What are your favorite black teas?
I have a pretty hardcore addiction to black teas, and I’m sure I’ve only skimmed the surface of them.
My personal favorite is probably a tie between Dian Hong and Keemun. So, I have a few questions for you!
1) What is the best keemun you’ve found? Dian Hong?
2) What are your favorite black teas?
I just recently had Golden Fleece from Verdant, so let’s leave that out since it’s clearly the best and go from there ;)
My favourite black tea so far is from Yunnan province, but I’m only just starting to explore the different types within that region.
Love yunnan blacks, too! Any particular ones?
Have a couple of the Adagio Yunnans (Jig and Gold, I think are the names). What that is in real tea names, I could not tell you. I’m currently drinking through my second pot/steep of the Jig and I have to say I’m getting kind of tired of it this morning though.
currently exploring blacks myself.
favorite: Shang Golden Needle King
my go-to black for years has been Numi breakfast blend
found Basilur Ceylon recently, likely a keeper
Just got in: a Japanese black from tealet
Also have in my stash 2 from MAJANI Kenyan teas
Imara Organic Black
Thabiti Organic Black
I seem to have a leaning toward Yunnan and Fujian blacks, though most Chinese black teas sit well with me. I’m not so much for the bolder stuff, I guess.
I’ve also had a number of really good Keemuns, but I am fussier about them.
I had a Fujian black just this morning. I love it because it always reminds me of freshly baked bread, a great way to wake up in the morning. (Adagio, Fujian Baroque)
Hmm, I don’t think I’ve had a Fuijan black yet…
Keeping in mind that I have a fairly limited experience, I really liked Keemun Mao Feng (Harney and Sons) though it’s recently experienced a dramatic increase in price. The Premium Keemun Hao Ya from Teavivre also got high marks from me.
I’m a big fan of Ceylon and Lapsang Souchong. I enjoy DAVIDs Nepal Black too. Not a big darjeeling fan.
Have yet to find the perfect ceylon, but I really like Murchie’s Lapsang Souchong Extra Choice
I’m also a big fan of lapsang. Have you gotten to try my Ashes of Autumn LS?
I also enjoy Ceylon and have only had darjeeling once, which turned out to be one of the worst teas I’ve ever tasted (probably partly because it was from the Metropolitan Tea Company, which I’ve had horrid experiences with).
I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but hope to soon!
I find Darjeeling has a weird tang to it that i’m not overly fond of.
Ceylon is just so forgiving, it can be light or deep, and it has varying levels of sweetness and nuttiness/floral notes that seem to change with every sip. I have yet to oversteep it to the point of being astringent, in fact I often throw a spoon of it into the bottom of my travel tumbler add hot water and go, it never gets undrinkable <3
Wow, I’ve actually noticed ceylon to be the least forgiving black tea, always being very easy to oversteep to undrinkibly-astringentness. Hmmmm
interesting! I find Yunnan and Darjeeling to be the least forgiving myself. Either I’m really lucky with the ceylon I have and unlucky with the yunnan and darjeeling I have, or my ceylon may not be what it claims to be…?
I actually prefer Darjeelings. There are some Darjeelings I have tasted and it was so horrid I questioned whether it was tea or grass that they pulled from someone’s back yard. That being said, the FF Darjeelings from Mariage Freres never disappoints. The only drawback is the cost. Shipping cost, 28.5 Euros, cost of their premium teas, 30 Euros and up for 100 grams, and the customs clearance cost once it enters the US. The taste though, is sublime. My favorite for 2012 is FF Namring SFTGFOP DJ1.
My absolutely favorite black teas are fujian. Love the Bailin Gong Fu from Teavivre, and the lovely Tanyang Gong Fu I got in China. I really need to try more tanyangs to find a more readily available substitute.
I do like Dian hongs, and my faves have also been from Verdant and Teavivre. Also black dragon pearls… Though I’m not sure where those usually hail from. Finally, I have to mention the Laoshan Black from Verdant, which is of course is pretty unique!
Sounds like I definitely need to get some Fuijan black! :)
Pretty much everything Dinosara just said. Especially about the tan yangs. OMNOMNOMNOM! But actually, anything black out of Fujian is pretty much guaranteed to go down well with me.
Oooh, ditto dragon pearls! Are they region specific? I sort of assumed they could come from anywhere.
Also a huge fan of Darjeelings, especially second flushes. They’re nutty, sweet, kind of fruity, and I love the astringency of them. I also like Assams, they make me wake up…that’s useful. Also blends of these two are awesome.
I need to try some Dian Hong. Those always get good ratings here.
Current go-to’s are Shang’s Golden Needle Red, Sourenee darjeeling, Sungma darjeeling and I’m experimenting with golden yunnans from different companies.
Dian Hong ve got a very limited quantity :) http://whisperingpinestea.com/blacksmithmachine.html
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