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Teakan’s Sheng (raw) Pu’er

Sheng (raw) Pu’er by Teakan
Pu’erh Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 66g

Sheng (raw) Pu’er is part of Teakan’s Volume 3 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Sheng (raw) Pu’er makes up 16g of the 66g kit.

First Impressions

Sheng (raw) Pu’er comes in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch. There is that familiar labelling from Teakan, and I’m sad that this is the last of the teas from Volume 3 for me to review. I saved the pu’erh for last because I find pu’erh teas to be the most intimidating. I know a lot of people either really love or really dislike pu’erh and I’m one of those people who sort of falls in the middle. I love some pu’erh, and think others are kind of awful and lead to a terrible taste in my mouth.

Sheng Pu’er comes in a flat square puck. The colouring of the leaves is quite pretty  – there’s a huge variation in colour from pale cream to greens and browns. It’s honestly really quite nice to look at. Sheng Pu’er is from Yongde, Yunnan, China and was harvested in spring 2020 – so it hasn’t had a very long time to age. The tea itself has a very strong aroma to it – it reminds me a lot of dark green leafy vegetables (think gailan, broccoli, brussel sprouts).

Preparation

Teakan recommends using 2.5g for western style steeping, using 90°C (194°F) water for 3 minutes or 4g for gongfu style steeping, using 90°C (194°F) water for a rinse, followed by a 10-15 second steep.

If you don’t have a scale, it’s pretty easy. As each puck is 8g, you’ll either use approximately ¼ for western style steeping or ½ for gongfu style steeping. I opted to do western style steeping and did an initial steep for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Sheng Pu’er initially steeps to a nice yellow colour. It has a strong aroma that is earthy, floral, and still reminding me of dark green leafy vegetables. The flavour is surprisingly floral, with an earthy/mushroom-y flavour to it. There is an interesting mouthfeel to it, it’s full-bodied, with an almost drying texture in my mouth. The tea itself has a bit of an astringency that lasts from mid sip to the aftertaste. The mild umami notes from the mushroom notes really give it a savoury kick.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Sheng Pu’er five times, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colouring of the tea itself got darker, becoming a deep, almost brownish orange. The flavour of Sheng Pu’er gets more earthy and vegetal, and less floral. That astringency I found in the initial steep continues throughout and doesn’t put me off (surprisingly).

My Overall Impression

I liked Teakan’s Sheng Pu’er. I’m not a huge pu’erh tea drinker – and this is something that I completely own up to. That said, I did enjoy drinking Sheng Pu’er and the ability to resteep it and taste it as it subtly shifts in flavour was a real treat. I don’t think it’s one that I’ll have stocked in the tea stash, if only because pu’erh isn’t something that I routinely reach for (maybe that’ll change one day, and then I’ll be kicking myself for not having more of it).

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Masters Teas’ Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun

Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun by Masters Teas
Green Tea / Straight
$29.00USD for 1.5oz

Masters Teas has provided me with Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun comes in a sealed, resealable pouch from Masters Teas. I’m always a fan of trying out single origin teas because it’s just such a treat to experience the subtle flavours that come from a single origin tea – something that you just don’t get when it comes to having a blended tea. For instance, an Earl Grey created by a large tea company blends black teas from different sources to create a consistent flavour – but with a single origin tea, from a specific harvest, allows you to experience the flavours created from a very specific area, at a specific time. Year to year comparisons allow you to taste the difference from soil nutrients, amount of rainfall, and the distance from sea level.

Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun is a beautiful twisted green tea leaf. It has a sweet aroma that is fruity and floral to me. There’s a lot of yellow ‘fluff’ to it. This was recently discussed by Nicole of Tea For Me Please on her Instagram – that fluff is trichomes! The natural little hairs that exist on the tea leaves to help protect them from UV damage via the sun, and is generally a sign of a higher quality tea. Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun comes from Anhui, China and was harvested April 2021.

Preparation

While there were no steeping instructions on the sample packaging, I was easily able to find that information from the product page on the Masters Teas website.

Masters Teas recommends steeping Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun in 170°F (77°C) water for 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun steeps to a lovely pale yellow colour. The aroma is floral and sweet, it has something about that makes me think of summer. The flavour of this tea is lightly fruity – reminding me of Bartlett pears, with some sweet floral flavours that linger on the tongue throughout each sip. I found that the tea itself has a bit of a thickened mouthfeel to it, that left me wanting more. There’s no astringency, but just something about it that was almost drying.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun a total of six times, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found the tea to get more floral and less fruity with each steep, while the sweetness got richer. The colouring became more golden as I went. Also, just check out those amazing leaves – the leaves are a bright and vibrant green.

My Overall Impression

I loved Masters Teas’ Tai Lake Pi Luo Chun. This was a lovely treat to experience, getting to try such a recently harvested single origin green tea. The flavour of the tea is fruity and floral, and I enjoyed each sip as I went through all of the resteeps of the same leaves. I would highly recommend resteeping the leaves if you have the time, and also enjoying it cooled or iced for a bit of summer refreshment.

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Dessert by Deb’s Cereal Milk

Cereal Milk by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

The idea of a ‘cereal milk’ tea really intrigues me. After all, anyone who’s grown up eating kids cereal knows the added bonus of the sweetened milk when all the cereal is gone – my favourite to do this with would have definitely been cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios or Lucky Charms. Added bonus of being an adult now and getting to decide for myself that no, I don’t want Corn Flakes. So the idea of Cereal Milk really invokes a sense of nostalgia within me, which is always a nice feeling when it’s happy moments.

Cereal Milk comes in a matte silver sealed, resealable pouch with a colourful label from Dessert by Deb. Always cheerful and fun to see, the information about the tea is on the front and it’s always nice to be reminded that the teas from Dessert by Deb are all hand blended in small batches in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Such a labour of love putting together all these blends (and subscription boxes!).

Cereal Milk is a vibrant, beautiful tea blend. Cereal Milk consists of organic: black tea, natural cream flavour, coconut, calendula petals, and pink cornflower petals. I mean, just look at those colours! Bright pops of yellow and pink against the sea of black tea and coconut flakes. The aroma is strongly of coconut, cream, and something that makes me think of vanilla. It’s really pleasant and inviting, and does remind me a bit of Lucky Charms (disclaimer: it’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten Lucky Charms… Maybe I should have used this as an excuse to buy a box, for science?).

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Cereal Milk in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Cereal Milk steeps to a golden orange colour. The aroma is a blend of the coconut, cream and a distinct aroma note of black tea that makes me think of an Assam or Darjeeling black tea. Taste wise, Cereal Milk didn’t disappoint! There’s a creaminess that I was expecting that reminds me of the milk part of what’s left behind when the cereal is gone from the bowl, but then there’s also light floral notes, coconut, a bit of fruity notes that perhaps come from the black tea, and then also hints of vanilla which I’m still trying to figure out where it’s from (the black tea base? the cream flavouring? my brain conjuring up flavours that only exist in my mind?). It has a beautiful mouthfeel to it, it sort of all encompasses the mouth and it has just the right amount of sweetness that definitely makes me think of (sugary kid’s) cereal.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Cereal Milk, but found that a lot of the supporting flavours that invoke the idea of the leftover milk from a bowl of cereal to be missing. I would recommend Cereal Milk for just the first steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Cereal Milk. As far as the nostalgia factor, Cereal Milk does not disappoint and somehow tastes like the milk leftover from a bowl of sugary sweet kids cereal – aside from the fact that I had this hot instead of cold. The flavour is on-point in my opinion, especially with the cream flavouring to really put yourself in the mindset that this is cereal milk. I will have to try this as a tea latte, as I think it would do really well and I would likely add just a little bit of sweetener to really make it that sugary sweet cereal milk that I loved as a kid. I’m still not quite sure where I’m finding that vanilla note from, although my best guess would be from the cream flavouring – but I like it!

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