Posts

Posted on

Teakan’s Red Plum Black

Red Plum Black by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 65g

Red Plum Black is part of Teakan’s Volume 5 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Red Plum Black makes up 15g of the 65g kit.

First Impressions

As part of Teakan’s Volume 5, Red Plum Black came in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with a black and white label. This black tea comes from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, and was harvested in spring of 2021. The aroma of this black tea reminds me of plum, stone fruit, and then with a light amount of floral.

The leaves of Red Plum Black are short, wiry, twisted and in dark shades of brown with pops of gold in the tips. The fruity aroma is much stronger once the leaves are out of the bag, and it reminds me of candied plums – just a bit of the childhood coming back to the front of my mind.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Red Plum Black in 90°C (194°F) for 2 to 3 minutes if steeping western style or 95°C (203°F) for 45 seconds if steeping gongfu style.

I opted to do an initial steep of Red Plum Black in 90°C water for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Red Plum Black steeps to a lovely golden orange colour with a crisp, stone fruit aroma. It is fragrant and inviting, with a nice fruity aroma that is quite inviting. The flavour of the tea is fruity with a surprisingly floral finish at the end of each sip. There’s a natural honeyed sweetness which is enjoyable, and it has a smooth mouthfeel. I find that there’s no maltiness, astringency or bitterness for the length of time I steeped Red Plum Black for.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Red Plum Black seven times (eight steeps total with the same leaves). I added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour got more fruity and less floral with each steep, but started to weaken in amount of flavour after the third resteep. The sweetness lessens by the second resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Red Plum Black. It was a pleasant experience from start to finish – enjoying the aroma of the dry leave, tasting the tea for the first time, and then having all the resteeps of the same leaves. It’s lovely to experience the subtle changes in the flavour with each steep, and I truly enjoyed getting to sip this tea over the course of an afternoon. I think it would be a lovely traditional black tea to introduce someone to, who’s normally used to black tea blends.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Sweet Snickerdoodles

Sweet Snickerdoodles by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

As part of my bimonthly tea subscription box from Dessert by Deb, Sweet Snickerdoodles was a tea sample. It came in a bright purple metallic pouch with a white and black label on the front. This blend consists of certified organic: black tea, vanilla, cinnamon, Canadian maple, honeybush, brown sugar, and calendula petals.

The aroma of Sweet Snickerdoodles is strongly of cinnamon, maple, brown sugar, and vanilla. It smells like baking and it’s so inviting that way! I love it when a blend that has a name of a dessert or baked good actually smells like baking – the vanilla and brown sugar really helps in that regard. Also, it’s just a really pretty blend to look at.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Sweet Snickerdoodles in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I did an initial steep of Sweet Snickerdoodles for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Sweet Snickerdoodles steeps to a golden orange, little bits of the tea blend escaped the stainless steel tea infuser that I had used. The aroma is a lot like the dry leaf – it smells like vanilla, maple, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The flavour mimics the aroma well – I can taste the warming quality of the cinnamon, it has a good amount of sweetness (from the maple and brown sugar), there’s the flavour of molasses from the brown sugar, and the vanilla rounds out the flavour profile very well. I find the black tea base is gently in the background, allowing all the flavours to shine.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sweet Snickerdoodles, but found the the flavour wasn’t as good as the initial steep. I would recommend Sweet Snickerdoodles just for the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Sweet Snickerdoodles. I found that the flavour was pleasant, and while I’m not terrible familiar with snickerdoodles, it did remind me of a pastry. I think the blend of ingredients works well, because it reminds me a lot of a cinnamon roll – I love the inclusion of vanilla and brown sugar, it makes for a great dessert blend. I think if you’re to add some sweetener, brown sugar would be the best bet – and using some evaporated milk would help add some creaminess. It’d be a nice blend to have with afternoon tea.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN)’s Long Jing Tea

Long Jing by Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN).
Green Tea / Straight
$12.99 for 125g

First Impressions

So I picked up this large tin of Long Jing at my local Asian grocery store – primarily on a whim and also because I was curious about the quality that I would get for $12.99 when it was a whooping 125g of tea. I’m a fan of dragon well, as I’ve mentioned before both here on the blog and on Instagram.

The tin itself was shrink wrapped. The lid is a good fit, which helps with keeping the tea from getting stale. The tea itself came in a pouch that is not resealable, but the leaves of this Long Jing are as expected. Various shades of green, long flat leaves. The aroma is a bit grassy, vegetal. It smells like most other dragon wells that I’ve experienced before. There’s a lot of tea in this package, so I’m hoping it’s not terrible because I will have a lot to drink otherwise. The labelling on the tin describes Long Jing as longjing tea and it is a product of China.

Preparation

YJN recommends steeping Long Jing in “hot water”, with no recommendation for temperature.

Whenever that comes up, I use my standard temperatures and length of steeping times for tea.

I did use the green tea setting on my Breville IQ Kettle, which is 175°F (79°C), and I steeped Long Jing for 2 minutes. If it’s my first time steeping a particular green tea, and I’m unfamiliar with that specific one, I’ll opt to use a shorter steep time to prevent a bitter, astringent cup of tea.

First Taste

Long Jing steeps to a light yellow. It’s got a mild aroma that is slightly grassy, and a bit floral. The flavour of Long Jing is lightly sweet, floral, and grassy – just as it smells. There’s just a touch of creaminess to it, and just a light dryness at the tail end of each sip. There’s no bitterness or astringency noted after the steep time of two minutes that I did for the initial steep of Long Jing.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Long Jing four times (five steeps total with the same leaves), and I opted to add an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep of the same leaves. The flavour remains fairly consistent, I thought it got a bit more floral and less grassy with each steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN)’s Long Jing. It makes for a nice cup of green tea, and the flavour profile of Long Jing ticks all the boxes that I was expecting to find in a dragon well. The tea steeps beautifully, and resteeps nicely as well. And for the price and quality (and quantity!) of Long Jing, I’m pleasantly surprised with how it steeps and resteep! I would highly recommend resteeping this Long Jing, and it’s of a good enough quality that I would serve it to my parents (who like dragon well).

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.