Tea Review: Bailin Gongfu Black Tea

Black Tea

Name: Bailin Gongfu

Type:  Black

Region:  Fuding, Fujian, China

Bought At:  Teavivre.com

Price:  $8.90 for 3.5oz

First Impressions:  Awesome little one-use bag!

Review:

This is the first tea I have reviewed from Teavivre, and I was impressed. This black tea has a deep richness and gentle sweetness that I immediately loved. It’s a very dark black tea with a roasted nutty finish and if brewed correctly is one of the best “plain” black teas I have had. The smell when brewed is strong and delicious. Be careful to brew it as directed, below boiling.  If brewed incorrectly (too hot) it will pick up a little bitterness. Nothing horrible, but it’s a shame to waste it. Another thing I loved is that the tea came in little individual baggies.  I don’t know if this is just because it was a sample, but it was a fun little surprise that made me feel like I was in China, if just for a little bit.

My Rating:
4  / 5

–brent

*Disclosure (And Thanks!): This was part of a free sampler I got from teavivre

A New Year, A New Start

Misc.

Seeing as this is my first post since August, you can probably guess that I missed the mark with my teageek.org resolution to blog about new teas and answering tea questions. Looking back,  I missed most of my 2011 intentions for this site by a pretty wide margin. Despite that, I think 2011 was a pretty good year for me, tea-wise.

I got to visit the Samovar Tea Lounge on a trip to San Francisco, and it was really awesome. Anyone in the San Francisco area should check it out. I love their tea and was totally geeked to get to visit them. I also started a new job, and while there were already some pretty solid tea drinkers here, I think I helped raise it’s popularity in the office a little.  Actually, judging by my co-workers yelling at me about their “tea bills” I would say it went a little too well.

One of the reasons I haven’t been posting is that it has become too much of a chore. Feeling guilty when I don’t feel like writing a post has made me never really want to post, which is ironically the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish with teageek.org. This year I am going to approach things a little differently. Rather then rapid fire reviews that I don’t really care about, I’m going to not set any goals, and just see where it goes. I want tea to be about taking a moment and enjoying life, not rushing frantically through it. I have plenty of goals and challenges planned for 2012, I don’t need to make enjoying tea one of them.

So, sit back, brew some tea, and enjoy!

-brent

Tea Review: Hazelnut

Black Tea

Name: Hazelnut

Type: Black

Region: Sri Lanka

Bought At: Adagio

Price: $2 for a ten cup sample

First Impressions: Sweet, Nutty Smell.  Reminds me of flavored coffee.

Review:

Finally, something that tastes as good as coffee smells! I like this tea in no small part because it reminds me of the flavored coffee  that always smells so delicious, but tastes so bad. A darker black tea, it tastes very warm and nutty. It has an amazingly smooth finish for a black tea, and has just a hint of sweetness that leaves you crazing more.  I like this extra strong, a really nice way to put a hop in your step on and a smile on your face, especially on a cold winter morning.

My Rating: 4 / 5