Wild Arbor Feng Qing Black Tea Pure Assamica Spring 2014

Teabox Tuesday! This is a pretty old tea now, which I’m sure has impacted the flavor, but I enjoy Chinese blacks so I’m hoping it still has a bit of life left in it. I got this sample from the Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox, so thank you to tea-sipper for organizing and to all those involved who were nice enough to share their teas! I haven’t used my baby gaiwan much, so I decided to use it for this session.

2.54g / 50ml gaiwan / 205F / Rinse|15s|20s|30s|45s|60s|90s

After I rinsed the tea, the leaf had a very malty aroma, with a slight hint of raisins. The first steep brought out aromas of malt, toast, burnt sugar, and orange rind. The tea was a rather strong black with a malty taste with notes of burnt toast and smoke and a bit of citrus rind in the finish, with medium astringency after the sip, especially on the back of the tongue, and I felt a slight puckering effect. The tea proceeded to become a bit sweeter in the next few infusions, with more molasses/burnt sugar and citrus orange aroma coming to the forefront, with the orange scent becoming very strong by the third and fourth infusions. The flavor continued to be very malty and toasty with a lot of roast/smoke in the finish, but the astringency started to mellow with more of an orange flavor left in the aftertaste on the tongue. By the fourth steep the tea was starting to taste a bit one-note and by the fifth steep I could tell the flavor was diminishing; on the sixth steep it was very weak and washed out so I finished my session there. I’m going to assume that the age of the tea likely had to do with it not having much staying power. I enjoyed the flavor for what it did still have left to give. It reminded me a lot of an Assam/Keemun breakfast tea blend, actually!

smooth chocolate malt, wood and vanilla bean.
bit of an earthy minerality
Chalky astringency and slight bitterness on the finish
delicious

Found this in my sample basket-an old one from Mandy! Can’t believe I missed it! Since I am planning on putting in a YS order soon, I figured I need to try all the YS teas I have, So I can make a full order! :D
But this one is definitely not for me.
It’s super woody…with like…a bready note in the aftertaste…very odd. xD
Thanks for the sample anyway, Mandy!

I know I’m dating myself, but when I was a kid there was this candy called razzles and the company that made them had a contest where you had to explain whether razzles were a candy or a gum. Presumably you would win a lifetime supply of razzles.

Well, you could play the same game with this scintillating tea from Yunnan Sourcing. Is it an Assam with Yunnan notes or a Yunnan black with Assam undertones? Luckily, all I have to do is enjoy the tea which has the body and heft of an Assam with the fruitiness and chocolate maltiness of a Dian Hong.

additional notes: Just a note to say I’m trying to recreate the original steeping parameters where I originally gave this a 98 rating even if that is slightly impossible with a tea from 2014… and also what I bought never really tasted like the original sample I had, despite both being the 2014 harvest. It doesn’t seem like YS really has this sort of assamica anymore. Too bad, I liked it. This steep method tastes really good – strong but not oaky overboard:
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Lewis & Clarke TTB

Continuing with my morning black tea spree! I’m actually very happy with the teas that Yunnan Sourcing provided for this box, three of them are blacks that I specifically wanted to try, so it works out well for me! The leaves of this tea are about medium-sized, and they’re got that creepy tree branch vibe going on, long and twisty and very dark in color. Dry scent is sweet and somewhat malty.

The brewed tea smells strongly of honeysuckle, which I was not expecting! :P There’s also strong malt and a little bit of fruit. I also get that honeysuckle note in the taste, and it’s very lovely! There’s a slight touch of earthiness at the beginning of the sip, but towards the middle and end it transforms more into a heavy grain flavor that I definitely prefer. I get a little bit of fruitiness at the end and in the aftertaste, and I would classify it as stonefruit. It goes nicely with the honeysuckle, which stays strong throughout the entire sip and blossoms in the aftertaste. Now, I’m not a huge fan of florals, but I’m okay with honeysuckle since it’s quite sweet and very light on the floral side. However, the floral in the aftertaste here does get a little bit soapy for me, probably because the other flavors supporting it have dissipated. Still a delightful tea! :)

http://yunnansourcing.com/en/yunnan-black-teas/2934-wild-arbor-feng-qing-black-tea-pure-assamica-spring-2014.html

Lewis and Clarke TTB

malty, but not overwhelmingly so

almost sweet

Rich.

As it cools, it gets sweeter. Almost kind of sweet potato.

I like it. I got multiple infusions from it, WEstern style. The third, I oversteeped on accident because I forgot to set my timer, but it didn’t get bitter or bad. It was nice.

http://yunnansourcing.com/en/yunnan-black-teas/2934-wild-arbor-feng-qing-black-tea-pure-assamica-spring-2014.html

Lewis and Clarke TTB

I usually like to use my little cup I got from Cozumel because it only holds about 9oz when filled to the brim, making it my smallest mug and the best choice I have for gongfu style. But I meant to put it in the fridge yesterday to cold steep yesterday’s golden strand, and instead accidentally put it in the freezer, and I guess it cracked during the expansion from freezing. sad face

First cup I steeped up for 2 minute and was rewarded with malt, cocoa, and molasses. This is delicious.
Second cup I forgot to set a timer so I have no idea how long it steeped for. I didn’t notice any bitterness or astringency though. Just more malt and cocoa and bread and molasses. Yum!
http://yunnansourcing.com/en/yunnan-black-teas/2934-wild-arbor-feng-qing-black-tea-pure-assamica-spring-2014.html

From Marco Polo TTB

I like Assams, and this one is very multi layered and deep. It brewed up as dark as coffee, but isn’t so strong that it is off putting. It’s just smoothly bold and very enjoyable. Thanks to Yunnan Sourcing for providing the samples for this box!

http://yunnansourcing.com/en/yunnan-black-teas/2934-wild-arbor-feng-qing-black-tea-pure-assamica-spring-2014.html