What Black Are You Drinking
I did not know what to expect but the roast was not dominant at all which was surprising.Ethan Kurland wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 12:41 pmDo you taste a black tea that had been roasted or do you taste a roasted tea that happens to be a black tea?
In other words, is the taste of roast dominant?
Cheers
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Thanks for quick response. That sounds tasty. A positive effect of roasting that does not result in a dominant taste of roast is what I want from roasting.
2 teas are giving me pleasure lately that I would not know were roasted if I had not been told that they had been. It is a situation similar to steps in cooking that eaters have no way of knowing occurred though they made food taste better.
I'm drinking the Castleton Floral Spring 2023 FF and am finding similar tasting notes to @LeoFox: lots of citrus and honey, perfumey spring florals, and astringency that can get out of hand if I steep it more than 3 minutes or hotter than about 180F. This is still a nice FF that feels suitably springlike.
I also enjoyed a sample of the Phuguri Silver Moon 2023 Second Flush. I remember it being quite fruity, with apple, muscatel, and some tropical fruit, as well as nutty and floral. It had the biggest leaves I've seen in a Darjeeling! Big, beautiful leaves seem to be Thunderbolt's trademark, and they do seem to equate with higher quality.
I also enjoyed a sample of the Phuguri Silver Moon 2023 Second Flush. I remember it being quite fruity, with apple, muscatel, and some tropical fruit, as well as nutty and floral. It had the biggest leaves I've seen in a Darjeeling! Big, beautiful leaves seem to be Thunderbolt's trademark, and they do seem to equate with higher quality.
Finishing off a bit of a Taiwanese TTES 8 hongcha from 2013 - there's a very nice fresh and vibrant quality to the flavour and mouthfeel which I think is emphasised by the teapot, and which helps to cut through an otherwise dark and cloudy day.
Andrew
Andrew
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@Andrew S Your picture really captures the session well, I think! Feels very meditative...
Thanks - yes, a calming little session with a smooth, gentle tea (and with the added pleasure of feeling the smoothness of the clay pot at the same time).teacreacha7 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2024 2:22 pmAndrew S Your picture really captures the session well, I think! Feels very meditative...
I guess it's an aspect of trying to match the tea to the day at hand (weather, mood, spare time), which I've been trying to do for a while. The same gentle tea on an uncomfortably hot day probably wouldn't feel nearly as nice.
Andrew
I've been thinking about trying the lapsangs and jin jun mei from Old Ways Tea. If you bought any more of them, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. How do they compare to Wuyi Origin?
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Bowl brewing some wakocha, minami sayaka first flush, it is a pretty good tea brewed grandpa style, expected it to be heavy on the astringency brewed this way since it is an assam hybrid (the other half is from the Caucasus apparently), but it was not until the near bottom of the bowl. This is the favorite of the few wakochas I've tried.
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Got a sample of verdant tea's Shi Feng Dragonwell Black Tea that i tried today.
https://verdanttea.com/shi-feng-dragonwell-black-tea
No way it is from shi feng at that price point.
Leaves are pretty roughed up - all tattered and fragmented.
Tea is at least - soft - no bad bitterness or astringency
Reminds me a bit of hojicha in terms of toastiness - there is an odd sour note and behind that i can sense the LJ.
Flavor a bit flat but veers towards tropical fruitiness.
https://verdanttea.com/shi-feng-dragonwell-black-tea
No way it is from shi feng at that price point.
Leaves are pretty roughed up - all tattered and fragmented.
Tea is at least - soft - no bad bitterness or astringency
Reminds me a bit of hojicha in terms of toastiness - there is an odd sour note and behind that i can sense the LJ.
Flavor a bit flat but veers towards tropical fruitiness.
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