Kiani Tea

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 14

I actually have a non-black tea from Fortnum & Mason today, so I get to enjoy this lovely unsmoked Lapsang with my toast and jam instead! :D

This tea is thick and satisfying, and heavy on the caraway and rye bread notes that I find to be a trademark of Fujian black teas. It’s a bit like I’m eating my toast already as I sip it! There’s also some woodiness, and an undercurrent of dark bittersweet cocoa. I’m not getting much in the way of fruit, perhaps a dark and syrupy dried fruit like date or fig, but only a hint of it. There is a deep brown sugar sweetness though, with a bitter edge like caramelized sugar that’s gone just a touch too dark. I taste dill as well, which is an interesting savory touch that contrasts well with the sweeter sugar notes. It’s a very strong tea overall, even though I used the usual amount of leaf. I could definitely see sipping this as a wake-me-up morning cuppa!

My jam today is Strawberry-Verbena Spread. Not one of my favorites if I’m honest, though I do love the strawberry part. The verbena is just a bit too herbaceous, and though it’s slightly minty I’m not enjoying it nearly as much as the peach & mint pairing. There’s just something about it that doesn’t sing to me. Ah well, still perfectly tasty he he.

Adventaggedon Day 13: Tea 2/8

I wish I could have brewed this gongfu but I was short on time before leaving the office for my dentist appointment so I just made it grandpa style. I felt like it was really soft – like, much softer than it should have been grandpa style in the size of vessel I was brewing it in. But aside from the surprisingly soft body of the tea I did enjoy it a lot. I found it very raisin heavy, and ultimately the taste reminded me a little of cinnamon raisin bread.

It was good, but I definitely have a preference for the Jin Jun Mei that was included earlier in the advent.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 13

So I was considering steeping this one gongfu, since it’s “deluxe” and all. But as it turns out, I can’t seem to find the time today. So heathen-style it is!

Well, it’s definitely scrumptious. It actually reminds me of a cross between Fujian and Taiwanese black teas. There’s a bit of that Fujian caraway or rye bread character, but the rest is all luscious sweet creamed honey with a dusting of cinnamon, complemented by slightly tart dried fruit, perhaps dried apricots and cherries? Alongside the honey is a different, clearer sweetness, like sugarcane. Definitely a deep, dark cocoa note as well, and some aromatic wood. A touch of hay and a sprinkle of raw oats comes out at the end of the sip, and a very slight floral note.

Anyway, all the things! I’m sure I’m missing some of the things I’m tasting as there’s a lot going on. By scent alone though, I would’ve guessed a Taiwanese black tea here as it’s all raw, unfiltered honey and cinnamon.

Adventaggedon Day 12: Tea 4/6

Gongfu!

The dry leaf of this tea smelled really good and the highly fuzzy little curled up golden leaves were just stunning to look at. More than that, I was just relieved that this wasn’t coated in luster dust. I think I’m going to be holding my breath a little with each and every mention of ‘gold’ in this advent going forward…

To elaborate on the dry leaf smell; I found this to be incredibly sweet and fruit smelling. Like overripe nectarines or some kind of sweet stonefruit preserve but mixed with hints of warm sweet yams, caramel, and good chocolate. The taste was very rich and full bodied with the most pleasant thick liquor. I did get a lot of more deep and syrupy stonefruit type notes leaning more in that apricot/nectarine side of things mixed with a ton of caramelized and starchy squash, some malt, and then a pleasant cocoa note as well.

Really impressive and just delicious!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKjWTdJoQmk&list=PLdCuznQOIvWWnwil6jAf0qqlakhJkJHlq&index=7&ab_channel=Flipturn-Topic

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 12

Ooh, I haven’t had a golden bi luo chun-style Yunnan tea in a while. Excited! :D

As expected, this is lovely. On the lighter side, with oodles of juicy, fruity goodness. Probably apricot, I would say? With a bit of extra tartness that could be a plum. Alongside smooth, creamy sweet potato and fluffy baked bread notes. A touch of honey sweetness as well, and a little wisp of a floral note at the very end of the sip. And definitely some milk chocolate, now that I think about it.

But very fruity overall, sweet golden fruits like apricots and ripe yellow plums. Nom!

Adventaggedon Day 11: 1/7

Gongfu!

Wow; it’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through! Fuck, y’all. I’m tired.

This was my favourite of the day though there were a lot of teas I enjoyed today. I think a huge part of it, on top of the tea just being really pleasant, was that I had been deeply craving sitting down for a proper gongfu session and this allowed me to do exactly that. Ultimately thought it was just so smooth and round with beautiful notes of oak wood, honey, toasted macadamia, orchid and orange blossom, and just a little minerality! A very pleasant and non-fussy dancong, which was really appreciated today!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkbqwkboXk8&ab_channel=MediumBuild

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 11

I’m enjoying this one grandpa-style today, in one of my double-walled glass tumblers with a nifty built-in strainer thingy.

So Dancong oolongs aren’t really my favorite. (This is a Dancong, right? Right? Just tell me if I’m wrong lol.) Not that I dislike them, just not something I reach for or order, and the same with Wuyi oolongs really. I just find them a bit samey or something? And usually more floral than I prefer.

But anyway, this is tasty enough. Definitely fairly strong on the floral, which is not exactly surprising for something called “honey orchid” heh heh. But not overwhelmingly so. It has a lovely fruity sweetness as well, like dried apricots or peaches. And underneath is a solid base of crisp autumn leaves and a touch of wood. I’m not sure I get honey specifically? But it is pleasantly sweet.

Enjoyable, but not a favorite for me. :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXXGX2Tg2rt/

Adventaggedon Day 10: Tea 1/7

Between being at the office extra days this week and not having any teas well suited for gongfu brewing on the few days I have worked from home, I was really looking forward to having a chance to brew gongfu today. I saw that the day’s tea was a Golden Monkey and I got really excited.

Then I opened up the packet and saw the gold luster dust.

I liked the luster dust at first, but as I said in my tasting note for the last luster dust tea… it’s starting to feel over used. We’re only on day ten and this is the third gold shimmer tea. How many more are we going to get!? More than that, I just didn’t feel comfortable brewing the gold luster dust in any of my gongfu teaware because it’s hard to completely clean out and I didn’t want to be finding gold shimmer in my next several session with the teaware. So I was pretty dang bummed out this afternoon…

I did end up brewing the sample Grandpa style which was nice even though it wasn’t what I had been hoping for. I didn’t pay it super close attention because I was still working from home and I didn’t have a lot of spare time today. However, I did enjoy the taste. Reminded me of sweet potato pie, as in actual sweet potato pie and not the sweet potato pie tea from DT. Starchy, nutty, some caramelized sugar type notes. Good.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 10

Glitter tea again? That’s three times already and we’re only on day 10 of 25… I get having one or maybe two glittery teas because it’s the holidays, but this seems excessive to me. Then again, I’m not a fan of gimmicky teas in general.

The golden monkey itself is nice though. Supremely malty and smooth, with a nice chew to it. There’s an almost potato-y flavor as well, like unsalted French fries? So double carbs, ha ha… Not getting a lot else from it other than bread and taters, a bit of brown sugar sweetness perhaps, and a teeny hint of raisin. The aftertaste is a bit more like whole wheat or rye bread.

Not very complex to my palate, but tasty! A lighter black tea that still manages to be very comforting. :)

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 9

So I was a bit confused by the name of this one. I was expecting to see a black dragon pearl sort of tea when I opened the packet, but these are traditional green jasmine pearls. Not sure what’s gold about them, but oh well ha ha.

They are very tasty and high-quality. Sweet, succulent jasmine notes with a slight juicy fruitiness to them. Very smooth and thick-feeling on the tongue. The green tea contributes a gentle vegetal flavor, like fresh sweet peas. Also a touch of grassiness and a hint of stonefruit at the very end of the sip.

Yummy classic jasmine pearls. Always welcome in my mug. :D

Adventaggedon Day 9: Tea 2/7

I saw the name of this one in the morning I wasn’t sure whether it meant we were getting a jasmine pearl on a black tea base or if it would be a jasmine pearl coated in the gold luster dust that’s already made a couple appearances. So, opening the package and just seeing a regular green jasmine pearl tea was actually sort of surprising!

…also, in that regard, sort of a confusing name?

I was working in office today instead of at home, and it’s always much trickier to drink all my advent teas and snap photos at the office so I didn’t have as much time with this tea as I probably would have liked. That meant that I kind of just tossed the pearls into a travel mug once I was done getting a photo, and then drank them grandpa style throughout the afternoon.

I imagine that ‘thermos tea’ is probably not the best way to enjoy this tea but it also wasn’t a bad tea. The jasmine did get quite strong but thankfully not at all bitter. It was a little like drinking jasmine and edamame or green beans. Not really a favourite of mine, but pleasant enough. Bolder and thicker mouthfeel than I’m sure is typical, just by way of my steeping choice.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOPCPUq9f_g&ab_channel=SuLee

Adventaggedon Day 8: Tea 1/7

This is what I started my morning with today. It seemed like it would make for a nice soothing and gentle start to my day, while having enough of a cooling punch to not be too soothing since it was a work day. I was right, as well!

I made it in a ‘tea for one’ style teapot with all these cute whimsical Christmas stocking motifs on it, and I felt festive while drinking it – which was also nice. I was pleasantly surprised by how clean tasting and menthol forward/crisp this mint was. Typically European grown peppermint does tend to have a bit more of a “muddied” earthy kind of taste to it and doesn’t have the same clarity and intensity that North American mint has. I would imagine that, since Kiani is based in Europe, they’re probably using European mint? If that’s the case, this is even more impressive!

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 8

Enjoyed this one as an afternoon break from a long day full of work meetings.

I don’t consider myself a peppermint fan specifically, but these full-leaf versions are always so different from any other type. So light and airy, crisp and refreshing. There’s a lovely natural sweetness. And none of that musty wet rag sort of herbaceous flavor I often find in mint. I love the soft cooling sensation left over from the sip, and the chill when I inhale.

I’m planning on getting some peppermint for my cupboard (probably from Harts of America), but I’m trying to sip down some of my existing herbal tisanes first. The struggle is real!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXPPYU-usbW/

Adventaggedon Day 7: Tea 6/7

This was very lovely and definitely the type of straight tea I was in the mood for when I was opening up all my advents in the morning – I just didn’t know it until I saw the packaging! The only disappointment for me what that it came on a day where I didn’t have enough time to actually steep the tea gongfu like how I would have wanted…

What I did end up doing was making it in a cupping set at work and then resteeping that a couple times over the course of the afternoon. Very light but crisp and sweetly vegetal. All of those cucumber pulp notes that I go starry eyed for when it comes to a nice white peony.

I wish I had more space to store teas (or perhaps just less teas taking up the space) because this is the type of bai mu dan that I’d like to keep more regularly on hand but I just find keeping bags of bai mu dan/white peony stressful. It’s such a light and fluffy tea that it really takes up so much volume in terms of storage… Ugh!

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 7

I don’t know why, but bai mudan just doesn’t excite me. And it’s odd, because I really enjoy it when I do have it. And yet it’s not a tea I would ever crave or even buy probably.

This one is lovely, so light and airy yet rich with chewy oats and sweet hay. It’s smooth and pleasantly thick in texture. Creamy with a gentle drizzle of golden honey.

So cozy and comforting. Such an autumnal flavor for me, so perfect for the chillier weather we had today. :)

Adventaggedon Day 6: Tea 2/7

I grandpa steeped this one in a yunomi cup this afternoon and it came out pretty good! If it hadn’t been quite so busy at work I would have really loved to take the time to brew it gongfu but that just wasn’t an option today. It’s a little less buttery/creamy than I prefer my milk oolongs but the mouthfeel/texture was delightfully silky and I though the balance of slightly green and floral notes were really enjoyable as well.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 6

Ooh, it’s been a little while since I’ve had a plain milk oolong. Green oolong in general doesn’t tend to be my favorite, but it’s still so nice to revisit every so often.

Of course, this is very smooth and creamy. A luxurious tea! The mouthfeel is silky and the flavor is light yet rich. Cream, unsalted butter, and slightly underripe white peaches. Gentle florals that tend to build slightly near the end of the sip, along with an undercurrent of softly mineral spring water. There’s a “green-ness” to it, not vegetal but perhaps a touch grassy in character. Maybe a little touch of sweet peas? And a lingering, crystal clear sweetness in the aftertaste.

Yummy. So satisfying and relaxing as an afternoon cuppa.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 5

Glitter again? Not really a fan of this gimmick, the glitter is always so messy and gets everywhere! XD

Anyway, this is not a favorite for me. Mostly a lot of rose, with a little cacao in the background. It’s a natural rose, so not perfumey, but it’s still a bit much for me. There’s a slight creaminess to it, and a hint of bitter.

Interesting to try, but not for me.

Adventaggedon Day 5: Tea 6/7

The other rose tea from today! Similar to the English Breakfast on the first day, this tisane was coated heavily in stunning gold luster dust. It was just very pretty to look at, though I hope we don’t see too much more luster dust blends in the advent because at a certain point it will get a bit gimmicky…

The actual herbal blends is really enjoyable though. It’s simple, but the notes of fresh rose and cacao are pleasantly smooth with a bit of decadence to it while still feeling light and soothing. The cacao was definitely the stronger of the two flavours, in my opinion but it’s also a very approachable rose. I don’t think it’s so strong or perfumey to be a turn off to people who are uncomfortable with floral teas.

I liked this a lot!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1Lf_1y7rYE&ab_channel=MrNiteOwl

Adventaggedon Day 4: Tea 4/7

More green tea…

I was hopeful since I actually liked the first green from Kiani from day two and this seemed rather similar, but it wasn’t quite as good. I decided to bowl brew it which I think was actually a good choice in terms of steeping method because this tasted very clean. It just had a bunch of flavour notes that I just wasn’t super fond of. I saw someone on IG described it as tasting of blanched spinach while I agree with though I also got edamame and cooked green beans too.

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

So I wouldn’t normally drink this in the morning, but I was invited by a few friends to take part in a sort of group Instagram reel for this tea, and I recorded my part this morning so here we are! :P

Really enjoying it though! Just the sweetest and creamiest beany green tea with no hint of anything rough. Lots of light, sweet spring veggies like sugar snap peas, edamame, green beans, asparagus, and perhaps even a hint of summer squash. Very light and airy, it would be a nice tea to relax with in the afternoon or evening. It does lack a bit of depth, I would say.

Tasty goodness, and extremely easy to drink!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXExKOKFdG0/

Adventaggedon Day 3: Tea 1/7

Gongfu!

Cheers to more advent related gongfu sessions – and a Jin Jun Mei no less! This was fucking incredible. We’re early into advent season still but I’m calling it. I think this is gonna be one of those stand out teas and highlights of the month.

The dry leaf is intoxicating smelling. It’s so dense and chocolate smelling – like a very high end truffle, almost? The steeped taste is a really direct flavour translation as well. Lots of packed in flavours of molten dark chocolate, cocoa powder, raisin, oak wood, charred peanuts, caraway bread, and just a hint of black cherry. Really though it’s that heavy grounding fudge-y cocoa note that keeps pulling me back in. Total chocolate-y black tea flavour bomb in a cup!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rLD_O-magc&ab_channel=JaxAndersonVEVO

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

I’m sure this is the same as one of the Jin Jun Mei varieties on Kiani’s website, I really wish they would stop having different names in the advent…

Anyway, this is a scrumptious tea! So thick and satisfying, and has a lovely yeasted bread flavor to it. Very sweet as well, with rich dark unsweetened cocoa notes making up the base. Also present are dark, syrupy raisins and a hint of golden honey. Just a touch of caraway gently reminds me that this is a Fujian tea. The bread notes transform slightly to unbaked dough or yeasty wheat beer in the aftertaste. And throughout the sip is a crystal clear sweetness that also lingers at the very end. Perhaps the lightest whisper of honeysuckle nectar as well?

TL,DR: NOM!

Adventaggedon Day 2: Tea 6/7

This was the tea I started my day with. My mindset was that I better get the green teas out of the way so I could enjoy the rest of my day but I actually ended up liking this one much more than I had thought I would. It was light and sweet with so much distinct snow pea flavour. Snow pea/sugar snaps are one of my favourite tasting notes in white tea but anytime I can find a green tea with those notes that aren’t too grassy/oceanic or that have bitter vegetal notes I’m actually usually at least a bit of a fan.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCKtPftGnbU&ab_channel=I%27mNotDavidDeanBurkhart