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SimplyJenW drank Top Chingwo Congou by Harney & Sons

985 tasting notes

A recent tea splurge….and my tea of the afternoon. The first thing that comes to mind is the roasty, nutty notes in tea without the chocolate notes that I am typically drawn to in a Chinese congou. It kind of reminds me of walnuts, of which I am not really a fan. The leaves are long, thin and very dark. The liquor brews up much lighter than I expected. The jury is still out on this one, so I will hold off rating for a while. I think I need to play around with my brewing parameters a little.

24 oz teapot, freshly boiled water, 4 actual tsp tea, 4 minutes.

Preparation

Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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2 comments

JacquelineM
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I’ve been curious about this one! Interesting! I will look for your follow up review. I do like walnuts so this may be a possibility…

SimplyJenW
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Well, it must have been working for me on levels that I did not understand. The first pot was gone in record time, and now it is time for a resteep!

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JacquelineM
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I’ve been curious about this one! Interesting! I will look for your follow up review. I do like walnuts so this may be a possibility…

SimplyJenW
Delete

Well, it must have been working for me on levels that I did not understand. The first pot was gone in record time, and now it is time for a resteep!

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My motto: Drink the good tea!

Tea enthusiast, trying to keep up my cardio for the zombie apocalypse. I have come to accept that I am a western brewing black tea drinker as that is where my ‘tea heart’ lies. I started on loose leaf as a way to have my dessert and not suffer the caloric issues. Once I tried it, I was hooked.

I drink what I like, which is mostly China blacks, a few traditionally scented blacks and Earl Greys, plus a flavored tea here and there. I don’t mind spending a bit on premium varieties on occasion, but an expensive tea has to deliver. My favorite places to order are Harney & Sons and Upton Tea Imports. TeaVivre is great for Chinese tea.

My ratings are pretty subjective. If it falls under 70, I may not take the time to post about it unless I had something specific to say. If it is 70-80 I like it, but I will probably not rebuy. Favorites are over 80 and up, but sometimes the less expensive or more easily obtainable version of a similar taste will win out for my cupboard space.

Usual teapot steeping method: 24 oz teapot, 3 perfect scoops of tea (4 1/2 actual tsp), freshly boiled water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

Usual mug steeping method: 15 oz mug, 1.5 perfect scoops of tea (just over 2 actual tsp), freshly boiled water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

Usual pan method: 1 1/2 cups water, 2 perfect tsp chai (3 actual tsp). Simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2/3 cup skim milk. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Strain and sweeten.

Usual pitcher method:
5 or 6 Perfect Spoons of tea (this means about 7-9 actual tsp), freshly boiled water, brewed essentially double-strong in my 24 oz teapot for 4 minutes. Fill my Fiestaware Disc pitcher (about 60 oz.) halfway with ice. Add brewed double-strong tea to the pitcher. Stir it a little and enjoy. No additions.

(*SRP is my Sample/Stash Reduction Plan starting on April 12, 2012. I got so far, but just decided it was too fussy to keep track.)