Another new to me vendor, Spirit Tea, which I see Daylon has been posting notes for lately. I came across them looking for something but don’t remember what They have a gentle, relationship-building vibe about their work and marketing that I admit drew me in. If you get warm fuzzies seeing pictures of traveling tea hunters with tea farmers, one or all of them pointing at leaves or in the distance, Spirit Tea may be for you (tongue-in-cheek — they have a LOT of teas that sound fantastic). Looks like they really get around, offering landscape, production and intimate encounter photos of nearly every tea they offer, which are sourced from their travels through China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
Quick cups this morning before I try to take advantage of this spring weather in January. It doesn’t feel right that the daffodils bloomed this morning or that the blueberries are fully flowering.
From Yunnan, China, this green tea is grown and processed in a Muslim-Chinese minority village.
This large-leaved green tea is rich and so satisfying, unlike any other green tea I’ve had. Sweet, viscous, a little tongue-numbing and with practically no astringency. Aroma matches the taste and aftertaste of the tea. The tasting notes of honeycomb and sandalwood are spot on. Apricot is more of a bright undertone. A comforting toasty nature rounds out the flavor flawlessly. If you want to try a green tea without the typical beany, grassy or vegetal notes, or one that won’t upset an empty stomach, I highly suggest this nourishing tea!
I’ve had no communication yet with this company and am trying to not come off as sounding like a shameless plug. Hopefully the other 3 teas I ordered are just as satisfying.
Flavors: Apricot, Honey, Mineral, Round, Sandalwood, Sweet, Toasty, Viscous
Preparation
Comments
I’m glad you liked it! I had a mixed opinion about the company at first. I tried them at a local coffee shop, and fell in love with their silver needle and Saigon Hebral. I really liked their approach to partnerships, and I’ve been using the Manual Gaiwan for years. I stopped buying a little bit after the Meishan they had, which I thought they overcharged for, but I think their selection has drastically improved selling some extremely unique teas. I just made a big order from them recently, and really look forward to what they’ve got. I am excited to see what you think of the other teas!
I am looking forward to hearing more about their teas from you both. goes to check their shipping to Canada policies
Lucky you to have had their teas at a local joint. Some of their teas are a bit pricey and I did end up indulging in one of them. This Crescent Green is one of the cheapest ones and well worth the $0.24/g for my tastes!
It seems like you experience the same desire I do with wanting to try all the things so I like that Spirit Tea upped their package weight to minimum 50g. That encouraged me to be more thoughtful about my purchases. Hopefully everything in your big buy puts a smile on your face. I look forward to your notes, too :)
Evol Ving Ness, the other day Leafhopper told me that their shipping to the great CA is only through DHL at $32. Maybe worth a group buy for you Canadians.
Derk, there are no daffodils blooming here in snowy Toronto. :P Sounds like a nice green tea.
Evol Ving Ness, they only offer DHL to Canada and it starts at $32. This is sad, as they have some unique stuff.
Derk, I think our comments overlapped. :) It seems to cost less to ship packages across the world than across the Canada–U.S. border.
Daylon, I also look forward to your notes on your Spirit Tea purchases. I hope there are some oolongs!
Sigh. We’re weeks away from daffodil and crocus shoots yet. Green tea that sounds apricotty sounds like a lovely snatch of spring.
Leafhopper, I got three oolongs, two of them new-the Qin Xin/Jin Xuan hybrid and leafhopper bitten Dayuling, and two blacks, a Yin Hong and a Qilan fashioned into a black. I spent too much money…I have high hopes for all of them.
Daylon, that’s a nice selection. I was looking at that Exuding Jade myself until I saw what it would cost to ship it to Canada.
And of course, the bug-bitten Dayuling was what made me investigate the shipping charges in the first place. :)
I’m glad you liked it! I had a mixed opinion about the company at first. I tried them at a local coffee shop, and fell in love with their silver needle and Saigon Hebral. I really liked their approach to partnerships, and I’ve been using the Manual Gaiwan for years. I stopped buying a little bit after the Meishan they had, which I thought they overcharged for, but I think their selection has drastically improved selling some extremely unique teas. I just made a big order from them recently, and really look forward to what they’ve got. I am excited to see what you think of the other teas!
I am looking forward to hearing more about their teas from you both. goes to check their shipping to Canada policies
Lucky you to have had their teas at a local joint. Some of their teas are a bit pricey and I did end up indulging in one of them. This Crescent Green is one of the cheapest ones and well worth the $0.24/g for my tastes!
It seems like you experience the same desire I do with wanting to try all the things so I like that Spirit Tea upped their package weight to minimum 50g. That encouraged me to be more thoughtful about my purchases. Hopefully everything in your big buy puts a smile on your face. I look forward to your notes, too :)
Evol Ving Ness, the other day Leafhopper told me that their shipping to the great CA is only through DHL at $32. Maybe worth a group buy for you Canadians.
Derk, there are no daffodils blooming here in snowy Toronto. :P Sounds like a nice green tea.
Evol Ving Ness, they only offer DHL to Canada and it starts at $32. This is sad, as they have some unique stuff.
Derk, I think our comments overlapped. :) It seems to cost less to ship packages across the world than across the Canada–U.S. border.
Daylon, I also look forward to your notes on your Spirit Tea purchases. I hope there are some oolongs!
Sigh. We’re weeks away from daffodil and crocus shoots yet. Green tea that sounds apricotty sounds like a lovely snatch of spring.
Leafhopper, I got three oolongs, two of them new-the Qin Xin/Jin Xuan hybrid and leafhopper bitten Dayuling, and two blacks, a Yin Hong and a Qilan fashioned into a black. I spent too much money…I have high hopes for all of them.
Daylon, that’s a nice selection. I was looking at that Exuding Jade myself until I saw what it would cost to ship it to Canada.
And of course, the bug-bitten Dayuling was what made me investigate the shipping charges in the first place. :)
Derk, have you tried to gongfu this tea? It must be spring because I’m in a green tea mood.
I haven’t yet
Okay, I’ll go with Western since I want to avoid astringency and am not too confident about the proper gongfu steeping parameters for green tea.