Category: Review

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Global Tea Hut – March 2018 “Swirling Mist”

March 2018 “Swirling Mist” 2004 Sheng Puerh by Global Tea Hut
Pu’erh / Straight
$20-30USD/month

Global Tea Hut has provided me with their March 2018 issue of Tea & Tao Magazine with a sample of “Swirling Mist” for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

When I was first contacted by a representative of Global Tea Hut, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A tea magazine? Why not! It came to me in the post from Asia, so it did take a little while to reach me in Canada. The magazine is a beautiful 60+ page magazine with full colour, glossy pages, and no advertisements. The March 2018 issue talks about several different locations where tea is grown, harvested, and processed. There’s even a full feature on the tea of the month, as well as a feature on a Tea Wayfarer, which I’ve come to learn is a regular feature on a Global Tea Hut member.

“Swirling Mist” is a 2004 Sheng Puerh, it came to me in a metal tin that’s lined with rice paper to help protect the tea. The aroma from the dry leaf is actually very mild, I found it to be a little bit earthy. There were some leaves that were heavily compacted, just from how the puerh was made into a cake.

Preparation

Global Tea Hut recommends steeping Swirling Mist in 98°C (208°F) water and suggested steeping it gong-fu method up to 20 times. It’s a bit of a time consuming method, consisting of very short steeps. I opted to steep in 100°C (212°F) water for an initial steep of 2 minutes.

First Taste

Swirling Mist steeps to a dark gold colour. I found that it had a smooth, pleasant mouthfeel. There’s some earthiness in the flavour – something that reminds me of mushrooms, and also sweet plums. It makes for a very pleasant cup of tea, and I don’t say that very often about pu’erhs.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Swirling Mist a total of eight times (nine steeps total). I found that the flavour stayed strong and consistent throughout, until about the sixth resteep – which is when the flavour started to decline a little bit. I added an extra 30 seconds for each additional steep and found that the tea stayed smooth and enjoyable throughout each steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Global Tea Hut’s March 2018 issue of Tea & Tao Magazine along with Swirling Mist. I really enjoyed reading the magazine, and learning more about the kind of places where tea is grown and harvested. The pu’erh was a really nice treat to have, I’ve been disappointed in the past before with pu’erh tea, so I was very pleased that I enjoyed this one. I think for the cost, you do get good value if you are interested in learning about tea farms and the process of making some of your favourite teas.

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Spice Boutique’s Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags

Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags by Spice Boutique
Paper, Cotton Drawstring
£3.95 for 50 Bags

Spice Boutique has provided me with Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was contacted by Spice Boutique to see if I wanted to try out their Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags and, of course, I said yes. Spice Boutique offers a range of sizes of bags (one cup, one pot, or extra large) in a variety of materials (either unbleached or bleached paper bags, or bags made out of corn fibre). The ones that I was sent are the unbleached paper variety.

What I learned while browsing the Spice Boutique website is that these bags contain zero plastic, are made of an unbleached paper, and have a 100% cotton drawstring. These bags are also 100% biodegradable and can be composted in your own bin (so no heat is required). And if you’re from the UK and looking to shop relatively local, these tea bags are produced in Scotland. I’m always on the lookout for some new tea products to try out, which is why I wanted to give these ones a go. It has a soft feel to the outside, they were easy to fill. The string isn’t knotted, so you do have 2 ends to the drawstring. It does allow for some flexibility in terms of either tying it around the cup handle or teapot handle.

First Use

The Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags opened easily and have a wide enough opening to accommodate my largest tea spoon, which was great when I was filling it. I poured a spoonful of loose leaf tea into the bag and then pulled the drawstrings to cinch it tight. Because I was in the process of testing it, I didn’t knot the string around the opening or knot the two ends together.

The bags aren’t very large, but they had enough room for the tea leaves to open and expand. I’d imagine that you would run into issues with a more expansive tea – like a blooming/flowering tea or oolong tea. Those would definitely require a bit more space, but for the tea I was using (Earl Grey), there was plenty of space.

I didn’t test if the bag would biodegrade. I fill in a city that collects green waste on a weekly basis, so I don’t have my own composting bin.

My Overall Impression

I loved Spice Boutique’s Unbleached Self Fill Tea Bags. Overall, I found that they did a great job. After cinching the bag tight, the string did not loosen and I did not wind up with tea leaves floating in my tea, which is always a nice bonus. I found that the drawstring was a bit damp when I went to pull it out of my tea, but that’s just the moisture of the tea wicking up the bag and string, and it would have done that with any tea bag. I really like the idea of a fully compostable tea bag – it’s amazing how many tea products out there come in plastic tea bags still!

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Lemon Lily’s London Fog

London Fog by Lemon Lily
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

Lemon Lily’s London Fog came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s April themed subscription box.

First Impressions

Lemon Lily’s London Fog came to me via The Sugared Tea Cup’s April themed subscription box (late spoilers: it was all things British in preparation for the Royal Wedding last month!). I can definitely smell the bergamot, it’s very strong and overwhelms the vanilla. I can see the pieces of vanilla bean, but smelling it is a whole other story. The black tea has some long, wiry leaves in it which is nice to see – I can’t smell them though since the bergamot is a force to be reckoned with.

London Fog consists of: black tea, vanilla bean, and natural bergamot – all organic ingredients.

Preparation

Lemon Lily recommends steeping London Fog in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep of London Fog was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

London Fog steeps to a deep reddish-brown colour. There’s a very mild vanilla aroma to it, with the bergamot being very much present (much like it was in the dry leaf). There’s a mild astringency to London Fog when I drink it, causing a little bit of a mouth pucker. I found there was a light vanilla flavour, with a slight creaminess behind each sip. The bergamot flavour is very present, with a bright citrus flavour throughout.

Given its name, I did try London Fog with a bit of sweetener (I used locally harvested honey) and evaporated milk. I found that the vanilla flavour to be more present once the bergamot had been tempered down.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped London Fog twice, adding an extra 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the first resteep was very much like the initial steep, while the second had no vanilla flavour that I could find. I would say that London Fog is good for a least one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Lemon Lily’s London Fog. I think it’s really great with some extra sweetener and milk. I found, for me, the bergamot was quite powerful and it was overwhelming the more gentler flavour of the vanilla bean and I would have liked for the vanilla to be more present. I think if the flavours had been a bit better balanced, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

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