What Black Are You Drinking

[LeoFox]

Black diamond from thunderbolt. Last of my thunderbolt gift samples

[debunix]

Black diamond from thunderbolt. Last of my thunderbolt gift samples

sounds delicious. If I did not already have some very nice Keemun from Daxue Jiadao I would be sorely tempted

[LeoFox]

2020 yixing hong from daxuejiadao

[Darrel]

I don’t drink much black tea at home but got this Tongmu Charcoal Roast 2022 as a free sampler and it’s amazing! I wish I could put the aroma into words but it is very pleasant. Nice and smooth black tea. Happy Saturday

Do 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

I did not know what to expect but the roast was not dominant at all which was surprising.

[Ethan Kurland]

I did not know what to expect but the roast was not dominant at all which was surprising.

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.

[GaoShan]

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.

[Andrew S]

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

[teacreacha7]

@Andrew S Your picture really captures the session well, I think! Feels very meditative...

[Andrew S]

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).

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

[Darrel]

Free sample of Masu Smoked Black Tea from old ways tea. Smokiness is more pronounced with this one but mellowed out after the first two steeps. Good tea overall.

[GaoShan]

Free sample of Masu Smoked Black Tea from old ways tea. Smokiness is more pronounced with this one but mellowed out after the first two steeps. Good tea overall.

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?