Shui Tea Act Normal

We are very excited to celebrate fair trade month! Not sure what fair trade means? Let us break it down for you…What does fair trade mean? When something is Fair Trade Certified, it protects the environments,through helping farmers and workers to practice sustainable farming,remove dangerous chemical and preserve their land. This is very important when it comes to tea, as you don’t want to be ingesting those harsh chemicals without knowing. Fair Trade gives you the confidence to trust the tea company and the tea farmers, and also reminds you that your tea is socially sustainable as well as environmentally sustainable.  The social sustainability goes towards empowering families to keep their children in school,and enables these people with access to health care, and representation. If you want to learn more about Fair Trade Practices and tea, check out Jim at Shui Tea’s blog post “Soulja Boy Teaches Fair Trade” to go more in-depth! What can you do as a consumer? If you are unsure whether the tea you are buying is fair trade, or sustainably farmed, contact the company and ask, most companies are more than happy to have a customer relationship with you and will answer promptly!

The first tea we will be reviewing in honor of fair trade month, is Shui Teas’ Act Normal Black Tea, which is “Processed by hand by good people and fairly traded.”

Brand: Shui Tea Act Normal Black Tea
Tea Rating: 93/100
Steep Time: 2-3 minutes
Steep Temperature: 190 Degrees
Price: $6.25 for 2 oz/ $$12.75 for 4 oz

This is the second tea sample I received from Jim at Shui Tea to review! I am excited to share my review because this tea is delicious! On first smell, this tea embodies a very rich earthiness,both in the dry leaves and in the liquors aroma. First sip..? This tea is bold! I can taste some sweetness,peppery notes and some citrus-y flavors (which may be the tannins o f the tea coming out). I really like the boldness of the tea, and it makes

the tea a great introduction to tea from coffee. The tea has a sweet, creamy flavor, that reminds me of caramelized sugar. This sweetness really balances out the bitter/tannic flavor and makes you want another sip! I steeped this tea 4 times, and as my steeps went on, the bitter tannins went away, and the sweet flavors really came out in the tea. The subsequent steeps also got much milder in flavor, so if you like your black teas bold, I would recommend just steeping this twice, or adding some more tea to the subsequent steeps to keep the bold flavors in play! I really enjoyed both teas that I was given to try from Shui Tea! They were both excellent, and very moderately priced. If you’re looking for good tea, be sure to check out Shui Tea! Also, if you are in the Chicago Area, Jim hosts events from time to time, which most recently has included his Tea Cocktails (tea infused vodka, and Sweet Revenge on a Manhattan to name a few!).  You can also schedule your very own tea tasting with Jim, where he brings everything along to have a great tea time at a reasonable price.

To learn more about Shui Tea:
Follow them on Twitter
Like them on Facebook
Or visit their store to buy this tea!

All photographs included in this post are property of Melissa Wrzesniewsky and are not to be used without artist authorization(minus the logo,which is property of Shui Tea)

Shui Teas’ Four Seasons Oolong

Brand: Shui Tea Four Seasons Oolong
Tea Rating: 86/100
Steep Time: 2-3 minutes
Steep Temperature: 190 Degrees
Price: $5.00 for 1 oz/ $10.00 for 2 oz

This Oolong is sourced from the Ming Jian village, Nantou, Taiwan. This region of Taiwan is very mountainous,with varying elevations and climates, which makes a great tea producing area. This area is also one of the largest tea producing areas in Taiwan.  Four Seasons Oolong is also known as Evergreen Oolong, and is very lightly oxidized (5-15%) and is similar to some green teas.

First and foremost, the rolled oolong  is beautifully rolled, bright green leaves. They smell slightly floral and have a very heavy fresh scent as well. The color of the liquor is a golden yellow-green color. The best part of the tea is the flavor. This tea is pretty light, but its subtle flavors are fantastic. The first thing that hits me is the fresh, buttery mouth feel, which just paints the tea all over your palette.

The floral aroma of the steeped liquor really enhances the floral flavors in this tea, especially after a few infusions. From the third steep and on,  the floral aroma starts to calm down,but the sweet, floral taste is still there with a creamy finish, instead of the buttery flavor found in the first and second infusions. The finish of this tea was a very refreshing flavor, which was menthol like after you swallowed and breathing in. I really enjoyed this tea, and would recommend it to people who are just starting to get into Oolong Teas and are unsure which ones would be best to try. Thank you so much to Jim from Shui Tea for including some samples with my Matcha Bowl Order!

To learn more about Shui Tea:
Follow them on Twitter
Like them on Facebook
Or visit their store to buy this tea!

All photographs included in this post are property of Melissa Wrzesniewsky and are not to be used without artist authorization(minus the logo,which is property of Shui Tea)