Huo Shan Huang Ya

Huo Shan Huang Ya (Huo Mountain Yellow Bud) is a yellow tea and historically was one of Chinese tribute teas.  Huo Mountain is located in Anhui province.  The production of yellow teas is similar to that of green teas.  However, yellow teas go through a  'yellowing' step between firing.  Yellowing is achieved by covering the leaves with wet cotton clothes or leaving them on a temperature controlled shelf for 8-10 hours.  

Modern premium Huang Ya is made from one-bud and one-leaf harvesting and requires a large amount of labor.   This mid-grade yellow tea is light but enjoyable.  
   

Huo Shan Huang Ya

Type:  Yellow Tea     Producing Country: China      Preparation:  85°C 3 Min

Dry Leaf:  The long buds have notes of wicker and biscuit.
Wet Leaf:  This must be a mid-grade Huang Ya as it has mostly 1-bud 2-leaf type of leaves.  They are vegetal (fresh green beans).
Liquor:      The pale yellow broth is smooth, sweet and vegetal (corns and green beans).  It is light and refreshing.

Tee Score: 4 out of 5

Qi Lan

Qi Lan or Rare Orchid is another one of the oolong teas from WuYi Mountain, Fujian, China.    Its dark leaves indicate that Qi Lan was more oxidized and that it had gone through longer roasting.   The brewed tea is a bit uninteresting.  

Qi Lan



Type:  Oolong     Producing Country:  China     Preparation:  90°C 4 Min

Dry Leaf:  The aromas of the dark wiry leaves are toasty, sweet and slightly floral.  
Wet Leaf:  The wet leaves smell somewhat floral and toasty.  
Liquor:      The tea is amber brown.  It is predominately cocoa and very faintly floral.  Although it is smooth and sweet, it is not exciting.

Tee Score:  3 out of 5

Lapsang Souchong

Blue cheese, Scotch whiskey and Lapsang Souchong:  Love it or Leave it.   Rumor has it that Sir Winston Churchill was fond of Lapsang Souchong with a splash of Scotch.

Zhengshang Souchong, Lapsang Souchong or Bohea tea is a unique Chinese black tea. Fires fueled by pine wood and needles are used to dry the leaves and impart a smoky scent to the tea.  It is produced from Souchong or 'small varietal' tea trees in Wu Yi mountain, Fujian, China.   In recent years, Taiwan also produces its own Lapsang Souchong.

Lapsang Souchong pairs well with savory dishes.  It can also be used to flavor cooking.

Lapsang Souchong

Type:  Black     Producing Country:  China   Preparation:  95°C 4 Minutes

Dry Leaf:  A distinct smoky scent permeates the air.   The dried leaves are very dark or black.    
Wet Leaf:  The wet leaves take you back to your camping trips.  
Liquor:      It is a reddish brown tea that is smooth, pine-smoky, slight tarry and camphorish.   There is also a little bit of dried longan fruit after-taste.

Tee Score:  4 out of 5

Gunpowder

Gunpowder is also called pearl tea and its rolled beads resemble gunpowder pellets.   It is mass produced mostly in Zhejiang province of China.  There are different grades of Gunpowder.  The higher-grade Gunpowder contains tinier and shinier pellets.   Although it is not a gourmet tea, Gunpowder is economical and popular.

The slight smokiness of Gunpowder compliments mint leaves.  Prepare a pot of Gunpowder tea, add fresh mint leaves, blend in sugar, and voilà! Moroccan tea. 


Gunpowder

Type:  Green     Producing Country:  China   Preparation:  85°C 3 Minutes

Dry Leaf:  These tightly rolled pellets smell like green hay.        
Wet Leaf:  The unfurled leaves are smoky.   
Liquor:      This green tea is amber-colored.   It is lightly astringent, smoky and refreshing.  

Tee Score:  3 out of 5

Mariage Marco Polo

Mariage Frères is a French luxury tea company founded in 1854 by brothers Henri and Edouard Mariage.   One of its legendary flavored teas is Marco Polo.   Marco Polo is a Chinese black tea infused with Chinese and Tibetan flowers and perhaps fruits.   The exact blending essence is a secret.   Thus, it is up to the tea drinkers to guess its mystery.   Could it be hawthorn berries with hibiscus?  Sensual red berry, thy name is Marco Polo tea. 

The tea comes in a classic black tin or rounded French cotton muslin sachets.   A green tea Marco Polo and a rooibos version are also available.  

Marco Polo

Type:  Scented tea     Producing Country:  France   Preparation:  95°C 4 Minutes

Dry Leaf:  The cute tea sachet is very berry-fruity.   It is very fragrant.    
Wet Leaf:  The leaves in the sachet is again very fruity.   
Liquor:      Marco Polo is reddish brown.  Its flavors include vanilla and red berries.  It has a bit of astringency and artificial after-taste.   Still, it is smooth and leggy.   

Tee Score:  4 out of 5

Yue Guan Bai

Renzhi Zhou, a Taiwanese tea trailblazer, created Yue Guan Bai or Moonlight White in the early 1990's.  The tea might originally have been withered at night under the moon, nowadays it is simply air-dried indoor.  Its name is also associated with the black and white leaves.  Mr. Zhou once brewed and served a blend of coffee and Moonlight White at a 'Tea Priest and Coffee Monk' culture exchange roundtable. Yum?

Moonlight White is produced from the old Big White tea varietals in Yunnan, China.  Some tea enthusiasts categorize Moonlight as a Pu'er tea but some would declare it in a class by itself.  Moonlight is processed and tastes like a white tea.   Moonlight can stand up to multiple steeps using a Gaiwan teacup.  

Moonlight White

Type:  White     Producing Country:  China    Preparation:  90°C 3 Minutes

Dry Leaf:  The silver buds and dark leaves have intense notes of plums, dates and figs.  The leaves are attractive.   
Wet Leaf:  The wet leaves are peachy and also smell like hay.  
Liquor:      Its color is caramel,  Its flavor profile is creamy, peachy and lightly herbaceous.  It is smooth and has a sweet aftertaste. 

Tee Score:  4 out of 5

Rwanda Rukeri Black

Rukeri is an orange pekoe (OP) grade black tea produced by Rukeri Estate in Rwanda.  Tea growing in Rwanda started about 60 years ago and tea production there steadily increases over the years.   A large percentage of Rwandan teas is exported.   This tea, in terms of flavors, is a bit like the black teas from Uva, Sri Lanka. 



Rwanda Black

Type:  Black Tea    Producing Country: Rwanda     Preparation:  95°C 4 Min

Dry Leaf:  These dark, tiny thin needles are malty as well as dried-fruity.

Wet Leaf:  Interestingly, flowers wrapped in a wet cloth describes its aromas.

Liquor:      The tea is reddish brown.  It is more minty than malty.  It is full-bodied and has some astringency.   It is best drunk without adding milk. 

Tee Score: 3 out of 5