What Black Are You Drinking

[nikolsonanna398]

This time we brought from the trip a lot of tea from the highlands of Ilam (Nepal), it's a pity, but the supplies are already running out, tea of extraordinary deliciousness is black, green, and white. In our city, you will hardly find such a thing.

In 2015 I went to Nepal to study their culture. And I really liked their attitude to tea. They are very good at tea and have a huge selection of teas. Then I tried many different varieties, but most of all I liked GABA Red Tea.

[belewfripp]

Chinyoneon Yame black tea. It's a summer tea, single cultivar (Benifuki). I've had it a few times now, prepared a number of different ways (gongfu, stove, small leaf/long steep time, etc.) to see if anything more interesting can be coaxed from it, but it is mostly a pretty standard black tea. A little bitterness and a little astringency, but mostly just a smooth "black tea taste". It's not bad, but it is kind of boring (though also being a summer tea likely doesn't help).

This morning I was getting low (I only ordered 30g to try, first Japanese black tea I've had) and I was messing around with it and remembered something mbanu said in the water thread, something to the effect of, "If the tea isn't working for you, why bother with all this and just stop drinking that tea?" And I thought, "There's almost nothing left of this tea, so why not just chuck it?" But then I thought, why not go all the way and put milk and sugar in it? I've literally never done that before; even when drinking teabags, and knowing the long history of doing so in some parts of the world, I just have always seen it as heresy.

Did it anyway, though. First steep was, interestingly enough, not sweet but rather there was a tangy/savory nature that came out of the tea instead. After three small steeps ( ~ 120 ml) I thought, "God help me, I think i actually like this." Luckily, the tea itself was nearly toast at this point, so I didn't have to stare any longer in that particular abyss.

[Victoria]

@belewfripp I had a pretty nice old growth Japanese black from Toyota City, in Aichi that was included with a special kyusu I purchased.

This morning I reached for something different for a change, the last leaves of a black Darjeeling from Thunderbolt Tea -Turzum 1st Fl Himalayan Mystic ‘18. Still very good; aromatic, silky viscosity and rich body. Has a little effervescence too. 7.5g/250ml/180f/3-4 min steeped in Seto-ware glazed 350ml vine handle kyusu.

Hoping this years 1st flush Darjeeling is able to be harvested in time. Anyone hear anything from India and Nepal?

[LeoFox]

Wild Feng qing purple tea from ys
Fruity like a second flush darjeeling but also with that dried fruit sweetness and malty honey of yunnan blacks. Body is bit thin. Wife says: honey suckle

Gets a bit sour plummy and earthy (mostly chalky) as steeps progress.

Steeped 4 grams in 80 mL gaiwan. Boiling water. Rinse and then progressive steeps beginning at 20s.

Astringency slowly sneaks up until it is a little throat pinching. The aftertaste is a bit funky.

Would not get again. Overall, ys continues to disappoint.

[belewfripp]

belewfripp I had a pretty nice old growth Japanese black from Toyota City, in Aichi that was included with a special kyusu I purchased.

Thanks - looks interesting. I was unable to dig up much info online in English, but I'll keep an eye out.

In the meantime, I had a Chinese black tea that agreed with me far more, today. I received a 5g sample of Tongmuguan wild black tea in a recent order from Tong Xin She and it is pretty darn good. It was a busy day, work-wise, so it took me all day to get even 7 steeps, but it was delicious - malty sweetness in early steeps, replaced by floral flavors upfront (but still some of that sweetness around the bottom edges of my tongue) later before progressing to a kind of bitterness that wasn't really bitter but just kind of sharp and metallic. Brewed very conventionally in a porcelain gaiwan, ~ 90-100 ml of 90° C water.

I've been screwing around with testing so many things lately, it was nice to just have a tea I could brew without fuss and have it be delicious and enjoyable.

[LeoFox]

Temi 2nd flush black tea from TWL. Tukdah 383 cultivar.

Grape must, old barrels filled with port wine, strong rose aromas.

Gets sweeter as i brew harder. Very easy to brew.

Remarkable...

Beautifully expressed in modern cz pot giving nice focus to aftertaste and aroma.

[Victoria]

Temi 2nd flush black tea from TWL. Tukdah 383 cultivar.

Grape must, old barrels filled with port wine, strong rose aromas.

Gets sweeter as i brew harder. Very easy to brew.

Remarkable...

Beautifully expressed in modern cz pot giving nice focus to aftertaste and aroma.

Oh, eye popping alluring description. I’ve wondered about getting this black as well. Sirens are calling

[OCTO]

Having another round of OCTO's quirky blends.... this time round I'm blending a 2003 LiuAn with 60s Aged Oolong... needless to say... I'm lovin' it!... hahahaha.... what more when it blended brew with Tozo Mumyoi and served with 70s old Zisha/Zini (can't figure out which).... hahahaha.....

Cheers!!

IMG_3326 2.jpg (392.86 KiB) Viewed 6969 times

[LeoFox]

Having another round of OCTO's quirky blends.... this time round I'm blending a 2003 LiuAn with 60s Aged Oolong... needless to say... I'm lovin' it!... hahahaha.... what more when it blended brew with Tozo Mumyoi and served with 70s old Zisha/Zini (can't figure out which).... hahahaha.....

Cheers!!

[Victoria]

Haha where’s the like button

[Bok]

[pase22]

I've been drinking a lot of Darjeeling lately. I buy the less expensive stuff ( Margaret's hope 2nd & First flush blend from Vadham ) for everyday use and it tastes quite nice. As we got insanely busy at work last week, my tea just sat there and became stone cold. Now normally I would have dumped it in the sink and just get a fresh cup, but I was completely exasperated and dehydrated. I wasn't a big iced tea (generic family restaurant sweet tea especially ) fan until I tried this. Anyone else like it cold, or should I get my head examined?

[Victoria]

I've been drinking a lot of Darjeeling lately. I buy the less expensive stuff ( Margaret's hope 2nd & First flush blend from Vadham ) for everyday use and it tastes quite nice. As we got insanely busy at work last week, my tea just sat there and became stone cold. Now normally I would have dumped it in the sink and just get a fresh cup, but I was completely exasperated and dehydrated. I wasn't a big iced tea (generic family restaurant sweet tea especially ) fan until I tried this. Anyone else like it cold, or should I get my head examined?

I always steep the last round overnight, and enjoyed it room temperature the next morning. Cooled down tea has a stronger flavor profile than hot tea. Try saving a small cup of the first steep, and enjoy with the last, the difference might surprise you.

[Ethan Kurland]

.... Anyone else like it cold, or should I get my head examined?

Most of what I drink is not hot, it is either warm or room temperature. When I drink hot Championship black, I cannot fully appreciate its wide array of flavors. Cooler, I can taste the flavors distinctly which are at least part of what I taste in the best oriental beauty (an oolong whose flavors can feel somewhat like darjeeling). In other words, you don't need to have your head examined.

[pase22]

I've been drinking a lot of Darjeeling lately. I buy the less expensive stuff ( Margaret's hope 2nd & First flush blend from Vadham ) for everyday use and it tastes quite nice. As we got insanely busy at work last week, my tea just sat there and became stone cold. Now normally I would have dumped it in the sink and just get a fresh cup, but I was completely exasperated and dehydrated. I wasn't a big iced tea (generic family restaurant sweet tea especially ) fan until I tried this. Anyone else like it cold, or should I get my head examined?

I always steep the last round overnight, and enjoyed it room temperature the next morning. Cooled down tea has a stronger flavor profile than hot tea. Try saving a small cup of the first steep, and enjoy with the last, the difference might surprise you.

As luck would have it, my kettle decided it didn't want to play anymore on Thursday so had to go old school stove top for my work brew. Pickup up a new kettle on the way home so to inaugurate it I brewed a whole pot of Margaret's hope (with a touch of Nilgiri ) then let almost half of it sit there over night. That was some good tasting tea come morning time. Think I unwittingly stumbled onto something good here.