74

I ordered a sample of this tea with my last Harney order because I am always curious about Fujian black teas, especially uncommon ones, and the description sounded tasty.

The dry leaf smells a bit chocolatey and molasses-y, a good sign. It’s really dark in color, with lots of medium-length twisty leaves.

The steeped tea for some reason reminds me powerfully of China. I mean, I know, it’s a Chinese tea, but the scent of it… it’s so familiar, even though I know I didn’t have this kind of tea when I was there. It’s like I smelled it steeping in the tea shops and it buried itself in my mind. It’s fruity and almost floral in the way oolongs are floral.

The flavor is good, although I think my steep parameters yielded a too-strong cup for my tastes. I will probably drop it to 195°F, since that is typically the temp I brew other Fujian black teas at. Nevertheless, this tea has an interesting and tasty flavor profile. Raisins and nuts, for sure, with a certain floral note. I wish I could pinpoint my association with this tea and China, because it’s there in the flavor too. Maybe I did taste a tea like this in Beijing? Perhaps one of the Tan Yangs I tried had a similar profile. It is just so familiar, and it’s driving me a little nuts!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Bio

I am tea obsessed, with the stash to match. I tend to really enjoy green oolongs, Chinese blacks, and flavored teas with high quality bases, especially florals, bergamot-based teas, and chocolate teas.

In my free time I am a birder, baker, and music/movie/tv addict.

Here are my rating categories, FYI:
100-90: Mind-blowingly good, just right for my palate, and teas that just take me to a happy place.
89-86: I really really like these teas and will keep most of them in the permanent collection, but they’re not quite as spectacular as the top category
85-80: Pretty tasty teas that I enjoy well enough, but definitely won’t rebuy when I run out.
79-70: Teas that I would probably drink again, but only if there were no preferrable options.
69-50: Teas that I don’t really enjoy all that much and wouldn’t drink another cup of.
49 and below: Mega yuck. This tea is just disgusting to me.
Unrated: Usually I feel unqualified to rate these teas because they are types of teas that I tend to not like in general. Sometimes user error or tea brewed under poor conditions.

Location

Ohio, US

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