Gyokuro Black (organic)

Thanks to Sil for picking some of this up for me quite a while back. It’s one that I was dying to try, but that my local DT didn’t carry.

I thought that 5 min would be excessive to infuse this tea, so I gave it 3. I think that 5 would have been fine… but… I don’t think I really care for this tea, haha. There’s an overwhelming dried grass-y note in here that I’m not finding appealing, and although I’m picking up some dark chocolatey tones at the end of this sip which are not too bad… I am getting major dried grass. Like, stale dried grass. Idek. I really don’t think I’m fond of this. And it shouldn’t be a storage issue, as this tea was simply in its original zip bag, and certainly shouldn’t be too old.

I’ll try this at 5 minutes next time to see how it goes, and if that doesn’t work, I guess the rest will go in a giveaway pile. I’m sure there are other people who would enjoy this much more than me. (Interestingly, I’m getting kind of a dark honey note in here as well… and the flavour is growing on me, although I still don’t particularly care for it… I don’t think…)

OMG! OMG! OMG! Roasty tangy unsweetened nut butter-esqe Fujian amazingness! Emphasis on the roasty! Stone fruit on the end of the sip. Everything I hoped for, and more (and it’s organic!). I’m thrilled. I want 12794902840928490 pounds of this.

Interesting. Darjeeling meets… Keemum? there is a distinct muscatel note, rising into an astringent note, all hanging in a keemum/hay shadow.
I got three good steeps out of the bag, and my last was the best.
Can’t say I’m in love with it as I prefer my teas a little naturally sweeter/malty but it was an experience worth having. I’m considering picking it up for the travelling tea box I got in the mail today! SQUEEEEE!!!

Don’t have much time to write notes lately. :( just coming here to say that this tea is awesome! I picked some up along with the gifts I was buying. :)

Dry Leaf Nose: Rich, fresh and refreshing. Classic honey black tea notes with a hint of ripe fruits.

Liquor: An appealing scotch colour, very clear and aromatic with ripe fruit notes and a garden fresh tea aroma of caramel and honey.

Flavour: The overriding notes are delicate yet rich, with a prominent flavour of caramel and freshly manufactured tea leaves – it’s rich, sweet and laden with hints of a delicate medium coloured honey and ripe fruit.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

Black tea leathery tones. Very smooth. Honey and almost licorice-like sweetness. Slight smokiness. Slight creaminess.

Second infusion retains the smoothness and slight creaminess. Black tea tones are a bit faded but blend together very well.

So I have two empty tins now, and while I ran off to DavidsTea TODAY, they are still empty. (And smelly. Am working on that.) Guess I’ll just fill them up with peppermint or something I have 2 oz of just to make room in my storage tins for smaller packs.

Grabbed this, and four other samples today that I had flagged to try. I guess, ideally, I’d like 30g of all the tea from David’s that I like. :) That’s enough to cover every craving I might have without being too overwhelming! But not enough to fill a tin. I think Mother’s Little Helper, Cocomint Cream and Pumpkin Chai are my only DT tin-worthy teas…

This is an oddball. It smells very strong and malty. Dark. Earthy. A few honeyed notes? Definitely. More honey, as it cools, but now it’s a bit grassy.

It’s definitely better as it cools. It reminds me of the Keemun from DT. I’m enjoying it, but am hesitant about rating it yet.

Ugh I seriously lost 2-3 cups worth of loose leaf tea today by stupid accidents. The worst part being one cup worth was Main Squeeze and I REALLY liked it and now I have none. I also spilled milk all over myself right before having to leave for two classes of exams. I didn’t even finish the exam in the first class, I maybe got 65% through it. So when the second exam is just 58 multiple choice questions, I breezed through it in maybe 20 minutes and the lab instructor’s like are you sure you answered them all. Yes I’m sure. I’m also sure I only got 3 wrong MAX on that one, because the one redeeming quality of bombing a heavy math, all short answer test is knowing you can’t possibly go wrong on a multiple choice test after it.

Also I was drinking this tea while I briefly studied for that one.

This is so freakin’ awesome. I think the steaming gives it a Darjeeling-ish quality. So intriguing. It’s a bit fruity/citrusy but it’s still got that Fujian black honey/nutty/roasty qualities.

I’m sure there are people who absolutely hate this tea’s name since really there is nothing Gyokuro about this beyond it being steamed, but I’m sure it sells tea. I for one find it too tasty to care about that.

I only got about half an ounce and it’s really pricey for a black for me so I will stick with what I have and save this one for special occasions like when I really need a good pick me up!

Oh. My. GAWD!!! YUM!

Being a HUGE fan of the Gyokuro Yamashiro (Gyokuro being one of my favourite greens) I was really wanting to try this one, but my local DTs didn’t get it in. Lucky for me, as a “congrats on being famous” gift, a lovely friend (and manager of my favourite store) gave me a generous sample of this from her own personal stash!

There’s still the freshness and buttery flavour that’s there with the green, but there’s also a nutty richness that made me melt after the first sip! The smell of the liquor reminds me of an aged oak wine barrel, with some almost grassy notes underneath to lighten it up.

I need more ASAP! This is, hands down, my favourite straight black now, actually beating Lapsang Souchong!

Made for me at a DavidsTea location. Steeped 3 minutes.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I can say I fell backwards into a tea-gasm.

Lots of Hunnan-like notes: oak, some wineyness, plums … clean finish … some Darjeeling-like earthiness without much astringency … definitely worth trying, if you like a good black tea.

Sample package label:
“BLACK TEA
Unlike most black teas, these leaves are lightly steamed during processing – a step usually reserved for Japanese green teas. It’s aromatic and rich, with hints of ripe fruit and dark honey.

Organic black tea, slightly steamed from Fujian Province in China.

1.5 tsp. / 94*C 201*F / 5-7 min.
USDA Organic / Canada Organic Biologique / PAREVE”

Technique:
12-oz water with total dissolved solids (TDS) of 19 ppm, heated to 212*F and allowed to cool to 201*F – verified with DAVIDsTEA digital thermometer
3 Tevanna teaspoons, without sweeteners, milk or cream.

Introduction: This is my first tasting experience with a steamed tea. I requested this tea because I like to try different teas to challenge my palate and since it was one of the highest-rated unflavored black DAVIDsTEAs per Steepster. I did not know what to expect. But, due to the 83 point rating, I was expecting an enjoyable tea.
Note: I wrote this review a few days later from hand written notes I made during the tea tasting.

This tea has a fragrance that reminds me of fine pipe tobacco.

Clear amber brown hue.

5-min Infusion: This tea had a bakery / toasted-nut aroma. The initial taste was not quite full-bodied.
6-min: OK
7-min: A little too long. Strong, brisk, astringent.

Restep:
6-min: Too light
7-min: More enjoyable – woodsy character

2nd Cup:
5-min Infusion: Astringent, somewhat bitter, with the flavor of dark honey.

Restep:
This cup was more enjoyable without bitterness or astringency. The dominant flavor was dark honey.

Impression: My initial experience with this steamed black tea seems to be more similar to indigobloom’s experience: http://steepster.com/indigobloom/posts/135009#likes. After reading some of the more positive tasting notes by more experienced reviewers, I would be interested in tasting this tea again using their notes as a guide.

Many thanks to DAVIDsTEA and Natalie for providing this very generous size free sample, which was very helpful when tasting a truly different unflavored black tea for the first time.

Beautiful. I need to introduce my Partner who is a big fan of straight black tea (even store brand orange pekoe) to this lover of a tea.

What a fabulous tea! Big fan of gyokuro green teas, and this black tea definitely didn’t disappoint. You get all the good things from a black tea, but without any of the bitterness. Not too heavy on the tannins, great mouth feel. You don’t get the heavy vegetale taste like you do with the gyokuro green, but you get all the smoothness and high quality you would expect from those leaves, as well as just a little earthy. An all-around pleaser.