Honey Black Tea

I did a side by side gaiwan tasting with this and Honey Black from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co. tonight. First, let me say that I don’t care as much for either of these done in this method as I do for them done Western style.

On to the teas. 5 grams each, 150 ml gaiwans, filtered water cooled 2 minutes from boiling. 45 second initial steep, left leaves in water while drinking resulting in approximately 2:30 for second steep.

Dry leaf comparison: BTTC leaves are smaller and more broken up though still large
Liquor comparison: GT is lighter in color
Taste comparison: Both honeyed, both sweetish, BTTC seems spicier. On second steep, BTTC also has sour notes creeping in, though not to an unpleasant level. GT is a lighter bodied tea.

Next is to try both in Western style side by side. From this method, I would not be picky about either one, both are equally good in my opinion.

Well, this tea is certainly tasty. Unfortunately, I am in a surly mood now, having placed my order from this company three times and just been told that I have to place it again.

WHAT?????????????

Just getting around to trying out this black tea. I almost didn’t brew it this morning. Wanted to go for my ol’ familiar greens. So glad I brewed it up. It’s delicious. This the 2nd black tea from Green Terrace Teas I’ve loved and I don’t normally like black teas!!! It has an aroma like fresh baked bread. Plum sweet taste. Like sweet potatoes too. Very smooth and a bit light for a black tea (another reason I love it). With black teas like this I could very well become a black tea lover.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – February Tea #1: A Taiwanese Tea
When seeing the “Taiwanese tea” prompt I immediately thought of this tea and knew it was almost gone, but I had to double check to make sure it is Taiwanese.  It is!  The flavors seemed to be different whenever I steeped it and it’s hard to identify those flavors.   Starchy in the end.   Boring note.
2022 sipdowns: 14

3g of this left, so I mixed it with 3g of the Li Shan Black.

Delicious.

I do prefer the Li Shan Black, I just feel the flavours are more in line with my personal tastes. It’s rich and dark the way I’ve steeped it though, with no bitterness and only a touch of the good kind of astringency. :)

I’m updating my tea spreadsheet tonight. OMG. So many teas to add to it. D: Hopefully there will be a lot of teas to remove from it at some point as well…

After my really EXCELLENT experience with the Li Shan Black from Green Terrance, I was really looking forward to this tea. Sadly, I did not have a good experience. I tried it first gong fu @ 200F 30/30/1:00/1:30/2 and at first thought I would really enjoy it as it had a gorgeous peach-apricot aroma. Sadly, on tasting each steep was really bitter until the 5th when there wasn’t much left but a hay flavor.

I had enough (the samples are REALLY generous) to do a western style cup, so I tried a tablespoon in 10 ounces of 200F water. It wasn’t bitter this way, but tasted odd and I didn’t finish the cup.

I’m wondering if I got a flawed sample. I’m going to refrain from giving this a numerical rating.

This is such a unique tea! I don’t think I’ve tried anything like it before. The first thing I notice is how rich and dark it is. With just one sip, I notice thick and heavy notes of molasses. I’m reminded instantly of a gingerbread cake – soft, sweet and so distinct. This tea would be absolutely perfect for an evening cup during the holiday season. It really does bring to mind gooey, sticky, dripping molasses. Other cups I’ve had bring to mind a dark honey with stone fruits. I personally have to be in the mood for a tea like this as it’s so deeply specific, but it is very much a beauty. Many thanks to Green Terrace Teas for a sample. This has been a real treat to try!

Argh. Steepster ate my review.

I’ve been steeping this grandpa style all day. Let me walk you through the progression: Honey, sweet black, apricot, plum, malt…. at this point of the day I added some actual honey and it was sweet honey black the rest of the afternoon.

This tea makes me honey obsessed. I’ve been looking up teas with ‘honey’ in the name with the search bar. Any recommendations?

Free sample from Green Terrace – thank you.
Gongfu method
4g 100ml gaiwan 200F
Rinse/ 10/10/15/15/20/30 sec etc
Taiwanese teas are perfect for gongfu method. Lots of steeps, some flavors show up and disappear in next steep.
This tea is flavorful and malty. Apricots, plums, cherries and nuts detected. Some steeps I combined in one cup.
Thank you so much Green Terrace for letting me try this tea. It was fun.

One of the samples sent to me by Green Terrace Teas!

Method:
2tsp/10oz
Pre-boiling
Steep 1: 2min
Steep 2: 2min 15
Steep 3: 2min 45

Predominantly I’m getting thick, syrupy honey notes. They’re lovely and sweet without being cloying. There is a mild floral flavor in the background, along with some juicy, fruity tones in the foreground. Some people say peach, but to me, it’s apricot. I’m not quite sure how I make the distinction. There is an elusive winey/muscatel note that peeks out every now and then, but refuses to stick around. As soon as I notice it’s gone again! This tea is smooth, smooth, smooth. Like velvet. And creamy, too! Each sip finishes with notes of buttery, lightly toasted bread. Oats. Grain. Mostly fresh bread. Delicious…SO delicious. Butter, bread, and honey are the notes that linger behind after sipping.

The second steep is very similar to the first. Honey and pastry are at the fore, though a slightly floral element remains in the background. The fruit notes have smoothed out some—it seems that they’ve melded with the honey flavor. They’re not immediately evident. I have to look for them, and they’re a bit less tart. No muscatel here either. There is a distinctly caramel-like flavor that appears at the end of each sip. It’s coupled with a thick, creamy, ice-cream like taste. Vanilla custard! That’s it, or similar enough. Mmmm. It’s a little malty and it coats the tongue with sweetness. This cup was strong—much stronger than expected, given that the tea is so light. Well, let me clarify: the flavors found in the tea are light, but the texture and weight of the tea are not. It has me stymied but I LIKE it! I’m not usually a fan of “light” black teas, and the texture makes up for the “lightness” of flavor. These are flavors I find frequently in less oxidized teas.

In the third steep, the flavors mellowed and evened out a bit more. I still have intense honeymouth. It’s good, but not as layered or complex as previous infusions. (That or I’m just too tired to tell.) The leaves could probably be used at least once more. I wish I could continue, but it’s past my bedtime. (:

Marvelous, marvelous tea. I’m so glad I could try it!
I’m ordering this as soon as I get the chance.

Also: 100th TASTING NOTE!