Vendor Review: Chicago Tea Garden

A new feature here will be reviews of not just teas but also the buying experience from vendors.   With all of the online and traditional vendors out there, how does one know what to buy where? I hope to periodically re-visit past reviews with updates.   The selections and opinions are entirely mine.


Chicago Tea Garden (Chicagoteagarden.com)

I have been following this vendor via the blogosphere since late last year.   Being a local Chicagoan, I always like to spend locally when I can.   This internet only vendor has been in business only a couple of months, but I am intrigued thus far with their offerings.

The small selection of high end, self sourced Chinese teas is heavy on Pur-eh (10 items) and light on Greens, Oloongs and Blacks ( 1 each).  I am optimistic as the tea production seasons move on they will fill out their selections.   They also have a small selection of tea ware, including some artisan made tea cups.

The web site is easy on the eyes, and pretty straight forward to navigate, and the product descriptions are informative, with good representative photos. They have a newsletter and a Facebook and Twitter presence as well!

 I was up for a good Yunnan black, and I ordered 50g of the Golden Bi Luo.   I also purchased a Stoneware Tea Cup (I should have grabbed 2...).  

Check out was fine, the only payment option is PayPal, which i understand from the merchant side, but can be a pain at times, if you are not a regular paypal user.

Being local, my shipment arrived two days later.   It was packaged in a content appropriate sized box, with appropriate packing material.  With the tea was a nifty reference card with a description, steeping suggestions, and other info.  They also included a small sample of their Tie Guan Yin Oolong (with a card), which was a nice touch.   The tea cup was wrapped well, and arrived in perfect condition.

The tea itself was packed in a re-usable tin plated steel container. My only little gripe (and this is really very minor) - is that the container can hold 100g, and with my 50g order, left a lot of space for the tea to rattle around in transit.  (My tea arrived in excellent condition - but high end teas like this can be delicate.)

I found their pricing to be very good for the quality, self sourced, teas they sell.   The tea ware as well, especially the artisan made cups.  The quality of the tea is top notch, and I look forward to trying more of their selections.  

If you are looking for a good high quality tea purveyor to try, I highly recommend Chicago Tea Garden!

Canton Tea Co Yu Lan Dan Cong @ IAATL

Tea Review: Canton Tea Co Yu Lan Dan Cong

This oolong from Canton Tea, hailing from the Wu Dong Mountain, Chao Zhou / Guan Dong, China. Yu Lan is associated with magnolias, and Dan Cong indicates a tea picked from a single bush. (There is some controversy in the Tea world about “single bush” vs another interpretation of the word as ’single trunk’, a sub varietal in which tea trees uncommonly branch off a larger single trunk.  Oolongs need about 8-10kg of fresh leaves to produce 1kg of finished tea – which makes it unlikely that any tea commercially available in the west is sourced from a single tree and can be affordable.    This is uber-tea geek silliness , and all I really know is if someone offers me a Dan Cong, I say as graciously and politely as possible – “YES! PLEASE!”)

This Yu Lan is a long, twisted leaf with golden tips and olive and blacks – indicative of a moderate to high level of oxidation (40-60%) associated with this region and style.   The dry leaf has a very inviting floral nose, with a hint of stone fruit.  This is a physically big, good looking leaf, and with this type of oolong, I recommend weighing the portions.

Brewed 3g of tea in 6oz water at 185F for 3 minutes in my oolong Xing teapot.   There is an excellent floral nose with strong notes of apricot or peach.  Clear bright yellow orange in the cup, with a bright taste of flowery stone fruit.  Refreshing mouth feel, with just the right amount of dryness, and a pleasant sweet aftertaste.  Both the aroma and aftertaste stay with you.

2nd infusion at 190F for 3:30 -  this is a very nuanced cup, the aroma and taste become more balanced, more satisfying.  This is the best infusion.


3rd infusion at 190F for 4 min. – The aroma remains pronounced, and the taste is not unpleasantly faded.  There is a good dryness to this infusion.

The wet leaf opens to a full whole shape, with a excellent musky green smell and even olive green color, consistant with a high quality tea.

This teas leaves one fulfilled, content.  It is perfectly suited to a quiet conversation with a friend, or some contemplation.   Canton Tea’s YuLan Dancong is a very high quality tea and an excellent experience, that I recommend.
Read this and other "Tea reviews from the edge" at It's all about the Leaf.Com

Canton Tea Silver Needle Bia Ho Yin Zen @ IAATL

http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/ Canton Tea Silver Needle Bia Ho Yin Zen

White teas are generally early spring pick, young growth leaf, that are picked early in the day.  They are delicately handled, to ensure the leaf is not damaged, and sun dried for short periods, and are minimally oxidized. White teas have very delicate aromas and taste, and need some patience to prepare and appreciate.
This white tea has a classic big leaf with round tight shape.  The leaf is covered with silvery fluffy down, and has a mild sweet aroma.This fluffy down is indicative of proper processing and high quality.  (And proper storage and handling by the vendor.)

The down begs a choice: some classic tea masters advise a very quick rinse with at temperature water prior to brewing, others advise against it. I am going to forgo the rinse – it is purely about cosmetics in this case, to wash away any loose down, so it does not float in the cup.
T
here are also two schools of thought as to the brewing temperature. Classically, whites are brewed with “warm” water in the 155F-170F range.  Some modern masters advise “very warm’ water in the 170F-180F range, but very short steeps.  My view is that this is a high quality tea, and I will stick with the classic thought which is consistent with the vendors suggestion of 75C/about 165F.

Brewed 1 TBLS of tea (about 5g) in 6oz water @ 168F for 2 minutes in my for green Xing pot. Pale golden in the cup, like a Chablis wine – with a very very small amount of the down floating on the surface.  There is a very delicate aroma of chestnut, with a hint of sweetness.  Dry, refreshing taste, just a small amount of astringency, with a hint of mellon in the aftertaste.

 Plump wet leaves unfurl to the classic two leaf shape expected.  These are good looking leaves.

2nd Steep @ 168F for 2:30.  Creamy, smooth on the tongue, more astringency.  This is a most satisfying cup. The flavors are not prominent, more expressions of sweetness, dryness. 

3rd Steep @ 170F for 3:00.  Aroma almost gone, and the flavors an afterimage, but still nicely refreshing.

This is an excellent, high quality, satisfying, white tea.  It is worth the attention to detail it demands.

See this review and tons others at Its All About the Leaf

Canton Tea Co Pouchong @ IAATL

This Taiwanese tea is actually an Oolong, not a green, though I can understand the purveyor classifying it as green.   Oolongs are fermented between 20%-80% of their total sugars.   The ones on the low end of the scale are very flowery in nose, very delicate in taste, and very light in leaf color. These oolongs are sometimes referred to as green oolongs, and tend to need to be steeped at lower temps (below 180F)  The ones on the high end – think Da Hong Pao (Red Robe) – tend to be more robust in taste, aroma, and darker in leaf, tend to be steeped in the 180-200F range.
The tea is a dark jade green leaf, twisted and furled, with a inviting perfume smell,  The leafs are  quite long, common with well processed Pouchong.
1st Steep: 1 TBLS tea (3g) in 6oz water @ 175F for 3 min in my oolong xing pot.  Yellow and bright in the cup, with a nice floral perfume nose.  Excellent sweet “oolong perfume” taste, and a dryness that is much like a green tea.  A touch of that savoriness in the aftertaste that lingers.
Wet leaf is well shaped, long and broad, with a good musky smell.
2nd Steep:  4 Min @ 180 F.  The aroma is much more balanced, with suggestions of Peonies, very pleasant.   The taste has mellowed to a very distinct flower presence, with hints of butteriness, that I associate with Taiwanese Oolongs.  The aroma and taste linger well after.  This steep is the best.
I got two more good steeps from this leaf,   This is a satisfying, refreshing, bright tea, of excellent quality.

See this review and tons of others at Its All About the Leaf.com

IAATL Review: Ten Ren Dragon Well

Whilst we deal with our big computer problems, here is a recent review of mine for the fine folks at Its All About the Leaf.com (which is a great review site - even with my content!)

Ten Ren Teas:  Special Dragon Well     

Down to do tech issues

Hi all, we are currently down because the big computer in my life lost a power supply last night - we hope to be back to writing in the next couple of days...until then drink more Better Tea!

Cold Brewing Tea

Since it seems to be warming here in Chicago, my mind turns to Iced-Teas. My favorite base teas for Iced are from the fine folks at Rishi who make excellent bagged teas specifically for Iced. Their "Pure" is awesome. The teas are steeped in the normal way, 16oz of appropriate temp water for 4-5 min, to form a strong tea, then add 16oz water. (I brew 28oz of water and top off to make a qt.) Add ice and sweetener and enjoy!

I also highly recommend trying "Cold Brewing"with loose tea. This method works very well with greens and oolongs, but just about anything would work. I use a quart mason jar with a lid. Measure 2-3 tablespoons tea into the bottom of the jar, fill jar with cool (room temp) freshly filtered water to top. Close with lid and shake well. Leave on counter overnight (at least 8 hours, but no more than 18 hours.) Shaking occasionally if you remember to. Strain into a quart bottle or another jar, being careful to remove as much of the leaf as possible. Stick in fridge to chill or serve immediately over ice. I find oolongs to be awesome this way, and very refreshing on a warm day. Japanese greens too.