Humming Tea

Tangerine Puerh- Interview with JustPuerh

JustPuerh is a Canadian based puerh company that opened its doors in 2020. I ordered a few of their puerhs (Link to my instagram review) and they were very kind to include a tangerine puerh as well. I had never tried one before and had very little knowledge of them. It wasn’t until early 2021 that I finally decided to try it… and wow! The combination of tangerine and puerh create a delightful infusion and I found myself immersed with every sip. After this, I contacted JustPuerh and asked if I could ask them a few questions about their tea- I can’t be the only one that had never tried this tea before, right?! Here is how it went:

First off, what was your motivation to start your puerh tea shop and where did you first try puerh?

The first time I tried puerh tea was from my friend, a devoted yogi, who was very obsessed with it, in a good way. He was carrying it around with him all day in a large thermos, and once it ran out, he’d put more boiling water into it and drink it again. I used to take yoga classes from him, and got used to drinking puerh with yoga. To this day, yoga and puerh tea go hand in hand for me. This is how I got turned on to puerh tea, and developed a strong affection for it.

Over the years I struggled getting consistently good quality puerh tea in my city (Toronto). Buying it from Chinatown stores, from mainstream suppliers, from Amazon and Etsy was a hit and miss at best. Many of my friends are also into puerh tea, and they struggled with getting a consistent supply of good quality puerh too, so during the first lockdown in March of 2020 I decided to solve this problem once and for all. The rest is history, as they say.

I know the tangerine puerh was one of the first teas you launched, what motivated you to launch with that one?

I was not aware of Tangerine puerh until we built a relationship with our current supplier, a small family-run tea factory in Yunnan that sources from local farmers and makes various kinds of puerh tea. They introduced us to Tangerine puerh, and I thought it was a very interesting concept. I’ve heard of Chrysanthemum puerh before, and this was similar, but very different in that the tea leaves were not mixed, but wrapped into a green tangerine shell. We decided to give it a try, and loved it.

Do you know how this puerh came to be?

Dried tangerine peel has been an ingredient in Chinese cooking (orange chicken), and an important ingredient in Chinese medicine, known to boost the immune system and prevent viruses and infections due to its high vitamin C content.

It also ages well, just like puerh tea does. So it makes for a natural combination with tangerine altering and complimenting the flavour of the tea.

And then there is a legend about a scholar during the Qing dynasty getting sick and being served hot water with tangerine peel, a traditional remedy. He used this tangerine infused water to brew his puerh tea, and loved the result, later making it into a thing.

Where is your puerh from?

Most of our tea comes from one supplier, the company called Hongfaxiang (弘发祥), which means affluence and auspiciousness. It is a family-owned business started in 1995 by 2 brothers from Anxi county, Fujian province, China.

How do you outsource it?

All the puerh tea is made in Menghai county, Yunnan province. Every spring one of the brothers stays in Menghai for a few months, working with local tea farmers on sourcing best materials for this year’s tea. He goes to Nanruo mountain, Laobanzhang village, Bakanan village, Yiwu mountain, and other locations in Yunnan province where the farms are based to find good raw materials for the tea. Then once those materials are harvested and processed, they’re pressed into puerh cakes and packed for distribution.

What is the process of making this puerh? Is there a specific time of the year when this is made?

Tangerine puerh makes use of the two raw ingredients: Tangerine from Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province; and ripe Puerh tea from Yunnan Province.

The process unfolds as follows: first the fruit is picked and washed. Next, the top part of the fruit is cut to create an opening through which the fruit meat is scooped out. The inside is washed and dried. Then it’s filled with puerh tea and dried further.

The fruit is harvested in July. This is the time when it’s still in the growing period, when the fruit flavour has already developed but not fully. The fruit is still green when it’s picked.

Do you know of any other fruits stuffed with puerh?

No. I think this is unique to tangerine.

What is your hope for this business in the future?

We want to provide a source of good quality, authentic puerh tea to people who appreciate it, and we also want to introduce this wonderful tea to others who have yet to discover it. We are currently investing into pumidors where we will continue ageing the tea in perfect conditions to develop it’s flavour year-over-year, so we have a good source of high quality, raw and ripe puerh tea of various age categories. We are also committed to supporting the community of puerh tea lovers with good information and ways of enjoying this great tea.

I hope y’all enjoyed this interview and you learned more about tangerine puerhs! If you haven’t tried it, go ahead and get yourself some!! 🙂

Rare White Petal Tea

I wasn’t planning on reviewing this tea on here but I have enjoyed it so much that it needs its own blog post! Meet Rare White Petal Tea from Rare Tea Co. I am excited to share my thoughts on this tea with you so let’s get into it!

Name: Rare White Petal tea

Origin: Yunnan, Spain, India

Ingredients: Yunnan silver needle, Spanish Almond blossom, Gujarati Rose Petals

Price: £10.99 for 30g

Rating: 5/5

The Tea Info

Rare Tea Co. is a British tea shop that focuses on making #teachange. Their aim is to: “source and supply the world’s best tea, directly from farmers and their tea gardens.” They also focus on redefining what ‘good tea’ is and stop exploitative tea industries.

From browsing their tea selection, I found very interesting/unusual tea offerings. I chose to get this blend because it sounded like it would taste elegant and gentle and spoiler alert, IT DID!

The blend came in a plastic pouch with 30g and the ingredients look absolutely lovely. The silver needles are a beautiful silver color and very fluffy.

Taste

I tried this tea two ways: (1) Gongfu style and (2) In a pot. Both ways tasted amazing but I think I will brew this tea in a pot from now on. More on that in a bit.

Gongfu Style

I used around 4-5g of tea in a 150ml gaiwan and did short infusions (20 secs to start.) I actually used pretty hot water (almost boiling) and the tea held up very well.

The color of this tea was a slight rosy color. The taste was very even throughout the infusions (Around 7 infusions give or take). The silver needle had a very elegant, gentle taste and at times, a yolk-y smell to it. The roses added to the aromatics of the tea and gave it a sweeter taste. Overall, I found this to be a very gentle, romantic brew- perfect for drinking and contemplating life.

Tea Pot

The second way I had this tea was Western style. I used this tea pot, which I rarely ever use but I think I will from now on because it was great for mindless drinking while I worked.

I put 2-3 teaspoons of tea and left it brewing for around 3 minutes. I got 3 infusions (but the last one was pushing it if I am being honest.)

The taste was a bit milder than when gongfu brewed but it was still strong enough to enjoy. For some reason, I noticed the rose flavor more when brewed this way (maybe the petals infuse better with a longer period of time?). Regardless, it was such a comforting tea to sip on. The reason why I think Western style is better is that I like to drink this tea and not focus on anything else. Gongfu brewing requires concentration and paying attention to the leaves and drinking this tea makes me want to do anything but that. This is a tea to serve to family and friends for sure!

Overall Thoughts

I am definitely impressed with this tea and I will for sure be getting myself more when this pouch runs out. If you are into white teas and like roses in your tea, check this one out! Let me know in the comments if you have tried this or anything else similar 🙂

Will It Cold brew- Lishan Oolong

Hi everyone, I thought I would do something fun today and maybe make it a series! The idea, as you can see by the title of this post is, Will It Cold brew? Basically, will this tea taste as good cold brewed? I personally find it very disappointing when you leave a tea cold brewing overnight, just to find it tastes meh in the morning. Well, so you don’t have to wonder anymore, let me show you which are the best teas for cold brewing!

The method I will use it simple: After drinking a few infusions gongfu style, I will take the leaves and throw them in a pitcher and let it brew overnight. I will try and use a 1 liter pitcher next time, but until I find it, I will use a glass mug to record my findings! I hope you enjoy this series and if you have any teas you want me to try, let me know! Today, I cold brewed a Wulong from the mountain Lishan in Taiwan. Here is the info and what I thought:

Tea: Wulong Lishan

Seller: Yang tea (Bought from SoyTe)

Tasting Notes (gongfu style): Buttery, jasmine, herbal and sweet.

Cold Brewed

I used a 450ml mug and left it in the fridge for 10 hours. The color came out stronger than I expected- a light to medium yellow. The taste changed quite a bit but it was still very nice! The buttery notes were mostly gone and replaced by a sweet vegetal taste that reminded me of a green tea. It reminded me of fresh vegetable like celery and cucumber. The aftertaste was the nicest, it left my mouth with a very distinctive jasmine note that lasted quite a bit.

Overall, it wasn’t bad at all! I definitely prefer this tea with hot water but it’s still a great way to extract some more flavor from it and it makes a tasty, refreshing drink during lunch time.

Final Rating: 8/10

Glady’s Golden Milk- Steep and Sip

Seller: Steep & Sip

Description:

Gladys Golden Milk was named after one of our co-founder’s grandmothers. It may assist in reducing inflammation, aid in digestion, improve mood and brain function, and boost immune system.

Ingredients: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Pepper, Turmeric

Price: $2.99/4 cups

Rating: 5/5

Overview

Steep & Sip is a tea company based off of Phoenix, Arizona. On their website, they state that they believe in reaping the health benefits of the natural herbs Earth has given us. They have a good selection of tea and tisanes, as well as a steep club and bundles.

Steep & Sip contacted me a while ago and asked me to choose a tea from their shop in exchange of a review. Glady’s Golden Milk immediately caught my eye, as I really enjoy turmeric and I do not see turmeric blends too often.

Packaging

The packaging comes in a small, black sealable bag. On the back, there is brewing information, as well as ingredients. In addition to this, we get another bag that includes several cloth stringback bags. I personally did not use them, as I always use infusers for my tea. However, I found it really awesome that they include them because I know many people who prefer tea bags rather than loose leaf tea for this. This is also the first time I see any tea companies send out these cloth bags.

The Tea

Glady’s Golden Milk is a blend of cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, pepper, and turmeric. I don’t know about you, but all of those ingredients sound like absolute heaven to me. I mainly chose this blend for the turmeric and boy, it did not disappoint.

Ingredients

As soon as you open the bag, you are hit with a very strong smell of turmeric and you can see it too. All the other ingredients are covered with powdered turmeric, making this a very colorful blend. I love the quality of the ingredients such as the cardamom- it is not broken up at all. All in all, the blend is very balanced in terms of the quantity of its ingredients.

Taste

As you probably have already guessed by the ingredients, this tastes A LOT like turmeric. All I can say is, if you are not a turmeric fan, stay AWAY. However, if you like it, you are sure to love this blend. Some of the other prominent tastes are the ginger and the clove. I was able to do two infusions out of one serving of tea without sacrificing taste.

Additionally, Steep & Sip recommends that we make a golden milk with this blend by mixing it with milk, coconut oil and sweetener. I had to try it this way and it was amazing! I am usually not a fan of making drinks from my blends but this was the exception for me. The turmeric is strong enough that it does not taste too diluted with the milk and I found it relaxing and amazing for my stomach.

Final Thoughts

I honestly have nothing bad to say about this blend and this company. I enjoyed the blend so much that I already ran out of the sample they sent me and ordered myself a larger bag of it. (This time I ordered another blend as well so be on the lookout for that review!) If you are looking for more turmeric blends, go check this one out. You may have noticed, I did not speak to the health benefits of the blend- I tend not to just because I can’t claim to have received health benefits from a drink. However, I have noticed that my stomach feels calm when I drink this and I have also had it lots of times right before bed and it helps me settle down. However, with or without the health benefits, this is an awesome blend and I whole heartedly recommend it. Thank you so much to Steep & Sip for sending this my way.

Also, if you have other turmeric blend suggestions, send them my way! 🙂

Tielka Review

Overview

Tielka is an Australia tea company that contacted me a few months ago. They sent me some of their tea in exchange of a review. I received three teas, which were a mixed of tisanes and pure teas, and came both in sachets and as loose leaf. Here they are:

Packaging

This tea comes in such fun boxes! It comes in a carton box and has polka dots all over the boxes. Inside the box, there is a brown paper bag, which you then open to find the tea (Both in loose leaf & sachets). The most exciting part for me was how informative the boxes were. They mention the ingredients list, origin of the tea (even for blends!), brewing information, and more. It’s a very original packaging and I appreciate the transparency.

The Tea

Tielka Breakfast

Tielka Breakfast is a Dianhong black tea. The harvest of this particular tea is from May to August and some of the tasting notes that Tielka identifies include cacao, raisins, caramel, spices and baked bread. I received a single sachet of this tea and I brewed it Western style as such.

Since this is not a loose leaf tea blend, I did not focus on the leaves as much and I will talk more about its taste and feel! From what I could see however, the leaves were small and cut but expanded to fill the sachet.

The tea soup brewed up a very strong red with tea particles, it was such a rich, beautiful color. The smell reminded me slightly of toast, which I was happy about as this is their breakfast tea.

I brewed this tea for 3 minutes, using boiling water and 200ml of water. The taste starts off flat and it is not until a few sips in when the flavor begins to shine. The most prominent taste was the raisins and toast, and had that cacao note, which I find common in Dianhong tea.

Overall, a really nice, daily drinker Dianhong! It was also the first time I have ever seen a Dianhong in a tea sachet, which I thought was cool.

Rose Moscato

The next tea I received also came in tea sachets and I received a box with 12 pyramid bags. This was a blend of Wulu green tea, schisandra berries, hibiscus, and rose petals. I have tried this tea a few times already and I of course brew it Western Style.

The berries and the hibiscus shine through from the very beginning as the tea soup almost immediately becomes a red/purple color. The smell also radiates hibiscus.

The tea tastes very strongly of hibiscus and it overpowers the brew. If you are into hibiscus and berries, you will love this blend. Personally, I tend to stay clear of hibiscus, but there are exceptions (as you will see soon enough hehe). I am also not a big fan of green tea and so this was overall just not my cup of tea…pun intended. I tried getting a second brew out of each sachet but I find that most of the flavor comes out on the first brew.

Limonada Rosa

The last tea that Tielka kindly sent me was by far my favorite…and my family’s favorite as well! Limonada Rosa is an herbal blend made out of lemongrass, hibiscus, and rose petals. This came as loose leaf tea.

The most prominent ingredient in this tisane is the lemongrass, followed by rose petals and hibiscus. The liquor is light with a pinkish hue due to the hibiscus. It is VERY aromatic as soon as you start the brew. It smells strongly of lime, very fitting for its name!

As soon as you taste the tea you are hit with rose petals and lemongrass, with a slight hibiscus note towards the end. Like I mentioned before, I am not a fan of hibiscus except for this tea. The hibiscus is so subtle that I find it enjoyable combined with the other ingredients. It is a very pleasant and relaxing tisane and I think it would work great cold brewed! I was able to reinfuse the tea once more and extracted enough of its taste without hurting the quality.

Overall Thoughts

Tielka has a wide range of selections when it comes to tea, tisanes, and its presentation (sachet or loose leaf). I was impressed by the transparency of their tea and I loved the boxes. I found the names of their teas/tisanes to be very fitting, as they capture well the essence of the tea. I loved the Tielka Breakfast and it was great as a breakfast tea. As for Limonada Rosa, it is quickly becoming a staple tea around my household! It’s so good that I even enjoy the hibiscus in it!! Rose Moscato was my least favorite but that’s understandable looking at the ingredients in it. Overall, I loved the selection that Tielka sent my way, thank you so so much! If you are interested in their teas, go check them out.

6 Reasons Why You Should Join a Tea Club in 2021

Are you already subscribed to a tea club? If not, I think you should really consider joining one this year. Honestly, I find so many reasons as to why I love being a part of tea clubs, but I will just limit my reasons to the ones below. Also, if you are looking for tea clubs to join, I will add a small section with some that I am part of or that I have heard of. Alright, Let’s get into it!!

1. Get out of your tea comfort zone

I don’t know about you, but I personally have my favorite types of tea (oolong, white, puerh- yes, in that order). While this is great, it limits my enthusiasm to learn about other kinds of tea. When I am looking to buy tea online, my eyes immediately go to the oolong section most often than not, completely ignoring the Black and Green tea sections. By joining a tea club, it forces you try things out of the ordinary.

2. Learn from tea

Depending on the type of tea club you are in, some tea sellers will include informational facts about the tea. This way not only have you amplified your tea selection, you have also expanded your tea knowledge. For example, I am part of the SoyTe tea club, where we have monthly classes learning about tea. Unfortunately, this is only offered in Spanish.

3. Discounts/ Exclusive Teas

Incentives for tea companies to offer tea clubs include access to exclusive teas, first access, promotions, free shipping and much more. White2Tea offers a great selection of tea sourced directly from China every month with free shipping worldwide!

4. Foster Tea Community

Being part of a tea club creates a niche of people and you can learn and talk about the teas you are both trying. For instance, I am part of the White2tea monthly tea club and every month I zoom a friend to try some of those tea togethers. This is a great way to get more involved within the tea community and share tasting notes.

5. Excitement every time you receive your #teamail

Honestly, this one is a big one for me! There is nothing more exciting than knowing you will receive new tea every month! Extra points when you don’t know what you are getting- it’s like Christmas every month of the year.

6. You are helping a small business out

Finally, many of the tea businesses that offer tea clubs are small businesses that have a fixed income coming in every month from these tea clubs. It’s also a great way for them to share with you their favorite teas.

There you go! Those are my top reasons as to why I think you should join a tea club in 2021! Now I want to hear from you- are you in a tea club? If so, what are YOUR reasons to be in one? That is it for me- I will leave you all a small list of tea clubs that I am aware of and that you should check out 🙂

Tea Clubs List (Not extensive by any means!)

White2Tea (I am part of this one- highly recommend it)
SoyTe (Also a part of this one- 2 lessons a month: Spanish)
Mountain Stream Teas
Old Ways Tea Club
Tea Drunk
Yunnan Sourcing
Tielka Subscription
El Club del te- Argentina

Hot Lavender- Ruby Lion Blends

Seller: Ruby Lion Blends

Description:

In an instant, a red-hot avalanche spilled from a cleft in the mountainside, pouring down toward the sea, where the captain stood, watching from his motionless ship. As the cloud of fire sped towards him, death merely moments away, he calmly drank his tea and snapped the perfect shot with his camera, capturing all the majesty of the volcano in monochrome.

Our blend of spicy chili, lavender and black tea is inspired by this intrepid Victorian photographer, who never let anything stand in his way.

Price: $15 per 50g

Origin: Banten, Indonesia

Rating: 4.5/5

The Tea Info

Hot Lavender is a blend of black tea, lavender, cloves, and chili peppers. The tea comes in a beautiful black tin, which I appreciate for its beauty and for its reusability. I also appreciate that the tin contains information on steeping guidelines and a quick summary of the tea.

Their website offers even more information on this tea such as where the tea came from. Here it is:

Whenever possible, we’d like to show our appreciation to the farmers who grow, pick, and process the Tea for our blends. For Hot Lavender, we’d especially like to thank the following grower, and showcase some basic information about where the Tea comes from:

Grower: PT Harendong Green Farms
Teamaker: Dr. Alexander Halim
Location: Banten, Indonesia
Elevation: 900m (2,900ft)

The Tea

When I received this tea in the mail, I had no idea what to expect. In my mind, I couldn’t work around how the chili would blend with the lavender, as I associate lavender with relaxation and meditation. I was most interested to see how the chili flakes would add to the tea. Here is what I found:

Dry Leaves

Large black leaves and full pieces of cloves with substantial amount of chili peppers (I see both the skin and the seeds!) The lavender is not as prominent as the other ingredients- I was not able to spot it out in the tin. There was a fair bit of tea dust clinging onto the sides of the tin. I tried it but I still couldn’t figure out if it was from the chili peppers or the black tea.

The smell of the dry leaves is quite strong but not overpowering. I like this because the tea doesn’t feel artificial! I get a strong sense of chili peppers, cloves, and some slight spiciness.

Brewing Method

I am brewing this up Western style, using a teaspoon of tea for my 8oz cup, boiling water and steeping for around 2 to 3 minutes.

Tasting the Tea

The liquor of the tea is dark red/orange and verging into burgundy. The smell of the tea is very strong and reminds me of making enchiladas with my mom. (You use peppers as well and boil them until soft when making enchiladas!) I actually told her to smell the tea and she agreed it smells just like that!

I will say this, you can definitely taste the spice in your tea. However, you can also taste the cloves and towards the end you get a hit of lavender. It is a very interesting tea to say the least, but it’s awesome to see how all the ingredients work together.

I have tried this tea several times already since receiving it for review and every time the experience is a bit different depending on how much chili you grab. The first time I tried this tea, the chili was very subtle. The last time I tried the tea, I scooped up two big pieces of chili and some seeds and I definitely felt the burn.

As I already mentioned, all the ingredients work well together in this blend, and I find it quite balanced actually! The tea is smooth and the black tea is on the softer side- not bitter or astringent in my opinion. My stomach is very sensitive and black tea is usually hard on my stomach but this tea is soft enough that I haven’t experienced any issues.

Body Feel

Another thing I enjoyed about this tea was how awakening the chili was! I would definitely recommend this tea to get some energy in the morning or a picker up in the afternoons. Beware of the chili though, or you will feel the burn down your throat and up your nose!

Overall Thoughts

Hot Lavender is a super fun and spicy tea to try! The tea is balanced and has a really cool and unique taste to it. Its most noticeable features are the chili peppers and cloves. The quality of the ingredients is great and it’s honestly really fun to drink! Thank you so much to Ruby Lion for sending this tea my way!

California Tea House-Review

California Tea House kindly sent me a gift card with a value of $25 to experience and review some of their teas. After much deliberation, these are the teas that I chose and what my thoughts are on them.

Teas

Vanilla Creme Earl Grey

I chose to get Vanilla Creme Earl Grey because I had only ever had one other Earl Grey. I was interested to see how the vanilla beans contributed to the tea. This blend has: Ceylon and Nilgiri teas, bergamot oil, vanilla beans, and cornflower petals.

The taste was very sweet and it has a strong bergamot taste. The consistency is very thick and oily and the aftertaste is strong due to the bergamot. It is very scented but if you enjoy scented teas, you will enjoy this Earl Grey!

I also tried this tea mixed with hot chocolate- it tasted amazing because of the strenght of the bergamot.