Dr Jim

My initial impression of the tea was that it smelled very much like a Keemun, with only hints of fruit hiding in the background. The taste showed more fruit, but definitely in a secondary role to the tea. The flavor was full and rich with moderate amounts of tannin and acid, but no bitterness. The taste blended smoothly into a good finish.

When I tried adding a bit of Nutra-Sweet, the fruit moved from the background to the foreground, with raspberry and currant becoming more or less equal to the tea in the flavor balance. I’m not sure whether I liked the tea better with or without the sweetener, but it was significantly different. I couldn’t really detect the caramel flavor, and the vanilla was at most a hint in the background.

This tea would appeal to someone who likes a hint of flavor adding subtlety to their tea, not to someone looking for fruit flavor with a bit of caffeine.

My thanks to Laurent at Nina’s Paris for the sample

Added note: second steep almost as good as the first

Mountain tea calls this an oolong, but it tastes more like an incredibly rich assam or Ceylon to me. Very rich nose, taste, and finish, without any bitterness. Rich and complex. I brewed 3.0 gm in 6 oz of water for 1 minute. A second steeping had the same good character but was not quite as powerful

1.9 gms tea, 5 oz water: 1st steep (1 min): Rich and powerful yet smooth and complex. Nose, taste, and finish all good. 2nd steep (1.5 min) was weaker but still nice.