Lemon Cheesecake Bar Houjicha

Blended green tea
52Teas

Ingredients (all organic): Japanese green tea, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemongrass, natural flavors.



The new management of 52Teas took Kickstarter by storm to put together excellent rewards packages. I'm excited to try Lemon Cheesecake Bar Houjicha as my first from 52Teas!



I fell in love when I opened the package. It smells exactly like cheesecake! If you know me, you'll know I love anything that smells like cake. If you didn't, now you do.



The infusion color is a warm, autumn yellow like roasted hay. The flavor is strong in lemongrass which seems to be giving the tea its heavier mouthfeel. The lemon balances out the roasted flavor, which I have found to be too strong in another houjicha before.

 

I don't normally drink much lemongrass, but the complementary flavor blend makes this tea enjoyable. Especially when the liquid is really hot. It'll make a killer iced tea, too.

Black Jasmine Cream

Blended black and green tea
Margaret's Fine Imports

Ingredients: Green tea, black tea, and jasmine flowers with jasmine and vanilla flavor.

Earl grey drinkers will love this creamy jasmine tea. It's enhanced with jasmine flavor, so the aroma packs a punch. I avoid flavor-added tea, but I guess I just can't shake it.

The floral taste has some astringency, followed by the sweetness of vanilla. You wouldn't think so from the description, but it works with milk when hot. It's hearty like a black tea, but the touch of green tea accommodates the jasmine. It appears to be a mix of CTC and twisted leaves.

A Margaret's employee recommended trying it iced. I think I will!

Japanese Bancha Kyoto Special Leaf

Gently Stirred
Bancha green tea

Infusion method: ceramic teapot
Leaf: approx. 2 tsp.
Time: 2 & 4 min.
Infusion: light yellow

Bancha is described as unique and straw-like. I agree, but I find it different from the well-known, straw-like puerh. As a green tea, it actually smells more like... *cough* an illegal green leaf that is slowly becoming legal in some areas. It's toasted and smoky.



If anyone thinks it's a drug, it's my cats. I found my male cat licking the wrapping paper obsessively. I snatched up the paper, startled to find that something as innocent as paper can become a bad-cat-mom choice. Then my female cat rolled around in the same spot where the paper was. If you try this tea, use a good tin.



The paper cats can't resist.



Back to the tea. It tastes incredible! A special leaf, indeed. The taste matches the smell. It's refreshing like sencha (the first flush) but satisfying like a roasted or slightly fermented tea.



Give this tea a try, and hold onto your cats.

This tea was provided by Gently Stirred.

Dragonwell Long Jing 2014

Green tea
Dobra Tea

I'm trying this way out of season, but I don't mind! That's what I get for hoarding tea. This is a 2014 Dragonwell Long Jing from the bargain bin at Dobra Tea from much earlier this year. If you ever go by the or store, you can get nice bags of tea for as low as $5!

The dry leaves have a sweet marine smell. The first infusion at the recommended 1 minute brings out a stone fruit smell. The liquor is very light. The taste is like a floral white tea.



After a second infusion at 2 minutes, the marine smell and stronger green tea taste comes through. This is a lovely tea to drink in the gaiwan, and I think I'll also use it as a cold brew on hot days. I love to see how such a dark leaf can translate to a light liquor.



Do go in to Dobra Tea. It's a beautiful and low-key tea house on historic Murray Ave in Pittsburgh. They have new "beer" tea which I have yet to try!

Lanxi Mao Feng green tea

Green tea
Gently Stirred

Area of Origin: Lanxi City, Zhejiang Province, China.

I will remember this as my traveling tea. This Mao Feng went to California in a glass jar with a little tea ball. It's a green tea, but it has the light floral aspect I love in an oolong!



The dry leaf is a rich dark grayish green, so I expected a marine smell from it. But it presents a rich sweet smell that is almost on the floral side of grassy. The leaves look twisted. In a recent Facebook post, Nicole Martin of Tea for Me Please says oolongs didn't always look the way they do now. Maybe this green tea has similar processing to the pre-1990s oolongs?

The cup has a grassy smell and yellow-green color. Lingering, round aftertaste.



Mao Feng green tea is only plucked "within a specific forty-five day period that culminates with the Qingming Festival, also known as the Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day that falls on either the 4^th or 5^th of April, depending on the lunisolar calendar" (read more here).

I wonder, does that make the tea taste differently each year? Or, since the climate indicates calendar months, is this the perfect tea picking time ever? I will have to try multiple harvests to find out.

I'm enthralled by Tomb-Sweeping Day. I freelanced for a company in China for some time, who emailed to say offices would be closed for the holiday, so I felt part of it, from far away. The tomb-sweeping seems to be a springtime ritual, like a spiritually renewing spring cleaning.



While traveling I simply used a tea ball, and a mug brew, for two infusions at 2 minutes each. I shared it with my father using a small pot to boil water (a couple days later I bought him an actual kettle) and various mugs to use as share cups or temporary vessels to cool down the water.

I'm skeptical of tasting new green teas in anything but a gaiwan, but it worked out fine! Since then, I've also used the gaiwan for three infusions. I actually prefer the oversized tea ball, or mug brew, best.

A beautiful tea! I have another from Gently Stirred to try. Before then, though, I'll bring you a sturdy Ceylon loose tea from a box.

This tea was provided by Gently Stirred.

June Jasmine green tea (#66)

Green tea blend
Nepali Tea Traders

Ingredients: Green tea, jasmine flowers.

I've been in a jasmine phase lately. Through my jasmine travels I've learned that I prefer more water to tea than I would normally use--so, I probably won't use my small gaiwan. For that reason, I used my porcelain teapot to brew this sample.



Surprisingly, the dry tea has a marine smell. My first infusion tasted very light, almost like a white tea. Unlike other teas that are scented with jasmine oil to enhance the flower, the jasmine isn't too noticeable in this cup.

I suppose I'll have to lessen the water to get a stronger flavor. My second infusion with a little less water than before tastes more like a straightforward green tea with something extra about it you can't quite put your finger on.

So, if you haven't tried jasmine in tea and you'd like to, I would say to start with a scented tea instead for the full jasmine effect. This one was great to try because it has just the flower (not oil) for an added touch, which doesn't overwhelm the green tea. It's perfect for a hot summer evening--like tonight, at around 90 degrees outside! What happened to spring?

Through the end of this year, Nepali Tea Traders is donating the greater of (1) all profits and (2) 20% of sales through their Nepali Tea Restoration Fund after the Nepal earthquake. Let's buy tea for a great cause!

This sample was provided by Nepali Tea Traders.

Next I will review a Japanese green tea from Gently Stirred in the UK.

China Beauty Rings (#64)

Green tea
Margaret's Fine Imports

Country of origin: China.

These China beauty rings are gorgeous! They look like delicate locks of hair. I love the silvery white color that looks woven in. It smells lightly of jasmine or orchid.

The first infusion at 2 minutes has a sweet orchid smell from the gaiwan lid. The liquor is yellow, but with a pink undertone. The taste matches the aroma but with a little astringency. 

The second infusion smells just a touch vegetal. I don't really notice anything vegetal in the taste, though. The taste is similar to the first infusion. 

The orchid aroma really comes out with the third infusion. The taste, like its name, is beautiful! I managed to get a light 4th infusion out of it, but by now the tea is mostly spent.

This is a wonderful tea and I'll get a lot of enjoyment from it. I'm lucky it was included in Margaret's Level 2 tea class sampler.

Next I'll review a hand-rolled black tea from Nepali Tea Traders.

Jasmine green tea (#60)

Scented green tea
Pipers Coffee & Tea

Ingredients: Japanese sencha, whole jasmine flower blossoms, pure jasmine oil.

This pot of tea is gorgeous! Large enough that it's hard to hold in one hand. It's a lovely porcelain look with a solid cork. Tea is sold in the pot, or you can just buy a refill.



The dry tea has a faint but wonderfully fresh smell. As I make the first pour into my gaiwan, the aroma lifts from the cup immediately as the water hits it.

The first aroma from the lid after steeping is lightly floral with the smell of the tea still shining through. The color of the tea is warmer than I expected, a light honey. I taste right away that I've oversteeped it, though; I've brought too much astringency through. It's easy to handle this tea less carefully than it deserves. Steeped properly, it's a beautiful tea with the lightest floral tone.



I've found that this tea, even at only one teaspoon, infuses best in more water than a single-size gaiwan. I used my gaiwan for 2-minute infusions, then in the teapot at 1- and 2-minute infusions, and then just in a tea ball at 2 minutes for single mug brews. Surprisingly, the tea ball in a mug works best!

I call it a delicate tea, but the sencha is sturdy enough for multiple infusions and the amount of jasmine is consistent throughout.

Make sure to give this tea enough water to try its wings, and you'll have a warm-colored tea that actually tastes like a white tea with the most natural echo of jasmine. Jasmine can be overpowering in other teas, but this jasmine is a perfect complement to the high-quality sencha. It isn't too sweet.

Pipers is offering my readers 10% off their tea purchase at checkout with this code: ALLTEA10. No limit on the number of times it can be used, so you can share with your friends. If you would like some of these cards, please contact me.

Next I'll review an unusual-looking oolong from Nepali Tea Traders.

#11 Houjicha Basic Roast green tea (#53)

Roasted green tea
Yunomi



The smell of the dry tea is very light: charming, toasted, vegetal. The roast gives it just a hint of nut. Large stems are visible among the long leaves.



They sent a pretty postcard!

The aroma of the prepared tea is similar to that of the dry, but with an unexpected sweetness. The taste is delicate. The empty cup actually smells of a roasted chestnut.

I'm enjoying multiple infusions. When you try this tea, do follow the 45-second steep recommendation. I followed it the first time, and it came out just right. For the second infusion, I took a leap and tried 2 minutes, but that was too much and the roast flavor overpowered the tea.

I appreciate this basic roast very much on its own, but I know it would be enhanced with the right food. I was surprised to find that the roasting removes the caffeine from the tea, so I will be sure to enjoy it at night again. The nuttiness is still emanating from the empty cups. I can't wait to finish this teapot and try it again!

Thank you, Yunomi!

This sample was provided by Yunomi.

Next, I will depart from camellia sinensis and show you an herbal cold remedy.

Spring Green Bilo Chun tea (#52)

Green tea
In Nature Teas

Ingredients: Green tea.

It's still snowing here in Pittsburgh but I'm ready for spring with this Spring Green Bilo Chun tea from In Nature Teas in London!

The first smell of the dry tea is of seaweed. It's strong out of the bag; this tea smells pure and fresh. As I smell smaller amounts of the dry tea in my palm, the seaweed fades to a summery floral, honeydew smell, a preview of what the tea will taste like.



The tea has a beautiful variation in color and a very healthy covering of fine yellow/white downy hairs. The hairs float out of the bag when I open it! They even cling to the cup I've used in the photo above, and to my teaspoon measure.



I've overheated my water, so I'm waiting for it to cool a bit, while also using the hot water to warm my teapot and cups. The tea has a nice bounce and volume to it as I scoop it in my teaspoon. Its curls are escaping the spoon. I see why "Bilo Chun" means "Green Snail Spring."

I will use 1 teaspoon and small pours, just to make one-time cups with each infusion. I'm steeping for 2 minutes the first time. For fun, I'm setting out a mochi green tea ice cream with it, almost like a matcha experience.



I'm using one cup as a smelling cup. I briefly get seaweed, but it quickly changes to a sweet vegetable smell. The taste of this infusion is very light, with a satisfying tannin on the first steep that dissolves with the finish. I'm thinking, though, that next time I will try rinsing this tea.

After the second infusion at 2 minutes, the smelling cup gives me a fleeting sense of sweet squash. Smelling the liquid itself, I think of a soft white flower.

This second cup is just beautiful. There is a slight tannin but it's developed into a bright taste that almost seems like a white tea or oolong. Most green teas I've tried have had a deep color, and were heavier in flavor. I didn't know a green tea could be like this! The green tea mochi would overpower this tea, so I'm using it as a palate cleanser between infusions.



I'm increasing steep times with each infusion. The flavor is evolving slowly and subtly. The tea continues to pour a beautiful light yellow. I'm very calm working with this tea. My crackling "fireside" candle is burning in the corner, and my tortoiseshell cat is crouched next to me. What is it about tea and cats? I can't wait to make this again and share with my husband. It seems like a crime to put this tea in a teaball, but I know I'll crave it at work!



I've made it a second time with my husband! This time, I used 2 teaspoons instead of 1. The flavor is a bit more saturated, but still with the tastes I noticed the first time I made this tea.



Health benefits are listed on the back. I particularly appreciate the osteoporosis prevention and anti-stress. It doesn't take a scientific study to immediately feel the uplifting effects of this beautiful Spring Green tea from In Nature Teas.

Winter is hanging on by the claws outside, but in here, I'm enjoying spring.

This sample was provided by In Nature Teas.

Coming up this week is a review on a roasted green tea from Yunomi in Japan.

Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose (#42)

Flavored green tea
Margaret's Fine Imports

Ingredients: Luxury green Sencha tea, rose petals, natural flavors.

The dry tea smells incredible! It's a cheerful but deep yellow cup with the sweet scent of cherry, lightened by rose.

You'd think cherry and rose would be overpowering in the cup, but it's perfect. It smells like an invitation to Kyoto, Japan, in the spring. The green tea is a little earthy, too.

According to Margaret's Fine Imports, "Sencha is commonly used in Japanese tea ceremonies marking events of personal importance" (read more here).

This is a really great quality tea. I'm careful with the first steep, to get the tannins just right, and I usually steep it three times.

Be gentle handling this tea, because the delicate Sencha pieces can break easily and leave a dust.

My cat smelled it for a strangely long time.

Next time I'll show you what came in my January tea club shipment!

Kashmiri Green Chai review (#35)

Flavored green tea

Prestogeorge

$5.25/4 oz

Ingredients: Green tea, cinnamon chips, almonds, cloves, crushed green cardamom, cardamom seeds with almond and cinnamon flavor.

Chai spice with green tea sounded like a strange combination, but the almond pulls it together!

The dry tea smells strongly of almond and cardamom. The green tea takes a back seat, but it does contribute an earthy flavor that works with the spice.

I prefer chai black teas to this green... but it's still fun. I just have to remember that it is, in fact, green tea, and not to oversteep!

Huge almond slices and cloves.

The pretty glass bottle is from Penzey's Spices, near Prestogeorge in the Strip.

The leaves open up well.

Next time I'll review an earl grey named for a classic novel.

Ginger Peach Orange green tea (#34)

Flavored green tea
Prestogeorge
www.prestogeorge.com
$2.60/2 oz

Breathing in the scent of this dry tea is running down a spring mountainside.

I'm serious! It's the freshest thing. The ginger doesn't weigh it down--just gives it balance.

The three flavors of ginger, peach, and orange are pretty even. It has virtually has no aftertaste, so the flavor doesn't change after each sip.

  

I've been drinking it hot this season, but it's phenomenal iced. And for that low price!

I don't usually go for green tea, so it says a lot that I love this.

Next time I'll review a spiced green tea.

 

Garden of Eden tea review (#31)

Flavored green/white tea
Margaret's Fine Imports
www.pittsburghcuppa.com
$4.50/2 oz

Ingredients: China Sencha, Kukicha, Pai Mu Tan (80%), dragonfruit pieces (dragonfruit, sugar), lemongrass, flavoring, freeze-dried kiwi and raspberry pieces, pomegranate arils.

This is the dry tea you smell through your nose, exhale through your mouth, and repeat. The scent is absolutely heavenly with dragonfruit and kiwi. I don't know how it achieves this, but it smells somewhat peppery/spicy despite its light sweet fruit. The green and white teas in it are very delicate and light.

Amazingly delicious iced, with a gorgeous green color. It's good hot too, with such a light flavor it's barely there! I might add more tea next time I steep. But, it's soft like a white tea should be.

It's blended at Margaret's by an employee, which is really cool. She used pomegranate arils, how unusual!

This tea smells so good, I could eat it!

It really opens up in steeping.


Next time I'll review a classic.
 

Storm's Fury Game of Thrones tea review

Flavored green tea
Margaret's Fine Imports
www.pittsburghcuppa.com
$3.99/2oz

Ingredients: Green tea, cornflowers, calendula petals, papaya pieces, lemongrass, natural flavors.

It's Game of Thrones tea week during The 23 Teas of October!

Storm's Fury is my favorite iced tea for summer. The scent of the dry tea is intoxicating. Floral but invigorating. You can almost taste it as the scent passes through your nose.

That otherworldly flavor carries over perfectly into an iced tea. Hot, the flavors smooth out into a slightly flavored green tea--hardly any of that floral flavor. I don't drink hot green tea very much, but if I do, I go for this one. With brief steeping, no sweetener is necessary.

During steeping, the pieces really swirl as if in a storm off the coast of Westeros!

Hot: 2 min, 2 tsp tea, 8oz water
Iced: 20 sec, 3 tsp tea, 8oz water over ice



Beautiful curled green tea pieces, bright lemongrass, crisp calendula petals and light papaya flavors. Gorgeous accenting purple pieces.

Even the overall color is a sickly, stormy green.

 

Gorgeous tea in its glass container at Margaret's. A young man blends these Game of Thrones teas. I think he is just a genius.

I bought this alongside its friend, Silver Trout blend.

Come back tomorrow for a taste of fire.

(Win tea! Rules here http://allteanocrumpets.blogspot.com/2014/09/tea-giveaway.html)

What's your favorite iced tea?

Highgarden Heaven Game of Thrones tea review

Flavored green and white tea
Margaret's Fine Imports
www.pittsburghcuppa.com
$4.99/2oz

Ingredients: Luxury green and white tea, rose petals, lavender, hibiscus.

It's Game of Thrones tea week during The 23 Teas of October!

This tea really is a breath of heaven. Light and floral like a brunch in Highgarden with Lady Olenna.

The rose petals and lavender complement each other well, and the white and green teas balance the strong flavors a bit. Warning, the lavender becomes more and more noticeable after having a good number of cups... fine for me since I love lavender. Highgarden Heaven tea is fantastic iced in the afternoon.

Hot: 2 min, 2 tsp tea, 8oz water
Iced: 20 sec, 3 tsp tea, 8oz water over ice

The bright pink and breathy lavender colors are gorgeous together.

I purchased some pure lavender from Margaret's to go along with it. Amazing color.

The lavender looks beautiful in this white tin by RIEH, purchased at Margaret's for only $2.35.

Bonus! You can use lavender in baking! Use the whole pieces and do not grind them up or it will get bitter. They can also be used in beautiful homemade soaps.

Come back tomorrow for a taste of the Westeros high seas.

(Win tea! Rules here http://allteanocrumpets.blogspot.com/2014/09/tea-giveaway.html)

Not everyone agrees on floral tastes in tea. Do you love it or can you just not stand it?