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Thay Tea’s Honey Bee

Honey Bee by Thay Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured

I received Thay Tea’s Honey Bee as a birthday gift in 2021, so I did not attempt to find the pricing on the Thay Tea website (but it’s linked above).

First Impressions

Honey Bee came to me as a birthday gift – and I’m always happy to receive tea, especially when it’s from a company that is new to me. Thay Tea is based in Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada and has a focus on organic looseleaf blends. The tea comes in a white sealed, resealable pouch with a white label across the front. It’s not cluttered, and has all the information that I’m looking for when it comes to trying a tea for the first time.

Honey Bee is a black tea blend that consists of: black tea, flower pollen mixture (safflower, marigold, and rose), natural flavour, and marigold flowers. You can see the tiny little balls of pollen in the blend, which is always fun. If you’re a sufferer of seasonal allergies, you’ll know that (local to you) bee pollen is commonly used for helping to decrease the symptoms of seasonal allergies – anything to help me sneeze less is greatly appreciated, especially with all that’s been going on the last two years. The aroma of Honey Bee is sweetly floral, with an almost malty fragrance to the black tea base. It’s nicely inviting with the honeyed notes.

Preparation

Thay Tea recommends steeping Honey Bee in 95-100°C (203-212°F) water for 3 to 4 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Honey Bee with 100°C (212°F) water for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Honey Bee steeps to a medium orange, with just little flecks that managed to escape my stainless steel infuser basket. The aroma of Honey Bee is floral, there’s a certain amount of honey sweetness, and then there’s the malty notes from the black tea base. The flavour reflects the aroma of the tea very well – with the floral and honey flavours, with the malty flavours of the black tea that are also just a smidge astringent. I found that the honey notes add a nice amount of sweetness to the blend, but it isn’t cloyingly sweet. It has a nice balance with the floral notes.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Honey Bee, but found that the honey notes were missing in the second steep – most likely because the pollen had suspended itself into the tea during the initial steep. If you’re a fan of the honey flavours in Honey Bee, I would recommend Honey Bee for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Thay Tea’s Honey Bee. There’s something playfully fun about Honey Bee. The use of pollen to add that floral flavour and honey sweetness makes for a nice blend. The black tea base adds a much needed malty flavour that make Honey Bee into a not-just-sweet tea, which makes it potentially pair well with a savoury treat. I would hazard a guess that it would take some cream well to add an extra level of decadence to Honey Bee – and if you need to add some sweetener, I would highly recommend honey over anything else.

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

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Dessert by Deb’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie by Dessert by Deb
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Arriving in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie came in a matte gold pouch with a polka dot label. The pouch is sealed (and resealable), and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie is part of Dessert by Deb’s Little Country Kitchen Collection. It’s an herbal tisane with a name that invokes a certain idea of aroma and taste.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie consists of: honeybush, cacao nibs, Canadian maple, cinnamon, and dark chocolate. The aroma is strongly cinnamon and chocolate, and it reminds me a lot of a cookie. I don’t get oatmeal vibes, but the chocolate really makes itself noticeable.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie in 212°F (100°C) water for 6 to 7 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 7 minutes.

First Taste

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie steeps to an orange-brown, with a slight oil slick across the top – which I would attribute to the cacao nibs and dark chocolate, which naturally contains oils. The aroma is chocolatey, with hints of vanilla and floral notes. I find it has some nice cinnamon notes to it, that reminds me of baked goods.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie, but found the flavour didn’t compare to the initial steep. So I would recommend steeping Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. I found the flavour to be nice with the chocolate chips, and the cinnamon. I would think the cookie flavour would come across better if there was also vanilla in the mix, just to oomph up the flavour. I would like it with some sweets, and cookies. The sweetness in this blend is just the right balanced with the rest of the flavour profile.

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

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Learn to Steep: Gongfu Style

What is gongfu steeping? Gongfu, also known as kungfu, literally translates to “effort” or “skill” – and it is a steeping method that comes from Ming Dynasty, China.

Gongfu steeping involves a gaiwan, or a similarly sized teapot – which typically holds approximately 100-150mL. A gaiwan is a porcelain vessel that translates to “lidded bowl” – and consists of a saucer, bowl, and lid. The big difference between gongfu steeping and a western style of steeping is the size of a vessel (I have teapots that can hold up to 1L!), the ratio of tea leaves to water, and the length of time for a steep.

A gongfu steeping session begins with warming up the bowl with some heated water, so the porcelain retains heat better. Then you pour the water out, add tea leaves in (~5g of tea leaves), and then add water into the bowl. You’ll want to put in more tea leaves that you’d expect – there’s room for the tea to expand in the bowl!

The type of tea leaves to steeped gongfu vary – I use my gaiwan to steep green, white, and oolong teas – and I stick with traditional/straight teas (no blends!).

Each steep in gongfu steeping is short – think 5 to 10 seconds. Basically, as soon as you’ve poured water over your leaves, you should be thinking about pouring the tea back out. Because of the multiple short steeps, you’ll be able to get many steeps out of the same leaves – upwards of 10-20 resteeps of the same leaves.

And with each steep, the leaves will open up even more.

You can drink directly out of a gaiwan, by using the lid to keep the tea leaves in the bowl. But for gongfu, you’ll pick up the bowl (with the lid) and quickly pour the tea into a cup or a (small) pitcher to share the tea from.

In some tea sets, this is referred to as a fairness pitcher and you should be able to fill multiple (small) tea cups from it. Chinese tea cups are significantly smaller than mugs or tea cups, they can hold about 25-50mL each.

Depending on your practice, you might spill some tea. If you’re going to pour the tea, commit! And hope for the best. I do keep a tea towel within hand’s reach when I’m practicing gongfu steeping. It’s a process that takes some practice, especially with holding the gaiwan, so I’d recommend practicing the hold when it’s empty (so you don’t spill hot tea on your fingers).

What’s your preferred style for steeping your tea?