Feng Huang Hong Cha

Steeped this 12 times, all while chilling out and listening to Drone Zone from somafm.com

A very enjoyable tea and quite a unique experience that I’ve savoured over the months.
Next time I brew this it will probably be a “sipdown”.
See previous tasting notes for more of my thoughts on this tea

100ml purion teapot, 2 tsp, 12 steeps (30s, +15s resteeps)

This tea is from Dexter3657. Thanks! :)

This is so good. It actually survived in my travel mug during my winter walk really well. It still had nice flavour, and isn’t too strong with a 2 minute steep.

I have to try it in a ceramic mug instead of a stainless travel mug, but so far it’s on my list of “teas to buy”!

Wow – this is a much better choice today. I LOVE this. Different than other blacks I’ve been drinking. It’s bold and malty (tiniest hint of chocolate) but there are some fruity notes too – I’m getting citrus rather than cherry, but fruity none the less. The citrus notes adds a bit of astringency but more in a flavor way rather than in a bitter way. This astringency is really well balanced with the sweetness.
This has the potential of being added to my “must have list”. This really works for me, fantastic.

2021 sipdown no. 56

This one is difficult to describe. It has a Taiwanese black sweetness to it, but cut through with almost an oolong floral. I keep flip flopping on whether or not I actually enjoy it. I think I ultimately enjoy other straight black teas over this one.

this one is a little “oolongy” for my tastes the more i have it…

A sipdown! (M: 4, Y: 24) Note #1800
A big thank you for this tea Leafhopper! It is an amazing tea and I happy I had two sessions of this tea (while I have no memory of the first one).

I preheated the gaiwan and added dry leaf — I got strong whiff of cacao, sweet notes of caramel and dark malts.
I let it absorb a bit of humidity — quick rinse with little water; and sweet notes are even more pronounced. Caramel was probably the strongest, but maybe I would rather say toffee as it is a bit creamy as well. Or it has been a chocolate syrup? I would love to native speaker to tell me.

1st steep, 15 seconds
Chocolate notes with oolong sweetness, brown sugar, baked goodies. Not so long mouthfeel, but it was short steep nevertheless.

2nd steep, 30 seconds
Stronger chocolate notes with brown sugar and baked goodies flavour. Long mouthfeel with hints of florals and barley.

3rd steep, 30 seconds
More of the brown sugar and baked goodies, in aftertaste distinctive floral notes and barley body. Long mouthfeel.

4th steep, 45 seconds
Chocolate syrup for sure in this steep with brown sugar aftertaste, sadly the baked goodies disappeared; some barley in the body and aftertaste too. Medium mouthfeel.

5th steep, 1 minute
Smooth and creamy chocolate, with brown sugar aftertaste, barley body and aftertaste. Mouthfeel again a bit shorter.

6th steep, 90 seconds
Now it’s weak in chocolate and brown sugar, rather a bit malty and woody; weak body and aftertaste — short mouthfeel as well.

Definitely it’s a wonderful tea and somehow good when you’re craving sweets. In those times it’s perfect to pick up tea, which havve requested flavour-profile, but you don’t get any calories form it! Moreover, it hydrates you. Is there something more to wish for?!

People actually reviewed this one! Thank you Leafhopper!

So, I gong fu’d it for four steeps than stopped. Went friendly on the leaves. It’s actually more black tea-ish than other Milan Hong Cha’s I’ve had in comparison. Waaaay heavier on the malt department while maintaining some cherry notes. I personally get some of the more citric grapefruit oolong notes from it’s varietal from time to time in aroma and a little in taste. A little bit bitter, but dark bittersweet from “redder” (totally making it up) tannings. The overall vibe of this one is more red than other Milan Blacks too. Sometimes, it was brisk enough to adulterate with cream and sugar, but I didn’t go that far. I haven’t decided on it yet. It definitely stands out, and it may be a little too strong for me to frequently drink, I do like it.

This was the tea I picked for the “black tea” prompt for Mastress Alita’s scavenger hunt and after the lapsang, I was just disappointed by it.

This is my “MVT” – most valuable tea – for the week.

I brewed this one Gong Fu, after first taking it to work with the intention of brewing it there and being told by my manager that this tea was too good to brew at work and I needed to take it home instead and brew it Gong Fu and really focus on the flavours/session. Who am I to tell my manager, the head of research and development for a tea company no!? If he gives me a tea recommendation I generally listen to him; he’s got great taste! Except when it comes to green tea, then I usually just tune him out, haha!

I’m glad he made the suggestion though; I know I definitely would not have been able to brew this at work with the same care and attention and it was a VERY good tea. Like, I enjoyed it more than the shou I had this week that literally caused me to have an emotional breakdown at my desk.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwhuePDHXxb/

I wish I could better convey how amazing the tea was to you, but I think just recapturing my “in the moment” thoughts from instagram will have to suffice because after I finished snapping photos and writing up that instagram blurb it was like all words vanished from my mind and I could only drink tea and be happy. It was delicious, and I steeped this tea fifteen times, literally right down until there was NO MORE flavour coming from the tea at all. My last infusion might as well have just been water…

So here’s what I said on instagram:

“Notes of Sandalwood, malt, black currant, apricot, red wine/muscatel grapes, oak, and soft smoke. Coats and lingers in the back of the throat really long and intensely.”

It’s been a while since I last had a black tea that flavourful and nuanced, and to think that this was a freebie sample that I received from CS and not something I selected myself! It was an amazing selection though, and 100% something I recommend and am going to purchase more of. Just… Damn!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u11kLhDXsG0&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=75&t=0s

I typically don’t like to write more than one review of a tea unless it’s changed substantially from harvest to harvest. However, this Mi Lan Xiang hongcha is so good that I’m breaking this rule. I called it the best black tea I drank in 2017, and while I might not go that far now, it’s still among the most balanced, comforting, tasty black teas in my collection. I get honey, caramel, pastries, grapefruit, florals, and a touch of malt, along with red berries and cocoa in some steeps. There’s a little astringency to give it body, but not enough to be bitter or detract from the smoothness. I can mindlessly chug this tea while working, which is a mistake since there are so many flavours to eke out.

Along with the Wild Lapsang Souchong from Wuyi Origin, this is one of my desert island teas. Both of these teas are fruity, smooth, and easy drinking while remaining complex enough to repay closer study. It’s too bad it’s $28 for 50 g, but I just might buy more anyway.