3 Leaf Tea

May Flowers! Seeing as I’m a huge lavender fan, of course when I found some lavender matcha I had to get some. I like my matcha latte-style, since the vanilla almond milk adds a bit of sweetness and creaminess all at once, so I tend to prepare my matcha very lazily by putting a sifted teaspoon into my milk frother with a cup of milk and letting it mix and heat up at the same time.

The dry matcha had a very strong lavender scent, but my finished latte pretty much just smelled like an average matcha latte, without a lavender aroma… I’m not sure if the milk made that much of a difference, or if the flavoring was more subtle than it seems once out of the bag. Most of the cup I was just getting a very sweet, grassy matcha taste, but toward the end of my cup, I finally started getting a distinct lavender flavor. I stirred up my cup with a spoon even after its frothing, but it seems the flavor still settled toward the bottom of the cup. Once I did reach the lavender flavor, it was quite nice though. The flavor goes nicely with the sweet grassy flavor of the matcha, and I’m looking forward to trying some other things with it, like matcha lemonade.

This one was also from this afternoon. I haven’t had matcha in an eternity, so made this one in to a latte. Overall as a result this one was totally fine. I probably should have had it straight but flavoured matcha for me was always more about lattes and smoothies :) Thanks VariaTEA!

Final Count: 39

Good matcha, I like the mint flavor. It is unsweetened which is nice.

From #matchamonday yesterday!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeeC_oAuCga/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTEF1Ii4BH8

From this past #matchamonday! I had Monday off because it was a stat day, so I decided to have my matcha in the part – which was really nice and relaxing. I picked this one because the really fresh, crisp finish of the mint was just the cherry on top of the warm and gentle breeze of the afternoon! Nothing quite like sipping tea with the feeling of grass between your toes.

Also increasing my rating from the 60 it was at – in the past I may not have enjoyed this tea, but clearly there’s been a shift in my impression.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPTSTrnABYo/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpbm7JOP7mE

I’ve had this matcha before but it’s been three years, so the refresher was very welcome!

I’m not sure if the formula has changed or just my tastes but this was much, much better than I remembered it tasting – so fresh and crisp with a punch of cooling menthol peppermint on the finish. I felt the chill as I exhaled, and I loved it!

I ended up mixing myself up a cup of this, cardamom matcha, and cinnamon matcha in equal thirds – it tastes like Spruce! Very interesting combination of flavours that I enjoyed deeply. Now I find myself strongly craving a spruce or fir flavoured matcha that’s more “properly” put together – am I alone in thinking that would taste good?

Sipdown (514)!

Got this one in my Sipsby box! I’ve never actually found a mint flavoured matcha I’ve liked so I wasn’t so much excited about the particular flavour of the matcha I received BUT I was excited to get something from this company. I’ve been fascinated by them for a while but since they don’t offer Canadian shipping I haven’t been able to do anything about it…

Added a little bit of milk to this one.

Flavour wise? This actually MIGHT be the best mint matcha I’ve had to date but that said I still don’t like it that much. I think mint matcha just isn’t my thing- but it’s well balanced with the natural taste of the matcha itself and quite smooth/creamy. Not overly sweet, either. I think if you were someone who actually liked the idea of a mint matcha that this would be a really solid, enjoyable option. For me though? It’s just kind of average.

Upon opening this sample packet of Peach Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea I was smacked in the face with intense peach aroma. I LOVED the scent of this Peach Matcha! It made me wonder if it was going to be ALL Peach and NO Matcha when it came to flavor. Let me tell you that was NOT the case. Once I whisked my hot matcha up in my cup I took my first sip and what I found was MAJOR defined and STRONG green matcha flavor with an underlying peach flavor! This strong matcha base is not for wimps! It’s of the stronger matchas I have sipped on that is for sure!

Full Scoop:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/05/21/add-tea-review-title-6-3/

This is kind of a unique tea. I find it hard to define. It is listed as a white tea. The dry leaf resembles jasmine pearls with a lot of silver buds and without the jasmine. The steeped leaf has a lot of leaf in addition to the buds. The liquor is bright golden yellow after a two minute steep. The aroma is nutmeg and floral. Tasting it has a strong bite of the good kind of bitter. In this regard it reminds me of Chinese green tea. There is a fair amount of the nutmeg and floral in the taste. These notes, though no where near as intense, remind me of a green high mountain oolong. Under everything runs an earthy woods flavor. This is the note that most seems like a white tea. The flavor is strong but has good depth.

I really had no idea what to expect. It kind of boggled my mind trying to picture LS without the heavy smoke. Would it be more like a Jin Jun Mei or Bohea? It is pretty much neither. When I first sniffed the open bag, I got a light note that seemed kind of grapey like a Nepalese tea. This quickly passed and was replaced with a hefty roasted aroma along with subtle cocoa notes.

3 minute steep in 195 F water produced a deep orange cup with ruby undertones. While the mug had the roasted aroma the taste was more woods and deep forest leaves. The roastiness is much less hardcore than the aroma. No bitterness and only a mild briskness. Hearty and rich came to mind.

Halfway through the mug I added a tiny amount of sweetener. It took it really well. Burnt sugar and cocoa notes are more obvious now. I did not try but would imagine it would handle milk well.

Contemplating trying this again as an iced tea.

So in the last few days I have survived preparing my taxes, fixing a candlelight steak dinner for my wife on Valentine’s Day. Yes the smoke detectors were going off during the meal as apparently stove top iron grills smoke – a lot. Later it snowed like mad. Very little stuck but looked near white out at times. This morning the fog was extremely thick. The worse part of the weekend is my frother suddenly stopped working. I think the batteries are too big around to fit properly. If different batteries don’t get it up and running I will immediately order a new one. I need my morning froth.

None of that has anything to do with this tea. 3Leaf blends their own flavored matcha and hot chocolate. They also have a select amount of loose leaf. Furry Peak is a Mao Feng. The leaf is really dark with light green and yellow streaks. It is covered in fine hair. Dry scent is grassy, ocean, and malt. Once steeped the aroma becomes a wonderfully hefty umami. I just want to get a fork and eat the soft delicate spring green leaves. The brew is green tinted yellow. The taste is fresh, crisp, and lightly grassy, with a mild clean bite. Seems far more savory than sweet to me, but I have no desire to mess with this beautiful cup by adding anything to it. If you are a Mao Feng fan, this is worth considering.

Man, the last day has been a whirlwind of emotions! Last night my computer had an accident and I thought, well crap, there goes the blog since I lacked the funds to get a new one for at least a month, let’s just say I did not go to bed happy…or woke up happy. But lo and behold Ben fixed it (at least temporarily) so hooray for that! To celebrate (and get my agoraphobic self outside of the house…going to try for at least once a week) we did my favorite thing, visited a thrift store. I got a really cute little cup, oh yea, and A FRENCH HORN!!!!!!! For those who don’t know, this is a really big deal, I go into a full explanation of why here, but after many years I own a French Horn, its a double so it is what I played, needs a mouthpiece and some oiling, but wow. I am practically exploding!

Ok, I can focus long enough to blog (and then go back to playing Ark because it is all I do, it is all I know) and today I am looking at 3 Leaf Tea’s Golden Eyebrow (Jin Jun Mei) and for those who have been reading my rambling for a while, you know how excited I get over my favorite Wuyi Red Tea (sorry Lapsang, I love you too, but that is Ben’s favorite) with its oh so delicate fuzzy leaves. The aroma is delicious. blending sweet notes of cocoa and sweet potatoes with malt and peanuts. Jin Jun Mei has a resinous woody quality that reminds me of pine sap, and the finish is starchy and sweet.

Into my dear little Petr Novak pot the leaves go for their bath, the gold is no longer fuzzy, but it is worth altering their appearance. The aroma of the soggy leaves is really sweet, nice notes of brown sugar and sweet potatoes with malt and peanuts. The finish is sappy and pine like adding a bit of woodiness to the sweetness. The liquid is a sweet blend of dates, malt, brown sugar and sweet potato with a roasted peanut finish. These aroma notes please me.

First steeping is made of yum, it starts soft in both texture and taste, with notes of malt and molasses and I swear a touch of maple syrup. Towards the end it picks up notes of sweet potatoes and dates with a touch of roasted peanuts. The mouthfeel at the end almost has a sticky quality, reminding me of sap, not sure why but this tea always comes off as very resinous to me.

For the second steep the aroma is rich and malty with a strong resinous and roasted peanut undertone. This is carried over into the taste as well, it starts rich and sweet and stays that way til the end, luckily this is a rich tea without a hint of bitterness, no astringency either which is probably why I prefer Chinese reds to the more robust Ceylons and such. The finish is a blend of molasses and malt, with a lingering honey aftertaste.

Third steep, though it was not my last, this tea had a few more steeps in it. Sadly I find that Red teas are kinda in the middle with longevity, I have never really had one that lasts more than seven (and not just tasted so watered down and boring) where as most Puerhs, Whites, and Oolongs can go much longer and most greens putter out at about three-four. This steep carries on from the second, going strong with rich and malty notes, not really changing but being very tasty and soothing. The fourth steep is the real change, it looses some of its rich maltiness and is replaced with wonderful honey sweetness that lingers.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/02/3-leaf-tea-golden-eyebrows-jin-jun-mei.html

Another day, another day of me frolicking with dinosaurs in pixel land! Today was better than yesterday, I was able to redo my ‘Mobile Oppression Yacht" which is a boat with crazy ’Species X’ plants that are essentially turrets so I wreck the dinos getting lots of meat, and I tamed a little derpy Dimorphodon to ride on my shoulder. Yesterday would have been the most epic, except for my massive ‘hitting the wrong button and ruining everything fail’ that I am STILL salty over. I was well into taming a Spinosaur, a very resource intensive process, hit the wrong button and wasted all that time and resources by ruining the tame. There was some serious raging after that!! I also spent a good chunk of today trying to hunt down and tame an Argentavis with no luck, but soon I will be the queen of the skies…and swamp if I get another go at a Spino! Life in Ark is full of hardship and joy.

Today we are looking at a tea that reminds me of prehistoric fuzzy pine cones or maybe little catkins, yes it is the beloved Wild Pu’erh Buds (Ya Bao) this one comes from 3 Leaf Tea. This tea is made from the very young buds of trees from Yunnan in very early spring, way before they have the chance to open into tea leaves. I have seen a bit of debate among vendors and drinkers alike over whether or not this tea (like Moonlight and Yunnan Silver Needle) is a white tea or a puerh, and I like to think that this is just magic stuff that overlaps and joins both types of tea into something epic. I can see a valid case for either side of the debate so I have never been able to make a clear decision. The aroma of the little buds is very crisp and light, this is one of those teas that smells very pure (not saying that others smell unclean, but it is like comparing the clean smell of the air after snowfall and the smell after a spring rain) There is not a lot going on with the aroma, crisp cedar, gentle apricots, and a touch of lettuce. The comparison to a snowy day’s aroma is not entirely false, this type of tea has such a winter deep in a forest quality to me, even with the sweet notes of apricot.

Gaiwan time, for no reason other than feeling like using this set I went with my Ru Yao, though I can say with the perfectly clear liquid, my camera had a fun time trying to focus thanks to all the crackles! The aroma of the wet leaves is fairly faint and quite sweet, blending fresh apricot and clover honey with lettuce and cedar. I do love that cedar note, it has a slight sap like quality to it as well. The liquid is sweet and juicy, like a honey drizzled fresh apricot, eaten on a cold day in a cedar forest.

The first steep is as light as the aroma, it is one of the really endearing qualities of Ya Bao, it is a subtle tea. It is smooth in the mouth and starts a bit crisp with notes of cedar wood and lettuce. This moves to wonderful light sweetness like fresh apricot and very light honey. The end of the sipping is crisp and refreshing cooked celery with a little bit of a cedar sap aftertaste.

Second steep and the aroma has gained a bit of a wildflower note, perhaps this tea that is so synonymous with winter is now fading into spring? Nah, it was a false thaw. The taste has the same wonderful crisp cedar notes and sweet fruitiness, but it starts to pick up a cucumber and squash blossom quality at the finish. The aftertaste lingers and at the very end it fades into apricot which is pleasant.

For the third steep nothing really has changed in aroma or taste. I find that Ya Bao does really change in taste notes, but only in intensity. This steep is more mellow, more similar to the first, and the next steep after as well. One of my favorite ways to steep Ya Bao is to grandpa/bowl steep the tea after the first two steepings, I will just transfer the little buds into a bowl or sip them from my gaiwan, it never gets bitter and only ever gets sweeter.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/02/3-leaf-tea-wild-puerh-buds-ya-bao-tea.html

Jin Jun Mei… Need I say more?

OK, I will. Dry leaf scent is malt and brownies. The steeped leaf aroma is honey and molasses. The brew is a deep reddish brown. It tastes of honey and malt with hints of sweet potato. I notice a crisp briskness running through the sip but it stays out of the limelight. I also thought it neat that the more I sipped, the more I caught a citrus type fruitiness. This is a pretty solid example of the type.

I’ve finally made my way over to this brew. I’m going to start off by saying that I brewed gongfu, and I believe this should be brewed western (I have trouble listening). Anyways, this is still a decent brew. The leaves have several tangerine husks scattered throughout. The dry leaf has a citrus scent with earth mixed in. I placed a small amount (didn’t have much) in my warmed gaiwan, and I gave it a shake. The warmed scent is sweet and dry with, of course, tangerine aromas. I washed the leaves and prepared for brewing. The liquor is a clear crimson. The taste is nice and sweet. There is a lot of broken leaf, so the brew made quite a mess. There is a numbing sensation of the tongue, which is followed by a light tangerine creme flavor. This is a nice drink, but it is not overly complex. I strongly believe this would be more appeasing if brewed western. I was able to pull about five steeping sessions from this brew. The flavor is still dessert like, earthy, wooded, and heavily drying. It’s a good experience, but it’s not something I’d personally own. Also, I just learned that this company is not too far from, so I may be stopping by for tea.

https://instagram.com/p/8rWQmGTGf_/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

When I opened this bag I was greeted by the strong fresh scent of oranges! It reminded me of my parent’s house in California where there is a grafted tree that produces oranges all year round.
My first sip was concentrated and unpleasant, but after the addition of some creamer to dilute it, it turned to a really nice creamsicle type flavor. The orange flavor is really true to life and full. I don’t really taste much matcha beyond the orange, but that cup was enjoyed and went down the hatch faster than I expected!

I’ve finally made my way to this brew. The powder is glowing! This matcha has a beautiful color. I absolutely love it! The powder carries a fresh and creamy spring scent. I take in short sniffs of vegetation and wildflowers. This is a very nice matcha. I prepare my chawan and get to brewing. The warmed powder has a deep creamy scent. It’s an almost chocolate milk aroma. I prepared this usucha and koicha. This is so creamy and delicious. I was able to whisk up a thick and textured froth in my chawan. The brew remains a vibrant emerald green. The smell is of pure life. I take a sip from my bowl, and it’s as if you can feel your body awaken. The taste is smooth with incredible depth. I take in tones of vegetal, algae, cream, and almost an almond flavor. I recommend if you are brewing koicha to reaaaally sift the powder. This matcha does clump very easily. Otherwise, this is an incredible drink. I really appreciate being able to try this. I shared my brew with many others, and they agree that it is a brilliant brew.

https://instagram.com/p/8G-0vbzGcs/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

https://instagram.com/p/8G_7sLTGfI/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

First tasting note in a long time! I used to write tasting notes at work all the time but we’ve been SWAMPED lately.

I recently ran out of flavored matcha and decided to finally place a 3 Leaf tea order. I believe it was thelastdodo who gave me a sample of their coconut matcha a while back. I love coconut and for the price their flavored matchas are a steal. I ordered a large package of coconut matcha and a sample of the raspberry. I drank the raspberry in cold milk with no sweetner this morning and it was very nice! Not artificial or weird tasting at all. This is one I will pick up more of in the future along with the coconut of course :)

It smells like fresh raspberries. The taste is a little perfume like, but raspberry is in there. It tastes a bit better with cream and the fruity taste would probably be rounded out well with some sweetener. It isn’t something I’m going to be running out to buy, but it does have attention.

I know this is not tea but it is blended by a tea company and hey, it’s hot chocolate! This morning started out at 45 F. The beginning of the month it thought it was July. Now it thinks it is October first thing in the morning. Perfect weather for this one.

Frothed this up in a mug of micronuked milk. I am in love. I am used to the grocery store variety of peppermint cocoa powder. They sort of work. This is a way better. The first sip is so rich, creamy, and chocolaty. Mom use to mix hot cocoa on the stove in the winter. This brings those old memories to mind, however this is like an adult version.

It is sweet but not overly so. I probably notice the sweetness of the pure cane sugar more because I never use real sugar. As I am indulging myself in this decadent mug, I suddenly think where is the peppermint. No sooner does that enter my head, my mouth is filled with the wonderful cooling sensation of the mint. To me that shows great restraint.

When I drink flavored tea, I want to taste the tea first then the flavor. That is exactly what 3 Leaf has done with this hot chocolate. First, deep rich chocolate and then a little something extra to add to it, not distract or take away.

Very nice job!

Water: 8oz

Leaves: small uneven rolls

Steep: 3m

Aroma: Unsure

Color: Golden yellow

Taste: I didn’t realize its been 2 years since my last oolong review. As a result I decided to give this tea a try. As with the previous tea this too was also damaged during shipment. The tea leaves have a distinct aroma but it’s difficult to describe. I started out by rinsing the oolong for 15s followed by a 3m steep (well a little over since i forgot to start my timer lol) The small rolled leaves expanded while brewing they ended up being huge! The little 1 teaspoon grew to being 1/4 cup when I removed the leaved from my cup! The color was golden yellow with great clarity. The flavor of the tea was light, the aroma was stronger than the taste. With the first sip I got bitterness but after with more sips it faded. Overall I found this to be an okay tea.

Thank you 3 Leaf Tea for this sample

Rich, creamy, coconut matcha with almond milk. Is there a better way to start your morning off? Sipdown #28!

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/09/02/making-coconut-matcha-from-3leaf-tea/

Found this with the pumpkin pie matcha I had yesterday. Prepared as a cold latte with sweetener. Peaches and cream. Very yummy.