What are your favorite black teas?

Is it weird that I actually have a pre-existing list of black teas I like most on my computer? It syncs with my iPhone so I will always know. I also have other tea related lists, but that’s off topic. :) I’ve just started exploring black teas so it’s a list in progress.

Black teas:
Laoshan black – Verdant
Zhu Rong Yunnan black – Verdant
Yun nan Dian Hong Black- Golden Tip – Teavivre
Gyokuro black – Davids
Organic Bailin Gongfu – Teavivire
Dragon Pearls – Teavivre (?)

My palette skews toward the greens and subtle oolongs, but I’ve tried a number of black teas (none Keemun), and I will note two that really stand out for me…

1) Livingstonia Estate => I find this to be a very subtle black tea that is naturally perfect for my palette; and

2) Cameroon => By far the strongest black tea I have ever encountered…certainly not for the faint of heart…builds courage if you take it straight; however it is a tea of profound character that softens quite nicely in a blend

Hope that helps…

For blacks I’m mostly a Yunnan and Fuijan fan. My favorite right now is Feng Qing Gold Bud Dian Hong from Yunnan Sourcing (pretty cheap too!) But, I haven’t had tried any of Verdant’s.

I also really liked the sample of Shang Tea Golden Needle King (Fuijan) that I got in a trade from Kasumi.

I have some Teavivre’s Bailin Gongfu which is pretty nice, but I don’t think I enjoy it as much as a some people of people do.

So far the Assams have been my favourite but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Lapsang. The smokey smell made me fear trying it but once I did, I found it to be quite nice.

i think one of my favorites would be yunan dian hong(teavivre) but havent found many teas im terribly fond of; i would also put plainer assams(non fruity) as a favorite…although its kind of counter intuitive to like a tea just because its lack of (unique)flavor.

i usually just try to avoid fruity/flowery/smokey/minty/(overly)earthy/(overly) thin — if anyone has any non-generic recommendations that meet these criteria i would be all-ears. i plan to find some people with similar tastes to follow here ^^.