looking for a "raisin-y" tea

Oxidized tea
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gaaah
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Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:06 pm

Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:23 pm

I've been exploring teas for a number of years now and am now concentrating on my unflavored loose-leaf blacks, mostly single-estate, but some blended. I have about 20 of such in my collection from India, China, Africa, and even Japan.

One flavor component I love in a black is a "rasin-y" note. Another way I might describe this is "tannic-acid-y". Does anyone have any suggestions to what I might try that matches this description?
Pan
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Location: Los Angeles

Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:56 pm

Try maybe some Fujian black, I usually get the raisn/dry fruit note from it.
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mbanu
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Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:35 am

Might the term you are looking for be "winey"? Certain black teas develop this flavor if they are getting old but have been kept very dry, as they then become slightly rancid rather than going flat. Keemun is the most famous tea to do this (although if stored in a less dry way it will of course go flat like an ordinary black tea). It was originally called "fruity", but changed to clarify because sometimes a tea could become fruity due to the presence of unwanted bacteria also.
gaaah
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Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:06 pm

Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:44 pm

I think I found it, or at least came close. It's an organic Fuding Bai Mu Dan. It's NOT the green style that seems to be the only thing you can find nowadays, but the older traditional style. These are in tea ball form with the gold foil wrappers. There are no green or drab green leaves, instead, all the more oxidized shades of brown. I assume mentioning a retailer is not allowed here so I won't. This is definitely NOT Shou Mei. Be careful, because on eBay for instance, some retailers refer to Bai Mu Dan and Shou Mei synonymously.

I realize my personal tea flavor nomenclature isn't the norm, but I would describe the taste as on the fruity side of "raisin-y". It has a nice floral accent, and absolutely zero bitterness. People that are trying to ween themselves off of sugar in their tea would find this a godsend.

Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions.
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Bok
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Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:13 pm

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LeoFox
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Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:50 pm

Bok wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:13 pm
Interesting in this context: https://www.theoolongdrunk.com/single-p ... -white-tea
Damn! This deserves its own thread under white tea
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belewfripp
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Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:20 am

LeoFox wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:50 pm
Bok wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:13 pm
Interesting in this context: https://www.theoolongdrunk.com/single-p ... -white-tea
Damn! This deserves its own thread under white tea
Agreed. Interesting stuff - I guess it's not really super surprising, given what we already know happens with other teas. The concerted effort tied to the government push of Fuding tea is an interesting twist.
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