I always jump at the chance to learn more about tea. And Ohio Tea does a great job with their classes. I have been to a Chai class, a Gawain Class, and a tea tasting tea class there. I always pick up nuggets of information at these events.
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This time was an education tea sampling class!!
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Not much gets me up before 8 on a Saturday excepts things like geocaching with my nephews...or tea!!!
We started out with the lightest tea and worked our way up the caffeine tree...and actually down the tea plant.
White tea, leaves plucked from the very top of the tree.
Pai Mu Tan is on the bolder side when it comes to white teas, with a fresh, herby, and sweet aroma and flavor notes of fruit or jam. This tea is harvested in the early spring and is known for its hand-harvesting ratio of two leaves to one unopened bud.
This tea is from China. It is a light tasting tea and known for it's calming properties.
I am in my glory.
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We then move to a green tea.
We looked at two green teas- one from Japan and one from China. We went with the Sencha from Japan when it came to taste testing.
Kurt first made it and over heated the water...you can see the tea sedimate in the water. The second cup was made correctly.
The tastes were night and day different. The one where the hot was too hot was just awful. It was bitter and so astringent. The after taste in my mouth was awful!!! Just shows how important water temp is when brewing tea.
Japanese green teas are steamed to dry.
Chinese green teas are pan fried to dry.
Xi Hu Long Jing is the green tea from China that we just looked at and compared with the Sencha. Sencha is what we actually drank.
Our organic Japanese Sencha is produced from a combination of first and second harvest leaves. This classic Japanese tea constitutes over 80% of tea consumption in Japan and is generally considered the best green tea in the world. The biggest factors that determine the flavor and appearance of different types of sencha are the harvest and steaming time, our Sencha is characterized by a grassy aroma and a mildly sweet vegetal flavor that is slightly savory with a clean mineral finish.
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There are so many kinds of oolong... oolong falls between the green and the black tea in the caffeine meter.
Grown at an altitude of 1,100 meters in central Taiwan, Strong Fire is a highly roasted oolong made from the Tie Guan Yin tea plant cultivar. In the process of making Strong Fire, only the most mature, hardy leaves are plucked. A deep roast is given to complete the processing yielding a full-bodied texture, toasty aroma, and a bittersweet chocolate flavor.
We did the Strong Fire Oolong. I have to say this one was strong. Stronger than I may prefer, the roasted flavors did remind me almost of coffee. As you can see Kurt is showing us the three leaves after the tea is steeped...showing this is a quality tea.
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We tried Gyokuro Green Tea. Kurt served from the Japanese tea pot, Kyusu. The handle is on the side so that when you are pouring, you can pour from the side, so you never turn your back to the guests.
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Then we moved to the black teas.
We first tried the Irish Breakfast and it was too bold for me. I was not really a fan.
Our Orange Pekoe grade Irish Breakfast is made from a classic blend of Indian and Chinese teas that produces a wonderfully brisk blend. Many fans of English Breakfast transition to Irish Breakfast due to its bolder nature and increased amount of tannins.
Then we did the Yunnan Gold and I like that one much better.
Yunnan Gold (also known as Dian Hong) is a high end gourmet black tea that is especially wonderful. It has notes of milk chocolate and pepper, as well as a natural apricot-toned sweetness despite being unflavored. This tea has a smooth, silky mouthfeel and brews to a bright red liquid.
The most substantial difference between this tea and other Chinese black teas is the amount of fine leaf buds, or "golden tips," present in the dried tea.
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We looked at Pue'rh tea and ended up trying a tea cake. (Pue'rh is the region- they are also called Dark teas and then can be from anywhere)
We talked about how with most tea aging is not a good thing, but with the dark teas or Pue'rh teas, aging makes it better.
Kurt put the tea cake in the Gaiwan and added some water to it to wake it up and get it to bloom. Then he poured the water off. We tried, Sticky Rice Pu'erh.
I have to say I tried Sticky Rice before and I thought it was awful and very salty. But, when Kurt made it, I thought it was great. I am wondering if I rinsed it first???
Kurt poured a cup for each of us individually. He used the Gaiwan to pour from.
Sticky Rice Pu-erh is stored with an herb (Nuo Mi Xiang) for several months so that it soaks up the aroma and flavor of sticky rice. The ending result is like nothing you have ever tasted in tea before, smooth, earthy, and of course sticky rice.
We lastly tried the tea with the highest caffeine level- a green with more caffeine than a black tea. I did not even know this was possible.
Often regarded as the finest tea in Japan, Gyokuro has a characteristic umami flavor that is freckled with sweet undertones. The leaves of the tea plant that produced Gyokuro are shaded at least three weeks prior to harvest, in the same way that matcha is developed. However, the post-harvest processing is more similar to sencha resulting in a tea with a deep green color, translucent emerald-like liquor, rich flavor, and higher caffeine level than most green teas.
The gal you see behind the counter is the artist of one of these paintings. So much talent!!
Psalm 96:3
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!
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