Dorothy

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

This is a follow up to the last tasting note I made for Waterlilies Fruit “Tea”. The first time I made this I found it way too sour for my tastes but vowed to sweeten it someday. Well that someday is now!

How I prepared it: 4tsp of fruit, 500ml of boiling water, and 1 1/2 tsp of sugar syrup (see google for an easy recipe).

Just the addition of sugar syrup helps tremendously. It’s still tart but in a good way, it’s still here and it adds a nice mouth watering sensation.

Up’d rating because the sugar helped even out the overwhelming tart flavour.

I’ve short steeped this one a few times before but I always got too lost in the moment to write down any tasting notes. Not the best resteepster, but still very satisfying. Okay now onto the tasting notes;

The sweetness in the first steep is very strong, which leaves behind a nice honey flavour and texture at the back of my throat. This black tea body is nice and mellow, with enough (initial) depth to keep it interesting.

Second steep was different, with a strong malty and grains flavour coming out and the sweetness toning down.

Third steep was pretty similar but with a new tart almost bitter tomato flavour appearing. This character is what really reminds me of “real” SML.

Fourth steep had a weird battle for flavour between the tomato and sweet honey. Normally the flavours are just layered or appear at the beginning or end, but the tomato and sweet honey really do fight for my sense’s attention. That’s the best way I can put it.

Fifth steep was very mild with not much of the tea flavour remaining. Just cinnamon, spices and tomato flavour.

Ending on the sixth steep, I mostly just taste sweet honey. It’s not a disappointing cup to end on, but also not interesting enough to warrant a resteep.

I quite like this small leaf cultivar SML, it’s not as memorable or amazing as SML but it’s easier to drink more often. For me, “real” SML has a strong distinct flavour that I find I can’t have too often. My purchase of this also included a small sample of SML which was a great learning experience. And while that extra SML sample is included, I highly recommend trying this out, just to taste how different the teas are.

100ml gaiwan, 2 generous tsps, 6 steeps (30s, +15s resteeps)
Up’d rating for the wonderful short steeping experience.

So I didn’t have such good luck with the last tuo, I decided to make a different one: orange peel and ripe puerh (陈皮熟沱)

This tuo broke apart pretty quickly, so even the first steep was very dark. Unfortunately the first through third steeps didn’t have an orange (peel) flavour. I’m not exactly sure what was intended with this flavour but I don’t “get it”. The ripe puerh itself is okay, but didn’t really appeal to me.

100ml gaiwan, 1 tuo, 3 steeps (rinse, 30s, 30s, 45s)
Individual rating: 50s

Tonight I tried green tea and raw puerh (绿茶生沱). Unfortunately it was a disaster and I’ll need to redo the steep parameters sometime for the last tuo.

First steep after the rinse was ok, it had a grassy flavour with familiar young raw puerh character.

With the second and third steeps the tuo broke apart and all I could taste was bitterness.

If anyone has suggestions on how I should steep this, please leave a comment.

100ml gaiwan, 1 tuo, 3 steeps (rinse, 30s, 45s, 1min)
Individual rating: 40s

So lately I have been looking through my tasting notes and finding which teas do not have short steeping notes. I don’t write about every cup of tea I brew, but I like to make one note for long steeps and one note for short steeps. Anyway,

I brewed this tea today and the flavours were pretty consistent up until the third or fourth cup. It doesn’t keep the main flavour of one long steep, but it’s similar enough. And then came the expected downward spiral of weakening tea flavour, but what really shocked me was the CIGAR aroma in my fifth cup.

Whoa whoa whoa, what?!?!

I’m not disgusted or anything but it’s a strange thing to suddenly appear in my tea. I’ve tried some young raw puerh before and that’s given me a similar cigar aroma.

Okay so with these turn of events I had to keep resteeping. The sixth cup had an even stronger cigar aroma. I mean there is a hint of the original tea flavours but this was completely unexpected. By the time I got to the seventh cup the cigar aroma was almost completely gone. I kept resteeping it but the eighth and ninth cups were so weak and full of my original water flavour.

What a weird experience… I almost want to believe my senses just felt like trolling me this morning. ;) I’ll have to try and redo this again sometime to see if I can duplicate the experience. (edit: Tried this short steeped at a later date and it still had the cigar aroma with 5-6)

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 9 steeps (30s + 15s resteeps)

This tea has been a favourite of mine since the first day I brewed it. It’s also one of the few teas I’ve ever repurchased. For the most part, I like buying a tea once and then moving onto something different. Since it’s a favourite, I opened bag #2 only recently even though I purchased it in August. ;)

Today I prepared 8 short steeps of it in a gaiwan. The first 8 were very flavourful (strong tea body, great roasted flavour) and 9-10 were pretty good too, although I mostly just tasted the sweet and roasted notes. I don’t usually short steep this one but I think I’ll make a habit of it now.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 10 steeps (30s +15s resteeps)

_{See previous tasting notes for more of my thoughts on this tea.}

Yep so, I’m still going through these 20 flavours. Tonight’s is mint and ripe puerh, as listed on the wrapper: 薄荷熟沱.

With a combo like mint and puerh I expected it to taste like mouthwash and dirt, but it actually kinda worked out. I did a total of 6 steeps and they were all generally pretty good. The mint flavour was pretty mild, just like a touch of menthol in each sip. Also like most of the ripe puerh in this assortment, it’s pretty tolerable but not amazing.

Not the best out of the 20 flavours but much better than I expected.

100ml gaiwan, 1 mini tuo, 6 steeps (rinse, 15s steep, +15s resteeps)
Individual rating: 70s

Earlier I short steeped the Minami Sayaka, so now I’ll try it with the other oolong-black tea; Sakimidori.

Much like the tea description mentions, this tea starts of very sweet. In this first steep I get a lot of sweet cinnamon and spices, with a smooth velvety liquor texture. All of the flavours are in moderation, nothing is bold or shouts at my senses.

The second steep tasted like it had a bittersweet cocoa thing going on, along with the now familar cinnamon flavour.

Again, this third steep always strikes me as kinda “meh”. Even with the Minami Sayaka I did not find much to praise. Overall it’s much of the same flavours but they are a bit weak.

Then on the fourth steep it becomes more interesting again. The flavours seem a bit brighter and the once smooth velvety liquor texture transforms into a light and refreshing feeling.

Fifth steep still was tasty, with a light sweet cinnamon flavour.

Stopping on the sixth steep, the tea has become weak to the point that it’s not satisfying. If I short steep this tea again I’ll stop on the fifth, because at least that one was still pretty good.

I found the other oolong-black tea, Minami Sayaka to be a better short steeper. Sakimidori starts of sweet but then doesn’t really go anywhere. So my preference for this one would be with one long steep. It’s a very mild, quiet tea, so I’m not fond of the short steep results. Not a bad tea, just not one I’m in love with.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s + 15s resteeps)

I thought this tea was so nice I made it twice! Although this time I am using a gaiwan and short steeping it. Anyway, moving straight on to the tasting notes:

Sipping from the first steep, the grainy character is very bold. I guess it’s the sort of thing that comes out a lot in the first steep, and since I used more leaves it’s very powerful. The other flavours still quite remind me of Sun Moon Lake black tea, but not 100%.

The second cup definitely smells similar Sun Moon Lake black tea. Drinking the liquor, a tangy/zesty tomato flavour comes out and there is a bitterness similar to biting into tomato seeds.

Third steep was a bit tame, but much like the second steep flavour-wise.

On the fourth steep this tea shifted gears a bit. Now I’m tasting something kinda spicy or peppery, soft malt, and something that almost becomes sweet like cinnamon but doesn’t quite get there. This had less of an edge or power to it than the earlier steeps, but transformed into something with a bit more charm.

The fifth steep was light and refreshing. Overall a much weaker tea but not in a disappointing way.

With the sixth and last steep, what tea flavour remained at this point is sweet with a bit of the grain character. I can’t taste my original water yet, but I think it’s weak enough to stop resteeping.

I liked short steeping this and it sure brought out some nice changes. Following along with today’s theme, I’ll take a break and short steep the oolong-black Sakidori later.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps, (30s + 15s resteeps)

Initial tasting notes for the second oolong-black tea I purchased from Yuuki-Cha. _{(If you are interested in what “oolong-black” means, check the extra info I put on this tea’s page)}

Looking inside the pouch, the dry leaves shares a lot of similarities with the Sakimidori oolong-black tea and when brewed they expand to big whole leaves. If I had to compare the wet leaf appearance with other teas, it might be similar to Dan Cong oolong. Which somewhat makes sense because these are not rolled into balls.

Drinking from the first steep, it has an interesting zesty/citrus and cherry flavour. Like the other oolong-black, there is a nice grains flavour and feel to the liquor, along with the soft and smooth (not astringent) body. The tea body itself at first shows strong black tea characteristics, but with each sip you get a bit of oolong charm. So more along the lines of drinking a FF Darjeeling, it’s not entirely like a black tea.

Second steep was a bit weaker and gained a sweetness similar to honey. The zesty cherry notes came out a bit more, but the grains feeling to the liquor faded. It’s not very memorable after each sip, but it’s an otherwise enjoyable experience.

If I had to compare this to other teas, I first have to explain that because it’s an “oolong-black” I think all comparisons are one piece of the puzzle. So it reminds me of Sun Moon Lake and also of Dan Cong oolongs, but the similarities are just but one aspect. Along with the Sakimidori oolong-black, I can only really recommend these to people looking to try something strange and new. This isn’t a “must buy”, but a “fun buy”!

Another thing I’d like to comment on here at the end of my tasting note, is how I’ve noticed that the 4 teas I bought from Yuuki-Cha (2 oolong-black, 2 black) all share a grains character. I find this to be highly enjoyable, but it’s worth mentioning here in case you like or dislike this feature.

About 150ml of water in a glass teapot, 1 tsp, 2 steeps (3min, 4min)

Initial tasting notes for the second Japanese black tea I purchased from Yuuki-Cha.

A sniff in the Hime Hikari tin turns up different flavours than what I sensed with the Hime Fuki tea I previously tried. It still shares the broken leaf appearance but does not immediately remind me of Qimen in any other way.

Moving on to brewing and tasting the liquor, I first picked up on the sweet honey flavour, followed by apple and grains. The tea body seems to be even softer and less astringent than the Hime Hikari.

I know most people don’t like resteeping black tea, but I enjoy trying it anyway. Here on the second steep, much of the original flavour stayed but it was noticeably weaker. The sweet honey flavour in particular really stands out.

Finally I tried to go for a third steep, but there wasn’t much flavour left in the tea leaves.

I quite like the first steep, and out of the two Japanese black teas I’ve tried this is my favourite. The Hime Fuki has a more unique taste and feel, it just doesn’t happen to be one I am particularly crazy about.

200ml of water in a glass teapot, 1 tsp, 3 steeps (3min, 4min, 5min)

Initial tasting notes for a Japanese black tea I recently purchased.

The tea leaves look small and broken like Qimen. Not that I mind a such thing, just mentioning it.

First I steeped it with the directions that were mailed along with the tea. About 3g of tea and 120-150ml of water at 3mins. I tasted notes of apple, something grainy, astringent and bitter. Not a great start, so I made a new pot and used more water to even out the bitterness; about 200ml of water.

The second attempt wasn’t bitter at all and I was able to focus my attention more on the lovely flavours of this tea; cinnamon, apple, spices, and grains. The tea body itself is nice because there is enough depth and an edge/bite to keep it interesting.

Very tasty tea, but I am not a fan of the given directions (perhaps it works better for their other black teas). Both the tea leaf appearance and flavour remind me a bit of Qimen black teas. So I would recommend this to people who enjoy Qimen types, but also to anyone looking to try black tea from Japan. With the right method, this tea tastes absolutely wonderful. It’s full of flavour and has a charm of its own. It’s a bit pricey but worth getting if you want to treat yourself. :)

First tea: 120ml of water, Second attempt: 200ml. 1 tsp of tea for each cup, 1 steep

This is one of four teas I ordered from Yuuki-Cha. This tea vendor first caught my attention when I was looking around to see who was selling Japanese black tea. Currently there are 4 of those on their website and I bought 2. But what really compelled me to make a purchase (besides extra Christmas cash) were the addition of 2 “oolong-black” teas. And I’m trying one of those as my first to review and taste.

Drinking from the first steep the orange-red liquor has a really really soft feel in my mouth. Then I pick up on a pulpy/grainy texture and some sweetness. Very weird tea. Almost reminds me of Huiming Hong Cha from Camellia Sinensis. What always struck me as strange, was with each sip the tea body was so soft and not astringent at all. It’s like anti-astringent (I know.. not a real word, just work with me!). It’s a strange feeling you’d have to experience first hand.

I then steeped it a second time to see if it would change much. It’s still sweet, and has a pulpy/grainy feel. This time the liquor changes to a dark amber color (lighter than previous). It’s obviously weaker but has enough of the first steep’s characteristics to stay satisfying.

This wasn’t what I expected at all from this tea. To be honest I’m not sure what I expected but this wasn’t it. Not that it’s a bad thing, but this was an interesting tea experience for sure. I would certainly appreciate this tea more if it had a stronger body, but perhaps I’m just being picky. I’ll be sure to experiment with this one to see what flavours I can get out of it.

Anyway, I can see where the name oolong-black comes from now. It has the charm of both. However I think it would mostly appeal to people that enjoy black tea because it is very oxidized. Definitely worth a try if you are looking for something new and interesting.

About 120ml of water in a small glass teapot, 1 tsp (about 2-3g), 2 steeps (3min, 3:30min)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Decided to make this a green tea morning by trying my next Teavivire sample: Bi Luo Chun.

The dry leaf scent is nice, but I can’t quite describe it. There is nothing else I can think of that fits the profile. It’s a very nice smell and not what I expected.

Moving on to drinking the liquor. The first steep tasted sweet, a bit smoky, with spice notes, overall very interesting flavours to experience. The tea body has a nice deep flavour, not too vegetal. And I felt a warm fuzzy peach texture in my mouth

Second steep was still nice but a bit weaker. I agree with some of the people on here that this tastes much like a white tea, and I’m getting more of that “tea” flavour I experience with white tea.

Third steep felt soft, sweet, warm, and fuzzy. Still tasting a bit of the spice notes, but the tea body is weakening.

I ended on the fourth cup, which while weak was still pleasant and satisfying.

I’ve never tried this type of tea before but I like Teavivre’s offering. Out of the other green tea samples from this company, I prefer the Premium Dragon Well (which I have purchased) but Bi Luo Chun would have to be my second favourite. This was my second time brewing it (first time reviewing), so I still have plenty of leaf to experiment with and find an ideal steeping method.

235ml water in a glass mug, 1 tsp, 4 steeps (1min, +30s resteeps)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Had a much better experience with this tea today. I used exactly 235ml of water as opposed to too little like 100ml with a gaiwan, or the usual 250ml amount I use for most teas.

First steep tasted wonderful, very delicate, with some floral and fruit notes, very vegetal and buttery, with a hint of smoke.

Second steep was almost a little too bitter for me, but still palatable. The green tea body is much bolder and sweeter.

I adjusted the steep time for the third cup, which worked just as I had hoped. More delicate green tea, no bitterness, still has a strong aroma but weakening due to it being the third steep.

Fourth steep was actually much sweeter than I expected. With a sort of baked aroma, along with the weakening buttery and vegetal flavour.

Still not sure I would buy this, but I feel that depending on how you prepare this tea it can taste really good or really bad. The water to tea leaf ratio seems to be very important and I’ll be using the rest of my sample to figure out what I like best. And I’m happy that Teavivre sent me this as a sample because it’s allowed me to experiment with green tea. In the past I have had a few bad experiences with green tea and that might be due to bad preparation and/or bad tea.

235ml water in a glass cup, 1 tsp, 4 steeps (1 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2:30 min)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

I tried this in a gaiwan (30s, +10s resteeps) but didn’t enjoy the result very much. So I then prepared it in a glass and used longer steeps.

First steep tasted sweet, vegetal, with honeydew and cucumber flavour, and was slightly buttery. Liquor felt very smooth and soft in my mouth.

Drinking from the second steep, the flavour is obviously much stronger, but still nice and not bitter. I prefer the delicate aroma of the first cup though.

As a personal preference, I think this tea benefits from a higher water to leaf ratio than offered by a gaiwan. One cup of water (I tend to use a bit more at 250ml) per 1 tsp worked very well for me. I still have plenty of the tea sample left so I will keep adjusting the steep settings to find what I like best.

Overall Xin Yang Mao Jian turned out to be very nice with a strong aroma and a fresh vegetal feel.

Glass mug, 250ml of water, 1 tsp, 2 steeps

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

Now here is a strange “tea” for me to review, a fruit tea! Obviously the word tea is meant here as something brewed in hot water and not relating to camellia sinensis (real tea leaf). This one lists using 3-4 tsp per 230ml of water, and with that in mind Teavivre graciously gave me about 50g of Waterlilies Fruit Tea to try.

I prepared some of this last night, with 500ml and about 5 tsp of fruit tea. The brew was a bit too tart for me, so today I’m adjusting the steep variables.

Tonight I tried 250ml of water and 2 tsp of fruit. It was still a bit too sour for my tastes so I added bit of honey. The result was much more palatable and the honey gives the liquor a nice texture.

Next time I’ll try this with a simple sugar syrup (sugar and water boiled in a small sauce pan) to see if that enhances it more. But I will still use 2 tsp of fruit per 250ml, because the flavour is much the same. If you want a more intense tart fruit flavour, use the full 3-4 tsp.

I’m not a big fan of hot fruit flavour, but this isn’t bad for it’s “type”. If you want to avoid caffeine and enjoy a tart fruit drink, this wouldn’t be a bad one to try. I think the addition of honey or sugar is needed to bring down the sourness. Normally I dislike adding sweetener to tea, but this isn’t tea it’s fruit, and as you know fruit drinks do tend to have a sweetener to make them more palatable.

250ml of water, 2 tsp, 1 steep (8mins exactly)

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

This is a follow up from yesterday where I brewed it with short steeps. Today I brewed this western style but in two different ways.

(#1) First I used the whole packet (5g?) with 500ml of water, steeped it twice.

(#2) Then I used the whole packet with 250ml of water, and also steeped it twice.

(#1) was good, with the liquor from the second steep having a better taste. The leaves didn’t unfurl completely until the second steep either, so I think a minimum of two steeps for Dong Ding prepared western style is a good idea.

(#2) was also given a rinse because I wanted to “wake up” the leaves a bit more. The flavour from the first cup is pretty intense, with the lichee aroma really grabbing my attention. At three minutes (#2) is on the edge of becoming bitter but never really cross the line. My second cup tastes a bit different, maybe a bit less fruity with the tea body becoming stronger. Anyway, it’s still a good flavourful cup. The lichee notes really seem to make it quite mouth watering.

Out of the cups I made today, my preference is for (#2’s) first steep which is similar to the steeping directions listed by Teavivre. And even though both were brewed in boiling water, the tea liquor did not taste too bitter or unfriendly.

While I enjoyed this Dong Ding I don’t think I like it enough to purchase some. Out of the three oolongs I’ve tried from Teavivire, this is my second favourite with TGY being my least favourite, but only due to personal preference. As mentioned in the other tasting note, I enjoy this Dong Ding because the additional flavours are not too overpowering. This is why I don’t like the TGY so much, because it is very floral and quite sweet when prepared western style. Again, I’ve mentioned this before but I do not have a sweet tooth, so I prefer earthy teas or those that are only slightly sweet.

Overall I think this is a good oolong for those that enjoy “oolong” flavour without too many floral/sweet characteristics. Not a favourite but still a good experience.

_{Tea sample provided by Teavivre for review}

After having the Milk Oolong today, I didn’t expect to be so blown away by Dong Ding’s scent. When I stuck my nose in the small tea pouch, the scent of lichee was a nice surprise.

Sipping from the first steep, tasting something quite earthy, a little sweet, and still has a touch of lichee fruit flavour with a hint cinnamon.

Third through fourth steeps continued to build in flavour, with the fruit flavour remaining.

I could keep resteeping but decided to stop here as I grew less interested in drinking more Dong Ding. It satisfied me and that’s enough.

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of experience with Dong Ding oolong so I can’t say how good this is compared to others. What I like about this tea is the fruity flavour, it keeps the tea interesting and slightly sweet without becoming too sweet for my tastes (I do not have a sweet tooth, so this is important to me). But the fruity flavour is not very strong, just a hint of it.
My husband came home to try the third and fourth steeps. He liked it but was not too interested. I think the thoughts of bringing a bit of Milk Oolong to work tomorrow raised his tea expectations too much. ;)

125ml yixing teapot, 1 packet (5g?), 4 steeps (rinse, 30s steep, +15s resteeps)

I’ve been so busy lately with tea samples and drinking through older purchases that I have not revisited this ebay puerh indulgence. However due to finding a new website I have renewed interest in my flavoured tuo cha. The website is http://www.nciku.com/ and it lets me “draw” Chinese characters with my mouse and gives me a selectable text of it. This has made finding out what I’m about to drink much easier, because the tuo cha wrappers only contain Chinese writing. So anyway, tonight’s tuo is globe amaranth with ripe puerh (千日紅熟沱).

Sipping from the first steep after the rinse, I taste something sweet that reminds me of cake. The liquor is still light because the tuo didn’t break apart.

Second steep is also sweet, with the tuo starting to break apart a bit but not fully. The ripe puerh flavour coming through is not too unfriendly.

Third steep is still quite sweet, and the tuo finally broke apart. Not the best tasting ripe puerh, but nowhere near the worst I’ve tried.

Fourth steep, I just taste ripe puerh at this point. I don’t get the sweetness or anything floral that I would associate with globe amaranth.

Fifth steep, while not floral is still fine. I think the ripe puerh is tasting a bit nicer at this point.

Ending on the sixth steep, the puerh is still strong and the liquor is still dark. I’d keep resteeping but I’m satisfied stopping here.

Not sure I would seek out this type of flavoured tuo cha, but it is nicer than some of the others that come with this set. My favourites are still ripe lavender and raw sticky rice (Nuo Mi Xiang) flavour.
I’m not a connoisseur of puerh tea, so this ebay purchase of 20 different flavoured puerh suits me just fine. The only thing I dislike about it is that the ripe puerh tends to overpower most of the flavouring. And a final note, I tend to like both ripe and raw puerh, so if you’re the sort of person that isn’t sure how much they enjoy those two, I would avoid buying these type of flavoured sets on ebay.

100ml gaiwan, 1 mini tuo, (rinse, 15s steep, +15s resteeps)
Individual rating: 70

Absolutely loving this tea. I’ve brewed it on a few occasions now and I can definitely see why people call Darjeeling the “champagne of teas”. This totally reminds me of champagne!

It’s so light, delicate, muscatel, and the other fruit/floral notes combine well. Everything here is in harmony, I couldn’t ask this tea to preform any better. Savoured each sip until the last drop.

Very happy I had a chance to try this out. Of course their book (Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties) hyped it up a bit so I was itching to get my hands on it. ;)

1 tsp, 250ml water, 1 steep

Strange, I’m down to the last few grams of this tea and I’ve never written a tasting note for this prepared gongfu style.

Sipping from the first steep, the rose floral notes are very powerful. Tea body is a nice smooth, deep earthy flavour, with notes of spice and pepper.

Second steep, much of the same flavour remains but now it’s slightly sweeter. I’m also adjusting to the floral notes. So that doesn’t bother me as much now.

At the third steep, I feel that the flavour is starting to weaken but it’s still a good cup.

I took a break here and sniffed my gaiwan. It smells like wood and soy sauce. Strange, but that’s what came to mind.

Fourth and fifth steeps continued to weaken in flavour, but were enjoyable and the rose floral notes remained.

I gave up at the sixth steep because I could start to taste the original water. Otherwise, not a very interesting cup flavour-wise.

Not a favourite, but the flavour from this tea and another one (Zhao Bai Jian Hong Gong Fu) from the same province have piqued my interest. I’m looking forward to try more tea from Szechuan in the future. I’m happy to have tried this tea once, it was a good experience even if I’m not in love with the tea.

If you dislike tea with strong floral notes I would avoid trying Chuan Hong.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 6 steeps (30s, +10s resteeps)

I still have a bit of this, so I decided to short steep some. Not really a fan of the results, as it’s still a really strong tasting tea. With the short steeps, I tasted a bit more of a zesty flavour which reminded me of the dan cong black tea I tried recently.

See previous tasting notes for more of my thoughts on this one.

100ml gaiwan, 2 tsp, 3 steeps (30s, +10s resteeps)

I don’t usually short steep Indian teas because I normally buy the broken leaf type. But Nilgiri Coonoor has beautiful long twisted leaves, the sort you’d expect to see with oolong. So based on its appearance alone, I decided to do a few short steeps in my gaiwan.

It turned out to be a very good experiment, the first three steeps brought out a flavour that is more preferable to me. The liquor tastes very delicate, there is a nice hint of flowers and fresh fruit. So in a way, this tea now also reminds me of some notes found in white teas, but the tea body certainly tastes like Indian black tea.

From now on (time permitting), I will probably brew this one with short steeps. The longer steeps in a teapot/large vessel are nice but sometimes the tannins/bite offend my senses. That is just my preference, so I recommend experimenting with this one until you get a desirable cup of tea.

100ml gaiwan, 1 generous tsp, 3 steeps (+rinse, 30s, 10s resteeps)
Up’d rating because this method made the tea more pleasing.