What is the sweetest tea you have tried?

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Twistedoolong6
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:12 am

I am really into sweet teas,
Any suggestions on good, mainly Chinese sweeter teas?

I love Saemidori senchas but tryin to see what Chinese options are out there on the tea front.

Trying to get a grasp on more sweet teas out there
polezaivsani
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:04 pm

I suppose that was too broad of a preference to come up with suggestions. And then the exact notion of sweetness you have in mind is likely an important factor too. As an aside, I'd be curious to hear anybody shed some insights as to how many if at all can there be actual sugar molecules in these drinks. Me personally I have different ideas of sweetness related to different teas, some more controversial, others more agreed upon. The first category, the teas I'm having most experience with, would have at least one old liu an with plenty wet storage to it that I consider a confectionery of the sorts, but actual sweetness there occupies only a slight amount of time and space during the session and might be only tangentially related to the subject sensation, more like an alcohol-cooling coconut sweetness. Sugar often comes upon in describing young sheng puers, but don't quote me on recommending you take that route.

Taiwanese gaoshan wulongs I'd say have plenty of candy sweetness to them, at least those that I had did. Last, given your nickname, and also the one I'm least familiar with would dancong wulongs, but it's only on the merits of a rumor.

One thing to keep in mind through this journey is to keep your heart open to whatever beautiful drink you might chance upon, so as to not miss the unanticipated gems while rummaging for the sweets :)
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LeoFox
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:07 pm

Not sure what you mean by sweet but I see you mention saemidori as an example of "sweet." My impression of saemidori, which is often deep steamed, is that it delivers a strong umami hit. I don't recall it being particularly "sweet."
Andrew S
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:15 pm

It may be that the word 'sweet' isn't quite right here.

Do you mean tea that is not bitter or astringent? Or tea that tastes fruity or floral? Or as LeoFox says, you may also be referring to the umami character that many Japanese teas can have.

If you enjoy the umami mouthfeel, then different Japanese teas would be worth exploring (but I know nothing about Japanese tea).

If you like fruity or floral flavours, then perhaps unroasted Taiwanese gaoshan wulong would work as polezaivsani mentions, or perhaps different kinds of green tea (especially if you use low temperatures to brew them).

If you want a tea with no bitterness or astringency, then perhaps cooked puer, or wet-stored puer, or liu bao, might work (although those might be a bit confronting if you are used to more normal kinds of green or black teas).

I would probably stay away from young puer and dancong (because while they can have nice floral aromas, they also tend to be quite astringent) and yancha (which can be a bit 'rough' unless you go for heavily roasted styles or very expensive examples).

Andrew
Andrew S
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:18 pm

Addendum: I just noticed your other post here: viewtopic.php?p=44260#p44260

Perhaps cooked puer / wet-stored puer / liu bao is not something that you'd enjoy because of the unique flavour profile, regardless of how 'sweet' or 'smooth' it tastes...

Andrew
Twistedoolong6
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:37 pm

I’m definitely open to keeping my options open, I do not mind very slight astringency but as far as I have noticed I seem to be very sensitive to astringency and it seems to be not a profile I enjoy much. Perhaps smoother teas are my choice.

I tried cooked puer and can’t say I was a fan, it was very earthy and way too mineral flavoured for me to enjoy, perhaps there are others that are sweeter or more to my taste, not discounting puer just yet as I’ve only tried one.
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teatray
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Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:39 pm

Not recently, but I've had (deep-steamed Kagoshima) Saemidori in the past that I found wonderfully sweet, nutty, hayey and delicious. The last 1-2 I've tried weren't as good, but maybe your source is better or I was just unlucky (that was also some years ago).

There seem to be different perceptions on what can be called sweet, so maybe take suggestions with a grain of... salt :mrgreen:. My knowledge of Chinese teas is shallow but some of the juiciest, sweetest (to me) teas I've discovered recently are Hojo's Ali Shan (from Taiwan) and his Ancient Tree White (from China). Currently enjoying a wild Taiwanese White (Red Jade hybrid usually processed into black tea) that has a mellow taste reminding me of linden tea & good sweetness, too. So maybe Gaoshan & older tree whites (from CN/TW) are worth checking out? At least I'm having some sweet fun exploring them.
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