Norbu Tea Thurbo Estate FTGFOP 1 – Darjeeling Tea – Autumn, 2012
Country of Origin: India Leaf Appearance: dark, somewhat curled with lots of golden tips Ingredients: black tea Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 195 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: dark amber Regular readers of this blog know that I am a sucker for Darjeeling, especially autumn flush. I bought a batch of sample sizes from Norbu Tea a few months ago and this was actually one of the last ones left. The dry leaves were beautiful to look at and I always love seeing lots of golden tips in my tea. It steeped up a really nice dark amber color that seemed to have a glow all its own. The…
Norbu Tea Margaret’s Hope FTGFOP1 – Darjeeling Tea – Autumn, 2012
Photo: Norbu Tea Country of Origin: India Leaf Appearance: dark, somewhat curly, scattered silver and gold tips Ingredients: black tea Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 195 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain teacup and mesh infuser Liquor: dark reddish amber The arrival of fall means that I have a constant craving for Darjeeling. While digging through my sample box this one caught my eye because it is from one of my favorite estates and it had been a while since I had an autumn flush. The dry leaves were beautiful to look at. I loved the mottled mix of colors and the amount of fleecy buds were mixed throughout. The taste wasn’t as bold…
Norbu Tea 2009 Norbu Lao Cha Tou
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: very dark amber Puerh is just the thing when I’ve had a little too much to eat and today was one of those days. Norbu Tea’s website gives a very interesting description of this tea: Lao Cha Tou translates loosely as ‘Old Tea Nugget.’ Cha Tou are small nuggets of clumped-together tea leaves that are formed as a result of the heat and pressure that is generated by the piles of tea when they are undergoing fermentation. At the end of the 40-60 day fermentation process the newly fermented…
Norbu Tea Ali Shan Red Oolong – Fall 2012
Photo: Norbu Tea Country of Origin: Taiwan Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly rolled Ingredients: black tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 200 degrees Preparation Method: clay gongfu sized teapot Liquor: dark amber This type of tea is what is commonly referred to as a brandy oolong. It is grown on Ali Shan and produced from the same cultivar as Dong Ding but was much darker than most oolongs that I’ve experienced. The oxidation level is not quite high enough to make it a black tea . I could easily see where the name came from because the liquor really did resemble brandy. The taste was rather hard to describe. It was sweet and…
Norbu Tea Jungpana Imperial Gold – Darjeeling Tea – Autumn, 2012
Country of Origin: India Leaf Appearance: dark, somewhat curled with lots of golden tips Ingredients: black tea Steep time: 3 minutes Water Temperature: 195 degrees Preparation Method: ceramic teapot and mesh infuser Liquor: amber I’m usually bustling through my day and manage to squeeze tea in when I can but every once in a while a tea makes me drop everything that I am doing. That is exactly what this tea did. It was subtler than most Autumn Flushes that I have tried yet it was incredibly complex. There were musky and floral notes along with a pleasant nuttiness. A fruity and sweet aftertaste lingered long after each sip. It didn’t quite have…
Norbu Tea 2005 Zhong Cha “Menghai Gushu” Sheng Puerh
Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly compressed Ingredients: raw puerh tea Steep time: 30 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: amber This tea was fairly robust compared to other sheng puerhs that I’ve had. It wasn’t quite the forest floor taste that you would get from shu but it had a definite earthy quality. There was an underlying sweetness that helped to keep the taste balanced. The mouth-feel was thick and a pleasant astringency led to a dry finish. The leaves were large and mostly intact. I was even able to spot a few complete bud sets. Older tea always makes me a bit contemplative and this…
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