What Black Are You Drinking

Oxidized tea
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Victoria
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Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:12 pm

Decided to do a side by side comparison with Ethan's Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Orange and his Black Championship from Taiwan. I had tried both on their own, enjoyed them each, and wondered how they would stand up to each other. Also, I happen to now have an identical set of Kiyomizu-ware porcelain by Gyokusen so thought it would be fun to use them at the same time for comparing these black teas. One set I got at an Akido Center auction in LA last year mainly because the 35ml cups were a perfect size, weight and very thin, the other set I happen to see on eBay recently and thought it would make a nice gift. Typically I prefer simple white porcelain or a more subtle design but the quality grabbed my attention, and now when we have our LA International Tea Club reunions at my place the cups and houhin are always a favorite for trying out different teas.

The side by side comparison using same amounts; 4gr leaf/ 100ml/195f water/1min.steep, really didn't work well because the HOR needs less time (under a minute, +-45sec.). Anyway, the Black Championship is stellar with a honey biscotti like aroma, and complex layers of honeyed bug bitten sweetness and spice. It steeped well into 5+times. The overstepped Jun Chiyabari HOR wet leaf has a perfume honey muscatel aroma, but taste was muted next to Black Champ. with some sour notes peeking through because I butchered the steep. Tomorrow I'll revisit the HOR using less time and possibly less leaf too.

Left Black Championship from Taiwan, Right Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Orange.
Painting: Art On the Beach, 1992 by David Bowes
HOR & Championship Blk TW_L1010202_flt2.jpg
HOR & Championship Blk TW_L1010202_flt2.jpg (646.33 KiB) Viewed 9373 times

HOR & Championship Blk TW_L1010207_.jpg
HOR & Championship Blk TW_L1010207_.jpg (631.7 KiB) Viewed 9368 times
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debunix
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:11 am

The Chiyabari leaf looked quite a bit redder than the other in that last photo--was that really the case?
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Victoria
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:40 am

debunix wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:11 am
The Chiyabari leaf looked quite a bit redder than the other in that last photo--was that really the case?
Yes I think so, just different angle of natural light. HImalayan Orange is a light mahogany color, whereas the Black Champion is a darker brown wet leaf.
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Bok
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:56 am

Victoria wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:12 pm
Left Black Championship from Taiwan, Right Jun Chiyabari HOR.
If that Black tea from Taiwan, is what I think it is, then HOR is no match for it! :P
Do not get me wrong, both are very nice teas, but the way a Taiwanese High Mountain black is forgiving in the brewing and with its inherent sweetness... just difficult to beat in my opinion.

I do like HOR for a change from time to time and find it is equivalent with many quality Darjeelings, yet at a much better price.
I have been told by a large tea shop owner, that the Problem with Chiyabari teas is that they seem to have more trouble producing consistently good teas, as opposed to their big cousins on the other side of the border.

I have said it before, but I think a fairer comparison would be to brew it side by side with something like an Oriental beauty. At least in my experience I find them more in a similar category of tea, than Taiwanese black teas.
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Victoria
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:34 pm

Bok wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:56 am
Victoria wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:12 pm
Left Black Championship from Taiwan, Right Jun Chiyabari HOR.
If that Black tea from Taiwan, is what I think it is, then HOR is no match for it! :P
Do not get me wrong, both are very nice teas, but the way a Taiwanese High Mountain black is forgiving in the brewing and with its inherent sweetness... just difficult to beat in my opinion.

I do like HOR for a change from time to time and find it is equivalent with many quality Darjeelings, yet at a much better price.
I have been told by a large tea shop owner, that the Problem with Chiyabari teas is that they seem to have more trouble producing consistently good teas, as opposed to their big cousins on the other side of the border.

I have said it before, but I think a fairer comparison would be to brew it side by side with something like an Oriental beauty. At least in my experience I find them more in a similar category of tea, than Taiwanese black teas.
I was really surprise how delishious @Ethan Kurland Black Championship came out. I’ve had quite a few different Taiwanese Black teas, but this one is The Best I’ve tried so far. Are you suggesting Oriental Beauty side by side with his Black Champ? That would make sense to me as well, since this Black has bug bitten sweet honey notes.
Ethan Kurland
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:00 pm

For more than a year I drank the HOR daily, sometimes even prepared large quantities twice a day. Now I drink black tea from Taiwan daily (lately the Championship Black) & use the HOR for a break 2 or 3 times a month.

I feel that the HOR & Oriental Beauty do share some flavors, but they are definitely different teas, as I think all of us who drink both agree. Likewise, as others have said, darjeelings are their own category.i

For the sake of discussions though, perhaps so many categories is difficult; &, there might not be enough reading of posts; since some people don't read about teas they don't drink. (E.g., I stopped reading about puerh because I rarely drink it.)

Cheers
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Bok
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:43 pm

@Victoria I meant HÖR vs Oriental beauty. For me Taiwanese high mountain black is totally apart. Ruby variety yet another.
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Victoria
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:50 pm

Bok wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:43 pm
Victoria I meant HÖR vs Oriental beauty. For me Taiwanese high mountain black is totally apart. Ruby variety yet another.
Hmm interesting, flavor profiles are not very similar imo. Why would you pair those two?
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Bok
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Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:37 pm

Victoria wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:50 pm
Bok wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:43 pm
Victoria I meant HÖR vs Oriental beauty. For me Taiwanese high mountain black is totally apart. Ruby variety yet another.
Hmm interesting, flavor profiles are not very similar imo. Why would you pair those two?
I would not pair them. Just saying that if I were to compare HOR with a tea from Taiwan, OB comes closest to being similar.

At least the OB I have had, had notes of what identify with Darjeeling-like teas. Also similar in their lack of stamina, compared to most Taiwanese teas.
lopin
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Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:51 am

Sipping Hatvala Vietnam Wild Boar, it is a very nice mellow Assam style tea, malt and honey, less on chocolate, some dried fruits, could be plums as they describe it.
gatmcm
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Wed Oct 24, 2018 3:56 am

Drank some of lazycattea's zheng shan xiao zhong yesterday, been craving this tea ever since I had a sample a year ago before he opened the store.
Very smooth and pleasant and a different profile from most hongcha ive had, even other zsxz
lopin
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Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:51 am

Darjeeling Giddapahar special Muscatel SF 2018, very nice sf with hints of Muscatel, very low astringency, and pleasant aftertaste. After long time DJ I really enjoy.
Chadrinkincat
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Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:40 pm

Anyone try the red teas from this months EOT club yet? I was planning to dig into them this week.
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_Soggy_
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Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:31 pm

Chilling with Adaigo's "thai chai". It ain't bad, but it could use some tweaking imo. I was in the area of an Adaigo the other week and decided why not pick up some chai(also it was like 20f out and I needed something to warm me up). I'm a purist generally, but Masala Chai is really one of the few(only?) blends i find ok and I have a soft spot for. Classic blend that is quite tasty and It reminds me a lot of when I was a kid during the winter at home. Appropriate for the holidays. Cheers.
thetealetter
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Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:36 pm

Yao Qing Hua Xiang "Fresh Fragrance" black tea from Phoenix Tea Collective and a selection of Fujianese black teas from Old Ways Tea from locations such as Masu and Dabo.

The YQHX truly lives up to its name as a bright and fragrant black with incredible aroma. The OWT blacks are a delightful discovery, with a strong grassy and floral flavor I haven't encountered in teas from other regions.
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