Tag: The Chinese Tea Shop

Blooming Green Tea by The Chinese Tea Shop
Green Tea / Flavoured
$35.95 for 200g

First Impressions

The Chinese Tea Shop’s Blooming Green Tea was a purchase at the most recent Vancouver Tea Festival (and I’m just writing about it now – shame on me!). If you’ve been reading here for a while now, or following me on Instagram (@onemoresteep), you will know that I’m a sucker for a good blooming/flowering tea. The unfortunate thing about blooming teas is that they are just not cheap – it takes skill to make them and they’re just beautiful to watch unfold and bloom in your teapot. I always recommend steeping one of these in a clear glass teapot (or teacup, if that’s more of your style) just so you can watch the magic happen.

So the bag I had bought contains seven different shapes (designs). These tea leaves are tied together, by hand, using silk thread. There’s not even a little hint from the dry tea ball about what colour the flowers are on the inside. The aroma from this little ball is sweet floral, with a light background of the green tea.

Preparation

There weren’t any steeping instructions on the packaging. I filled up a glass teapot with water that was heated to 79°C (175°F) and dropped the ball in. I waited until it had fully bloomed prior to pouring myself a cup – the whole process took about 2 minutes (120 seconds).

First Taste

Blooming Green Tea steeps to a pale orange, with a pleasant floral aroma. There’s a nice sweetness to this tea, which is capitalized by the fact that there is no bitterness or astringency given the length of time I steeped it for. This flowering tea made for a smooth cup of tea and it was very pleasant to drink.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Blooming Green Tea twice (three times total) and found that the floral flavours stayed present throughout. A few petals and tea leaves were knocked loose each time I filled up the teapot, which wasn’t too much of a hassle for me to pull it out.

The flowers are really quite beautiful. I’m not an expert, but I believe they are globe amaranth, chrysanthemum, and jasmine.

My Overall Impression

I loved The Chinese Tea Shop’s Blooming Green Tea. There is just something really relaxing about watching a ball of tea open up and ‘bloom’. If you’ve never had the opportunity to try one, I definitely recommend it. It’s just a lovely experience to watch – and the fact that the tea is tasty and holds up to resteeping doesn’t hurt either!

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Dongting Pi Lo Chun Green Tea by The Chinese Tea Shop
Green Tea / Straight
$12.95 for 25g

First Impressions

Dongting Pi Lo Chun Green Tea is also known as Dongting Bi Lo Chun. Bi lo chun means green snail spring, based on the shape of the tea leaves and when the tea leaves were harvested. I picked up this green tea at The Chinese Tea Shop’s vendor booth at the Vancouver Tea Festival. The tea came to me in a resealable plastic bag – clear on one side and white on the other (which isn’t terrible since I keep my tea out of light).

This straight green tea came from a private farm, located on Dongting Mountain, Jiangsu Province, China. The tea leaves are thin, about 1-2 cm in length. The dark leaves have a slight curl to them, and are covered with feathery white down. The aroma from the dry leaf is primarily that of a light floral fragrance that comes from tea leaves.

Preparation

While there were no steeping instructions on the packaging, The Chinese Tea Shop website has a tea brewing guide (17 page PDF). For green tea, it’s recommended 75-80°C (167-176°F). For the length of time, the guide assumes everyone is steeping gongfu style – and has times ranging from 6 seconds to 10 seconds. However, I’m not steeping that method. My first steep was for 1 minute with 175°F water (heated in my Breville IQ Kettle with the green tea setting).

First Taste

Dongting Pi Lo Chun Green Tea steeps incredibly pale yellow after the first minute. The initial steep has a very subtle aroma. It’s a light mix of floral, sweetness, and saltiness that I smell.  The tea is smooth, and has an almost grassy flavour to it. There’s a mild saltiness that reminds me of seaweed, with just a hint of floral sweetness at the end of each sip. At the length of time I steeped it for, I noted zero astringency or bitterness.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Dongting Pi Lo Chun Green Tea a total of 5 times (6 steeps total). I kept the water temperature the same and increased the steeping duration for an additional 15 seconds per subsequent steep. I found that the tea got a little bit darker in colour and became a light yellow. The flavour was the most intense by the third steep, but remained the same in terms of complexity and the overall flavour profile.

My Overall Impression

I loved The Chinese Tea Shop’s Dongting Pi Lo Chun Green Tea. I wasn’t blown away by the initial steep of this tea, but I would liken it to the dress rehearsal while the subsequent steeps were opening night and there rest of the nightly performances. I found the flavours to be nicely balanced – salty and sweet, floral sweetness versus the umami of the salty seaweed. It resteeps very well, and I quite enjoyed having it again and again. Because of the balance of salty and sweet, I would suggest that this tea could be paired with either a savoury meal or sweets/desserts.

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