Backlogging, and based almost entirely on my memory, as I have almost no notes on it
Experience buying from Seven Cups http://steepster.com/places/2824-seven-cups-online-tucson-arizona
Date of Purchase/Age of Leaf: harvest date: spring 2007; bought Spring 2011; first brewed up not long after getting it.
Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: like any standard Chinese red tea; very aromatic, almost smoky, and kinda like leather.
Brewing guidelines: Ceramic six-cup teapot, tea in large metallic tea-ball; stevia added.
I brewed this as I do any black tea (see my profile for details).
Color and aroma of tea liquor: < I can’t remember, I may update this the next time I brew this up, if I remember to, that is. >
Flavor of tea liquor: Like leather, but in a positive way (I wish I could better explain that). It has a smokiness similar to Seven Cups Lapsang, but it’s flavors are more subtle, and more complex.
Appearance of wet leaf: I remember being very impressed at the quality of the ‘leaf’, being comprised of mostly full, small-looking buds, with very few stems or broken pieces.
Value: Very pricy at full price (about $13/25grams) but I got it at 70% off (it is no longer available). Although I could not personally justify paying full price, depending on what you want in a tea—and given the fact that you could probably coax at least 5 good steepings out of it—it may even be worth it at full price (esp. as it’s organic).
Overall: This is, hands down, one the the most amazing black/red teas I have ever had (after trying at least a dozen different loose-leaf unflavored black/red teas by now). It may be the very first loose-leaf unflavored black/red teas I ever had, and it still has a special place in my black tea repertoire. The first time I steeped it I believe I steeped it seven times, and it was on the seventh that it finally gave out. I don’t have much of it but I have brewed it up here and there since I bought it. I brewed it up just last week, not long after trying Verdant’s Laoshan Northern Black, and I remember thinking, “This tea gives Verdant’s a good run for the money.” It has staying power, and it’s complex, aromatic, and unique; it’s simply amazing. It doesn’t look like they carry a keemun with this name anymore (with ‘Spring Dawn’ in the name) so this may be the last of this crop. So I’m holding on tightly to what I have.
