I'm reviewing two pressed tisane bars from Moychay. I've tried a couple in the past, which I really liked, so it was great seeing that they sent some along with some tea to try and review. Again many thanks!
When I first looked up the versions the pricing seemed low ($4 per 50 gram bar, or about that). Really tisanes tend to not cost a lot, so it's just a normal price, but for a well-designed blend and easy access processed form it seems quite fair. I'm not familiar with such things being available here in Thailand or in the US market. Tisane blends maybe, they just wouldn't be all that common, but those pressed as bars maybe not.
For teas compressed forms are often used as a way to support convenient storage for aging, which I guess could relate to these, but in general it just seems like catchy and convenient form. A half dozen bars take up very little space that way. We bought a good bit of chrysanthemum in China two years ago and it's interesting seeing how it changes with age. It's probably better now instead of worse, but really just different.
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four more bars to try; nice |
I never will really critique or evaluate these in relation to the mix of herbs. I've tried looking up tisane health benefits before, and it's possible to make a start on that, but it would be really hard to check if a certain mix of herbs makes sense, or is likely to be healthier than taking any one random version. I might look into that again, related to these.
I drank a lot of tisanes for awhile, for the better part of 20 years, but I just wouldn't overthink that part. I bought versions and mixed them as seemed pleasant, hoping that maybe that health benefit part would work out on its own. Sage was by far my favorite back then; I loved it so much that I wouldn't blend that, so I could enjoy it alone. I was mixing all sorts of plant leaf, root, and bark versions beyond that, with some flowers mixed in but not nearly as much of that. I should be able to say a lot more about other favorites but I gave up that habit when I moved here, 14 years ago. Kind of a shame, since Thais drink other nice tisanes, but I got into tea as a result, so it worked out.
I'll put a description of everything they sent at the end, including the list of herbs and their descriptions, and just copy the ingredients part here for framing:
Romantic: Blooming Sally, Ginger, Juniper berries, Red root, Anise, Hibiscus, Rose hip, Rowan chokeberry, Elder, Acacia inflorescences, Cardamom
Cherry Sea: Fermented cherry leaf, Willow-herb, black, large-leaf, Tver region, Linden blossom, Hibiscus flowers (Karkade), Calendula
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"Romantic" left, in all photos |
Reviewing Romantic and Cherry Sea tisane blends:
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a bit extra light, my normal approach |
It goes without saying that Gongfu brewing herb blends is a bit strange. It would be much more conventional to use a Western approach, to use a basket strainer or teapot and give them a 4 or 5 minute soak, and then another. One would have to try both approaches to see what gets gained or lost in using either.
In mentioning trying these online someone suggest that simmering it may work out really well. It could; people tend not to simmer tea because what gets extracted after the first 8 to 10 minutes of hot water steeping isn't as positive, but in this case that may be the best approach. Or just simmering it when mostly spent might be worth trying. Then it occurred to me that if you simmer this mixed with an even amount of tea and then add water to dilute to a suitable level you would essentially replicate samovar brewing.
Romantic: first infusion is so light a real review will start on the second, but I'll mention first impression anyway. This is a bit tart, like a cranberry. It's going in a really positive direction already though, sweet and complex. The one trade-off related to tisanes, in comparison with "real tea," is that they include less flavor complexity, intensity, and other aspect range depth, less feel and aftertaste. Blending can offset that, since brewing any one tisane (herb, flower, spice, etc.) only goes so far towards that.
Cherry: again, tart. What I interpret as hibiscus stands out, but there is more going on. This reminds me of something I'm probably not going to place, some herb blend or single type I had much earlier in my tisane exploration. Maybe Red Zinger, maybe something else. I suspect that tartness is brewing out faster for some reason but these will pick up a lot of depth and balance soon enough. Comparing the two some balancing warm tone really works better in the "romantic" version; I wonder what that is? Again it's too early to call these.
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a bit too strong; tisane infusion timing isn't very familiar |
Romantic, second infusion: I let this infuse for a bit over 20 seconds, a long soak by "real tea" standards. It's a tisane; it will be fine. I don't know what optimum will be but at least this will get transition moving [after trying it optimum is a shorter time]. Tartness still stands out but that warmth is strong enough that it contributes in an usual way. It's a little like fennel seed; that kind of thing. A cranberry sort of tartness and fruit range flavor is strongest, most pronounced. There's a minty aftertaste. And a lot of other aftertaste; usually tisanes don't work out like this. Something in this is really naturally sweet. I'd expect it all to come together even better once the parts all get infusing next round, but it's pleasant and interesting now.
Cherry Sea: cranberry tartness is giving way to a tart cherry tartness. It doesn't have quite as much depth as the other but plenty is going on. Again I get the impression that this is still settling into where it will go for balance of inputs coming together. For using a 4 minute soak at a much higher proportion all that would get combined, much like combining or "stacking" these first 4 or 5 infusions. 20+ seconds is a bit long though; 15 would be fine for this proportion.
It's interesting switching back to try the "Romantic" version after the cherry. That warmer spice range makes it seem to have a lot more depth. If the tartness eases up the blast of fruit in this second tisane blend could be really nice in a different way, but it sort of works for me tart like that. It would be hard for one single tisane input to have the depth or range of either of these.
Romantic, third infusion: I might have went too fast with these, under 10 seconds, but that will enable describing how infusion strength difference adjusts what comes across. It's kind of unrecognizable, drinking the same blend infused half as long, with some transition for developing. It's enough flavor, I think, but completely different. Tartness is all but gone, probably much less pronounced at this infusion strength (what you taste shifts a lot with infusion strength, not just relative intensity).
That warm tone is nice. It comes across as linked to a warm and sweet aftertaste that lingers on the rear of your tongue. Feel aspects tying to a tongue location is normal, but it's odd feeling like a taste sensation is there. Not the rear of the throat either, as people describe over and over in relation to sheng pu'er, at the rear of the tongue in front of that part.
Cherry Sea: much closer to how it had been last round than the first, just lighter. Tartness isn't dropping out in the same way. I suppose if someone hated tartness this just wouldn't work for them; a preference take on cranberries should determine that as well as anything. It's coming across as complex in relation to a single tisane, but the other has lots more depth and range. I suppose it could be that tartness will fade in this too, revealing something else, but it's just running behind the other.
In tasting the first after the second it's not just the warmth and depth that comes across, it's a sweetness and flavor range I associate with either a bark or root spice (I'm guessing bark, but those two things come in such a broad range you can't really combine them). One might think they know all about bark spices from cinnamon and root spices from ginger and ginseng but it's not like that, a lot more complicated.
Romantic, fourth infusion: for once I'll need to wrap this up to go to bed; that's a novel potential related to drinking tisanes. Or putting the kids to bed first, one last test of my patience before the end of the day. To cite an example they are running a small floor vaccum in the other room now because the kitten hates it, so they're doing that to see how it reacts. It's growling; we have a really grumpy older cat who taught her that vocabulary range.
This is actually starting to flatten out a bit, although I'd guess that it's far from spent. Mixing those 4 infusions might have been better. I'll stretch one more infusion for longer, over 30 seconds instead, and let this drop. Warm range and spice depth is nice in this; that spice wasn't present in the same way before. It's like a touch of black pepper, that kind of spice. Since those bars break up into a good number of squares (9 per 50 grams, so 5 1/2 grams each) it's worth considering trying both mixed together.
Cherry Sea: tartness will go the distance in this version, but it is subdued, as all the flavor intensity is dropping off a bit. Going extra long on one early infusion probably pushed back where these would be by one infusion count. This really could just be cranberry and willow herb, based on how it comes across. I think lighter range inputs are giving it depth that's hard to appreciate as distinct flavors.
Both, fifth infusion: largely faded, but a depth is hanging in there. A trick from brewing "grandpa style" could probably draw more out of these, adding a touch of a fresh "tea" input to restore the rest of the experience range, without giving up the thinner base these can still provide. I'm not sure what would work best for that; it wouldn't just have to be more of the same herb blend. A bit of cacao husk with one of these would be really nice, or ground cacao nib (dark chocolate flavor, more or less, two parts of the plant used to make that). That sounds like an American take on everything, doesn't it? It's all better with chocolate, gravy, or cheese, just probably not all three together.
These bars really should have fantastic potential for cooking too. Either one of these simmered and then used to make oatmeal would be great. Or any number of other things I usually wouldn't even consider in relation to "real tea;" infused in white vinegar to make a salad dressing, or infused in vodka to make a mixed drink. As for blending with tea I'm not so sure; that could be pushing it.
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these photos cited from the Moychay site |
Forest Silence:
Blooming Sally green, Melissa, Tutsan, Raspberry, Medicinal lungwort, Badan, Rose hip, Pine buds
Healing and harmonious composition, heals the whole body, soothes and collects. The taste is not obtrusive, with the aroma and taste of a taiga forest, conveying the calmness and silence of a pine forest.
Romantic (no site product description; a friend translated this one for me from the label)
Blooming Sally, Ginger, Juniper berries, Red root, Anise, Hibiscus, Rose hip, Rowan chokeberry, Elder, Acacia inflorescences, Cardamom
Ingredients: Oregano, St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), alpine thyme, mint, Epilobium willow-herb, sage, raspberry leaf, rose blossom, hawthorn fruit, rowan berries, rose-hip (Fructus Rosae).
All ingredients are harvested by experienced herbalists in the Caucasus Mountains. The components and their respective proportions provide a balanced healing effect - immunity enhancing, digestion-normalizing and a strengthening of the nervous system. The bouquet is herbaceous-minty-fruity, the taste is rich, but without bitterness and astringency.
Cherry Sea
Fermented cherry leaf, Willow-herb, black, large-leaf, Tver region, Linden blossom, Hibiscus flowers (Karkade), Calendula
Calming
Ivan (willow herb) in a red robe (Ivan-fermented Tea, cut leaf Da Hong Pao),
Willow-herb, black, large-leaf, Tver region; Da Hong Pao, broken leaf
The bouquet of the finished tea is warm, grain-spicy with floral, berry and woody notes. The aroma is rich, multifaceted. The taste is strong, juicy, silky, sweet, with a slight bitterness and a spark of spices.
Editing notes: that sounds fantastic. I've tried a Da Hong Pao pressed bar from them that was just great before, and it could match really well with willow herb / Ivan chay.
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