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Some teas I've met and enjoyed.
Pu'erh & Black
Getting into pu'erh tea. I haven't had many varieties, and tend to brew and drink most black teas like coffee so I usually buy the cheaper stuff. With high quality tea I will brew and drink it more traditionally.
⁘ Ancient Big White: raw pu'erh ↗
- Harvest: Spring 2022 in Junggu, Yunnan
- Brew: Boiling water @ 10-60 seconds, up to 10 infusions
- Notes: First few infusions were light and astringent, not that impressed personally. Things got much more interesting at infusion #5 at a 60+ second brew time when deeper, creamier citrus notes started coming through.
Hojicha
Love, love, love hojicha. I always drink with a little cream or soy milk and liquid stevia.
- Harvest: Uji, Kyoto
- Brew: Temp agnostic
- Notes: Not that I've had much hojicha, but this is hands-down my favorite. Full-bodied nutty, earthy, malty, with chocolate and caramel notes.
- Harvest: Kagoshima, Japan
- Brew: Temp agnostic
- Notes: Great budget hojicha. Nutty, malty, earthy. Reminds me of barley coffee.
Matcha & Green
Generally enjoy matchas best in latte form, though I'd love to learn the art of the tea ceremony someday too.
⁘ Aiya Organic Culinary Grade Matcha ↗
- Harvest: Nishio, Japan
- Brew: Temp agnotic
- Notes: Fresh and grassy. Good color. Strong enough to hold up with cream or soy milk and liquid stevia.
⁘ Organic Traditions Matcha Latte ↗
- Harvest: ???
- Brew: Temp agnostic
- Notes: Not great. There's enough coconut milk powder and coconut sugar to disrupt the matcha flavor and get your cup dirty, but not enough to actually make the drink creamier or sweeter. Thankfully I got to try it for free.
Floral & Herbal
⁘ Two Hills Earl Gray Blue Matcha ↗
- Harvest: Thailand (pea flower), Italy (bergamot)
- Brew: Temp agnostic
- Notes: Pleasant in a latte. Finding the right amount is kind of tricky, because too little and you don't taste it and too much is like a mouthful of bergamot oil.
- Harvest: Guatemala
- Brew: Boiling or near-boiling water
- Notes: Very, very chocolatey! Made from cacao shells so there's no fatty residue, just chocolate flavor. Tastes great on its own or with cream and stevia.