Queen of Teas

I went to lunch with a former colleague a while ago and he sent me a couple of his favourite teas he picked up in Singapore.

The tea was from TWG Teas.  Established in 1837, TWG has stores in Singapore, Japan, UK and USA.

I received a green and a black tea from my friend and decided I would sample the green tea first.

Called Jasmine Queen Tea, it arrived in a small yellow foil bag bearing the elegant TWG Tea logo.  The tea bag itself is beautiful - delicately woven from cotton like a fine piece of lingere.  An overlocked string leads to a little yellow tag bearing brewing instructions.

The bag smells like fresh hay.  The jasmine is a delicate note in the background.  I am almost loathe to put it in the water instead preferring to inhale the smell of the fresh leaves.

Once brewed, the jasmine comes to the fore.  Sweetly and earthily scented like the fresh flower, it was divine.  I got so caught up in the fragrance, I lost track of time.  I quickly rescued the the cotton pillow from the water before it could overbrew.

It was the colour of a second flush green tea.  Straw yellow and clear.  The taste was smooth with very little bitterness.  It had the classic grassy aftertaste and post-drink astringency; that fussy mouth-feel.  On further tasting, the flavours of passionfruit and guava become evident.

It was extra exciting to imagine the trip the tea had taken to arrive in my cup.

Well, all good things must come to an end, so back to work for me.  Mmm...next time I'm going to try the Earl Grey!

Madame Flavour does Pear

Green tea now comes in so many flavours it can be a minefield to work out what you like.

One I tried some time ago now is the Green, Jasmine and Pear from that divine teahouse, Madame Flavour.

I first got into Madame Flavour teas about a year ago.  I was wandering along George Street near Martin Place in Sydney when I had thrust into my hands by some marketing people three tiny boxes.  Each contained a beautifully presented cornsilk teabag with each of English Breakfast, Sultry Chai and Green,  Jasmine and Pear.  I headed back to work and immediately tried out the tea.  It was lovely!  The taste aided by the beautiful presentation: each in a tiny cardboard box with a silver lining and containing a little note explaining how to enjoy the tea.  It was so beautiful, I immediately hunted down Madame Flavour online (http://www.madameflavour.com.au/) and ordered a box of the English Breakfast.  A few days later it arrived with a handwritten note from Madame Flavour herself thanking me for my kind words and including a huge box of all different types of individually boxed teas!!!

The combination of the quality of the tea, the presentation and the generousity of the owner mean that I simply cannot say how much a love Madame Flavour!

Anyway, she does a mean Green, Jasmine and Pear.

It smells fruity and very strongly of jasmine.

The taste is of a traditional jasmine green tea however it has a mellow sweetness which introduces the pear.  It is more an aftertaste than the main fanfare but I rather like it.

It is a strong tea so those that find green teas a little too strong or astringent would probably prefer a lighter green tea flavour.

I, for one, am a fan.  So Green, Jasmine and Pear has been featuring as the green of choice in my tea box for the last twelve months and it has been very well received by my tea guests.

I would highly recommend checking out Madame Flavour's website.  Even if you don't particularly care for tea, you will still enjoy the beautiful graphics and words.  For the standard tea lover, I highly recommend the English Breakfast.  For the herbal tea lover, I recommend the White Tea with Rose (I know it is still a real tea but it is so light and sweet that you would never know).  She has also recently introduced some real tisanes to the mix.  I have not yet tried them but I be sure to report once I have!

Floral Magic

I had seen those balls of woven tea leaves many times but never tried one.  Today I did.

It was a Jasmine Peach Buddha Ball from The Tea Centre.  The shop assistant had regaled me with tales of the ball opening to a beautiful flower in the heat of the water and I was quite excited.

I filled my glass teapot with hot filtered water and let it cool a little.  The ball was made of green tea leaves with a pink section on the top.  As green teas should be brewed using water about 70 degress celcius, I let the pot sit for a little to cool.

I then popped in my ball and sat back to watch the show.  First the little pink section perked up and became spiky.  It became clear that this was in fact a little pick flower blooming atop the ball, brought to life by the water.  Gorgeous!

Then the ball began to expand and each little tea leaf swelled and detach from the underside of the ball.  The tiny hairs on each tea leaf looked very soft and downy under the water.  So it looked rather like a tarantula with a pink floral hair piece than a giant tea flower but it was rather beautiful anyway and quite fun to watch unfurl.

The tea itself became slightly peach-coloured.  It smelled very soft and delicate.  The flavour had only the most subtle hint of peach.  If you didn't know it was supposed to taste of peach this may have been lost altogether.  Otherwise it was a lovely, very smooth, green tea.  More subtle than a straight green tea with a delicate and refined taste.

While I can't say it tasted more amazing than a beautiful green tea with a hint of peach, the ritual of brewing it and the visual beauty of the flower and the tea leaves coming to life made the overall experience very enjoyable and more than just the usual cuppa.

The Joy of Jasmine

Chatting to the barista at my in-house cafe, I discovered they actually stock a reasonable amount of T2 teas.  Rather than having my usual light soy chai latte, I decided that in honour of spring, I would try out something more fitting to the season.

Enter China Jasmine.

I love jasmine.  There is a large jasmine hedge near my apartment and every day when I walk past on my way to work, the sweet and subtle smell of the tiny white jasmine flowers follows me along the block.  It is delightful!

China Jasmine captures this experience, with the same beautiful smell eminating from my cup.  I have it without milk or sugar.  It tastes sweet and rich with a little kick in the aftertaste.  It reminds me of walking through the Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour.  It's being in the middle of a bustling city, but at peace.

Excellent tea for escaping the day for a few moments.  As I come to the end of the cup, the taste lingers for a little and then is gone.

Back to work...