Manjary Handspun Black Tea From Lumbini Tea Valley

Yes, the tea reviews have been few and far between lately here. Life gets busy sometimes, and unfortunately taking time to prepare reviews is not always a priority.

Today, however, I have a few minutes, and wanted to share a very unique tea with my followers. Allow me to introduce you to the Manjary Handspun Black Tea from the Dalu brand at Lumbini Tea Valley. You can learn more about Lumbini Tea Valley by checking out my Company Spotlight post featuring this beautiful land in the Ruhuna region of Sri Lanka.

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Closeup of Tea Leaf

As you can see in the photo above, this is not just another loose leaf black tea from Sri Lanka. This product consists of whole, unbroken tea leaves that are shaped by hand into a blooming rose flower design. This is an innovative appearance for loose leaf tea, and would certainly serve as an effective ice breaker at any kind of social gathering. This is my first experience with a design like this.

Of course, the appearance and design of the dry leaf is a very small part of enjoying the tea in its entirety. As I have seen several times in the past, attractive and high quality looking dry leaves do not always translate into high quality, sensational tea liquids. It’s an unfortunate, but true, fact. With this in mind, although I can always appreciate a good looking product in its dry leaf form, I do not let the appearance give me lofty expectations of aroma and/or taste.

Let’s be honest, if a tea looks interesting in its dry form, but the quality falls short in the cup, then there is absolutely no need to buy more than just the smallest sample to show people as an interesting tea specimen to look at. Not many people are going to spend their cash on that product.

Let’s get to the review.

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Dry Leaves

There’s really not much left to say about the dry leaves. They have the dark charcoal gray and brown color of fully oxidized teas. I am expecting the leaves to be fairly large, whole and unbroken with no buds, and maybe the midrib intact to keep the leaf held together. There are no leaf fragments in the sample packet. The leaves are shaped to look like a blooming rose. Again, an interesting and innovative appearance, no doubt. The aroma has scents of fresh rose buds and a touch of dark chocolate.

Eight grams of dry leaves were placed in an eighteen ounce (530 mL) cast-iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 200°F (93°C) water for 4:00 minutes.

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Tea Liquid

The tea liquid is rather light in color for a black tea, having a golden yellow color. The aroma has pleasant scents of rose petals and a slight hint of caramel. The body is light-medium, with a gentle, delicate texture, and a lightly refreshing effect. The taste also has a rather light taste, with notes of rose petals and a slight hint of caramel. The aftertaste is light and refreshing, and continues the essence of rose petals.

As you will see in the photo directly below, the tea leaves do not unfurl much in the water. This photo shows a leaf that has been sitting in water for nearly six hours. I even refreshed the hot water once to see if that would open it up.

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Infusing Leaf Closeup

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Infused Leaves

Manjary Handspun Black Tea – Unrolled Infused Leaf

The infused leaves have the dark copper brown color of fully oxidized leaves. When unrolled, the leaves are whole and mostly unbroken. The leaves are rather large, most measuring at about 2.5 inches (62 mm) long. Some leaves have the midrib intact, while others do not. The aroma of the infused leaves follows suit with the dry leaves and liquid, consisting of a pleasant, fresh rose petal scent and a touch of caramel.

So, what do I think of this tea, as a whole? For a black tea from Ruhuna, it is comparably delicate and gentle. That is not a negative or sugar coated critique. The aroma and taste are very pleasant, albeit delicate, and refreshing. The rose aroma and taste is fresh, and uplifting. It is somewhat one dimensional in the aroma and taste, with the rose character being the one highlight. The body, texture, and taste can be described as similar to a refined, artisan iced tea. An iced tea you would get at an upscale restaurant or some kind of a upscale social event. Of course, this liquid was not iced or watered down in any way. This tea would make a good late afternoon, early evening tea in a warm location, given it’s delicate and refreshing qualities. If that event includes some friends interested in specialty tea, then that’s even better, since you will have something unique to show them. If you are reaching for a tea in the morning, however, I would probably reach for one of many Lumbini Tea Valley black teas with a more standard leaf grade. The Manjary will most likely not give you the jumpstart you need to start your day.

Many thanks to the management at Lumbini Tea Valley for providing this sample of Manjary Handspun Black Tea! This was a truly unique experience. Keep up the innovative ideas. Cheers!

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Kilmelfort Paradise Green Tea From Panchura Estates in Tamil Nadu, India

After a very productive and busy couple of months at work, I finally have a few moments today to review an interesting pan-fired green tea that I recently received from Panchura Estates, located in Coonoor, western Tamil Nadu, southern India. See the map below to get an idea of where this beautiful estate is located.

This beautiful, high altitude estate, also known as Kilmelfort, is owned and operated by the Mehta family. The estate consists of 22 hectares (55 acres) of land, and sits at an average altitude of 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. Since 2012, the estate has used 100% natural cultivation methods, blending modern organic techniques with traditional Indian techniques, on a combination of Assamica seedling bushes and the CR-6017 cultivar bushes.

Kilmelfort – Panchura Estates – Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India

Kilmelfort produces orthodox styles of green tea, oolong tea, and silver tips white tea. I received three samples of three different grades of the same style of specialty green tea. After trying each of the grades, the aromas, tastes, and other characteristics of the tea liquid were quite similar. The differences between the grades were more noticeable in the appearance of the dry leaves. This review will focus on the highest grade sample that I received, grade 2, as it is the most interesting to observe in all stages.

Although I was not able to find a website to purchase these products, I was able to locate the estate’s page on LinkedIn, and found their website, mehtaherbs.com, showing all of their products, which range from specialty teas to aloe skin care products.

Let’s get to the review…

Kilmelfort Paradise Green Tea – Dry Leaves

The dry leaves vary in color from pale light green to pale gray. The blend consists of large leaf fragments, perhaps some unbroken leaves, a few bare stems, with no buds clearly visible. The leaves are lightly hand twisted, creating a long, curled, yet fluffy appearance. Based on the appearance and aroma of the dry leaves, I am guessing that a cast iron pan is used to fire these leaves. I expect the leaves to show some minor oxidation, as is common with green teas produced in this fashion from south India and Sri Lanka. The aroma is unique, with earthy scents of minerals and iron, dry leather, and touches of dark chocolate, dried figs and barnyard.

Eight grams of dry leaves were placed in an 18 ounce (530 mL) cast iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 175°F (80°C) water for 2:00 minutes. Subsequent infusions had an additional 30 seconds of time added.

Kilmelfort Paradise Green Tea – Liquid

The tea liquid has a golden yellow color, with a slight green tint. The aroma has scents of wet stones, mineral, fresh forest floor, and a touch of lemon or citrus. The body is  on the light side of medium, with a clean, silky texture, and a refreshing, revitalizing energy. There is no bitterness, and a light, lemon-like acidity. The taste carries the notes of wet stones, mineral, iron, fresh forest floor, and a touch of lemon. The liquid leaves a metallic taste on the tongue. This is not a negative, as the metallic character has a surprisingly natural, cleansing quality to it. The aftertaste continues the wet stone, mineral character.

Kilmelfort Paradise Green Tea – Infused Leaves

The infused leaves vary in color from pale fresh green to fresh forest green. The stems are brown. The blend consists of all large leaf fragments. I did not find any totally unbroken leaves or buds in the mix. The leaves have the hearty texture and thicker midrib of Assamica bush leaves. Some minor oxidation occurred in many of the leaves, as expected, and there are minor signs of slight overfiring on a few of the leaves. The infused leaves carry the fresh, earthy scents of mineral, forest floor, and wet stones, and the touch of dark chocolate is coming through again.

The Kilmelfort Paradise Green Tea is like no green tea that I have had in recent memory. The dominant earthy and mineral characters give a refreshing, cleansing quality to the liquid. The dry leaves are a pleasure to observe. There is clearly a great deal of care put into manufacturing this product, and this is not even the best grade to come from Kilmelfort!

Quick side note, the other grades that I received, grades 3 and 4, had slightly smaller leaf fragments in their blends, and a little less consistency in the fragment size than the grade 2 being reviewed here. With the slightly smaller fragments, the strength of the liquids were slightly stronger, but maintained the same general aromas and tastes.

Thank you to the management at Kilmelfort and Panchura Estates for providing these samples of green tea. Keep up the good work!

 

Yakushima Cedar Wood Smoked Hojicha Green Tea from Yunomi

Join me for a quick review of the Yakushima Cedar Wood Smoked Hojicha Green Tea from Yunomi, who sourced this tea from the Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden, located in the Shimada City region, Shizuoka, Japan. The Google map below shows the general location of Shimada City.

I will be posting a Company Spotlight on Yunomi in the near future, but wanted to get this review posted while it was fresh in my mind.

This green tea is roasted, then smoked using cedar wood procured from Yakushima Island. Generally speaking, this style of green tea, known as Hojicha, is lower in caffeine due to the roasting process, and sweeter in flavor, with a dominant smoky and roasty character. It makes for an excellent tasting and refreshing iced or cold brewed tea.

You can purchase 60 grams of this Yakushima Cedar Wood Smoked Hojicha Green Tea from Yunomi for USD $18.00 plus shipping.

Let’s get to the review…

The dry leaves have a uniform, pale brown color. The blend consists of small leaf fragments, and bare, woody stems. The leaves and stems are obviously roasted. The aroma is dominated by scents of cedar wood and smoke.

Seven grams of dry leaves were placed in an eighteen ounce (530 mL) cast iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 190°F (88°C) water for 1:00 minute, per the suggested brewing instructions on the packaging. 30 seconds of time were added to each subsequent infusion.

The liquid had a pale, golden yellow color. The aroma again is dominated by scents of cedar wood and smoke. The body is medium, with a very smooth, velvety texture. There is no bitterness or astringency. The taste is also dominated by notes of cedar wood and smoke, with an overall roasty character. The aftertaste is sweet and woody.

The infused leaves have a uniform dark brown color. The aroma, as expected, is dominated by scents of cedar wood and smoke.

Although the descriptions above may seem two dimensional, being cedar wood and smoke, don’t let these short descriptions lead you to believe that this hojicha is anything other than delicious. That is exactly what it is. There are so many occasions that I can picture immediately that this tea would compliment perfectly. Served hot or cold, this is a satisfying, robust, yet refreshing style of green tea. The leaves can be used multiple times, and still provide that sweet, woody, roasty character. If you have not tried this style of Japanese green tea, now would be the perfect time to put an end to that drought. Trust the Japanese tea expert at Yunomi to source the finest hojicha, and other teas of Japan, that you can experience.

Thank you to Ian Chun at Yunomi for providing this sample of Yakushima Cedar Wood Smoked Hojicha Green Tea! Cheers!

 

Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea From Lumbini Tea Valley

Let’s take a quick look at the Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea from Lumbini Tea Valley, and their brand Dalu.

Check out my Company Spotlight post to learn more about Lumbini Tea Valley.

This is a Special Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (FBOPF SP) grade of black tea from the Ruhuna region of Sri Lanka.

Lumbini Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea – Dry Leaves

Lumbini Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea – Liquid

Lumbini Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea – Infused Leaves

The dry leaves consist of small leaf and bud fragments, consistent with the FBOPF SP grade. The leaves have a uniform dark charcoal black color, and the buds have a uniform gold-yellow color. There is a very generous portion of tips, making up at least half of the blend. The aroma is quite fresh and potent, with scents of malt, pine, and fermented dark red grapes, giving it a red wine like quality.

Eight grams of dry leaves were placed in an eighteen ounce (530 mL) cast iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 200°F (93°C) water for 3:00 minutes.

The color of the liquid was a deep, rich coppery red-orange color, clear and transparent. The aroma had robust scents of malt, pine, fermented dark red grapes, and a touch of dark honey. The body is full, with a luxurious texture. There is no bitterness, and a pleasant, well balanced briskness. The taste has notes of fermented dark red grapes, pine, malt, and a touch of dark honey. The aftertaste holds a pleasant combination of pine and red wine qualities, and there is lingering sweetness left on the breath.

The infused leaves and buds have a uniform copper-brown color, with a uniform small leaf fragment size, consistent with the grade. The aroma has scents of malt, red grapes, pine, and a touch of floral earthiness.

The best word I have to describe the character of this Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea is luxurious. From the impressive appearance and lush aroma of the dry leaves, to all the sensory experiences of the liquid, this is a very high quality black tea. This is not for the casual black tea drinker. This is a robust black tea full of rich character. Those who love breakfast styles of black tea will appreciate this product, for it has the eye-opening punch of aroma, body, and flavor that is sure to wake the drinker up. For the wine drinkers out there who can appreciate a good tea in the morning, you will also enjoy this Tipsy Eve Black Tea, due to it’s deep, red wine-like character. If you can find this tea, and have the opportunity to try it, prepare yourself for the fullest black tea experience.

Thanks again to the management at Lumbini Tea Valley for providing this sample of Tipsy Eve FBOPF SP Black Tea. Another product well done!

Silk Oolong Tea From Araksa Tea Garden

Today’s review will focus on the Silk Tea from Araksa Tea Garden in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Although not specified as an oolong tea by Araksa Tea Garden, the leaves are definitely partially oxidized, and have undergone more processing than a white tea. Thus, for the purpose of reviewing the tea, and determining steeping guidelines, I have classified this as an oolong tea.

For more information on Araksa Tea Garden, check out my Company Spotlight post.

Let’s get to the review…

Araksa Silk Tea – Dry Leaves

Araksa Silk Tea – Individual Dry Leaves

The dry leaves vary in color from pale dark green to pale light brown to pale dark brown, with some pale gold-yellow buds and silverish buds. The leaves consist almost entirely of unbroken, whole leaves and buds attached to stems, showing a range of plucking standards from one leaf and bud to three leaves and bud. There are a few detached, large leaf fragments. There is a generous amount of mature, large buds, and no totally bare stems. The leaves and buds are partially oxidized (as an estimate, maybe 30 to 40%), are very lightly hand rolled, and appear to have been pan fired. It is obvious that great care was put into shaping these leaves. The aroma has scents of toasted oats, light brown sugar, dried corn, and dried chrysanthemum flowers.

Eight grams of dry leaves were placed in an eighteen ounce (530 mL) cast iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 190°F (88°C) water for 3:00 minutes.

Araksa Silk Tea – Liquid

The liquid has a bright, golden yellow color, perfectly clear and transparent. The aroma has interesting scents of chrysanthemum, sweet corn, and a touch of hay. The body is surprisingly full, will a silky, very smooth texture. There is no bitterness or astringency. The taste has notes of sweet corn, chrysanthemum, and hay. The aftertaste carries the hay and floral qualities, but with a subtle developing undertone of rose apples. There is lasting floral essence left on the breath.

Araksa Silk Tea – Infused Leaves

Araksa Silk Tea – Individual Infused Leaves

The infused leaves vary slightly in the depth of the pale brown tones of color. The blend consists mostly of unbroken, whole leaves and buds attached to stems. There are a few large leaf fragments, detached from the stems, and no totally bare stems. The plucking standard varies from one leaf and mature bud to three leaves and mature bud. The largest buds measure nearly two inches (50 mm) long. Most of the buds this size are enveloping a younger bud. These are beautiful tea leaf specimens to observe. While hot, the leaves carry the aroma of chrysanthemum and corn. As they cool, the infused leaves hold a strong scent of magnolia flowers.

The Silk Tea from Araksa Tea Garden is a truly unique product. The leaves are beautiful to visually observe and handle in both the dry and infused forms. As mentioned above, it is obvious that the people at Araksa took incredible care of these leaves during production to not tear, detach, or otherwise damage the appearance. The taste is also unique, a blend of floral and corn notes. I cannot say I expected to find these characteristics in this tea, and although the combination was  a challenge to understand and interpret at first, the final description seemed to come rather easily. The aroma of the cool, infused leaves is spectacular. It feels as if I stuck my nose into one of the large blooming magnolia flowers in the front of my house. Overall, this was a fascinating experience, and I would recommend this more to fellow tea enthusiasts who can appreciate the specific qualities offered by this tea.

Thanks again to the management at Araksa Tea Garden for providing this sample of Silk Tea. Keep up the interesting and innovative work! Cheers!

Cacao Kisses Black Tea From Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea

Although I am not much of a sweet tooth, I do love raw cacao (nibs, full beans, powder) and very dark chocolate. So when I opened the box of samples generously provided by Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea, and saw one sample named Cacao Kisses, I was intrigued.

Want to learn more about Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea? check out my Company Spotlight post.

The Cacao Kisses Black Tea blends cacao husk and cacao nibs with Bitaco black tea leaves. The cacao also is sourced from the Tumaco region of Colombia. This product won the top prize at the Global Tea Championships in 2017 in the flavored hot tea competition. Congratulations to Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea on this success!

Let’s get to the review…

Cacao Kisses Black Tea – Dry Leaves

The dry leaves have a uniform dark charcoal gray color, with a few golden buds in the mix, and a few mostly bare stems. There are also several cacao husks and nibs. The tea leaves are fully oxidized, and rather tightly rolled. The tea leaves appear to be large fragments and some unbroken leaves, some detached and others attached to the stem. The overall appearance is very attractive and high quality. But the aroma is the highlight of the dry leaves, with incredible scents of raw cacao, dark chocolate, and a touch of dry cherries.

Six grams of dry leaves were placed in a twelve ounce (350 mL) glass infusion mug, and infused with 200°F (93°C) water for 4:00 minutes.

Cacao Kisses Black Tea – Liquid

The liquid has a bright, copper orange color, clear and transparent. The aroma is again simply amazing, with potent scents of raw cacao, dark chocolate, malt, and light cherry. The body is full, with a plush, pillowy texture. There is a slight touch of bitterness from the cacao, and a slight touch of astringency. The taste carries the delicious notes of raw cacao, dark chocolate, tart cherries, and malt. The aftertaste continues the sweet, chocolatey notes.

Cacao Kisses Black Tea – Infused Leaves

The infused leaves have a uniform chocolate brown color (to stick with the theme here). The blend consists of mostly large tea leaf fragments, a few unbroken tea leaves, a few tea buds, a few mostly bare stems, cacao husks, and a few cacao nibs. The tea leaves attached to a stem show a two leaf and bud pluck. After two infusions, the leaves are very soft, smooth, and tender. The aroma of the infused leaves is more malty than chocolatey, but still very sweet and attractive.

I have absolutely zero wonders as to how this Cacao Kisses Black Tea won the top prize for flavored hot tea at the Global Tea Championship. This product is seriously delicious, exciting, and unforgettable. If you happen to be a fan of black tea and dark chocolate, prepare yourself for a new addiction. The aromas of this tea at all stages is just packed with cacao and dark chocolate. The slight touches of cherry adds a whole new level to this experience. The texture is also perfect and comforting. This could definitely be considered a “dessert tea”. Although I think it is an excellent choice at any and every time of day. I have nothing but praise for this tea.

Cheers to Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea for developing this incredible product! Thanks to the management at Bitaco for providing this with the samples. I am very happy to have experienced this tea, and hope to experience it many more times in the future.

 

Company Spotlight: Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea

Most people know about the high quality coffee that the South American country of Colombia is known for producing, but not so many people, including those in the tea drinking community, know of one particular Colombian estate growing and manufacturing some phenomenal green and black teas. Without further ado, I am happy to introduce you to Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea.

Bitaco Tea Factory – Photo used with permission from Bitaco Tea

The Bitaco tea estate and factory is located along the Andes Mountains, near the Bitaco Regional Forest Reserve, in the bio-geographical region of Choco. The tea is grown at an elevation of over 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea level, the ground consisting of nutrient-rich volcanic soil. The estate consists of 51 hectares (126 acres) of land under tea cultivation. The Google map below shows the approximate location of Bitaco.

Building on 55 years of experience in the Colombian tea industry, the Agricola Himalaya S.A. company began developing Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea in 2013. The intent was to manufacture the best quality loose leaf teas in the most modern, high-tech factory in South America. Since then, the estate and factory have obtained USDA Organic certification and UTZ certification, while developing a high quality line of unblended black and green teas, and blended varieties.

Bitaco Tea Estate – Photo used with permission from Bitaco Tea

Currently, Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea is exported to the U.S.A., Germany, England, and France. As mentioned above, the current offerings include the following styles of unblended black tea: tippy, wiry, and leafy. They also offer blends of black tea with some rather delicious ingredients, like the Cacao Kisses (black tea, cacao husks, cacao nibs), Andean Princess (black tea, isabella grape skin, Andean raspberries, hibiscus petals), and Coffee Kisses (black tea, Arabica coffee beans).

Also available are the following unblended green tea styles: needles, wiry, and leafy. Blended green tea products include the Mist Forest (green tea, pear guava, soursop), and Tropical Charming (green tea, lulo, starfruit, mango). Either of these sound pretty amazing as an iced tea. It’s finally getting sunny and warm here in Pittsburgh, so dreams of sipping iced tea on a hot day should soon be a reality.

Fresh Plucked Bitaco Tea Leaves – Photo used with permission from Bitaco Tea

In addition to creating organic, world class loose leaf tea, Bitaco Tea and Agricola Himalaya also strive to be pillars of their environmental and social communities. The Agricola Himalaya Foundation was created to help local children have better educational opportunities, as well as improve the local infrastructure, culture, and technology.

You can keep up to date on all things Bitaco by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thank you for taking your time to learn more about Bitaco Unique Colombian Tea. Many thanks to the management at Bitaco for providing samples. These will be my first Colombian tea experiences, and I am excited to get to them! Looks for reviews on many of these products in the near future.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Cheers!

Guest Post: The History of Bubble Tea by Mike at BubbleTeaology

I am pleased to have the opportunity to publish a guest post from Mike at BubbleTeaology, a distributor of equipment and machinery used to create the popular tea beverage known as Bubble Tea.

Bubble Tea is offered in some Asian restaurants, as well as independent stands and kiosks in malls, airports, and other high-traffic spaces. My son loves to get a cup of Bubble Tea as an after dinner treat at a local Thai restaurant near our home, Thai Foon.

I would like to thank Mike for taking his time to prepare this write-up for the Tea Journeyman blog. If you own a restaurant, beverage or snack stand, or any business that could benefit from offering Bubble Tea, please contact Bubble Teaology. They have all the tools and supplies to help jumpstart your new Bubble Tea product line.

Now, let’s give the spotlight to Mike, and allow him the opportunity to teach us more about Bubble Tea.

The History of Bubble Tea

      Tea has been enjoyed by many for thousands of years and over that time, various recipes and varieties have been created by tea lovers. One fairly recent addition is called bubble tea. Let’s take look at the history of bubble tea and find out where and how this variation came about. 

It all began in the early 1980s in a small tea shop in Taiwan. Tea is popular with school children in Taiwan, and tea stands set up outside of schools would compete for the students’ business. One enterprising owner started mixing fruit flavors with the tea, creating a delicious and refreshing drink that the children loved. Mixing the flavor with the tea required some vigorous shaking, which resulted in thousands of tiny air bubbles and gave rise to the name “Bubble Tea”.

The next step in the history of bubble tea is the introduction of tapioca pearls to cold infused beverages. Credit for this advancement is given to Taiwanese resident Liu Han-Chieh, who began topping drinks with the pearls in 1983. The tapioca pearls are meant to be consumed along with the beverage, giving the tea drinker a truly unique experience.

The tapioca pearls looked like another set of bubbles, this time residing at the bottom of the glass. The term “bubble tea” was used for shaken, flavored tea whether it had the pearls or not. So a new variety was born.  This trend has taken off around the world and in the US with bubble tea shops opening up everywhere. Adding to the fascination of bubble tea are the bubble tea machines that shake and seal bubble tea.

Fans of bubble tea with tapioca pearls enjoy their distinctive flavor and consistency. The pearls can be white or black, with the white pearls being pure tapioca and the darker ones mixing in some cassava root or brown sugar. In either case, the result is a gummy, chewy ball that is called the tapioca pearl. Bubble tea beverages that contain these pearls are served with an extra wide straw so you can suck up the pearls as you are drinking your tea.

The use of tapioca pearls gave rise to many other names for bubble tea. You may see it offered as pearl milk tea, boba tea, pearl ice tea and tapioca ball drink to name a few. Most bubble tea has a cold, fruit-infused tea as its foundation. You can easily identify this beverage by the pearls, which appear to be bubbles, at the bottom of a clear glass, or by the wide straw provided with your drink.

Though it originated in Taiwan and became wildly popular in that country, the taste for bubble tea has spread throughout the world. New mixtures using milk and different ingredients to create the pearls are constantly being tried. You can get a bubble tea beverage with pearls comprised of green tea, sago, taro or jelly, to name a few. It seems that the only limiting factor is the imagination of the creator, ensuring that the history of bubble tea is still a work in progress. Try a glass and see if you agree that it is a unique and refreshing beverage. You’ll probably be back for more!

Author Bio:

Mike is originally from the US but has spent the past 6 years in Taiwan and 2 of those years working for one of the largest bubble tea shops in Taiwan.  Now he is the owner of BubbleTeaology which supplies Boba Tea Machines and Wholesale Ingredients to drink shops around the world.

Quick Review: Six Borders Black Tea From Rakkasan Tea Company

As part of my attempts to evolve this blog, I have decided to begin publishing a new type of review called a “Quick Review”. The purpose is to avoid redundancy, and focus on the highlights of a particular product without spending time describing less important details. In no way is a quick review intended to imply that the product is unworthy of a full review. I have quite the supply of great teas to review, and I want to have time to give them all their spotlight. In order to do so, I need to improve my efficiency in writing reviews. Thus, the quick review will help accomplish this end.

With the necessary disclaimer being given, let’s turn our focus to the Six Borders Black Tea, offered by the Rakkasan Tea Company. Check out my Company Spotlight post on Rakkasan Tea Company to learn more about them.

You can purchase two ounces (50 grams) of this tea for USD $9.99 from the Rakkasan Tea Company website.

The leaves used to create the Six Borders Black Tea are harvested by a single family of H’mong farmers from wild tea bushes growing at an average altitude over 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) above sea level in the Yen Bai province of Vietnam. The Google map below shows the location of the Yen Bai province.

Let’s get to the review…

The dark charcoal grey to black leaves are all medium sized leaf fragments, fully oxidized, and rolled. There are a few golden bud fragments, and a few small bare stems. The aroma has scents of dark chocolate and an acidic fruity smell, which reminds me of slightly fermented cherries.

Eight grams of dry leaves were placed in an 18 ounce (530 mL) cast iron tetsubin teapot, and infused with 200°F (93°C) water for 3:00 minutes.

The liquid has a rich, amber red color. The aroma has scents of tart cherries, dark chocolate, and light malt. The body is medium, with a clean, refreshing texture. There is no bitterness, but instead a unique lightly tart quality. The taste has notes of tart cherries, dark chocolate, and light malt. The aftertaste is sweet and lightly malty.

The infused leaves have a uniform copper brown color, and carry the sweet scents of cherries and dark chocolate.

I have noticed with these wild grown Vietnamese teas, whether green or black, that they have a specific pure, clean, and refreshing quality to them. The Six Borders Black Tea certainly offers this same highlight. Additionally, the light tartness, which dovetails beautifully with the aroma and taste of cherries and dark chocolate, truly gives a unique character to this black tea. The tea liquid itself is not overpowering in taste or texture, and would be well received by those who prefer a mild black tea experience. For the reasonable price that this product is offered at by Rakkasan Tea Company, I highly recommend trying it.

Thanks again to Rakkasan Tea Company for providing this sample of Six Borders Black Tea.

H’Mong Kings Green Tea From Rakkasan Tea Company

Today, I will be taking a look at the H’mong Kings Green Tea from Rakkasan Tea Company. You can also learn more about Rakkasan Tea Company by checking out my Company Spotlight post.

You can purchase 1.5 ounces (40 grams) of this tea for USD $11.99 from the Rakkasan Tea Company website.

This H’Mong Kings Green Tea is sourced from H’Mong wild tea farmers in the Ha Giang province of northern Vietnam. The Google map below shows the location of Ha Giang province.

The wild tea bushes harvested to make this tea are located at an altitude of about 5,200 feet (1,585 meters) above sea level, and are surrounded by forests of pine trees. The leaves are fired and dried over cast iron pans heated by burning wood.

Generally speaking, I have found most wild grown, pan fired green teas to be more similar in character to sheng (raw) puer teas, having a more complex, mineral character than the grassy, nutty, or floral characters of the more commercialized green teas. I love the mineral character, so let’s hope this tea has some of that.

As a quick sidenote, as you may have noticed, I have upgraded this site to an owned domain, and changed the theme. Any feedback, positive or negative, will be appreciated regarding the font sizes, photo sizes, color schemes, layout, etc.

Let’s get to the review…

H’Mong Kings Green Tea – Dry Leaves

The dry leaves vary slightly in color from pale light forest green to pale dark forest green. There are a few silver buds in the mix, as well as a bare stem or two. The leaves appear to be mostly large fragments and whole leaves detached from a stem. Some leaves are still attached to the stem, many including a bud, and show a two leaf and bud pluck. Some leaves appear to have signs of light oxidation. The leaves are hand rolled. They appear to have been well cared for during firing, as there are no obvious signs of over cooking or burning. The aroma has scents of campfire, pine wood, mineral, and fresh earth. Definitely not your typical green tea!

Four grams of dry leaves were placed in a 7 ounce (210 mL) bizen-ware kyusu teapot, and infused with 185°F (85°C) water for 2:00 minutes. 30 seconds of additional time were added to each subsequent infusion. Four quality infusions were extracted from the leaves.

H’Mong Kings Green Tea – Liquid

The liquid has a bright, pale yellow color, clear and transparent. The aroma has dominant scents of minerals, with touches of grass and pine wood. The body is medium, with a silky, light texture. There is a very slight bitterness, and no astringency. The taste has notes of minerals, wet stones, and touches of grass and pine wood. The aftertaste carries the dominant mineral character, with a lighter touch of grass. The liquid leaves the mouth feeling clean and refreshed.

H’Mong Kings Green Tea – Infused Leaves

The infused leaves have a mostly uniform fresh forest green color, some showing slight signs of oxidation. One or two leaves appear to have signs that bugs were feasting on them. The leaves are mostly large fragments, but there are some whole detached leaves ,and some whole leaves attached to stems that show a two leaf and bud pluck. There are one or two bare stems in the mix. These leaves seem to have a larger than normal midrib. The leaves have a soft, yet durable texture, even after four infusions. The aroma carries the scents of minerals, and touches of grass, earth, and smoke.

The H’Mong Kings Green Tea is not a typical green tea, and I mean that as a positive observation. As I had hoped for, this tea is dominated by a mineral character, with some light touches of earth, grass, and wood. This is the kind of tea I dream of taking with me on a trip into the mountains, as it really offers that “connecting with nature” energy. The appearance of the leaves certainly has the “hand-crafted” look, and is obviously watched over carefully during production. The clean and refreshing feeling that this tea leaves in the mouth is also a noteworthy feature. Overall, a very unique, revitalizing green tea that should cater to the preferences of sheng puer tea drinkers.

Many thanks to the management at Rakkasan Tea Company for providing this sample of H’Mong Kings Green Tea! Keep up the excellent work. Cheers!