茶笔 Chá Bǐ – The Tea Pen

Category: Scented Tea

  • Mò Lì Huā Lóng Zhū Bái Chá, 茉莉花龙珠白茶, Jasmine Flower Dragon Pearl White Tea

    C. sinensis var.da bai hao, & Jasminum polyanthum; Fuding County, Ningde City, & Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, >750m; Spring 2021, bud and two leaves, ball rolled, baimudan white tea, infused o/n 6-9 times with late Summer harvest Jasmine flowers; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Dry leaf: dark green and silver balls (pearls) of dry leaf with intently aromatic and floral aroma;
    Wet leaf: uniformly green which smell intensely aromatic, and floral, with an undertone of sweet stone fruit;
    Infusion: 3g of dry leaf (approx. 25 pearls) in 150ml of water for 20-30sec. @85-85deg. C
    Liquor: pale yellow with a noticeable floral scent;
    Mouthfeel: creamy, moderately thick, stimulating, lingering, light bitterness on the tip of the tongue;
    Taste: florist shop green, and peppery, strongly floral, and slightly soapy, ;

    This tea is intensely floral from the infusion with Jasmine blossoms. Even using 5 balls of dry leaf in a gaiwan, I find the tea to be aggressively and intensely florally dominant so much so that the base tea flavour is lost. Back in Australia, as a teenager I discovered “Jasmine” Green Tea at our local Chinese Restaurant. I was so enamoured of it that is was the first thing I’d order whenever we went there. It was the cheap stuff, and was never as intensely floral as this tea. Now, is that intensity a bad thing? I honestly don’t know. It is certainly fair to say, that as a concept, this tea? I just don’t get it… and the aroma gives me a headache. Seriously, it makes my sinuses throb.

  • Flavoured Tea

    A little bit of comedy in action, with Mr. Jimmy Doherty. However, the underlying point is about flavouring teas and how it is done in some cases. If you have a video to share about how other flavourings are added to tea, I’d love to see them. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

  • Vegemite Tea – an instant Aussie Classic

    尼拉达红茶加蔬菜 Nerada Black Tea with Vegemite.

    澳式咸茶 Salty Tea Aussie Style.

    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá #Tea, #茶, #Chá.

    Salty Tea has been drunk by many people from different countries, for various reasons, and #Vegemite as a #Bovril/#Bonox beverage substitute has long been drunk in Australia.

    Here, I combine Australian grown #Nerada Black Tea with Vegemite to produce a mildly flavoured black tea that has the Vegemite aromatics, and leaves a soft, lingering, salty finish.

    Recipe:

    1 tsp Nerada CTC Black Tea per cup, plus 1 tsp for the pot

    1/8 tsp Vegemite per cup

    Boiling water, steep for 2 min.

    Recommended: Whilst it is ok to put the Vegemite in the pot for a single serve, it is better to serve the Vegemite on the side, Russian Samovar Tea with Jam style, so drinkers can adjust the flavour to taste.

    Additional Considerations: In the tradition of Himalayan, Central Asian, and Northern Steps Tea cultures, milk, butter, and/or puffed millet can also be added according to taste.

    Just don’t use Nutella, that would be disgusting! 🤪🤪🤪🤪

  • Lǜ Chá hé Bò Hé (Mó Luò Gē Fēng Gé), 绿茶和薄荷（摩洛哥风格), Green Tea with Mint (Moroccan style)

    Spring 2021; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.

    Liquor Colour/Clarity & Aroma 茶汤颜色/净度&香味: Golden yellow, slightly cloudy with a dominant Mint scent, and a light, persistent, white foam on top;

    Liquor Mouthfeel & Taste 茶汤口感&味道: initially sweet, and syrupy, giving way to some bitterness and astringency, followed by a cooling freshness, and lingering creamy mouthfeel: notably minty with an undertone of mild caramel sweetness;

    Preparation & Opinion 准备&意见: A handful of fresh mint, 1Tbs gunpowder green tea, 1Tbs white sugar; 4 cups water; brewed Moroccan style, and steeped for two minutes.

    I’ve had a couple of Moroccan style tea pots for several years now. I bought them erroneously to go on top my Samovar. The silver one didn’t fit, so I bought another one. 🤦🏼‍♂️

    However, as I have gotten more and more into Chinese Tea, it has also prompted me to review my own #Tea Heritage and the uses of the pots and sets that I already have and have used in the past. Thus, this foray into using my #Moroccan#Teapot correctly.

    It is such a substantial and surprising difference between this tea made with fresh mint, and the pre-scented tea previously reviewed, that really there is no comparrison. This fresh version is hands down sooo much better.

    It could probably handle a little extra sugar, perhaps a 1/3 to a 1/2 Tbs extra? I’m now also curious to see how the mouthfeel, and taste changes, when it is #coldbrewed.

    https://youtu.be/eDGkLCQHMB0

  • Basilur Chá – Mó Luò Gē Bò He Chá, Basilur茶-摩洛哥薄荷茶, BasilurTea – Moroccan Mint Tea

    Late Summer, 2020; Camellia sinensis, Mentha piperita, extract of Menta spicata var. crispa ‘Moroccan’; Kelanimulla, Angoda, Uva, Sri Lanka; Young Hyson Green Tea,Peppermin leaf & “Moroccan Mint” Natural Aroma; 900m-1500m #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.
    Infusion: 1 spoon (2g) per serve and, “one for the pot.” Unsweetened.

    Dry Leaf Aroma: strong, dominantly “Spearminty,” sharp, solvent-like;
    Wet Leaf Aroma: Spearmint, aniseed balls, aromatic, sweet;
    Liquor: Golden yellow colour, with a minty, peppery, scent;
    Mouthfeel: moderate texture, pronounced bitterness, stimulating, mouthwatering finish;
    Taste: dominantly minty, (perhaps peppermint) and fresh, with a camphor/menthol aftertaste, and late hints of licorice.

    Opinion: I have mixed feelings about this tea. It does have a place, especially at times when mint might not be readily available.

    As such, if being able to knock out a pot of, “Moroccan Mint” tea at the drop of a hat in the middle of Armageddon, or a global pandemic, then you can’t go wrong with this tea.

    However, I find the solvent undertone in the leaf smell, and the strident minty, “aroma” from tin to cup, to be somewhat confronting… and I am not sure if that is, in a good, or bad way. The jury is undecided.

    The Tea seems to be Young Hyson Green tea (according to one website) in style, rather than Gunpowder rolled. There is a significant mix of whole large leaf, broken leaves of various size, some stems and the occasional bud.

    Unfortunately, I cannot tell if I’m looking tea leaves, or mint leaves, even though I do actually know the difference. I do love the packaging though, the tin is absolutely lovely, but the only thing “Moroccan” about it seems to be the addition of “Moroccan Mint” aroma.

    Originally, I wanted to get some, “Gunpowder Green Tea” to explore Moroccan Mint Tea, and I stumbled across this on Taobao. So, I thought I’d try it out.

    I am not a fan of aroma scented teas, that includes everything from Earl Grey, through Jasmine, to Peach, etc., so when I discovered this tea was pre-scented (albeit with “Natural Aroma”) I was somewhat deflated.

    I prefer to control the addition of fresh, natural substances to my tea myself.

    Further in researching this tea, I found so little information, and much of that so dubious and inconsistent, even on #Balisur’s various Corporate Websites, that it was more work than I wanted to put in.

    Would I drink it again? Yes, “…for Science!” but not by choice. Don’t misunderstand me, it is… good tasting… tea… especially with sugar, but with so many other choices of tea on my shelf, it’s no front runner. And to be brutally honest? If I had no other tea on the shelf? I’d probably prefer to just drink the water.

    It seems my prejudicially, discriminatory POV towards, “Flavour Enhanced” Teas has unfortunately raised its ugly head, yet again. 🤪

  • Flower Tea for “Real” Men!

    For a long time I have had a dim view of flower scented teas, yet it was a flower scented tea that introduced me to the world of tea, beyond good ol’ Aussie Black Tea: that tea was Jasmine scented green tea as served at our local Chinese Food Restaurant.

    Recently, in response to a request from a beer brewer, I was asked to recommend a tea for a Hopped Tea experiment that they were doing. Can you believe, I’ve been brewing beer since 2008, and whilst I intellectually knew that hops were the flowers of Humulus lupulus, it never once occurred to me to use them to flavour tea.

    With recent trends in America, to market #HopTea as a summertime quencher, it makes sense to explore further the possibilities and interactions of hops and tea both as one to one fusions, in the same vein as Jasmine Green Tea, or Osmanthus Oolong Tea, as well as blends of both #hops and teas, to create new #beverage possibilities.

    Presently, I am trying to answer some thorny questions by blending different teas, and various hops, to reproduce specific and known flavours in beer, but as a #nonalcoholic, carbonated beverage.

    Enjoy the video, this is my first fully targeted blend: #GreenTea, #OolongTea, and #DianhongTea combined with #Ahtanum, #Cascade, and #Mosaic Hops.

    Why am I pouring the tea back in the bottle? To look at that glorious colour in the light!

    #Today’sTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá.

  • Anastasia Scented Black Tea, 阿纳斯塔西亚香红茶, “Ā Nà Sī Tǎ Xī Yà” Xiāng Hóng Chá

    Best before Autumn 2020; var. sinensis, China & Ceylon; #KusmiTea Co., Paris, France; broken leaf black teas, a Russian blend with scents of bergamot, lemon, lime, & orange blossom; elev. unknown; #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, Jīn Tiān De Chá.

    Infusion: 1 tsp/pax + 1 tsp/pot, 90-100deg. C, steep for 1-2 min;

    Dry leaf aroma: lemon, lime, citrus, sweet;
    Wet leaf aroma: lavender, citrus, floral;
    Liquor: orange amber colour with dusty, minerally, earthy, aroma with hints of dry tangerine peel, and ginger;
    Mouthfeel/Taste: thin to mildly viscous texture, mild peppery stimulation, slightly astringent, drying, and bitter, with a mouthwatering finish;
    Flavour: Seville orange marmalade, citrusy (lemon-lime-tangerine-pomelo), with lingering retronasal floral hints of lavender and orange blossom.

  • Vahdam Earl Grey Citrus Black Tea, 伯爵灰柑橘红茶, Bó Júe Hūe Gān Jiù Hóng Chá

    #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, Spring 2019; var. Assamica; single origin from Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri, Kangra, or Sikkim, India; hand picked, blended black tea with 2% bergamot oil extract; elev. various.

    Infusion: 2g in 180ml for 3-5min.@90-95deg. C

    Liquor: brassy orange-red colour with distinct and fragrant aroma;
    Mouthfeel/Taste: slightly viscous, vague peppery tingle, that builds with subsequent sips, mild bitterness and astringency;
    Flavour: aromatic, fragrant hints of bitter orange or grapefruit, floral;

    Opinion: I’ve never been a fan of #EarlGreyTea, and bought this tea to help calibrate my palate for this specific flavor and aroma, which can present itself in some #Wuyi Rock teas. I am pleasantly surprised. I actually like and enjoy this particular Tea blend.

  • Ginseng Oolong Tea

    #TodaysTea – Spring, 2019; var. Si Ji Chun; 1-2 leaves and stem, combined with licorice root and ginseng, then oolong processed; Nantou, Taiwan; High Mountain Tea.

    Infusion: 3.6g in 150ml for 25-55sec.@99-95deg. C – this tea is best brewed as a long cup infusion, rather than gongfu style which is the case here;
    Dry leaf aroma: dry, spicy, mildly pro peppery;
    Wet leaf aroma: herbal, alfalfa, dissipates as the leaves open up, which are predominantly brown and green in colour;
    Liquor: golden colour, with a distant, elusive aroma that hints of ginseng;
    Mouthfeel: mildly creamy texture, with peppery sensations, mouth watering;
    Taste: ginseng initially, followed by with a licorice finish, sweet aftertaste, and retronasal hints of apricot and alfalfa;

    Opinion: Also known as Ren Shen Wulong tea, Kings Tea, or Orchid Beauty (Lan Gui Ren) Initially, this tea starts out stiff and forms, like a Chinese Emperor’s portrait painting. As the leaves open up, after 4-5 infusions, a few more taste elements come through. The formality subsides into an artists party by a stream, with multiple, quiet, conversations occurring all at once. Whilst one hopes for the Oolong to make itself known, like a family gathering, sadly it was not to be.

  • Te Ji Gui Hua Wulong Cha, Teji Osmanthus Oolong Tea

    #todaystea – Spring, 2018; made with YanXuan Anxi Gaoshan (Tieguanyin) Oolong Tea, and Osmanthus blossoms; 1-2 leaves and stem, light oxidation, oolong process, infused and packaged with osmanthus petals;

    Infusion: 3-4g in 150ml for 20sec.@90-95deg. C
    Dry leaf aroma: fragrant, floral with undertones of apricot, and licorice;
    Wet leaf aroma: buttery; spicy, wood spice, allspice, apricot, slightly subdued;
    Liquor: yellow-green colour, aromatic, with floral hints;
    Mouthfeel: thick, viscous, syrupy, mild peppery sensation;
    Taste: sweet, peppery, spicy, milky;
    Opinion: A great entry level tea that contrasts favorably as an alternative to Jasmine (Molihua) Tea. Always enjoyable.