Gao Shan High Mountain Black Tea

I haven’t been able to drink a cup of tea in a week. I manged to pick up hand foot and mouth from my daughter and the blisters in my mouth have been angry at any hot or cold liquid. It is freezing outside and to try to warm up a bit I decided to try a hot cup again. I am trying all 3 of my generous samples from Yezi.

This is very yummy. I haven’t done much tasting with straight black so to be able to try 3 right next to each other is really fun. I get a bit of a bitter sweet, chocolatey taste from this one. I would definitely buy this again, and in comparison to the other 2 that I received, Qing Pin and Jin Jun, this ties with Qing Pin.

Backlog:

This is a seriously awesome black tea!

A bold, very satisfying black tea – it’s got some heft to it. One of those teas that I like to drink in the morning because it can get me going on the days when I’d rather be sleeping. (Which is most days.)

A nice, bittersweet cacao note with caramel-y undertones. Rich and rewarding. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/08/30/gao-shan-high-mountain-black-tea-from-yezi-tea/

Haha! Found the little box of samples I got from Yezi Tea. I’d put it on the dresser to try but then some papers fell on it and I couldn’t find it yesterday. Today might be an even better day to drink tea though as it’s been raining and a little cold… finally Winter weather is coming. It’s a nice deal when a company will let you try their tea in sample size and for only the price of shipping for sure.

This tea smells yummy, like baked goods. It’s a smooth tea that tastes pretty good. It has some faint chocolate taste, more like dark chocolate than milk and the smokey taste is more detectable as an aftertaste. The chocolate taste comes out more as the tea cooled. Even though the smoky taste isn’t really strong or offensive, I think generally this tea is not one I’d buy more of but the taste is kind of intriguing like maybe I would get a little more…ok, so I’m just indecisive. Thanks to Yezi Tea!

The aroma of this tea as I opened the 5g sample pack was sooooo inviting, brew me it said. So I did, used the 5g sample in a 1920’s gaiwan 170ml, I received as a gift last night from a good friend who came to dinner. Quick rinse and the 1st steep was just how they prefaced the tea on Yezi’s site. The wet leaves now smelled even more inviting. Subtle smoky whiffs and could that be chocolate as well. Couldn’t wait for the sip. Bitter I must say was the first thing I noticed and was temporarily disappointed until that sweetness finally hit after the tea was gone. Bitter-Sweet.

2nd steep 20 seconds and catastrophe struck. My new antique gaiwan broke as I picked it up. The rim splintered into 3 pieces. I poured the tea anyway. So it got a longer steep, say 50 seconds and wow this was deep. That bitter was more muted and the sweet more pronounced. The flavors of malt, chocolate/cocoa, cigar smoke in a good way.

3rd steep, transferred to a 150 gaiwan for 25 seconds. Aromas are starting to fade but the remembrance is strong. Flavors are also starting to fade but the maltiness is out in front. Should have been paying attention to that 2nd steep and brewed longer.

4th and 5th steep were both 50 seconds and the aromas and flavors are back.

You can go longer with this tea but I think 5 steeps for me is the limit. Over all a nice return to a red tea as I have been drinking TGY at work for the past month. I grew up on Keemun and this brought me back.

I need to give props to Yezi, my order came in 2 days!!, and a nice personal note from Mei Qin Weng including the smiley face only makes this a better experience. The Gao Shan was an extra sample on top of the free ones I chose and a free tea strainer was in the box as well. Can not wait to try the rest. Thanks again Yezi.

This tea has a rich sweet chocolate flavor that is delicious.

I’m really digging this little sample, So yummy.
Complex tasting notes, i NEED more of this one because I’d love to spend some quality time with it and get to know it better.
i’ll not rate it or put notes on it just yet, but I will very soon, i think i love it.

I so enjoy unflavored black teas that taste like chocolate, and this is one.

The brewing fragrance is lovely – richly chocolate and enticing. The flavor bears this out, hitting a melody of harmonizing notes. Wouldn’t dub it an especially complex tea, but it is interesting. The flavor profile makes me think it should have a richer mouthfeel than it does, but that’s ok because it’s still very enjoyable.

I will probably rate this higher in the future, knowing to expect a lighter body.

Recommended for anyone looking for a naturally chocolate black.

This was a pleasant enough black tea. It reminded me both of Laoshan Black and VT’s Yu Lu Yan Cha. It tastes of cocoa powder and peanuts, malt and wood. Despite having flavors you would consider “heavy” it’s relatively light in body. It’s thin, and doesn’t leave a full taste in your mouth or a coating behind. There’s the light taste of nuts and that’s about it. It seems to fall flat, but it could be the age of the tea. I’ve been holding on to it for over a year. Yeah, I know. ): It’s decent but it’s not for me. It doesn’t fit my preferred flavor profile.

Another Yezi tea this morning! The leaves of this tea look quite similar to the Qing Pin I tried last night – they’re thin and mostly dark but have some nice golden spots. Like the other Yezi samples I’ve tried so far, the dry leaves smell strongly of hay, both in and out of the package. This similarity makes me feel like my sniffer is broken! :P

The steeped tea is aromatic and savory. I can smell rye bread along with caraway seed and a strong roasted note. The taste is pretty much identical to the smell. It’s very strongly roasted and I can taste a lot of that caraway flavor, which always makes me think Fujian. And this is a Fujian tea, so I guess it’s warranted. :P This is definitely the sort of tea that makes me feel like I’m eating a meal because of its dense, savory flavors. It reminds me of eating a huge, thick piece of homemade wheat bread.

So. The description for this tea is: Cream, Honey, Smoke, Vanilla.
Least according to Steepster.
This tea is nothing like that description. Perhaps it’s because I steeped it for three minutes instead of two, but…doubt it’s that.
For me this one is strong and earthy. The bready-ness made it drinkable, but…there’s just so much earthiness. Makes me not so much of a fan, to be honest.
Would rather not feel like I am mainly drinking dirt. xD But it’s not horrible. Just not what I expected or hoped for.