78

I bought this tea last year in my infamous Black Friday What-Cha haul. I kind of wish I’d purchased their Jin Guan Yin as well, given that I like the one from Camellia Sinensis. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of dark chocolate, peanuts, rye bread, flowers, honey, and faint, tangy stonefruit. The first steep has notes of honey, peanuts, rye bread, dark chocolate, wood, and apricot. The second is more earthy, though I also get florals, peach, apricot, and lots of peanuts and chocolate. The tangy stonefruit and slightly sour aftertaste remind me of Tie Guan Yin, though that might be my imagination. (I also need to try plain osmanthus flowers, which Derk detected in this tea, so I know what they taste like!)

The third steep gives me an herbaceous note that I could also, like Derk, describe as menthol, but is mostly honey, wood, hay, rye bread, and chocolate. The next few steeps are all about the chocolate, peanut, honey, and rye bread, with hints of peach, apricot, molasses, and florals. The body is quite viscous and the aftertaste is long. I let the seventh and eighth steeps cool to almost room temperature and I see where Derk is getting cherry, and I get more of the tangy stonefruit as well. The session ends with notes of honey, hay, peanuts, wood, earth, and minerals.

This tea offers many of the flavours I like and has the chocolate note I associate with Fujian black teas. I’m not sure why I haven’t given it a higher rating, though maybe it’s because of its woodiness or the fact that it doesn’t change much over the session. Nonetheless, I’ll have no trouble finishing the rest of the bag and would consider buying more given its affordable price point.

Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Cherry, Dark Chocolate, Earth, Floral, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Menthol, Mineral, Molasses, Peach, Peanut, Rye, Sour, Stonefruit, Tangy, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
Martin Bednář

I just get it yesterday, brewing gongfu, 5 grams/125 ml gaiwan. The lower temperature makes it indeed better than just boiled (my thermos isn’t best isulating one) and indeed I get rye bread and chocolate. I don’t recall it much, as it was rather session to keep my sanity, but certainly it is better this way than brewing western!

Leafhopper

I haven’t tried it Western. I usually enjoy black teas at slightly lower temperatures since they tend to be less astringent.

Martin Bednář

It’s just a little note that gongfu suits this tea better than western brewing :)

Leafhopper

LOL, makes sense! I have about 15 g left and will definitely keep gongfuing it.

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Comments

Martin Bednář

I just get it yesterday, brewing gongfu, 5 grams/125 ml gaiwan. The lower temperature makes it indeed better than just boiled (my thermos isn’t best isulating one) and indeed I get rye bread and chocolate. I don’t recall it much, as it was rather session to keep my sanity, but certainly it is better this way than brewing western!

Leafhopper

I haven’t tried it Western. I usually enjoy black teas at slightly lower temperatures since they tend to be less astringent.

Martin Bednář

It’s just a little note that gongfu suits this tea better than western brewing :)

Leafhopper

LOL, makes sense! I have about 15 g left and will definitely keep gongfuing it.

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Bio

Since I discovered Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong four years ago, I’ve been fascinated by loose-leaf tea. I’m glad to say that my oolong tastes have evolved, and that I now like nearly every tea that comes from Taiwan, oolong or not, particularly the bug-bitten varieties. I also find myself drinking Yunnan blacks and Darjeelings from time to time, as well as a few other curiosities.

However, while online reviews might make me feel like an expert, I know that I still have some work to do to actually pick up those flavours myself. I hope that by making me describe what I’m tasting, Steepster can improve my appreciation of teas I already enjoy and make me more open to new possibilities (maybe even puerh!).

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