Bai Lin Gong Fu

This is lovely. I brewed it in my gaiwan, using a less-than-boiling temperature (to avoid burning my fingers) and steeping for 1 minute for the first infusion. The result is perfection. The cup is rich and robust and full-flavored, surprisingly so after such a short brew time. There are deliciously sweet caramel-y undertones, as well as a delicious bake-y kind of taste. Would be a good first-thing-in-the-morning tea as well as a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon.

Excellent.

Thank you LiberTEAS for sharing this fine black tea in the sample you sent!

The leaves of this very nice tea is spectacular in color, which appears as the intermixing of rich dark chocolate shavings with a medium caramel drizzle. The cup is smooth to the taste and doesn’t really have a noticeable bitterness.

There are some complex sweet floral and malty notes to this brewed tea. Along the taste of almonds, wheat or some sorta granola bar combo are some of the favors I’m picking up.

Plain and simple, it’s a nice diverse tea that is easy to sip.

Excited about the Canton Tea Co sampler which arrived over the weekend! I’ll start my Monday morning with what sounds like a good breakfast tea. The dry leaf is pretty, with orange highlights in the long brown strands, and their aroma is very nice – there’s a sweetness there which reminds me a little of Darjeeling. We’ll see what comes out in the steeping…

Mmm, this tea smells really, really yummy – I’m definitely getting the caramel that other tasters have noted. The liquor is a medium-brown and on first taste is great. The caramel is there, and the natural sweetness of it means I won’t be adding any sugar to it. In addition, underneath that flavor, I’m getting something akin to fruit flavors; peach and nectarine are those which come to mind. This one’s a keeper.

On a shopping trip the other day I saw a box labeled Chinese Red tea. Chinese red tea? I’ve never heard of that, I’ve heard of white, green, black, herbal, oolong, honeybush and rooibos teas, but not Chinese Red. I’ve heard rooibos called red, but don’t think Rooibos grows in China. So what is this red tea? Then, a package arrived in the mail with a packet of Bai Lin Gong Fu in it, and it said Red Tea on it! YAY! I get to try this thing!

Then, I found out that Chinese red tea is the local Chinese name for black tea. Oh. Phooey. I was hoping for a whole new experience. But upon further thought, I don’t know how many non-blended Chinese black teas I’ve had – most have been Indian, Sri Lankan, blends, or flavored. So this is still something new. Excellent. Time to open the packet.

This leaf is absolutely gorgeous. Light brown fuzzy leaves make up about 50% of the sample. And the aroma is luscious. Malty, with hints of cocoa and sweetness. Once brewed up, this is a lovely light orange. And the flavor? Mellow, smooth and sweet smelling. If it wasn’t for the caffeine content, this would be the tea equivalent of wrapping up in a blanket in front of the fire for a nap. I tend to sweeten my black teas, and I am just fine drinking this without any additives.

As an introduction to Chinese red teas, this is a great start. I look forward to trying others, especially if they’re at all like this one.

Also reviewed at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/654/tea-review-canton-tea-co-bai-lin-gong-fu/

Second in my Canton Tea trials… the leaves are very pretty. Not too long, but thin and twisted with a pretty reddish color to them. The scent is mellow and I can’t quite describe it, but it’s not the typical black tea scent. It’s more subdued.

205/2 min. Um… vegetal. Yes. The flavor is just like stewed artichokes. I’m not impressed with this at all. I’m not certain what went wrong, but I can’t drink this. It’s not bitter or astringent, but there is no sweetness to this. Just artichokes.

What an AMAZING tea. I really don’t know what else to say. It is wonderful, complex, balanced, and most importantly DELICIOUS! This is also one I got in my Tea & Chocolat package.

This is a nice crisp taste with a caramel likeness to it. It’s mellow aftertaste is perfect for my palate! This is YUMMY Cold as well! I had 1 hot cup and 1 cold cups-worth. Enjoyed them both.

The hairy-fuzzy leaves left a little pollen-y residue to the touch but still a very neat leaf!

Cheers!

Wow, been awhile since I’ve updated here. Oops…

A couple of nights back, I dipped into my stash of Bai Lin for only the second time. Even when brewed quick and without stringent temps/times, it is one amazing black tea. One would expect it – by appearance – to be like a normal Dian Hong, but it has more in common with (fittingly enough) Keemun Gong Fu. It’s silky, honey-like, vaguely sweet, mild on the malt but still there, and only moderately astringent on the finish. I only wish I had more of the stuff.

Before Brewing:
Awesome leafs. Very (very) thin leafs with red/golden streaks on them. And they got hair! A lot of red tiny hair. LIKE you already Bai Ling Gong fu! Smelling the tea reveals a unique aroma. What is it? It’s… seaweedy, assam smelling intense aroma.

After steeping:
Golden liquid, thick and smooth texture and – assam tasting tea with a twist. A little salty sour at first and juicy sweet at the end. Yum! Didn’t catch the caramel, but trying the resteep at a lower temp in hopes of finding it.

The twisted gold and black leaves are fairly short. The fragrance of the packaged leaves is slightly floral with a note of tomato.

Prepared, the tea is vegetal and incredibly mild. There’s the faintest impression of tannin bitterness but far less than most blacks.

This was a pleasant, simple black tea. However, it doesn’t really stand above teas that are more readily available in the US so I can’t say I’d go out of my way to purchase this one again.

My Canton Tea Co Gold Award sampler arrived on Thursday so Friday morning I opened on the sole black tea to try. The Bai Lin Gong Fu has twisty, red-gold leaves and a strong, distinct scent. After reading the tealogs on it, I can see how others can pick out tomato in it. I steeped two teaspoons for two minutes at 176° F as recommended. The color of the resulting tea was very light for a black. The tea was weak, almost watery, but I could tell it would be a delightful tea when brewed stronger. Either I needed to use more leaf (the wiry leaves didn’t fill the space of the teaspoon well, which is why I suspect two were recommended) or steep longer.

2nd steep: 3 min.
I didn’t think I would get a drinkable second steep. I increased the steep time by a whole minute and fully expected to steep it longer once I checked and the tea was barely colored. Surprisingly, when I checked, the tea was much darker than I expected. I drank and this was what the first steep should have been, maybe a little over steeped even. Fuller, complexer, and definitely caramelly, this steep was meeting the expectations I had for this tea. It is also very different from the other plain black teas I’ve had so far.

3rd steep: 5 min.
Since the second steep was so dark, I thought I might as well try for a third, even if it ended up going down the sink. At first sip, I thought it would but as it cooled, I found it had enough flavor to be drinkable and enjoyed.

I think more leaf and different steep times will yield more even cups next time.

I am rating this tea a 85 (right in the middle of my great range, 80-90).

This is a different tasting tea, for sure. I can actually see where TeaEqualsBliss is getting ravioli in the flavor. Ha! That’s a great catch. What it most reminded me of, though, is over-ripened fruit, like a banana or a peach that’s so soft and brown that it’s starting to let off an almost fermented sugar, sticky, rich sweet smell. Maybe with an edge of caramel, but more sour than caramel’s malty sweetness. I enjoyed it mostly because it’s exceedingly smooth rather than for the flavor which, while not unpleasant, wouldn’t draw me to seek this out again.

what a great tea! gorgeous leaves!! the dry leaf smell reminds me of very strong dried fruits, such as dates and raisins. maybe a little goji berry, too? I also get a whiff of sweet tobacco, like what my father used to smoke in his pipe when I was a girl. The taste is very interesting, slightly caramel-y, and i’m also getting goji berry, and date! this taste is really robust and complex, yet also smooth and a little earthy. I love it!

Still a stunner. One of my favorites. Creamy and mild. Maybe a little too mild, but still wonderful.

First time i’m drinking a Bai Lin Gong Fu tea. The leaf reminds me a bit off yunnan and keemun leafs when dry with a nice full body smell to it.

I’m brewing a 3min infusion that gives a nice dark colored infusion. In taste i can compare it with the above its nice and strong and somewhat reminds me of the russian caravan blend that has yunnan and keemun leafs in it. Its not very malty but u can taste some malt and the creamy taste they mention in the discription is there to. Very nice black tea for the price i payed for it! Going to update this note or make a new one when i brew more off this!

The initial scent I get from this tea reminds me of a darjeeling…light and a bit spicy. In fact, this almost seems light enough to be a bit reminiscent of some green teas that I have had. Steeping it for three minutes with just-boiled water, I’m greeted with creamy aromas from the golden-brown liquor. Despite being a little too eager to try it, and burning my lip on the first sip, once I wait and get in a (safe) first sip, I am delighted by the result. This tea is indeed creamy, just as the Canton Tea Co website describes. I am not so sure about the caramel notes, but I suppose I could see where one might pick up hints of those. To me, this tea has just the slightest bit of a malty aftertaste, creating an impeccable flavour.

A resteep of this tea brings about a much-subdued, yet still flavourful, brew. This is most definitely one of the best black teas I have ever tasted. On my personal enjoyment scale, I would give it 90/100. On top of that, I would definitely recommend this as one of the must-try teas for lovers of black teas.

This tea is being reviewed for Mike Morton’s tea log – It’s All About the Leaf. Check it out right here: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/

This tea’s appearence intrigues me – long, thin tightly-twisted leaves of black and gold that have a sweet, malted scent. The tes tastes quite light – no surprise considering the steeping parameters. Yet it still has a full, distinct flavour that doesn’t come across as weak or watery at all. It’s malty with a bit of bakeyness and a surprisingly smooth and sweet character for a black tea. It reminds me a bit of Yunan teas that I’ve drank, but in comparison those were harsher, less refined cousins of this delicious tea.

EDIT:
Okay that took a bit longer than I thought it would – I had a hideous headache and had to go to bed. The resteep of this tea is less sweet than the first one but it still carried distintive malty notes. The taste almost reminds me of Ovaltine – that classic malt drink.

I’m really enjoying this tea, it’s a great find and I glad I got Mike to send me some to review. I’ll certainly be sad when my little sample is gone.

This is a great tea. Smooth, caramel flavor, with a sweet aroma and a golden color. The leaves are high quality, and it shows in the resulting drink, which doesn’t need any sweeteners or other additions to make this one amazing cup.

Strong smell of caramel immediately on pouring so you know you’re in for a treat. A lovely, naturally sweet black tea with a good depth of flavour. Described as a breakfast tea on their web site but this would be good for an afternoon pick-up as well

Historically, I don’t get on well with China black teas. Imagine my shock when I discovered that I find everything about this one superb! The taste and aroma evoke nothing so much as the finest quality milk chocolate I’ve ever tasted, and it’s best enjoyed without any sweetener so as to pick up the subtlety of its scent and flavor.