What Black Are You Drinking

Oxidized tea
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d.manuk
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Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:50 am

Finished the 50g bag of 2021 Yesheng Hong Cha (wild red tea) from New York Tea Society.
My good friend is the owner of that "business," if you can even call it that. He doesn't add much of a markup on the teas and I know his taste profile very well so felt comfortable ordering.

The tea was $0.64 a gram, which I think is fair.
If it were being sold for a higher price, I would expect an additional dimension of flavor "high note energy" that I personally felt was missing from this tea.
Despite the the lack of high notes that is often present in more expensive black teas, this tea lasts an extremely long time without going bitter or astringent. That I think is pretty rare and a good achievement for this tea.

I wish I could brew it in a yixing. I have more black teas coming from other sources and a good amount of them are wild, so I'll be able to explore this flavor profile more.
Ethan Kurland
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Sun Apr 23, 2023 10:23 am

d.manuk,

I found your post thought-provoking. I have often written that to have a source who understands what I want & need from teas is most useful & enjoyable; &, now I realize that if one's source is understood that is also useful.

Your comment about 64 cents per gram being fair & why is interesting. I respond by saying the price you pay matters but not how that price came to be. (E.g., if your friend pays more for a tea than other vendors pay & marks up < other vendors do, & in the end all those vendors offer the tea at the same price; how does it really matter how all of them came to the same price!) How nice to have such understanding of a vendor/friend's taste!

Also, I don't comprehend "high notes" now. (I may have at one time.) The Championship Black that I drink almost daily (about 8 - 24 ounces = about 700ml) is what I call dynamic & complex w/ its delicious array of flavors which I won't describe more, since promotion belongs in my vendor thread. I hope you try the CB & tell me if it has high notes. (I hope so, it costs 11 cents more per gram than what you wrote about :) .)

I thank you for talking about value on a price per gram basis. I shy away from being even more detailed about value. I wonder whether such details are liked here; or, if, some people would like them but think breaking it down is lowly (for lack of a better word) endeavor. However, it took me some years to be willing to pay > $25 for a packet of tea. What got me to be willing to do so, was a breakdown of how much a cup of tea in my home would cost me.

(Lately, I have been drinking CB in a glass to enjoy how it looks in that glass & how it feels comfortable in my hand; though what matters most, is how it tastes of course.) Such things are written about here & read w/ enjoyment. Do they effect buying decisions?

What helps me assess value? That 8-ounce glass of CB costs 50 cents. Is it worth 50 cents? It seems an easy ? to answer. (To be honest, it costs me < 50 cents, but I try to assess using my retail prices.)

I hope you keep posting about wild black teas. I had a couple that I liked & many that I did not. I stopped trying them. Perhaps I will try one or two that you like. All the best
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d.manuk
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Location: Dallas

Tue Apr 25, 2023 8:32 am

Drinking Tong Mu Guan Lapsang Souchong from New York Tea Society.

Lapsang Souchong aka Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. Its literal translation is 'Original Mountain Small Kind'. Only tea leaves picked from the area of Wuyishan Mountain, centering in Tongmuguan can be called "Zheng Shan". The leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavor, although the range of smokiness varies from barely noticeable to extremely smoky.

This tea is very lightly smoked. It's so light that I cannot really sense any smokiness but more of a very light roasting, which I was not expecting. As someone that likes stronger flavors, this tea is very mellow to me. It is lightly smoked and you can taste a lot of the sweetness of the leaves. As a result you can get many steeps out of it and the flavor lasts.

I've had Lapsang Souchong of varying grades, my favorite was extremely expensive $7/gram, I would not purchase it again due to the price. The smokiness on that other tea was very balanced and maybe a hint of saltiness while there was still a lot of flavor and some bright notes coming through. This tea I just finished focused more on sweet and light flavors. The only commonality is that the leaves come from the same region.

I wonder if the producer of this tea lightly smoked it because they didn't want to accidently ruin their harvest by over smoking.

This tea is good but not what I was expecting!
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Teafortea
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Location: France

Thu May 04, 2023 6:27 am

Shanlinxi High mountain Mi Xiang, TTC


This is my favorite black tea. Very recognizable aroma the moment you open the tea bag. I love the mild vanilla aroma with a touch of raisin and cocoa and the taste follows it also. Simple things in life with bread and butter.
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d.manuk
Posts: 655
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Tue May 09, 2023 10:00 am

Jiu Qu Hong Me "Red Plum" Black Tea - Smells great. At 185F a metallic taste comes out. At 200F, the metallic blends together with the flavor of the tea a bit better but now that I know it's there I still focus on it.

Imperial Grade Jin Jun Mei from Tong Mu Guan Village - I believe I've had other Tong Mu village teas in the past and their flavor profile is supposed to be long gan fruit flavor. I get some of that but this tea is somewhat malty. I think it tastes best at 185F, leaves are fragile. Probably my highest ranking tea from this bunch.

Imperial Grade Qimen Black Tea of Huangshan - Strong flavor that I don't really like but I've never been a fan of keemun tea.

Imperial Yixing Hong Black Tea from Jiangsu - Practically tasteless
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Teafortea
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Mon May 22, 2023 7:32 am

Lishan High mountain Organic Red Oolong,lot 894

A very interesting oolong. It is very good and smooth but oh cherry, I dislike you. Long time ago I was given a box of dammann frere tea, Noel a Paris that left that artificial cherry repulse in my taste bud since, so I dislike anything cherry artificial or not. The last infusions were very pleasant as the cherry flavor was not powerful, mostly vanilla with slight lemon and some sort of candy. Good tea if you have a sweet tooth and you like 🍒.
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d.manuk
Posts: 655
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Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:41 pm

Drank more of the 2021 Yesheng Hong Cha I had posted about about a month ago... the difference now is that I've been drinking tea regularly for the past few weeks.
I find it a lot less appealing, though I don't really fault the tea, I think my tastebuds are just different now.
I found it hard to discern the individual flavors of the tea, just had a general black tea flavor and I've been experiencing this with several other teas except gaoshan.

I think I need to take a break for a week or so to get back to the enjoyment of it because simply brewing daily is no longer appealing to my tastebuds.
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d.manuk
Posts: 655
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:13 pm
Location: Dallas

Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:56 am

d.manuk wrote:
Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:41 pm
Drank more of the 2021 Yesheng Hong Cha I had posted about about a month ago... the difference now is that I've been drinking tea regularly for the past few weeks.
I find it a lot less appealing, though I don't really fault the tea, I think my tastebuds are just different now.
I found it hard to discern the individual flavors of the tea, just had a general black tea flavor and I've been experiencing this with several other teas except gaoshan.

I think I need to take a break for a week or so to get back to the enjoyment of it because simply brewing daily is no longer appealing to my tastebuds.
And yet, today, the tea is back to being delicious
Dhammabum
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Mon Jun 05, 2023 1:09 pm

Have just finished some cheap and cheerful 2004 Liu Bao I picked up in Taiwan. From the kind of tea shop that has baskets and tongs of tea stacked from floor to ceiling. Kind of wrong tea for this weather in Europe but nonetheless helps with the humidity.

I’d LOVE to know where to get good aged Liu Bao in the U.K....
Ethan Kurland
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Mon Jun 05, 2023 2:44 pm

d.manuk wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:56 am
d.manuk wrote:
Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:41 pm
Drank more of the 2021 Yesheng Hong Cha I had posted about about a month ago... the difference now is that I've been drinking tea regularly for the past few weeks.
I find it a lot less appealing, though I don't really fault the tea, I think my tastebuds are just different now.
I found it hard to discern the individual flavors of the tea, just had a general black tea flavor and I've been experiencing this with several other teas except gaoshan.

I think I need to take a break for a week or so to get back to the enjoyment of it because simply brewing daily is no longer appealing to my tastebuds.
And yet, today, the tea is back to being delicious
Yes, drinking tea has its surprises. Sometimes we find a reason for the days we appreciate a tea. (Sometimes not.)

The roasted oolong that I used to drink almost every day w/ great pleasure began getting boring for me several months ago & then became something I sometimes disliked altogether. Having a session of it only twice last month improved the experience but I was tasting only the roast & that taste was too strong. Today I accidentially used water at 96C instead of 88C & found the change in temperature brought back all the flavors etc. The leaves obviously changed w/ time, somehow needing more heat. The steeping time (about 20 seconds) was the same.
Dhammabum
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:34 pm
Location: UK

Mon Jun 05, 2023 3:59 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 2:44 pm
d.manuk wrote:
Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:56 am
d.manuk wrote:
Sun Jun 04, 2023 2:41 pm
Drank more of the 2021 Yesheng Hong Cha I had posted about about a month ago... the difference now is that I've been drinking tea regularly for the past few weeks.
I find it a lot less appealing, though I don't really fault the tea, I think my tastebuds are just different now.
I found it hard to discern the individual flavors of the tea, just had a general black tea flavor and I've been experiencing this with several other teas except gaoshan.

I think I need to take a break for a week or so to get back to the enjoyment of it because simply brewing daily is no longer appealing to my tastebuds.
And yet, today, the tea is back to being delicious
Yes, drinking tea has its surprises. Sometimes we find a reason for the days we appreciate a tea. (Sometimes not.)

The roasted oolong that I used to drink almost every day w/ great pleasure began getting boring for me several months ago & then became something I sometimes disliked altogether. Having a session of it only twice last month improved the experience but I was tasting only the roast & that taste was too strong. Today I accidentially used water at 96C instead of 88C & found the change in temperature brought back all the flavors etc. The leaves obviously changed w/ time, somehow needing more heat. The steeping time (about 20 seconds) was the same.
Yeah, right! I’ve come to appreciate that maybe we change!
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klepto
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Thu Jun 15, 2023 3:07 pm

Had some red jade #18 and shan cha.. love the Yuchi blacks.. I can't get enough of them.

Blackberries, cereal note, with molasses and some strawberry note wafting in and out.
GaoShan
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Thu Jun 15, 2023 5:38 pm

klepto wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 3:07 pm
Had some red jade #18 and shan cha.. love the Yuchi blacks.. I can't get enough of them.

Blackberries, cereal note, with molasses and some strawberry note wafting in and out.
May I ask where you get your Yuchi black teas? What-Cha used to have amazing versions of Assam, Ruby 18, and Shancha, but only the Shancha has been available for a couple years now. I've had mixed success with other vendors like Wang and TTC.
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klepto
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Thu Jun 15, 2023 5:42 pm

GaoShan wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 5:38 pm
klepto wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 3:07 pm
Had some red jade #18 and shan cha.. love the Yuchi blacks.. I can't get enough of them.

Blackberries, cereal note, with molasses and some strawberry note wafting in and out.
May I ask where you get your Yuchi black teas? What-Cha used to have amazing versions of Assam, Ruby 18, and Shancha, but only the Shancha has been available for a couple years now. I've had mixed success with other vendors like Wang and TTC.
The jade leaf has a couple options..
GaoShan
Posts: 322
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:06 am
Location: Toronto, Canada

Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:58 am

klepto wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 5:42 pm
GaoShan wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 5:38 pm
klepto wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 3:07 pm
Had some red jade #18 and shan cha.. love the Yuchi blacks.. I can't get enough of them.

Blackberries, cereal note, with molasses and some strawberry note wafting in and out.
May I ask where you get your Yuchi black teas? What-Cha used to have amazing versions of Assam, Ruby 18, and Shancha, but only the Shancha has been available for a couple years now. I've had mixed success with other vendors like Wang and TTC.
The jade leaf has a couple options..
Thanks! I forget that this vendor sells tea as well as teaware.
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