I was a bit disappointed this year at the 2011 World Tea Expo, because I didn’t get to hang out with my friends from Puripan Tea Garden. They’re always light, lively and fun, so they’re a frequent stop during my time at the expo. Not so this year. But I do have some of their teas to review! And we’ll start with this Mugwort herbal tea (tisane.)

The loose leaves are a mix of light green and white. They’re very puffy and tend to clump together. These aren’t tea leaves mind you, but the leaves of Artemisia vulgaris, a common plant with many uses and many names. The liquor brews a nice light but bright green.

The aroma from the dried leaves is very leafy (no irony intended.) There’s no hints of fruitiness or sweetened edges, mugwort is what it is. The brewed aroma is light in the nose and doesn’t effuse very well, constraining itself mostly the the pot or cup in which is was brewed.

In the mouth the feel is light and smooth at first. Over the course of a sip some astringency sets in with a light drying of the cheeks and area under the tongue. Oddly the tongue itself and the roof of the mouth didn’t seem to be as effected.

Mugwort Tea from Puripan Tea Garden

This tea is not particularly strong, but it does offer some astringency. The longer you brew it, the stronger the flavor profile and astringency will be. Brewed longer than recommended and the mugwort offers some bitterness. Brewed less than recommended it offers a more creamy palate texture.

Fans of  rooibos (red tea), tippy teas and fresh Darjeelings may enjoy this herbal/tisane brew.

—

On a personal note, I find this mugwort tea to be very relaxing and do like to enjoy it a couple times a week.

One of the teas at the Octavia Tea booth at the 2011 World Tea Expo which caught my eye first was this beautiful Silver Mountain Water Oolong. Something about it made me keep coming back to it.

Pretty and tiny tightly balled forest green and yellow-green leaves provide an interesting visual with some stems on. The liquor brews a wonderfully lightly honeyed yellow.

The aroma of the loose leaves is light but creamy. Hints of honeysuckle come to mind. Once brewed the aroma turns more fruity, but remains smooth.

The flavors fill the palate on contact. Smooth and embracing the texture alone calms the senses. There’s little astringency but there’s a deal of vegetal freshness reminiscent of artichoke or fresh spinach.

Silver Mountain Water Oolong

While the tea doesn’t start out astringent, it does dry the palate slightly and the vegetal tones could provide some strength for some individuals.

Fans of  Wenshan Baozhong and Wuyi Oolongs will enjoy this tea greatly.

Teas which contain little used ingredients can be a real adventure. Sometimes those ingredients aren’t used on purpose. There’s just something about them which begs to be avoided. Not in this case though! Kiwi ho!

This tea is wonderful to look at. With BOP grade Chinese black tea leaves of varying sizes and lengths and twists combined with raspberry bits it presents a visual profile worth admiring. The liquor turns out a wonderfully golden copper.

The aroma of the loose leaves is light and fresh. Heavy notes of watermelon flavoring and raspberry tartness run throughout. The dry and spent leaves hold nearly identical aromas thanks to the natural flavorings used.

The flavors on the palette move quickly. Hints of crisp apple with kiwi smoothness, the pucker of fresh raspberries and the undertones of watermelon sweetness provide a well rounded and nuanced flavor profile.

Watermelon Kiwi Black Tea

While the tea doesn’t start out astringent, it does begin to dry the palate quickly and if brewed even slightly long does provide a bit of extra pucker.

Fans of stone fruit profile oolongs will likely enjoy this tea. Fans of fruity herbal and green teas may also enjoy this brew. This tea is likely fantastic iced!

It’s not every day we have the opportunity to watch a shootout. Thankfully the ones we like are usually produced by Hollywood as no-one is usually hurt in those.

Today we’re going to have an accessory showdown. This one is for brewing vessels. That is, mugs which have an infuser built in for brewing loose or bagged teas and strain through the bottom when placed atop your mug. Nice for the office or friend’s house!

Essentially all three devices work the same way. Place your loose leaves in the pitcher, fill it with water at the desired temperature, let steep the requisite amount of time then place the brewer atop your mug and allow it to drain to fill your mug.

Adagio Teas’ ingenuiTEA – http://www.adagio.com

The ingenuiTEA from Adagio is in a special place. So far as I know it’s the original device of this kind. That’s not to say it’s immediately better or worse than the other accessories in the category.

The ingenuiTEA appears to be the smallest of the three in this showdown. However it holds just as much as the Brewts device, a full 16 fluid ounces (2 cups).

Adagio Teas' ingenuiTEA Tea Maker

The ingenuiTEA is the only brewer to lack a ‘drip plate’ or ‘coaster.’ Whether the device needs one is completely up to whether or not you have spillage from yours. Apparently some older models had issues with the strainer coming loose and leaking a bit. My model did not have this problem.

Of all the devices the ingenuiTEA has the most grip able handle. The wavy grips prevent finger slippage while holding the accessory.

I did have issues with the strainer though. While I didn’t have issues with it becoming loose… I had the exact opposite issue. It was way too tight. I couldn’t get the strainer out in order to wash the device properly. This was a shame for an otherwise notable tool.

I also noticed the ingenuiTEA happened to stain fairly quickly when I brewed some Lapsang Souchong and some of Ten Ren’s King’s Tea.

Teavana’s Perfect TeaMaker II – http://www.teavana.com

I was honestly surprised when I opened the box for Teavana’s PerfecTEA Tea Maker II. The device is MUCH larger than the other two in this shootout, weighing in at 32 fluid ounces (4 cups).

If you have loose Guayusa from Runa or another herbal tea which doesn’t grow bitter or astringent after brewing too long this size is great. It’s also a great fit if you’re brewing the same tea for several people.

Teavana's Perfect Tea Maker II

The handle on the Perfect TEaMaker II is kind of interesting. It almost seems like it could be used for volume measurement, but there are no volume counts on the device. Just straight lines similar to what you might see on a measuring cup.

Because of the sheer size of the PerfecTEA Tea Maker II, the strainer is very easy to take out. It could be that unlike Adagio’s device, I was simply able to fit my hand inside and get enough leverage to remove it.

The drip plate was a nice addition to the Perfect TeaMaker II. The device tends to drip a few milliliters after it seems it’s been fully drained into the mug.

I didn’t find this particular brewer a good fit for someone making tea for themselves. Even with a large 20 ounce mug there’s no really easy way for me to tell when my mug is getting full other than judging volume siphoned from the unit as I’m loading up my mug. It should be noted that Teavana does offer a 16 ounce model, but I needed to test for differentiation.

On the plus side this brewer was the only one which could adequately cover the lip of my mug completely as recommended by all the manufacturers. The video above illustrates the issue I have with the ingenuiTEA and the Brewt as it concerns covering my mug to provide stability for the device as it empties.

Brewt Brewer – http://www.brewts.com

The Brewt is an interesting looking device. The design has more shape and curve to it making it look ‘cooler’ or more fun. The line I was given at the 2011 World Tea Expo was that the Brewt was designed so big man-hands could get into the device and remove the strainer for cleaning. I certainly found this to be the case.

The Brewt Tea Brewer

The Brewt also has a drip plate with it. Labeled a ‘coaster,’ I hadn’t had much call to use it even after a month of three to five brews a day with the device.

Since the Brewt is sold only as wholesale to tea shops and other companies it’s difficult to get any direct information from their website related to price or features. But it does have some differentiation from the other units besides man-hand room.

I love the fact that the lid for this unit pops off and on so easily. It makes cleaning the accessory so much simpler. The lid for the ingenuiTEA does come off, but requires more force and the Perfect Tea Maker II’s lid may be removable but it always feels like I’ll break it when I try.

An unfortunate side effect of the easy lid is that the Brewt tends to leak air out. This is a great tease when you really want your tea to finish brewing, but it diffuses the flavor and aroma which would be better if contained. So that’s kind of a draw.

Conclusion

Unlike last year’s infuser showdown, there’s only one unified method of brewing for these devices. You either enjoy the brew, or you don’t. I happened to gravitate most to the Bret due to its unit size and because it was easier to clean than the ingenuiTEA.

Overall, which unit is right for you is based on your preferences, needs and usage. The Brewt worked best for me, but the ingenuiTEA or the Perfect Tea Maker II could very well be a better fit depending on your consumption habits.

To say the ingenuiTEA is a poorly constructed unit would be wrong. I probably received one of the first revised units with the new metallic strainer and there very well may have been some issues with that run. Poke around online to see how other people’s experiences have gone.

The Perfect Tea Maker II is a nice unit. It’s opaque bottom makes it difficult to see how much tea has been drained into my mug and I came very close to having it overflow on several occasions because of this. If your vessel is big enough to hold 32 fluid ounces of tea then this might be your brewer. If not, just be careful as you allow it to drain. Don’t walk away from it. Or, fill it half way.

Check out my coverage of both Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2011 World Tea Expo.

The World Tea Expo is such a fantastic event that even after only a few times through I can’t imagine not attending every year. I spark wonderful conversations with people, make new friends and contacts and come out knowing more than ever about tea in all its forms. This year really was no different in this respect. From a Tea Anthropologist I met at breakfast on Day 2 to time spent hanging out with my new buddy Ankit Lochan of Lochan Tea (we went to the Hoover Dam) I really had a great time this year.

But, without further ado…

Day 2

I spent some quality time with a few of the larger brands on Sunday. A wonderful but short visit over to the Harney & Sons booth showed Michael Harney’s lighter side and let me reconnect with the brand which first exposed me to loose tea. I always enjoy speaking with the Harney’s. They have great business sense to be sure, and they know their teas but they’re also great to talk with and learn from. You should drop in on their SoHo store if you’re in Manhattan.

Michael Harney & I

Michael Harney's Lighter Side

Moving along, I spent some time with some new friends with World Tea Media, purveyors of the World Tea News (WTN) industry publication and the World Tea and World Tea East expos. George and Kim Jage started the expo some number of years ago and it’s really grown into something wonderful! Dan Bolton, editor of the WTN articles and I had a nice long chat as well. It was a pretty awesome chance to connect with some of the larger names in the industry at the moment.

Some Tea from Rishi Tea

International Tea Importers is one of the larger wholesale groups around and they have some mighty fine product. They had a couple of the more unique items I was able to check out this year. Amongst my favorite activities at the expo are speaking with ITI’s purveyor, Mr. Devan Shah as well as venerable Tea Luminary Mr. James Norwood Pratt (to whom I always wish to bestow the title of Sir.) I hope next year I’ll have the opportunity to share a meal with these gentlemen.

Sir James Norwood Pratt and I

A stop over to Teas Etc yielded a great opportunity to chat up Beth Johnston and new friend Sherri Miller of Moonrise Tea Garden out of Hawaii. I reviewed Sherri’s crop from last year if you care to check it out. I also had a chance to speak with Newman Johnston and am always super excited after talking tea, business and happy things with these folks. There’s so much to go over and one expo isn’t nearly enough time, let alone a short conversation within an expo!

Beth Johnston, Myself and Sherri Miller

Newman Johnston and I

Another group from Hawaii whom I didn’t get the chance to review but did say hi to last year was Naliko Tea Gerden, now known as Tea Hawaii. It seems like Liam Ball of Naliko hooked up with a neat crowd. Tea Hawaii offers some neat products, an interesting brewing method where water is poured over the leaves and sifted into a drinking vessel. They also offer custom made tea cups made of clay which are all unique. The uniqueness is by virtue of a ‘slap’ to the clay as the potter is finishing spinning it which gives the cup its unique ‘wobble.’

Tea Hawaii Brewing to a Vessel

Another stop was made to a standby of mine. You can find Stash Tea products in nearly every grocery store in the United States. They’re a HUGE brand. However, they’re mostly known for their bagged teas. This is mighty unfortunate because their loose tea quality is actually pretty high. I always enjoy good conversation with Stash. I hope to cover more of their loose teas soon.

Stash Tea Products

I did also run into Wendy Weir of Libre Tea whose brewing vessel I reviewed some time ago and pit against other tea mugs in a showdown last year. This was her first World Tea Expo exhibiting. Honorable mention to my friends at Honey Stix whose products I hope to review soon. A shout to my buddies at Eastrise Trading who handle distribution for Foojoy in North America. Another honorable mention for the folks at Nucha, and David over at Gorreana Portuguese Teas.

I was disappointed not to see some of my favorite exhibitors from the past two years. Notable absences included Puripan Tea Garden, TeaGschwendner, PeLi Teas, Tavalon Tea, Village Tea Company, SAFA Himalaya and Catalyst Tea Enhancers. I missed you guys!

That’s pretty much it for Day 3. Feel free to go back and check out Day 1 and Day 2 of my 2011 World Tea Expo coverage.

Eastrise Trading Company