Tea Review: Black Tea Spring Flush 2024 (Minto Island Tea Company)

Black Tea Spring Flush 2024
Minto Island Tea Company
Type: Black
Origin: USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:

Loose leaf Camellia sinensis, grown, harvested, and processed right here on our farm in Salem, OR. We have produced both hand picked and machine harvested black teas this spring.

2024 Hand Picked Black: We opted not to produce any hand picked black in spring of 2023, so it was a pleasure to make some once again this spring. The material in our fields this year was in many ways better suited for black tea production than green or white, growing large and becoming tough at a faster rate than we could pick it. The liquor is supple and viscous, with flavors of cherry pie, sweet red bean, and candied chestnut.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of sweet oats, fruit, nuts, and nut shells.

The infusion is bright copper orange with an aroma of baked fruit.  The taste has sweet notes of baked fruit and something that reminds me of sweet bread with no notable astringency followed by a long fruity and floral finish.

This was a delightfully smooth with fruity notes throughout three infusions.

I purchased this tea at the Minto Island Open House, an event I highly recommend if you're in the region and have an interest in local tea growing and production.

This tea was purchased by me.

Tea Review: White, Green, and Black Tea (Minto Island Tea Company)

During the 2021 Open House at Minto Island Tea Company, I had the opportunity to pick up a variety box of their Spring Flush teas.

White Tea
Type: White
Origin: USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:

24 grams of loose leaf Camellia sinensis, grown, handpicked, and processed right here on our farm in Salem, OR in May 2021.

Tasting notes: 

6/3/21: grassy, bright, and clean.

5/31/21: sweet, mellow, and spicy.

5/25/21: rich and velvety.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of flowers, sweet grapes, oats, and dried wood.

The golden liquor has a sweet aroma of baked squash, nuts, and green vine.  The taste has notes of nuts, nut shells, and something that reminded me of sweet pea with a long, sweet floral finish.

The refreshing floral finish to this tea, brought to mind that first deep inhale during a visit to a garden in bloom.  The flavor and sweetness remained full throughout three infusions. 

This tea was purchased by me.

Green Tea
Type: Green
Origin: USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:

24 grams of loose leaf Camellia sinensis, grown, handpicked, and processed right here on our farm in Salem, OR in May 2021.

Tasting notes: juicy, smooth, and creamy.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes

The dry leaves have a savory aroma of ground nuts, grass, and fragrant wood.

The pale green infusion has a savory and nutty aroma with a hint of edamame.  The taste is smooth and nutty with light edamame notes.  

While I most enjoyed the results from steeping for 2 minutes for its abundance of savory umami, steeping for 3 minutes produced refreshing green grassy notes similar to sencha without burying the savory notes found in a shorter steep.  This gave me a feeling of early summer.

This tea was purchased by me.

Black Tea
Type: Black
Origin: USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:

24 grams of loose leaf Camellia sinensis, grown, handpicked, and processed right here on our farm in Salem, OR in May 2021.

Tasting notes: honey, pumpkin, and malty.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a rich aroma with nutty and dark bread flour notes.

The copper orange infusion has a deep, rich aroma with notes of baked fruit and something that reminds me of dark bread.  The taste has notes of nut shell with a hint of baked fruit, mild astringency, and a dry finish.

The dry leaf aroma left me with a strong craving for fresh baked bread.  The taste mellowed by the third infusion while still being enjoyable.

This tea was purchased by me.

Minto Island Tea Company 2021 Open House

On June 12th, I had the opportunity to attend Minto Island Tea Company's 2021 Open House.  The tea farm is located in Salem, Oregon and has been growing tea since 1988.  Open House events are free with drop-ins welcome.

We arrived just in time to hear about the history of the tea farm and take part in a Q&A session.

The mother plant is almost 30 years old and takes up half an acre on the old plot.  It was a little rough looking at the time of the Open House because trimming had been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.  New leaves have usually grown back in by the time of this event.

In the nursery, we could see examples of the various propagation methods.

We visited the new plot where the rows of tea bushes seemed to go on forever.  Here we had the opportunity to taste and purchase their newly released 2021 spring flush teas.  I was especially impressed with how much their green tea has evolved and improved over the years since my first tour.

To close the visit, we stopped by the farm stand to pick up some fresh produce, enjoy a berry milkshake from the food cart, and purchase a tea plant to keep my older Minto plant company. 

Visit the official Minto Island Tea Company website to learn more about opportunities to attend tea tastings, tours, and open house events throughout the year.

Address: 

3394 Brown Island Road South, Salem OR, 97302

Tea Review: Oolong (Minto Island Tea Company)

Oolong
Minto Island Tea Company
Type:  Oolong
Origin:  USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:  2016 Spring harvest. Chinese style oolong tea that is wok fried and lightly oxidized. Nutty and sweet. 

Temperature: 195° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a floral aroma with notes of fragrant wood.

The golden infusion has a rich, buttery, nutty aroma with notes of asparagus and a hint of flowers.  The taste is mild and nutty with light notes of rice and other grains, no astringency, and a clean finish.

The second infusion produced the most flavor, developing light notes of wood, rice and oats, and a lightly floral finish.  It would be well worth steeping longer or using more tea leaves to bring out more body.

Tea Review: Steamed Green Tea (Minto Island Tea Company)

Steamed Green Tea
Minto Island Tea Company
Type:  Green
Origin:  USA, Oregon, Salem
Product Description:  2016 spring harvest. Sweet, mild vegetal notes.

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of fragrant aged wood and light notes of camelia.

The golden infusion has a light, savory and sweet aroma with notes of sesame.  The taste is rich and buttery with light notes of wood and spinach and a long fresh sweet finish.

The floral notes became slightly more pronounced after the first infusion while the taste remained smooth and sweet throughout three infusions.

Minto Island Tea Company Tour

On July 30th, I attended one of the first public tours of Minto Island Tea Company. The tea farm is located in South Salem near Minto Brown Island Park.

It's exciting to learn about tea growers in North America, and even more so when one of the more successful tea farms happens to be located near my hometown!

Minto Island Growers is a 40-acre organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm and nursery, operated by co-owners Chris Jenkins and Elizabeth Miller.

The half-acre tea garden was planted in 1988 by Elizabeth's father, Rob Miller, with plants collected by partner and agricultural consultant John Vendeland as an experiment to prove that tea can be grown successfully in the Northwest.  The soil on the farm is fertile due to seasonal flooding and irrigation provides much-needed water during dry Oregon summers.

Tea is harvested May through September and the plants are generally dormant the rest of the year.  All tea is handpicked, though they are hoping to introduce small-scale mechanization soon.  Currently, Minto Island Tea Company is producing green, oolong, and black tea.

The tour began with a visit to the original tea plot where Chris and Elizabeth provided information about the history and development of the tea garden, cultivars, and harvesting methods.

We had the opportunity to pluck tea before moving inside to compare the freshly picked leaves to leaves that had been withering for three hours.  The withered leaves had become soft and malleable, ideal for rolling.  After plucking and withering, the leaves will be rolled, then steamed or fired (depending on the tea being produced) to reduce the moisture content to 3-5%.

Chris demonstrated the labor-intensive process of hand-rolling green tea.  This is generally done on a larger scale though still by hand.

Historically, tea plants were grown from seeds which will have been cross-pollinated from a variety of donors.  The seedling will produce a long taproot from which smaller roots will branch out.  

More recently, tea is produced from cuttings which results in genetically identical, clonal tea plants.  These plants do not have taproots and instead produce net-like roots that spread shallowly.

[Tea Seed Pod - Seed pods on a half-acre can produce approx. 200,000 seeds.]

[Tea Seedlings]

[Chris Jenkins shares an example of a seedling taproot]

[Clonal tea plants grown from cuttings]

Our next stop was the kitchen for a green tea tasting.  Elizabeth walked us through a modified cupping and gongfu tea preparation where attendees could see, smell, taste, and compare the dry and infused leaves.

Following the tea tasting, we took a scenic walk to the farm stand through an area filled with lush green plants and trees, including an experimental poplar grove, where an unusually large variety of birds make their permanent and seasonal homes.  The local branch of the Audubon Society holds tours in the area, for anyone interested in joining.

Next, we visited one of several tea plots where the affects of soil variations and elevation on tea plant growth and viability are studied.

The tour concluded at the farm stand where seasonal fruits and vegetables, tea, and fresh-made food are available for purchase.

The next and final tea tour of the year will take place on August 20th and tickets may be purchased online.  Chris and Elizabeth plan to offer an open house and two tea tours again in 2017.  Sign up for their newsletter to hear about news and upcoming events.

Minto Island teas are available for purchase (while supplies last) online, at the Portland Farmers Market, and at the Minto Island Farm Stand where you can also purchase tea plants.

Address: 
3394 Brown Island Rd. S., Salem, Oregon 9730

Hours: 
May-October, Tuesday-Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm (Farm Stand)

May-October, Tuesday-Saturday 11:00am to 3:00pm (Farm Food Cart)