Vanilla Dian Hong

Yesterday evening, it started snowing. I am no stranger to snow, but it’s been noticeably absent from these parts for the past number of years. We’ll get one, maybe two inches – barely enough to cover the ground. When I was in high school, we’d hope against hope that the school board would take pity on us and cancel school for the day [and since we usually don’t get much they typically would, even though it was definitely drivable].

This year, we got dumped with 14-16 inches during the big east coast snowfall. In between then and now, we received a few more inches. Yesterday evening, the weather graced us with another 4-6. This has prompted a number of silly hash tags on twitter, like #snOMG, #snowpocalypse, and #precipageddon [that last one may be my favorite].

Last night’s snow was packing snow. For those who might not be familiar, that means it was coming down in big, airy flakes that are optimal for creating those spherical orbs of crystallized H20 that people sometimes like to chuck at each other or stack into vaguely humanoid forms. This was the kind of snow that used to get me crazy excited as a child, because I knew I’d be decking a few kids in my neighborhood before someone got hurt and we all got yelled at. [Ah, childhood.] Even now, it’s the snow that I find the prettiest. There’s something romantic about it, and it demands a tea with a hazy warmth about it.

Deciding to chance it on something new, I brewed up a cup of Vanilla Dian Hong while I watched the flakes float silently down outside in between physics problems. [I should add at this point that this is one of my favorite contemplative “it’s snowing outside” songs ever – http://bit.ly/c5811d – should you need/want one.] So I sat there, working through problems, watching the snow, and smelling the tea while I waited for it to cool.

It smelled like vanilla, unsurprisingly, but with an edge. It almost smelled…malty. Maybe earthy? It reminded me a bit of pu-erh, actually, and I did find that surprising. Once I thought it had cooled enough to sip without fear of scalding, I went ahead and slurped in a bit.

I’m not sure how to describe what transpired, but it resulted in one of the more interesting mouthfeels I’ve had in a while. It was as though the outside borders of the liquid was watery; tiptoeing on but not quite breaking ground into bitter. It was a little metallic, in a way, almost…coppery? The center of tea, however, was rich and flavorful. This was all in one mouthful, and all when it was held in place without swallowing, and unfortunately that’s the best I can do to explain it.

The center of the tea didn’t have a lot of vanilla taste to me, which was maybe a little disappointing, but it did taste like something good. Part of it was malt. That was unmistakable to me, but it took me a long time to place what the other thing was. Once I did, it was one of those things that made me “D’oh” out loud. It tasted like graham cracker. I haven’t had graham crackers in a long time. Realizing that this is what I was tasting almost instantly transported me back to when I was little and my brother would fight at the end of lunch over who got to split the cracker down its perforated seam. I used to like to dunk my sections of cracker in my apple juice. [Don’t make that face at me; it’s good! Seven-year-old me promises. Cross her heart!]

As the tea cooled down to lukewarm, the vanilla came out of hiding and was much more present in the tea, which made me smile. Sometimes, when the sweetness would fade away at the tip of my tongue, I could taste a spicy puff of black pepper. When I exhaled, I could taste the vanilla on my breath, and the scent rising out of my cup began to remind me of pipe tobacco.

This tea was best to me at a bit below hot to lukewarm. It’s something that I’m looking forward to trying again, because I found it to be pretty complex. It lent itself very well to homework and snow, and since we’re supposed to be getting more snow in soon [and I doubt my load of homework’s going to lighten before the semester’s over], I may find myself in another opportune setting this weekend.

Having just finished cups of Black Orchid by Mariage Freres and Starry Night by the Jade Teapot, I’ve turned to this one as the third in my tale of three vanillas.

The dry leaves look quite a bit like the Black Orchid. The color is similar and you can see vanilla beans in this one, too. I’d venture to say that the leaves of Black Orchid are slightly longer, which is probably owing to a difference in the variety of black tea used.

And that’s where the similarities end. I get the same chocolate note from the dry leaves of the Dian Hong that someone else mentioned instead of the amazing vanilla that came out of the Black Orchid. This, however, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just a different thing. The aroma of the tea also has a chocolatey note — in any case, it is not overwhelmingly vanilla, though I can smell some vanilla in it. Mostly what it has going for it is that aromatic Samovar black smell that is common to all of the black teas of theirs I’ve tried. It’s a brown sugary, malty, smooth, delicious foundation for all the other flavors to frolic on and among.

The two notes here, chocolate and vanilla, are like two for the price of one. If you’re looking for a vanilla flavored tea, you’d probably be more satisfied with the Black Orchid, which is classically vanilla flavored. But if you’re looking for something with vanilla flavor and something more, give this a try.

I’m not sure which I prefer to tell you the truth. Both this and the Mariage Freres Black Orchid are exemplary blends. Black Orchid is a Rembrandt, this is a Jackson Pollack. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. I’m calling it a tie.

The amazing takgoti sent me this tea!!! My first Samovar tea!!!

I made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing this weekend, and we had two pieces left – I thought that this tea would go well!

First off, the scent is heavenly. The tea tastes almost like it has spirits in it! A vanilla bourbon flavor that is different than any vanilla tea I’ve ever had. It combines with the sweet maltiness of the Yunnan for such a full bodied taste! Having a high quality tea base really makes a difference. It also held up well to the dense dessert.

I KNOW it didn’t have any alcohol in it, but I feel a bit tipsy! I must be drunk on deliciousness!!!

It smells like caramelized vanilla and something heavy and almost coffee-like. The taste is unexpected – not sweet and soft like a typical vanilla but more… masculine, for want of a better word. Earthy? I can totally see Cocoa Puffs flavor they mention in the tasting notes, particularly in the aftertaste. I don’t get graham crackers so much as that undernote of whatever cracker-like thing Cocoa Puffs are made of. It has a hint of pu-erh sweetness to it but the vanilla tempers it, keeps it from being too strong. It is much heavier and bolder than I originally expected and I like it though the thickness of the flavor makes one cup plenty.

This is quite a complex tea! The leaves alone smell so decadent. I know this was a great choice for a dessert tea, I just wish I had a dessert to pair with it. I taste milk chocolate, a bit of cedar/woodsyness, warmth from the vanilla beans. The aftertaste has something a bit like the coppery taste after biting my tongue, maybe it’s just earthy flavors I haven’t quite explored yet. I’d enjoy tasting this tea again, it has many interesting characteristics.

hrm. I wasn’t particularly impressed with this tea. I wanted to be, I love vanilla. But it really didn’t have much of what I identify as that flavor. More came out once it cooled, but not initally. It was pretty tannic.

Overall, it just didn’t stand out for me. I tend to hold Samovar to pretty high standards, partially because they cost so much, and partially because so many others hold them in such high esteem. And this just didn’t make it.

Ah well – more samples to go try. :)

This is quite a cerebral tea and certainly not a run of the mill vanilla . On the forefront is the sweet vanilla ; in the background, is a slight pepper/malty? flavor from the yunnan. As I drink this tea and contemplate the contrasting flavors, I keep thinking to myself, “hmmm…what is this?”

The vanilla flavor is light and very well balanced with the natural tea flavor. Beneath the vanilla, the taste is earthy with currants. The aroma is mild vanilla and oak. The vanilla is dominant in the aftertaste. Mild astringency. Liquor brews up copper colored.

I received some of this a few weeks ago along with some Ryokucha and Peppermint Yerba Mate… had been drinking it straight (which is still mighty tasty), then a few mornings ago I thought…

? what if I put in some flavored creamer?

I had a variety of creamers in the fridge (hazelnut, gingerbread, vanilla caramel..) with the hubby still drinking coffee and I being a recent coffee convert … Tried a tiny bit of creme brulee creamer..like a 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon for a full 16 oz. pot. OMG. SOGOOD. ..and not overwhelming. Though I can see how putting in anymore than that would greatly take away from the tea.

Gives me the familiar mouthfeel of a creamy cuppa jo, but still tasting the mellow vanilla marshmallowy flavor of the tea… Fantastic alternative to coffee discovered!

I was excited to try one of the Samovar teas finally, as I’ve heard such good things about them. The shop I visited was out of the Masala Chai I’d wanted, but the Vanilla Dian Hong was second on my list, and it was in stock. When I popped the lid, it wasn’t vanilla I noticed, but rather the scent of a chocolate liquor instead. I was very excited to try this one, but as it was late when I got home I opted to try it in the morning instead. When brewed, this tea doesn’t have the same taste as it smells dry, which was fine. You definitely get more of the vanilla in the tea itself. What I found was that it almost had a flavor similar to a rooibos, with the slight aftertaste of black tea. So I wasn’t blown away, though I felt I should have been for the $18.99 price tag. I’m hoping Samovar’s masala chai fares better for me.