Tempted to Try

Burdock root tea wasn’t familiar to me. It’s more common in cooking and as a tisane in East Asian cultures. Interestingly enough, I also read that some Native Americans also used burdock root. Given my excellent experience with the other herbals I’ve tried from Soocha Tea, I was eager to try.

The first thing I noticed about the tea was how the dried root looks like chipped wood. Next, I was surprised how little burdock root it took to create a very flavorful brew that could be steeped many times.

Steeping and Tasting Notes

How to Steep Burdock Root Tea

I followed the advice on Soocha Tea’s package to steep the burdock root tea, while figuring out how to convert the gram measurement so I wouldn’t have to break out my scale every time I’d like to enjoy this tisane.

• Amount of dried burdock root: 2 grams (about 1 tsp of burdock root, gently shaken to fill efficiently)
• Quantity of water: 8 ounces (about 250 ml)
• Temperature: Boiling (212 F or 100 C)
• Steep time: 3-5 minutes
• Number of steeps: I enjoyed 3 and stopped because I had enough liquid (lol). But, Soocha Tea’s website says you can steep it more than 5 times, increasingly the length of each steep.

Tasting Notes for Burdock Root Tea

To me, burdock root tea has wonderful and nostalgic aromas and flavors. It reminds me of roasted peanuts and caramelized corn–taking me right back to my childhood and the special occasions when I was given a box of Cracker Jack.

Roasted sweet potato and a touch of hickory smoke round out the aroma and flavor notes for me. The notes rebalance over multiple steeps, but I could still find all of those flavors in the first three steeps.

It’s a lovely tisane that packs a lot of flavor over multiple infusions.

This root tea brews up a rich amber color–a color that reminds me of some black and darker oolong teas.

Potential Benefits and Warnings for Burdock Root

Any natural herb or root can have possible positive and negative impacts. So, let’s overview the potential pros and cons of burdock root tea. This research, of course, should not replace consulting your health care provider.

WebMD reports that burdock root has been studied for its potential to reduce chronic inflammation, slow or prevent some cancers, and help some skin conditions. Healthline also reports the root “may lower blood sugar levels.”

Healthline also notes that burdock root hasn’t been studied enough to know safe use in children. Thus, they counsel against giving it to children without consulting a pediatrician. They also caution that pregnant or nursing women shouldn’t use it without a doctor’s advice.

Additionally, people allergic to chrysanthemums or daisies, they point out, could “be at an increased risk of having an allergic reaction to burdock root and should avoid it.” Soocha Tea’s website expands this warning to people “allergic to the Asteraceae/Compositae family (ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and many others).”

Finally, burdock root is naturally a diuretic. So, WebMD and Healthline both urge avoiding it if you are dehydrated or taking diuretic medicines.

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Beautiful Packaging

This tea arrives vacuum sealed in a bag nestled inside a beautiful wooden box with a carved rose on the lid. The real fun starts when you open and steep the tea, of course!

I begin by sharing my steeping notes for the second session I had with this tea because I think it will be most representative of future tea sessions. (I’ll explain more about this in my review of Rose Label Gold below.)

Rose Label Gold Second Session

Both times I steeped this tea I was close to, but not exactly using, the suggested parameters from Nepal Tea Collective. The main differences were that I added more tea and a shorter first steep.

Tasting Notes

FIRST INFUSION

Three-minute steep with 3.2 grams of tea leaves in 8 ounces (230 ml) of water at 180F (82C).

• Color: gorgeous and luminous, burnt amber
• Aroma, while still very hot: rose, with very subtle lemongrass and more florals
• Taste: rose, other florals, tiny bit of lemongrass, apple, honey. As it cooled slightly, I could taste pronounced spiciness at the end—like green cardamom, with a lovely lemon peel twist.
• Mouthfeel: silky, medium-full body

SECOND INFUSION OF ROSE LABEL GOLD

One-minute steep, 6 ounces of water, same temperature as above

• Taste and aroma: rosier and spicier–definitely green cardamom! Tomato vine note added as it cooled.

It was a completely lovely sensory experience drinking this tea–like having tea in a rose garden with a cardamom pastry. Dreamy.

I felt like this tea might have given me a third infusion, but I didn’t try. That’s an experiment for another day.

Review of First Tea Session

I also loved my first session with Rose Label Gold from Nepal Tea Collective. Surprisingly, as I opened the vacuum-sealed bag for the first time, the aroma of lemongrass was powerful and lovely.

The first session had the lemongrass and rose  balanced…with spiciness and other florals as it cooled. It was also delicious.

The lemongrass took a back seat the next day. It settled more into the background and the rosy florals predominated.

It was fascinating how the tea evolved. I assume future steeps will be more like steep two. So, I shared those notes first.

Gratitude for this Rose Label Gold

I received this tea for free from Nepal Tea Collective. Per my review policy, I always disclose when I get free or specially reduced tea. I only agree to accept these offers under the condition that I will only write about them if I sincerely enjoy it. I was really delighted with this tea, so it was a pleasure to write about. Thank you for sharing it with me, Nepal Tea Collective!

My next session with this tea will probably try the four-minute steep that they recommend. I can’t wait to try that, too!

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Recently, I steeped and enjoyed a delightful Chinese yellow tea! Let’s talk about what that is before I share tasting notes.

What is Chinese Yellow Tea?

Chinese yellow tea (huang cha) is between white and green tea in processing. It includes a unique step that lightly ferments and oxidizes the leaves. It’s a time-intensive process.

It’s not produced in very high quantities, so many people aren’t as familiar with yellow tea. (You can read more about Chinese yellow tea here.)

The Yellow Tea I Steeped

I prepared Huo Shan Huang Ya from In Pursuit of Tea. It’s produced in Anhui Province, in China, according to the packaging. (I’m not sure if the link takes you to the same year’s harvest of the tea I enjoyed.)

I first encountered this tea, I believe, in a Tea Tasting Box from Being Tea.

If you love ripe honeydew melon, this tea is for you! If you tend to like white and green tea–or maybe some green teas are too vegetal for you–I also recommend this tea!

My Steeping Parameters

Steeping tea for two, I used a 250 ml gaiwan (a Chinese brewing cup with a lid) and:

• 6.2 grams of tea leaves
• 175F (80C) water
• First infusion steep time: 1.5-2 minutes
• Second infusion steep time: 1.25 minutes

Yellow Tea Tasting Notes

The dry, small tea leaves are green with some yellow-green areas. They are a mix of buds and young leaves. The tea leaves also have a bit of adorable (and natural) fuzz. The aroma of the dry leaves is nutty, fruity, and meadow floral. So enticing!

The first infusion of the tea carried the aroma and flavor of honeydew melon, summer meadows, and cotton in the warm sun. The latter is something I often detect in my favorite white teas, as I have written about here. Since yellow tea is close to white tea, this makes sense to me.

The flavor was also bright.

Honeydew fruit, floral (more floral than the first infusion), and brightness characterized the second infusion.

So good–both infusions.

More Thoughts

After preparing the yellow tea, I noted afterwards that In Pursuit of Tea recommends steeping between180-185F. In other words, they suggest hotter water than I used. I might try that next time, though I loved the results this time!

I have some overlapping tasting notes with those shared on their website. But, they don’t match exactly.

Unique tasting notes could be due to the different steeping temperature, brewing time, water (for example, mine might have different mineral content), and/or palate. How we experience tea can vary so much.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this Chinese yellow tea!

The post Chinese Yellow Tea Tasting Notes appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Background for the Experiment

If you are a casual or more focused tea drinker you, might wonder why it would be anything new to drink the same tea every day. Many folks drink tea that way.

I’ll share why it is for me. I have dozens and dozens of teas at home. This is a benefit/challenge of being so enthusiastic about trying new teas. No judgment for anyone who doesn’t share the same tea goals!

Even with so many choices, I often enjoy certain teas by drinking them regularly for a while. In those cases, however, the teas are in my daily mix with some regularity, but not necessarily every day. And, I never planned to keep drinking that tea and focus on it every day for X amount of days.

Why I Tried 10 Days One Tea

I have been exploring Dan Cong oolongs more recently, as I have written about. I decided that with so many variations of this style of twisted-leaf, roasted Chinese tea from Guangdong province, it might help me better understand them if I focused on one for a while. Then, I wondered what it would be like to assign myself to drink the same tea every day for over a week.

So, I decided to start with the Jiang Hua (Ginger Flower Fragrance) Phoenix Dan Cong that Azenbor generously sent me. I have been so impressed with their tea after receiving samples that I have bought some at full price since then! And, I liked the sound of a 10-day experiment.

Glazed Clay Teapot Notes

After several days, I really dug into the tasting notes. Ginger Flower Fragrance Dan Cong is credibly aromatic and delightful to sip—floral and creamy and spicy. It has a silky mouthfeel. Azenbor’s tasting notes also mention “creamy mustard notes.“ That’s so true—like an excellent Dijon in the mix! It is really delicious. (And, if I had read that tasting note before trying it, I might not have looked forward to it. I’m so glad I didn’t pre-judge, because it’s absolutely delicious…to me.)

I steeped this Dan Cong at 195F / 200F (90C / 93C) using about 3g of tea in my 80ml glazed clay teapot. I started with a 5-second steep and added 5 seconds each time. This approach brings out all the delightful flavors and aromas and tames that bitter note that can otherwise become prominent in Dan Cong oolongs.

Unglazed Clay Enters the Chat

Another morning during 10 days one tea, I decided to use my lovely unglazed Chaozhou hogni clay teapot. Although this teapot is recommended for Dan Cong oolongs, I don’t always prefer it over porcelain or glazed clay. I must add–I don’t prefer it, yet?

Not intending to do this experiment, I realized that in the Chaozhou teapot I prefer 200F to 195F (93C to 90C) for this tea. Note—these teapots are very thin, so it’s recommended to fill them with a lower temperature water first—not to take them straight from room temperature to very hot. They might crack otherwise.

The unglazed clay softens the tea—folks might prefer it one way or the other. I find it very pleasant, but it usually mutes some flavor notes I enjoy when the tea is steeped in the glazed teapot. Going a bit hotter gave me that softness with more of the notes I had been missing. Nice discovery! I need to explore this more. I’m tempted to try the unglazed teapot at 205F (96C) another time.

Decision Made for 10 Days

One thing I didn’t anticipate and really appreciated. I enjoyed NOT having to choose my tea every morning. If you have ever suffered from decision fatigue, you know having one less decision to make can be a relief. Since I usually have two different teas every day, I still felt like I could be spontaneous for my afternoon tea choice. (Generally, I like choosing a tea based on how I feel.)

I really enjoyed the balance of not having to choose for one session and getting to choose for the other. This 10 days one tea experience made me wonder if I was dealing with decision fatigue and didn’t even realize it. Or maybe I am just enjoying the novelty of not choosing in the morning for a while.

Bodily Sensations from One Tea

I’m not sure what to say about any emotional or energetic effects the Ginger Flower Fragrance tea has on me.

So far, I notice calm energy. It definitely doesn’t give me frenetic energy. (I’m looking at you–and judging–Bao Zhong.) I think I don’t feel more sure about bodily specifics of this tea because we have had an unusual number of rainy (and cold!) June days in a row.

I did notice a “returning sweetness” in the back of my throat after sipping this tea. That bodily sensation with Dan Cong hadn’t been on my radar before this 10 days, one tea experiment. I don’t think it’s what tea heads officially call “hui gan.” They often describe that sensation as occurring after a moderately or intensely bitter tea (which this tea is not, steeped as I am steeping it). Some folks say that a “cooling” sensation accompanies it. So, I *think* what I experience is maybe not hui gan. But, I am delighted to notice this sensation and flavor at the back of throat after drinking Jiang Hua.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this experiment. I think I will try it for another Phoenix Dan Cong oolong. Another 10 days one tea in the future!

Do you have any Dan Cong, or even better–Jiang Hua Dan Cong–thoughts or advice to share with me? I’d love to know!

The post 10 Days One Tea appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

I am now a huge fan of Phoenix Dan Cong. I’ve learned to deeply appreciate this Chinese, twisted-leaf oolong from the Phoenix Mountains ( in Chinese, Fenghuangshan). The more common flavor notes among the different floral and spice notes in the varieties that I’ve tried so far are: minerality, hops, and a slight and beautiful bitterness (if brewed carefully). There’s always a lush fruity and/or floral aroma(s) as well. These leaves are so fragrant–despite not being blended or scented–that they are named for their floral and/or spice aromas.

I have deeper experience with a couple Dan Cong oolongs. The first is named misleadingly. I’ve loved Ya Shi Xiang, translated as “Duck Shit Aroma,” although it smells beautifully floral. There are lots of theories about why this tea is named this way. I’ve also had many beautiful sessions with Mi Lan Xiang (Honey Orchid Aroma). I even named one of my tea pet rabbits Mi Lan (shown in the nearby photo), in honor of this tea.

I’ve long wanted to explore a fuller range of Phoenix Dan Cong, so when Azenbor reached out and offered to send their “10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box,” and were happy with my review policy, I gladly accepted.

10 Aroma Dan Cong Sampler

As the name suggests, Azenbor’s 10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box contains 10 different Phoenix Dan Cong oolongs. The tea arrives packaged as loose leaf, with 7 grams of each selection.

The box includes, in alphabetical order by English name:

• Almond Fragrance (Xing Ren)
• Cinnamon Fragrance (Rou Gui)
• Ginger Flower Fragrance (Jiang Hua)
• Honey Orchid Fragrance (Mi Lan)
• Jasmine Fragrance (Mo Li)
• Magnolia Fragrance (Yu Lan)
• Night Blooming Fragrance (Ye Lai)
• Orchid Fragrance (Zhi Lan)
• Osmanthus Fragrance (Gui Hua)
• Yellow Gardenia Fragrance (Huang Zhi)

Benefits of This Phoenix Dan Cong Sampler

7 grams of tea is a generous amount of loose leaf to have one gongfu session for each of these teas. Azenbor recommends 5-7 grams per 120 ml teapot. I know from experience that when I’m drinking tea solo, that’s too much caffeine for me in one session. So, the 7 grams is perfect for me to prepare 3.5 grams of the tea twice. I’ll use one of my smaller–80-100 ml–gongfu teapots so I get a good leaf: water ratio.

The sheer number of teas–10–in this sampler box is wonderful! It allows you to get a good sense of the varieties of Phoenix Dan Cong.

What’s more, by including so many different varieties, this Azenbor sampler allows you to see which teas you might like to order more of to explore in more detail.

Preparing to Steep

I only do tea tasting when I have a lot of time and in the right mindset, so I haven’t torn through these Phoenix Dan Cong samples. I have, however, savored them!

To date, I’ve steeped (sometimes twice) the Huang Shi (Yellow Gardenia), Ye Lai (Evening Fragrance), Mi Lan (Honey Orchid), and Zhi Lan (Orchid Fragrance).

Here are some of my aromatic and tasting notes! I went back and forth between steeping in a Chaozhou clay teapot (from the area where Dan Cong is produced) and in glazed clay or porcelain teapots. Their outcomes are slightly different. I can never decide which I prefer.

My Tasting Notes

Each tea, below, had a minerality, a degree of hops, and a blend of sweet and bitter notes–the latter in the best sense, to keep it from being cloying and adding interest. I will mention the hops or bitter, at times, if it shows up in distinctive ways.

• Huang Shi (Yellow Gardenia): Warmed leaves exude a floral fragrance with other notes like hops, and touch of sweet corn. My flavor notes include: floral, touch of orange and roasted corn. I note the third infusion aroma smelled remarkably similar to a wildflower honey our family has been getting for years. (Yum!)
• Ye Lai (Night Blooming Fragrance): The warmed, dry leaves smell of berries and flowers. As my daughter. Clara, astutely noted, it was floral just like “the blooming camellia house” at our local arboretum. She dubbed this aroma “greenhouse core,” which made me chuckle. I also detected a slightly earthy/ woody note hiding out in the stacked aromas. The aroma is absolutely delightful. The flavor is amazing, too. The floral notes were well integrated into the flavor profile. I detected that floral and the flavor of fresh tomato vine in the second steep. Clara noted that mild and pleasant earthy flavor in the third steep. In her words “like the roots in the greenhouse.”

• Mi Lan (Honey Orchid): I already had substantial experience with Mi Lan Dan Cong. Azenbor’s did not disappoint! The dry leaf was floral and peachy. The wet leaves added a note of hops to the dry-leaf aromas. The tea flavor was a delightful tapestry of flowers, hops, and almond.
• Zhi Lan (Orchid): I wish I could remember the aroma of orchids. The orchids I grow at home don’t emit any fragrance. I was able to faintly smell an aromatic orchid at an orchid show, but with so many people and other plants, it didn’t imprint! So, although it might smell like orchid, the Zhi Lan Phoenix Dan Cong gave floral, peach, and almond extra aromas. The warmed leaves shared a fragrance of light marzipan, flowers, and tomato vine. The taste was sweet and simultaneously bitter, in a pleasant way. The tastes match the dry leaf aroma with a plum blossom flavor also showing up in the early steeps.

Exploring More Phoenix Dan Cong

This Phoenix Oolong 10 Aroma Tea Sampler Box from Azenbor has inspired me to continue exploring the varieties I am less familiar with, and maybe slip in more Mi Lan in my next order! I can’t wait to steep the others. I’ll be trying to decide which I might order in regular sizes to get to know better.

Do you have a favorite Phoenix Dan Cong variety? Do you prefer unglazed or clay for steeping your Dan Cong oolong? I’d love to know.

The post Phoenix Dan Cong Sampler Review appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

Some teas are beautiful (to me) in ways that are easy to explain–heady floral bouquet, deep minerality, silky texture, notes of cream, chocolate, or berries, and so on. By contrast, other teas win my heart and it’s much harder to explain why. Roam is one of those teas!

Taste, Aroma, and Form

I want to be clear: Roam tastes and smells very good to me. I get the aroma and flavor of sweet mixed oats, deep maple syrup, leather, and more. (Interestingly, my tasting notes are different from the seller’s! Maybe it’s West Coat/East Coast water?) But, my appreciation for it is greater than the sum of those things.

I love the loosely compressed form of this 200g tea cake. That first piece is a challenge to remove. (IYKYK) But, after that, it’s very satisfying to break off a chunk of tea leaves–no sharp tools needed. And, it’s lovely to behold the compressed and contrasting dark and caramel brown colors of the dry, compressed leaves. I also admire how they open during the steep.

Roam’s Nostalgia and Body Feel

Another element that contributes to my desire to write an ode to Roam is the effect of the aroma on me. It reminds me of happy childhood memories. (I’ve written about that here.)

And, the tea feels very good in my body. It’s deeply comforting. (More on this later.) This tea just keeps giving, too! So many delicious steeps!

As I write this, I know I’ve given lots of reasons for why I love this tea. Somehow, though, I love it even more than these individual reasons suggest. I don’t know how to explain it.

Heart Teas

Some teas are “heart teas” to me. Jade Rouge / Red Jade (Ruby 18) is one such tea to me. That tea makes me feel sentimental and tender. Balhyocha is my “happy heart tea.” It somehow magnifies (and even generates) a sense of happiness.

Roam, I realize as I am writing this, is another heart tea for me. It makes me feel comforted somehow, and in an even deeper way than teas generally make me feel comforted.

I suspect that my heart teas so far are all black teas–although I drink and enjoy a wide range of many kinds of tea–because I grew up drinking black tea. So, black teas have a familiarity and nostalgic dimension for me.

Musical Ode to Roam

To go completely ’80s nostalgia here, I almost never drink this tea without thinking about the B-52s song, Roam. I think of that song as a musical ode to this tea! The chorus really stands out to me, particularly the heartfelt line at the end.

Roam if you want to
Roam around the world
Roam if you want to
Without wings, without wheels
Roam if you want to
Roam around the world
Roam if you want to
Without anything but the love we feel

One last sweet fact. I recently reached out to Glen, the owner of Crimson Lotus Tea. This tea was named after his son’s favorite buffalo stuffed animal, “Roam.” I also have a buffalo, or luff, stuffed animal. So, this completely melted my heart. These aren’t the only buffalo in my tea universe either! My earlier post, “Tea Mascots,” highlights tea educator Being Tea’s super charming (buffalo) luffs, among other tea mascots.

Where Does Your Heart Roam?

Do you have any heart teas? I’d love to know if this designation makes sense to others. And, if so, which teas are in that category for you?

Interested in more tea reviews, check out my post reviewing a Phoenix Dan Cong sampler kit!

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