Malawi 2014 Leafy Dark Tea

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Earth, Roasted Barley, Wet Earth, Wood, Dirt, Grass, Hay, Wet Moss, Autumn Leaf Pile, Musty, Wet Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Roon
Average preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 oz / 100 ml

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From What-Cha

An earthy and clean tasting, light to medium bodied dark tea which is comparable to a shou pu-erh.

Possibly the only African dark tea, produced utilising similar methods to those of a shou pu-erh, but with the unique Satemwa twist.

Sourced direct from Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi who are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of great tea production while caring for the local environment, providing their employees a fair wage and contributing to the local community.

Tasting Notes:
- Light to medium bodied
- Earthy and clean tasting
Origin: Satemwa Tea Estate, Malawi, Africa
Brewing Advice:
- Heat water to roughly 95°C/203°F
- Use 2 tsps per cup/small teapot
- Brew for 2-3 minutes
- Always remove the leaves from the water once the tea has brewed
- Re-use the leaves multiple times and increase steeping time with each subsequent infusion
- Best without milk
We always recommend experimenting with any new tea, to find the parameters which suit you best.
Packaging: Aluminium ziplock bag to best protect the tea from outside air, moisture and smell while also easily resealed.

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4 Tasting Notes

14 tasting notes

A nice clean tasting end of day “ripe pu erh type” tea. plenty of earthiness, wood and as far as I can tell a scent of roasted barley.

Flavors: Earth, Roasted Barley, Wet Earth, Wood

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Finisterre

Should probably ad that somehow even though it was a ripe puer type of tea I eneded up having trouble sleeping! I may need to train myself to sleep through the caffeine again…

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247 tasting notes

I tried this today from a swap and it was much different. I tried another pu’erh earlier today and I hated it so all things considered, this one was really nice. I don’t feel comfortable rating it right now because I know that pu’erh is just not my favorite.

I definitely tasted the earthy, grass, hay combination in this one. It reminded me of when the seasons change and everything just smells like earth. Definitely something different and I’m glad I tried it but I couldn’t bring myself to resteep it a few more times to get the variety of flavors.

Flavors: Dirt, Earth, Grass, Hay, Wet Moss

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75
53 tasting notes

Tasting #1 – Steep Time 2 Minutes
Deep amber color paired with the musty aroma of old leaves. But the aroma doesn’t translate into flavor, the flavor is quite pleasant and subtle.

Tasting #2 – Steep Time 4 Minutes
Every time I go to take a sip I am overwhelmed with the aroma and I think to myself that maybe I should wash this tea first as I should with a pu-erh. But the flavor is so much more subtle than the aroma that I’m not overwhelmed but surprised.

Tasting #3 – Steep Time 6 Minutes
Now that I know what to expect I am really enjoying this tea.

COLD BREW
This tea became a deep woody brown in the fridge. I was nervous about how it was going to turn out, especially after thinking it should’ve been washed when hot. But I think if I did wash this tea before cold brewing it then it wouldn’t have had as much rich flavor. I definitely prefer this tea hot, I think the tea just pairs better at a warmer temperature.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Earth, Musty, Wet Wood

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96
921 tasting notes

I am so close to being done with my Scourge that resisting rushing through these last steps is soooo hard!! If I rush I end up having my hand slip and that one misstep means I have to go back and redo a section, which I am sure you all know is bloody infuriating. But, I have my Reaver Gunship more or less finished (I need to use anti-shine on the bones since I want them not as shiny as the rest of the chitinous model) and I am going to have a nice photo of the beastie at the end of the blog. Plus, ugh, I think I need a break because my hands are shaky, this is not the time for shaky hands (or shaky cam for that matter!)

So, it is Wednesday, meaning What-Cha time! However it is also Dark Tea week, so I get to unveil a tea I was so hype to review: Malawi 2014 Leafy Dark Tea. Oh yeah, I finally get to have my elephant yixing really shine by drinking a dark tea from Africa! Yeah I giggled in excitement when I saw this sample stuffed in my recent (by recent I mean it was my Christmas gift to myself) order, I am still giggling a little bit, this is just one of those teas that is so cool. Made in the style of a Shou and it certainly smells like one. The aroma of this tea actually, no lies, made me cry a little, ok I like Sheng I really do, but my heart will always belong to Shou, and the reason why is because it smells like a forest floor after a summer rain, it has the smell of wet wood, mushrooms, loam, that delightful steamy aroma that a forest gets on a hot day after rain. It smells like the heavily piney forest that I spent A LOT of my time in as a teenager. That forest has been turned into an apartment complex now and I am getting maudlin, but the smell of a good clean Shou (not one that smells like a Chinese market) takes me home, and this tea is no exception. It has a weightiness to it, like I am sinking into loam and pine needles. This tea is heavenly, I want to hug it.

Into the elephant it goes! I gave it a rinse and a short steep, the aroma of the wet leaves is ecstasy, well if you are into laying face first in a forest floor, and we all know that is my idea of a perfect day. It is so rich with notes of loam, wet pine wood, and a touch of sweet cocoa at the end. The liquid smells loamy and sweet, blending pine sap and wet wood with forest floor.

The first steep starts out pretty subtle and slightly creamy in texture, and by the time it hids the midtaste there is an explosion of rich loam, pine forest and cocoa! It is so good, it manages to be rich while not being overpowering, and that cocoa note goes really well with the natural pinesap sweetness. The aftertaste is sweet cocoa and loam, and it lingers for a while.

The aroma is intensely loamy and earthy, like clean forest soil and wet wood. There is also a distinct mineral note, again it reminds me of a forest after the rain where it has that steamy aroma in the air. The taste is pretty much identical to the first steep but much stronger. The cocoa note is a little diminished, it is all earthy pine forest floor. The finish has a tiny hint of raw honey and has a great salivary effect.

So, I forgot to take a photo of the third steep, or any of the other steeps, I found myself getting tea drunk very early and just getting lost in the memories that this tea evoked, each sip took me to a forest and I was in no hurry to leave. The tea stayed strong and delicious until the 6th steep, and was done by steep 8. I did notice that even though this tea was strong and wonderfully tasty, it did not change much, it felt like I was drinking the same steep, this was fascinating and surprisingly not boring, I think because it was so evocative of something very pleasant for me. So your mileage may vary with that one, but who cares, it is a Dark Tea from Africa and that is still really awesome.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-cha-malawi-2014-leafy-dark-tea-tea.html

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