Mauna Kea Tea Organic Premium Green Tea - 2013 1st Flush

Country of Origin: United States, Hawaii
Leaf Appearance: dark green with some white tips, very curled and twisted
Ingredients: green tea
Steep time: 2 minutes
Water Temperature: 175 degrees
Preparation Method: ceramic teapot
Liquor: very pale green

Ever since tasting Hawaiian grown teas with the folks from +Tealet I have been craving Mauna Kea's green tea. I finally bit the bullet because I did not want to miss out on this year's 1st flush. The taste was rather hard to describe. It was delicate and vegetal with a refreshing fruity sweetness. There was a slight roasted quality that reminded me of Tie Ping Hou Kui. The mouth-feel was smooth and buttery with just a touch of astringency. A faint underlying spiciness rounded out the flavor profile. I've noticed this in most of the Hawaiian teas that I've tasted. I love a tea that stays with you and this one lingered on my palate in the best way. What really made this tea for me was the aroma of the leaves after steeping. It was truly one of the most aromatic green teas that I have ever had. I just couldn't keep my nose out of the teapot. I did three consecutive infusions and the leaves were definitely not done. One day I really hope to visit their farm and see the fields that produced this fantastic tea.

You can find out more about this tea here.

Planetary Design Tea Tumbler

I won this tea tumbler at the Tea Magazine tweetup at the New York Coffee and Tea Festival. Unlike most travel mugs I've used, it combines both an infuser basket and French press. I had my doubts about the design because I was concerned about oversteeping. That had always been a problem for me with press style tea makers in the past. However, the press compressed the leaves into the solid part of the chamber which removed them from the water. I really enjoyed that both the interior of the mug and the infuser are stainless steel. There is nothing worse than having a plastic taste in my tea. The lid locks into place and appears to be fairly airtight. It stayed warm for several hours, so much so that it was almost too hot at first. This tumbler will definitely make it easier to take tea with me when I'm running out the door in the morning. I won't have to worry about removing leaves or figuring out what to do with them anymore. It was also very easy to clean, which is always important.

You can find out more about this tea tumbler here.

David's Tea Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait

Country of Origin: not listed
Leaf Appearance: lots of visible fruit pieces
Ingredients: Apple, hibiscus, raisins, carrot, yogurt bits, beetroot, strawberry, rhubarb, artificial flavoring
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 205 degrees
Preparation Method: travel mug with infuser
Liquor: deep red

This tea was tangy, sweet and somewhat creamy. Strawberry was definitely the dominant taste. Although the flavoring is strong it did not come across as overdone. It reminded me very much of strawberry flavored greek yogurt. This is the first time that I had ever tasted anything with rhubarb in it but their site explains that is where the tartness comes from. Hibiscus is one of my least favorite ingredients but the other elements helped to balance out the taste. Adding just a touch of sweetener took the edge off even more. Herbal blends aren't really my thing so I wouldn't be likely to buy this (I got a sample with a recent order). Overall it was fairly refreshing and I can imagine it making a really good iced tea. David's Tea's site suggested using this to make sangria. I'd definitely be willing to give that a try.

You can find out more about this tea here.

Darjeeling TeaXpress 2012 Darjeeling First Flush Giddapahar China Special

Country of Origin: India
Leaf Appearance: small, varied brown and green
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser
Liquor: amber

The leaves of this tea were really beautiful. They had a nice twisted shape to them and the varied shades of brown and green were lovely. The taste was light and fruity with a pleasant underlying spiciness. There was also a fresh vegetal and almost floral element that came to the forefront as it cooled. The muscatel taste that Darjeeling is known for was there but it was more delicate than what you might find in a 2nd flush. There was a mild astringency but only enough to add a clean and refreshing finish. I've really enjoyed all of the teas that I've tried from +DarjeelingTea Xpress so far. One of my favorite things about them is that their website provides a lot of background information on both the tea and the estates. For example, I did not know that Giddapahar is also known as Eagles Cliff.

You can find out more about this tea here.

On Being the Office Tea Person

I've worked in the crazy world of retail for most of my adult life. A little less than two years ago, I left the insanity behind for my first desk job. I was giddy with the thought of being able to make a cup of tea whenever the need called. I even had hopes of sharing my passion for tea with my coworkers. Unfortunately, I soon found that I was surrounded by coffee lovers. I brought in an old electric kettle from home along with my perfect steeper, a mug and lots of leftover tea samples. We have hard water at the officer which makes tea taste rather flat so I don't usually bring in anything too fancy. I generally drink three to four cups a day while I'm at work and they really help to keep my going.

Occasionally my tea gear has garnered curiosity but usually not much more than a second look. It has been interesting to see the assumptions that people made about me due to my tea habit. Many thought that I must be some kind of health nut (they had apparently not seen the snack hoard inside of my desk). And then, it happened. The staff in our order department started asking me about tea. I obliged by bringing in a few samples for them to try. They even borrowed my tea duck! When I bring in a new batch of samples (about once a month), there is genuine excitement to see what tasty teas their might be.

Admittedly their tastes do favor the flavored, sugary blends but I have gotten raves about Hayes Tea's Dragonwell and Teas Etc's White Monkey. They've also loved just about everything from David's Teas that I have brought in. Just as my co-workers expose me to new and better wines, I hope that I am doing the same when it comes to tea. They will probably still drink their daily cups of Joe but it feels good to spread a little love of the leaf. Are you the office tea person? Tell me all about it in the comments!

An Accidental Vintage Find

My mother recently attended a card party and won me a very cool vintage find. She was aiming for a tea themed gift basket but accidentally placed her tickets in the cup for a basket containing four teacups instead. They weren't quite my usual style but I still thought that they were cute. Then I glanced at the stamp on the bottom and my heart skipped a beat. Along with a picture of what looked like an elephant, they were emblazoned with "Handpainted Made in Occupied Japan".

I'm not a teaware expert but I knew that these were not just cups that someone had picked up from a department store. A quick Google search revealed that after World War II, half of the Japanese exports to the United States were required to have this stamp. It was used from 1945 through April 25th, 1952. I found a very helpful porcelain collector site called Gotheborg.com that listed many of the maker's marks from this time period. I believe that my cups are from the Tashiro Shoten Ltd porcelain shop in Yokohama.

These are by far the oldest pieces in my collection. I don't think that I will be using them often due to their age and the fact that they are hand painted. Perhaps some day there will be a very special occasion where I will decide to pull them out. For now, I'm happy to just admire the tiny details of their design and contemplate how far they must have traveled all of these years.

Jalam Teas Nan Nuo Mountain Sheng Puerh

Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: large, dark and mostly whole
Ingredients: raw puerh tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: deep gold

I'm always amazed at how social media connects the tea community. A recent experience with +JalamTeas was a great example of that. I had never hard of this company before but I saw a tweet about a Google+ Live hangout that they would be doing with their founder, Jeff Fuchs. I jumped at the chance to join in. We had some technical difficulties but made due by having one of the people in the hangout Skype with Jeff so that everyone could hear. I was blown away by the information that he shared about the latest shipment of their monthly tea club. It was a raw puerh that he sourced himself in Yunnan. I've included the video below if you want to take a peek.

And now on to the tea itself. I received a 100 gram cake, which is a pretty sizable portion. It's a good thing that tea like this can age for a bit or it might go to waste. The first that I noticed was how large the leaves were. They weren't as compressed as they appeared because I was able to break it easily with my hands. After a quick rinse, I started my infusions at 30 seconds and gradually increased as I went along. The leaves unfurled quickly and they were very large. I don't recall having ever seen quite so many buds in a puerh before. It was mellow and sweet with notes of honey, straw and mushroom. I'm generally not a fan of fungi but in this case it was a good thing. Although it was fairly light I did so many infusions that I lost count. I have to say that I am in awe of all of the background information that Jalam Teas provided about the tea. It's not often that I get to see pictures and videos of exactly where the tea I drink came from. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend checking them out.

You can find out more about this tea here.