Tribute Tea Company
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See All 52 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
I’m more of a pure green/oolong drinker but wanted to step outside my comfort zone and (not to sound cliche but) “boy, am I glad I did!!!” This black tea (which is a fully oxodized green tea – rather like a wolf in sheeps clothing in a good way) surprised me with its hot chocolate aroma and full, but not overwhelming, flavor. Due to its enticing aroma, this would make an excellent after dinner tea for anyone who has a sweet tooth and craves dessert after mealtime but doesn’t want the extra calories. This tea just went on my re-order list. and
Preparation
I should begin by telling you that I am an avid wine drinker but drinking wine at 9 am is generally frowned upon, even by me so I recently began exploring the world of teas. With my wine “training”, the “nose” ( fragrance ) of the tea is a big deal. In my opinion, the aroma either enhances or detracts from the teas actual flavor. This morning, my toughest decision was which of the new teas I just ordered did I want to taste first? (I love the new “flights” or sampler size packets available from the Tribute Tea Company out of Chicago -so much so that I just received about 14 new teas to try!). Anyway, this morning I opted for a green tea called Dragon Crisp and may I just say, I may not get out of my pajamas today!! . WOW, WOW, WOW, this tea is crazy good!!!! When I tore open the packet, I immediately smelled buttered popcorn or freshly simmered basmati/jasmine rice. It smelled so good that I nibbled on a few pieces to see if my nose was playing tricks on me – it wasn’t. While the aroma may be playful, the taste is pure adult bliss. This tea is a must/will buy again as soon as I finish writing this review. WOW, WOW, WOW.
Preparation
This particular Da Hong Pao — a legend among legendary Chinese teas — is definitely a lower roast that most others… which seems to deliver a bouquet of various fruits, hard to even say which (maybe apple, cherry, peach, apricot, stone fruits?)… It’s a very popular and easy drinker for newer tea drinkers. My parents and grandparents love it, you really can’ t go wrong!
Flavors: Apricot, Dates, Honey, Peach, Plum, Stewed Fruits, Stonefruit
Preparation
A fine transition for curious Puerh drinkers between the potency and raw vegetal notes of a sheng and the earthier, mellowed smooth notes of a decades-aged puerh leaf. I definitely recommend short infusions and many… I can get 10-12 without much loss of potency, frequently more.
Flavors: Earth, Leather, Pine, Seaweed, Stewed Fruits, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes, Wood
Preparation
My new favorite (just wish it was a green tea-trying to drink more green forthe health benefits but this tea is too good not to drink!). Lovely, delicately perfume fragrance and aroma. I am on my 4th steep! I’ll be restocking this one immediately.
Preparation
At first whif, I expected somewhat of a tobacco note but when brewing, I swear I detected the aroma of boiled lobster (wishful thinking on my part?)and then once in my cup,, if this were a wine, I would say “leather”. Either way, this could become my everyday tea. I confess I am struggling to get the right water temperature so since my water was not as hot as I wanted, I let the leaves steep longer than recommended resulting in a slight tartness, not unpleasant but will be interesting to compare with a cup properly prepared.
Preparation
Interesting… I haven’t heard the lobster note before, but we all have different palates. Some of these fresh and raw puerhs have an uncanny ability to conjure up the most unique notes on the palate. I have long sat and pondered the aftertaste of this large leaf beauty, and it wasn’t until my friend declared it “mushroomy”, that I finally settled on that as the key! Glad you enjoyed it… this is a rare and prized possession in my collection too.
Looked like it was going to be a delicately flavored tea but I was wrong. Mildly aromatic yet surprisingly full-flavorful, almost strong, with a very long finish. Definately wheatgrass overtones.
On the second steep, I picked up the scent of green peas – interesting !
This is my favorite anytime tea. It is pleasantly nutty and slightly roasted in flavor, hot or cold. As an experiment, I put some leaves in a cup of water in the fridge and let it cold brew overnight. The next day I had an amazing iced tea and none of the flavors/tasting notes had been compromised. Da Hong Bao is always harmonious to the palate— neither bitter or astringent, but rather a tad sweet with a clean, smooth aftertaste. I think it pairs well with any food, expanding and rounding out flavors. Also a great after dinner cup of tea!
Preparation
I started drinking puerh teas for the reported health benefit (high cholesterol runs in our family) but now drink it for the full, complex flavours and THIS tea is hearty and delicious. I admit, however, that the bouquet is not my favorite – very “seaweedy” but the flavor is bold and absolutely delicious.
Preparation
I love this batch of 2004 leaves as a starting point for entering the world of naturally aged puer teas… You can see the transformation from the more vegetal, bold raw leaves to a slightly more leathery, woodsy, perhaps earthy, palate. The word “camphor” is often used to describe this pine-like sensation in fermented puer leaves, but I don’t know what that ‘really’ means, so it’s more like camphor tastes like raw 2004 Yiwu puer tea.
Based on the look of the picture and the description, this sounds exactly like Gyokuro Blend Sencha by Yamamotoyama. The leaves have big pieces in them, that look like Kukicha/Karigane (the twigs and bottom parts of the leaf), but also a lot of very very small leaves, which looks like Fukamushi (deep steamed) which breaks up the leaves further into smaller pieces like that. I’m curious now to see if it is the same….
