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BOTD: Black Of The Day

2010 Spring Imperial Yunnan Fengqing Gold Buds Link: Jas-Etea

This was my second time brew session this particular black tea. The first session was ruined by poor quality sugar. The second, however, was quite nice. The taste profile is very mild. While you can taste the "black tea" taste, it is very reserved, almost subtle. The natural sweetness of this tea is appealing to the palette, though I found a little added sugar made for a "well rounded" cup. Overall, a very enjoyable tea and a great black tea for someone just starting out with black teas.
 
Today, I had the second brew of Russian Country sample (Harney's Russian Country) from Harney and Sons. Overall a very nice blend of Black Teas. The website indicates four teas with some added Lapsang added to the mix. The Lapsang adds a touch of smokiness to the brew while the other teas provide a pleasant body. I would rank this tea below Jas Etea's Hao Ya A in smokiness, for those who might be interested in a lighter smoke flavor. Made for a nice two cups and will likely become part of my rotation (along with the fore mentioned Hao Ya A and Lapsang)
 
We took a nice holiday this weekend in the mountains and enjoyed a rather nice tea-time.

Tea is Fong Puu's Black tea (since 1883) 1 teaspoon of sugar and slice of limon - a lemon sized lime, which is very common in Taiwan - it's not cold enough for lemons. We also had some DYI cookies. The Hotel's theme for the summer is penguins, so we got to decorate our own penguin sugar cookies with chocolate. The penguin with the sword is mine... A nice cup of tea, for sure!

Here is a link to the album.

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Special (or super?)

Superior Fine blah blah blah is what I tell customers.

Today is a BOP from New Guinea. Its a cheap and overlooked tea that tastes wonderfully earthy. reminds me of drinking out of earthen cups at train stations in northern India
 
just went to a local Tea House and had my first cup of Lapsang Souchong ever. This stuff is great! Like a campfire in a cup
 
Had a Taiwanese Ruby Black Tea sample from a prospective vendor. Just not the same quality as the Taiwanese Ruby Black that I have carried in the past. Won't be using that supplier. The tea taste was not horrible however it did not have the characteristic cinnamon background note that I have come to expect from this varietal. Therefore, a whole dimension of the flavor profile was missing. The leaf appearance was also not as aesthetically appealing.
Well, you can't win them all.
 
ok some black tea from "Nepal" which is aparently exclusive to david's tea well im not verry well versed in black tea's flavor range but here we go:

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ok first infusion 30s 95c: color red/dark amber taste: well its akin to any black i'v had before so its slightly bitter it also has a tang to the sides of the tounge the aftertaste is plesent enough
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second infusion 1m: it took on a light mushroom or woody flavor but still retained its classic black flavor
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infusion 3 1:30 : tobacco?
the leaves consist mostly of half or broken leaves but there are a few whole ones in there
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4th infusion: 2 min flavor is thinning out

5th infusion 5 min : seems you can only get 3-4 out of this tea
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another pic dump

wild yunnan black tea this time 5.2G of it but the scale turned off before it took the pic
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95c water for 30s color orangy brown flavor light smokey with traditional bitter black with many undertones not yet understood by me
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second infusion 1m tea surface is oily citrus on arival then melds back into above.
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3rd infusion 1:30 no chance in flavor noted
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4th infusion 2min : mushrooms and tea is thin.
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5th infusion 5min : not much flavor depth left tea is done
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ok leaves are mostly half or broken leaves i guess all the good ones went to pu-erh.
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ok some black tea from "Nepal" which is aparently exclusive to david's tea well im not verry well versed in black tea's flavor range but here we go:

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ok first infusion 30s 95c: color red/dark amber taste: well its akin to any black i'v had before so its slightly bitter it also has a tang to the sides of the tounge the aftertaste is plesent enough

I noticed on the label that David's recommends steeping this tea for 4-5 minutes. Is there a reason why you chose a much shorter infusion time? Just curious.
 
I noticed on the label that David's recommends steeping this tea for 4-5 minutes. Is there a reason why you chose a much shorter infusion time? Just curious.

because what they think your going to do is make it western style little bit of tea lots of water and steep the crap out of it until its some horrible oily scummy mess. gong fu brewing basics are lots of tea. small amount of water short infusion time many infusions.
 
ok black tea grade A orange pekoe formosa

before we get to brewing this i have to say my goodness this is the most aromatic tea i'v ever smelled it smells like earl grey but theres no bergamot in the tea. its fruity and citrus.
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1st infusion 85c 30s: aroma wet, fruity citrus nose. taste. verry floral arival O. P. ish body and citrus finish.
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2nd 1m : hint of black tea bitterness but mostly OP and citrus notes.
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3rd 1.5m: the black tea flavor has deminished into mostly citrus flavor.
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4th 3m: similar to above but still flavorfull just muted.
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5th 5m: i could go longer if i enjoyed weak lemon tea. not boring but not interesting either.
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all in all a really nice black that has a bit of staying power.
 
I have had a most excellent session with a 2009 pick Zhu Hai Jing Ming. It's definitely aging some, with early infusions being sour, but giving many infusions of chocolate and orchids. Aroma isn't strong. A most light touch of qi, not really worth mentioning. Late infusions are fairly sweet and still good texture. Apparently going for 12+ brews. Equivalent hedons to a good and light shu puerh.
 
just enjoyed a blend of honey black and grade A formosa a nice mix the honey ads the bottom end to balance out the floral citrus highs of the grade A both teas were in equal quanitys
 
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