Tea Blends

I'm a tea purist. Please give me single estate non-blended teas. I can't remember what it was that got me into tea but there is a rumor in my mind, kinda like the rumor of Bodhidharma's eyelids, that it was blended teas that got me into enjoying tea. Now that I have learned a few things my preference has changed and is for single origin, single estate teas.

Genmai Cha

Genmaicha is a tea rich in history. Historically it is a Japanese tea made of bancha tea, which is the second flush (or picking) rather than the first flush that becomes sencha. This is because bancha is cheaper than the sencha tea. In comparison bancha is larger and broken compared to sencha which is more delicate with naturally sweet notes. Tea has until recently been a luxury item. So, to make the tea last longer people would add rice to the tea. During the roasting processes some of the brown rice kernels would pop. Thus, genmaicha is at times referred to as "pop corn tea". Now that tea is more widely available to the people genmaicha has developed in other base teas rather than bancha. In short, blend it to extend it.

Fruit Blended Teas

To me fruit blended tea is synonymous with the tea shop Teavana. The majority of teas they sell are fruit blended teas. Fruit blended teas are great for iced tea, which is totally American. However, when I drink tea I want to taste tea, not fruit and tea. However, if you are looking for a good summer iced tea then Teavana is where it's at.

Tea Blends
Lipton, PG Tips, Stash Tea, and many others are known in the tea community for blending their teas, and for a good reason. If you go buy, say a Lipton bagged tea and you like it and want it next year then you would want it to taste the same as last year. However, each year a single tea estate, even a single tea tree would produce a different taste based on the weather, the soil, and how the tea tree was cared for. Thus such tea brands have professional tea blenders to blend different teas from different estates and even different countries and continents to get the most similar tasting tea year to year.

Shou Pu-erh, 2000

This tea is the second pu-erh I've blogged about so far this year. Both have been Shou Pu-erhs, which leads to the inevitable question: "What is a Shou Pu-erh?" This question will be answered in my next blog post. Until then I want to post my notes and thoughts from a wonderful pu-erh that I have been drinking and thoroughly enjoying through the past two days.

As given away in this blog postings title the tea I have been enjoying is a Shou Pu-erh, 2000. I recently placed an online order through Red Blossom Tea Company.

Amount of Tea: 2.5 grams of tea measured using my handy new gram scale.
Brewing device: White 4oz Gaiwan.
Water Temp: About 205°F
Steep Time: Basically Irrelevant


Tasting Notes: This tea was definitely a good experience. The dry leaf smelt slightly sweet with some cocoa notes, but was intensely earthy. I didn't get much more out of the dry leaf other than that. However, once steeped, the tea unveiled a wide array of aromas and tasting notes. I'm still trying to expand the description of what it is I am tasting. Therefore, I often explain taste experiences not solely by what's going on palate wise but how it makes me feel and experiences it reminds me of. This is what went on:
The first sip was "woodsy" and had a refreshing earthy taste to it. There were "fresh earth" notes with a slightly sweet after taste. The finish was most definitely thicker than most teas, which was very pleasant. It made it a rich tea.
This tea reminded me of walking through a heavily wooded forest during thick fog and misty dew. The aroma of wood was almost as if it the wood was soaking in fog gently buried in healthy earth and sweetly decomposing.
Does that sound weird? Well, that's my experience with this tea. Most definitely one of my favorite teas to date.
Personally, if I was going to rate this against the last Shou Pu-erh (1996) that I had I would rate this one higher. It seems to have more to offer. Yet, both were great. So far my experiences with Shou Pu-erhs have been a good one. I'll post about pu-erhs in my next post. No tasting notes but general tea info.
In the mean time I'd recommend you to go buy this tea: Red Blossom Tea Company's Shou Pu-erh, 2000.

All in This Tea (2007) Review

In my pursuit of learning more about tea I came across the film, All in This Tea (2007). It is a documentary style film that follows the renown American tea pioneer David Lee Hoffman throughout a trip to China in his pursuit of some of the highest quality teas. What the film shows is quiet amazing.

David Lee Hoffman goes to buy directly from the farmers who are struggling, yet farmers he considers to be skilled and create high quality teas. After all, tea is just as much about art as it is about drink. Handcrafted teas can not be made to be the same quality by different tea craftsmen. Each “artist” creates his own masterpiece which factories and mass production can't come close to in quality and taste.

It was interesting to see the Chinese culture portrayed in this film. To my surprise it was difficult for Mr. Hoffman to do business in China the way that would benefit both the Chinese exporter and himself as the importer. The Chinese bureaucracy caused it to be difficult because of export rules. However, thankfully, it worked out in the end. There are tidbits of tea information scattered throughout, which also make this film a great learning resource. It is a fantastic film and any tea connoisseur will thoroughly enjoy it.

Perhaps my favorite quote in the film is this: “It [tea] has qualities that are not familiar to us, and we don't have a vocabulary to describe what it is. I never know how to say what a tea tastes like. I know when I enjoy it. But I can't say what it tastes like.” This film definitely inspired me to learn more tea and drink more tea. So that I will do.

Shou Pu-erh, 1996

Today was my second cup from my recently opened Pu-erh. I took a visit to Red Blossom Tea in San Francisco back in April 2009. I picked up the Shou Pu-erh, 1996 as well as other teas that are long gone.

My Brewing Method:
I brewed 2.4 grams of tea with 8 ounces of 205° F water. I steeped it for 2 minutes.

The Tea:

When I took a whiff of the leaves I was almost immediately relieved. The tea has a very refreshing smell to it. Most pu-erhs I've come across have a deep "fresh earth" scent to it, yet this one is more pleasing than most. To me the scent of this tea comes across as a more healthy tea because of how pure it smells. The leaves were a bit golden black/brown. The color was enticing.
The tea didn't have as dark of a liquor as Rishi's Pu-erh Tuo Cha.
The tea wasn't as intense as other pu-erhs. This one is without a doubt more mild than most pu-erhs. However, it was slightly more sweet on the second steep.
I'm not used to pu-erhs that are as mild as this one. Perhaps it is because I used less tea now that I have started measuring by weight rather than volume causing me to actually use less tea.



The Retailer:
I look for every opportunity to go to Red Blossom Tea because their staff is so knowledgeable about tea. I truly mean they are very knowledgeable people there. I learned more about tea from Alice (I think she is the owner) in a five minute conversation then I did from reading the entire book titled The Story of Tea by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert Heiss. That is not to knock Mary Lou and Robert Heiss at all. I love their books and highly recommend them to all tea enthusiasts. That statement is just to say how highly I view Red Blossom and all that Alice has done there.
All that to say that if you are ever in San Francisco then by all means stop by Red Blossom Tea Company for a great tea experience. When I stopped by I got a free tasting of the Dragonwell Panan Supreme, April 2010, which is the highest quality Dragonwell I've had to date. Undeniably, I bought as much as I could afford. You can not go wrong with free tastings. Especially, with beautiful tea ware and tiny thimble-like cups to cup each steeping with. Red Blossom Tea is a must go to all tea enthusiasts.

A New Goal

I have a new goal. It's probably too late to be called a New Year's Resolution. Plus, I never hear people talk about these "resolutions" after February which leads me to believe they should be called "January and February Resolutions". Nevertheless, I have a goal for reforming, and this blog is going to be my medium to accountability of this goal.

This one goal has two parts:
1. To Drink more tea
2. To become more knowledgeable about tea

I do know that tea has wonderful health benefits. I also do know that there is an enormous amount of helpful information to know about tea just as there is for coffee connoisseur to learn about coffee and wine connoisseur to know about wine.

I will be posting tasting notes, tea techniques, and general information about tea while I am on this journey to learn and enjoy tea more.