Yellow tea review (wow wow!) Jun Shan Huang Mao Jian

Edited post on the 22nd of August 2014 for the new tea blog

Today is special! I review a type of tea that is often forgotten. Some say it doesn't exist... I beg to differ, you unbelievers!
Yellow tea is very real, very rare and precious...

I bought a few yellow teas from the Camellia Sinensis Store in Montreal and I thought my blog -- and you guys -- deserved to get a yellow tea review!

Without further ado, here it comes! Slowly, mellowly and deliciously:

Jun Shan Huang Mao Jian

from the Chinese gardens of Jun Shan Island, sold by the Camellia Sinensis store in Montreal

 http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/jun-shan-huang-mao-jian

This tea was processed in the Mao Jian style as stated in the name.

Dry leaf:

• Curled twisted leaves
• White fuzzy leaves amongst dark green ones
• Light mimosa flower smell, with a hint of peach and cream
• Creamy sweetness to it with honey wax scent

Steeping method: teapot (500ml / 2 cups yield)

5 minutes - 2 cups (500 ml) of water - 3 teaspoons of tea - 80C

Liquor: 

• Clear and shiny with a creamy viscosity to it
• Fragrant
• Light peach/ apricot, creamy smell
• Soapy mimosa smell, hay and sweet notes
• Yellow-hay colour

Taste:

• Clear taste, light sourness
• Sweet, no bitterness
• Flowery aftertaste reminding me of rose petals and how they almost feel bitter but aren't
• Light jammy feeling like raspberry or strawberry jam (as opposed to jellies)
• Some astringency
• Hay with some light mineral or metallic taste but that could have been me and not the tea as I've had this tea before and don't recall any metallic taste
• Smooth in the mouth
• Taste is light and delicate like a white tea and long in mouth
• Round and flowing
• Ascending notes that dissipate quickly into a less complex taste
• Mild spices like cinnamon and vanilla final
• Mild greenness to it

Wet leaf:

• Uncurled buds, some bud and 1 leaf duos
• Creamy medium yellow-green colour
• Chocolatey, cinnamon, asparagus, green, and mild spices smell

 I like yellow teas very much. If you like white teas and don't mind that they are so delicate this could be for you. Let me just make one thing clear: some say white teas lack flavour, and it can be true depending on the quality of white teas you've had... I had the chance to compare different qualities of the same tea; lower-end white teas do lack flavours. However, it is something that is less likely to happen (in my opinion) with yellow teas as they are already hard to get. Small farms will produce them and the yield is usually pretty small. So what I think is that very little tea selling shops will go to the trouble of sourcing them if they aren't of good quality as they tend to be rather pricy, both for the tea shop owner and the customer... but so worth it! I once had a yellow tea (not this one) that tasted different every time I had it (in a zhong). Once it even tasted like gingerbread and I fell in love with it. Maybe I will review it someday, but that one is very pricy as well so you'll all have to be patient!

I would say that compared to white teas, yellow teas are a bit stronger in taste, and may offer a broader palette of flavours and aromas, but are as delicate.

Happy tasting and may you end up with amazing discoveries...

Imari Sencha Imperial 2013 - The delicacy of the month - Green Tea Review

Edited post on the 22nd of August 2014 for the new tea blog

Four days, two posts. Not bad, right? I'll be starting class again next week, but by now I want to review another tea!

Yesterday I tested (my papilla are still very happy) the Imari Sencha Imperial 2013 by Chakoan. Right from the start, I'll let you know; I gave it 4.9/5!
Why is it .1 away from perfection? Because I still hope there is something better yet to come!

I've had delicious teapots of already prepared Gyokuro Tamahomare at the Camellia Sinensis Tea house and since it's a very expensive tea, I've been hoping to find its equal, in a more affordable format. Little did I know I would find it in a Sencha! I simply love this newly discovered tea and will make sure my house never runs out of it.

Here are my notes on it...

Imari Shencha Imperial 2013

by Chakoan

Dry leaf:

• Smells like vibrant, very green, fresh cut grass and chocolate truffles
• Fine needles, a few of them larger and flatter
• The leaves are mostly dark green colour with the larger bits being medium green
• Barely springy, breaks easily

1st Steeping Senchado technique
1.5 minutes - ~ 30 ml teacup of water - 2 heaped teaspoons - 80C

Liquor:

• Light yellow-green colour
• Little specks are floating on the surface
• Not completely clear, but shiny
• Smells like buttery chocolate (I guess like butter icing), warm rich truffles, seaweed and green
• Intense like a good Gyokuro Tamahomare (It's that name again!)
• Sweet buttery smell, vanilla
• Aromatic and generous

Liquor:

• Cooked veggies, asparagus, vegetal, almost like almonds
• Light bitterness in the back of the mouth that is truly delicious
• Buttery asparagus, seaweed, sweet, umami
• A little astringent, oily, flowing with a roundness in mouth
• Smooth and thick, it is ample, full and long in the mouth

Wet leaves:

• Nice medium unfurled leaves, small pieces are found mixed amongst them
• Shiny and soft-looking
• Buttery asparagus smell that is almost mineral

2nd Steeping Senchado technique
30 seconds - ~ 30 ml teacup of water - the same 2 heaped teaspoons - 80C

Liquor:

• A greener-yellow colour compared to the first steeping
• Little specks are still found floating on the surface
• Not completely clear, but shiny
• Smells sweet like cupcake icing that is green tea flavoured
• Buttery, green, milder in smell, seaweed is still a bit present, and white chocolate notes appear

 Taste:

• Lighter and more watery (still not enough to deter me)
• Cooked asparagus
• Light umami taste in cheek
• Unctuous with a roundness that is still exquisite, flowing, smooth and thick in mouth
• Less ample and full than the first steeping but remains long in the mouth
• A little astringency and very light bitterness to it

This tea would be my recommendation of the year if it weren't for the fact that the year is still young and I'm still hopeful. I'm waiting for this moment where I will sit, taste, and time will stop. I'll be shaken out of my marvellous torpor a few days later by an alarmed husband or a cat jumping on me thinking I'm a new scratching post that looks like the mistress.

Remember those links I shared on previous posts for yunomi coupons? well now is the time to try them and experience awe in the mouth! :)
Aufwiedersehen!

Houjicha 2012 by the Ogose Tea Farm - Green Tea Review

Edited post on the 22nd of August 2014 for the new tea blog

Hello readers!

I bought some teas last year around summer time and recently found that unopened package of Houjicha from Japan. I was blessed today with a baby-free day so I did a lot of things... Amongst them was to taste a new tea! I also received a nice book for Christmas: The Tea Drinker's Handbook by François-Xavier Delmas, Mathias Minet and Christine Barbaste. I noticed all those names were French so I wondered if this was a translation of a French version... After a little research it turned out that yes, the original is French and VERY pricy. I'll stick with the English one, thank you! It was the same for the "Thé" book versus "Tea", the translated version was much cheaper (which I purchased of course)! My tea-related book collection is starting to look very well. I own about 11 of them some even in German and some about etiquette, even one about a Japanese samurai's experience on tea. But enough of my vain and proud rambling about books, onward to tea!

For the tea review of today, I give it a 4/5, which is almost too high, but I found I just really liked how good this tea made me feel. I'd drink it every few days no problem (Gotta leave some space for other teas.)!

And just for reference, here is what I mean when I say the liquor colour is "ocre":

From Wikipedia about the colour "Ocre"

Houjicha 2012

By the Ogose Tea Farm in Japan

Dry leaf:

• Rough medium length and large needles
• Colours of dried autumn leaves: medium to dark greens and browns with a little light browns
• Dry feeling in the hand with a little spring left in it
• Smells of nuts, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, sweet, earthy, honeyed nuts

1st Steeping (Senchado technique)
30 seconds - ~30 ml teacup of water - 1 heaped teaspoon - 100C

Liquor:

• Ocre colour with a little peach colour
• Dust at the bottom of the cup
• Clear and a little shiny
• Smells like sunflower seeds, smoke and hazelnuts
• Pollen sweet aroma

Taste:

• Cantaloupe attack, melon fruits, sweet
• Low astringency, powdery
• Medium-small body
• A bit silky (supple, slightly oily liquor)
• Watery texture
• Little smoked hazelnut taste that fades slowly

Wet leaves:

• Dark green and brown
• Very shiny
• Very aromatic (floral-like) like a cross between a lightly oxidized wulong and a little nutty like a longer oxidized wulong

2nd Steeping (Senchado technique)
15 seconds - ~30 ml teacup of water - 1 heaped teaspoon - 100C

 Liquor:

•  Lighter ocre-peach  colour than the 1st steeping
• Dust at the bottom of the cup
• Clear and a little shiny
• Smells almost floral like a short oxidized wulong
• Smells like smoked hazelnuts and (not smoked) sunflower seeds
• Pollen sweet aroma

Taste:

• Mild watered down hazelnut palate with a lingering sunflower seed taste
• A little more robust in the middle (as opposed to start and finish tastes) which gives it a slightly stronger body at that moment
• A bit silky, water texture
• A little sour finish not unlike green apples

While I think this tea definitely lacked body, I found that both steepings brought something interesting and worth tasting. That cantaloupe peak at the start of the first tasting was realy surprising and a little exiting! I didn't expect cantaloupe and I liked it. I found that the cantaloupe was more noticeable if I slurped the tea with a spoon so you might want to try that if you fail to find the taste. Then again, you might find something totally different and quite as interesting! I'd like to hear about that.
The 2nd steeping brought a bit more body, but just as I thought it was a bit boring, the sour green apple taste kicked in! Yum yum for green apples.

If you find yourself trying any Houjicha, don't be shy and share your thoughts on it!

Ja matta ne~