Tea Review: Black Dragon Pearls Tea

Name: Black Dragon Pearls

Type: Black

Company:  Adagio

Time: 5 mins

Temperature: 212F

Aroma: Cocoa, white pepper.

Taste: This tea tastes pretty much like it smells, with cocoa and white pepper notes. It’s a bit peaty, like a puerh. That said, it reminds me most strongly of another black tea–Adagio’s Yunnan Gold tea, which makes sense because Black Dragon Pearls is also from Yunnan.

Texture: Smooth, round.

Leaves:  As you can see, the tea comes in rolled “pearls.” These are larger than those in most other rolled teas, which are comprised of a bud and leaf set or one or two connected leaves. The pearls are more loosely rolled, so they unfurl quickly enough so that the tea oils can be released from most of the surface area of each leaf. (which is a good thing because the second steep isn’t great)

Evaluation: This is a delicious tea. It has the kick and body that it would make a good transition tea for those who are trying to replace a coffee habit with a tea habit (an excellent plan). Another reason that it would be good for that purpose is that cocoa is a recognizable taste even for those with an undeveloped tea palate.  Because of the cocoa notes, I tried the tea with a bit of milk and sugar in addition to straight up. Milk and sugar do bring out the cocoa. However, milk and sugar are certainly not necessary as there is no bitterness to “compensate” for and they mask some of the richness and most of the texture of the tea.

(Photo credit: adagio.com)

Tea Review: Jasmine Scented Pu-erh Tuocha

Name: Jasmine Scented Pu-erh Tuocha

Type: Pu-erh

Company: Chicago Tea Garden

Time: 30 sec

Temperature: 212F

Aroma: Peat, cedar, jasmine.

Taste: Jasmine compliments pu-erh very well, it seems. It doesn’t mask the “barnyard” taste that some complain of with pu-erhs (including myself on occasion), but it’s more like it adds an earthy complexity and depth to the flavor of jasmine. Jasmine has a very clean taste, so I think that’s part of the reason that they balance each other well.

Texture: Both smooth and astringent.

Leaves:  This tea comes in an tuocha. After a couple of steepings, the leaves detach and unfurl. They are olive in color and appear to be coarsely chopped.

Evaluation:  This is my favorite pu-erh. I think that the amount of jasmine scent is right on–neither overpowering nor too subtle. The bronze-colored liquor is very nice. I picked this up at a small tea-tasting at World of Tea, hosted by Tony Gebely. He is super knowledgeable and passionate about tea (and a nice guy!). He is committed to importing unusual teas, like this one, that may be too fringe for the big retailers. I highly recommend browsing through his online catalog.

Tea Review: Wind of Change

Name: Wind of Change

Type: Herbal/Fruit Tisane

Company: TeaJay

Time: 5 min

Temperature: 212F

Aroma: Full and sharp. A lot of lemongrass in the smell.

Taste: It’s a pretty complex taste—it is described as “Lime Buttermilk,” which doesn’t begin to describe the flavors in it. It’s sweet, a little tangy, jasmine, a little creamy and addictive.

Texture: Smooth, umami. Possibly due to the yogurt inclusions.

Leaves:  It’s like a tea entirely made of inclusions. It has three types of flowers, dried fruit, lemongrass and yogurt bits. That’s right.

Evaluation:  It must have taken a long time to arrive at this flavor combination, but the time was worth it. The flavors work together very well. (“Concert in a cup” now seems just as fitting as ever for a tagline!) I find myself making a cup and going back to the kitchen to make a pot because it’s so good. I highly recommend Wind of Change. I doubt it would stand up to multiple infusions. Also, I had a nice email exchange with the owner of the company, so good job to them for being friendly and accessible.

Tea Accessory Review: Libre Tea Glass

I was looking forward to trying the Libre tea glass, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I would like it. The Libre added ease and enjoyment to my tea practice that meant that I drank more tea while I was using it.

Appearance: The Libre glass is very elegant, with a sleek logo and just a beautiful form that makes the tea liquor look important, suspended in the tea glass. They also have a lovely informative website with great tea quotes.

Usage: The glass is very well-conceived for the tea drinker’s use. Put the tea leaves in the filter, screw the filter and lid onto the glass, and flip the tea over to brew. When it’s done, just flip the glass back over and it will stop brewing. I really like this process because once I’ve done the above, I can bring the glass with me to the living room or into the car without waiting in the kitchen to take out the tea leaves or bringing a separate tea leaves plate with me. The tea stays hot for a long time because of the double-wall insulation.  Also, this keeps the tea leaves handy to rebrew later. Watch their demonstration to see what I mean:

Materials: This is one of my favorite aspects of the glass. The inside is all glass, with a stainless steel filter, thus no bpa to leach into your tea.

Unfortunately, less than a month after I started using the glass, I accidentally dropped this onto a vinyl floor from about 4′ off of the ground and the glass completely shattered. I was very sad that it broke, though fortunately the plastic exterior prevented the glass interior and tea from dispersing on the floor, so at least it was easy to clean up.

Overall, I highly recommend Libre tea glasses. It’s a wonderful product. While I had it, I told so many people at tea shops, my yoga studio, even random people, about the Libre and I still feel strongly about them even though I no longer have one.

If you’re going to purchase one, I recommend the large glass, because I like drinking more than 9 oz of tea at a time, but this might be a good amount of you.

Tea Blog coming soon

A fantastic tea blog is in the works. It’s launching this month, so watch this space!