The weekend before last I finally found the time to do my semi-annual tea purge. By that I mean, open every single tea and smell check to see which are still viable. Although time consuming (pretty much the whole day is required), I usually really enjoy the task with my irrepressible spirit of adventure. Mind you, oftentimes I end up with a migraine and irritated sinuses. The Tea Purge can also, unfortunately, be bittersweet (no pun intended) in that I have to say goodbye to some really delicious teas, many of which will never be available again. This time around, I was saddened to discover i needed to boot out one whole vendor, Maya, that I only ever obtained four teas of to begin with. I managed to find a good home for one of them, and thought I’d squeeze in a review of one of the remaining three. I think I did manage one other review of Maya at some point, so not too bad all told.
Plum Blossom. Although the name might lead you to suspect it, this one is not in fact an Oolong, but rather a White/Green mix. Plum Blossom actually has a terrific floral aroma reminiscent of its namesake, with possibly a bit of jasmine. Although in most cases a Green/White mix tends to be dominated by its Green components, as this one was going on it’s second Birthday (I am often wont to euthanize at or around the first Birthday) the majority of the Green portions had actually died off, leaving the longer lived White ones behind. This White is of a delicate woody variety that mixes well with plum to create a delicious soft, almost chocolate flavor. If i had to make an educated guess as to which variety of White, my money would be on Pai Mutan. I brewed it at 160~170 F for just over three minutes and fortunately that was enough to reanimate Plum Blossom somewhat. Highly recommended. From their website it looks like I was left about the Jasmine. :)
選別 parting.gifts 