Develop your palate by tasting lots of different foods—different fruits, vegetables, spices, etc. I can’t say something tastes like a ripe persimmon, for example, unless I’ve tried a ripe persimmon. The same goes for understanding tasting notes. If I don’t have a point of experience with a food or flavor, a tasting note that references it doesn’t tell me anything.

I was thinking about this issue of enhanced tea tasting after trying burdock root tea for the first time last month (and many times since then). Before I tried it in a tisane, I didn’t understand the tasting note on a white tea I have that included “sweet, earthy like burdock.” If you grew up eating more East Asian cuisine, you may already be familiar with this flavor. But, somehow, I wasn’t.

Interestingly, exposure to a flavor over time can change our enjoyment of it. The first time I ate cilantro, decades ago, I did NOT like it. It kept showing up in food I otherwise liked, so I learned to tolerate a tiny bit of it. Over time and with exposure, I’ve come to LOVE cilantro. Lots and lots of it! (I know cilantro is one of those controversial flavors. I’m not saying this will work for everyone or that we all have to learn to love every flavor.)

You can still enhance your tea tasting without loving every food, of course!

The post Enhance Your Tea Tasting appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

The Space

Jin Yun Fu relocated about a year ago. They are now on W 29th Street in Manhattan (New York City).

The teashop is below street level, but natural light still streams in through the big windows in the front of the shop.

Inside, there are long, wooden tea tables and gorgeous teaware. It’s a very calming and harmonious space. It’s much more spacious than their previous location, too.

The Event

My daughter and I met up with my son and daughter-in-law to attend Jin Yun Fu’s Mid-Autumn Festival Tea Gathering. It featured three different teas.

I was honored to brew the tea for our group. What a thrill and lovely experience to have access to such beautiful teaware and accessories in that space! (The photo of me brewing tea was taken by my daughter, Clara.)

Jin Yun Fu staff refilled our kettles, exchanged our teaware, and brought us tea. Throughout the event, the tea master, Olivia, would stop by to tell us about the teas, hear what we thought, and check in. She was so nice and helpful! When she told me she loved how “gentle” I was when serving the tea, it made my week!

I also had the pleasure of meeting someone that follows me (and vice versa) on Instagram. She recognized me from seeing my photo!

The Teas

The three teas we brewed at Jin Yun Fu were:

• Honey Orchid Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong
• Menghai Ripe Pu’Er （aged since 2010)
• Tong Mu Guan Qi Zhong Black Tea

It was so fun to be in a group, tasting these different teas over numerous steeps, and having the wonderful conversations that always flow over good tea!

Although there were things I enjoyed about each tea, the Dan Cong and the black tea were my favorites. (Pu’er is just not my tea, so far. Though there were some beautifully creamy notes and a lovely mouthfeel for the Menghai.) My other family members split over which of those two they preferred most.

Lovely Experience

I had a lovely experience at Jin Yun Fu. This was my second visit–the first at this location. I previously attended a wonderful guided tea tasting led by Olivia.

Jin Yun Fu Contact Info

Address: 12 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

Website: jinyunfuteashop.com

Other Teahouses in NYC

Check out my posts about:

• Té  Company (locations in East Village and West Village, Manhattan)
• T Shop (Nolita, Manhattan)
• Paquita (West Village, Manhattan)
• The Parlour (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

The post Lovely Experience at Jin Yun Fu Tea Shop in NYC appeared first on Tea Infusiast.

In this post, I am comparing two tea blends: Harney & Sons’ “East Frisian” and Thiele’s “Broken Silber” “Echte Ostfriesische Mischung.” East Frisian blends in Germany are mostly Assam, accented by Ceylon and/or Darjeeling tea. Harney says its blend contains all three. The Thiele package says, translated, the “best Assam teas characterize the full, fine, bitter taste of this classic top blend.”

Steeping the East Frisian tea blends

To compare these East Frisian teas, I used the same exact amount of leaves, water temperature, volume, steeping time, white rock sugar, and whole milk. I steeped the tea hot–roughly 200F or 95C, for 3-4 minutes. I compared them straight, then added sugar and compared with milk, and finally judged using the traditional cream.

Noting the differences in the blends

The Harney dry leaves look bigger. As you might expect, they didn’t brew as strongly with the same steep time as the Thiele. The Harney tastes more rounded and slightly less malty. The Thiele has more (very pleasant) pucker and deeper malty notes. It also brews up darker, with a thicker mouthfeel. The differences weren’t huge, but my husband and I both noted them right away. Both blends are really good, bold black teas. If drinking tea straight, without sugar or milk, I would lean toward the Harney blend (steeped closer to 2 minutes). If drinking with milk, I would enjoy either one (steeped 3-4 minutes), but I prefer the Thiele. When adding cream–as is traditional in East Friesland–Thiele’s “Broken Silber” wins hands down.

Have you ever tried an East Frisian blend, or black tea with cream? Please let me know in the comments.

Interested in a different kind of tea “review,” check out my post, “Tea that Evokes Non-Tea Memories.”

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