GRAND JASMIN MU DAN

Rare and sculpted tea from the Chinese Fujian province. This very spectacular tea is prepared using long silver tips and young tender leaves, to which freshly plucked jasmine flowers are added. To retain the tea's mild flavour, these flowers are finally delicately removed by hand. Silver tips and young leaves are sewn together by hand with an amaranth flower, before being shaped into a ball. Only just visible when the tea is in its dried form, the amaranth bud is released into the cup after being infused for a few minutes. As it opens up, the tea forms the amazing shape of a flower with a pink heart. A few pink petals detach themselves and float to the surface of the cup. This exceptionally delicate work is only matched by the tea's equally fine flavour, as the softness of the green tea reveals to be the perfect complement to the subtlety of the jasmine.

Suggestion of presentation. Cup not provided.

JASMINE PEARLS

Very rare and available very sporadically, the Jasmine Pearls are produced using best quality green tea leaves. They are rolled by hand into tiny round balls. By being folded in the leaf preserves the delicate fragrance of the jasmine flower with which it was scented. This spectacular tea produces a beverage of the highest quality: the softness of the green tea is the perfect complement to the subtlety of the jasmine. The roundness and the smoothness of the beverage feels like a pearl of tea to the palate. A jasmine tea must !

QIMEN IMPERIAL

The finest quality Qimen. This plucking is extremely difficult to obtain as it is one of the rarest and most prized teas of Anhui. Deliberately produced in small quantities, Qimen Imperial is renowned for its unique aroma and malty flavour.

CHINA BAI LIN GONG FU

“White jade for the Gong Fu”
Origin: China, Fujian
Tea colour: black tea
Length of infusion: 4’
Water temperature: 90°C

Dry leaves
Appearance: rolled leaves with plenty of small buds.
Colour: blackened leaves and golden buds.
Scent: honey, fruit and stewed fruit (prune, mirabelle, rhubarb), vanilla, cocoa and wood based notes (wax polished wood).

Brewed leaves (infusion)
Scent: honey, fruit with apple, mirabelle and prune notes, as well as almond, vanilla and woody notes.

Liquor
Colour: a clear, gleaming coppery colour.
Texture: supple, powdery, developing a delicate astringency in the back of the mouth.
Aromas: initially plenty of honey and fruit, followed by wood and undergrowth, with floral accents over the top (geranium).
Aromatic profil and lenght in the mouth: the notes are present right from the start, and the intensity is long lasting and full. Woody, liquorice and spicy notes come through.

Our verdict: A surprising name for a black tea! In fact, it derives from the cultivar, the famous “Da Bai” – “Great White” – which supplies the leaves for both the Fujian white teas (Bai Mu Dan, Silver Needles) and for the spring pluckings of this region (Bai Mao Hou, for example). Processed in the same way as black tea, the Da Bai leaves produce a rich, complex brew not unlike the best Qimens. Tea fans will love it!

PU ER FO XIAN ANNEE 2002

Origin: China, Yunnan province
Tea colour: dark tea
Length of infusion: 90°C
Water temperature: 4’

Dry leaves
Appearance: small, well-rolled leaves with a very regular appearance.
Colour: fawn.
Scents: slightly heady and good presence on the nose, well-balanced harmony between the animal and undergrowth notes.

Brewed leaves (infusion)
Scents: dominant bouquet of undergrowth: mushroom, damp moss and earth; the animal note is more subtle.

Liquor
Texture: supple.
Flavours: umami.
Aromas: lovely initial aromas and wonderfully complex scents of undergrowth. The notes from infusion (moss, earth) can be rediscovered in the liquor and then develop towards more mellow aromas of mushroom, very long-lasting.
Aromatic profile and length in the mouth: well-balanced and very long in the mouth.

Our verdict: “Immortal Buddha”. A wonderful plucking, for a Pu Er with perfectly controlled fermentation. The passing years have enhanced the bouquet with damp cellar notes that are slightly more developed than those of the current year’s Pu Er. The tannins have also become rounder, for a tea that is amazingly smooth and mellow in the cup.

RYOKUCHA MIDORI

The tea drunk by the Samurai. Being low in theine and rich in vitamins B and E, it is fortifying without over-stimulating the nerves. An ideal tea for physical and intellectual exercise. It has a fine robust, fresh flavour.

YUNCUI IMPERIAL BIO

Origin: China, Jiangsu
Tea colour: green tea
Length of infusion: 4’
Water temperature: 75°C

Twisted leaf.
From the Wukou-Ruikang estate.

Dry leaves
Appearance: twisted leaves and large downy buds.
Colour: khaki green, from pale to very dark.
Scents: vanilla, chocolate (Nesquik, Ovaltine) and woody aromas, combined with yellow flower, animal and undergrowth notes.

Brewed leaves (infusion)
Colour: khaki (green with yellow glints).
Scents: a floral attack followed by a planty, undergrowth note (damp earth), softened by touches of vanilla and cooked yellow fruit.

Liquor
Texture: the astringency that fills the mouth gives it a smooth texture and ensures the liquor lingers.
Flavour: acidic and slightly bitter.
Aromas: initially floral and planty, enhanced by a strong mineral note on the middle and back of the palate, with accents of animal notes.
Aromatic profil and lenght in the mouth: beautifully well balanced. The mild notes at the start and the lovely lingering freshness are followed by a fresh, raw planty note, accentuated by a few touches of fresh fruit.

Our verdict: This tea from the Wuyuan mountains has a large leaf which develops well during infusion. It has the typical flavour of damp earth after a storm, highly prized by the Chinese. Subtle chestnut notes.

GRAND JASMIN DAO REN MAO FENG BIO

China organic green tea scented with jasmine. From the Dao Ren farm in Zhejiang province.
Organic jasmine and an excellent organic green tea combine beautifully to produce this wonderful tea with an intoxicating aroma. To ensure the infusion is not bitter, all the flowers have been removed by hand.

GRAND JASMIN MAO FENG

'Hair tips'. A very rare jasmine tea composed almost entirely of tips. This tea disappeared for a long time before the Fujian province began producing it again in very small quantities. It contains no flowers; they are removed to avoid bitterness when the tea is infused. The smoothness of the liquor and its subtle bouquet makes this an exceptional tea.

SENCHA DE MAI BIO

Origin: Shizuoka prefecture, Japan
Colour: green tea
Lenght of infusion: 3’
Water temperature: 75°C

Dry leaves
Appearance: folded leaves.
Colour: green.
Scents: buttery, cooked vegetable, caramel, vanilla, marine (whelk).

Brewed leaves (infusion)
Scents: very fragrant and rich cooked vegetable note, counterbalanced by a mellow sweet note. Floral accents of rose as well as iodine (fish).

Liquor
Colour: intense green.
Textur: soft and supple in the mouth.
Flavours: umami, sweet.
Aromas: echo the scents of the infusion.
Aromatic profile and length in the mouth: interesting frank and mellow introduction which gives way to a subsequent freshness.

Our verdict: very popular in Japan, Sencha teas are appreciated for their refreshing flavours. With its lovely floral and plant-based notes, this Sencha is the ideal accompaniment to a meal or savoury breakfast.

TAMARYOKUCHA IMPERIAL

A remarkable green tea with twisted leaves, rather than folded like the Sencha teas. This intensifies its dark green colour which is a sign of great quality in this type of tea. It is milder than many Japanese green teas, with a silky, subtle liquor and a fragrant infusion.

LONG JING

'Dragon Well'. One of the most renowned China teas. Originating from the Zhejiang province, the plants grow on the upper slopes of the Tieh Mu mountains. The tea can by recognised by the way it is folded into the shape of a tea leaf. It has a delicate fragrance, a slightly sweet flavour and a silky texture. The liquor is velvety and long in the mouth, with a chestnut aroma.

QIMEN HAO YA

Like Qimen Impérial, this tea grows on the Huang Mountain. It is a high quality crop. The tea has a delicate, slightly chocolaty, taste. A subtle tea for the late afternoon.

SENCHA ARIAKE

Produced by the province of Kyushu, Sencha Ariake is the mildest of the great Sencha teas. Very invigorating and flowery, it is very pleasing in the morning.

DARJEELING TONGSONG BIO F.T.G.F.O.P.1

Origin: Darjeeling, Tongsong
Tea colour: black tea
Length of infusion: 4’
Water temperature: 85°C

Dry leaves
Appearance: with buds.
Colour: very coppery and brown.
Scents: highly fragrant. Strong fruity notes (grapes), woody and zesty aromas.

Brewed leaves (infusion)
Colour: green, copper and brown.
Scents: A fruity attack (grape) with woody notes (twigs) against a vanilla backdrop.

Liquor
Colour: glistening, coppery.
Texture: very supple, then astringent at the back of the mouth, giving lots of lingering character.
Flavour: a very sweet flavour.
Aromas: fruity notes, both cooked fruit and fruit paste (grape, apple), followed by liquorice and woody notes (dried wood) and finally honey.
Aromatic profil and lenght in the mouth: a long liquorice note, followed by cooked fruit.

Our verdict: A really lovely second flush Darjeeling from an estate that is particularly well known for its environmental stance. It has the typical flavours of a summer plucking, with ripe fruit and a complex aroma.

THE DES SONGES BLANC

Le Thé des Songes Blanc is a recipe created by Le Palais des Thés, combining white tea, flowers and fruit. Delicately scented, it evokes rose, orange blossom and red fruit. Safflower petals and strawberry pieces have been added to a delicious Bai Mu Dan, which is refined and delicate.

YUNNAN DE MAI BIO

China organic black tea. From the An Ding estate in Yunnan province.
A wonderful, tippy plucking of one of the best black teas in the world, Yunnan. A full flavour with a touch of honey; long in the mouth. The perfect tea for connoisseurs who prefer an organic brew.

GRAND JASMIN CHUNG FENG

One of the best jasmine green teas. Nearly all the flowers have been removed and there is a high proportion of tips. A remarkable tea, which allows the jasmine bouquet to develop fully after a 3 minute infusion.

THE DES MOINES

Inspired by an ancient recipe created in a Tibetan monastery, Thé des Moines is a rare blend with a unique flavour. Legend tells how the monks would prepare this blend of tea, plants and flowers in the greatest of secrecy. After several days of soaking, the leaves were carefully Plucked out and put to one side. By this mysterious alchemy the monks turned the tea into gold and gave Thé des Moines its exceptional scent.

Black and green tea blend.

DARJEELING GIELLE FTGFOP In Between Flush

A wonderful tea, characteristic of the in between flushes produced every year by India.