CNNP Orange Mark Puerh from Teacuppa

Scent in package: Amazingly wonderful, woody, smokey, fresh, with a hint of fall leaves.
Brewed in: my little green gaiwan
Steeped: 5s rinse, 10s, 15s, 10s, 12s, 15s, 20s, 20s @ temps very close to boiling.
Cup: 1oz. porcelain tasting cup

I was so impressed with the scent of the dry leaves, still somewhat compressed from their time in a cake, that I thought surely this had to be a wonderful-tasting tea. It was a small sample sent by Teacuppa in my last order, and I’ll admit, I didn’t use as much as I probably should have, because I wanted two sessions with it. So I used my smallest gaiwan, and only half my sample. In hindsight, that might have been a bad idea.

The first infusion smelled wonderful – sweet and smoky like a Lapsang (which I love). It had a lovely light wood fragrance, and the brew was beautiful, golden and clear. The taste was thin though, and very sharp, with a slight bitterness – clearly at “war” with the sweeter fragrance. It kind of irritated me, actually, that the tea didn’t taste nearly as good as it smelled.

The second infusion was too long – my mistake. It was much more bitter, not even a hint of sweetness, and very sharp on the tongue. Two of the things bothering me the most at this point was the lack of texture – the tea was very thin for a puerh – and the lack of complexity…the tea was somewhat “flat”, for lack of a better word. This is when I started regretting my decision to only use half the sample. Maybe more leaf would have brought out the flavors better?

The 3rd – 5th infusions were much the same…and reminded me of the taste one might expect from chewing on charcoal. It wasn’t bitter, just very sharp, and the smokiness wasn’t pleasant as it should have been, but instead was just irritating, and all I could really taste.

The 6th infusion was lighter, more drying, but the charcoal taste eased up, and it left my mouth sort of “tingly” afterwards. The 7th was much the same, though a little sweeter, but still with that persistent charcoal “bite” on the tip of the tongue.

All in all, it wasn’t terribly bad…nor was it good. It was boring, to be honest…no flavors aside from the smoke and charcoal, and I missed the woody/earthy tones present in the puerhs I really like. And on top of the mediocre-ness (I know, not a word, but it is today), I kept burning my fingers on the gaiwan (something I don’t often do). Perhaps it just wasn’t a good day for that particular tea.

In any case, I have no idea if this tea would age well or not (there was no date on the sample package, but I’m assuming it’s the 2004 cake they have listed on their web site). I’ll admit to being tempted to order a cake and see if it improves, simply because they claim the recipe was created in 1975 (my birth year), but at $38 for the cake, I think I’ll probably pass. I am curious as to whether the charcoal taste would mellow over the years, and give way to more complex flavors, but not curious enough to spend that kind of money to see, especially given my less-than-perfect environment for aging tea.

In any case, I found it boring and bite-y, and if I were considering buying it to drink now, I wouldn’t. But it truly does smell absolutely wonderful…

Tie Guan Yin from Teaspring

Scent in package: light, floral, very relaxing and soothing vanilla-orchid type fragrance.
Brewed in: Tea for one/metal infuser
Steeped: 1 min.@just under boiling x2
Cup: Café mug

The dried leaves of this tea are gorgeous – vibrant green and tightly curled. Just looking at them, and smelling that lovely light floral fragrance was very soothing for a Monday-morning break. The second the hot water hit the leaves, they gave off this amazing floral fragrance that lasted through the short brewing time. It’s very enjoyable just brewing this tea, even at work.

The first infusion had a very buttery scent wafting up out of the cup, and I looked forward to the first sip. The flavor was very light though, odd, since the tea was a dark yellow, and I was hoping the taste would match. It did have that distinctive “woody vegetable” taste however (asparagus, etc), and what flavor there was, was very enjoyable. It was just too light, even steeped with very hot water.

The second infusion was nice as well, but still a bit light for my taste. This is only the second Tie Guan Yin (Ti Kuan Yin, etc) I’ve tried, but the last one seemed more flavorful while remaining delicate. Perhaps it was my brewing method, since I used a gaiwan for that one, with more of a gong fu brewing, rather than the more “british” method of brewing I used for this one.

In any case, it’s not harsh at all, quite mellow, and it is enjoyable, but I would have liked a bit more “richness” to the tea personally. The scent is my favorite part – it has all the richness and complexity that I’d like to taste, but unfortunately, it doesn’t carry through.

I’ll probably pass on this one next time, but will try others in the same vein from different places to compare.

Rou Gui Oolong Showdown

One main goal motivated me to do this particular showdown – I wanted to find out if Rou Gui actually did taste like cinnamon or not! I’d read descriptions of it, and tasted some teas individually, but never really grasped why anyone would compare it to cinnamon, so I thought perhaps if I tasted several varieties, maybe they would yield more info than previously. I also decided to brew them gong fu style, using gaiwans and filtered water. I ended up having to use a smallish fair pitcher for my third gaiwan, since I only have two, and had tea from three vendors.

The three rou gui’s I have are from Teacuppa, Stash, and Teaspring. I don’t know what year the Teacuppa variety is, as it was a sample included with an order, and they didn’t mark the year on the package. For that matter, none of my rou gui packs had years marked on them, so we’re in the dark there. I used filtered tap water to brew with, at around 180 degrees. I tried to use approximately the same ratio of leaf to cup for each type…around ¼ the gaiwan of leaf. Unfortunately, it was dark in my kitchen, so the pictures are less than spectacular, but you can sort of get the idea. In all pictures, Teacuppa is on the right, Stash is in the middle, and Teaspring is on the left (as you’re looking at them). I did rinse each of the teas with a 5 second rinse that was discarded.

So, right from the start, these three versions of Rou Gui all had a unique scent. The Teacuppa scent was sweet and woodsy, with almost a floral tone lurking in the background. The Stash was also sweet, but bolder, and with a more grassy fragrance. And the Teaspring was nothing other than a deep, chocolaty scent, a surprise since not one of them smelled like cinnamon, and all were very sweet and different.

The first infusion was 30s for all three. And they couldn’t have tasted more different! The Teacuppa was sharp, and very cinnamon-y, like straight ground cinnamon without the benefit of sugar to tone it down. It was a thin brew, and bitter, but not drying. The Stash was very bold, more of a roasted flavor, rather than cinnamon (I actually didn’t detect any cinnamon flavor in this one). It was bitter as well, without being astringent, and thin on the tongue. It was more complex than the Teacuppa brew. The Teaspring had more of the roasted flavor too, but was also very smoky, like charcoal more than liquid smoke (ie, not like a lapsong). There was no bitterness, it was slightly sweet, and another thin brew. Very interesting and complex.
The second infusion was 40s. The Teacuppa was lighter, smoky sweet and more woody, still with the cinnamon “bite”, but very drying in the mouth. The Stash was slightly smokey, carrying a very bold flavor with the distinctive cinnamon “bite” on the tip of the tongue. It was less bitter than the first cup, with a hint of astringency. The Teaspring was very roasty & smoky, but less flavorful with no bite, bitterness, or much of anything else.

The third infusion was for 50s. The Teacuppa was sweeter, less astringent, and had a good cinnamon flavor with less of a “bite”, and more texture to the brew. The Stash however was thin, very drying, and less flavorful, with only a slight cinnamon taste. The Teaspring was thicker and smoky, but with much less flavor, and very drying (though still not bitter).

It seemed like all three teas were wearing out around the 3rd infusion, even though the color was still quite good for all of them. I brewed one more infusion for a full minute, that resulted in very weak, thin brews not really worth commenting on. I think had I heated more water, and brewed hotter/longer, I may have been able to squeeze them a bit more.
The leaves were interesting as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t get good pictures of them at all – too dark. Surprisingly, the leaves from Teacuppa were the smallest…something I would have expected more from Stash. The leaves from Teaspring were the largest and prettiest when unfurled, though all were a lovely mixture of very dark brown and olive green.

I’m hard-pressed to decide which of these I like best, simply because they are all so different. This tasting did leave me with an incredibly dry mouth…not something I particularly enjoy, and warmed me up quite nicely. The teaspring version really had no cinnamon flavor to speak of, which is supposedly traditional in Rou Gui. I think for the perfect mix, I’d have to blend the Stash and Teacuppa versions together – for a smoky-sweet roasted cinnamon brew.

Even so, not my favorite kind of oolong, largely due to the very drying aspects of the tea (it really reminded me of trying ground cinnamon straight…very sharp and astringent). Perhaps I’d like it better if I brewed a teaspoon of leaves for 3 min. or so, English style. I may have to try that sometime.

So no clear “winner” for me, but I don’t think the Teaspring version does justice to the common description of “cinnamon flavor”.

Wuyi Oolong Rock Tea from Zarafina

Scent in package: honey/fruity
Brewed in: tea for one pot w/metal infuser
Steeped: 3 min.@ just under boiling
Cup: Café mug

When Zarafina sent me the tea maker suite to review, two samples of this tea were included. I gave one to my mom with the machine, and kept one to try myself. I finally got around to it this week.

The dry tea leaves are very nice, nicer than I expected, actually. Long, twisty and dark, they are just what I’d expect from a good quality oolong. I wished I’d done the tasting at home with my camera handy.

There wasn’t much scent as the tea brewed, but the leaves were gorgeous unfurled as well – very dark mixed with bright green colors as I’d expect of a good oolong. The fruity scent was intensified in both the leaves and tea. The brew was a dark golden color – darker than I expected, and it was with trepidation that I raised the cup to take my first sip.

The liquor is unremarkable in texture – not thick like many oolongs, but more of a “typical tea” viscosity. It is a naturally sweet brew, and while there is a hint of fruitiness, it’s not overpowering by any means, nor is the honey aftertaste. I suppose there’s a bit of smokiness in the background, and a little more astringency than I would like, but overall, nothing else that really jumps out at me.

All in all, an “average” tea, in my opinion. Not really great, not bad, but there’s really no complexity there, at least not in the first cup (I haven’t done a second infusion). And certainly not worth the $19.99 price tag they have on it for a mere 2oz.

Tenbu Sencha from T Ching

Scent in package: light for a green tea…a hint of sweet grass, but nothing notable
Brewed in: cup w/ice, Tokoname style pot w/metal infuser
Steeped: a couple hours w/ice, 3 min. in pot
Cup(s): glass drinking glass, china teacup

Yeah, I sort of “mixed media” last night brewing in a Japanese style teapot, then drinking in an English teacup. But hey, just think of it as “fusion tea brewing”, without the whole mess of fusion tea.

The first time I tried this was a style of cold brewing I’d read about in the “In Pursuit of Tea” newsletter. They said to try steeping it by simply letting ice melt over it. I think this would have worked fine had I not used too much tea, but I’m not positive. The resulting brew was very astringent and bitter, and very sweet at the same time. An odd contradiction of flavors in one glass. I was too impatient to wait for the ice to melt completely, so I added ice water to finish the brew, but even diluting it didn’t really help. I think if I decide to try it again, I’ll need to get some sort of scale to measure out the right grams or something – but it didn’t really make me want to repeat the experiment with this particular tea.
Last night, I brewed it hot for 3 minutes – a minute too long, I think. It was good, but unremarkable…grassy but too bitter for my taste (I should note that the bitterness in this tea is not the same as a bitter black tea…this is more drying than anything else). The viscosity was nice, not too thin, but not terribly thick, and the scent was wonderful, like dewy grass. It’s not that I didn’t like it – the taste was good, soothing and calming like any Japanese green, but I prefer the Gyokuro or Kukicha.

All in all, it was an “okay” tea. I’m not all that familiar with sencha, so it’s possible that I need to taste more of them before I can really taste more of the nuances and know if the bitterness is normal or not. So I’m reserving judgment on this tea for now, and may revisit it later, when I’ve developed a better “feel” for sencha in general.

Black Passionfruit from Dragonwater

Scent in package: mango-y, fruity with that normal “all around black tea” scent
Brewed in: filter bags
Steeped: 4-5min.@ 212 degrees
Cup: Café mug at work

I think one of the biggest challenges I face tasting black flavored teas is that I don’t care much for Ceylon black tea, which is the base tea for the majority of flavorings (I prefer keemum or assam – rich, malty flavors). With a good flavored tea, I don’t really taste the thinner, more bitter Ceylon background, but the flavoring becomes the focus and distracts from the base tea. But mango and passion fruit are two flavors that just don’t seem to work at all with Ceylon tea when brewed hot. This particular tea is no exception.

The tea is thin and almost watery, with a heavy dose of sweet passion fruit flavoring (that always seems to remind me of mangos) running through the mainly bitter brew. There’s nothing complex about it really – it’s just there, a two-note tea. Even the scent is “thin”, rather than rich and inviting. It’s spectacularly unspectacular in my book, and hardly worthy of a review, except that it may well work just fine as an iced tea, which I haven’t tried yet. I don’t care for this tea much even when it’s cooled to room temp though, so perhaps not.

In any case, the flavor isn’t particularly “fruity” – more of a hint of flavor and the tea is more drying than I normally prefer as well. I’ll skip this next time – you might want to try it as an iced tea, but honestly, I think there are far better teas out there to spend money on.

Green Earl Grey from Dragonwater

Scent in package: mainly floral, roses, and a slight bergamot background
Brewed in: filter bag
Steeped: 3 min@ steaming, 4 min@ steaming, 2.5 min.@ steaming
Cup: Café mug

This is an interesting tea – sort of the green version of Rosy Earl Grey. The base tea is Japanese Sencha, which I prefer to most Chinese green tea, and it’s quite a beautiful mixture in the package, the thin green “tea strips” mingling with pink rose petal bits. It smells lovely, preparing one for a relaxing experience.

I’m on my third cup now, and I think I’m finally starting to figure out what’s been stumping me about this “Earl Grey” tea. In a typical earl grey, the bergamot is quite citrus-y, but not quite orange. In this particular tea, the natural sweetness of the sencha is a perfect backdrop for the not-so-subtle rose flavor. Highlighted by those two flavors, the bergamot tastes more “lemony”, which is quite refreshing when everything is taken in together.

The first thing you taste is the sencha – light, and naturally sweet, almost like someone added sugar to the cup. The rose flavor is really more of a “scent”, but it binds with the taste as I sip, wafting up through my nose as the tea rolls over my tongue. It has a beautifully thick viscosity. The aftertaste is where the bergamot comes out to really bind everything together. It’s very complex, with hints of grassiness sneaking out in the sencha here and there.

I love this tea – it’s relaxing and refreshing at the same time. Not only does it calm my mind on a busy afternoon, but also sort of “wakes me up” a bit, perhaps that’s the bergamot. In any case, I’d highly recommend it – a sample is just $1, or you can get a full quarter pound for just $5.00…very affordable.

Tea Maker Showdown: TriniTEA Electric Maker vs. Zarafina Tea Maker Suite

Another long-post…get comfy with a cup of tea. Without further ado, let the showdown begin!

On the left (as you see it) we have the TriniTEA Electric Maker, sold for $99 from Adagio Teas. Disguised as a large coffee-maker, it has a serious presence on the counter, and sports just three buttons on the front – one for steeping time, one for temperature choice, and one for power. It’s a simple machine to use: just add water to the top chamber between the minimum and maximum fill lines, replace the top, add tea to the second steeping chamber, choose the water temperature and steeping time, and flip the power switch. An audible “beep” lets you know the machine is on, and subsequent beeps signal the start of each part of the process (it will beep before the water is released to the steeping chamber, and again before the steeped tea is decanted to the warm carafe below). Three beeps means the process is complete, and a warming plate will keep the tea hot until you turn the unit off. The TriniTEA will brew up to 32 oz (4 cups) of tea at a time.

And on the right sits the sleek, European style Zarafina Tea Maker Suite, which retails for $149.99. Small and petite, it’s anything but dainty as you can feel when you take the steeping chamber out of the main machine to rinse out. It boasts a whopping 10 silver buttons on the side for you to choose tea type, style (loose or bagged) and steeping time), as well as another button on the other side to power up the machine. It is also simple to use: you simply add your tea to the steeping basket, fill the chamber with water to one of two fill lines, float the steeping basket in the water, put the top on, use the selector buttons to reflect your choices, and flip the power button up to turn the machine on (the button will slide back down). When the tea is done, the machine will decant the tea automatically into the included teapot, and turn itself off. The Zarafina will brew up to 2 cups at a time (about 16oz).
For this showdown, I’ve chosen three teas: Black Rose from Teas, Etc, Gyokuro (Japanese green) from Adagio, and Rooibos Creamy Caramel from Dragonwater. As you can see, I’ve pre-measured them using a teaspoon for the TriniTEA, and the included scoop for the Zarafina. For purposes of this test, I’m brewing just one cup at a time per machine. And I brought in a “blind taster” for the green and rooibos teas, my husband, who came home and was interested in what I was up to. For the record, his favorite teas are English or Irish breakfast blends, brewed hot and strong, no additives. I had him sample the teas without knowing which came from what machine and give his opinion. He wasn’t home for the black tea tasting, unfortunately.

Black Rose: Both machines were clean and ready to go when I started. I put the tea in the steeping chambers of each machine, added water, and set the TriniTEA parameters at II (for boiling water) and the timer to 5 min. I set the Zarafina parameters to “black tea, loose, and medium steeping”. Then I flipped both power buttons to “on” simultaneously, and stood at the ready with paper and pen. The TriniTEA took 4 minutes to heat the water, and 5 minutes to steep the tea. Zarafina took 2 minutes to heat the water until the basket “sunk”, and 3 minutes to steep. The tea in the Zarafina was foaming a bit during the occasional bursts of heat through the steeping process. The flavor, color and scent of the two cups were basically the same, with the Zarafina tea being slightly weaker (perhaps the “strong” setting might have been better). I rinsed out all main parts of both machines using a small amount of baking soda, as suggested by Mary R., which seemed to work well.

Gyokuro: I followed the same set-up procedure as before, this time setting the TriniTEA parameters to “I” for lower heat, and the timer to 3 minutes. I set the Zarafina to “green, loose, and medium” settings. The TriniTEA again took about 4 minutes to heat, and 3 minutes to steep, the Zarafina took 2 minutes to heat and 4 minutes to steep. At that time, I was talking with my husband who had just gotten home, so the tea sat in the two pots for around 5 minutes after the brew cycles were completed. This is when he decided to join me, and see if he could guess which cup came from which tea maker.

When I poured the cups, I was shocked at how cloudy the Zarafina tea was. In contrast the TriniTEA tea was clear and crisp. I did my own tasting, and thought the TriniTEA cup was much better…not only was the color clearer, but the flavor was crisp and sweet as it should be. The Zarafina cup was flatter, and more vegetal.
I handed the clear cup to my hubby first, and he tasted thoughtfully, then took the other cup. He is not normally a green tea drinker – he prefers strong, bitter, black teas. But he pronounced the clearer cup the “winner”, as it was not only sweeter and flavorful, but also warmer (a function of the TriniTEA pot warmer). The cloudier Zarafina tea was more “alfalpha-y” in his words, and too cool as well. I did let him know which had come from which machine then.

Rooibos Creamy Caramel: After another baking soda rinse of both machines, I poured the rooibos into the steeping chambers, and set the steeping parameters. TriniTEA: 5 min. at temperature “II”, and Zarafina settings: “herbal, loose, strong”. The TriniTEA took 4 minutes to heat, and 5 minutes to steep, while the Zarafina took 2 minutes to heat, and 5 minutes to steep. I poured the cups right away, and both brews were dark red and very clear, as they should be.

Interestingly, the TriniTEA Rooibos was too hot this time, bringing out the sharp, biting notes rather than the mellow sweetness that the Zarafina showcased. We both preferred the Zarafina-brewed rooibos, my husband not knowing until after he’d made his choice.

After finishing up the tastings, there’s only one thing left to do – cleaning. The TriniTEA’s steeping chamber, basket, lid, carafe, and lid all simply go into the dishwasher with the rest of the day’s dishes (including the two mugs I used for tasting) after I dump the used leaves down the garbage disposal. Mission accomplished. The Zarafina’s pieces and parts must all be washed by hand…and I decided to leave them for the next day rather than spend the time at the sink just then.

The Breakdown (one point each):

Heating time: Zarafina wins – 2 minutes compared to TriniTEA’s 4 minutes per session.
Steeping times: A tie, since both machines are “adjustable” to different brewing times.
Taste: Each machine wins 1.5 out of three (black nearly equal, green to TriniTEA and herbal to Zarafina), so a tie (point to each).
Quantity: TriniTEA wins – able to make from 1 cup to 4 cups, vs. Zarafina’s 2 cup max.
Ease of use: Tie - both are simple to use – follow the directions, and adjust for personal taste (point to each).
Ease of cleaning: TriniTEA wins big – everything pops in the dishwasher for no fuss cleaning.
Cost: TriniTEA wins - $99 for a great machine, very affordable vs. $149.99 for the higher maintenance Zarafina.

Total Points - TriniTEA: 7, Zarafina: 4

Winner of my Tea Maker Showdown is the TriniTEA Electric Maker! Congratulations, Adagio!

Kashanganj SnowBud from T-Ching (tea tasting)

Scent in package: very light fruity scent
Brewed in: Tea for one pot w/metal infuser, Gaiwan, tea for one pot
Steeped: 3 min@ steaming/4 min@ steaming, several infusions @ 170, and 3 min.@ steaming again.
Cup: Café mug, tasting cup, café mug

This was quite an interesting tasting, and while I kind of “ruined” the gaiwan session, I have enough to try again properly, and plan to do so. All in all though, I really loved the substantial nature of this white tea.

My first two cups were here at work, and I used the filtered water from the water cooler heated in my electric kettle just until it was steaming. I was “wowed” by my first sip, which was much more flavorful than I find many white teas to be. There was that fruitiness again, but very light and complementary to the ultra-soft vegetal notes in the tea. The viscosity surprised me as well…it brewed up a substantial cup that lingered after each sip was gone. The second infusion was just as good, with very little difference in the taste and the same mildly fruity scent wafted up from the cup. Very tasty and soothing, and sweeter than the average tea. There was no astringency or drying qualities at all, just very smooth and mellow.

So last night, I decided to get out my gaiwan and brew a few infusions “gong fu” style. I made many mistakes however (wasn’t quite myself), and using tap water at a cooler temperature was the main mistake. Only one infusion out of the 6 I tried turned out even close to what I had tasted at work, and while it contained the sweetness, it was also very drying and somewhat bitter (all infusions with tap water were quite bitter). Needless to say, I was rather disappointed and it was the next morning before I realized my tap water mistake. I’m looking forward to trying it again with filtered water in my gaiwan.
This morning, I brewed up another cup at work with the same parameters as I used before. Worked like a charm, and I had a very sweet, mellow, enjoyable cup of tea this morning at my desk. I love that sort of fruity sweetness that comes through the vegetal flavors…it seems simple but complex at the same time. One thing I did notice with tap water was a “white pepper” flavor that gave just a tiny bite to the tea – I think it would be interesting to capture that and marry it with the fruit-sweet profile found with filtered water.

The leaves (buds) are gorgeous, and longer than many I’ve seen…a beautiful light gray-green when dry, and very vibrant green when wet, as you can see.

The tea may be pricy, but I think it’s worth it, and I’m seriously considering ordering more. What a great tasting experience.

Teaware: Zarafina Tea Maker Suite

As I mentioned earlier, this “suite” was sent to me by the company free as a “sample”. When I asked what was expected of me should I accept, the answer was basically that nothing was “expected”, they just wanted me to try it and let them know what I thought. Easy enough, I figured, and a few weeks later, a tea maker suite was delivered to my door. I didn’t pay for this machine or any shipping, but I approached the review as if I had, to be fair. It’s a long review, to be thorough, so pour yourself a cuppa and settle in for a bit.

The packaging is very colorful and sturdy – I don’t see how anything could possibly be broken or even jostled in shipment. There was a packet of information included as well, and while I appreciated the instruction book and coupon for tea, I thought the full-color illustrated booklet with no real information included was just sort of a waste of space and money. But overall, it was fun to open up all the packing and slowly reveal the new tea machine, piece by piece. It’s a very sleek looking machine, with smoky-colored heavy plastic pieces overall. It is much smaller than I expected it would be, but very European-looking, in my opinion.

The first thing I noticed when examining the steeping chamber was that the heating element is all one piece with the steeping chamber, much like an electric kettle. This explains why that particular piece isn’t dishwasher safe (and the instruction not to immerse the chamber is noted in boldface type all through the instructions as well as printed right on the back of the chamber). A plastic cap is included to place over the connector when washing, to avoid getting water in that area. The steeping basket is comprised of four pieces that all snap together and then there is the lid for the steeping chamber, a measuring spoon, a ceramic tray, teapot and two cups. It is noted throughout all instructions that none of this should be washed in the dishwasher or with abrasive cleaners – all must be hand washed. I rinsed all the pieces before the first use in soap and warm water.

I chose all teas that I am very familiar with and enjoy on a regular basis to test the machine with, so that I could focus on the machine and it’s method of brewing instead of whether I actually liked the tea or not. In order: Florence (black, Harney & Sons), Silver Tip Darjeeling (black, Dragonwater), Golden Dragon Oolong (Teas, Etc), White Pear (Adagio), Foxtrot (herbal, adagio), and Jasmine #12 (scented green, Adagio).

I started with the black teas, since black is what I drink most often. I measured out two scoops of Florence into the steeping basket, filled the chamber to the max fill line with cold tap water (which is what I normally brew with), and floated the basket on top the cold water. I put the lid on, and turned to the buttons on the side of the machine.

There are several setting choices – one for tea type, one for loose or bagged, and one for steeping preference (strong, medium or mild). Since I had no idea which setting would steep it for around 5 minutes, I picked medium, and the other settings were black and loose, obviously. I timed the steep, and it was right at 5 minutes for the medium setting.

As I watched, the water came up to a low boil, and then the basket slipped under the water to steep. An intriguing part of the process is how the machine sends short bursts of heat up into the steeping chamber at intervals while the tea is steeping, keeping the water temperature very steady throughout the steeping time. Ingenious, really. When the steep time was complete, a nozzle came out over the teapot, and decanted the tea into the pot. The instructions say that it’s normal for some tea to be left in the chamber, but every time it’s decanted all but a very thin film into the pot. I let it sit for a few minutes, poured it into a large mug, and enjoyed my cup. The tea tasted as it normally does, rich and chocolaty, and I was quite happy with the results.

Being lazy and not wanting to actually wash all the components again so soon, I simply rinsed out the steeping chamber, teapot, basket, and lid, and replaced them to brew a cup of darjeeling. This time I set the steeping time to mild, which I timed at approximately 3.5 minutes. That turned out to be perfect for the darjeeling, but since I hadn’t completely washed the components, my darjeeling had a hint of chocolate flavor left. Bummer. It turns out that all of these components *must* be completely cleaned between each different tea to avoid the flavors mingling (an unfortunate result of using plastic). I tried to just rinse again between the minty Foxtrot and the lovely Jasmine teas, and got the same results. So soap and water every time when changing tea flavors.

The oolong tea also brewed up quite nicely in this little machine – I used the “mild” setting for the first cup, and medium for the second. Both cups were perfect, and tasted just as they should. As an added bonus, since I was merely resteeping the leaves, I didn’t have to wash the machine out that day either.

The more delicate teas didn’t work out as well. When brewing the White Pear, I set the machine for “medium” as the white pear tends to be rather light, but it was too much, and the tea came out bitter and astringent, obviously overcooked. So white teas are probably better steeped on the “mild” setting for this machine, though I didn’t try it. I used Foxtrot, a blend of rooibos, chamomile and mint for the herbal setting, and set it to “strong”, as rooibos likes long, hot steeps. But the water didn’t heat up enough, nor did it steep long enough, and I ended up with a rather weak brew. Next time I’d set the machine for “black” and either medium or strong for a rooibos tisane. And I used the “green, medium” settings for the Jasmine, which was fine, though lighter than I would have liked for a medium setting. It probably would have been fine though had I thoroughly washed the parts with soap/water before brewing…my jasmine had a distinct minty aftertaste clearly leftover from the Foxtrot. Regardless, a look at the jasmine pearls after revealed that they hadn't even had enough time to unfurl when steeping.

You may have guessed by now that my biggest problem with the Zarafina Suite is the cleaning. All told, there are 8 pieces to be washed by hand with soap and water (the steeping basket is comprised of four which have to be separated, washed, and snapped back together). In the time it takes me to wash all of those, I could have tossed a teapot, infuser or strainer and cup into the dishwasher, and been done with it. I consider tea makers a “convenience” item, so they need to be at least *as* convenient to use than conventional methods in order to make them worthwhile for me. So far, this tea maker is not.

Other things I dislike about this tea “suite” is the fact that you have to choose “strong, med. or mild”, rather than being able to pick an actual time (even a simple chart in the instructions would help solve this); and the fact that there is no audible signal when the tea is done, and no warming mechanism to keep the tea warm in the pot until you’re ready to pour. And the size is definitely too small – it brews two “normal” cups or one large one, which would be fine if it was indeed easier to use than a teapot (which it’s not). The size just isn’t worth the trouble, in my opinion – if I’m going to spend time hand washing every piece, I want more than one good-sized cup of tea for my trouble.

All told, in my opinion the Zarafina Tea Maker Suite isn’t worth the hefty price tag of $149.99 for anyone. If it were less than $100, I would probably recommend it for the occasional tea drinker who prepares only one type of tea in a day and doesn’t mind spending 15 minutes washing everything afterwards by hand. People like my mom, who doesn’t own a dishwasher, and isn’t picky about how her green tea tastes as long as it’s not bitter. I’m giving the Zarafina to my mom as soon as I’m done with the reviews.

Until they make some improvements to the suite, I wouldn’t recommend it at any price to the serious tea drinker…it’s not any more convenient than making tea in a conventional manner, and that’s really the only reason anyone needs a tea maker to begin with, since nothing with plastic steeping parts can really compete with the taste of tea prepared conventionally in a teapot or gaiwan. The gadget factor is cool, sure, but here in the states, a gaiwan is just as “gadget-y” to show your buddies, and you’ll get better tasting tea (because it’s not plastic).

As a last disclaimer, please remember these are only my personal observations & experiences, and not an expert opinion in any way.

On Friday, I’ll post a side-by-side comparison of the Zarafina Tea Maker Suite and Adagio’s triniTEA maker for anyone interested…though at this point I will admit being biased in favor of the triniTEA. Tune in Friday for the Tea-Maker Showdown...

Nepalese Oolong from T-Ching (tasting event)

Scent in package: fruity, a very light muscatel scent, intriguing
Brewed in: Tea for one pot w/metal infuser
Steeped: 3 min.@ just under boiling, 4 min.@ just under boiling
Cup: Stoneware café mug

Thanks to T-Ching for this very generous offer! The samples far surpass the amount of tea I expected to get for the $3 shipping. This is my first time participating in a tasting event, and hopefully it won’t be the last.

I conducted this tasting at work, thus no pictures. I was surprised at the amount of brighter green in the leaves though…it seems like more of a mixture of light/dark than most oolongs I’ve encountered to this point. It does make for a very lovely looking dry leaf blend though.

The scent of the first cup is nearly intoxicating. Very grape/muscatel in nature, and I could sense a thicker viscosity in the liquid just by the fragrance wafting up from the cup. There’s a deeper note to the scent that I can’t quite make out, but it draws me in to that first sip.

The first sip was as intriguing as the scent. It’s a muscatel flavor, like a darjeeling, but much deeper and more rounded. The tea is thicker and more honey-like, blending the best of both darjeeling and oolong teas. It’s not astringent at all, but smooth and mellow – if darjeeling is the “champagne” of teas, I might go out on a limb and declare this oolong a “fine wine” along a similar vein.

The aftertaste left a slight bite on the tip of my tongue, and a smooth coating on the inside of my mouth. Very pleasant and soothing – a welcome relaxation to the mid-morning work “grind”.

I had a second cup of the same leaves in the afternoon, and it was very refreshing, with the same fruity taste, but lighter. All in all, very enjoyable, and a tea I will enjoy again soon.