Hunan Black Buds [Out of Stock]

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Not available
Sold in
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Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Harney & Sons The Store
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “This tea is all about the malt. The leaves are pretty…like little black and gold threads. The dry leaves have a very potent smell. Sharp and malty. The smell is so powerful; I backed off the...” Read full tasting note
  • “This was recommended in the absence of one of my favorite H&S teas, Golden Snail, which is not available for the time being. The leaves are large and resemble Golden Monkey leaves in both size...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “What a solid brew. The predominant flavors I am getting from this one is fresh baked pound cake and some hint of raisins here and there. The finish is very malty. The dry leaves smell like malt...” Read full tasting note
    89

From Harney & Sons

During our buying trip, we discovered this delicious tea. It is a blend of black and golden tips. It brews up medium bodied and has wonderful cocoa flavors. Hunan avoided all the cold weather that affected the rest of China’s tea regions, so Hunan was able to make some of the best teas of the year.

Michael Harney rates this tea with a 2 for Briskness, a 3 for Body, and a 3 for Aroma.

Hunan Black Buds is a China Black Tea.

This tea is no longer available.

About Harney & Sons View company

Since 1983 Harney & Sons has been the source for fine teas. We travel the globe to find the best teas and accept only the exceptional. We put our years of experience to work to bring you the best Single-Estate teas, and blends beyond compare.

3 Tasting Notes

161 tasting notes

This tea is all about the malt.

The leaves are pretty…like little black and gold threads. The dry leaves have a very potent smell. Sharp and malty. The smell is so powerful; I backed off the steeping time a little because I thought the tea would be too strong.

The initial taste is very flavorful, but all malt. Then, somehow, it disappears and the tea is just…tea. One second “malt explosion”…the next second “plain, regular tea”. There isn’t any of the chewy, caramel or raisin-y qualities that I somewhat expected. This is a perfect example of a tea that “needs more cowbell”. It’s a good tea. It’s just missing a little something extra to make it stand out. Hunan Black Buds is too thin…barely “medium bodied” in my opinion. I don’t think this tea could ever be bitter, no matter how long you steeped it. Big points for that. I’ll continue to play around with the parameters and see what happens. This isn’t a tea failure; it’s just a little disappointing.

Atacdad

Can you give us some hints on your brewing times and whether longer = better for this one?

ru06

This is on my list of things to try. I just received a tin of this like a week ago but have not yet opened it yet. Now I’m really curious. I will check back here and post my thoughts.

ru06

OK so I finally am halfway through my first cup and wanted to comment! To me this tea is definitely not a disappointment. The most discerning flavors I am getting is malt, fresh baked pound cake and maybe a little hint of raisins. It’s a very fine tea, maybe a little light on the body but that’s ok to me. I’ll post a tasting note in a little bit.

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95
39 tasting notes

This was recommended in the absence of one of my favorite H&S teas, Golden Snail, which is not available for the time being. The leaves are large and resemble Golden Monkey leaves in both size and texture. I like to use a larger amount of leaves for larger or full leaf teas and steep for less time, as this allows for a second steeping of high quality. That said I left these in about 4 minutes to generate a darker tone and I was rewarded – there is a very pleasant honey cocoa aroma reminiscent of the golden monkey but this tea is a little lighter and less intense on the tongue. There is less of a bite – and I am pleased to describe how smooth the tea remains after a more intense steep. There is no smokiness or astringency.

This is a very enjoyable second cup of morning tea for me (I like to start the day with an Assam or Assam blend). It also works in early evenings when one has some time to contemplate. A very enjoyable, well-mannered tea.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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89
10 tasting notes

What a solid brew. The predominant flavors I am getting from this one is fresh baked pound cake and some hint of raisins here and there. The finish is very malty. The dry leaves smell like malt as well. I am also surprised at to its body. It is a little lighter than I was expecting, but to me I think this makes it a little more refreshing. This tea presents a lot but I have also seen others from Harney & Sons that have presented a little more complexity. Overall this tea will not disappoint, especially at this price. Also, I must note that it has a good kick of caffeine, I am feeling it right now and it is not bad.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec

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