ZK72: Bohea Imperial Organic

So evidently this is the tea that was thrown into the Boston Harbor, it makes me wince a little just thinking about it!

As far as I know, this is my first Bohea but I decided I wanted to make a pot of it this morning to enjoy. I steeped it for 5 minutes and it is a medium bodied tea in color, a dark reddish brown (and this is why I love glass teaware).

The aroma of this is very intriguing. I’m getting a lot of pine which is actually nice and not overwhelming. This has a gentle, rich mouthfeel with no astringency whatsoever. I am definitely picking up lots of cocoa in the aroma. Since this tea is also from Wu Yi province I am picking up some of the flavors that are present in a Wu Yi oolong, only less pronounced. I also wonder if this is ever (or was) used as the base for a Lapsang Souchong. It has a slightly malty, slighty sweet aftertaste. I would definitely not add milk or sugar to this, for it would ruin the delicate flavor. After checking the price again I just wish Upton sold 50g bags instead of just the samples or the 100g size. I have enjoyed this!

Tea of the morning….(SRP #48)

I definitely wanted the opportunity to taste a high quality Bohea. And this one is also from my favorite region for tea (it is a Fujian Province black tea.) Lucky for me and all of us, really, Upton offers just about anything in a sample. I have to admit, this is probably the most expensive sample I have purchased there, but this is worth it!

I will probably be comparing this to other smokey teas. I think it is sweeter and less smokey than Upton’s Lapsang Souchong Black Dragon. TeaVivre’s Lapsang has a slight bacony edge over this one. Hu Kwa from Mark T. Wendell is much smokier. Light notes of malt and honey, but no where near the cocoa notes like you would expect in a Keemun. I would not call it particularly winey, either, like Keemuns can run. I guess that leaves me with light smoke, malt, and honey. The stand out characteristic for me that makes this tea unique in comparison to other light smokey teas I have had…the honey notes.

I have enough for another cup or two, and I will thoroughly enjoy them. Does that make this worthy of purchase? Price is definitely a factor here. If I did not have a few other smokey teas or so many black teas in my stash, I could probably get over the price and purchase. With the current state of things, though, I need to pare things down a little more first.

Usual mug method.

Being the history nut I am I had to try this tea out. I included a sample of it in my Upton Order. The dry leaf smells like Lapsang, but the tea itself tastes like anything but Lapsang…interesting. I’m getting the slightest hint of chocolate. This really tastes more like a Keemun. Which sure is weird, but I like it! This one will require further sampling! (Tough work right?)

Thanks for this one Amy Oh!

This tastes like a very gentle pepper with a little bit more of smoke. There is a nice amount of maltiness and cocoa especially as it cools.

This is tasty!

This is my second tasting of this sample from Upton. The first tasting I found it to be very mild in taste yet it had this captivating aroma of pine and a whisper of smoke. I could not stop smellling the wonderful aroma. Today I upped the steep time and the amount of leaf and it improved the cup slightly for my morning cup. I do believe this is better suited for an evening tea. It is very subtle and mild. This is a very fine tea that in my opinion is better for an evening tea.

_{Brew temp 208}

Yes, I bought this because it is supposed to be one of the teas thrown into Boston Harbor. Why not-the sample was only a dollar or so.

This is really nice. It tastes like a cross between Keemun and Lapsang. The aroma is unusual, I smell perhaps pine, but also something else that I cannot identify-I’ll have to work on that. Smooth, flavorful and pleasant.