The Tea Spot Vintage Oolong Loose Leaf Tea Review

Sorry! This time my picture does not do the tea justice.

With so much to do on my plate, I needed an oolong to bring me back to my senses and hustle!  I’m reviewing the Tea Spot Vintage Oolong today.  When I cracked open the bag the tea came in, I was greeted by a strong vegetal smell, reminiscent of another oolong I had recently.  I let my dad have a whiff of the dried leaves, “Ahh smells nice.”

The ingredients of this tea are 100% pure single estate Taiwanese oolong.  I used one teaspoon of loose leaf tea and let it expand.  My cup was soon densely swimming with  tea leaves after a minute.  Watching tea leaves unfurl is always strangely comforting.  It’s like watching the introduction of a familiar story unfold itself.  The tea smelled very sweet.  It was a warm and inviting cup.  The liquor was a pale green and gold.  It was very clear, I could make out all the leaves in the cup.  Time to taste.  Wow.  This is a very nice tea with wonderful body.  it’s rich and complex with a slight hint of umami.  The flavour is continuing to linger in my mouth after I have had the tea.

Upon second steeping, the tea becomes more mature.  The leaves really take on the shape of their original size and the liquor becomes more green than gold.  The flavour deepens and becomes more floral with apricot notes.

When it comes to tea, my dad loves big leaves, beautiful color, and a bold taste.  He’s always fond of showing me the outrageously large tea leaves in his cup after he’s steeped.  I think this is one tea that I can finally share with him that he would enjoy as well.  Pair this with a good book and you have what I would call a perfect day.  I’m glad I started my day with this cup.

The Tea Spot as also shared that if you buy 2 Vintage Oolong teas now you can get 1 free. Just enter the total number of tins you want to receive (ie. 3 tins) and your shopping cart will take care of the rest (only charging you for 2 tins). I’m not sure how long this promotion will last for, but check it out!

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Yamamotoyama Gyokuro Green Tea Review

umami in a cup

This is my first tea review from the CRFA show.  Yamamotoyama wasn’t there, but rather a distributor who had their product was there. The young chef who was cooking cold soba noodles for the crowd opened the box of tea just to give me a sample.  Aw so nice.

Yamamotoyama (say that three times fast) has been around since 1690.  So you can trust that they know tea.  They came to the United States in 1975 hoping to expand their tea line beyond the borders of Japan.  They not only sell tea but they soy wrappers for rolls and nori seaweed as well.  Which is funny because the Yamamotoyama Gyokuro Green Tea smells exactly like nori seaweed.

There are actually different types of seaweed.  Maine Coast Sea Vegetables is one of my favourite companies and carries a wide range of raw seaweed including alaria (my favourite), dulse, kelp and laver.  The traditional seaweed that is found in sushi and in Japanese restaurants is nori.  So now you know.

Gyokuro tea meaning “Jade Dew” was actually named by the Yamamotoyama tea company.   It is for a specific type of tea that is grown in the shade rather than the full sun to reduce bitterness.  From Wiki.

Gyokuro tea leaves are shielded from the sun for at least two weeks before being harvested. This causes the amino acids (Theanine) and caffeine in the tea leaves to increase, while catechin (the source of bitterness in tea, along with caffeine) decreases, giving rise to a sweet flavor. The tea also gains a distinct aroma from the covering process.

If only cooking vegetables was this easy

When I first broke open the green tea packet and took a whiff of the skinny green tea needles, the seaweed smell was strong and rich.  I was super curious to taste the tea and see how the flavour profile would hold up.  I infused the triangle pyramid teabag hot water (40C/104F is best) and steeped for about 7 minutes.  The liquor turned a bright yellow with a hint of green.  A sign of a good Japanese green tea.  Some poorer quality ones may be brownish in color.  The gyokuro tea leaves expanded beautifully in the sachet; there was just enough room.  The smell of the tea was still reminiscent of seaweed.  Now came the taste test.  The tea instantly filled up my mouth with it’s sweet vegetal richness.  Umami was very apparent in this tea.  For the Japanese tea and green tea lover, the gyokuro is definately a tea to seek out.  This is a one steep tea though, multiple infusions don’t work.  On an envionmental note, the pyramid teabags are biodegradable meaning they’re most likely made from corn.

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