Yunnan Green from SanTion

I had another Tea Stuff Roundup planned for today, but unfortunately haven't had time to put it together properly. So instead, here are some notes on Yunnan Green from Santion. Roundup next week!

This is definitely a go-to green tea of mine now: I enjoy its fruity, vegetal flavour a lot. Here are a few tasting notes from the other morning, when I had time to sit quietly before Pippin woke up:

Four infusions in gaiwan, filled about 1/3 with dry leaf. Started out with a 40 second steep and lengthened each infusion so the fourth was probably about 1.5 minutes. Fruity notes to the fore while drinking, specifically apricot and peach, a hint of grapefruit (?) in the third or fourth infusions. Savoury vegetable flavours in the aftertaste, which is reasonably long; silverbeet or chard maybe. This is quite a chewy tea. (This is the first time I've used this term and that's because I think I now know what it means: a tea that is substantial enough to make you want to chew it!) It leaves a cool dry feeling in the mouth.

I think I actually like gaiwan brewing for this tea more than teapot brewing, although I don't always have the leisure to use my gaiwan (which is tiny, only 150ml). It's still pleasant enough in a teapot, brewed for say 2-2.5 minutes at a time (I would normally do two or three infusions) but I think that more leaf and shorter steeps suits my palate better. I will keep trying and see.

Tea and Food: what to drink with chocolate

Last week I made some rather fabulous dark chocolate brownies, which I ended up eating accompanied by several different kinds of tea over the course of the week. Some pairings were more successful than others, and this set me to thinking that a series of posts about tea and food might not be a bad idea. If you have a particular kind of food you'd like me to focus on, just place a request in the comments and I'll do my best to accommodate it (barring seafood, of which I am not a fan).

So here's this week's instalment: teas to pair with CHOCOLATE - cake, brownies, or just all on it's lonesome own. Aw.

 Just crying out for some tea to keep it company!

My first recommendation: jasmine tea. I find that jasmine goes beautifully with moderately dark chocolatey things; the sweet floral taste offsets the slightly bitter chocolate very well. Even though I often prefer to drink my really good teas on their own, without any disruption to their flavour caused by combining them with food, I think it is actually worthwhile cracking out the good jasmine tea to have with your chocolate, simply because the jasmine flavour will be stronger. Keep the lower-rent jasmine for having with your Chinese takeaway and have a really top-notch one (I have still got some of the 2009 Moli Jin Zhen Wang from Amazing Green Tea which is just divine).

Second recommendation: a strong Japanese green - sencha or matcha, or why not both (like the Macchairi Kabuse Ryokucha I blogged about here). The bitter-sweetness of the tea and chocolate play off each other and the greenness of the tea cuts through the richness of the chocolate as well. I thought jasmine and chocolate was my favourite until I tried this. It's really an incredible combination.

If you are looking for a black tea I would go for something robust and a bit astringent like an Assam, or fruity like a second or Autumn flush Darjeeling; the taste of a first flush Darjeeling gets overwhelmed by the chocolate. I also felt that my beloved Yunnan Golden Tips didn't shine as I would have liked when I drank it alongside the brownie (which you can see in the corner of the picture in that post!). Earl Grey is a good option though and one I often choose when I am out somewhere like Koko Black; the floral/citrus taste of the bergamot is refreshing and also cuts through the richness.
 

Yunnan Golden Tips

I have been reading over at Jenny's Blog about her quest for the perfect selection of teas for her cabinet... ten teas that she loves enough to always have on hand. It's an ongoing search (but what a fun one, huh?). I hadn't ever thought about selecting teas in this way; but if I were going to start a Top-10 teas to always have in my cupboard, Yunnan Golden Tips from SanTion would definitely be on my list.

 Apologies for the blurriness of this photo; I took it without realising that the camera was on 

manual focus not auto focus, and drank all the tea before I could take another. Whoops.

The leaves are incredible, so long and tippy, it is absolutely full of golden buds (as the name would suggest). My favourite part is actually opening the canister - there is such a rich smell of sweet raisins that greets me. Immensely cheering on a cold grey day. The wet leaves have a creamy, slightly spicy smell. The liquor is very smooth, no bitterness or astringency - just a rich round flavour with a touch of spice and also flowers, I think. A little malty as well.

I am going through this tea at a rapid rate and will shortly have to order more. It is just such easy drinking.

True Diversi-tea

Ok, I couldn't resist the pun, but take a look at this anyway... four different kinds of black tea, and how different they all are:

Arya Autumnal Darjeeling

Ceylon orange pekoe

Singbulli STFGOP First Flush Darjeeling

Yunnan Golden Tips