What Black Are You Drinking

[LeoFox]

An assam: HALMARI ESTATE TGFOP1 (2020 OR-130) via upton tea imports

I'm surprised at how thick and smooth this one is - feels like a chocolate whirlpool swirling in my mouth.

Have you tried this one mbanu?

Halmari is usually a good bet -- I order a sample first when it comes out though because some years they produce a tea that's a little too thin for me to drink with whole milk while being too strong to drink plain (it's hard to balance strength and aromatics, I find, usually an Assam has to go in one direction or the other).

Gongfu is one of those things that makes sense, especially for older samples, but it always falls into my blind spot when I think about possible things to do with Assam, like a friend of mine who likes to boil eggs in their kettle, which surprises me every time they mention it even though it clearly works for their purpose.

I will need to try harder to remind myself, as it sounds like the results with Assam can be good.

I feel that relatively fast infusions with more smoothing Clay like zini could be beneficial for these kinds of teas - an approach that doesnt work as well for ceylon.

[LeoFox]

I'm blown away by the da chi gan red from DaxueJiaDao.

[debunix]

like a chocolate whirlpool swirling in my mouth.

That is an amazing concept. As someone who is more worshiper than me a fan of chocolate, I find it very compelling. I will be seeking out some black teas to drink today thanks for this.

[TeaTotaling]

I'm blown away by the da chi gan red from DaxueJiaDao.

Wow, lovely synopsis. I’m sold!! Actually had a Hongcha from DXJD this morning. Specifically the 2020 Lincang Gushu Danzhu. If you haven’t had it, and it’s still available, I highly recommend it. Simply luxurious with aromas of Muscovado sugar.

[LeoFox]

Wow, lovely synopsis. I’m sold!! Actually had a Hongcha from DXJD this morning. Specifically the 2020 Lincang Gushu Danzhu. If you haven’t had it, and it’s still available, I highly recommend it. Simply luxurious with aromas of Muscovado sugar.

I got a sample of that one. Looking forward to it for sure

[LeoFox]

like a chocolate whirlpool swirling in my mouth.

That is an amazing concept. As someone who is more worshiper than me a fan of chocolate, I find it very compelling. I will be seeking out some black teas to drink today thanks for this.

I tried this tea again today - brewed the same way. It's interesting that this choco- whirlpool has largely calmed down - caused maybe by having the bag opened for a few days now. This choco stuff seems to dissipate so fast and now the tea is much more grainy but also more fruity- with some touch of lemon candies that I've also experienced from yunnan hong.

[Ethan Kurland]

.... this choco- whirlpool has largely calmed down...

That's good probably. A whirlpool in a person's mouth sounds dangerous.

[LeoFox]

.... this choco- whirlpool has largely calmed down...

That's good probably. A whirlpool in a person's mouth sounds dangerous.

Just hoping this choco isnt the result of some adulteration

[LeoFox]

More assam explorations:

MANGALAM ESTATE FTGFOP1 2020 from Upton tea. This one, the vendor insists has a "burgundy" wine character echoed by many other vendors selling tea from this estate.



I don't get any of the winey association.

It is very different from the Halmari estate assam of the same season, which is more fruity and chocolaty. The mangalam is a malty beast, with an even thicker mouthfeel and is more bitter. This one also takes gongfu brewing pretty well.

viewtopic.php?p=41188#p41188

[debunix]

Had a lovely session with Pine Needle Wazuoka black tea from Obubu, a bit earthy and malty and fruity, but sadly not chocolatey at all. Fortunately chocolate was available to eat with it.

[LeoFox]

More assam explorations:
DEJOO ESTATE TGFOP (2021) ASSAM from upton

This one didn't take gongfu well - died after 3 infusions. And as it died, the tea almost made me die from the astringency- and a metallic bite. Ignoring this - this is a woody tea with some stewed date sweetness.
Overall, pretty awful stuff that forces me to bring out the milk.

@mbanu, you try this one before?

[Bok]

Seems a common occurrence for Darjeeling to fade out fast and bite if you try to force them to go further

For me the glorious exception was a Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Orange which went well up to 12 infusions.

[mbanu]

Tried to bake a bread pudding, so I gave the loose-leaf Constant Comment another go. Not really happy with the pudding, but the tea turned out OK.

[LeoFox]

Back for round 2 with dejoo estate assam
viewtopic.php?p=41668#p41668

To counter its high astringency and inability to go beyond 3 infusions using typical hongcha parameters, I did flash infusions.

Seems to work much better but there is a trade off: flavor is much weaker. But less astringent, more steeps and a thick mouthfeel is maintained.

[mbanu]

chamraj-golden.jpg (32.87 KiB) Viewed 7330 times

Chamraj Golden Tips from Nilgiri by way of Upton Tea Imports. Not an all-buds tea, but rather a mostly-buds Nilgiri of the old pekoe variety. Nice aroma, but a bit harsh for my water. Tried brewing it up with some hard water and it was more pleasant. Maybe a good tea to try if you have hard water in your area and prefer plain tippy teas.