Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea

Oh dear, I can feel that this is going to be a really long post. I’ll let you all know when I’m going to actually start writing about the tea, so you can skip ahead if you like.

My Teavivre order arrived! I wasn’t even expecting it yet. I’ve ordered stuff from China before, obviously, and I know it usually takes a couple of weeks to get here, but I don’t know why I hadn’t realised that it had actually been that long since I ordered.

Oh well, I’m certainly not complaining! :D I have unpacked my tea and the cats have given the box and the wrappings a very thorough sniffing. I don’t know what they kept the wrapping supplies next to in China, but whatever it is, it’s very interesting to cats.

While the wrapping was undergoing such a detailed inspection, I tried to decide which one to try first. And then I smacked my forehead because DUH! Self, don’t be an eedjit. You obviously start with the Tan Yang.

If you are wondering what’s so obvious about that, you have not been following me for long enough. Fujian produces the majority of all my very favourite black teas, and my most beloved type of all is Tan Yang. This is the type where I have been known to draw little hearts on the label. So yeah. Obvious. :)

The first time I ordered from Teavivre, I believe the company was still very young, but they had marched right into the hearts of many Steepsterites with their high quality and their sample program. For me, it was the Bailin gong fu that finally drew me in and made me place that first order. There was a contact form on the site that you could fill out if you had questions or suggestions, so I asked if they were planning on stocking a Tan Yang in the future. I can’t remember what exactly the reply was, but I think I was told that they would look into it.

Some time passed and eventually Teavivre did indeed offer a Tan Yang. Oh, how I coveted it! But unfortunately circumstances conspired against me and I didn’t feel like the time was right to buy it. We’ve been frugal, you know, what with having our wedding and then a bit later Husband having a stint with unemployedness, and now we want to start saving up so we can eventually buy a house. It’ll probably be at least a year before we’ll even consider talking to the bank, but we still have to start now.

So I sat here and watched other people drink this highly coveted tea, and then I COULD NOT TAKE IT ANY LONGER, flails AAAAAAAAARGH!!!! pant pant

I cracked and ordered. As long as I control myself I can totally save up and buy interesting tea now and then at the same time. Besides, I was getting to that point where every time I saw someone write about it, I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t bought any myself yet. You know, having suggested that they get some in their shop…

Okay, the actual drinking of the tea starts here!

The aroma is quite mild, and it’s has a bit of a honeyed caramel-ish note to it. There’s a little bit of grain underneath too. I suspect this is a more well behaved version than the (Most Highly Beloved of All) Te Ji I get from TeaSpring. But then again, that one is pretty unruly at times, so it wouldn’t be difficult to be better behaved.

Oh, so sweet! So caramel-y! There’s a bit of malt and cocoa as well, but I think it tastes mostly like sugar and caramel. I mentioned yesterday that I don’t like sugar in tea, but what I meant was that I don’t like sugar added to tea. When it is naturally occurring like this, I like it just fine. It has to do with the way added sugar changes the mouthfeel for me. Anyway, first sip gives my sugar-y caramel-y flavouring, and a summerly note of… sip sip grass?

GRASS??? o.O Well, that’s new. It’s not in overwhelming amounts, though, (like what happens with most Darjeelings for me) so it doesn’t become unpleasant.

Underneath that, and especially at the moment just before I swallow is the very important grain-y note. An awesome Fujian would only be half as awesome without that note. There is only one type of tea in which a good strong note of grain is more important, and that’s in Keemuns.

Still, like with all the notes in here, it’s fairly calm and civilized and to my surprise I find I quite enjoy that. I mean, I love that the Te Ji tastes so riotously wild sometimes, but I’m getting older and slower, and sometimes it’s better with a tea that matches.

My cup appears to have become empty… I don’t usually finish drinking before I’m finished writing. I must have needed it.

That’s it. If anybody needs me further today, I’ll be in the kitchen drawing little hearts on this label.

Tea of the morning…..

I know most are reviewing a free sample of this one, but since this one does not fall into the samples offered with a purchase from TeVivre (yet?) I purchased my sample. I received two 7 gram pouches for $4. I personally feel that I give a more unbiased review if I either purchase my samples, or get them with a purchase. It is just one of my quirks at this stage. As a result, I drink the tea more when I am excited about it, rather than feeling like I have to get through them. (Don’t get me wrong, though! The free samplings I received from this company in the past were integral to furthering my tea journey and I am grateful for the opportunity!)

Wow. This is really good. I am on the resteep pot and it is perfect. The leaves are very golden, curly, and a bit fuzzy. By look it falls more in line with the Tan Yang Dinosara brought back from her visit to the tea district in China than other versions of this tea I have tried in the past. I was so lucky that she shared some with me. I will do a little more comparing later because I have not had that one for a while. In comparison to my other favorite Tan Yang (Tan Yang Te Ji from TeaSpring) TeaVivre’s is much more golden tipped and curlier. The leaves are also longer than the one from TeaSpring. I am pretty sure the two are of differing grades just by look with the one from TeaVivre being higher, but they are similar in price.

Smooth, slight malt, super sweet (in fact, I think I need to try this one with out my usual sweetener). There is the perfect touch of earthiness wrapped in the flavor of carmelized sweet potatoes. Yes, caramel…. The TeaSpring Tan Yang is a little heavier on the malt and earthiness. I will do a ‘reminder’ cup of that also, just to be sure.

So far, I am certain I will be purchasing this at some point. I wish my stash was not so overwhelming or I would buy some today. There is just such a warm sweetness with this one. Definitely sweeter than the Golden Monkey, but who should have to pick one over the other? Get them both! A China black tea lovers dream paring….the Golden Monkey for everyday, and the Tan Yang for special days.

Usual teapot method (OMG this was wonderful!….Did I say that all ready?) with my equally as wonderful resteep at 5 minutes.

I feel so lucky that Angel at Teavivre still thinks of me for sending out samples. I’ve benefitted greatly from their free samples, and am happy to review their teas. This time the sample offering was of their new spring harvest green teas, but she also asked if there were any other teas I’d like to try. I have been wanting to try this one since they released it, so of course I asked for it! Thanks so much for sending it along Angel!

The dry leaf is gorgeous, all curly with lots of golden tips. I am actually now on my second cup of this tea. The first time I used half of one of my little sample pouches for my 12oz mug and brewed it at the steeping parameters I’ve used for similar Fujian blacks (and what they recommend for this tea), namely 185°F for 2 minutes. The resulting cup smelled and tasted nice but was also pretty weak. I was craving more so I used the second half of the pouch to steep it at 195°F for 3 minutes.

This smells lovely, like molasses and grains, which is what I look for in a tan yang. The sweet, caramelly, malty, grainy flavors are all there, but still not quite right in the second cup. The second cup is more robust but the flavors are still somehow muted. I think I need to use more leaf… good thing Angel was generous enough to send two more sample pouches of this tea. Also I now have a full pouch’s worth of once-steeped leaves to resteep and play around with. I won’t rate this one until I’ve played around with it more, but even as it is now it would be in the 80s (which remember on my new rating system is very good). I just have a feeling from what I’m getting now that this is actually spectacular, it’s just my brewing of it that is off.

Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea
Sample provided by TeaVivre. I opened the package and took a deep whiff. It is like sweet fresh dried tobacco with maybe a hint of fruit. I want to say cherry but that may be because when I smell tobacco it reminds me of my grandfather and his cherry pipe tobacco. He always wore work pants, even after he retired, and a white v-neck T-shirt. He had his pipe in one hand and a glass of ice tea in the other – always. He also had a bottle of Maalox (antacid) next to him that he chugged like milk but we won’t talk about that.

He loved to watch the Flintstones. No, it was not because of he had grandkids he just loved the Flintstones. He also had a battery operated toy train engine that you put on the floor and when it hit something it backed up and turned, taking off again in a new direction. He would sit and laugh at that often. Even as a kid I didn’t understand how he got that much pleasure out of a simple toy. The train doesn’t work anymore but I still have it.

Ok, back to this tea – the leaf is thin twist curls of varying shades of brown. It reminds me of my wife’s needlepoint thread and is quite pretty. I used a generous scoop and steeped per the instructions of 185 d for 1-2 minutes. Once again it just seems all wrong for a black tea but TeaVivre has never led me astray so I am trusting them.

The resulting brew is lighter than most black teas. It is deep golden brown or almost bronze. The wet leaf smells of toasted caramel.

I took my first sip, put the cup down and walked away for a moment. I returned, picked it up again and sipped. My mind is trying to reboot. I saw on the label this is a Fujian tea. So I am expecting a certain flavor profile, yet this is altogether different this morning than my preconceived idea.

I am tasting yeast, lots of yeast. I am getting grain, barley I think. My brain keeps saying beer, no its ale. This tastes like ale without the bubbles, scratchy throat, or hangover. I did add sweetener, and that may bring out these flavors. As the cup cools it turns more towards heavy malt, which is what I expected from this tea.

Cup two at two minutes. I can’t wait to read other reviews on this one. Now this has become a light chocolate malt. A smooth and creamy chocolate malt. Mmmm. I might use that description on a half dozen other teas but this one taste different. It is simply a mellow delight.

Another winner!

So after reading the review KS just did I had to go look to see if I had a sample of this from my last order with Teavivre and lo and behold I DID! Yay!
Full review on http://sororiteasisters.com/ on Feb 9th but here are my snippits:

Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu Black Tea from Teavivre offers quite a different experience. It has a lot of the same flavor notes that one gets from a Fujian black tea such as sweet potato, malt, and cocoa but Superfine Tan Gong Fu is much lighter both in flavor and mouthfeel.

As I sipped on this tea I found myself so relaxed, and spaced out that I checked my blood sugar (I’m type 1 diabetic) just to be sure I was not running too high. High blood sugars often mimic a spaced out state of dizziness and being sleepy. My blood sugar was perfectly fine. Outside of aliens having zapped my brain I am pretty sure it was the tea. I have had tea highs before, generally with pu’erh but now and then I get it in other leaf types. This is one of those times.

I’ve had 3 cups of this today and am loving it! I’m going to have it again tomorrow in the morning and do a lengthier review.

I agree with some other reviewers, that this is very delicate and light considering its a black tea. I would say its more subtle, and not at all aggressive-a relaxing tea that would be nice in the afternoon. I was pretty generous with the leaf, using 3.5 gms/8 oz water, brewing for 2 minutes, with a 2nd steep for 3 minutes. I have others that I prefer from Teavivre, such as Yun Nan Dian Hong Gold Tip or Bailin Gongfu, I think because I prefer something a little stronger, but this is still very nice, especially for those who prefer a milder tea.

Mmm, I tend to favor more subtle black teas, and this one fits the bill nicely.

Dry leaves: The leaves are small, black, and wirey with lots of gold/orange fur. They have a sweet citrus and sweet potato aroma.

Brewing: This tea definitely brews best (IMO) at a lower temperature than most blacks. The wet leaves have a rich aroma of chocolate and fall leaves. In early infusions lots of golden hairs piled up on my filter, almost clogging it.

Tasting: The flavor of the tea has a nice balance of sweet and salty characteristics. The early infusions are mild but brisk with notes of chocolate, sweet potato, peach, and charcoal. Surprisingly cool feeling for a black tea. Later infusions mellow out with fresh flavors of lemon juice, edame, clover leaf, and jaggery. The taste is sweet and slightly nutty throughout.

Thanks Teavivre for a great sample!

Yum! Full details later.

EDIT: So it is quite some time later. I feel like rather than backlog and try to get in the mindset I was in this morning when I had this tea, I better just have another cuppa in the morning and write my tasting then, so it is more accurately described. But I can say I really enjoyed this one today.

I am thrilled to get to try this tea because all the Gong Fu teas I’ve had from Teavivre have been fantastic. Just having this sample reminds me of all the black teas I need to reorder.

The leaves are indeed very fine. Practically none of them are broken, and they are all very narrow and pointed at the end. Each of them seem to be a different shade of chocolate brown and gold. It reminds me of a little bird’s nest as it sits in my infuser while I wait for the water to heat.

As they steep, the tea smells deliciously toasted and warm. It’s a very comforting scent. I’m somewhat reminded of cocoa and whole wheat bread. The flavor is even better. I’m getting notes of sweet potato, cocoa, caramel, and malt. I’m catching myself trying my best to drink it even though it’s too hot — it’s like I can’t stop myself.

This is the most perfect tea I could have on a wet, cool day here. It’s definitely going to be in my next Teavivre order.

_{Tea provided by Teavivre for review}

Just received Teavivre’s samples yesterday, and this is the first one I picked out to try. Good black teas always have a special place in my heart, so I was eager to taste this. I’ve also been wondering for a long time “what IS tan yang black tea like?”.

My initial steep tasted; fuzzy, sweetness/caramel, earthy.

Second to fourth steeps started to really build up a strong earthy flavour, that had a nice roasted, woodsy, syrupy, and slightly floral background.

Fifth through tenth steeps maintained that strong flavour, only weakening slightly with each steep. The last cup was still very flavourful considering it was the tenth.

Overall it met my expectations. Teavivre’s steep guidelines were spot-on, I enjoyed the flavour brought out in the shorter initial steeps. What I liked about this tea, is that held onto a strong flavour throughout my steeps. That being said, I’m not impressed with the level of “charm” Tan Yang brings, and I’ve tasted similar teas with different names (this is a really minor point, not meant to be taken as negative).
Compared to the other black teas Teavivre sells, this is probably my second favourite (first would be their Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Tip). If you enjoy resteeping your black tea a lot, this is a very good option to choose.

Steep parameter (as suggested on their website)

100ml gaiwan, 5g sample, 10 steeps: rinse(10s),5s,5s,10s,20s,30s,35s,35s,60s,2m30s,3m30s

1 1/2 tsp in 8oz

Really like this! Not as full bodied as the Bailin Gong Fu. A hint of the flavor I usually associate with Dian Hongs, so that’s probably because of all the golden tips. Personally, this would be my pick among the Teavivre black teas I’ve tried so far.

I received this tea among the very generous samples sent to me by Teavivre and while I can’t quite place the flavors of this tea at the moment I do love it and will update this note once I’ve ordered more to sample. I steeped it in my Gaiwan for 15 seconds with around 5 additional seconds for each subsequent steeping. For now I can say there’s no bitterness nor astringency and I cannot wait to order more. Thank you again, Teavivre!