Posts

Posted on

Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage by Yunomi
Black Tea / Straight
$8.00USD for 20g

20170825-yunomiagedblack

Yunomi has provided me with Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

I was a little it surprised by how big this sample was, especially in comparison to the other 20g samples I received from Yunomi from the Takarabako Tea Farm (Shimane Oolong and Shimane Sencha Ou Midori). This black tea is aged at low temperatures and it’s a straight tea, so the only ingredient is black tea.

20170825-yunomiagedblack1

The pieces are surprisingly small, with some tiny sticks mixed in with the leaves. There’s a slightly sweet aroma from the dry leaves that reminds me a bit of dried apricots.

20170825-yunomiagedblack2

Preparation

Yunomi recommends steeping Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage at 90°C (194°F) for 3-5 minutes. My initial steep of this tea was at 4 minutes.

First Taste

Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage steeps to a deep orange. There’s a malty aroma that comes up from the tea when I poured it from my teapot to my cup. I found this tea to have a smooth mouthfeel to it when drinking it, and the malty aroma transfers into a malty flavour. There’s a touch of sweetness in the steeped tea that manages to make itself known with the malty flavours. I found that there’s a bit of a sour aftertaste with this tea, which reminds me a lot of Assam with the maltiness and sourness in that tea’s flavour profile.

20170825-yunomiagedblack3

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage twice – I found that the colour was a lot lighter with the first resteep, and even lighter still for the second. The malty flavour of this aged black tea is robust enough to hold strong for each resteep, and the slightly sour aftertaste eases up after the initial steep, making the subsequent steeps more ideal (in my mind).

20170825-yunomiagedblack4

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Yunomi’s Shimane Aged Black Tea 2015 Vintage. This aged black tea has a strong flavour profile of maltiness that would do well to replace any breakfast tea if you needed a tea that’s even stronger in the morning. Because of the Assam-like qualities, I think it could handle being doctored up with some sweetener or cream. I was more fond of the second steep than I was of the first, because the sour aftertaste was more subdued. I enjoyed this one and think it has its place at an afternoon tea party if you wanted to branch away from the standard Earl Grey.

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

Posted on

Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set

Aroma Cup Set by Tea Ave
Porcelain and Oak
$34.99

20170822-teaavearomacup

First Impressions

The Aroma Cup Set comes in beautiful packaging. The box itself is sturdy with a lovely texture feel to the outside with the Tea Ave logo in gold. The box stays close due to magnets in the flap. So nice. The aroma cup (tall cup) and the sipping cup (short cup) are nestled inside of the box in a thick black foam cut out that keeps everything safe inside. When you pull out the cups, you can pull out the foam insert. Underneath is a thick piece of black cardboard with a hole for easy removal. Under that is the smooth oak tray. It’s really quite beautiful. The porcelain feels thick and durable, all with a smooth finish. The oak tray is light but feels durable in my hands.

20170822-teaavearomacup1

20170822-teaavearomacup9

20170822-teaavearomacup2

Preparation

I washed the porcelain pieces with hot water (from the tap) to warm up the pieces before I used them in my first use with the set. I gave the oak tray a light swipe with a damp towel to get off any nonexistant dust on the surface.

20170822-teaavearomacup3

First Use

For my first use of Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set, I used a sample of Oriental Beauty that came in my order. I steeped this in my gaiwan for the recommended steeping time. I have a review of Tea Ave’s Oriental Beauty if you’re curious about the oolong that I used.

20170822-teaavearomacup4

I poured the oolong from the gaiwan into the aroma cup. I let the tea sit for about 30 seconds before I placed the sipping cup over top (it looks like a mushroom). What you want to do is pick up both of them together and (holding them tightly together!) then flip it over so that the mushroom is upside down and the sipping cup sits on the tray.

You could also pour it directly from the aroma cup to to sipping cup if you’re not confident in your cup-flipping skills. Safety first!

20170822-teaavearomacup5

20170822-teaavearomacup6

After the flip, I let the cups sit for a little while (maybe about 15-20 seconds) before I gently lifted up the aroma cup at an angle. This allows the tea to fill the sipping cup without being a bubbly mess from the air entering the aroma cup.

20170822-teaavearomacup7

Once the tea is in the sipping cup, I alternated sniffing the aroma cup and taking a sip from the sipping cup. As the tea that remains in the aroma cup dries, the smell changes.  For the Oriental Beauty, the smell in the aroma cup got sweeter and more floral as it dried. This adds an extra level of experience to a tea session. Aroma cups are generally used for teas that have complex flavour and aroma profiles, like oolongs.

20170822-teaavearomacup8

For an intense steeping session, you can continue to refill the aroma cup (and then transfer to the sipping cup) for as long as you’re steeping your tea. And for some oolongs, that can go for quite a while, especially the ones that hold up for multiple resteeps.

Overall Impression

Tea Ave’s Aroma Cup Set is darling, useful, and fun. I think it would make a great gift for someone (or to yourself) because it comes in gift-ready packaging. Using the aroma cup helps add an extra layer of experience to tea as you drink it, which I think is so important to exploring the nuances in teas – especially oolongs. I’ve used this set multiple times now and always with oolongs because I find those resteep the best, and if I’m going to pull out extra tea ware, I better be able to resteep my tea. The presentation of the Aroma Cup Set made me feel like I was unboxing something luxurious, and the pieces feel like they’re durable and high quality.

Posted on

First Edition Tea Co.’s Toronto

Toronto by First Edition Tea Co.
Green Tea / Flavoured
$13.00USD for 100g

20170818-firsteditiontoronto

First Edition Tea Co.’s Toronto came to me as part of The Sugared Teacup’s June themed subscription box.

First Impressions

Toronto came to me in a cute little sealed (and resealable) 10g sample bag – too cute! I’m a fan of nice packaging, and First Edition Tea Co. did not disappoint. Toronto is part of their Wanderlust collection which features 4 other cities from around the world (Marrakech, Paris, London, and Mumbai). Toronto is described as an “apple, peach & maple green tea”. If you’re going to make a tea inspired by a Canadian city, I think maple is kind of necessary. When I first opened up the bag, I was pleasantly surprised. The tea smells like what it described on the front. Apples? Check. Peaches? Double check. Maple? Oh yes, please.

20170818-firsteditiontoronto1

The ingredients in Toronto are: green tea, hibiscus petals, rosehips, apple pieces, orange pieces, calendula petals, safflower petals, real maple syrup, and natural flavours. If you’re confused by the lack of peaches in this apple, peach, and maple green tea, you’re not the only one. I’m hoping that the peach aroma that I can smell from the dry leaf is from the natural flavouring, or else I feel like I should be concerned.

20170818-firsteditiontoronto2

Preparation

First Edition Tea Co. recommended steeping Toronto in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 minutes. Because it is a green tea base, and I only have 10g to play with, I was a bit cautious and steeped at a lower temperature. I steeped this green tea blend at 80°C (175°F), which is the green tea setting on my Breville IQ Kettle. I did steep it for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Toronto is apparently a pink city! I think the colouring is primarily due to the hibiscus in the mix. It’s a beautiful colour. The aroma that comes up from this tea is full of apple and peaches and a hint of maple syrup. The aroma of this tea matches up so nicely with the description, I can almost forgive it for not actually containing peaches.

20170818-firsteditiontoronto4

On first sip, I find that this tea is tart. The maple adds a nice touch of sweetness to this tea that almost balances out the tartness from the hibiscus. I can taste a bit of apple, a bit of peach, and there’s a subtle but familiar vegetal taste in the background that could only be from the green tea base. With the mix of fruit, I’m not a huge fan of it as a hot tea. First Edition Tea Co. suggests this as an iced tea though, which is what I wound up doing after I let it cool to room temperature.

20170818-firsteditiontoronto6

The tartness gets a bit more subdued, but the fruitiness of the tea comes out a lot more when it’s cooled and iced. I would recommend having this tea iced.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Toronto. It was a much paler pink and it lacked the tartness from the hibiscus. I found it was primarily the green tea base shining through on this tea and not quite the same experience. While I’m a fan of green tea in general, I didn’t think this blend did a great job with a second steep.

20170818-firsteditiontoronto5

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked First Edition Tea Co.’s Toronto. While I didn’t like this green tea blend hot (or resteeped), I think the initial steep did an amazing job with being iced. Definitely have this tea iced, the tartness of the hibisicus and fruitiness of the apple and peach flavours lends itself well as an iced tea (and it’s refreshing to boot!). Because of the maple syrup, I don’t think that this tea needs any sweetener as it’s got a nice amount of sweetness already to it. Still, I’m curious about where the peaches are, but I think the flavours in this green tea blend are really nice (and would strongly recommend having this one iced only).

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