Golden Mao Feng

One of my favorite teas as a Golden Mao Feng from TeaSource, which they stopped carrying. When I saw a Golden Mao Feng from Tea Runners, I had to grab it to see if it lived up to my memory… sadly, it appears Tea Runners no longer has this tea, either. I wonder if I’m just destined to always be chasing after this tea…

I love this tea, it exhibits so many elements of a Chinese black that I love. It brews up to a rich, malty aroma with a slight rosy scent. On the tongue I get strong notes of malt, copper, and leather, with a sweeter flavor of dark chocolate-covered cherries that comes out as the tea cools a bit. Sometimes I get a slight rosy aftertaste. It’s a bit tannic but not bitter… sometimes it is a little strong on my weak GI if I drink it on an empty stomach. The caffeine-hit is substantial, too.

This will be missed when I finish up the bag!

I last had this one cold brewed, and it was nice but not spectacular. This morning I had it on my morning break. I very rarely work Sundays but this weekend is cut over for the new computer system at work. I know NOTHING about computers but somehow I earned the ‘honor’ of being on the test team. Ugh. Started yesterday at 9:00 am and went to 6:15 pm. Nothing worked well, so back today at 10:00 and it ain’t done yet.

Sigh.

As a hot cup this is nice. Again, not spectacular. A little bitter at the end of the sip. If I were ordering teas, this would not be included in an order. I won’t have any problem finishing it., Maybe I will add a touch of honey to the next cup and see if I like it better that way. I very rarely add anything to my tea. A little sweetener now and then, but never milk. Funny, because I cannot stand coffee without creamer. :)

Grandpa Brew Sipdown (1153)!

Thank you VariaTEA for the share! I enjoyed this one a lot when I had it earlier in the week, but it wasn’t the type of mind blowing black tea that I think will stick in my memory among all the others I’ve tried and I don’t feel like I need more of it. I thought it had sturdy body to support a malty and almost powdery feeling cocoa note, with hints of fresh out of the oven brew and a little bit of redfruit undertone. Moderate astringency, which added character to the tea and kept the most sweet leaning notes from feeling flat. I think, brewed Western style, it might be a bit too mild and Gongfu I imagine it wouldn’t resteep well after a steep or two so this might have been the brewing sweet spot. At least, that’s my impression.

Sipdown. Seems like most of the tearunner teas we picked to try and sort of middle of the road for me. i don’t dislike them, they’re tasty in the moment but i’m not going to miss not having them in my cupboard.

Steepster is working! Yay! Hopefully it lasts!

During the Steepster freeze I drank a lot of teas and got a wonderful package from my Dad which had my new teas from Tea Please and my order (with Sil and Roswell Strange) from Tea Runners. Need to add them into my steepster cupboard.

Tonight I divided up the teas that needed dividing so I could seal up the package for Roswell Strange. This was one of the teas that needed dividing as I’m sharing it with Sil and it also happened to be the tea that I finished dividing when the kettle was ready. So I brewed it.

I was busy while drinking it but it was good. Nothing special but good. Sweet is really the descriptor that comes to mind. It’s a sweet black tea. I’ll enjoy drinking it again but I may not remember it by the time I get to it again if I’m being honest.

after having returned from groceries this afternoon, i made myself a mug of this tea. the first taste and lingering taste is sweet cane sugar. the aroma is earthy when still unwatered and malty post brew. i forgot to reset my kettle from 100 to 93 C for this one. i’ll try it again at the right temperature. but right now, it isn’t doing much for me.