Tag: Teakan

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Teakan’s Dian Hong

Dian Hong from Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 66g

Dian Hong is part of Teakan’s Volume 3 Exploration Kit, a collection of five single origin teas. Dian Hong makes up 15g of the 66g kit.

First Impressions

Dian Hong comes in a kraft paper pouch that’s sealed and resealable. It has a simple white label on the front and back with some information about the tea itself. This is a black tea from Feng Qing, Yunnan, China and it was harvested in autumn 2020 – something nice that came out of the pandemic! For 15g of tea, it feels more like more because it’s just such an airy tea and takes up more space.

The leaves themselves are really quite lovely – long leaves with a great array of colours from light golden yellow to a dark brown. The leaves have some lovely feathery bits to them, and you can definitely see some leaves and buds in the mix. It very much lends itself to making me think that this is a handpicked tea, because of the delicate nature of the leaves. Dian Hong has a lovely aroma to it, quite floral and it reminds me a lot of osmanthus scented oolong.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Dian Hong in 90°C (194°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes.

For the gongfu method of steeping, Teakan recommends steeping Dian Hong in 90°C (194°F) water for 10 to 15 seconds.

I opted to do the western steeping method with the recommended water temperature and did an initial steep of 2 minutes.

First Taste

Dian Hong steeps to a pretty golden yellow colour. It has a sweet floral aroma to it and it tastes basically like how it smells. Sweet, floral, with some astringency in the background that causes just a hint of dryness in the mouth at the tail end of each sip. It’s quite flavourful and I like the natural level of sweetness that is in this black tea, it reminds me a lot of honey with the floral sweetness in it. Definitely one to keep sipping on instead of taking big gulps at a time, with just that bit of astringency.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Dian Hong a total of seven times (eight steeps total!), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the tea got a bit darker and more orange before it lightened up again. It was quite flavourful with each steep and eventually got a more honeyed flavour to it and slightly less astringency as I continued to steep the same leaves. The leaves came out much more uniform in colour than they did when the leaves were dry.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Dian Hong. This was a great introduction to the Volume 3 Exploration Kit from Teakan, I thought it was a lovely black tea experience and the natural sweetness and floral flavours found in the tea leaves was just a real treat. I’m always a fan of getting to try single origin teas and it’s really great to be able to do so in an affordable manner. I would recommend Dian Hong for those who like to try new black teas, especially ones that are naturally sweet and won’t require a lot of doctoring up to make a bit more palatable.

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

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Teakan’s Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin

Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin by Teakan
Oolong Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 70g

Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin is one of five teas from Teakan’s Tea Exploration Kit (Volume 2) and makes up 15g of the 70g of loose leaf tea in this curated collection.

First Impressions

Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin came to me as part of Volume 2 of Teakan’s Tea Exploration Kit. This is the fifth/last review I’ll be writing for Volume 2 (and I’m so looking forward to when Volume 3 is released! I’m hoping for an all-oolong kit). Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin came to me in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch with a simple printed label. This is a scented oolong tea from Anxi, Fujian, China. The tea itself was harvested in autumn 2019, so a bit over a year old now.

The leaves themselves are lightly bunched, with varying shades of green that are mostly light to medium in depth of colour. The aroma is strongly that of osmanthus flowers and the tea was scented in a manner similar to how they scent jasmine green teas (keeping the flowers with the tea during the production of the tea, and then the flowers are removed). It has a strong floral with a light vanilla aroma to it, it’s very inviting and reminds me a lot of spring time because of the floral notes.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin in 90°C (194°F) water for 3 minutes (western steeping style) or for 30 seconds (gongfu steeping style). I opted for western style steeping and used water that was heated to 91°C (195°F).

First Taste

Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin steeps to a pale yellow. It has a very floral aroma with a light vanilla fragrance in the undertones. The flavour is primarily that of sweet floral, with some vanilla flavour that lingers on the tip of the tongue. There’s an almost buttery creaminess to it that kind of coats the mouth when you drink this oolong and it has a nice flavour to it.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin six times (seven steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The floral quality of the flavour stays throughout and is fairly consistent, while the vanilla notes deepens initially and then begins to fade. The flavour stays very pleasant throughout and I would recommend resteeping this oolong as much as you care to do so.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Osmanthus Tie Guan Yin. This made for a really nice steeping experience between admiring the dry leaf, the first taste, and the multiple resteeps. It just has a nice flavour and aroma to it, and is very easy to drink and slurp down. I even allowed a cup or two to cool to room temperature and it also tasted pretty good cold, so I think it’d be a great candidate as iced tea or cold steeped.

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

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Teakan’s Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling

Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling by Teakan
Black Tea / Straight
$30.00 for 70g

Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling is one of five teas from Teakan’s Tea Exploration Kit (Volume 2) and makes up 15g of the 70g of looseleaf tea in this curated collection.

First Impressions

Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling comes in a sealed, resealable kraft paper pouch. The label is the minimalistic style that I’ve come to know and love from Teakan. I have to admit, I do appreciate the not-so-flashy packaging from time to time because it really allows for the tea to shine instead of me being overly impressed by something fancy. For those curious like I was, I did look up Margaret’s Hope, and it’s a tea estate in Darjeeling. The name comes from the original owner’s daughter, who passed away after a visit on her way back to England. Margaret’s Hope Tea Estate is also the location where the labourers of the West Bengal’s tea industry first organized in 1955 to protest against low wages and unfair working conditions.

Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling has some deep, dark brown leaves with some pops of cream mixed in. This straight black tea is from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India and is the 2nd flush (second harvest) of 2018. There’s something heavy about the aroma of the dry leaf – earthy, sweet, grassy. A perplexing and intriguing blend of aromas all around. The leaves are on the shorter side, a bit wiry with a light twist.

Preparation

Teakan recommends steeping Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling in 85°F (185°F) for 2 to 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of 3 minutes.

First Taste

Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling steeps to a bright golden orange. The aroma of the tea is very similar to the dry leaf – more earthy and sweet than grassy, but the grassy aroma is in the background. The texture of this tea is nice – there’s a thickened mouthfeel to the tea that just allows everything to really coat the inside of your mouth. The flavour is pleasantly sweet, with a hint of astringency that rests with the grassy notes while the earthiness is more forward and really just tickles the taste buds throughout each sip. Just a pleasant to sip cup of tea.

I didn’t add anything to Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling as I felt that the flavour really stood well by itself. I do, however, feel like this would be an excellent tea to mix with some sweetener or cream, if you were so inclined.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling twice (three steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the initial steep was the most flavourful, but I didn’t have any issues with the slightly less flavour in the other two steeps. It was still very enjoyable cups of tea, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend resteeping this black tea.

My Overall Impression

I loved Teakan’s Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling. I felt like this black tea just made for a nice cup of tea. It has a pleasant mix of flavours that were all well balanced together and did a decent job with being resteeped. It has a nice texture to it and was just easy to drink with just enough of a punch of caffeine that I could see this easily being had in the wee hours of the morning when waking up before a day shift, or anyone who needs to pull an all-nighter for school.

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