Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea
Flavors
Cinnamon, Cream, Drying, Earth, Licorice, Malt, Menthol, Mineral, Raisins, Stonefruit, Tannin, Wood, Almond, Caramel, Roasted Nuts, Sweet, Sweet Potatoes, Umami, Bread, Broth, Lemon, Mint, Spicy, Astringent, Camphor, Clove, Cloves, Honey, Molasses
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by sherapop
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 45 sec 4 g 6 oz / 187 ml

From Our Community

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53 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I tend to enjoy black teas from the Sun Moon Lake area, in part due to their stone-fruit qualities. I started this session off by preheating my cup, & then letting the leaf warm up in there...” Read full tasting note
  • “Wow… Why are all the reviews for this so low:( I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit! I steeped it a little under boiling (I didn’t read reviews or this teas page before hand). I steeped it for...” Read full tasting note
    86
  • “Definitely not my cup of tea. No taste of cinnamon, cloves or mint. Rather bland, but in a medicinal way. I drank a full pot, but couldn’t bear to do a re-steep. The red liqour is intoxicating...” Read full tasting note
    54
  • “I had actually forgotten that I signed up for Steepster select until I got the email that it had shipped! Must’ve been a black Friday or holiday sale? I went for the darkest, most warming tea...” Read full tasting note
    89

From Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

The producer of this tea is employed by the Yu Chi Township Tea Research Extension Station (TRES) and has consistently won gold medal prizes in each of the Black Tea Competitions in this area. He is a leading figure in his field and his knowledge and expertise of black tea cultivation in Taiwan is virtually unsurpassed. In recent years, he has formed a cooperative of 5 fellow tea producers that all follow the same standards of production. This allows these farmers to maintain their small, family-run farms at high quality, artisan standards while meeting demand for larger quantities of tea.

Flavor: Subtle hints of clove, cinnamon and mint. Full-bodied, complex. Substantial brew.

Garden: The maker of this tea is employed by the Yu Chi Township Tea Research Extension Station and his factory produced the winner of the 2011 Black Tea Competition in this area. He is a leading figure in his field and his knowledge and expertise of black tea cultivation in Taiwan is virtually unsurpassed.

Harvest: Harvest: Hand picked. Small batch. Summer 2012.

Elevation: 450m

About Eco-Cha Artisan Teas View company

Company description not available.

53 Tasting Notes

85
49 tasting notes

I’m not a dark tea drinker usually, but I actually liked this tea. I brewed it in my Gaiwan, and as I’ve come to find, the packets of tea in Steepster Select aren’t really big enough for a single serving in it, so I went with less water, maybe 3 oz. I found the flavor profile really interesting and can see where the Steepster description comes from. Though I found it more of a mashup, which might be why some people find it difficult to discern. I really was compelled to get my nose in there to try wrap my head around the interesting aroma. I had a bit of a hard time putting my finger on it, something kinda sweet, candied and citrus. Kinda like orange flavored rock candy, like those inexpensive suckers wrapped in plastic, twisted on the ends. Color is a lovely red hue, like a amber rose. Get the light astringency that people speak of, a dry mouthfeel and a lightly sweet aftertaste long after the cup has been put down. Caffeine-wise, I felt a nice alert kick after savoring my 2nd cup. On my 3rd now. Doubtful 4 or 5 will offer much in the way of flavor, but I’m open to being surprised. Each steep time I have increased by about 45 secs to a min. Overall pleased, and will happily return to my second sample. Perfect for a rainy Los Angeles evening…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 OZ / 88 ML
Eco-Cha 一口茶

Glad to hear you enjoyed the tea Mark!

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67
30 tasting notes

I generally prefer lighter less astringent teas, but this one is interesting enough and complex enough that I’m definitely glad I tried it.

Reading the reviews from my fellow Steepster members teabird, Lee, and Jace Lion Repshire really added to my enjoyment of this tea.

In addition to the wonderful honey flavors that are abundant and obvious in this gorgeous red tea, I also enjoyed the complex dried apricot, malt, tamarind, and dark wheat bread flavors.

BrewTEAlly Sweet’s description of the cinnamon flavors helped to identify those bitter flavors that other reviews did not detect, as well as the mint tea mouthfeel.

I probably won’t seek this tea out again, but I certainly am happy to have experienced it.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec
teabird

I love reading about the flavors other people pick out of a tea :)

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75
72 tasting notes

Included with January 2014’s Steepster select box.
Well, I didn’t not like it, but I barely did like it…. I got nothing that the card mentioned in the flavour profile.. no cinnamon, no cloves, no mint. It was named correctly though, There’s a lot of red in this black tea. I’ve had better black teas, the taste was mediocre. I steeped twice and tossed the spent leaves out.

Edit:
After reading people’s positive experiences with this tea, and Eco-Cha’s notes and background info, I’ve decided to give the 2nd packet a go, this time gongfu style…

HUGE difference!

Although still not my favourite black, the gongfu method really brought out some of the flavours I missed the first time around. I enjoyed this tea last night, it was a very nice experience. Thanks for taking the time to reply with the extra info and opinions, Eco-cha, it’s changed my opinion of this tea for the better.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 15 sec

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67
2 tasting notes

A very pretty leaf, long slender and delicate. Red is a very appropriate name. An earthy woody front, which I wasn’t too fond of gave way to a long oily finish which was very pleasant. A second steep brought out hints of rose and possibly citrus.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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22
103 tasting notes

Here I am: so excited for tea-time (always a big occasion in our house) and I brew Red Jade. I take a sip, and do a double-take. What is that flavor? Is it the cinnamon, clove, or mint that the package speaks of? No. I freely associate the flavor and come up with: meat. Specifically, raw tuna fish. Yet, I love raw tuna fish. This tea? not so much.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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95
138 tasting notes

Wow this was one of my favorite teas so far that Steepster has done. Minty, cinnamon sweetness. Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want more, I did 10 sec steeps and it kept going and going.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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93
191 tasting notes

had two steepings of this this morning, was wonderful – a black tea that doesn’t make me want to add milk and/or sugar! yay! better notes next time.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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63
4 tasting notes

I usually don’t resteep black teas but I did with this one due to the price of select and it was worth it. Light flavor on the resteep but still smooth

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70
413 tasting notes

I ordered this tea in March of 2016, which means that it’s probably—gasp!—from 2015! Yes, I’m a bit embarrassed by this. 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 typical Red Jade: menthol, cinnamon, raisins, malt, and stonefruit. The first steep has notes of sassafras, menthol, malt, cinnamon, cream, raisins, tannin, and wood. The next steep has more malt and menthol and not much fruit. There’s some astringency in the background and a drying aftertaste. Aside from a bit of raisin, the third and fourth steeps continue to be all about the malt, menthol, tannin, and sassafras. Later steeps emphasize malt, tannin, earth, wood, and minerals.

This tea has all the standard Red Jade flavours, though it’s on the maltier, more astringent side. I won’t have any trouble finishing the bag, but don’t need to buy more, as it isn’t anything new or spectacular.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cream, Drying, Earth, Licorice, Malt, Menthol, Mineral, Raisins, Stonefruit, Tannin, Wood

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

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90
7 tasting notes

For my most recent session with this tea, I just about doubled the leaf:water ratio. Short steeps from about 5-15 seconds (20 max). It seems like 90 C water works best in this case. I’m really enjoying it. The flavors are about the same, maybe slightly more complex, but overall more intense and linger longer. There is a very slight added astringency but it’s so mild. Later aftertaste is mildy mint-like. The cha qi is again calming but more intense. Meditative and focusing. Honestly, this tea seems underrated to me. Maybe the summer 2017 batch is just better than previous years.

Flavors: Caramel, Cinnamon, Licorice, Sweet Potatoes, Umami

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 90 ML

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