Kyaukme Black Tea - CTC

This tea is not for me. It has an odd aftertaste that is almost soapy and overly floral. It is astringent and slightly savory in scent.

Backlog:

A very finely chopped CTC, so finely chopped that it almost resembles a fine ground coffee. But as I say in my full length review of this tea – http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/06/22/kyaukme-black-tea-2014-from-shan-valley/ – don’t let the fine cut of the tea dissuade you. A finer chop just means that you should adjust the brewing parameters a little bit (and it also means that you’re probably going to be experiencing a very bold flavor tea – a good kick in the pants!)

The aroma also reminds me of coffee. The earthiness of coffee as well as the roasted notes of coffee. A good, strong tea with a rich and satisfying flavor. Robust with notes of fruit (I tasted raisins and plums) and a nice molasses-y type of sweetness.

A really good cup of tea – an excellent choice for that first cup of the day.

I have decided to join in the festivities and have a sale in my Storenvy shop. It seems like every business that I get emails from is having a Fourth of July sale, and I thought it was a good idea. For all that I have spent years selling my creations, I am still pretty bad at promoting and marketing, especially now that it is not my focus. So thank you all those awesome companies who gave me the idea!

Today we are having another visit to Shan Valley, this time we are going to the black teas, specifically Kyaukme Black Tea-CTC. This first flush black tea comes Kyaukme Northern Shan State in Myanmar. The CTC (Crush Tear Curl) refers to the type of processing, long story short, the tea passed through a series of rollers lined with sharp little teeth that crush, tear, and curl the tea into neat little uniform balls. This tea smells really good! There are strong notes of malt, molasses, peanuts, honey and a touch of cherries at the finish. It is so rich and intense, this is a tea I would describe as heavy and bold, not so much light and brisk, it is not a ‘wake you up’ aroma, but more of a ‘sensual lounge in a comfy chair’ aroma.

Into the basket and hot water the little balls of tea go! This tea can probably take boiling temp, but since the website stated that temperature is to your taste and my taste is a little lower than boiling, I went with 200 degree water. I do not think this is always the case, but I find with CTC teas that boiling water can bring out unpleasant levels of bitterness, just a personal preference thing. The aroma if the wet leaves has a bit of that ‘wake you up’ briskness now, there are strong notes of malt and dried cherries with a bit of honey at the finish. The liquid retains the richness of the dry leaves, with notes of sweet cherries, roasted peanuts, molasses, and a finish of woodiness.

The taste is an interesting blend of brisk and bold. At first there is an initial zing that wakes you up, and then you can melt into your comfy arm chair. Starting with a bit of oak wood and malt at the opening, this very quickly fades to roasted peanuts, a touch of honey, stewed cherries and a touch of stewed plums (a general stone fruit kinda taste) with a finish of cocoa that lingers. Usually with CTCs I take them with cream and sugar (in fact I found that if you brew Shan Valley’s Black Tea from their 2013 Collection really long and hot, it makes a great base for Ostfriesen tea!) this one, I think is quite perfect straight.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/shan-valley-kyaukme-black-tea-ctc-tea.html