World Tea Tours

05/08/2024

How will you start your day?

17/07/2024

Example of "Creaming Down"

Tea tasting students hear about and sometimes ask what the term "Creaming Down" means in tea liquor examination. This is an Assam Orthodox BP grade, allowed to cool for 30 minutes. No milk was added. Natural change in opacity from fresh, hot liquor.

10/07/2024

What times we had!

Fushimi Inari Shrine, TeaTraining in Wazuka, Houji Cha hot pot dinner and Houji Cha Bath

15/06/2024

04/06/2024

Driving to Darjeeling with stops at Giddapahar and Goomtee tea estates, then on to Glenburn for the night.

04/05/2024

RIP dear Steve

Music video by Billy Preston performing My Sweet Lord (Live). © 2017 Oops Publishing, Limited, Under exclusive license to Craft Recordings, a division of Con...

26/04/2024

24/04/2024

Villa Tortugas also hosts events, gatherings and celebrations!

08/04/2024

Tea, the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, is more than just a comforting drink—it's an experience, a tradition, and for many, a passion. Among the many ways to explore and enjoy tea, one method stands out for its ability to deepen our appreciation and understanding of this ancient beverage: tea cupping. Join Dan Robertson and Chef Pam on Saturday, April 20 for Tea Cupping The Teas of India.

Details and registration bit.ly/PineconeReservations

Downtown Downers Grove

07/04/2024

The teas from Guizhou province are famous but the area is known for much more than beautiful tea. For about 2-3 weeks each spring, color covers the mountains.

30/03/2024

They say time, it is a fickle thing. Don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring. You roll the dice and then you take a chance. Get up each day and spin the wheel. Lay your cards down all by how you fe

28/03/2024

If you’re a tea lover that wants to better understand your favorite beverage, tea cupping is a valuable experience. Indian teas are featured.

19/03/2024

10/02/2024

Soñia and Evangeline wish you a Good Morning. They also want to know what's for breakfast.

05/02/2024

Starting the day with some Tortuga Tea blend. Jungle in the morning. Beach in the afternoon!

Up early getting ready for another beautiful, day at Villa Tortugas - Riviera Maya

24/01/2024

Pony Run. I'm excited to finally release this song. Been working on this one for a while. Found some great guys who could help me make it come to life. Moonshine, mountains, mystery, murder and music. BTW, the fiddle solo is played only on one string. Enjoy.

Listen to Pony Run (mix 4.2).mp3 by Dan Robertson on

A strage story from the days of the mountain moonshine stills. Mystery, murder and music combined. The fiddle solo is played all on ONE string!

29/12/2023

23/12/2023

Listen to Till The Next One Comes Along by Dan Robertson on

21/12/2023

The other Christmas classic.

Listen to Santa's Gettin' Down by Dan Robertson on

07/09/2023

Midwest Tea Fest

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24/08/2023

03/08/2023

Sunset on another wonderful day at Villa Tortugas - Riviera Maya

19/07/2023

The long awaited ITCC Cuppers Comments from the Teas of Nepal Cupping Event - Introduction, Week 1 - Sample 1 of 3

Teas of Nepal Cupping Event Results …. Week 1.
Sample #1 of 3

Tea has been grown commercially in Nepal since the late 1800s with wide spread production ramping up in the 1960s. Originally, most of the tea produced was like that of Darjeeling. In fact, many of the tea producers had some degree of training or reference in Darjeeling tea manufacture. However, in the past few decades, Nepal tea growers and producers have undertaken steps taking them beyond the original objectives. Importing the equipment and producing Japanese style green teas has been going on for nearly 20 years. While conventional black teas are still in the majority, now Nepal is producing fine White and Oolong teas in addition to varieties of black. The majority of tea produced and consumed in Nepal is CTC which was not considered in this exercise.
The samples cupped in the Week 1 group included a White tea, a fully oxidized, buddy black tea and a traditional, lighter oxidized black tea. Additionally, the samples were from two different estates. So, origin comparison was possible as well.
Cuppers follows modified professional cupping procedures and recorded their impressions and comments. To remain consistent, the brewing vessel used was a standard 150ml cupping set. Professional cupping procedure calls for intentionally stronger concentrations so as to detect more elements in the flavor. After making their comments on the full strength infusions, Cuppers were also encouraged to prepare the samples at a more pleasurable strength though these comments were not required to be recorded. Further, some Cuppers re-infused the samples and noted the differences from the first steeping. Following are the Cuppers comments with preference rankings on the four attributes of dry leaf appearance and aroma and infused aroma and taste.
Cupper Water pH Source Leaf Temp Time
1 8 Softened Well 2.5g 195F 3 min
2 6 Tap 2.5g 195F 3 min
3 7 Unfiltered Tap 2.5g 195F 3 min
4 8 Filtered Tap 2.5g 195F 3 min
5 6 Filtered Tap 2.5g 195F 3 min
6 7 Filtered Tap 2.5g 195F 3 min

Six participants did not respond


Sample #001 – Nirvana White
Dry Leaf Appearance:
- Large, white, natural shaped, silver buds and first leaves. Mostly buds with some brown/green small leaves. Dull, pale silver and green color
- Silvery buds and light sage green-dark green buds and leaves.
- flat, long and dark khaki green & silver green leaves, some broken leaves, smooth baby hairs
- Mix of greens: Olive, dark, and silvery buds. Mainly buds but looks to be a standard pluck.
- Mix of large light sage green with white hairs and olive green, a few brown.
- 1-1.5” whole leaves, few stalks, pale green/golden fuzzy under, dark smooth top.

Dry Leaf Aroma:
- Dry hay, light meaty notes but not smoky. Faint floral and slight musty but ok aroma.
- “Like Dobra Tea Room” (from my granddaughter. I couldn’t top it!)
- Vegetal, biscuit
- Hay, barnyard, peppery.
- Sharp and sweet, orange, mostly high notes.
- linen, grassy, soap, pine, Worcestershire sauce

Wet Leaf Appearance:
- Large, olive green, whole buds with some leaves. Natural shape without any twist or roll. Slight oxidation on some leaves.
- Small leaves and buds, fully intact, light-olive green.
- tight, 2 leaves & a bud, some single leaves, multi-khaki green leaves and some brown in color
- Olive green. Muted green. Leaves open. Buds closed.
- Soft sage green.
- olive colored, tender, whole, heavy

Wet Leaf Aroma:
- Light musty notes. Perfumy, deep, meaty and buddy. Round and full but not overwhelming. Tea factory smell.
- Soft, fruity.
- citrus fruit, slightly biscuit
- Peppery. Bready. Malt o meal. Slight muscatel hint in the first whiff.
- Light smoke, orange, faint vanilla, faint kale.
- lemon, tofu, vinegar, umami, floral

Liquor Color:
- Dull, pale brown/yellow. Not so clear but appropriate for buddy tea. Bright.
- Light ecru in color, bright, good clarity.
- dirty light pale yellow color, not impeccably clear or bright, a bit heavy looking
- Clear. Light Amber. Very few tid bits on the cup bottom.
- Medium gold.
- cloudy with tea hairs, medium gold, viscous

Flavor:
- Light smokey, meaty notes. Lightly astringent but ok. Smooth mouth feel. Mix of oxidized leaves. Some depth but also higher notes. Not floral.
- Soft, light, full and lingering mouthfeel.
- light biscuity and vegetal, mainly on the mid top of the tongue, slight corn after taste, light mouthfeel, finishing with a light cooling effect on the palate
- Slightly peppery, dense summer florals, hay, a bit of bamboo. Mouth feel: Smooth. Aroma: Brothy, slight button mushroom.
- Somewhat smoky and brisk, sun warmed hay.
- linalool oxide, toasty, thick, bitter toward throat, smooth, grassy, warm hay.

Comments:
- A beautifully made, special tea of just buds and some small leaves. It had good complexity with a mix of white and green taste attributes. The unique meaty flavor gives it a depth and reduces the grassy notes of some buddy white teas. Second infusion was also enjoyable, especially if you prefer a meaty/smokey note but with mild taste and less oxidation.
- I liked this tea a lot. A lovely experience.
- For a white tea, I did not find the taste to be delicate as I expected. The liquor color looked heavier than the taste.
- I would consider this a SFTGFOP1. You can tell it is hand plucked with precision and this shows in the processing well as.
-
- Clear “cooked meat” umami notes throughout made this tea very interesting. Would purchase for personal enjoyment.

Rank: Combined scores for all Cuppers. Cuppers were asked to score the sample based on four criteria. The chart below shows the overall ranking of each attribute. The rank range was 1 to 5 with one indicating most appealing and 5 indicating least appealing. A higher number indicates more Cuppers agreed on the same ranking.
1=Most Appealing 1 2 3 4 5
Leaf Appearance ###x x x
Leaf Aroma xx xx x x
Liquor Aroma ### x x x
Liquor Flavor xx xx x x

16/06/2023

We only have a few booths available for vendors (tea, chocolate, bakery, tea ware etc) who are interested in being part of this annual event.
Contact [email protected] for more details.

Sponsorship is available, too!

06/06/2023

Being in nature is one of the best features of Villa Tortugas. Natural grasses are used to provide shade, protection from the rain and a pleasing, natural look, while being sustainable and eventually returning to the earth. Take care of mother and she will take care of you.

08/03/2023

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14/02/2023

Another rough day of "working from home". Villa Tortugas - Riviera Maya

28/01/2023

Cocos are waiting for you!