Wuyi Gongfu Black

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bread, Cedar, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Earth, Ginger, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Moss, Pine, Roasted Nuts, Sugar, Toast, Tobacco, Vanilla, Wet Rocks, Caramel, Brown Sugar, Yeast, Cherry, Creamy, Fruity, Thick, Chocolate, Hay, Molasses, Citrus, Floral, Sweet, Whiskey
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Courtney
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 45 sec 4 g 5 oz / 156 ml

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From Verdant Tea

Our farmer partner Li Xiangxi loves to speak about Wuyi Gongfu black tea. Situated high in the Longchuan Gorge valley near Tongmu amid wild bamboo forests and old growth tea trees growing out of the rocks, Li Xiangxi considers herself more caretaker to the wild tea trees than farmer. Wuyi Gongfu Black is so exciting because the unpredictable, beautiful and complex flavors of each wildly propagated tea tree meld perfectly in this rustic and honest expression of the land. Wuyi Gongfu Black tea is one of the only styles suited to the wild tea.

The aroma of the wet leaf evokes angel food cake soaked in elderberry infused honey or a drizzle of butterscotch. The taste is surprisingly light and delicate, mellow and welcoming. Sipping the tea actually feels like standing in Li Xiangxi’s backyard, deep in the mountains of Wuyi.

You can taste the wild bamboo forest through soft notes of fresh bamboo shoot. You get the bright sunny flavor of Li Jiangxi’s orange trees in the aftertaste. The deep and rocky mineral flavor forms the base of the whole experience, evoking the tea trees growing straight out of cracks in the rocky mountain slopes.

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18 Tasting Notes

85
350 tasting notes

I think I’ve tried this one before, but apparently didn’t log it. Anyway, 4g of tea in the 100ml gaiwan, 90 deg water. I did a quick… well, it was supposed to be a rinse, but I drank it. :) Very light, slightly sweet and mineral flavour, and then a surprising amount of chocolate in the aftertaste. First proper steep was about 10 seconds. Sweet, very smooth, no bitterness or astringency whatsoever. Kind of an airy, expansive mouthfeel. Cocoa and caramel in the aftertaste. The wet leaves smell earthy and sweet. Subsequent steepings continue to be sweet and smooth, with a slight minerality that evokes fresh mountain spring water. I tried a longer infusion just to see what happens if you push the leaves a little, and ended up with a darker amber-coloured liquor, and some more intensity of flavour (especially the mineral), but it remains a light and smooth tea with most of the action in the aftertaste. If you’re looking for a rich and malty black, this is not the tea for you, but for what it is, it’s lovely.

Flavors: Caramel, Chocolate, Cocoa, Mineral, Sweet

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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78
6105 tasting notes

I had a recollection that this wasn’t a favourite, but I must have been thinking of a different tea, because this is yummy – almost like a Laoshan Black lite – where the flavours are there but just not as pronounced. That’s not a great way of describing it, but it tastes like a Chinese black ought to (hahahaha), and I enjoy it. Down to the last of it now; I either liked a sample of it, gambled on a huge bag, or Verdant ran out of their normal 50g pouches, because this is a biiiig bag (definitely 4oz/100g size).

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3294 tasting notes

I’m taking a break from my sip down extravaganza to sample this new black tea from Verdant. I am a big fan of their teas, especially their black teas, & I’m also a fan of Fujian teas & that Wuyi Rock taste, & so naturally I had to sample this one! The sample I received is about 7 grams, so I divided it into a 5 gram serving for my tiny 4oz porcelain tea pot (side story: I hate cats! Squishy, my daughter’s cat that lives at my house, is known for doing insane things, & does everything she can to piss me off. A few days ago she did a crazy series of leaps, rebounding off of a variety of things, & culminating with a leap to the highest shelf of my teaware, knocking my beautiful little blue lotus teapot out of the cupboard. It crashed to the floor, but amazingly, it did not shatter. However a small chip popped out of the inside of the rim, along with a corresponding but smaller chip on the inside rim of the lid, presumably where they hit each other. I won’t describe my response to the situation, but lets just say I fell into a moment of insanity. Today we’ll see if that pot is still usable, but I’m pretty sure it is).

The other 2 gram sample is being used for their Western Steep parameters, using a 4oz cup & steeps of 30 sec/45/60/2min…etc. That the one I’m drinking right now. I’ve been drinking it for awhile. I guess I should start off by saying that it is not like most of Verdants black teas. There is no dark chocolate, no deep roastiness. But that’s ok!

This is a lovely tea, a more feminine tea, at least to my mind. The immediate tastes are a sweet creamy delicate essence of ‘cake’ & vanilla pudding. Behind that, a bright essence of orange flower, & the very clean flavor of bamboo shoots. Interestingly, I’m not a big fan of bamboo shoots, but somehow in this tea, it works! This tea is also sweet, with a lingering sweetness, the classic rocky mineral base that grows with each cup, & I pleasant teabuzz that I’m enjoying this afternoon. :)

EDIT I’ve started on the gongfu session, & I’m sad to report that there is a small crack running down the side of my tiny teapot :( It only leaks a very slow small drop, & hopefully over time tea oils will fill it in, as it is a very fine crack.

What can I add by way of review? First off, warming the dry leaf up in the hot teapot is always a treat. I love the aroma of warmed leaves, & this tea is no exception. A rich sweetness rises to greet me, & I compared it to the aroma of elderberries (which I always have on hand & drink often for their antiviral properties), & it’s a fairly close match, underscored by sweet cake, & a sweet but not necessarily floral incense. The flavor is basically the same as the other steeping, but richer, & a reminder to me that I need to find time for gongfu sessions again, because so many of the teas in my collection require it. I’ve been so busy over the last several months, & this week on spring break is reminding me of the lifestyle I prefer. Only 10 more weeks of school, & I doubt that I will return to teach in the fall.

A few more comments regarding this tea: The sweetness lingers on & on, & although the flavor profile doesn’t really change much, it is pleasant & soothing & as it becomes rockier it feels more like drinking a sheng. The energy is very bright, with a wonderful tongue tingle, a lovely clarifying sensation, & an ensemble of higher pitched instruments, all playing with a sweet mellow vibe: soft flutes, a little oboe, plucked strings, maybe a little lightly bowed cello for bass, & lots of tinkly & rustle-ey random percussion (bells, glock, wind chimes, sound of water & bamboo).

Jiāng Luo

Is this the base of their lapsang? and have you tried their new jin jun mei?

Terri HarpLady

Good question. I don’t know. Comparing the look of the leaf material, they don’t look the same. This one is smaller, more delicate leaves, but they are from the same producers, the Li Family. So maybe these are smaller leaves from the same trees? It’s been awhile since I drank the Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, but I have some here, so maybe this afternoon I’ll have some of it as well.

Terri HarpLady

I loved their old Jin Jun Mei, & I have a sample of the new offering here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll drink it :)

Sil

i miss yoooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Terri HarpLady

I miss me too, LOL. Seriously, we’re long overdue for a Facebook hangout, or a real one! If I don’t book any gigs, we should try to go to the KC Tea get together together :)

Jiāng Luo

Yeah let me know about the jin jun mei particularly the body, the website describes it as being the heaviest of their teas while still being silky which sounds like my kind of tea

MsWhatsit

I had to laugh at your orchestration style description. I think that way sometimes too.

Terri HarpLady

Runs in the family, eh? :)

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