May 11th, 2010
The long delicate, hand-processed leaves of Mauna Kea’s 2010 First Flush Oolong are something to behold. Taka is getting better and better at replicating China’s Oolong process of olde. The dry leaves have the familiar floral scent of a Chinese or Taiwanese Oolong, but with a wisp of something more fresh, like the smell of laundry left to dry outside in wind blowing over a hay field. The New Zealand Oolong I recently tried also had this fresh scent.
After a 1:00 infusion at 195 degrees fahrenheit, the leaves had barely begun to unfurl. Because these leaves have barely unfurled, I can be sure that I can get many many steepings out of a single serving of these leaves.
The liquor has a bright yellow/golden glow to it and smells very fresh and slightly floral. The taste maintains the fresh smell and the sweetness is still there too. There is a strong floral taste on the finish.
For a taste of some of the best tea to come out of Hawaii so far, check out: http://www.maunakeatea.com
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Tags: hawaii, oolong, tea
Posted in Oolong Tea | 1 Comment »
December 26th, 2009
I have tried some great new teas out of Hawaii. It is really exciting to be able to try something so new. I received this package of “Sweet Roast Green Tea” from Mauna Kea. The leaves looked like no other tea leaves I had ever seen. Almost appearing as if they had been plucked, baked, then coarsely shopped. They were flat and jagged. The instructions on the bag said that this was meant to be an iced tea. “Brew 1/4 cup of tea in 2 litres boiling water for 2 min. Strain. Enjoy Chilled.” Now 1/4 cup of leaves — is A LOT of tea, but 2 litres of water is a large serving as well. So I followed their suggested directions, put the result in the refrigerator, and the end result was a very nice, slightly sweet iced green tea. I really enjoyed this. I’m not really an iced- tea person, but this came out delightful and no sweeteners were necessary. I’m still curious as to the processing of these leaves though — can anyone offer me any insight?
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Tags: hawaii, iced tea, tea
Posted in Green Tea | 3 Comments »
Thanks for the post, it was rather interesting. May I ask you a question. Is Hawaiian tea somewhat new to the scene? I am new when it comes to tea, and so I have never heard of Hawaiian tea.