What Black Are You Drinking

Oxidized tea
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debunix
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Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:38 pm

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The question in another topic about where you get your Darjeeling from reminded me that I have several more unopened samples from Yatra Tea, and this evening I am opening up Second flush, June 2019 Marangi estate orthodox FTGFOP1. The small delicately curled leaves smell very nice, malt and fruit. First infusion of water just off the boil, about 20 seconds, is very nice, just as the scent promised—malt and fruit.
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Several infusions later, it is still delicious. I foresee another order from Yatra, I will have to drink down the tea chest a bit first (!).
swordofmytriumph
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Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:31 am

debunix wrote:
Sun Oct 24, 2021 9:38 pm
The question in another topic about where you get your Darjeeling from reminded me that I have several more unopened samples
Thank you and you're welcome! ;)
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Quentin
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Thu Dec 30, 2021 9:38 pm

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I'm not usually a fan of black teas, but this Dianhong from Fengqing's 2020 spring season is particularly suited for the the holidays! Almost tastes like a candy sweet with how predominate the dark caramel & chocolate notes are, then you're left with a satisfying, soft maltiness that's just perfect for Minnesota's recent cold weather.
.m.
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:49 am

Jun Chiyabari second flush organic (from Camellia Sinensis in Montreal): a big disappointment for me. The tea feels like it's been designed to have the strongest possible muscatel smell. And it does deliver on the aroma front. But when it comes to taste, it is vegetal and astringent (and this is a 2nd flush!), feels thin, and any little aftertaste it has is rather unpleasant. The first steep is a fine balancing act to get the parameters right to make a somewhat enjoyable cup, later steeps are very much undrinkable.
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LeoFox
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:46 pm

.m. wrote:
Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:49 am
Jun Chiyabari second flush organic (from Camellia Sinensis in Montreal): a big disappointment for me. The tea feels like it's been designed to have the strongest possible muscatel smell. And it does deliver on the aroma front. But when it comes to taste, it is vegetal and astringent (and this is a 2nd flush!), feels thin, and any little aftertaste it has is rather unpleasant. The first steep is a fine balancing act to get the parameters right to make a somewhat enjoyable cup, later steeps are very much undrinkable.
Have you tried steeping like sencha? 80-85C - 4g/100 ml 40s

I find that works great for many teas from jun
.m.
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:41 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:46 pm
Have you tried steeping like sencha? 80-85C - 4g/100 ml 40s

I find that works great for many teas from jun
Thanks, I should try that next time. It make sense to treat it more like a green tea than as black. However in this case it could only mitigate the bad quality of the tea. I hear Jun Chiyabari makes quite a few teas, hopefully their other products or batches are better, but i'm not very inclined to explore further.
Ethan Kurland
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:30 pm

m., I never went as low in temperature as LeoFox suggested to you. I often steeped w/ temperature that I use for oolong since "black" tea from Nepal often belonged as much in the oolong category or belonged even more in the oolong category. Hopefully you will find preparation that yields you enjoyable drinking.

I & some others have been amazed by (& dismayed by) how greatly tea from Nepal varies from season to season, year to year.

Another possible explanation for disappointment is that we change. E.g., I loved sweet black teas from Hunnan for a couple of years (dianhong etc.). but no more.
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LeoFox
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Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:51 pm

.m. wrote:
Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:41 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:46 pm
Have you tried steeping like sencha? 80-85C - 4g/100 ml 40s

I find that works great for many teas from jun
Thanks, I should try that next time. It make sense to treat it more like a green tea than as black. However in this case it could only mitigate the bad quality of the tea. I hear Jun Chiyabari makes quite a few teas, hopefully their other products or batches are better, but i'm not very inclined to explore further.
The wonder about these teas is the amazing aromatics- and these aromatics can be highlighted by the lower temp approach- and I am one who usually uses boiling for everything. But in this case, the aromatics that this approach can deliver can be breathtaking, -if the tea is truly good.
.m.
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Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:25 pm

@Ethan Kurland My point of reference is Taiwanese Oriental Beauty which can offer similarly rich aromatics without sacrificing the taste and body. Not a favorable comparison, it shows how the huge the gap is. But perhaps just a bad batch, produced during rainy period or something...
Ethan Kurland
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Sat Jan 01, 2022 11:01 pm

.m. wrote:
Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:25 pm
Ethan Kurland My point of reference is Taiwanese Oriental Beauty which can offer similarly rich aromatics without sacrificing the taste and body. Not a favorable comparison, it shows how the huge the gap is. But perhaps just a bad batch, produced during rainy period or something...
That's really interesting to me: I stopped drinking tea from Nepal which I had been enjoying daily not very long after finding some delicious Oriental Beauty. 2 years later Oriental Beauty became too sweet and/or seemed complex in sort of an unrefined way. I get what I would want from O.B. or darjeeling type tea from the black tea that I drink. (It is also bitten by insects.) I use water around 96C (94 - 97).

In Taipei I have seen a tea being given for customers to sample who were interested in O.B. or categories of black tea. (Not what I drink & sell but close to it.) I believe what I prefer & other high-mountain black teas almost as good as what I judge is best, have enough complexity to keep those who want the bang of darjeeling etc. from frustration & give enough of a black tea experience to satisfy others who may thirst for flavor based in a deeper, subtle drink.

I had continued to drink white tea from Nepal. I bought it once a year. One year that white was very light, sweet in a complex way that I cannot describe. The next year it was different but very much a white tea which to me had always meant not so Nepali or darjeeling-like. The next year the white tea was very much a strong, complex darjeeling type of tea (Muscadel flavor etc.) with a light body. I found that I had not been missing that array of flavors & I don't want it.
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mbanu
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Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:57 pm

Drinking a "Victorian Afternoon" blend from Mark T. Wendell, which is a Russian Caravan blend that was created sometime in the past for the Elizabethan Club, a kind of fraternal club at Yale that has its own clubhouse for English literature fans, started by an alumni alumnus who had become successful in carpet manufacturing and who had regretted when he was at school that there was no easy way for bookish students to get to know one another casually.

This blend is actually a pretty good example of a smoked Russian Caravan, I think -- maybe not surprising, as smoked teas are Mark T. Wendell's specialty.

A good example also of American tea-quirks, where even the Anglophile club apparently doesn't serve milk tea, due to the long-standing American preference for tea without milk. :)

Also a photo of the clubhouse tearoom courtesy of the builders who renovated it a while back, for those who can imagine a group of shy English-majors having tea, but are curious about the place itself. :D
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LeoFox
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Sun Jan 09, 2022 7:18 am

Some lishan hong to start the day.



And then later, a very interesting tea -

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LeoFox
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Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:31 pm

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?

Ethan Kurland
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Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:32 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:31 pm
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.
"chocolate whirlpool"? Provokes an idea though it is nonsensical, so it is fun. I congratulate you on finding many ways to enjoy teas. I have not found much difference between various Assam teas. The best for me is not much different than the good. Upton does offer so many teas from India. Cheers
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mbanu
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Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:48 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Thu Jan 13, 2022 4:31 pm
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.
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