching (China) from the Zhejiang province and it was delicious! However, since I followed the instructions at home to brew it after having bought a bag, it was disappointing and not as good. I suspect they didn't steep it the same way as described on the package.
The liquor was a clear and brilliant orange peach colour and smelled like something smooth and sweet like chocolate and coconut, or Raffaello for those who have tasted the treat.
It tasted herbaceous, both marine and foresty. There was a velvet feeling at the end which made me suspect it was brewed at a higher temperature but for a shorter amount of time. Most people associate velvet with a pleasant feeling... try to lick a peach. The fuzz feels irritating on the tongue!
This tea felt like Gaspesie Fucus spiralis
 |
| Fucus Spiralis algae |
When I visited the Pheonix tea house, I tried the Pai mu tan, a white tea. There wasn't much description about it and I didn't get to smell the dry tea leaves, but I got to see the wet ones in my tea filter. They were long and full, but some parts were damaged around the edges. They were very light green to medium brown, but green dominated the bunch. It smelled like a lot of tea do in my opinion: like hay. It also smelled like farm! If you've been on a farm even a small one, especially those petting farms, you know what I'm talking about.
The liquor was dark golden and shiny. It smelled so refreshing like mint and hay together in a soothing blend.
The taste reminded me of a cheese that tasted (once again) like farm, it felt soft and round in the mouth. I felt like I could taste a point of sweet and sour. The second taste left a bit of bitterness at the end that tasted like stems (another particular I often find in teas). I think the water that was used was too hot for white tea in general. It was still very smooth with maybe a bit of passion fruit (sweet and sour).
Back at the Ronnefeldt shop a few weeks later, there were once again a few more new teas to try!
The Inverness Ceylon FBOPF Ex Special - Summer (2nd flush) - black tea
The liquor was a shiny burnt caramel colour and smelled like sweet rolls, marmalade and honey (quite a breakfast tea if you ask me!).
It tasted like the Acacia you taste from Acacia honey (if like me you like honey and have tried a few, you may have tasted the difference. The best honey so far for me, you'll be surprised, is dandelion honey. Yep, that weed people struggle every year to get rid of makes amazingly smooth, mild, sweet and hard like smooth wax honey. Amazing on toasts!). The tea was smooth. Delicious indeed!
Then the Yuncui from the province of Jiangxi, China - 2nd flush. This one is a green tea.
Its liquor was a nice sunny yellow, shiny and smelling of lemongrass and melonpan (a Japanese sweet bread with no melon in it. It just looks a bit like one, if you have a lot of imagination).
The taste was smooth and a bit like fresh hay. There was something almost sour like a fruit that is not yet ripe.
Once again I suspect some of these tea didn't have the proper water temperature and steeping times. Some teas I have not written about, even in my little booklet because they were so devoid of taste and qualities. They didn't taste like anything remarkable and felt short of disappointing. I think in this case the water was not warm enough.
While some teas tasted great, the fact that some of them had such bitterness like say a white tea, I just cannot think that it was done right. I am myself struggling with making the perfect cup of tea. While I'm not doing bad, I am simply unable to brew the perfect Gyokuro Tamahomare. I have called the Tea Association of Canada and contacted the Camellia Sinensis and none of them know what I am doing wrong. I have the right teawares, the perfect water for it and I get the temperature and the timing right. I tend to think it might be the quantity of tea I put in. I don't have a teaspoon for my tea that measures a perfect teaspoon and if I recall correctly, the people at the Camellia Sinensis put more Gyokuro tea in their teapot than what is indicated on the packages they sell. I think they told me that it was the secret to making it so smooth and marine. I really need a good teaspoon for my tea.
That was a lot of tea tasting and I'm glad I was able to try so many (and purchase so many of them too!). Tea is always a good experience. And if I may add a little note, I also tried a chai (herbal)tea made without tea and entirely with spices! Quite an interesting experience and I'll see if I can make it at home. Some ingredients I may have to subtract since I think they are more commonly found in Europe than North America and thus, cannot be found so easily here. But I'm thinking that as long as I have the main ingredients, the rest I can flavour anyway I want. Lavender sounds good to me and I'll be sure to share once I make it!
Sorry it took so long for a new post, I had to move from Germany to Canada and it was quite a task!
See you around!
