Top Chingwo Congou

I ordered a sample of this tea with my last Harney order because I am always curious about Fujian black teas, especially uncommon ones, and the description sounded tasty.

The dry leaf smells a bit chocolatey and molasses-y, a good sign. It’s really dark in color, with lots of medium-length twisty leaves.

The steeped tea for some reason reminds me powerfully of China. I mean, I know, it’s a Chinese tea, but the scent of it… it’s so familiar, even though I know I didn’t have this kind of tea when I was there. It’s like I smelled it steeping in the tea shops and it buried itself in my mind. It’s fruity and almost floral in the way oolongs are floral.

The flavor is good, although I think my steep parameters yielded a too-strong cup for my tastes. I will probably drop it to 195°F, since that is typically the temp I brew other Fujian black teas at. Nevertheless, this tea has an interesting and tasty flavor profile. Raisins and nuts, for sure, with a certain floral note. I wish I could pinpoint my association with this tea and China, because it’s there in the flavor too. Maybe I did taste a tea like this in Beijing? Perhaps one of the Tan Yangs I tried had a similar profile. It is just so familiar, and it’s driving me a little nuts!

I knew that I would love this tea the minute I read the description on the Harney and Sons website. I thought I was going to have to wait and wait to try it, but SimplyJenW surprised me with some! THANK YOU JEN!!!!!

This is actually the second time I’m drinking it. Busy at work, we need a new roof, jury duty, an earthquake – you know. Just those every day things ;) kept me from raving about how delicious this tea is! It reminds me a bit of a stronger, yet sweeter Emperor’s Red. Instead of roasty, I taste a nutty profile. Not just nutty, but that papery coating that walnuts have over their meat? That taste! It’s really nice in a tea.

I’ll write more when things slow down – I hope to purchase this one asap because it’s fantastic! Really great when you are in the mood for something inbetween – mellower than Keemun Mao Feng, but gutsier than a Golden Monkey, let’s say.

A recent tea splurge….and my tea of the afternoon. The first thing that comes to mind is the roasty, nutty notes in tea without the chocolate notes that I am typically drawn to in a Chinese congou. It kind of reminds me of walnuts, of which I am not really a fan. The leaves are long, thin and very dark. The liquor brews up much lighter than I expected. The jury is still out on this one, so I will hold off rating for a while. I think I need to play around with my brewing parameters a little.

24 oz teapot, freshly boiled water, 4 actual tsp tea, 4 minutes.

It was so hard to save this surprise sample from SIMPLYJEN until today, but I did it! Hooray for willpower! I wanted this to be our special “new” tea for tasting today, as I like to have at least one new tea each week for us to try.

Wow, this really needs to be on my next order. Describing it is really difficult, because I think I am still enough of a newbie not to know exactly how to describe, or even define, what i am tasting.

Nutty, definitely. Silky like Harney’s description said, absolutely. I agree that it had many of the characteristics of other Fujian teas but without the cocoa or chocolate notes. But I really keep getting a lemony or bright note as well. It was reminding me of a Darjeeling, but with none of the astringency I associate with some Darjeelings. This was smooth smooth smooth.

My guest loved it, youngest loved it, I love it. Thank you, thank you, Jen, for the wonderful surprise!

This tea has grown on me once I found the brewing parameters which bring out the best in it. I find that using a little more than a teaspoon at just under 4 minutes of steep time at just under boiling works best to bring out the delectable flavors hiding in this tea. Using these parameters reveals a subtle fruit tone enveloping a truly high quality classic black tea taste without the bitterness or sting associated with some oversteeped attempts. Brewed appropriately this tea will have me licking my lips after the first few sips. It will dent the wallet but I find the tea to be a rather refined and delicate cup that I simply must have in supply.

This tea is difficult to ice – I have not had much success, preferring other congous such as the panyang. Perhaps adjusting the iced steep parameters will bear better results, and if so I will post such. That said, after mastering the brewing settings this tea has moved into my top 5 and has become a daily enjoyment due to its incredibly smooth finish and heir of sophistication. Good over a book or contemplating non-stressful things.

Simply cannot recall a tea that compelled me quite so completely. While visiting a dear friend who brew a pot — “You really must try this one,” she said when its tin caught my eye in Eve’s tea cupboard — my wife and I found ourselves eagerly refilling our cups. Rarely have I enjoyed so roundly balanced a brew: wonderful body, caramel-honey notes, rich… What a discovery! (Unfortunately, keeping it on-hand may require that we refi the house!)