Steepings

Dao Ren Mao Feng

2009-06-06T12:57:00.003-04:00

Today I'm sipping on my all time absolute favorite tea - Harney and Son's Organic Dao Ren Mao Feng. According to the Harney website, the tea is grown at a garden in the Zhejiang Province for only a few months before the garden switches over to Gunpowder. You would never know it from the look or the taste though!

The leaves are thin and wiry. Upon smelling, unbrewed, they are naturally sweet. Once steeped, the leaves stink of sugar and sweetness. Also hints of a good vegetal smell. Smelling the tea brings to mind Sencha with about a cup of sugar added!

Sipping the tea reveals it's smooth quality - definitely a ten out of ten as far as body goes. Hardly any astringency to the brew. The sweetness of the scent doesn't carry too much into the taste of the tea - instead, it's almost like a Sencha, but less bold.

It is truly a pleasure to sip a cup of Dao Ren Mao Feng. Harney and Son's often lists it as "unavailable" though, to my dismay. But if/when they restock it, I highly recommend picking some up.

Happy Steeping!

Messing with Matcha

2009-06-05T11:51:00.003-04:00

I've been following Kevin Rose's series of videos on tea recently. He covered Matcha in his most recent video, and thus inspired me to dive into this mysterious world.
I searched around in the tea cabinet in my kitchen, and found some generic Matcha my dad picked up in a Japanese airport. It's hard to tell the quality or source, since I can't read Japanese, but the powder seemed to be alright quality - a little lumpy - and tasted fine. I prepared it in two ways:

1. Instant Iced Matcha!
I figured since Matcha is a powder, and to prepare you simply dissolve it in water, why not just prepare it with cold water? I put about a teaspoon of Matcha into a trust plastic waterbottle, poured in cold water, and shook. The result was a frothy, dark green mixture which tasted...well...like Matcha! Vegital, earthy, and very...green were the tastes that stuck out. Not bad for my first Matcha experience, but I still want to try it prepared in the traditional style.

2. Banana Soy Matcha Shake
This is an idea to which I give Kevin Rose full credit. In his Matcha video, he suggested blending a frozen banana, some soy milk, and matcha together. So I did! It turned out to be a delicious, light green, thick, creamy, cold shake. I suggest that when you make it, you make twice as much as you think you'll want...it's that good! Also, only use about 3/4-1 cup of soy milk for a serving. If you use too much, it'll make the shake come out too liquid.

Overall, I'd consider my first trials with Matcha to be a success. I enjoyed some new, tasty treats, and am now intrigued to continue my ventures into the world of Matcha!

Happy steeping!

Tiger Hill Nilgiri

2009-06-04T14:41:00.003-04:00

Before I even start to review today's tea, I first have to mention the newest piece of teaware I've acquired: my avocado-green Beehouse teapot.
To me, this teapot is perfect. I have the 16oz. size, which makes just enough for one tea session for me. The pot came with a stainless steel infuser, which sits inside. I love the infuser - no taste, no plastic (and thus, no chemicals), and plenty of room for the leaves to move around and expand.
Also, my inner ceramics geek is amazed by the construction of this teapot. Well done Beehouse!

Anyway - I just brewed up a cup of Tiger Hill Nilgiri which I purchased from local tea bar Tealuxe. This is an Indian black tea, originating from (obviously) the Tiger Hill garden in the Nilgiri province.
The brewed leaves have a distinctive Indian tea smell - kind of raunchy, kind of dirty - but the tea itself is delicious. Medium in terms of astringency and body, this tea is one of my favorite black teas. If you think you've never tried a Nilgiri, you probably have. I recall reading that Nilgiris are often used in black tea blends (such as crappy tea bags) and commercial iced teas. Thus, when sipping on a freshly brewed cup of Nilgiri, the taste is familiar. It recalls to me the taste of the tea my parents used to drink, before I became a tea snob - Bigalow Earl Grey - but without the bergamot.

If you're new to black teas, looking to expand your tastes, or looking for an introduction to loose leaf teas, Tiger Hill (or any) Nilgiri is a great choice.

Happy Steeping!