I cook; I sip; I explore new things; I share with friends, and when I
am not trying to figure out how I get to be a host on the Travel
Channel, I make my living as a lawyer. I’ve tasted wines for more than
30 years. In the continental European tradition, relationships are
born and nurtured over food and wine. In the U.S., a friendship often
begins over a cup of coffee. In much of the rest of the world, the
drink which brings people together is tea.
For a long time, my
teas came in tall, iced and instant glasses (for which you often pay
way too much) or they were bags you boiled when you were sick. Then I
discovered that tea came in leaves, and I got it. Like wine, the tea
leaf is a gift of nature– made of a plant, water and the skill of a
human. It is a connection with the earth and with others.
I’ve
sampled thousands of wines and made notes of many of the experiences.
Though I enjoy them very much, so far I haven’t felt the need to keep
notes on coffee, candy, chili or other foods. I do keep notes on tea.
Reading and sharing wine notes has always been part of the fun. I hope
you will enjoy my notes on teas.
-Gene Vance
*Mr. Vance is not an employee of NM Tea Co. and is not paid for his impressions.
Below is a list of teas Gene has tasted. If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed (?), and be notified every time a new tea is added, simply click the RSS icon to the right. (RSS Readers)
Bi Luo Chun
by Gene
An enigmatic tea. It is just a little more delicate and floral than some other Bi Luo Chun I have tried. If you brew it the way you would any other fine green--that is two minutes at 180deg--you will get light green brew with a bit of perfume, a bit like a lightly fired Taiwanese oolong, and a bit of toasty grass for your palate. You sip, thinking there is something more here that you can't quite get at. Intriguing.
However, for a richer experience, brew it more like a white tea for two to three minutes in a Gaiwan with the leaves staying in the brew, or brew with the leaves in your cup and drink off the top. Now the tea has a more developed floral quality along with a little vegetable edge that gives a good green tea just enough bite to keep it interesting. The infused leaves at the bottom of the glass look more like the tender growth of a white tea than a green. Aslo, like a fine white teas, I don't think it is likely that you will oversteep this tea. When your nose gets near the invigorated young greens at the bottom of the glass, you get a hit of a freshly mowed lawn. This is not an inexpensive tea to wash down food. It is a tea to contemplate over the course of several leisurely infusions. (Link To Product)
When I first moved from other beverages to tea in the morning, my first stop was black leaf tea purchased at a food store. I went from Irish Breakfast to English Breakfast to Darjeeling (with a brief visit to Earl Grey) and to Ceylon. I added milk and I was happy. However, until you’ve had a Ceylon of this quality, you haven’t really had Ceylon. This Ceylon tea has an extra helping of the fruity, floral richness of a fine traditional (for Europeans) black tea. The flavors bloom with a teaspoon of whole milk to make a special breakfast treat, but this tea is also lovely on its own if not brewed too strongly. It is smoother than other full bodied teas. If you are hosting high tea, these leaves brew an impressive afternoon. (Link To Product)
A fairly robust dark tea with aromas of dark fruits, weedy notes and herbs. I perceive a hint of oregano, that gives these leaves a bit more interest. When I don’t drink morning tea, I am making an espresso drink, so I like my morning beverage with some kick. This brew fits the bill when I’d rather ease into the morning in a way that concentrated coffee can’t do. Darjeeling is the backbone of my own breakfast blend of 2 parts Darjeeling and 1 part Ceylon and a spot of whole milk (around my house I have to make whole milk from skim and half and half). The Ceylon adds fruit, and the Darjeeling adds body and spice. Alone or blended, this is an interesting addition.
A teaspoon of these full leaves blooms in hot water and makes a
beautiful green brew with an aroma of toasted vegetables and a slight
floral perfume. The drink is both toasty and tasty, with just a little
hint of flower and some tannin on the finish. It’s a bit like sipping
a bag of those vegetable chips you can’t put down. This is also an
excellent tea with food. I was surprised at how this tea complemented
a salad with tortellini with sun dried tomatoes–almost like a good
Chianti. Extremely versatile, and a bargain to boot.
This tea is now my usual drink around the office. When I put down the
cola for tea a while back, I not only felt more productive, I dropped a
bit off the waistline. A tasty green or oolong is a nice finish to a
working lunch and a great little lift for the afternoon. (Link To Product)
These wispy needles need a long, warm bath to wake up. If you bought a Gaiwan because of its beauty, here is a tea which will put it to perfect use, because this tea seems to need to float freely outside of an infuser to develop its full perfume. For the first infusion, give it 3-5 minutes, or until the needles swell to become beautiful young leaf buds, and a subtle treat awaits. The liquor is an amber color, similar to a light apple cider. The aroma starts as mountain lilac with a stone fruit underneath. becoming more fruity with successive infusions. The taste is a delicate flavor of peaches in dried grass and a lilac perfume. Three minute splashes in hot water keep bringing life to these little leaves. It's expensive, but there is an evening of fragrant sipping in one set of these leaves. (Link To Product)
A brew with an aristocratic air, this tea is also a favorite of a Chinese friend. Each infusion of these leaves is a different tea. When the leaves first meet hot, fresh water, the aroma has the grassy field aspect of green tea, but there are some flowers and red fruits in this field. This first infusion (2.5 minutes) is greenish amber and has a flavor of crunchy, slightly roasted vegetables and hints of flowers. There is just enough of a of an edge on the finish to keep it interesting. The second infusion (3 minutes) is silky and even more delicious. There is a bit of earth and smoke below the fruit in what is now a delicate amber brew. A third infusion (3.5 minutes) yields a bit darker amber, and a subtle, smoky flavor which moves slightly further toward oolong. Is this tea really worth twice the price of other fine green teas? Well, life’s pleasures can’t always be measured on a linear scale. (Link To Product)
A lighter, more subtle and complex black tea that is tasty with or without milk. This monk’s blend does not appear to have a strong grenadine flavoring for which this tea is known. Instead, black tea fruit and flower aromas greet the nose, but there is something more there. Earthy, herby notes make this interesting, and it almost tastes Chinese. Somewhat lighter than Ceylon and more drinkable without milk, sugar or lemon. This is very tasty for the price, and another enjoyable but informal afternoon tea. (Link To Product)
The leaves of this tea are simply beautiful when fully infused. They look good enough to eat. When brewed, they render a medium oolong with red-brown liquor and an aroma of black tea and earth. The taste is somewhere between black and green. Smooth and delicious, with some earthy notes underneath. Second infusion is as good as first, with very subtle peach and flower notes coming forward. This is one to savor in the aroma as well as the more subtle flavor, because they could be from two different teas. (Link To Product)
