Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black Tea

Yet another large thanks to Angel and Teavivre for this sample!

Since it is Friday morning and the weekend is ahead as I prepare to try out this new tea, I am already in the mood for something WILD! Ancient WILD Tree black tea will do just fine!

The aroma that oozed from the package when I opened it was malty and bread-like. I steeped the long black leaves for five minutes at 195 degrees. The finished product had a yellow/orange hue. The odor was similar to sweet baked bread.

Even at first sip, this tea had an exquisitely sweet, malty, and velvety taste. There was also a hint of baked bread in the mix. For good measure, a rich Yunnan tea flavor blended masterfully with the other attributes. There was no bitterness. The after taste was peaceful, subtle, and equally delicious. The rest of my cup (which disappeared quickly) had amazingly consistent flavors throughout. I didn’t just drink this tea. I savored it.

This is one of those rare teas that I have to restrain myself from chugging instead of sipping. It is an outstanding new selection from Teavivre. Everything that I want from a black tea is contained within: a robust and wonderful blend of flavors, smoothness, and the extra punch that only black tea can give me.

Congratulations, Teavivre! You have another (WILD) winner!

Hooray, home again! I had several lovely packages waiting for me, including my 3rd anniversary sampler from TeaVivre. Hooray! And then I realized that the one thing I forgot at my mother’s house… my brew basket. Fuck. So for now I’m brewing my tea in a Pyrex glass cup and pouring it through a sieve into my mug. Definitely inconvenient, but at least it works… I’ll order another basket with Amazon Prime and have it in a couple days. Obviously I should order two! :P

So, this tea… The dry leaves are dark and they have that long, spindly, spider-leg appearance that I generally associate with Taiwanese black teas. The scent is super malt with chewy grain and dried fruit notes. Yummy!

Brewed aroma is still quite malty, and there’s an interesting tang in there, maybe from the dried fruit? Also dark grain and molasses notes. I was very surprised when I tasted this that the first thing I detected was smoke! I didn’t get that at all from the aroma. The first sip was definitely smoky and earthy, with malt and dark grainy bread. However, I noticed as I kept drinking this tea, the smoke and earth taste dissipated. I was left with a combination of bread, raw chewy grains, and toasted grains. There was also a bit of woodiness along with pipe tobacco (unlit) and just a little hint of syrupy, rich dried fruit and molasses. I got a very thick and rich mouthfeel, and there was a little bit of creaminess accompanying.

Overall, I find this to be a rather complex tea with a lot of different notes, I can see it being interesting gong fu style. Thanks so much to TeaVivre for giving me the chance to try this lovely tea for (basically) free! Love you gals! :)

Star Trek sample time. This smells so good, very sweet and malty. There is a similar flavour, with some hints of yams (subtle.) Delicious, and glad I decided to try it. Now for another cup, and more adventures with the Enterprise.

Oh my goodness! This one is special! I’m so sad I only have one tiny sample pack!

The front of the sip is malty and sweet and rich, but the back of the sip has a long lingering dark stone fruity aftertaste on the back of my tongue, almost like a Dancong oolong or a sheng puerh. It’s crazy! So good! I wish I had gotten one of the free $10 gift cards so I could order more. Very unique :)

I also remember really liking one of TeaVivre’s Fenqging shengs, so perhaps I’m just in love with teas from there?

Beautiful dry leaf fragrance of rich dark fruits. Wet leaf also smells lovely and sweetly spicy.

Taste is so good! Smooth and rich, with the earthiness of sweet potatoes accompanied by some fruitiness, and a soft creamy spiciness with nutmeg and cinnamon.

And although I do not taste oranges, this tea very pleasantly reminds me somehow of orange coloured vegetables like yams, pumpkins and peppers, although I can’t really explain why.

I re-steeped this twice after having my first cup, and all three cups were very rich and full of flavor. I really enjoyed this tea and look forward to having it again! Delicious!