Single Origin Teas

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Recent Tasting Notes

84

This is a pretty tea with twisted leaves in a variety of dark chocolate and copper colors as well as some silvery buds.

I’ve gone through 3 steepings of this tonight which was probably a bit much but it’s a really solid tea. I probably should have took notes as I went along since I’ve been drinking it over the past four hours including all through dinner. From what I recall it was light with malty and floral notes. There’s also a bit of tannic dryness at the end.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec 5 g 12 OZ / 354 ML

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81

Sip down! This was only a sample but I’m just glad to somewhat be making a dent in my stash before I move. God forbid I end up with a smaller storage space.

I had this cold brewed in a mason jar. I had to strain it before drinking because some of the leaves were still afloat. The more tea I drink the more I really like whole leaves that don’t require strainers. It’s especially nice with these cold brews. The tea itself is golden colored and now has a dry apricot skin finish. It’s very refreshing and probably the way I would want to brew it is I buy more.

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81

Still unsure if I even like whites….thought I would try this one as it is partially oxidized (hello flavor!). So I’ve scrubbed my ceramic mug and got out my thermometer so at the very least I won’t discount this as negligence on my part.

The leaves are very thin and brittle and not rolled in the least. The most striking thing is the color which is a medley of greens and browns. The leaves are also a variety of sizes from almost entire to small pieces. My ceramic strainer did a good job though so there’s not a lot of tiny pieces which is impressive for how brittle it seems and how unprotected it was in my tiny sample pack. The tea itself is a light yellow with a bit more of a golden tone than I expected of a white.

Well I’m impressed! I definitely know I’m drinking tea and not just scented hot water. And yet it’s definitely its own thing and not just a lighter tasting green tea like I expected. It’s refreshing and a bit melon flavored. At the end it’s even buttery feeling. It’s also without much bitterness or astringency which I don’t usually get from whites but I was expecting as a trade off for you know…flavor.

I did a couple of short infusions with this. Judging from the concentrated tea that came out of my strainer I wouldn’t brew this for too long or go with too high of a temp.

Since I liked the black thyolo tea I think I’ll try the pai mu tan from there as well. I’ll also have to use my remaining sample either cold or iced brewed.

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 1 min, 15 sec 3 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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When I first reviewed this tea I was a little perplexed because I really enjoyed it….and yet I didn’t really feel like drinking any more. A hour after I posted the review I found out why…caffeine! I assumed it was because I had a couple of teas that day and overdid it. So I waited for a day when I could have this after I woke up. Same thing: headache starting with the second steep then jitters later. I looked up if the tea flowers were adding caffeine but it turns out they only have a little caffeine.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12568558
Sorry, behind a paywall. I didn’t get to look at anything but the abstract myself so I don’t know their methods or what they mean by “various teas”.

I even found a site that was selling tea flowers as “the only non-caffeinated tea truely from Camilla sinensis”… Of course later in the same page it also mentions containing “very little caffeine”. Not exactly the same thing :/ But when your selling that much BS I guess it doesn’t matter.

So it’s not the flowers but at 1 bud + leaf it’s a bit tippier than most of the blacks I’m used to. I guess I’ll find out when I branch out more, I guess I’ll be sure when I try a golden tipped tea to take it easy. This one I guess I’ll only be having in moderation.

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The dried tea is very pretty thinly rolled leaves with whole Camilla blossoms. It smells very much like a black tea without a noticeable floral aroma. It brewed to a lovely clear red orange color and the leaves opened up a bit into entire young thin leaves.

One of the most noticeable things about this is a spicy, almost peppery, note from the flowers which I’m guessing might be from the pollen. It’s delightful and rather surprising since I was expecting a up front floral perfume flavor like with rose or jasmine. The tea itself is mellow, a little tannic, and leaves a cooling feeling at the end of the sip. It’s good for a few infusions but after the first the spicy flavor fades away and your left with just the good base. I’m thinking I could have got three if I hadn’t bungled my strainer and dumped all the leaves behind the couch :(

I can definitely see why the description urges you to avoid putting milk in it at first. I imagine it would wreck the delicate flavors and that would be nothing less than a crime. However, I think it’s probably a bit too refined for my tastes as I can see myself coming back to this occasionally as something refreshingly different but not something I want to keep ahold of all the time.

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74

I realized that I don’t have any unflavored black teas that I drink hot so I’ve been looking to try a greater variety. I thought this Scottish influenced African tea would be interesting (not that I know much about either) so I purchased a sample to try.

The leaves are very dark and almost have a greenish or blue cast to them. There’s a few stems but most of the leaves look like larger pieces. The smell is strong and good, like a fuller PG tips. The leaves expand quite a bit when brewed and turn a ruddy chocolate color.

The tea itself after brewing for five minutes was a very dark orange brown. I was kinda worried at this point that maybe I used too much and ended up with a tannic mess, but it was pleasant with very little astringency at the end of each sip. I can’t quite figure out how to describe the taste only that there is something just a little different about it than other blacks I’ve tried. I drank it too fast to really pin it down. I did rather enjoy it though and think it might become my ‘daily’ black especially as it’s priced the same as many flavored black teas I have with lower quality black bases.

I even got a second western style steeping out of this! It may be because of how much I used to begin with but it was still rather flavorful and surprisingly not bitter or astringent almost like a hei cha, but lighter and only faintly woody.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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87

I love bold everyday teas and I love Japanese greens so getting some bancha was kind of a no brainer. Its leaves are lighter in color than the senchas I have and it brews up to a light green color. The brewed leaves range from small chunks to almost entire large leaves.

It’s taste is savory, grassy, and low in bitterness and astringency. It’s less floral than sencha and seems less caffeinated. I even did a second western style brewing and it’s still good.

This is definitely the type of tea I had while in various small establishments in Japan. It’s good with food and for cutting through sweets. One of my best experiences was being offered a cup of hot bancha with a matcha shaved ice. The contrast was so lovely, perhaps I’ll drink this with some ice cream?

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Another sample. My only caffeine free one so my last one for the night. I’ve had lemongrass in other teas but never by itself. I like citrus flavors so I thought I would give it a try. It’s a darker green color than some samples I’ve seen in spice shops. It smells lemony and a little grassy as much as I hate to say that. It has a sort of lemony/yuzu/citronella flavor that’s good but also a little too reminiscent of some cleaners I use.

I don’t see drinking it much on its own unless I have no other caffeine free options. I think it’ll be good to add to other teas though. Maybe I can do something Tazo’s Zen but actually tasting like green tea. I might also try it with hibiscus to add some tartness so it’s more citrusy.

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95

I’ve kind of been hoarding the last of this sample knowing I can’t order more until after the move, but today was cold and I didn’t think I could face going to work without it. So I regretfully brewed the last of it and remembered why I fell so in love with this tea. Nutty. Chocolatey. Dark sugar goodness. I even forgot about the second steep (damn you Dowton Abby!) and it ended up still great and amazingly sweet. I will not be facing another winter without this.

Flavors: Burnt Sugar, Chestnut, Dark Chocolate

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95

I ordered some samples from single origin and made sure to include this one. I’ve always sort of loved the idea of roasting chestnuts despite never having seen actual chestnuts until I was an adult. Thanks for nothing American chestnut blight! Im glad now I did get it because it has a lot more to offer than fictional nostalgia.

Opening the bag of this and smelling it was strange. It reminds me of like a dark chocolate I once had. Maybe a smoked one? Or one with toasted breadcrumbs? I can’t quite put my finger on it. There is also that toasty sweet smell I recognize from my one (unfortunate) attempt at roasting my own chestnuts.

After brewing it has more of a tea smell and is a dark amber color. I noticed the brewed leaves are different colors some being dark like most black teas while others are milk chocolate colored or even greenish. I looked back at the description and apparently this is a black tea produced like an oolong. It certainly lacks much astringency. It tastes much like it smells with the chocolate and toasty nutty chestnut flavor. I’m also getting burnt sugar flavors. Not bad burnt just the sort you get when you carmalize sugar to a dark amber.

All in all a fantastic, unique, and doesn’t require milk or sugar to taste right flavored tea.

Single Origin Teas

Thanks for your review! The sugar you are probably tasting comes from the the chestnuts that are used. A marron glace are candied chestnuts from France. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marron_glac%C3%A9>

I share your same concern over the chestnut blight! There is actually a project to bring back the trees to American forests. <http://www.acf.org/index.php>. Chestnut trees used to be the dominant species in the Eastern American forests, its so shocking to think about how we as people can so carelessly destroy entire ecosystems (just by bringing one infected tree to a new ecosystem).

Please send me an e-mail (or a private message on here) with your order number/address and I’ll send you some more teas that I think you would enjoy! :)

Gooseberry Spoon

I’ve heard they actually found what may be one of the last adult trees in an undisclosed location in the northeast. Hopefully it’s got good genetics they can use to further their breeding program.

Now we just have to worry about the walnut/butternut blight coming in from the west.

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79

From the Oolong Owl. Mmm… fruit. Smells like fruit punch fruit leathers when first brewed. Now I get more of a passion fruit scent. That comes out nicely in the flavour. Still reminds me of a tropical fruit punch.

Flavors: Frosting, Passion Fruit, Red Fruits

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73

very close to a green tea… hints of peach.

Flavors: Floral, Grass, Green, Peach, Sweet

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 200 OZ / 5914 ML

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Holeee cats – the chili pepper & ginger in this just about knock you out to smell the dry leaf. Without sugar, the pepper is the foremost taste. Definitely a bite. Unfortunately, it kind of consumes the tea which is one of the main reasons I was anxious to get this blend. With sugar and cream it becomes an excellently scented, but moderately spiced chai and the pepper is moderated by the cream. Need to try again with some different parameters before rating.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Single Origin Teas

haha, guess coming from Texas I have different ideas about spice! ;)

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This is indeed rich and full bodied. It stands up well to steeping when traveling under less than optimal conditions. There is a faint maltiness I think but I want to have this under better conditions than unknown water temp in a styro cup. Even at that this tea is definitely distinguishable as a cut above standard. It may be a suitable replacement for my beloved Crimson Horizon, which, until I run out, is my vacation tea of choice. I want to test these two side by side when I get home. Until then, no rating but suffice to say that any tea that manages to shine in these circumstances and a CTC that didn’t turn bitter left in the cup, is a quality tea in my mind and one that is like to keep on hand.

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Sipdown!

I overleafed this a bit to finish off the leaf and it resulted in a nice, grapey flavour. I also used a slightly lower temperature (85C instead of 90). Nice and soothing, fruity, and haylike.

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Backlog from this morning. A nice, unobtrusive tea. I probably have enough left for 1 or 2 cups, but I’m glad I got a chance to try this.

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As it brewed, I smelled that grapelike smell that I assume must be what Darjeeling afficionadoes call “muscatel.” However, I’m fairly new to Darjeelings and I rarely drink wine, so this is something I need to research a bit more.

The brewed tea is a golden brown colour slightly darker than amber, and very clear. Although this tea was picked in the summer, it reminds me of an autumn flush Darjeeling that I used to have. My understanding is that authentic Darjeelings have a second flush that’s characterized by strong fruit flavour and a bit of sparkle. This tea, in contrast, is more muted.

Full review here: http://booksandtea.ca/2015/07/tea-review-jun-chiyabari-second-flush-nepal-by-single-origin-teas/

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92

Any of my tea peeps out there fans of Futurama? Remember that one episode where Zoidberg goes all mating frenzy and tries to woo fellow Decapodian, Edna using some serious Cyrano de Bergerac skills. Well, there is one scene where he asks her how her day was and she goes into detail ‘well first I got up and had a piece of toast, and then I brushed my teeth…’ and it just goes on!! Well, that is kinda how my day was, pretty run of the mill, though with pizza instead of toast.

As you all probably know, I was at the Midwest Tea Fest last week (more on that tomorrow) and I picked up a tea I had a great desire to try, Single Origin Tea’s Orange Blossom Oolong. This tea is a blend of highly oxidized Taiwanese Oolong, Orange Blossoms, and a pinch of Orange Essential Oil, this tea was sourced from a tea shop in Edinburgh, Scotland, specifically Anteaques Tea Shop, which is pretty cool. I wanted to try this tea because I have a weakness for oranges and orange blossoms mixed with my teas, I just love it, especially since I cannot actually eat oranges, I get my cravings satisfied with these teas. The aroma is a Florida explosion! A blend of fresh oranges and orange blossoms evokes the groves of citrus country along with sunlight and warmth, it is very comforting. There is a tiny hint of loam and cocoa underneath the well balanced blend of oranges and blossoms, adding a bit of depth to the aroma.

Into the gaiwan the leaves and petals go for a nice happy steeping, and of course my whole tea area now smells like orange blossoms and oranges, it is rather heady and very enjoyable. Sniffing the now wet leaves reveals there is more to this tea than just citrus and flowers though, there are also notes of toasted sesame, chestnut, cocoa, and a woody finish. The liquid is so citrusy! So much orange, even a bit of tangerine, it is like a citrus party in my nose, and now with woody undertones, and of course delicate heady orange blossoms.

Yum! Yum! Yum!! This tea is really quite yummy, with a start of sweet oranges and a finish of sweet orange. The midtaste is a blend of sesame seeds and walnut shells, with a delicate heady blend of orange blossoms and a touch of hyacinth. The mouthfeel is pleasantly smooth, no dryness at all, and the aftertaste starts with gentle oranges and just lingers for an eternity. The sweetness does not ever reach levels of cloying, which is a huge plus.

The second steeping has a pleasant orange aroma, though it is a bit diminished this time around. This allows the aroma of walnut shells and cocoa to shine more though, along with the delicate orange blossoms. Tasting the tea, it starts off smooth and sweet, with notes of cocoa and woodiness, and just a hint of orange blossoms. The midtaste has a rich maltiness and sweet orange that starts off delicate and builds into a juicy intensity at the finish. If you let this tea cool it becomes very sweet and rich, me thinks I might have to cold steep this at some point.

For the third steep, the aroma is a mellow blend of oranges and orange blossoms, with an accompaniment of cocoa and a tiny hint of nuttiness. The taste has mellowed out a good bit this time around, it seems that the shining light of this steeping is the orange blossom, heady and sweet with a joining note of cocoa. The finish is that of honey and it lingers. I loved this tea, but I love oranges and orange blossoms, so no surprise there!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/06/single-origin-tea-orange-blossom-oolong.html

Ubacat

Mmmm Sounds delicious. I love orange too but I hate it when it has a bite, is too strong, or is sour in teas.

Single Origin Teas

:) It was great meeting you at the Midwest Tea Fest!

TeaNecromancer

So awesome to be able to put a face to the people I have talked to online. :D

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95

Super tasty! Though I am biased as I love chestnut teas!

The flavor is pretty natural roasted chestnuts without being too sweet. The black base, though light and pretty close to a high oxidized oolong (which this is actually a chinese oolong fully oxidized) with roasty caramel flavor. The base goes well with the chestnut flavor. I got a really good second infusion too!

Full review at Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/single-origin-teas-flavored-tea-review/

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Kittenna

Sounds amazing. I love Lupicia’s Chaud les Marrons (or whatever it’s called).

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75
drank Blue Lady by Single Origin Teas
1271 tasting notes

This was a fun black tea – a perfect afternoon tea with a tropical twist. The dry leaf has a dainty accent of blue, yellow and red teeny flowers and flavored with passionfruit. I tasted a malty black with a tropical vibe and dry finish.

Full review at Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/single-origin-teas-flavored-tea-review/

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75

This flavored oolong is all about the orange flavor! It has a navel orange kind of taste, with a bit of a woodsy toasty oolong background. The blend is fresh, sweet and clean without any tart dryness. I’m thinking Orange Blossom Oolong would be best iced or cold brew.

Full review at Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/single-origin-teas-flavored-tea-review/

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82

This was my breakfast tea for the morning, and it was pretty delicious. This has a similar resemblance to an autumn flush darjeeling. The dry leaves are large twisted knots ranging from dark brown gold to a mudded green. The flavor is very similar to darjeeling as well. It carries a crisp and light tone, but it has less muscatel. There is also a strong rose flavor throughout the brew. This was a wonderful tea to wake up with :)

Flavors: Floral, Rose, Smooth

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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95

It took me a few cups to find the perfect way to steep this tea. Single Origin Teas does not provide instructions on their website (other than to say not to use boiling water,) but once found my preferred time and temperature— all I can say is wow. The flavor is mellow, slightly sweet, and almost nutty; but what really stands out is the texture. This tea is exceptionally smooth and almost buttery when you hold it on your tongue. It feels almost as luxurious as the silk sheets I’ve been lusting over the past few years. Since tea is much more affordable than silk sheets, I think I’ll pick up some more of this while I’m in Kansas City. It will be perfect to enjoy during the hot days of summer.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/5/5/tuesday-tea-white-monkey-single-origin-teas

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
TeaNecromancer

Comparing this tea to silk sheets is perfect! Man, I have not had White Monkey in forever, it keeps popping up, so clearly I need to get some too at the festival.

Short Sorceress

It’s a great comparison, isn’t it? And yes, you should definitely pick some of this up while you’re there. This really blows the other White Monkey teas I’ve tried out of the water.

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83

kimquat sent this one my way and i was excited to receive it, as it’s been on my wishlist to try for a bit now. this reminds me of darjeelings, but without that muscatel flavour. Instead this is sweet, with a flavour that is reminescent of hay or something. I’m not getting floral notes like others have mentioned, and that’s A-OK with me :) This is a really nice cup – enjoying it while surveying the destruction that we’ve managed to do to the house lol

thanks for sharing this one kimquat!

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