What Black Are You Drinking

[LeoFox]

@debunix wow that looks more like first flush!!

[debunix]

A quick second session was also very nice, with more leaf and longer infusions, the flavors were richer and still no bitterness.

[LeoFox]

A quick second session was also very nice, with more leaf and longer infusions, the flavors were richer and still no bitterness.

Do you use a timer or go by feel?

[debunix]

This was infused casually at work, not timed at all.

[LeoFox]

Gong fu ing a darjeeling in my modern cz pot.


Once again, failed. Unbalanced and oddly astringent + bitter but flat in flavor.

Western brewing much better. I dont know why I keep trying...

[Bok]

Gong fu ing a darjeeling in my modern cz pot.


Once again, failed. Unbalanced and oddly astringent + bitter but flat in flavor.

Western brewing much better. I dont know why I keep trying...

same here, Darjeeling doesn't do well with high leaf ratio for me.

[maple]

021.06.29/Taoyuan/ Jaobanshan Mt./ Wuyi cultivar/ Black Tea
桃園角板山武夷種(黑奇蘭)紅茶

Wuyi cultivar is a old cultivar in Taiwan. There’s many different story about its origin which I don’t think it’s truth. :p
The taiwanese pronounced Wuyi is similar to Oh-Qi-Lan a.k.a 黑奇蘭 .. so it’s another nick name for this cultivar.
fragrance: Strong Floral/ weak woody/ expect more fruity in the future
Delicate/ good hue-gan

[Baisao]

I enjoyed a 2010 Taiwanese competition hongcha. Its only other label is that the varietal is "Qingxin Dapang".

There wasn’t much aroma from the dried leaves but quite a lot when prepared.

It’s grain forward, with a floral/fruit flavor appearing in later steeps. Astringency was felt across the palate, was balanced, and contributed to a sense of sweetness. The aroma is like hot macerated cherries but I didn’t find this aroma in the flavor.

The cha qi felt clean and powerful. I could focus but felt like I was getting into a mental groove. I was very zui after 150 ml of the prepared tea.

It was a nice little mystery tea from my stash. It made my day!

[Ethan Kurland]

I enjoyed a 2010 Taiwanese competition hongcha. Its only other label is that the varietal is "Qingxin Dapang".

There wasn’t much aroma from the dried leaves but quite a lot when prepared.

It’s grain forward, with a floral/fruit flavor appearing in later steeps. Astringency was felt across the palate, was balanced, and contributed to a sense of sweetness. The aroma is like hot macerated cherries but I didn’t find this aroma in the flavor.

The cha qi felt clean and powerful. I could focus but felt like I was getting into a mental groove. I was very zui after 150 ml of the prepared tea.

I just read this, a bit late in the night. Perhaps that is why I don't know or just don't remember some terms.
The black tea that I regularly drink has been called hongcha, which I am told is literally translated as sweet tea. I stopped asking for & remembering cultivars so differences may be because of different cultivars, perhaps not.
There is not much aroma from dry leaves kept tightly closed in the foil packs, but loose in a tin there was. Sometimes chocolate, sometimes like chocolate/raspberry or chocolate/cherry. The brew never tasted like that & astringency was never a notable. Otherwise there is a lot in common. I taste some spices. I don't think of the tea as sweet but it certainly is not the opposite & with its excellent balance, sweetness could very well be present that I don't pick out as an individual character.
I don't know what you mean by "grain forward".
Reading how much you like your hongcha, well written description that appreciates that it offers so much; I wonder again as I have done much before, how it comes to be that dynamic black tea from Taiwan gets relatively little attention.
Thanks for giving hongcha praise I believe is deserved. I used to post on what I drink at least twice a year, but I do sell it & realize so much posting about "my" teas is inappropriate. Cheers

[Baisao]

@Ethan Kurland, I am also surprised that Taiwanese hongcha doesn’t get more attention. The cherry and/or chocolate aromas you describe are spot on.

In this case, I meant by “grain forward” that cereal grain was the first and dominant flavor and that other flavors appeared somewhat later in each sip.

As for terms, it is my understanding that hongcha means “red tea” but I haven’t seen the characters for it. You could be right that it is “sweet tea”. Maybe @LeoFox can translate the name for us.

I don’t drink Western black tea so my dictionary and focus is entirely East Asian. As a personal quirk, to me black teas are fermented teas like liu bao and shou and called heicha; red teas are fully oxidized teas like the keemum and called hongcha.

I guess that may cause confusion but I intend it to remove the ambiguity of there being two “black” tea styles that are very different. The result is that I am posting about “red” tea in the black tea thread.

[LeoFox]

Ethan Kurland, I am also surprised that Taiwanese hongcha doesn’t get more attention. The cherry and/or chocolate aromas you describe are spot on.

In this case, I meant by “grain forward” that cereal grain was the first and dominant flavor and that other flavors appeared somewhat later in each sip.

As for terms, it is my understanding that hongcha means “red tea” but I haven’t seen the characters for it. You could be right that it is “sweet tea”. Maybe LeoFox can translate the name for us.

I don’t drink Western black tea so my dictionary and focus is entirely East Asian. As a personal quirk, to me black teas are fermented teas like liu bao and shou and called heicha; red teas are fully oxidized teas like the keemum and called hongcha.

I guess that may cause confusion but I intend it to remove the ambiguity of there being two “black” tea styles that are very different. The result is that I am posting about “red” tea in the black tea thread.

As far as I know Hong cha means red tea

Now thinking a bit about how ethan might think it is sweet tea, the Taiwanese sun moon lake red tea is Rìyuè-tán-hóngchá (日月潭紅茶). The tán means lake but can sound like the word meaning candy or sugar. Maybe something happened in the translation?

[maple]

guess. just a guess.
recently, Taiwanese tea retailer like to use the term - 蜜香紅茶 (Mi-Xiang-Hong-Cha) instead of 紅茶。
Mi-Xiang's Mi means 'honey'.

and the strict definition of Mi-Xiang-Hong-Cha should be insect bitten. but some sailer claimed they create the Mi-Xiang through roasting.

again just a guess. I'm surprising to people in english community use 'hongcha' instead of black-tea



I saw Vietnamese use red-tea instead of black-tea also.

BTW - 潭 = Tan, 甜 = Tian - It's different pronunciation.

[Baisao]

@maple & @LeoFox — thank you for the assistance. It’s nice to have native speakers who can help us clear up confusion.

[LeoFox]

guess. just a guess.
recently, Taiwanese tea retailer like to use the term - 蜜香紅茶 (Mi-Xiang-Hong-Cha) instead of 紅茶。
Mi-Xiang's Mi means 'honey'.

and the strict definition of Mi-Xiang-Hong-Cha should be insect bitten. but some sailer claimed they create the Mi-Xiang through roasting.

again just a guess. I'm surprising to people in english community use 'hongcha' instead of black-tea



I saw Vietnamese use red-tea instead of black-tea also.

BTW - 潭 = Tan, 甜 = Tian - It's different pronunciation.

I was thinking 糖 sounds a little like 潭

[LeoFox]

Some casual sun dried yunnan hong from white2tea:
https://white2tea.com/collections/black ... 0-fox-down

Yeah, they got me with their label art. Go figure

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Orange buds remind me of fox tails

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Threw in the 7g mini cake in ~320 ml pot and combined 2x 5 min infusions. Looks pretty black for a hong. Did I go too far?

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Coffee or tea??

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Thick with dried fruit sweetness. Not very bitter. Even my wife says it doesnt need milk. There is a hint of earthy minerality in the back. Pretty good for the price I think. Or did i get taken in by the marketing?