57 Tasting Notes
As so often with Twinings this tea does not keep up with what it is promising. Nice tea box. Great fragrance of the leafs. But average brew…
After steeping the leafs (very hot, 3-4min) the brew is able to carry its fragrance very well. Taste seems dull. No magic is happening. All I taste is old tobacco. Aftertaste is acid…
Second brew does not carry flavor anymore which is unusual for a Chinese black tea, especially if it is coming from the Fujian province.
To me only drinkable after steeping in a highball glass on low temperature (65 degrees Celcius). It even gets a mellow, sweet aftertaste.
Had much better Lapsangs that were sold in small, independent tea shops around the globe (Germany, Thailand) without brand name…
Excellent tea that is full of magic…enchanting flavors, great color and as silky-smooth as a tea can get.
Unfortunately this tea leaf develops its great flavors only through a water temperature that is probably destroying its vitamins…therfore I do the first two brews with a water temperature under 85degrees Celcius. For the following 2 brews I go very hot and combine all 4 brews in on big tea pot. Stir it and I have the different flavors of four brews of one portion tea in one cup…fantastic
Warning: Very strong and awakening. If one drinks it after 5.00pm sleep becomes an impossible thing to find!
Preparation
It is not the first tea that I purchased from this pride-filled and well established company that has left me standing in the rain with a quite average, therfore rather disappointing cup of tea.
Rough, very strong teas are used for this blend. Ceylon or Assam would be my guess.
Anyways, the fragile scent of the bergamot hardly gets a chance to break through no matter how often I alter water temperature, steeping time or amount of tea leafs.
Interesting…I’ve always preferred Twinings to the other brands I’ve tried for E.G. because it has a very “clean” tea taste with just enough bergamot. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!
…I honestly start thinking that maybe there is something wrong with me after I read the comments of other drinkers to this tea.I do remember one comment in particular where someone describes the smell that fills the room just by opening the box of leafs. And that exectly is the point…the fragrance, which is great, promises a very fruity brew, very rich in citrus notes. But that is not the case due the strong blend of tea leafs.
This is not Ceylon or Assam teas. It’s 100% China teas.
A tea listed as #2 on the Chinese top 10 list.
Truly full of surprises as, after opening my first bag, I was a bit sceptical when I saw the little leafs.
Chestnut was the first thing that hit my senses.Very, very complex tea from the Jiang Su province in China that, as always with Chinese teas, is changing faces, mood and caracter between the first and the last brew of one portion.
Always a bit special and I cant help feeling that, whenever I drank a brew, that I have wasted it to the wrong occassion. This tea should be called ‘little prima donna’…
Preparation
…like a cooling breeze coming from the desert….
Great tea during summer time. Very refreshing indeed.
But no doubt that the chosen tea leafs (probably from Zhejiang province, China) for the base of this blend are below second class quality. Well, which tea grower would cover his painfully nurtured harvest with mint oils and fragrances?
Still…a great tea to have if for the length of a cup you manage to forget the above.
Preparation
Translated Oolong means ‘Black Dragon’. The Dragon in Chinese mythology stands for the Emperor. After the first 3 cups you may get an idea how this tea gets this honour.
One of my most favourite Oolongs in regard of flavoring…
The brews that one gets out of one portion seem to be endless.
Great color, fruity smell, profound taste, unique aftertaste which is warming one’s throat.
Very easy to handle and almost impossible to screw up.
Only thing to keep in mind is that a Chinese tea grower would rather chop his right arm off then putting a ‘foreign’ fragrance on a GOOD tea.
Preparation
In the beginning you may feel a bit disturbed by the strong impression of freshly cut grass.
However…during continuous drinking the grassy touch will change to a pleasant, fruity and smooth experience.
Steeping time has an immense impact of this tea. It is one of the most fragile teas that I have ever come across…it is definetely a challenge getting a brew out of it without bitterness or falling under the idea to have just swollowed a bundle of grass.
Develops great taste if mixed with 4-5 slices of dry ginseng. This opens another door to the profound world of tea complexities.
Very cooling for your body…even if drunk hot.
If the leafs are good quality you may get 5-6 brews out of one portion. Each brew will leave you with a different impression of the (moody) dragon…
Preparation
Bancha…without doubt a lower quality of tea which is drunk in Japan during meals. Therfore the aromas are kept quite simple as the tea should not overpower one’s sushi or sashimi.
It is loosing it’s flavor very quickly and never lasts more then 3 brews.
Lacking of personality but a must in a Japanese household.
Preparation
Very interesting flavors. But certainly not everyones cup of tea…
Seems to me that the rice grains truly develop there aroma not earlier than during the third brew…thats why I steep it in a small tea pot and combine 4 brews in one big pot. That allows me to enjoy all aspects of this versatile blend within one cup.
I prefer Genmaicha in the afternoons…standing alone, not necessarily in combination with food.
