World Tea House

Aventaggedon Day 6: Tea 7/7

I was really prepared to not enjoy this tea but it actually ended up being kind of alright. I steeped it up hot with a generous addition of cream to give it more of a “golden milk” type of vibe and help mute some of those more aggressive spice notes. It was still deeply peppery tasting with a lot of earthy hot turmeric and ginger and just a bit if cinnamon. Definitely not the type of profile I would typically turn too – just too much spice overall. However with the cream the mouthfeel/texture was really pleasant and I felt cozy while drinking it which is something I sort of needed today because I was just more grumpy than normal.

Adventaggedon Day 5: Tea 3/7

This was the other peach white tea that I got in today’s advent assortment and since I wasn’t in the mood to do a side by side tasting I decided to cold brew it to do something different with the two.

It’s more mildly flavoured than the Kusmi blend – which wasn’t super strongly flavoured in the first place – which makes for a very gentle and refreshing drink to sip on throughout the afternoon. More focus on the white tea of course, and then just the subtle kiss of delicate peach. I like the overall simplicity, but it’s so light that I think I would need to be in a fairly particular mood to want to reach for it.

Adventaggedon Day 4: Tea 1/7

Gongfu!

Today had a lot of green teas including this Sencha which is, across all the advents I’m doing, the one tea in particular I’ve been dreading seeing…

Trying to look on the silver lining, it did allow me to steep it up in a shiboridashi that I really like that I feel is very underutilized in my teaware collection since it’s really best suited for straight green teas – my least consumed tea type. It was also a pretty mild sencha all things considered. Definitely a lot of those oceanic and marine notes and a strong grassy taste, which are the things I shy away from. However, there was also a sort of starchy green/underripe banana note that I found interesting and I paired the session overall with some pomegranate which added a nice complimenting bright red fruit sweetness as well.

So I definitely feel like I made the best out of a tea I wasn’t thrilled to be drinking.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3TWXAdVKok&ab_channel=JulianMoon

Adventaggedon Day 3: Tea 5/7

Lots and lots of ingredients in this blend that I’m not a big fan of – namely the large amount of chamomile. So, I’m truthfully not really enjoying this one a whole lot today for taste. However, the light citrusy note and the sweet spearmint do really go a long way in terms of making it more palatable.

The big this for me is that it’s just incredibly well timed since I’ve been so fucking tired yet having a really challenging time sleeping this week. Chamomile doesn’t normally do the trick for me, but at this point I’ll take anything I can get…

Adventaggen Day 2: Tea 7/7

Gongfu!

One of the reasons (among several) that I chose World Tea House’s advent was because I was hoping there would be quite a few teas in the assortment that would work gongfu so that I didn’t have to go almost a month with next to no gongfu brewing. I was very pleased to see this full leaf Kenyan tea in the assortment because it seemed PERFECT for steeping gongfu!

Most of the teas I’ve tried from World Tea House have actually been African black teas so this was definitely more familiar than probably most of what I’ll taste in Phil’s advent this year. I liked it quite a bit though! The liquor was very viscous and syrupy with just a bit of a tannic/astringent edge at the finish. I got notes of stewed and brandied red fruits and stonefruit along with a little citrus and hony, and then quite a bit of malt and leather. I loooovvveee the combination of syrupy red fruit and leather notes in tea so that was such a satisfying consistent throughout the session.

I honestly probably could have brewed my session longer, but I stopped after five steeps because I had other teas to get to for Adventageddon…

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYCl8FE_bFU&ab_channel=LeoBhanji-Topic

Adventaggedon Day 1: Tea 4/7

This tea comes with a story.

So in our lab at work we have a large calendar on one wall across from the table/desk that I sit and work at. It’s also next to the counter by the sink where one of about three different “tea stations” are in the lab that have all the different tools and bobbles you would need to make tea for either yourself or a large tasting group.

I decided to brew up the whole sample of this tea in one go as a very large Western style teapot that could be shared among everyone in the lab this afternoon. At this time this station (near the calendar) was the only one that had a clean teapot near it in the size I wanted. So I stood there making my tea and waiting for it to steep for a good five minutes and just as I finished pouring my cup I looked up at the calendar on the wall only to realize that the photograph for December that we had just flipped to today was of this tea garden.

It felt weirdly serendipitous.

Gongfu!

We all know that smoked tea is an absolute comfort tea for me so after a few rough days under the weather the intense smoke and sweet fruity undertones of leather and pomegranate molasses are just making me feel so warm and comforted. Charred strawberries are a new discovery for me, but I love how tender and jammy they become. The heavy roast and bitter char that starts each sip followed by such a sweet supple strawberry flavour is already such a delight, but this pairing mirrors and compliments the upfront smoky flavour and sweeter dense fruit undertones of the tea VERY well too! Thrilled that the payoff of this first time tea pairing was so great!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbQAWfBO1Sz/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H26CAdM0tdc&ab_channel=CoastModern

Recently did a comparative tasting with this and the unsmoked version. Longer tasting note discussing the two can be found at the link below – just cross referencing here for consistencies sake!

https://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/424712#likes

So I ordered an advent and some Thyolo Moto Guava Smoked Tea from World Tea House and when I unboxed that order a couple days ago I was absolutely surprised and delighted to see that Phil had very thoughtfully included for me a bag of the unsmoked version of the same tea for, in his own words, “science”.

It was just such an incredibly thoughtful inclusion and so of course one of the first things I did that day when I had a moment was cup the unsmoked and smoked versions of the tea side by side for a comparative tasting. Truthfully, the smoked version of the tea just blows this one out of the water – it’s full bodied with a deeply mouth coating smokiness with subtle fruity elements to it and a nice clean finish. It feels so round as it sweeps across the palate. However, this one was still really nice! Notes of malt, honey, red fruit and nuts come across and in general it’s a full bodied and smoothly approachable black tea with very, very low astringency.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWZFVOXLsve/

Geek Steep S1E13 – Game of Thrones

I don’t like Game of Thrones – I think the portrayal of women and gratuitous depictions of sexual abuse are inexcusable and, for a very long time, if I knew people who did enjoy the show I definitely lost respect for those people…

So, watching an episode of Game of Thrones for the first time in years was a lot for me. I actually had a few ideas of teas that could pair well/work thematically with the show but I realllyyyy wanted to choose something that would make the episode watch a lot better because of just how mindblowingly delicious the tea is, and that fit this port scented black tea perfectly!

It fits in because of the super boozy red fruit/port notes that have permeated the black tea which mirror the often excessive amounts of drinking – in particular during the wedding scene from the episode we watched. So it did seem like a good pairing for the fandom just in general – but it’s also just an incredibly nice tea, and so the quality and deliciousness of it made the experience better just for those aspects alone.

Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/

Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website

DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast

Sipdown!

Breakfasts will not be the same.

It doesn’t do anything too different from other decent Assam teas, but that’s ok because Assam teas rock in general. Here’s some good raisin and malt flavours, with a robust profile that’s perfect for sleepy mornings, milk & cookies, and appeasing my father who doesn’t see much appeal beyond Red Rose (but he’s out and no one is restocking because.. so much tea).

Final Rating: 78 It was good and easy to drink while it lasted and I’d pick up another good Assam like this in the future. It’s not a top priority, however.

This one is old, although not as old as I thought. My sister brought this one back from Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2018. She also hyped the tea shop, World Tea House, and said the owner was awesome and super helpful. My sister doesn’t know a lot about tea. She likes tea a lot and is equally content to drink a Starbuck’s London Fog as she is to drink a peppermint tea latte, a cup of Yunnan Golden Snail, Milk Oolong, or a Red Rose tea bag, so long as someone else is making it. If it’s milky or milk can be added that’s great, and if it pairs well with a cookie it may as well be perfect.

So in that regard, I do believe World Tea House picked the perfect tea for sis. This Assam is lovely with milk, and makes me reassess my lack of Assam drinking. I don’t mind a nice Earl Grey or robust and full bodied breakfast tea every once in a while either!

Once I drink this up, as well as my ancient tin of Andrews & Dunham’s Tiger Assam (nvm I left that at my old work place so it’s Red-tailed Hawk tea!), I think I will properly revisit Indian teas.

Gongfu Sipdown (2566)!

This is a bittersweet sipdown because this is one of the better barrel age teas I’ve gotten to sample, and I will miss having it in my stash. Brisk, full bodied and very malty and tannic but also dripping with boozier overtones of waxy and fermented red fruits, leather, and molasses. You can definitely taste the port but it’s clear that the Kenyan black tea scented with it is a rock solid and naturally complimentary foundation for those flavours, and you really need BOTH of those elements to shine in order for the overall tea to be as noteworthy as it is.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5CFX3UOicR/?img_index=4

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_MBJR9esw

Gongfu!

Revisiting this paired with some bright, sweet Rainier cherries!! Of the various barrel aged teas I’ve tried, this is one of my favourites. The liquor is rich and full-bodied with a dense and syrupy mouthfeel. Without being cloying, the sweet and boozier notes of dark red berries are dense and punchy; they remind me of over ripe raspberries and Saskatoon berries but with a slight bitterness and undertone of leather and bitter cocoa to offset the lush fruit notes. With the cherries, this was such a vibrant pairing! Both share similar red fruit notes, though the tea has a heaviness to it while the cherries are bright and lively! It creates great contrast despite the overlap, and neither overpowers the other!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu2aNOiLfrH/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LM0sIA_Eg

Sipped on this one yesterday afternoon while at work and I enjoyed it but I did feel like the taste was just a little flat – it took a very long steep time to bring out those sweeter red fruit/cherry port notes and while a long steep came a wave of tannin/astringency. I’m not sure the trade off of that much astringency was worth pulling out those fruitier notes.

Another from today – reaalllyyyy lovely mug!

Full bodied and complex, but also quite smooth/round and very fruity. Tasted distinctly like red fruits and the port that it was scented with along with syrupy brandy and raisin notes, dates, and sweet leather. Seemed to coat the mouth the same way a good wine will coat the glass.

Delish!

Had this one last night, also during my virtual tea hangout with my instagram friend…

I actually won this one in an instagram contest, but here’s a secret: I was eyeing up this tea (and some of the other alcohol scented ones they carry) before winning and I probably would have ordered it anyway. Free is better, though.

The dry leaf smells wonderful; a little malty with some heavier citrus notes (a common thing I get out of Kenyan teas), a hint of cumin like spice but also quite sweet and boozy from the port – that red wine/red fruit kind of syrupy berry vibe! Really quite enchanting, and impressive how strong the port came through!

I did a sort of “modified” Gongu brew for this one – heavier leaf than I’d use for a Western steeped tea and a little bit less water than one as well, but with shorter steeps more in line with Gongfu brewing. I got three infusions; the first was good, the second was really good, and the third was weak. The leaves smells divine after all three infusions though; just syrupy and boozy with that thick reduced red berry note.

The first steep was more black tea than anything else; malt and grains, baker’s chocolate and a sort of musky leather/umami type note. It had a hint of red fruit sweetness from the port, but it was milder and sort of a whisp in the undertone and finish. It didn’t taste bad, but it lacked some body and intensity. The second steep was the best as it had the same black tea notes, though with a bit of autumnal leaf as well, but a thicker and denser port/boozy red fruit note. I described it to my tea friend at one point as being like the “red flavour” of the wine gum candies, but just less sugary. The third was just weak – similar notes, but the leaves just clearly weren’t cut out for that level of resteeping.

In the future, I have the gut feeling that the best way to enjoy this one might be a straight up Western teapot type of method.

And yet another one from the teaswap with Togo. Thanks!

I started taking tasting notes and quickly figured out by smell and taste that this is probably the same tea as What-Cha’s Indonesia Harendong #12 ‘Jin Xuan’ Dark Roasted Oolong, which I adore and have reviewed.

I’m not sure if this is a different harvest or if leafing it a gram more than the What-Cha tea revealed some differences between the two. With this one, I did pick up on a cinnamon aroma in the dry leaf (think cinnamon sugar wheat toast) and some raisin. I also noticed some astringency which I don’t recall getting in What-Cha’s tea. This one had more defined cream-caramel and red/purple fruit flavors and a really strong returning rock sugar sweetness but less minerality.

I’d say the two teas are equally pleasing and I don’t think I’d rate this one different if I had gone into this blind because the overall theme of the tea is the same: roast/char, toast/grain, wood, berries, stone fruit, cream, light caramel, grass, mineral.

Sipdown (571)!

This ended up being my last tea in Regina before moving to Montreal – it wasn’t supposed to be, but I found myself awake at 2AM waiting to leave for a flight at 4AM and at that point I certainly wasn’t going to go back to sleep. So what else did I have to do other than make myself some tea!?

I steeped this a good twelve or so times, though I did “stack” my infusions in groupings of two so I only drank about six cups of tea for my twelve steeps of it. Most of my teaware was long since packed or sent out to Montreal at that point, so I only had my mom’s large Western teacups to pour into, and they perfectly held two steeps from the one gaiwan that I hadn’t packed yet.

It was a nice tea; I definitely liked it better steeped Gong Fu over the Western cup that I had a few months ago. I’d say that predominantly this was a more nutty and sweet profile with a light roast to it – reminded me at times of a mix between sesame, barley, and peanuts. It’s still not the most robust flavour overall; more subtle and smooth. It was a very nice 2AM kind of tea though, and made me feel a little cozy before the flight, which was important since it was so stressful.

Discovery Tea Box – Tea Fourteen

Second to last tea that I pulled from the box; grabbed it because I’d like to try more purple teas since what I have tried has been pretty random and varied. I steeped this Western, but made sure to leave enough leaf in the pouch for one standard Gong Fu session so I can try it that way at a later date.

This was nice, but I still feel like I still don’t really know what I’m supposed to be “isolating” from the taste that’s so distinct for a purple tea. It mostly, to me, tasted lightly sweet and toasted, a little bit like toasted nuts. Hints of fruit, but not a ton of it. Sort of vaguely autumnal, but just comforting and smooth tasting in general. I’m very excited to see what it might bring to the table when steeped Gong Fu…

This is a dark roasted oolong with sweet woody aroma of tree sap. The taste is also sweet and nutty with no bitterness and dry finish. It seems like a it would be a nice dessert tea. It is quite infusable, but makes for a long gong fu session, since the later steeps have to be pushed a fair bit.

This is an all-time favourite. It’s so incredibly good, and resteeps wonderfully well at least three times. Will definitely buy more.

Chamomile has never really been my thing, but it’s grown on me over the past year. There’s not much to say about this particular one. It’s chamomile. Nice and simple.