What Black Are You Drinking

[pepson]

What an interesting tea !!!!

Doke Black Fusion

Dry leaves smell like dark chocolate. This tea is fantastic. Highly recommended. " Must try" for everyone who likes hong cha

[Andrew S]

2013 hongcha from TaoYuan, made from the TTES#8 Assam cultivar from wild old bushes.

I've had very few aged hongchas before, and don't know anything about them. This one had an elegant and lively presentation, with some cool qualities, and some slight herbal notes in the aftertaste. Some aged characters in the flavour, but overall it is still very fresh. It felt bright, elegant, linear and light.

I wonder if aged hongcha does tend to become more focussed and linear, though as always, it probably depends on the tea.

Andrew

[debunix]

That’s a type of tea I have never tried— deliberately aged black tea. Today I’m having some Hoji-Wakuocha from Obubu, and because it is a hot day, I made a fairly concentrated quantity and a small gaiwan, and then diluted it in a large quantity of cool water. I was prompted to post because it has a wonderful viscosity and sweetness prepared this way that is quite lovely. No hint of bitterness, mild roast, and very gentle, sweet earthiness, just right for this afternoon.

[Symb0lic]

Just my little tea corner in my place. It's nothing fancy but I like the ritual of smelling, weighing, and brewing the leaves. Just some basic Twinings Earl Grey with Bergamot.

[Iizuki]

Just my little tea corner in my place. It's nothing fancy but I like the ritual of smelling, weighing, and brewing the leaves. Just some basic Twinings Earl Grey with Bergamot.

Looks cozy! I too have my roots in Twinings loose leaf Earl Grey. I just wish that local shops would sell it in smaller boxes like the one you have there. My nostalgia isn't enough to justify a 200g pack laying around...

[LeoFox]

Yanxun Xiaozhong 2015 from daxuejiadao.

[Cyphrex]

I really enjoy the caffeineted smooth flavor of Twinnings breakfast tea (I know it's not true loose leaf; but until I can find some loose leaf, it's all I can find similar). I used to drink tons of regular black sweetened tea, but since have started branching out to other types. I still find myself coming back to breakfast tea instead of coffee.

[sheep.payday2]

I'm currently down with a persistent flu that has infected most of my face including ears and eyes. In this rather sorry state, Farmerleaf's budget Yingpan Shan autumn black has been a blessing. It's warming, bright, and straightforward enough to get the message across to my suffering palate. Also great value for money for healthy drinkers.

[Andrew S]

Continuing the discussion from over here (viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2685) with @GaoShan; trying EoT's 2020 WuDi hongcha from WuYi on an overcast and humid day.

According to their website, "It’s from the wild growing Qi Zhong varietal and the producer explained to us that he wanted to use yancha production methods to produce a red tea, oxidising the tea more than yancha while carefully controlling the depth of leaves and the temperature during the oxidisation stage. It was finished with a light charcoal roast".

I found it to be very nice overall. The first brew had a prominent stone fruit aroma, and a cool, bright, refreshing palate on red berries and things. The aftertaste was long, more on jammy fruits. The subsequent brews were along similar lines, but with less exuberant aromas and a much more integrated palate, with red berries developing into more jammy notes and some floral hints, and with a nice long aftertaste. The character was very consistent from brew to brew (this photo was from the tenth brew); It's a very elegant tea, tasting 'pure' and refreshing, and is my preferred kind of hongcha. Not cheap, but I like it.

I couldn't really detect the light roast - it seems to have been subtle, and to be integrated with the flavour by now.

Andrew

[GaoShan]

Continuing the discussion from over here (viewtopic.php?f=36&t=2685) with GaoShan; trying EoT's 2020 WuDi hongcha from WuYi on an overcast and humid day.

According to their website, "It’s from the wild growing Qi Zhong varietal and the producer explained to us that he wanted to use yancha production methods to produce a red tea, oxidising the tea more than yancha while carefully controlling the depth of leaves and the temperature during the oxidisation stage. It was finished with a light charcoal roast".

I found it to be very nice overall. The first brew had a prominent stone fruit aroma, and a cool, bright, refreshing palate on red berries and things. The aftertaste was long, more on jammy fruits. The subsequent brews were along similar lines, but with less exuberant aromas and a much more integrated palate, with red berries developing into more jammy notes and some floral hints, and with a nice long aftertaste. The character was very consistent from brew to brew (this photo was from the tenth brew); It's a very elegant tea, tasting 'pure' and refreshing, and is my preferred kind of hongcha. Not cheap, but I like it.

I couldn't really detect the light roast - it seems to have been subtle, and to be integrated with the flavour by now.

Andrew

This tea sounds like my jam (pun intended )! Maybe it was the fact that it was made from Qi Zhong that reminded me of lapsang. EoT has gone to the top of my Black Friday impulse buy list. Can you recommend any similar teas? I'm always looking for things with profiles like this.

[Andrew S]

This tea sounds like my jam (pun intended )! Maybe it was the fact that it was made from Qi Zhong that reminded me of lapsang. EoT has gone to the top of my Black Friday impulse buy list. Can you recommend any similar teas? I'm always looking for things with profiles like this.

I'm not sure if I can suggest any others, since I haven't been drinking much hongcha until quite recently. Others around here might know more.

I did get a few hongcha samples from Daxue Jiadao, which I should try soon while I've got spare time. I'll report back on those.

Andrew

[GaoShan]

I'm not sure if I can suggest any others, since I haven't been drinking much hongcha until quite recently. Others around here might know more.

I did get a few hongcha samples from Daxue Jiadao, which I should try soon while I've got spare time. I'll report back on those.

Andrew

Thanks! I've liked everything I've had from Daxue Jiadao. Their Zijuan Hong is definitely what I'd call a jammy tea, with lots of syrupy red berries and not much funk for a purple tea. What-Cha's Taiwanese Shan Cha also has nice blackberry/raspberry/strawberry notes, and Wuyi Origin's Wild Lapsang has in-your-face citrus and berries (I just bought another 100 g of this tea because it's such a favourite).

I hope others will jump in with their jammy recommendations.

[GaoShan]

I just finished a sample of EoT's 2022 Spring Da Xue Shan Wild Red Tea from a swap buddy (6 g, 120 ml, 195F, 10/12/15/18/20/25/30/40, etc.). It had lots of jammy berries, mango, stonefruit, and florals, along with some bready and yeasty notes that reminded me of beer. It had great longevity and almost no astringency, though the fruit got kind of muddled in later steeps. If I had more, I'd try longer and maybe hotter steeps to bring out that fruit, though it might increase the Yunnan funkiness as well. It was a nice tea, though I liked the somewhat similar Zijuan Hong from Daxue Jiadao a bit more.

[ferg]

House Recipe Premium Hot Tea.
Black, one Domino premium pure sugar cane.
Tastes like tea from childhood.
Really tasty.

Hospital tea

20231207_210214.jpg (106.06 KiB) Viewed 14578 times

[Baisao]

House Recipe Premium Hot Tea.
Black, one Domino premium pure sugar cane.
Tastes like tea from childhood.
Really tasty.

Hospital tea. I hope everything is alright with you and your family.