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Sirentian drank Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu Black Tea of Fuding * Golden Monkey 2016 by Yunnan Sourcing

261 tasting notes

This review is for the Spring 2015 harvest. Love the insane aroma of these leaves, so malty and sweet, with a fruity-caramel-sweetness of candied haw fruit (the kind they sell candy-coated on skewers in China). Dry leaf is delicate thin rolled threads, unfurls to full leaves when wet. Brewed in my 75ml gaiwan.

1st infusion: (20s, 206˚F)
Probably 10 – 15s would have been better. Coppery orange liquor, delicious sweet caramel corn aroma, tasted bitter from overbrewing.

2nd infusion: (20s, 208˚F)
Fragrance still delicious, but still tastes bitter. Maybe needs to be brewed at 195˚F.

3rd infusion: (20s, 195˚F)
Much better, bitterness is gone. This tea is meant to be brewed around 195.

I tested brewing this tea at 205˚F, 200˚F, 195˚F, and 190˚F.

205˚F was nigh-undrinkable and the sweetness was lost 200˚F was still burnt, bitter, not sweet and the second infusion was super astringent 195˚F was gorgeous, aromatic, not as sweet-tasting as I expected but not as burnt or bitter as the previous 2 190˚F has less fragrance, duller aroma that isn’t sweet.

Verdict: The sweet spot is probably around 193-194˚F.

Flavors: Caramel, Kettle Corn, Malt

Preparation

195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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