Drum Mountain White Cloud from In Pursuit of Tea ($60/lb.)

This is a delightful tea from Fujian Province, China.  The light green leaves with white down are gently rolled into sticks.  When steeped, the leaves expand into narrow olive-colored leaves.  The liquor is gold and transparent; you can read through a glass of it.

The aroma is malty and leafy.  The palate is light, sweet, malty, and nutty.  It is very easy to drink.  In Pursuit of Tea suggests lots of leaf, a long steep, and water well below boiling, but a three minute steep with the normal weight of leaf and water as described above works very well for me.  This is one of my favorite daily teas.  It can stand up to three infusions, but I sometimes discard the leaf after two and start anew to retain more of the fresh flavors lost after a couple infusions.  This tea grows stale fairly easily.  Make sure you have an air-tight container.

Yinzhen Silver Needle from In Pursuit of Tea ($120/lb.)

This is an expensive white tea from Fujian Province, China.  It consists entirely of downy silvery-white early spring-picked leaf bud, shaped like tiny needles or swords, that lose their down and become pale olive after steeping.  The unsteeped leaves smell exceedingly sweet and fruity, with some light malty notes.  Overall the aroma is very clean.

When perfectly brewed, the tea is a delight: lingeringly sweet, lightly floral, complex, and very light.  The maltiness disappears from the nose, registering as fruity and sweet.  The liquor is a pale, transparent greenish gold, very pale yellow on the second infusion.  Don't serve alongside heavily-flavored food (Angel food cake might be a perfect pairing, if you eat eggs, but I haven't tried it.  Usually I just drink it by itself.)  The experience would only be heightened by drinking it out of your finest, most delicate china; the thinner the rim of the cup the better, as this accentuates the lightness.  If you, like me, do not have any, a tea glass is fine.

There is a tricky bit: getting the right amount of leaf to steep.  Too little and you get little flavor from the leaves; too much and the malt dominates.  When the latter happens the tea tries to play Drum Mountain White Cloud's game, and loses, because it's really not intended as a malty tea.  2.7 - 3.0 grams of leaf is perfect for a Teeli filter glass (250 ml), but unless you have an accurate scale or are exceedingly good at estimation this can be difficult to get right.  This tea is both light and bulky, so the volume of leaf required seems high.  To estimate, use a larger volume of leaf than you would expect but less than twice as much as you would expect, then fine-tune it from there (i.e., it should be neither weak nor malty) on subsequent preparations.  Also make sure the water temperature is low enough: "When the kettle is hissing and steam just begins to come out the spout."  I admit that this seems like a lot of work, but the tea is worth it.  The steeping time is less crucial, as you do not ruin the tea by over-steeping: I use four minutes on the first infusion, eight to ten minutes on the second, and even longer on the third and subsequent infusions, if I re-steep it that many times.

Green Tea Anemone from In Pursuit of Tea ($100/lb.)

This is a presentation green tea from Anhui Province, China.  Spring-picked leaves are hand-tied into lovely rosettes; when steeped, the tied leaves stretch upwards and outwards, resembling a sea anemone (hence the pun.)  In Pursuit of Tea suggests this tea to be served in a wineglass; I have tried this and it is indeed quite attractive.  However, small leaf pieces break off and float in the glass, detracting from the experience of viewing and tasting.  Perhaps washing in cold water first would remove the broken bits, but I have not tried this.  I usually steep it inside my Teeli filter.

The aroma of the unsteeped leaf is herbal, minty, and exciting.  The liquor is a pale, transparent yellow gold, and the aroma is very light with a touch of nettle.  The flavor is extremely light: some vegetative green tea and nettle flavors, a little bit of bitterness, but generally not too far from drinking hot water.  The finish is nice, light, gently lingering.  In Pursuit of Tea claim that this tea can be infused for several hours without developing bitterness.  I would not be surprised.

Sencha from In Pursuit of Tea ($100/lb.)

This grassy, aldehydic tea infuses to a cloudy jade green.  The leaf cut is very small with a high amount of dust.  Infuse for less than one minute with a small amount of leaf or you will end up with a very strong and bitter brew.  Briefly infused, this tea is elegant, with hints of the sea.  Over-infused, the tea tastes much like nori (edible seaweed).  This is one tea where color can be a good guide: I have found that if the infusion appears brown at all it means I have over-infused: best to discard and steep the same leaves again for a shorter time period.  I cannot stress too strongly how unpleasant this tea is when it gets bitter.

This tea is perfectly decent, but one can get a drinkable sencha for a tenth the price, and therefore I'd probably advise against this purchase.

Autumn Green from In Pursuit of Tea ($80/lb.)

This is an autumn-harvested oolong, only lightly oxidized to retain its green color.  The leaves are lightly rolled and taste of flower petals; when steeped, the leaves unroll and are shown to be high-quality, somewhat large whole leaves.  The infusion is a jade green and has a room-filling sweet floral aroma.

The flavor is structured and very floral, and has a lingering sweet, floral, thistley aftertaste.  The tea was better in 2001; even my new, freshly-opened batch has gone a bit stale.  It used to be my favorite tea, but has faded a bit in its old age.  It is still, however, quite worthwhile.  The tea used to hold up to many infusions and any amount of steeping, but the flavor is lost more quickly these days (it is November 2002 as of this writing.)  This tea benefits from a large amount of leaf and a long (ten minute plus) steep.  Order some before it disappears.  (Note July 2005: It's gone, at least for now.)

Crooked Horse Oolong from In Pursuit of Tea ($80/lb.)

This sweet and complex tea is in the Tieguanyin style and comes from Fujian Province, China.  The leaves are rolled tightly into little balls, many with a small hook at the tip.  The unsteeped leaves smell of peach and passion fruit with maybe a touch of ripe persimmon.  The leaves unfold massively when steeped, with large (up to 7 cm long), copper-tinged dark green leaves.  The infusion is a bright red-orange on the first infusion and a deep gold on subsequent ones.

This is one of the more complex teas I have had the pleasure to taste and review, and is also one of the sweetest and fruitiest.  Ripe Fuyu persimmon flavors dominate, with some white grape juice and golden raisin elements.  The tannins are subdued in the palate but a little more prominent in the finish.  A slightly cloying sweetness lingers, especially in the back of the throat.  I'm sure some people consider this one of the tea's greatest virtues, but I'm not the biggest fan of this.  But that is a minor complaint, and this deep and rich tea is one I would certainly recommend, especially for the price.

Pouchong Ming Yue from In Pursuit of Tea ($150/lb., reduced from $180/lb.)

When you open your tea canister, the room is filled with the spicy, leafy aroma of this tea.  The dried leaves are rolled loosely, apparently by hand; when steeped, they expand to thick, larger bright green leaves tinged with copper.  The liquor is a green gold.  The aroma is extraordinarily rewarding and complex, with floral and Japanese green tea notes.

The flavor is exquisite: yes, it's floral, but it's also rice-like, seaweed-like, and shows many more flavors that I cannot identify.  It is subtle, not brash, and its high quality is distracting: it is hard to drink this in the background, as one keeps remarking how delicious it is.  While the Autumn Green is excellent, this is beyond comparison, at least in my experience.  A king should drink this.  It is worth every penny, especially at the new reduced price ($0.33/gram.)  You can infuse this repeatedly, at least four times.

Tieguanyin Competition Monkey Picked from In Pursuit of Tea ($120/lb.)

This is a tasty tea from Fujian Province, China.  The leaves are rolled into small pearls, dark olive and copper-colored.  The dry leaves have the heavy smell of earthy burnt straw, which is quite alluring.  The liquor is gold.

The straw smell carries over into the brew, smelling a bit like a horse stable.  The mouthfeel is soft and round, a bit earthy, slightly smokey, with more of the straw notes.  There is indeed a fruitiness in the finish, as In Pursuit of Tea states, that of the grapes in canned fruit cocktail (it took me a while to figure out exactly what that note was, but that's what it is.)  If the tea is allowed to cool it gets a bit bitter.

Wen Shan Pouchong — Ching Fung from In Pursuit of Tea ($180/lb.)

This is a very light and sweet oolong from the Wen Shan district of Taiwan.  The leaves are broad and a deep olive green.  The dry leaves are sweet-smelling.  The liquor is yellow-gold.

It is gentle and understated on the palate.  The aftertaste is a lingering sweetness.  I prefer fuller-bodied oolongs, but I can see the virtues of this tea as a light brew.  I do not think it is worth its steep price of $180 per pound, however.

Darjeeling Autumnal Flush (Avongrove Estate, FTGFOP1 2001) from In Pursuit of Tea

This is a high-grade tea from the famous Avongrove estate in India.  The cryptic FTGFOP1 is a holdover from the old tea classification system instituted by the British, and stands for the grade "Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One".  The leaves are a red-tinged green that expand into wide leaf fragments when steeped.  The liquor is a medium orange-red color.

This tea is very smooth.  Sometimes black teas can make me wince momentarily as they assault me with the tannins, but that assault never occurs with this tea.  It's easy to drink quickly, it's tasty to drink cool, it would probably be brilliant iced.  I am probably not the best person to review this tea as I usually cannot find as much complexity in a black tea as I can in any other variety of tea, and this is no exception.  Smooth, yes; complex, not really.

Imperial Red from In Pursuit of Tea ($60/lb.)

This is hand-made small farm organic black tea from Fujian Province, China.  It is spring-picked (which seems a bit of a waste when you are setting out to make a strong black tea.)  The leaves are shrunken and rolled tightly into small sticks.  The cut mainly consists of smoky, flavorful black leaves with some malty brown stem bits.  It produces a distinctly red-tinged liquor when steeped.

The aroma is balanced and slightly charred.  The palate is smooth and flavorful but a little light on structure; the mid-range is a bit weak.  There is a fresh acidic top and a strong, slightly smoky base, however, and it has a calming flavor overall.  It is an easy drinker with moderate tannin.  It is possible to make this tea too strong by using too much leaf, but longer infusions seem not to be a problem.  My first cup usually steeps for one minute, with each subsequent cup adding another minute to the timer.  It is usually good for three infusions, with the third slightly vacant.

Pu-erh Tuocha from In Pursuit of Tea ($50/lb.)

This is a black pu-erh from Yunnan Province, China.  The small aged and fermented leaves are pressed into small "bird nests"; when brewed, the leaves separate.  The nests are versatile: one can be used for a pot or a single cup, simply by varying the infusion time.  This tea can be repeatedly re-steeped.

The aroma reminds me of the deep smells of moist forest undergrowth.  It is wide, inviting, and blanket-like.  The mouthfeel is velvety, the palate is earthy, round, and complete, with black tea and fermentation flavors.  There is prominent nori in the finish.  This tea can be brewed very strong, to replace coffee, and is high in caffeine.

Studies have shown pu-erh tea to have substantial health benefits, thus verifying Chinese tradition.  For instance, French researchers found that three cups of pu-erh per day for a month lowered blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels in patients by 25%.   This is at least as good as the results of the drug Clofibrate, without Clofibrate's side effects.  Chinese tradition also claims that pu-erh tea lowers blood alcohol levels, but I am not aware of any controlled studies to test this.

This is a terrific bargain tea, and I recommend it highly.  It also makes a good transition to morning teas if you are a morning coffee person (a nice strong Assam is another good choice.)

Pu-erh Tuocha from The Tao of Tea (approximately $50/lb.)

This is a black pu-erh from Yunnan Province, China; The Tao of Tea writes it "Pu-er".  The aged and fermented leaves are pressed into small nests.  If you like a milder brew, steep for four minutes.  If you like a very strong brew, try six to seven minutes.

The brew is a deep brown, almost black, with red highlights.  The tea is smooth, tasty, and easy-drinking.  Carob aromas dominate in the nose, while the palate provides moderately earthy, fermented flavors with hints of coffee.  It is not quite as complex as In Pursuit of Tea's offering, but the nests are smaller and therefore go a longer way when you are making only one cup at a time.

The only major negative about this tea is that I have to discard the leaves after one infusion because re-steeping yields very vacant, unappealing brews.

This tea is sold in three-ounce tins for a little under $10.  Cost Plus World Markets carry this.