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“This tea was harvested approximately a year ago. I bought 50 grams of it, and just today I prepared it Gong Fu for the first time. I am glad I did, as it went much better than the Western brewing...” Read full tasting note
Harvest: February 2025
Dark, needle-like, more robust leaves of chocolate brown color interwoven with golden tips.
Dry leaf sweetly spicy aroma of dried fruit with hints of vanilla and cocoa.
Thin to creamy velvety taste with a delicate sweetness, complemented by fruity tones of apricots and baked apples, mixed with mineral alpine freshness, which gives the infusion purity and a long aftertaste. With a stronger infusion, bitterness also stands out.
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This tea was harvested approximately a year ago. I bought 50 grams of it, and just today I prepared it Gong Fu for the first time. I am glad I did, as it went much better than the Western brewing method.
I preheated my gaiwan and my tea bowl, and used almost boiling water from my thermos, rinsing the leaves for about 5 seconds.
It seems the flavor profile has changed a lot. Today I noticed fruity notes, hints of cocoa and honey, and most importantly, it tasted smoky to me. Especially when the leaves were dry in the hot gaiwan, the smoke aroma was fairly strong! I don’t recall noticing that before at all, but it was fitting for this morning, which was cold and grey outside.
As for the flavors over several steeps (ranging from 10 to 60 seconds), I noticed honey, cocoa, and dark chocolate, but also hints of baked fruits (maybe apples?) and stone fruits. The smoke was detectable, but it added character and created a long mouthfeel. There was no bitterness, and astringency only appeared when oversteeped.
When I brewed this Western style, I thought it was an okay tea without much to offer and perhaps overpriced. But maybe I just had to let it “breathe” a bit or try a different method. Either way, when I finally finish this tea, I will say it was worth it.
I’ve never had this tea, but I had a sample of Da Xue Shan black tea from Derk a few years ago that was similarly jammy and fruity (and that also had memorable but not unpleasant notes of cat ppe). It was from Essence of Tea and I think it’s still available.
Actually, that was the reason why I have picked up this tea. Luckily, this one seems to have no of that notes.
I’m glad you got to try that tea. Like many other of Derk’s samples, it was memorable.
Ah, we maybe misunderstood each other. I haven’t tried that tea from Derk, but her review made me think I have to try that :)