Lochan Darjeeling Samples (Black tea)

I was going to wait until I had all the samples tasted, but it's taking long enough that I thought I should post some now, rather than abuse Ankit Lochan's patience with me thus far. I only have three more to note after this, but will post them later.

I'm using roughly 4 grams in 8 oz of water that is 208 degrees. This seems to be the best set of parameters that I could find. All samples are 2nd flush, and all but one are from this year (2007).

Lochan Darjeeling Imperial

I don't think I could have picked a better one to start with because this one has broken many preconceptions I had about what makes a Darjeeling. This one is incredibly smooth with no bite. There is a slight aciditc bite that is typical of black teas, but it is rather subdued and does more to tie in the flavors than most. The aroma is dominated by muscatel, very strong, sweet, white grape aroma that is very clearly defined. The body is very very round, smooth, and sweet. This is one of the first black teas I've had that does not need any kind of sweetener, and I am sure that those who take milk in their tea would be able to forego the milk in this cup. The flavor is somewhat more complex than I am accusomed to, although still distinctly Darjeeling muscatel. It finishes with only the slightest hint of bitterness and absolutely no astringency. There is, of course, a slightly lingering muscatel aftertaste that feels like it evaporates off the tongue for several minutes.

I am highly impressed with this one, and find myself wondering what else the world of Darjeeling has to offer. I guess we'll find out!

Castleton Wiry Clonal

This one is as smooth as the last one, and also has the lack of astringency typically found in most Darjeelings. This one has a darker brew, but a slightly more subtle flavor. The flavor is a bit more well defined, however, and comes to a bit more of a point. The muscatel has a slightly more sweet-tart flavor that reminds me a bit more of darker grapes mixed in with the characteristic white grape. The flavor is a bit more complex, with the different nuances playing together in a bit more interesting way. Although it may not have quite the same level of quality as the Imperial, I think I do find the flavor a bit more interesting.

Makiabari Vintage Muscatel

This one is a bit closer to the typical Darjeelings I am used to, although it lacks the heavy astringency that I don't usually care for and it is a bit smoother. It has the famous muscatel flavor, but has a bit more of a sour note that reminds me of a wine. It does have more of the bite that is typical of black teas than the previous ones. While it does not have much astringency, it does leave the surface of the tongue a bit dry. While this one doesn't have the greatest complexity, it does have a nice round maturity that is true to the name.

Lochan Oolong Imperial

Now we're more in the realm of my home field: oolong. I've had some cheaper Indian oolong, including a more generic Darjeeling oolong and wasn't very impressed. While this still isn't something I would choose over a baozhong, Wuyi yan cha, or gaoshan, I was still pleasantly surprised. It has a nice mellowness that is not unexpected from an oolong. It is rather sweet flavor with a heavily subdued muscatel note in the center and a texture that is like a very light wood. In a way the woody aspect almost reminds me of the inside skin of tree bark, in a strange way, including the rusty color that matches the color of the infusion. The aftertaste begins with a quick bloom of sweetness that quickly fades to a fairly pronounced drying. The dryness is a bit more than I typically like in a tea, but it's not a profound astringency.

Margaret's Hope Muscatel Delight - 2006 & 2007

2007

Well I kind of messed up on this one. I tried using more leaf, as per Ankit Lochan's recommendation on the Tea Nerd blog, but it came out horribly bitter. I can't help but think that brewing like this may be for those that like to add milk to their tea, which I do not care for (although I will use sugar sometimes). Unfortunately I used most of the sample, but I did have some left. I mixed the last 1.5 grams of dry leaf that I had left with some of the already-steeped leaves from the first round, and between the two infusions I think I have an approximation of what it should taste like.

This one is more of the typical Darjeelings that I'm used to, although the dry leaf was a bit darker than most of what I have seen elsewhere. It has the usual astringency that is typical of Darjeelings, although it's not totally out of balance. I've found that I can take bigger sips of the tea to keep it from becoming to unpleasant for my tastes. This one can be felt in the back of the throat, which I like (but wasn't attuned to until recently). The muscatel is quite pronounced, and was noticeable with the cup a few feet away. This one is a bit more "wild" than some of the previous ones, however. It's not quite as mature or refined, but I would call it a good basic Darjeeling. One thing it does have that I don't find as much of in the others is a slightly woody character that seems to provide the foundation for the muscatel.

2006

I actually like this one a bit better than the newer one. I am actually noticing a slightly more "green" vegetal aspect instead of the woody character. This one is a bit better refined - perhaps a year of age has helped it a bit. I would also say it's a bit rounder and smoother, and the muscatel is in better harmony with the rest. The astringency is not as pronounced, and does more to clean the palate than really dry it out. The muscatel is a bit strange to try to describe, but it's like a purple grape flavor in a white grape body. The flavor overall is quite full.

Big thanks to Ankit Lochan for the samples! I will get the others tasted and reviewed as soon as possible.

Half-Dipper Tasting

Although I'm a bit late posting them, here's my notes from the 3 unnamed puerh tasting samples from Dragon TeaHouse, arranged by Hobbes of the Half-Dipper blog. Big thanks to both Dragon TeaHouse and Hobbes!


Red

I had a bit of a hard time getting this one steeped to a right balance. The first was a bit too light, although it was sweet and smooth, the second was powerfully bitter but with some sugar was nice, thick with a very slight smoky note in the aroma and a taste of light wood, mushrooms, and a light citrusy tang. I think there's some slight floral vegetal notes in the taste, but they are more of a nuance than a defining character. The third infusion I think I finally got right. The bitterness is present, but not entirely off-putting. It actually remains a bit subdued, just under the surface, until the finish when it blooms for just a couple of seconds and fades into a nice sweetness. In this infusion I can get some vague glimpses of vegetation surrounding the tea trees, but it's hard to tease them apart enough to identify. The aftertaste seems to produce a hit of rubber, and has very little astringency.

Overall this is a relatively lively but subdued sheng. It's not something I would drink often young, but it may be interesting to see how it develops with some age. It's not particularly striking, but it's certainly better than many cheap young shengs I have tried. Perhaps a decent choice as a basic addition to a collection for storage.

Blue

Unfortunately I had something of a hard time with this one. When I first got the samples I wanted to try each one first before taking notes, rather than writing and tasting one at a time. I really really liked this one, but the second time around I kept getting very bitter brews without the same sweetness of the first. I realized that beyond the first tasting, the rest of the sample got broken up to bits, with even a fair amount of dust, which was probably due to the shipping. This, of course, makes it more bitter and astringent than it would otherwise be. So unfortunately I was unable to reproduce what I liked so much about the first one I had, so I have to go with what I have and try to remember what I'm missing. I'm adding a bit of sugar to try to make up for some of the changes as well.

The dry leaf has an almost minty aroma that is quite refreshing in itself, along with a character that I can only describe as being not unlike the smell of new books (in a good way). I suspect there's some rubber tree in there, but it's not too strong unless that's the book smell. The infusion carries much the same aroma, although the rubber tree is a bit more pronounced.

The taste is quite wild, which is expected for a young sheng, but not overpowering like many others. It's actually fairly smooth, and doesn't make my face flush or cause any pucker. While it doesn't have a lot of viscosity, it seems to coat the tongue and cleanse the palate, although there is not a lot of astringency. It is quite sweet, with a citrusy flavor not entirely unlike grapefruit. I believe there is some floral notes buried in there somewhere, but it can be hard for me to pick out in a young sheng - perhaps it's just that it stimulates the same areas of the mouth that something floral would.

I would be interested to see how this one ages. I'm really regretting not taking notes on the first round, and will have to make sure to do so next time, even if I don't intend to actually do the write-up until later. I may just have to purchase a cake of this, once we know what it is.

Green

Luckily this sample seems to have made it here fully intact. I don't detect any broken leaves whatsoever, which also leads me to believe that the cake is relatively loose and easy to pull apart. I think perhaps I should also mention that I picked out a number of buds to go in this round, which do seem to have tamed and sweetened this round compared to my initial tasting. I tried to keep it balanced with what I could see throughout the sample, but it's entirely possible that I used more than what would normally be used. I will be interested in seeing what the cake looks like whole. It can be difficult to get the same proportion of the different leaves when they're entirely loose.

The aroma in the dry leaf of this one impressed me. It had a nice aroma of what I assume to be camphor trees, and not just camphor alone but the whole tree. Unfortunately the aroma didn't carry over into the infusion as well as the blue sample did, but to be fair it is there a bit, but is accompanied by something that reminds me of Italian spices, but rather softened and tamed.

The taste in the first infusion is rather smooth and not over-powering. There is a slight bitterness that swells up momentarily as it goes down the throat, but it fades as quickly as it comes and does so before becoming unpleasant in any real way. There are several flavors coming together in this one, and it's a bit difficult for me to tease them apart. I would still say there is an undercurrent of Italian spices, but it's not exactly a defining characteristic. There is a bit of citrus in it, and with a bit of sugar it reminds me of mandarin orange, accompanied by what I can only call a "wild green" flavor and a slight grain texture. None of the flavors really come out over any of the others, they are all in equal proportions and the entire experience is fairly tame. There is a slight thickness to it, but it's not particularly pronounced either and seems to be responsible for the light grain texture. The aftertaste leaves a little dryness, but not too much and it dissipates fairly quickly.

The second infusion washed out some of the 'wild green', brought out more of the mushroom and tobacco notes that I see other tasters commenting on, reduced the thick and grainy aspects, and shifted the bitterness to well into the aftertaste. The aftertaste in subsequent infusions also seem to be getting more into the sinuses - a not unpleasant experience that seems to open up my nasal passages a bit and tingle the back of my throat a bit.

The third tastes much more like the first, curiously. The bitterness is more up front in this one. I would say it's equally smooth with the second infusion, but a bit thinner. With a little sugar I'm noticing a hint of tobacco or rubber and some various fruits - the previous flavors are mixed together equally and relegated to an undercurrent. At this point I'm starting to notice that energetic quality, but lucky for me it's still the middle of the day.

While the blue was more immediately pleasing, I liked this one for the complexity that comes out through the different infusions. Individual infusions were not particularly complex, but I was struck by the changes in each. I would say that this one is overall pleasant, and I like that each infusion brings out different nuances without the overall quality deteriorating. A very interesting one indeed.

Snow Dragon (Green Tea)

While I was still working on two reviews for different sets of samples, the Half-Dipper and Lochan Teas' (I'll have the former posted in the next few days and I'm still actively working on the latter), I decided to wrap up a late night with a little Snow Dragon, and felt inspired to write.

This is Snow Dragon green tea from TeaCuppa.

(I got a better camera, can you tell?)

As you can see from the pictures, this one is entirely composed of white tips. True to it's looks, it almost tastes like a white tea, although it does have a more green profile than most white teas. It is considered a green tea, however, which is indeed more true to the tea, even if only slightly so.

I had nearly forgotten about this one; it is very nice. It's quite light and sweet, enough so that adding any sweetener would ruin it. The aroma is crisp and vegetal. The taste is also crisp and vegetal, with a hint of something floral and fruity, but in a subdued and elusive way. The white down from the buds are quite noticeable, making it quite smooth and soft. The taste actually reminds me quite a bit of Snow Bud, but a bit more pointed, green, and thinner. The lack of viscosity is, however, made up for with the downy hairs. What really sets this one apart, however, is the aftertaste. It leaves a clean dryness that is not at all unpleasant, but actually stimulates the mouth to water, which produces a wonderfully sweet flavor.

It reminds me of being in a meadow after a warm spring rain, when the air is clean and it's neither too hot nor too cold. The overall experience of this tea is well defined as being clean and pure. It's also a rather forgiving tea. I have yet to brew a bitter cup of this, although sometimes it has left my mouth and throat a bit dryer than I would like after the aftertaste fades.

Overall this is one to keep around, and makes an excellent nighttime tea. I could see this one as an after-dinner tea as well. I very much like this one, however those that find white teas to be too 'bland' may not like it. If you want something that's half way in between a white and green tea, however, you can't go wrong with this.

Gushing praise for my Zoji

http://www.zojirushi.com

A few months ago I got one of THESE, and ever since then I have not been able to contain my enthusiasm when the subject of new kettles comes up. So rather than continually ranting whenever someone asks for a recommendation on a new kettle, I thought I'd just make a post about why I recommend the Zojirushi. If you're not interested in reading a gushing rant about why I like the Zoji so much, then you can skip this post.

Zojirushi has several models with a few sizes of each. I just got the standard 3 liter model, which you can see in the link above. The main features that make Zoji's worth while are:

• Has three temperature settings: 208, 195, and 175 degrees Fahrenheit
• Maintains the proper temperature all day long
  
• Has a digital temperature readout to show you the current temperature
• Dechlorinates water by bringing it to a boil slowly
• Saves a lot of energy
• Has a 7 hour timer
• Has a 1 year warranty, and is made for continual use

The Zoji is a bit expensive, however it should pay for itself in the long-run and is one of the only purchases that I have been glad I made just about every day. While most things end up being taken for granted after it stops being new and shiny, this is one item that I have never stopped appreciating on a daily basis.

It works by bringing the water to a (relatively) slow boil, then lets it cool to the temperature that you set it to and keeps it there. You put the cup/teapot under the nozzle and dispense by pressing the "Unlock" and then the "Pour" button. The "Unlock" button prevents anyone from accidentally pressing the button to pour when there's nothing for the water to go into. I'm sure this also provides some rudimentary child-resistance.

The first and foremost thing that I like so much about it is that I always have water ready and waiting, and at just the right temperature. Having it ready when I first wake up is very very nice. At the end of the day I set the 7 hour timer, so it powers the device off but has water ready when I wake up. When I wake up I can just put some shu (cooked puerh) in my infuser cup, pour hot water in, and walk to my desk. The tea is ready to drink by the time I reach my desk, so the first cup in the morning only takes as long to make as it takes me to walk to the kitchen and then back to my desk.

It doesn't have it's own spill tray underneath, so I decided to put a small-ish bamboo gongfu tray under it to catch any spills (I'm using the "large" bamboo tray from SensationalTeas.com, which is a very well-made tray that is made for frequent use and does not seem to warp easily). The Zoji is very good at not dripping, however I can't say the same for myself.

I could have just as easily used a folded kitchen towel, however the added benefit of the bamboo tray is that it actually got me doing gongfu brewing on a more regular basis. While it may detract from the experience in a more ceremonial setting, it is perfectly suited (not to mention convenient) for when you just want a good cup of tea brewed 'right'. Rather than having to clear a space and set everything up, I can now do gongfu brewing on a more casual basis, even when I'm short on time. The variable temperature settings does help this, however I've found that keeping the Zoji set to 208 is perfect for me. If I pour into a room temperature cup/pot, then the water immediately drops to 180, which is perfect for green teas and not bad for some of the greener wulongs. If I'm going to brew something a bit darker, I simply rinse the vessel with hot water to preheat it. Since the Zoji keeps the water at the same temperature at all times, I've found that I only need to use a thermometer the first time I use a new cup or pot to see how much it cools it off, unless I am making something like Gyokuro that requires an unusual temperature. I've found it very easy to pour over the side of a gaiwan, as well as letting it splash down into the vessel if appropriate. I can also easily position a yixing pot underneath the nozzle (on the bamboo tray) to pour hot water over the outside of the teapot.

I do usually filter water with my Brita before pouring it in the Zoji to heat, however this is mostly out of habit. I guess I use it primarily to keep the unit as clean as possible, but to be honest I've not noticed the difference when I put plain tapwater in it. The fact that the Zoji dechlorinates the water does make better tea. Unfortunately the Brita only removes chlorine smell, and does not actually dechlorinate the water fully, so the Zoji does make a noticeable improvement even over water filtered in the Brita.

The fact that it saves energy is also a huge plus. They say that the Zoji uses a combined total of approximately 500 watts per day, instead of the 1500 watts per boil of traditional electric kettles. Obviously this will save money on the electric bill for those of us that drink a lot of tea. They have a more expensive model that also creates a vacuum to reduce heat loss. If you remember high-school physics, then you will recall that heat cannot transfer through a vacuum, so even less electricity is needed to maintain the temperature you set.

At first it might seem inconvenient that the Zoji takes 25 mins, or so, to boil water, however keep in mind that it then maintains the water at that temperature all day long, so you don't have to wait. This is also why the timer is 7 hours instead of 8, so that it's fully ready when you wake up. I also top it off when it gets about half way down, which reduces the time it takes to warm it up and also keeps the water fresh.

One of the common problems with electric kettles is the quality. I'm always hearing about people having their electric kettle die out on them after a couple months. While I've only had mine for a few months now, I can say that it is working just as well now as when I got it, and I have not yet heard anyone ever talk about a Zoji dying on them (and I've heard from several people with Zoji's, who are also as enthusiastic about it as I am). These are made for the Asian market, to be used by folks that drink tons of tea every day. The local tea shop that I frequent uses one in the store for brewing up samples (gongfu style), as well as frequently having tea with employees from neighboring stores in the shopping center. So while I can't say that I've been using mine for years, I think I can say that I am quite confident with the quality.

So the bottom line is that the Zoji provides an immeasurable amount of convenience, produces better tasting tea, and even saves money on electricity and filters. What probably makes me appreciate it most frequently is that it allows me to make tea when I would otherwise not have time to do so, even allowing me to make good tea when I might have to otherwise settle for teabags.

So that's it: my gushing rave review for my favorite kitchen appliance. If you are looking to buy a new electric kettle anytime soon, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Zoji. I know they're a bit expensive to buy, but they are more than worth it in the end.

Rou Gui (Wuyi Yan Cha Wulong) Marathon

Rou Gui is one of the five famous Wuyi wulongs (previously four). It is renowned for having a rich aroma and taste that is much like cassia bark. Cassia is another variety of cinnamon, and so Rou Gui is often compared with cinnamon. While I do see the similarity, I have had a hard time defining the aroma of Rou Gui as cinnamon, but some are more so than others. Each Rou Gui has it's own unique character. Some have much more of a cassia bark character than others, some are more roasted than others, but all are distinctly Rou Gui. I decided to do a large comparison to show how much variation there can be between different sources, and I also believe that such a large comparison will do more to help convey the essence of what Rou Gui really is, at least more than a single review can do.

I wanted to add a couple more, but have been holding out on this one for long enough. I will, however, try to add them to this post as I get them, and make a note that I have done so. Unfortunately I decided to do this review in the summer, which has a tendency to interfere with Wuyi wulongs in general, but Rou Gui especially. As such it has taken me longer to do this comparison than usual, and I've also had to rely partially on memory from drinking these teas on cooler days.


2005 Rou Gui from TeaCuppa



This was the first Rou Gui that I had ever tried, and so it became the standard by which I judge all others. As such, it's only fitting that I mention this one first.

For a start, my initial perception (which continues to date, albeit from a different perspective) is that it smells more like cherry pipe tobacco than cinnamon. It certainly does have a sort of cinnamon bark type profile, but the deeper and sweeter aspects of it remind me more of a dark cherry pipe tobacco with a heavily roasted character. This is actually one of life's more pleasant fragrances to me, and as I grew up with the aroma as a small child I may be a little biased. To me it's a wonderful and comforting aroma. I do indeed understand why some would consider it a more cinnamon smell, but I simply think that there is more to appreciate than cinnamon.

Even though this has aged a couple years, it still has quite an up-front, wild, fiery character; perhaps slightly tamed. The cassia bark flavor is very noticeable, and enhanced by the characteristic Wuyi acidity that creates a "wood grain" texture on the tongue and settles into a slight astringency in the finish. There is a slight bitterness that tingles the back edges of the tongue without dominating the flavor. The aroma is impressive and really adds to the experience of this tea. The aftertaste is interesting; it's fruity, dry, and reveals the roasting more than any other time, and lasts for quite a while. The body is starting to develop the smoothness of an aged Wuyi, but it's not quite there yet. Perhaps another year or two. Nevertheless, this is a great one for drinking now. As tempting as it is to drink regularly I may decide to let this one age and come back to it next year, as I will be hard pressed to get much more of it. Subsequent infusions give a vague and hazy glance at what it may become.

This one reminds me of a large fireplace in an old dark library with overstuffed leather chairs, a pipe burning itself out in the ashtray on an old dark wood table, with the fire dimly illuminating only the edges of various shapes in the room.


2007 Rou Gui from TeaCuppa



I had a harder time with this one, but I think it may be mainly because it was not what I was expecting. This one is a lighter Rou Gui, with greener leaves and a more pale orange liquor. I don't get nearly as much aroma from this one, although it certainly is there. This one does, however, have more of what I would consider to be a cinnamon profile. It affects the upper palate the same way that cinnamon does, tingling and stimulating the roof of your mouth almost to the back of your throat. Despite the paler liquor, it definitely has a wild and fiery character that is quite notable, revealing it's youth. Unfortunately the taste is a bit dominated by the charcoal taste common to young Wuyi's, however it does not stand in the way of enjoying this tea, and definitely does not reduce it to the level of common cheap/mediocre Wuyi's by any means. The aftertaste is lasting, sweet, and spicy. It has only the very slightest hint of astringency that is barely noticeable and prompts a bit of salivation to compensate. It's definitely not as satisfying as the 2005, however with some age I'm sure it could turn into something great.

This one reminds me of a bonfire next to the sea at the untamed Oregon coast in the very late summer. It's not the smells, but rather the visceral sensations of being affronted by the spectrum of various forces of nature and the ambivalence between our ability to control it and our utter vulnerability to it.


2002 Aged Rou Gui from TeaCuppa



This one comes in a sealed packet inside a nice box, and has 5 years of aging under it's belt -- and it shows. This is actually the best Rou Gui I have found to date. I even like it better than many of the more expensive ones. The cassia bark taste and aroma are well developed, mature, and deep-seated in a very nice, smooth complexity. The fire and charcoal have calmed way down, and play more of a supporting role that remind you more of the glowing embers. Although this one has no real viscosity, it melts into your tongue and leaves it feeling coated with roasted sweetness, which is not entirely uncommon in well aged Wuyi's. The taste is well defined. The cassia bark takes a deep seat among the roasted goodness, but remains well defined and comes to a very slightly bitter point that wakes up your taste buds. In the aftertaste this melts slowly and smoothly into a nice sweetness that lasts for some time.

If I was to choose just one word to sum this one up, it would definitely be 'mature'. While this one has provided the most consistency, it does not remain entirely unaffected by environmental conditions. Unfortunately hot and humid weather tend to steal some of the aroma and depth in taste of Wuyi wulongs in general. I picked an unfortunate time to brew this one today, as it is now starting to warm up a bit and steal some of the depth from my cup during the infusions I tend to like most. Nevertheless, however, this is still a fantastic Rou Gui.


2006 Premium Rou Gui from Golden Teahouse



Golden Teahouse has two varieties of Rou Gui; one just labeled "Rou Gui" and this one, which is "Premium Rou Gui". The Premium is higher priced, but along the lines of what you pay elsewhere. This one actually surprised me for the price I paid. It is nice and rich with a slightly mature flavor that is indeed about half way between what I've experienced with 2005 and 2007 Rou Gui's, however it is perhaps a bit more solid than most; that is to say that the higher grade is noticeable. The aftertaste is definitely longer lasting than many I have had, and more complex. The big thing that betrays it's age is the noticeable charcoal flavor. The charcoal is not overpowering, but definitely up front. I would say that the charcoal flavor, while noticeable, blends quite well with the rest of the flavor and helps to prop up the traditional Rou Gui flavor profile, rather than standing apart and masking the rest. While the cassia bark flavor isn't as pronounced as it is in some other Rou Gui's I would expect this to become an exceptional aged Rou Gui, but only if I can keep it in stock that long!


2006 Premium Rou Gui from SevenCups



This tastes (and looks) exactly like the one from Golden, I suspect it may even be the same batch.


2006 Imperial Rou Gui from SevenCups



SevenCups notes that Rou Gui is picked between 8:00am and 10:00am in the morning, but the "imperial" grade is made from the specially selected leaves from the batch. Looking at the dry leaves it is indeed evident that this is a higher quality. The leaves are longer and more expertly twisted, and there are virtually no broken pieces. Additional care is evident with these leaves.

This one reminds me of the Premiums at first, but as it settles in there is a wonderful depth that is lacking from the other, lesser quality, Rou Guis. The fiery and charcoal character is significantly diminished, tamed, and becomes more of a woody character that reminds me of a very dark and beautiful wood. The cassia bark flavor is there, but it is more blended in, giving the woody character a solid shape that brings it to a subtle point with a wonderful spicy effect that feels like cinnamon as it fades. This is the first I've been able to positively attribute a cinnamon characteristic to. While it's not as noticeable as, say, the 2002 aged Rou Gui, the cassia bark flavor is definitely there, and I would say it is much more refined. The tea gives a wonderful woodgrain texture that is of better quality than most. This settles into the palate and leaves a smooth, soft, and sweet dryness that I can't quite qualify as astringency. This really is a high quality Rou Gui that is worth having for special occasions. It actually reminds me quite a bit of the Gold Medal Rou Gui. Perhaps it's not quite as refined, but the difference is not that great.


2006 Rou Gui from Hou De



This is certainly the most different and interesting of the bunch. It has a MUCH stronger roasted character that is evident in both the aroma and taste. In the aroma it is the most notable aspect, but as I inhale it begins to morph into a more familiar cherry pipe tobacco aroma that is still accompanies by a heavily roasted character. The first infusion is dominated by the roasted flavor, with only a slight hint of anything else. While it is quite pleasant, it isn't typical of Rou Gui. In later infusions, however, the roasted character diminishes to reveal a more refined and mature Rou Gui character with incredible depth and fullness of body. The aftertaste is lasting, sweet, soft, and woody, without a hint of astringency.

It reminds me quite a bit of the 2002 aged Rou Gui in that it has remarkable maturity for such a young tea. The cinnamon flavor is a bit wild and untamed, but subdued by the maturity. It is quite complex and shifting, and I think this one will be remarkably exceptional if allowed to age.


2004 Gold Medal Rou Gui from TeaCuppa



As I mentioned previously, this one does remind me of the Imperial Rou Gui from SevenCups. This is admittedly more rich and refined than any of the others, both in aroma and taste. This is a truly remarkable specimen. It has all the traits of all the others, expertly blended into a single cup -- even under less than optimal conditions. The depth is incredible, it's highly refined and mature. The aftertaste is as good as the aroma and taste with a lasting quality that shifts and allows you to really get acquainted with the flavor. It leaves only the slightest hint of dryness down the middle of the tongue, which gently cleanses the palate. The charcoal is present in the base, but is very much diminished; it's more noticeable in the aftertaste than elsewhere.

This is truly the highest quality of the bunch, but it's price is prohibitive. With that said, however, a tea connoisseur with a refined palate would do well to have some of this in the cupboard. I can only imagine how this will turn out with some additional aging.


Conclusion

I would be hard pressed to deem one a favorite over all others. Each has it's qualities for the price. Some may be better than others, but they each fit their price range quite well. If I had to choose, however, I would say that the aged Rou Gui is probably the best for the money, but I wouldn't want it to be the only Rou Gui in my cupboard either. With some age, the youngest Rou Guis will undoubtedly take on the traits of some of the others as well.

TChing Tasting

I was originally going to include some pictures, however the fact is that you've probably already seen them from everyone else's notes. My notes are brief, but here they are. A big 'thank you' to TChing for the samples!

Meghma Nepalese Oolong
I don't want to spend a lot of time on this one because I don't believe I can give it a fair analysis. To me this tastes very much like a Bai Hao, which is, quite simply, not really my cup -- not bad, just not my personal preference. It is a relatively high-oxidation oolong that is quite smooth with a sweet and sour fruity body that is a bit like grapes. Someone that is accustomed to black teas wishing to try something different would do well to try something like this. My personal preference, however, is something less oxidized with a more floral aroma. To be fair, however, it is a bit smoother and well balanced than most bai hao's I've had.

Snowbud
This one, on the other hand, is absolutely delightful. At first this reminded me of a white peony, light and floral, but it also has a slightly fruity note to it. Grapes perhaps? It's almost just a shillouette of a fruit that is hard to define, but nevertheless adds quite a bit. I was surprised to find that this tea has some viscosity, which is something that I love in my teas and have not found in a white tea before. The aroma, and less so taste, does have a slight vegetal quality to it as well, as the silver needle-like appearance of the dry leaf suggests. It is light and sweet, without any smokiness that is often found in other white teas, with a round body and a very slight astringency in the aftertaste. I find this to have a greater complexity than most white teas, with different nuances noted with each sip. A great one overall.

Shan Shui Teas

http://www.shanshuiteas.com

This is a vendor I found looking for some new baozhongs one day, and was especially impressed with their inventory. They had a number of things that I had not heard of before, nevertheless seen anything like. They specialize in wulongs from Taiwan, and have some particularly interesting stuff. They have two basic grades: superior and premium. Superior grade means that the tea is made year-round. It's a good quality, but not particular to any single season. It's pretty consistent, year round. Premium, on the other hand, means that particular one is seasonal, so each batch may be quite different, and is of exceptional quality. Obviously the Premium teas cost more, but after getting used to the prices for top grade teas overall, they're actually pretty reasonable.

Rather than write about each tea individually, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide notes on everything that I got from this store, giving a "review" of both the vendor and the teas.

The first thing to note was that when I ordered the teas, I ordered most of them in tins. Within a few hours, I got an email letting me know that everything was ready, but they didn't have the big tins and wanted to know if it was okay to send without and reimburse me for the price difference of the tins. I asked if he had smaller ones, and he threw in enough to store all of them without charging me anymore. Everything was then shipped promptly and received quickly. We also had a brief exchange, in which he was very friendly and open. Having worked in customer service positions for longer than I care to admit, I was quite impressed! So, now on to the teas...

Premium Winter 2006 Yinya

This is my favorite, so it's the one I will describe in greatest detail. The Yinya is basically a bao zhong, but they include silver tips. The wet leaves are nice and thick, which would be due to the winter environment. In some ways it's kind of an ambivalent bao zhong, being both deeper, smoother, and sweeter, but also with some greener characteristics in the taste. This is one of the best Formosa (Taiwan, for the novice that may not know) wulongs I've ever had. It's very floral, sweet, smooth, and well defined. The aroma is very floral (albeit light, as with most Formosa wulongs), and has the characteristics of the high grade high-mountain wulongs and bao zhongs. It is distinctive from most that come from Taiwan, mostly as it has a slightly different orchid aroma than most. The aftertaste is quick to bloom into a floral sweetness, with a very mild drying effect that makes your mouth water more - a rare quality usually found in only the highest grade teas. It's also relatively forgiving, although over-steeping may eliminate the nuances and aftertaste.

It's definitely a treat, and a must-try for bao zhong lovers. Absolutely divine. Half of me wants to drink this every day, the other wants to savor it.

Premium Winter 2005 Lanyun
This is simply a very fine and light bao zhong. Shan Shui explains that the name is used to distinguish bao zhongs that exhibit a particular orchid aroma, and it shows. It is lighter than most, with a very pale liquor. I usually like my wulongs a bit thicker and more flavorful, but this one has an outstanding balance that I've not found elsewhere. This is one that I save for quiet moments, as I only got a small amount.

Superior Cuiyu (Spring 2006)
This is a more typical rolled Formosa wulong, but it definitely has it's own unique character. It comes in rolled pellets that are a bit smaller than most from the region. As Hobbes notes in the comments, it's actually grown at a lower elevation, which actually explains a lot. In some ways it's like a Huang Jin Gui (which is actually from Anxi, China), but with Formosa dimensions. Shan Shui describes it as having more of a green tea flavor profile, and I can nod along to that. It doesn't have the sharpness of a green, but it does have that light flavor that is well defined. While this one does have an orchid aroma, it's a different kind of orchid that I've not found before. It's an orchid with very well defined character with very different dimensions. While others are very much just "round", giving you the impression of the top of a circle, this one gives you more the impression of a vase with a bulb at the bottom. It has a sweet, floral, medium thick, and round body with thin high-notes that have a lot to do with the aroma. The high notes are not bitterness in anyway (as it would be with a green tea), but do give a fresh green taste. It does have a very very slight and nuanced toasty/grainy/nutty flavor, that is more like that of a green tea such as yun wu -- I think that is what gives it the similarity to a green tea. This one is also an excellent value for the money. Highly recommended for everyday drinking for Formosa wulong lovers, or green tea lovers that want a good introduction to Formosa wulongs.

Superior & Premium Summer 2007 Baihao
I didn't realize what baihao ("white filament" or "white tip") was until I got it (also known as "Oriental Beauty" or "Eastern Beauty", also written in Chinese as "Dongfang meiren", per Brian from Shan Shui, and sometimes called "Champagne Oolong"). It's a Formosa wulong that is large pieces of mostly flat leaves with some rolled about half way to what you see with a bao zhong. It is quite a bit more oxidized, but has some less oxidized leaves as well, and the ones from Shan Shui include a fair amount of white tips.

To give some background, I had been drinking the one from SpecialTeas (which was simply called "Formosa Fancy Oolong"), and considered that a "staple" tea to drink in the morning, before I was awake enough to really appreciate the taste of finer teas. It's grainy, fruity, and slightly floral, all in an understated way. Kind of like a fine black tea, in some ways, but lighter and much smoother, and without the bitterness or acidity. The higher-grade baihao from SpecialTeas was much the same, but each of the flavors would bloom and jump out at you individually, but in rapid succession. Quite nice. The lesser quality has the same qualities, but are much more muted and blended into a more even flavor with less complexity.

These ones, from Shan Shui, were distinctive in that they contain a fair amount of white tips and much more carefully processed leaves. The flavor is somewhere in between the two from SpecialTeas, but with their own distinctive sharpness. The Premium is definitely nicer, with greater complexity, but I do miss the blooming sweet flavors that I had before. The Premium is definitely a higher quality, but otherwise relatively similar to the superior.

Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, as it's not one of my favorites. I probably won't get it again, but that is purely my own individual tastes. I can very definitely see why some people like the baihao, but I simply like the wulongs with lighter oxidation, thicker mouth-feel, and more fragrant floral aroma and taste. The way I've come to see it is that if you approach it with the same expectations as a relatively plain black tea, then you will quite likely enjoy it. If you like baihao, then you would very likely appreciate this one. Unfortunately my lack of appreciation holds me back from really appreciating the nuances and complexities of it, and giving a description that is up to my own standards. It's palatable, even pleasant, I just can't get into it. Maybe someday.


Conclusion

With my experiences so far, I am highly impressed with this vendor and their teas. I am very happy to have what I got in my collection, and look very forward to trying some of the other things they have. Shan Shui teas may not have the biggest selection, but what they do have appears to have been carefully chosen to include some of the best, and distinguish the vendor from others in what they carry. I do highly recommend this vendor, and I definitely plan to return!

Jun Shan Yin Zhen

I told someone that I would post this a while ago, but then it got to be 90-100 degrees out and I didn't feel much like reviewing teas. I've got my air-conditioners going now, however, and I'm back up and running again.

Jun Shan Yin Zhen is one of the 10 most famous teas in China. It's a yellow tea, and a very very interesting one. It is also one that gets faked a LOT. The Mt. Jun (Jun Shan) tea company apparently just bought every farm on the mountain, but there are many variants that get sold as Jun Shan Yin Zhen when they are not. The most common is Jun Shan Qing Zhen, which means Mt. Jun Green Needle (whereas Yin Zhen means Silver Needle). This is a green tea, which is easier to produce and may produce better looking leaves. There are others as well, and here is the explanation I received from TeaSpring when I contacted them:

"The most common tea that vendors try to sell off as Jun Shan Yin Zhen is Fu Jian Yin Zhen. They look almost similar except that Jun Shan's fur is shorter and yellowish in color. Jun Shan Tea Co. Ltd. recently bought all the tea leaves grown and picked in Jun Shan Island so only Jun Shan Yin Zhen from this company is authentic. But not all teas produced by them are Jun Shan Yin Zhen. Lower grade tea leaves are used to make Jun Shan Mao Jian (with leaves). Only high grade single buds are used to make Jun Shan Yin Zhen. And others are like Cui Ya and Qing Zhen teas.

Jun Shan Qing Zhen is a new type of tea. Some vendors try to sell this off as the more expensive Jun Shan Yin Zhen also but not as common as Fu Jian. Jun Shan Qing Zhen has a very obvious smoky taste so if you are interested in teas with smoky but clean taste, you might want to give this a try."

I first bought a small amount from TeaSpring, which came in this very attractive tin with anti-fake label from the farm.

Click for hi-res

I was interested in getting more, but wanted to see if I could find some a bit cheaper. I found some from TeaCuppa, but this turned out to be something different. Here you can see a side-by-side comparison between the two:

Click for hi-res
TeaSpring's on the left, TeaCuppa's on the right.

So what's the difference? Well I just got my professional tea tasting set from Hou De and am now well acquainted with my new Zojirushi hot water dispenser, so this seems like a perfect opportunity to try it out! You can see the tasting set HERE. Functionally it's quite similar to a gaiwan, but a little easier to use and comes with a nice cup and a spoon for taking in the aroma. This tea doesn't have a lot of aroma, so I'll not be using the spoon for this session.


Teaspring's -

This is a very shy tea with a complex personality. It's a light yellow tea, but it's unlike anything I've had before.

Starting on the tip of your tongue, you think it will be a simple yellow tea, but that only lasts for a split second. You're greeted with a warm, smooth, and almost thick sweetness, but it quickly proceeds to stimulate all of the different kinds of taste buds; flirting with the salty buds without giving more than a peck on the cheek it races past sour, to a smoky and spicy bitterness on the back of your tongue that quickly morphs and evaporates, and passes through umami like a ghost leaving a wisp of smoky body. Sweet wakes up somewhere along the way, but unlike it's siblings it was much slower to wake. While the others are discussing the experience, sweet is looking around wondering what happened, milling about with blurry eyes. The smoky character evaporates very quickly, and manifests mostly in the back of the throat, and leaves a sensation that reminds me of black pepper (perhaps with a bit of another spice), but only momentarily. At the same time a nice and smooth "green" quality sinks into the tongue, passing through it and leaving a clean astringency. Some time later, sweet has made it to the breakfast table. The others have left the table, but can be heard in the next room.

Fleeting away as quickly as it came this tea taunts you, not letting you get to know it, and teasing you to into a game of hide and seek. When it's finished it cleans your palate more than any tea I've had before, and invites you to try again. This is the first astringency that I've had that really left my mouth feeling this clean, and unlike some it is not unpleasant at all.

The after taste transcends the palate, evaporating and rising above the palate to just underneath and behind your nostrils, while the body seems to sink down through your tongue.

This is a very ephemeral and curious tea. It's very complex, and hard to pin down or tease apart. I was lucky today, you can't always get these complexities to come out; sometimes it tastes like little more than a plain yellow tea like huang ya. When it does come out to play, however, there are three main things that identify this tea: smoky/spicy, smooth, and clean -- very clean. In fact, I would say this has a "cleaner" character than any other tea I've had to date. I would say, however, that the smoky/spicy character is unlike the kind of smoky flavor that some people object to. If that is a turn-off to you, I wouldn't let it turn you off from this tea. It really is unlike anything else that I know of, and the smoky aspect is very clean and fleeting; it's gone before you could object.


TeaCuppa's -

This one is very much different. It's much lighter, and much more like the traditional silver needle white tea that it's appearance suggests. It's not a particularly complex tea. It has the nice, light, and clean "green" taste that is common to white teas. What separates it from other white teas is primarily it's crystal clarity. The smoky complexity is there if you pay close attention. It starts with a clean and pure vegetal grassiness, and fades into a very light smokiness that is much more subtle, faint, even ephemeral, and fleeting. The complexity is ephemeral enough that if you didn't know what to look for, you might not even notice it. It's in the aroma as well, but just as elusive as in the taste. These can be brought out a little with a little extra steeping or leaf, but you do have to watch to not over-steep it and bring out too much astringency.

I feel that I should note here that this isn't like the elusive, subtle, and fleeting nature of the first; with that one it is very much noticeable, striking, and unmistakable, it's simply very transient and hard to pin down. The aroma and aftertaste are also quite light, and not strong enough to really define the tea, although you do get some back retro-nasally from the back of the throat. Overall it is definitely a pleasant white tea, and great for quiet and pensive evenings. In fact a person with sophisticated tastes and an affinity for white teas would find this a great tea, but unfortunately it's not the same.

Notes and Conclusion -

I should also note here that I wrote this over the span of two nights, one for each tasting. I have noticed that there are times that the smoky/spicy character of the one from TeaSpring is not always easy to achieve, sometimes it does taste a bit more like the one from TeaCuppa.

I asked TeaSpring about how I could bring the spicy/smoky character out, and here was their reply:

"The answer to your first question is a bit tricky. The same tea can have different taste and experience depending on many factors such as what you just ate or drank previously. Even mood and weather are known to cause a different experience as well. Unlike other smoky teas, Jun shan Yin Zhen smokiness is very subtle and is a fleeting taste before changing into a sweet aftertaste. It's easier to catch the smoky character in your breath after a sip. Perhaps using more leaves to brew a heavier tea will enable you to catch it."

So it is entirely possible that I am simply not getting everything out of the brew that I could. However in all the times I have tried both, it has been pretty much the same, perhaps with different levels of the same. They are quite distinct from each other, and I feel that these notes reflect my overall experience with this tea. I did take care to brew them as much the same as possible, and also draw on past experience. I feel that any difference from outside factors is minimal here.

To conclude, I can really only say that I really like this tea a whole lot. It is one of the most interesting teas I have had, and is especially great when I have some time to sit down and just drink tea. I do very highly recommend this tea, but watch out for the fakes!

Two Rooster Roundup (Bai Ji Guan, Wuyi Wulong/Oolong)

Wuyi style wulongs are becoming one of my favorites. Since Bai Ji Guan is considered one of the best, I figured it would be a good place to start.

Bai Ji Guan means "White Cock Comb" or "White Rooster's Crest". Aside from the legends, it gets it's name from the buds used to make it. They are picked quite early, while still very pale in appearance. See Hou De's product page for this tea to see pictures of the buds just before they are picked (by hand) to make Bai Ji Guan.

Here is the legend, according to TeaSpring:

...the name of this marvellous tea was given by a monk in memorial of a courageous rooster that sacrificed his life while protecting his baby from an eagle. Touched by the display of courage and love, the monk buried the rooster and from that spot, the Bai Ji Guan tea bush grew.

TeaSpring's Bai Ji Guan (Spring 2007)
Product page

These look more yellow/orange/brown in person.
Click for hi-res

What strikes me the most about this tea is the leaves. This tea is a much lighter tea than any wuyi I have ever seen before. The dry leaves also have a wonderful sweet aroma of honeysuckle and... orchid?.. on a warm afternoon in late spring. (Unfortunately I don't know my flowers well.)

This one has a cleaner and sweeter taste than the other, with less emphasis on the roasted wuyi character that defines this type of wulong. The flavors all blend together into a round body with elusive spicy notes that are quite subdued. It definitely has a woody foundation, but it would be a lighter wood than most wuyi's. The taste is sweet, soft, like flower petals and lightly toasted honey. Unfortunately the floral characteristics are not very present in the aroma of the tea as it is in the dry leaves. The aroma does hint at it, but smells more like sugar and spring water. The aftertaste has a quick sweet bloom that fades quickly and leaves a slight astringency and a lasting sweetness. The complexity of this one is present but fleeting, and can be hard to miss at times. It re-emerges in the aftertaste in the very back of my tongue, but is even more elusive than before. It is a quite interesting tea, although the complexity is rather hard to pin down long enough to define. Despite how it may sound, this is not a tea that strikes you as complex, although it does become more noticeable the more you drink it. This is a good one to sit down with on a quiet evening with some calm music.

Hou De's Bai Ji Guan (Spring 2005)
Product page

Click for hi-res

Tastes much more like a wuyi. Nice, medium heavy roasted taste with undercurrent of fruit and honey and a mild fleeting bitter-sweetness that dissipates quickly but returns for just a moment as the aftertaste starts to emerge. Aroma is toasty and mildly floral, with the floral notes primarily detectable with the tip of the tongue. Bigger sips reveal different flavors and textures. Finish is bitter sweet that quickly settles as a floral sweetness, particularly at the front of the tongue. A toasted honey character with a touch of fruit defines this one from aroma to finish. Like many good wuyi's, this one gives a nice texture of woodgrain on the tongue from a slight acidity, but this one seems to be a bit more ethereal, round, sitting more above the tongue, and gives a nice fuzzy feeling that does a little dancing before settling if you pay close attention. There is slight astringency that is much more subdued than many wuyi's. As I swish the tea around, it almost seems to leave traces as it melts into your tongue very quickly. The aftertaste is lasting, and settles mostly on the rear-most edges of my tongue, radiating a soft sweetness, defying my 2nd grade teacher's insistence that I was not, in fact, tasting sweetness anywhere but the tip of my tongue. Although, to her credit, there is a certain bitter quality brought about by the roasted undercurrent, which is quite pleasant.

The sensation of this tea, especially in the aftertaste, is almost that of muscatel, but with slightly different dimensions. This comes out more as the tea cools, leaving behind some of the typical wuyi characteristics and giving way to a more smooth sweetness. Nevertheless, a lover of both wulongs and Darjeelings would probably like this tea. I was surprised, however, to find that this one is not quite as smooth as the newer one from TeaSpring.

Overall this is a very good tea. It's a very good representation of a wuyi wulong, with a soft sweetness that should accommodate most palates. It reminds me of a moderate rain on a warm sunny day, with large drops leaving thick trails that quickly consolidate to chase the drop before evaporating.

Overall this is a great tea, regardless of which you pick. The first is a little sweeter, and has more interesting characteristics, but the second will better suit the wuyi lover expecting that characteristic roasted flavor. I would be hard pressed to declare one as clearly superior, as they each have unique characteristics that make each special. The complexities are more apparent in Hou De's, but the first almost has more interesting and elusive complexities. They also each have things in common that make them obviously of the same type. Hou De's is a bit aged, and I expect both to become even better with further aging, which should bring the flavors together and mellow them down.

As nice as this tea is, however, there is something lacking that keeps it just slightly back from being satisfying to me. Many of the wuyi teas are satisfying, despite my eclectic tastes, but there is something about this that just isn't quite there. Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps it will come with aging.

Tea Commercial & Book

First, this was just too cute not to share:



Second, Project Gutenberg has a book on tea that you might find worthwhile. It gives some background on the Asian (or at least Japanese) tea culture. It's not a long book, but it is an interesting read, and you can't beat free!

The Book of Tea, by Okakura Kakuzo (or Kakuzo Okakura, depending on where you look)

Available as:

Plain text

PDF (at AOL)
(Requires a PDF reader. If you don't have one, try Foxit Reader. I find it much better than Adobe's.)

HTML (at Kells Craft)

Wulong two-fer

I started to feel like I was reviewing too many of the higher grade teas, so today I'm going to do a high grade and a surprise I found at an Asian grocer.



Joy Luck - High-Mountain Oolong

I was suspicious of this one at first, but decided to give it a try. I found this at the Fubonn shopping center, at the Fubonn supermarket that is just across from Serenity Art. They have a whole aisle of pre-packaged teas, some look better than others. They even have a few things I've seen sold on some of my favorite sites.

This one is by a brand called "Joy Luck" (which I cannot, unfortunately, find anywhere on the internet), and is just labeled "High Mountain Oolong". It comes in a large dark brownish-red box with a line drawing of a dragon in the mountains, gold lettering and gold edges, and a yellow/gold string handle on the top. Inside is a large (approx 12"x 4") cardboard canister with tin ends. It's coated with plastic on the inside, and the top is difficult to get off. It's definitely airtight as it sucks in the tin ends, causing them to pop, every time you open the canister. Inside is a 10.5 oz vacuum sealed pack of high-mountain goodness. All this for a measly $15!

I was still a little apprehensive after getting it, but it turned out to be surprisingly good. It isn't exactly an exceptional high-mountain oolong, but it is what I consider the base of a good high-mountain oolong. It has an aroma and taste that is slightly honey-like and somewhere in between the floral jade oolongs and a toasty amber oolong. Something like a lightly toasted honeysuckle. It's light, sweet, with a good mouth feel. It lacks a lot of the nuances and complexities of the better teas, but for a basic everyday tea, this is definitely a winner.

So if you've got a good local Asian supermarket, you might check it out. This may not be the best, but it does a great job for everyday drinking, like, say, when you're working. This would also be a relatively low-risk way to try a Taiwan(?) high-mountain wulong if you want to get an idea of what they're like without shelling out more for less. It may also be a good one to give those friends that you want to impress, but know that a more expensive tea would be wasted on them ;)

Next up..

Organic BaoZhong from Mr Wang Yiu-Li (Spring harvest, 2007)
From Hou De.



Click each pic for hi-res


This came as a sample from Hou De with another order I made. I was considering it, but wasn't sure I was ready to pay the asking price for it. It turned out to be one that I like very very much, and have already placed an order for more.
This is actually somewhat typical of pouchongs. To me it's like a jade wulong that is better defined than any of the actual jade wulongs. This one has a better balance of all aspects than what I've had before. The aroma is nice and sweet, mildly floral with nutty nuances and an almost woody character that is more of a texture than a defining character. The taste does not disappoint. It's sweet, but with a nicely rounded point and a woody texture. You can definitely taste the "green", but it's very smooth and melts quickly into a very nice mouth feel. The "green" is almost a bit sour, but it is more sweet and floral than anything, and has a nice warmth to it. It finishes off with a cleansing effect that I can't quite qualify as an astringency, it just dries the mouth a little. This lasts for some time, and actually started to make my tongue tingle after several minutes! This is not a quality that I've encountered before, but it is very pleasant.

Overall this is a great tea with a lot of character. Hou De does not have very much of it, so I would grab some soon!

Bad caddy, bad!

I had gotten one of these tea caddies from EnjoyingTea some time ago. It seemed perfect - double lid, airtight, nice and large, decorative; what a mistake. I filled it nearly all the way with some Xing Yang Mao Jian from Serenity Art, and not only did the tea go stale, it almost entirely replaced the aroma with an overwhelming metallic smell and taste. Drinking the tea was a bit like sucking on a coin. Luckily the tea didn't cost me much.

It looks nice but if you're ever thinking about getting one to keep tea in, STAY AWAY!!

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid...

So I decided I wanted my very own gaiwan. I went online and found the cheapest one I could find, which was a small white one with bamboo painted on the outside from taooftea.com for $15. I got it in the mail yesterday, then later the same day I went to Serenity Art to get some of the silver tip pu-erh he gave me as a sample the last time I was in there.

What's the first thing I see when I walk in the door? You guessed it: the very same gaiwan I got in the mail just hours previously, but for $2.99.

In fact they had a whole big lot of different gaiwans, all for $2.99.

So, feeling cheated, I grabbed another one that's a little different and will brew a little different. When I got home I looked online and found the same one going for $24 on up to $35. Astounded, I've decided I'm not buying anymore teaware online.

For the record, they also have a lot of other teaware there that I've seen sold online for ten times as much. I've seen sites sell the little yixing tasting cups for $11.50 for 3, while Serenity Art sells even fancier ones for $0.85 each! At that price, we even bought some as art supplies. So the moral of the story is that if you have a local Asian market in town, particularly one that sells tea and teaware, check there before you buy teaware online. And take your time looking around, I had been in this store numerous times, and for some reason never saw these gaiwans.

Oh well, lesson learned. At least he gave me about $10-$15 of one of the best jade oolongs (it was a Tie Guan Yin) I have ever had. That kinda makes up for it, even though I'm sucker enough to go buy some more today...

Wu Ling (Wulong/Oolong)

This is one that I wanted to review more to make a point than anything else.

Wu Ling is a high-mountain Taiwan oolong, which speaks volumes in and of itself. The land it's grown on was previously an apple and pear orchard that was converted to a tea plantation. The farm is at an altitude of over 2000 meters high, giving it that renowned Taiwan high-mountain flavor. It's a lightly oxidized Tung-Ting style jade oolong that is rolled into pellets that are slightly smaller than others. Once infused you see that each is a small stem with three small leaves, an indication that it was most likely hand-picked.

The tea is really quite good. It is said that the previous fruit orchards gives this tea a fruity quality that is indeed evident in the aroma. It has a very good smooth mouth feel, with a taste that starts sweet and slightly fruity and quickly changes to a slight green bitter quality that accentuates the taste without being a major identifying factor as it can be with green teas. It finishes off with a light and clean astringency that is felt more than tasted, but leaves you with a clean "green" taste - a good malt (hopefully I'm using that right) that comes to a bit of a point , although not as much as a green tea. This tea definitely has it's own unique character that is light and slightly elusive.

So what's the point I want to make? This is a great tea that I would be quite happy to drink at any time, but the caveat is that it's not worth the price. Unfortunately it costs $23 for just 75 grams (2.6 oz), and it's quite dense so that much only fills a small can that is about 1.5" x 2". This tea is quite good, but I've had quite a few other Taiwan high-mountain jade oolongs that I actually like better, and cost quite a bit less. This does make a superior cup, just not that far superior. I can't say that I regret getting it, but I doubt I will get any more of it.

So the moral of this story is that just because a tea is expensive, doesn't mean it's going to be that ever elusive "perfect" cup of tea that blows you away, and also to pay attention to the quantity you're getting! Although the more expensive teas do tend to be exceptional and much better than the cheaper ones, I've been finding that once you get into that price range (around $20 or so for around a quarter pound) you're not necessarily going to be that much more impressed by something that costs twice as much. I've encountered this with quite a number of Taiwan high mountain and formosa oolongs, but this was the most I had spent for so little. Perhaps it's worth it if you've really got the money and/or your tastes are really that discerning, but otherwise there are still plenty to knock your socks off without being too highly priced.


Click here for high-res

Formosa Pouchong Imperial (Wulong/Oolong)

This is my first order from Upton Tea imports, and definitely left a good impression. Upton describes this as a classic style Pouchong (Bao Zhong) that is lightly oxidized. The leaves are lightly twisted, but you wouldn't know it from the taste. The leaves are a dark green, and when seen in the tin almost look black, but after being steeped take on a more obvious forest green color. The liquor is a light amber, much like a light colored honey.

Click to see hi-res Click to see hi-res

The first cup I made of this tea didn't strike me much. It was somewhat bland and slightly astringent, just overall unremarkable.

But...

For the second cup I used just a little more leaf (about 1.5 tea scoops, which are approximately equivalant to a heaping teaspoon), and wow! I've since found a full 2 scoops (approx 2 heaping tsp) to be the best.

The first thing that struck me was that it tasted a lot like the jade high-mountain Tung Ting style Taiwan oolongs that are rolled (like a Tie Guan Yin), but mixed with a Lu An Gua Pian green tea. Those are what I'm more used to, and what I tend to compare others against. The first thing you notice is the aroma, which is lightly but noticiably floral with a slight nutty/woody and vegetal quality. The vegetal aspect is very subtle, and does more to prop up the floral notes and combine them with the nutty/woody aspects than anything else. The floral aspects are the most notable.

The taste is very well rounded. It has a very smooth texture with a lot of mouth feel that is well balanced and sweet, and finishes off with a slight astringency that is felt more than really tasted. While it does have that very smooth and sweet body and mouth feel, it doesn't have so much that it leaves your mouth feeling coated - a well balanced smooth characteristic that leaves your tongue feeling slightly soft. It drinks almost like a very smooth green tea, but with more of an oolong feel and character. There is a vegetal quality to the taste, that starts with a slight bitterness and quickly evaporates into a dry grassiness that cleans the palate and fades into the slight astringency of the aftertaste. As in the aroma, it does more to prop up the floral aspects than anything else. The taste is definitely floral, and reminiscent of honey as well.

The aftertaste is aromatic in a way that is almost effervescent. The smooth mouth feel combined with the light astringency remains on the palate, and the steam can be felt in the nose leaving you to continue to smell the lightly floral aftertaste almost more than tasting it. Note that it does so more than other teas normally do, as this tea does have a slight viscosity that can actually be seen in the liquor. This leaves you breathing easier, and smelling the world with sweet and clean undertones.

What grabs my attention the most about this tea is how animated the taste is. Some teas do similar, but not quite to this extent. It is the difference between looking at pictures, even animated pictures, and watching a short video. It's definitely an experience, and each sip is slightly different. This is definitely one to taste with your whole mouth, and not just part of the tongue. It's great for when you are able to contemplate life, but also encourages you to relax while you go about your day. In my opinion, it's a great tea for any time of day. This tea reminds me of sitting next to a lightly rushing creek in spring.

This has very quickly made one of my favorite teas. It takes everything I like in a wulong and brings them together into a lively and animated portrait that makes me forget about everything else. Overall it is just very well balanced, lively, and clean.

Storing Tea

Just a quick one about storing tea, and I will try to get another tea review out in the next couple of days. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately with work and haven't really been doing much of anything, which includes the things that I want to do. Don't worry, though, I'm still drinking plenty of good teas and definitely going to keep up on the blog. I'm also considering a couple of ways to present and describe the teas, so stay tuned!

Storing tea properly is very important, and more important than some might think at first. If you have a high quality tea, you obviously don't want it to go stale. If you don't keep it in an adequate container, however, it can go stale quite quickly, rendering a perfectly good fine tea flat, bland, and uninteresting in no time at all. A good container may set you back a few more bucks than you were really wanting to, but it's very much worth the investment.

Here's the main things you want to protect your tea from:

• Light - This is one that most people probably won't think about, but just think about that book, magazine, or piece of decor that got left in front of that window last summer that got sun bleached and it should make sense. Even incandescent lights contain a certain amount of UV light, and tea is very good at absorbing things. Light can and will ruin the tea, so if you insist on using a transparent container, you are going to want to keep it in a dark cupboard, keep that cupbord closed, and not open that cupboard any more than necessary. This is also something to keep in mind when you're buying teas, because unfortunately this is a point that some tea merchants either don't know, don't take seriously, or don't care about, and you could very well end up with a stale tea if it's been sitting there for any length of time.
• Moisture - Teas are dried to pretty specific individual levels, and if they absorb excess moisture then it can deteriorate the taste and overall quality of the tea. By the same token, you also want to make sure that the tea in the container isn't going to dry out. Like I say, each tea is dried to a specific degree, and you want it to remain at the level that the farmer intended. This is also the reason you do NOT want to keep the tea in your freezer. It can introduce more moisture and/or possibly alter the existing moisture.
  
• Air - This is the most obvious one. Obviously you want an airtight container. What may not be so obvious, however, is that plastic is oxygen permeable! Because of this, plastic containers are not suitable for storing your tea. I had an exceptionally fragrant high-grade monkey pick oolong lose ALL of it's fragrance this way in a matter of just a couple weeks. Plastic containers may be okay for very short term storage, but not very long. This also means no ziplock bags for anything more than transporting tea. Air is also something you want to consider when looking at the size of the container. The more completely the tea fills the container, the less air will be trapped in with it when you close it. Lastly, I would not trust those single lid tins with the lid that just slips over the top. The best tins are the ones that have a pry out lid as well as a slip-over top. Otherwise I would look for a tin with at least a pry-out lid.
• Odor - A lot of teas are most well definied by the scents they have absorbed. Tea is VERY good at absorbing odors. Some of my favorite teas have strong and definite fruit and/or flower fragrances and tastes, but without being artificially scented at all - the tea picks up the scents from plants growing near by the tea tree/bush itself! This is made obvious by the fact that the dry tea leaves smell just like.. dry leaves.. until you brew the tea. So anyway, make sure the container doesn't have it's own odor, can't pass odor, and won't retain the odor of the tea you're keeping in it. I would also refrain from keeping your tea in the same cupboard as things like spices.
• Temperature - Just like most things, you want to keep it relatively cool. A regular cupboard would likely be fine, just probably not a cupboard above your stove or fridge. You don't want to roast your tea!

The best containers I've encountered are BeeHouse brand ceramic containers. They have an airtight rubber seal with a metal latch. One thing that you may not realize (I didn't realize until I started actually sculpting with clay) is that the glaze on ceramic is actually glass. Clay itself can actually turn to glass if heated to extreme temperatures or fired too many times (it just won't make clear or even glass). So this way you get a completely opaque canister with a good airtight seal and that is completely odor-neutral. These are a bit expensive, but you might be able to find the same basic container at a kitchenware store for less. For the top grade teas, though, they are very definitely worth it, and the larger canisters are only a few bucks more than the small ones, and if you're going to buy that much tea then, particularly if it's a top grade tea, having a top-notch container is definitely going to be worth it. Specialteas.com has a good selection of these canisters, and they have pretty decent prices compared to other websites.

My next favorite types of containers are the double lid tins from The Tao of Tea. They are attractive round tins that have a pry-out type inner lid with a knob for easier removal and a slip cover type second lid. These are $4 each and hold around 3.5-4 oz of an average density tea, and about 2oz of a light and fluffy type tea. They also have smaller canisters (also double-lid) for a little less that are great for keeping things like samples (holds around 2oz of a relatively dense tea). These also stack pretty well, and I find this size to be perfect - it's the amount of tea I prefer to buy when it's something I'll drink regularly but not enough to justify a large amount.

After that I like the plain-Jane pry-top tins from Upton Tea Imports. These are pretty basic, but work well. Unfortunately they don't stack quite as well as the others, but they are cheap and space efficient. Upton has two different sizes, and I use these mainly when I have more or less of a tea than what fits in the Tao of Tea's tins.

Obviously there are others you could get as well. Plain old canning jars or the glass jars with rubber seal and metal latch that are common would do well, so long as they're not exposed to much light. You could always cover up the bulk of the jar or even paint the outside. If you have a vacuum sealer with a canning jar attachment, then so much the better!

So just a quick bullet-pointed recap:

DO:

• Get an airtight canister with a very good airtight seal
• Use a container made of glazed ceramic, tin, or glass (opaque or covered)
  
• Keep it in a cool, dark, and dry place like a cupboard
• Keep the container closed as much as possible, and just generally keep the tea protected from the elements as much as possible
  
• Use an appropriate size container for the amount of tea
• Invest in a good container that will protect your expensive tea!
  

DON'T

• Trust single lid tins or generally cheap containers
  
• Use plastic containers, or containers with plastic lids
• Use anything that has, or will retain, an odor
  
• Store tea out in the open
• Store above appliances that generate heat (stove, fridge, etc.)
• Store with anything aromatic, eg spices
• Store in the freezer
  

So that's it for now. If you know any sources for great storage containers, then please leave comments (with links if possible). I would also be very grateful for any corrections or additions for anything I may have gotten wrong or missed.

Bi Luo Chun (Pi Lo Chun)

Bi Luo Chun (aka Pi Lo Chun) is one of my all-time favorite teas. I previously didn't even like green tea, but it was one of the first fine teas that I was introduced to, and immediately became a favorite.

The name means "Spring Snail", which is both descriptive of the shape the leaves are rolled into (a spiral shape) and is named after Bi Luo Peak. It was originally named Xia Si Ren Xiang, meaning "Astounding Fragrance", although I've also seen it translated as "Scarry Fragrance". It is one of the "Top 10 famous teas of China" (at least that which comes from Dong Ting), and has a long history.

I got this first from Serenity Art, here in Portland, but got a couple others as well, including the original and famous Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun from www.teaspring.com. The girl at the tea shop recommended it, and when I failed to buy some she gave me a sample. I've been drinking it every day since.

Serenity Art has 4 grades - A through D. Most websites only have one, and it can be hard to tell what you're going to get. The top grade has lots of white tips in it, and almost looks like you're holding a jar full of cotton strings. The lower grades have less tips, and more dark green leaves. The Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun has lots of tips, and actually a whole lot of downy hairs on and from the tea buds. They also have a slightly golden tinge.

Grade "A" from Serenity Art Grade "A" from Serenity Art Click to see high resolution version Lower grade from Adigo Teas Lower grade from Adigo Teas Click for high resolution version Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun from TeaSpring.com Click to see high resolution version, must see! Notice that the higher grades have many more white and fluffy tips. The Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun has lots and lots of fuzzy down that even leaves dust on anything that it comes in contact with. This gives it a definite mouth feel that the other types don't have. The difference between grades is pretty easy to see. I will try to set up a more aesthetically pleasing background for taking pictures later on, but this will do for now.

What I like the most about this tea is that the flavor is incredibly complex. Unfortunately it's so complex that it's kinda hard to describe. Sensational Teas notes that everyone describes it differently, and it's easy to see why. I'll try my best.

The first thing I noticed is that it takes the things I normally dislike in green teas, the astringency and slight bitterness, and puts them in perfect harmony and balance with a very distinct smoothness and sweetness. It has a whole range of flavors that seem impossible to go together, yet seem to be in perfect symbiosis. It's like having a classic masterpiece painting of colors in your mouth (I know that sounds cheezy, but in this case it's the only way I can think to describe it). It's fragrant, fruity (light apricot and citrus, especially), vegetal, maybe very slightly grassy, nutty, bitter that quickly morphs into sweet, and has a whole range of other nuances, all lined up in perfect order, and all at once. The aftertaste is lasting and sweet, with a perfect astringency that you feel more than taste. The aroma is warm, very lightly fragrant, and sweet like honeysuckle (which present in the taste as well). None of the flavors or qualities are separate, they are all inexplicably intertwined.

Overall this is a tea that immediately grabs your attention and challenges you to tease out the tastes. It's an experience unto itself.

Lower quality Bi Luo Chun is a little more on the bitter side, a little less complex, and a little less smooth. Ironically, I actually didn't like the Dong Ting nearly as much as I expected; which is really disappointing considering how much it costs. It was very very smooth and sweet, but it just didn't have the same complexities. For being the supposed 'best of the best', it didn't seem like a high-grade. Perhaps it was actually a lower grade of Dong Ting, I don't know. It does have a lot more mouth feel, however, which I attribute to the much greater amount of downy hairs on the tips. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad tea at all, it's really very good, it's just not what I expect from a super high grade Bi Luo Chun. To it's credit it is a very nice delicate and sweet green tea that is somewhat ethereal - it almost seems like the flavor is sitting on top of your tongue.

The only catch with this tea is that it can be a challenge to brew correctly, but it is definitely worth it. The easiest way I've found to do it is to use 160~170 degree (F) water with 1 tsp of leaf in a 16 oz cup with no filter. The small amount of leaf with a double serving of water seems to give a perfect cup each time. Brewing less is trickier, but is primarily a matter of not letting it brew too long. You DEFINITELY don't want to use chlorinated tap water - to me that would be like using a dirty coffee cup to drink Dom Perion, and it would definitely make it more flat.

If you're in Portland, head to the Fubonn Shopping Center on 82nd Ave and get some of this from Serenity Art. I can't remember exactly how much I paid, but it was along the lines of $10 for 3oz, which is incredibly cheap. Otherwise try some of the online shops, but pay attention to the pictures and descriptions. SpecialTeas.com appears to have the Dong Ting variety, but I don't know if it's the same as what I got from TeaSpring.com or not.

Types of tea and brewing

Before I start getting into specific teas, I thought it would probably be best to outline the different kinds of tea that are out there.

Most people (at least here in the USA) are not aware that all actual tea comes from one plant, the tea tree, Camellia sinensis. What differentiates the different types are how they are processed. White teas are the least processed, with no oxidation, and black teas are the most, and most oxidized. In order, from least processed to most processed, you have:

White tea - Usually made of the newly sprouted buds of the plant. They are immediately heat or sun dried without any oxidation. Generally considered to have the most polyphenols of all teas, and very very low caffeine (if any). This is pretty much "raw" tea, or as close as it gets. White teas usually have a very light flavor.

Yellow tea - Although yellow tea is a class of tea unto it's own, it can also refer to an imperial tea. The classification, however, refers to a tea that is very close to a green tea, but takes more skill (and time) to make, using a more careful and extensive drying process. It generally lacks the characteristic vegetal, bitter, or astringent qualities of green teas. In my opinion they are more like a light fragrant oolong or slightly stronger white tea, and are usually lighter than most green teas.

Green tea - Oxidation is stopped very early by steaming or heating the leaves in a pan. Green teas have a wide range of tastes, but usually have a very slight bitter quality, astringency, vegetal and/or grassy taste. Since green tea is not very oxidized, it has a low caffeine content and higher polyphenol content, although not as much as white tea. Not everyone likes green teas, but if you've only had the mass-produced stuff sold in teabags at your local grocer, I hope you will reserve judgement until you can get a cup of the finer teas. I can't drink that crap either.

Oolong (Wu Long) tea - The words "Wu Long" actually mean "Black Dragon". The difference between "Oolong", "Wulong", and "Wu Long" are nil, they are all "Romanizations" of the Chinese language. This tea is partially oxidized, around 15%-40% or so, although it can be more or less depending on the tea. Generally speaking, there are three types of wu long tea: jade, amber, and champagne, which is also in order of oxidation. I've also seen them classified in two types: fragrant and amber. More specifically there are 11 types, according to the growing region. Wu long tea can have a wide range of flavors, some are very noticeably fruity, floral, woody, nutty, grainy, smoky, and any number of combinations and nuances. Wu long teas are usually either twisted or rolled, and most of the good ones are full leaf. When a rolled tea (which usually looks like a pellet about a centimeter in diameter) unfurls, you sometimes get a small twig with up to 2 or 3 full tea leaves. As you've probably guessed, wu longs have moderate caffeine and moderate polyphenols, although those are far from being the only things that count. Wu long tea is one of the most intensive types to make. It takes lots of steps, and each farm/estate may do so slightly differently.

Black tea - This is the one most people are familiar with, so I won't say much about it other than that it's fully oxidized. You may also not know that in China it's referred to as red tea. I'm not a real big fan of black teas, although they are the best to wake up with in the morning, IMO. Some of the full leaf black teas, especially Darjeelings, are very good, however.

Pu Erh tea - This one is not well known in the west, but is becoming more popular. Pu Erh is popular with the Cantonese people of China (where others tend to prefer green). This is a black tea, but is packed into bricks, cakes, plates, or bowls that look like bird nests (called Tou Cha), fermented, and aged. Pu erh is a bit like a fine wine in this way, the older it gets the better it gets. Unlike other tea, it never goes stale. If you're very lucky, and very rich, you might find a 100 year old pu erh. Otherwise you can get up to 25 year old pu erh, although they are still quite expensive. Due to the fermentation, pu erh has it's own great benefits that others do not, primarily to do with digestion, but I'm sure there's more. In China it is considered to be a very healthy drink. It is generally darker than most black teas, with an earthy and somewhat smoky taste, but there are as many different kinds of pu erhs as there are other teas. Some (many?) are even made with semi-wild and old-growth tea trees, sometimes producing very large leaves. They are characteristically smooth, however, getting smoother with age. The cheaper stuff is usually 2 to 5 years old. Some of them are made into decorative plaques or plates that you might almost think were either carved wood or clay, if it weren't for the fact that you could see the leaves.

Sometimes you will see the oxidation process in other teas referred to as "fermentation", however it is not; there are no micro-organisms involved. The only exception is with pu erh tea, which really is fermented, using micro-organisms and all. The oxidation process gives tea it's caffeine: the more oxidized, the more caffeine (but you already know that from reading the above). This also reduces the polyphenol content, but not entirely. It also changes the chemical makeup of the various teas, and so each tea has benefits that are stronger than any of the others. So if you want the benefits of all the different types, you'll have to make sure to drink them all :) The oxidation process also tends to make the tea taste stronger, although this can also vary greatly by the individual selection - there are green teas that are stronger (in taste, not caffeine) than any other type I've tried.

Herbal teas are not actually teas at all, and are properly referred to as Tinsanes, although you may also see them referred to more generically as "infusions". When you find something like the African red tea, that is actually a Tinsane, because it is not made from the actual tea plant.

Some may insist that this is being too picky about semantics, but the thing to remember is that the word "Tea" comes from the old Asian name "Te", which refers to the plant and not the infused beverage. So a tinsane is no more a "tea" than a pork-chop is a steak. Just because the final product that you consume has similar outward properties, doesn't mean that they are the same animal.

Yerba Mate is another type. This is not actually from the tea plant, but has many of the same qualities. Some will compare it to a green tea, but in my opinion only someone that is not familiar with green teas would do so. Yerba mate is from South America, and is a traditional drink there. It's dried by smoking it, which gives it a distinctive earthy and smoky flavor, which varies between brands. It is traditionally drank from a hollowed out and dried gourd through a metal straw with a filter at the end, called a bombilla. You can also find roasted mate, although it is relatively rare. Roasted mate tastes a bit like a light bodied coffee brewed with some cocoa beans mixed in, and is one of my favorite things to drink. Yerba mate is becoming more popular in America, and is VERY good for your health (in many ways). I will post more on it at a later date.

You will also see references to pekoe. Here's the definition from Answers.com:

The Chinese Pekoe teas are classified into various qualities according to whether the adjacent young leaves (two, one or none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top quality pekoe consists of only the leaf buds. The buds are picked using only the balls of the finger tips. Fingernails or mechanical tools are not used to avoid bruising the picks.

When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken", as in "Broken Orange Pekoe" (also "Broken Pekoe" or "BOP"), sometimes sold as loose leaf for reduced price. Bagged teas often also include fannings and dust, which are simply tiny remnants of the sorting and/or crushing process.

Orange Pekoe is often referred to as "OP". The grading scheme contains other categories considered higher quality than OP, which are determined primarily by leaf wholeness and leaf size. The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are:

• OP (Orange Pekoe)
• FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe)
• GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
• TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
• FTGFOP (Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
• SFTGFOP (Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)

It should be noted that this is not a reliable measurement of quality. The SFTGFOP from an estate that makes poor quality tea may be of lower quality than a "lower" pekoe from another farm or estate. This is more a grading system of the part of the plant and how whole the leaf is. This can indeed give you some idea of what to expect, but only in a limited context.

Brewing
The first thing that most people do wrong is to fully boil the water, and this can actually ruin a perfectly good tea. Using water that is too hot can make green teas taste "spinachy" and bitter when they shouldn't, and make other teas bland and flat (especially yerba mate). Generally speaking, the lighter the tea the cooler the water should be:
White tea: ~160 F
Green tea: ~170 F
Wu long & Black tea: ~190-200 F

Keep in mind that each individual tea is different. Any tea merchant that is serious about tea should be able to tell you the best way to brew each individual tea, and this is something that should be paid close attention to. How long each tea is brewed is also something individual to each tea, but over-brewing can very much ruin a tea, especially green teas.

Some teas can be brewed "Chinese Style" - just put the loose leaf in the bottom of the cup and pour in hot water, no filter. When you get low on water, add more! Although this is most often done in a gaiwan (a thin cup with a lid and saucer, which is often considered ideal for many/most teas), a regular cup/mug works as well.

TIP: I have found that for most whole-leaf green teas (and some jade wu longs), a 16oz mug with ~3 grams of leaf in the bottom, unfiltered, often produces a very good cup that can only be improved upon by skilled use of a gaiwan. If you're just discovering fine teas, you might give this a try, I've almost never ended up with a bitter or astringent cup unless it was something to do with the leaves (too much, stale, etc.).

Most teas should be brewed for only a short time, and it's really best NOT to use a tea ball or other similar device that will constrain the tea. As the dry leaves start to steep, they unfurl and give off flavors. At the start they will usually give off the more sweet and desirable flavors that characterize the tea, and as they "wear out" they start giving off bitterness and astringency. If you constrain the leaves too much, the outside leaves will start giving off the bitterness and astringency, while the inner leaves are too compressed to give off much of anything. The end result of constraining the leaves too much is a weak, flat, vapid, and insipid cup at best, and a nasty pale cup that tastes like bitter contaminated water at worst, depending on the tea. You will even find that some/many broken leaf teas (like many black teas) will taste better and more lively if allowed to fully unfurl and move about.

If you're not using a teapot that you can strain by placing the strainer between the teapot and your cup, then consider something like an infuser cup, which has a ceramic basket (like a cup with holes in it) that fits inside the cup. You could also get the metal basket type made for teapots that will fit in most cups quite inexpensively in a pinch (these usually only cost about a dollar or two).

The best way to brew tea is gong-fu style, which is a "ceremonial" Chinese style of brewing that uses a small pot made of Yixing clay or a gaiwan, small cups, aroma cups (sometimes), a small pitcher, more leaf with less water, and a big wet mess if you don't use a tray to catch spilled water. Gong-fu literally means "to do with skill", and this style of brewing is called gong-fu cha ("cha" meaning "tea"). This is more involved, and takes time and skill to master. It does, however, produce the best results. You also usually get a lot more infusion out of one pot of tea. You can find more information, including instructions, at http://www.chineseteas101.com/

One important factor in brewing tea, however, is not to use (chlorinated) tap water. Ideally you should use spring water, which will have a balanced hardness and neutral pH. DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS, as water quality will make a very noticeable difference in the quality of your tea. Living in Portland Oregon, our water is already quite pure (it mostly comes from melted snow from the mountains, and is one of the few in the country that doesn't require filtering), so living here I have found that filtered water is actually better than most bottled spring water. I use one of those Pur brand filter-pitchers that you pour water in the top and it trickles into the actual pitcher through a filter. Although I think it does a better job than Brita, the difference is somewhat negligible.

Brewing tea does take skill, and your tea will improve as you get to know each tea and brewing in general. I would say that the biggest thing to keep in mind is to pay attention to the instructions for each tea, and never assume that you can brew each tea the same way and get the same results. This is too often overlooked, but it can make all the difference in the world.