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December 25, 2004
Dragon Well Green Tea
Name: Dragon Well Green Tea
Kathy's Rating: 7.5/10.0
Company: Ten Ren
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$10/4oz (113.4g)
Tea form: Loose green tea
What they say: Ten Ren's First Grade Dragon Well is a good Dragon Well Green tea. This grade uses tender tea leaves picked during spring.
Preparation method: A steeping time of 1 to 2 minutes with about 70°C/160°F water is recommended, with an additional 15 seconds for each successive infusion. Use about 1 tablespoon (3 grams) of tea leaves for about every 5 ounces (150 ml) of water.
Review: 'Dragon Well' is a special name for green tea that originates from the West Lake area of Hangzhou, China. Compared to other green tea varieties, Dragon Well is more full-bodied and complex than most. However, in keeping with the character of green tea, it is still mild compared with say, black teas. This tea almost imparts a taste of the Chinese mung bean - which is used to make desserts such as ice cream and sweet fillings for buns.
My sister-in-law told me an amusing story about Dragon Well tea. She was part of a tour group in China visiting the West Lake region, and their Chinese tour guide warned them about buying Dragon Well tea from the vendors in the area. The warning was that some unscrupulous vendors may pick leaves off of the willow trees nearby, and sell them as Dragon Well green tea. But, the tourists could be spared of such an experience by only buying the tea from a specific factory that the tour guide will take them to. It turns out that the tour guide gets a hefty commission from the factory for bringing all the tourists to buy tea there.
Posted by Kathy at 03:43 PM | Permalink
Holiday Tea
Name: Holiday Tea
Kathy's Rating: 6.5/10.0
Company: Harney & Sons Teas
Origin of tea: Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Price: $3.75/5 sachets (4.5g/.16oz)
Tea form: Ceylon tea with citrus, almond, clove, and cinnamon flavors in silken sachets
What they say: A sweet, spicy and fruity fragrance that awakes the holiday spirit within.
Preparation method: Boil water and pour over sachet. Steep for 5 minutes.
Review: This tea smells wonderful - richly spicy and fruity at the same time. The actual taste is much more mellow, though - there's no sharpness or tartness to the taste - although I thought there should have been more spiciness to it. If you are the type of person who likes apple spice cakes and pumpkin pies, this is the kind of tea you want to drink while eating those types of desserts. This tea's moniker is very well-chosen, and does indeed conjure up images of the Christmas holidays. The rating for this tea is not higher than it is (6.5/10.0) because I can't tell by the ingredient listings what exactly is in there. I realize that blends are usually proprietary, but it surely wouldn't hurt to just list the ingredients (just not the quantity ratios)? Anyhow, I felt annoyed that I didn't know exactly what I was drinking.
Posted by Kathy at 03:20 PM | Permalink
Kathy's Tea Review and Rating System
Now that I've reviewed many, many teas, it's time to simplify things for the reader a bit. It would be helpful to have a way to quickly scan through the reviews quantitatively, as opposed to reading through each individial entry's qualitative statements, don't you think? Of course, I would love for readers to read each review, but just in case you need to quickly sort through the teas, here's something to help. Besides, it seems to me that the vast majority of teas fall in the medium-good range, and I need to have a way to separate those out as well.
I have decided to rate each tea on a scale of 1.0 to 10.0, and allow for increments of 0.5 as well, to truly separate out all of the teas that I sort of like. An explanation for the numbers is in order:
10.0 --> Tea nirvana.
9.0 --> Exceptionally high quality tea.
8.0 --> Very good quality tea.
7.0 --> Good tea.
6.0 --> Quite drinkable.
5.0 --> Mediocre. Nothing to write home about.
4.0 --> Would not recommend.
3.0 --> Drink this if you are in a real pinch.
2.0 --> Drink if there's no bathwater.
1.0 --> Goat vomit.
Posted by Kathy at 02:48 PM | Permalink
Indian Nimbu Black Tea
Name: Indian Nimbu Black Tea
Kathy's Rating: 7.0/10.0
Company: Harney & Sons Teas
Origin of tea: India
Price: $3.50/5 sachets (11.2g/.4oz)
Tea form: Darjeeling tea with lemon and caramel flavors in silken sachets
What they say: Nimbu is Hindi for lemon and that, together with caramel flavor, is what was added to Darjeeling to get this wonderful tea.
Preparation method: Boil water and pour over sachet. Steep for 4 minutes.
Review: This is a tea that can be enjoyed with milk and sugar - although I enjoyed it very much without. The caramel flavor is pleasantly rich, and gives the Darjeeling tea a more complex note. If you are a caramel fan, this will be a favorite tea of yours. Although 'nimbu' means 'lemon', I didn't pick up any citrus undertones in this tea - there really weren't any. This tea blend does remind me of Harney's Wedding Tea, which I also reviewed, in that both are dessert-style teas. While this tea is good, I doesn't quite compare to finer Darjeeling teas (see my review for Mukaibari Estate's Darjeeling tea) and also is not as good a dessert tea as the Wedding Tea blend. This is why I gave it a 7.0/10.0 - very drinkable, but not spectacular.
Posted by Kathy at 02:29 PM | Permalink
December 21, 2004
Spring Cherry Green Tea
Name: Spring Cherry Tea
Kathy's Rating: 4.5/10.0
Company: The Republic of Tea
Origin of tea: Japan
Price: ~$10/3 oz (85g)
Tea form: Loose tea with Japanese sencha leaves, rose petals, and paklum flowers.
What they say: Beginner"s Mind Tea--The fresh essence of cherries and sweet taste of sencha leaves is welcoming introduction to green tea. Rose petals and white paklum (rare, white tea buds) add a sweet, floral note.
Preparation method: Steep 2-4 minutes at water temperature slightly below boiling.
Review: This tea blend smells faintly of cherry preserves, and evokes a feeling of hanami - the Japanese word for cherry blossom viewing. I knew this was going to be a pleasant tea. This tea is acceptable if you are looking for a simple green tea taste with something extra. I disagree that this is a beginner's tea - try a plain green tea first so you can fully appreciate the moderately floral tones of this tea. This is not a very high quality enhanced (scented) green tea. To me, this tea tasted like there's flavoring added in to cut the costs of relying solely on fruit and flowers to scent the tea. Although added flavoring brings the cost of production down, it really cheapens the taste of the tea. If you are interested in some references, I have a couple of high quality enhanced green tea reviews here, and here. This tea was still fun to drink, though. I drank it while reading a book.
Posted by Kathy at 08:32 PM | Permalink
December 20, 2004
Female Version of Steve Wozniak and Ninja Burger Card Game
Here's an interesting article highlighting the impressive talents of Jeri Ellsworth, for her ingenuity and skills with circuit design. I'm always impressed by people who can design neat toys - but to do so without formal training is even more monumental. Sure, there are a lot of smart people out there who can design circuits when asked to do it for a class assignment or for work, but it takes something more special to do it as a hobby and be completely self-taught as well.
On a silly note, we were in New England this past weekend for a friend's surprise birthday party. Yes, he was VERY surprised. One of the presents we got for him was Steve Jackson's Ninja Burger card game, which we all got a chance to play during the weekend. If you like to play board or card games, you should buy this. It's a silly game, but a ton of fun to play with good friends. The object of the game is to basically be the ninja with the highest number of honor points. How do you get honor points? You deliver burgers - ninja style, or course - to various places. The places can range from elevator shafts to figure skating championships to Elvis - yes, the King is still alive. But, watch out - other players can try and mess with your missions. Intrigued? Buy the game online - it's a load of laughs and fun.
Posted by Kathy at 07:32 PM | Permalink
December 13, 2004
Visit to Books With A Past
This past weekend, we went to Books With A Past - a used bookstore - to browse for 'new' books to read. A colleague of mine at work's parents own and run the bookstore. This bookstore is in the moderately rural town of Glenwood, Maryland. I say 'moderately rural' because my car's navigation system couldn't locate the street (Washington Rd.) or road number (Route 97) that Books With A Past is located at. Nevertheless, we had fun driving the scenic route to Books With A Past.
Beside my colleague's recommendation, what drew us to Books With A Past is the Baltimore Sun review of the bookstore. We were especially looking forward to the extensive science fiction and cryptography selections. We were not disappointed with the selections. There were probably fifty of more shelves worth of science fiction novels, mostly paperbacks. Just about every science fiction author I could think of was represented there. The cryptography section consisted mostly of new Aegean Park Press books. These books are carefully wrapped, and are not used. I don't think I've ever seen this many Aegean Park Press books in any bookstore.
The bookstore prices used paperbacks are generally half-off the cover price. So, if you can find a paperback edition that was printed back when paperback prices were lower, then you can get an exceptional bargain out of buying that book. Although I noticed this, I certainly didn't limit myself to just finding these, because there were just too many good titles to choose from. We will definitely be returning to purchase more books. Check out the store if you live in the area. I think you will not be disappointed.
Posted by Kathy at 07:58 PM | Permalink
December 12, 2004
Organic Wild Tree Pu-erh Tea
Name: Organic Wild Tree Pu-erh Tea
Kathy's Rating: 8.5/10.0
Company: Rishi Tea
Origin of tea: Yunnan Province, China
Price: ~$12/5oz (140g)
Tea form: Tea leaves compressed into small bowl-like structures
What they say: Known as Xiao Tuo Cha in Chinese, the name of this tea translates to “small bowl tea” due to its shape. Our Mini Tuo Cha is made with a select grade of Pu-erh which is hand harvested from 1300 year old tea trees on Jing Mai Mountain. Mini Tuo Cha has a surprisingly rich and sweetly flavored infusion with a big body and smooth finish not found in most Mini Tuo Cha grades. Each Mini Tuo Cha is individually wrapped and perfect for a single serving. Simply unwrap and steep 1 Mini Tuo Cha per every 8 ounce cup you wish to prepare. Like most Pu-erh, 1 serving of Mini Tuo Cha can be steeped many times.
Preparation method: Boil water and pour over tea bag. Steep for 30 seconds and discard just the water. Pour the rest of the water over the tea, and steep for 4-5 minutes before drinking.
Review: This is my first review of a pu-erh tea, which is processed in a different manner than the other tea categories - black, oolong, green, and white. In fact, this process is so different, pu-erh tea earns its own category within the tea family. You might wonder, how is the processing different? I did some research, and found a good source of information that explains pu-erh tea is actually post-fermented. This means like black tea, pu-erh tea is fully fermented. However, instead of the process ending after full fermentation, pu-erh tea is fermented a second time some time after the first fermentation process is stopped. So, the intense fermentation process explains why the pot of tea I made with pu-erh leaves yielded the darkest red-black liquid I have ever seen from a tea.
Given the color of the liquid, I expected the taste to be extremely strong. Surprisingly, the tea was incredibly mild (given the post-fermentation), with earthy notes. This is a really good tea that I really enjoyed! I'm a bit hard-pressed to give more details on why I liked it, because sometimes, I just like something not for a lot of specific reasons. I will say that this tea had a wonderful aromatic quality that never felt clingy, which reminds me, strangely, of perfectly cooked piping hot white rice. This is a tea that I can reflect with. Definitely, I would encourage you to try it. I will be looking for more pu-erh teas to review in the near future.
Posted by Kathy at 04:43 PM | Permalink
Sweet Cinnamon Spice Herbal Infusion
Name: Wild Sweet Cinnamon Spice Herbal Infusion
Kathy's Rating: 5.0/10.0
Company: Tazo
Origin of tea: Southeast Asia, India, Turkey
Price: ~$5/20 bags (44g/1.5oz)
Tea form: Crushed fruits and spices in tea bags
What they say: A big flavorful herbal tea swirling with cinnamon, star anise, and other fragrant notes. In a past life, perhaps you spent an evening sitting in Marco Polo's camp on a return trip from the spice markets of the Far East. This is the tea you were drinking.
Preparation method: Boil water and pour over tea bag. Steep for 5 minutes.
Review: Sweet Cinnamon Spice Herbal Infusion is very spicy and bold, with a slight hint of sweetness from the licorice and sarsaparilla roots. Sarsaparilla root has been used to make root beer. I liked this herbal brew. The cinnamon provides a mild bite and sharpness to the tea. Although orange peel is an ingredient in this blend, I didn't taste much of that. The way the licorice root taste sticks to the back of my palate bothered me - enough to keep my from really enjoying the tea.
Posted by Kathy at 04:11 PM | Permalink
Persimmon White Tea
Name: Persimmon White Tea
Kathy's Rating: 6.0/10.0
Company: The Republic of Tea
Origin of tea: Fujian Province, China
Price: $13/80g/50 tea bags (2.8oz)
Tea form: Tea bags
What they say: The Color of Royalty. Cultivated for centuries in China and honored for the royal red-orange color of its glossy skin, this succulent tangy-sweet fruit has a spicy finish.
Preparation method: Steep 30-60 seconds at water temperature slightly below boiling.
Review: When I opened this canister and sniffed at the contents, an overwhelmingly sweet, candy-like smell greeted my nose. I was afraid that the tea would be cloying, but surprisingly, it wasn't. If you read the 'What they say' section of this review, and expected the tea to be spicy and/or tangy, don't. I didn't taste spicy or tangy notes in this tea. Instead, the tea is fairly fruity, mildly sweet, and slightly earthy, which is a good combination - much better than spicy and tangy. This is a great tea for the tea drinker who likes more complex fruity teas - which can be hard to come by. This tea would have gotten a higher rating than its current 6.0/10.0 if real dried persimmon pieces had been included as opposed to using flavorings (whether artificial or natural) to scent the tea.
Posted by Kathy at 03:55 PM | Permalink
December 09, 2004
Kaleido Star, Comic Party, and Sentimental Journey
I've been watching a lot of Kaleido Star anime series lately. It's a great shoujo series about a girl named Sora who travelled from Japan to the United States to become a circus star. The name of the circus is Kaleido Stage. I anticipate a lot of Kaleido Star costume play at the anime conventions in the coming year. This is the best anime series I've seen in a long time.
Comic Party is also very promising, and is a series about a high school guy's descent into the world of manga producing. This guy has a 'friend' that acts as a catalyst to his total transformation to being a manga writer. Reminds me of the movie Animation Runner Kuromi, which was completely hilarious.
On the other hand, I also watched about six episodes of Sentimental Journey before I decided that I needed to move on to something else. The scenes are really slow, and the characters spend almost all of the episode agonizing about their pasts and unrequited loves. I guess that's OK, except some of those 'loves' would have had no way of ever knowing. So, it just seems kind of pointless to me, that's all. Maybe someday, I'll finish out the last six episodes - but not until I finish watching Kaleido Star and Comic Party first.
Posted by Kathy at 07:30 PM | Permalink
Chinese Flower Green Tea
Name: Chinese Flower Green Tea
Kathy's Rating: 6.0/10.0
Company: Harney & Sons Teas
Origin of tea: Unknown
Price: ~$3.50/5 sachets (.27oz)
Tea form: Loose flower and green tea bits in silken sachets
What they say: A beautiful blend of green teas and three types of flowers accented with citrus flavors.
Preparation method: Use slightly below boiling water and pour over sachet. Steep for 3 minutes.
Review: I love green tea when it's grey, cold, and rainy outside. This is definitely that kind of day. Chinese Flower Green Tea is probably not Chinese at all, but it's pleasant anyway. Since Harney and Sons Tea Company did not disclose the blend ingredients, I'm making a guess here. It looks like there are some rose petals, cornflower petals, and chamomile bits in the bags - in addition to the orange zest and green tea, of course. This tea is a decent blend. Overall, the tea is flowery and delicate, which has a relaxing effect, and the orange zest keeps it interesting. I wish this tea was slightly more flavorful - delicate doesn't have to mean flat. I'm thinking of a particular jasmine (now, that's a real Chinese flower) tea here, which I reviewed.
Posted by Kathy at 06:42 PM | Permalink
December 08, 2004
Iron Buddha Oolong
Name: Iron Buddha Oolong
Kathy's Rating: 5.5/10.0
Company: Teavana
Origin of tea: China
Price: $10/2 oz.
Tea form: Rolled loose oolong leaves
What they say: Entirely hand picked and processed, this oolong originates from the Fujian Province of China. Very complex flavor with a hint of orchid fragrance.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water over leaves and infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Review: Holy cow, this is one strong oolong tea! It's not that I'm against bold, complex teas or anything. It's just that this tea gave me such a massive headache, and made me feel about half as buzzed as a shot of espresso would. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this experience. The taste of Iron Buddha Oolong is definitely very strong, but there's no orchid flavor - I wonder where Teavana got THAT from? In fact, there's no floral in this at all - I did not consider this to be a delicate tea.
Posted by Kathy at 06:27 PM | Permalink
December 07, 2004
Ti Kuan Yin Oolong
Name: Ti Kuan Yin Oolong
Kathy's Rating: 5.5/10.0
Company: Teavana
Origin of tea: China
Price: $7.50/2 oz.
Tea form: Rolled loose oolong leaves
What they say: A high quality semi-fermented tea from the Chinese Anxi County. Ti Kuan Yin translate from the Chinese to "Iron Goddess of Mercy." This oolong gets its name from the legend depicting its devine origins. Famous for its mild flavor and brownish-green infusion.
Preparation method: Pour boiling water over leaves and infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Review: I did not have a great experience with Teavana's Iron Buddha Oolong, so I wan't quite sure how it was going to be with Ti Kuan Yin Oolong. In case you're wondering why I'm even associating the two oolongs, let me just explain that the word 'Ti', as in 'Ti Kuan Yin' means 'Iron'. So, both varieties of oolong - Iron Buddha and Ti Kuan Yin - both have the word 'Iron' in it. Uh-oh. Anyhow, since Ti Kuan Yin is a famous variety of oolong tea, I was more than eager to try it out. The first thing I noticed is that there really IS an iron taste to the tea. I have no idea if that's why it's called 'Ti Kuan Yin', but Iron Buddha Oolong had absolutely no iron taste to it, so maybe not. Believe me, I was surprised when at the first sip, there was a metallic aftertaste from Ti Kuan Yin Oolong. Actually, I rather liked the iron taste, which I thought gave Ti Kuan Yin Oolong some character. It's not every day that I taste iron in my tea. As I sipped to the end of the cup, though, I started to get this headache, just like I did with Iron Buddha Oolong. The tea started to taste cloying and unpleasant. By the way, despite what Teavana says, this is not a mild-flavored tea. I'll just say that I don't normally get headaches from drinking tea, and that I did not have a headache before I started drinking this tea. So, the verdict is, I liked the iron taste, but didn't like the headache. Now I have to go drink a huge cup of water to chase this headache away.
Posted by Kathy at 07:09 PM | Permalink
Peach Oolong
Name: Peach Oolong
Kathy's Rating: 7.5/10.0
Company: Teavana
Origin of tea: Taiwan
Price: $5/2 oz.
Tea form: Rolled loose oolong leaves with peach pieces
What they say: High quality Taiwanese oolong with peach pieces
Preparation method: Pour boiling water over leaves and infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Review: Goodness, a Taiwanese fruity oolong. Taiwan has long been a producer of high quality oolong teas, and I was definitely a bit dismayed to see what I perceived to be a step down from the committment of producing high quality teas by 'fruiting' them. Apparently, the price also seems to reflect the lower quality of 'fruited' teas. If you don't believe me, just check out the price for Tung Ting Jade Oolong, another Teavana distributed Taiwanese oolong that I have already reviewed. Yes, the price for Tung Ting Jade Oolong is almost three times what it is for Peach Oolong. Anyhow, prices notwithstanding, Peach Oolong was surprisingly good! The peach flavor is fairly subtle, and not cloying, as some fruity infusions can be. If you don't like peach-flavored drinks - I know a couple of folks like that - do NOT come near this. You will hate it. If you like peaches, I think you will find this tea very fun to drink - just don't take this as a serious oolong tea. I will even go as far to say that this would be an excellent iced tea in the summertime.
Posted by Kathy at 06:50 PM | Permalink
December 06, 2004
Envy Organic Green Tea
Name: Envy Organic Green Tea
Kathy's Rating: 6.0/10.0
Company: Tazo
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$5/20 filterbags
Tea form: Shredded organic green tea leaves in bags
What they say: A floral, somewhat nutty blend of organic green teas from the misty mountains of Southwestern China.
Preparation method: Pour slightly below boiling water over tea bag and infuse for 3 minutes.
Review: To me, green tea has always been about pureness and relaxation. Sometimes, though, there's too much pesticides and other chemicals in the tea leaves, which makes it an unpleasant tea drinking experience. I was happy to see that Tazo Envy green tea is certified organic. In my experience, the organic teas have always been some of the best tasting ones. This tea is no exception to that experience - compared to other green teas in the same price range. When I compare this tea to finer, more expensive green teas, though, the taste is somewhat bland. I suspect this is because the leaves here are not first grade (the season's first picking). But, what can you expect when you pay ~$5 for 20 bags? Although Tazo says there's a 'nutty' taste to the tea, I didn't think so. It's more of a delicate, clean taste to me. I'd say that at the bargain price, this green tea is the best bang for your buck. It is also the tea you can drink everyday without feeling the need to 'save' it for special occasions, so drink up!
Posted by Kathy at 07:38 PM | Permalink