North Winds

2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 13

From yesterday! This was delicious, like drinking a toasted piece of good homemade whole-grain bread. And that’s all I have to say on the matter. :D

Received some grams from derk. I am not sure I got more than 3 grams I had… so not sure if it’s SIPDOWN or not. Either way, let’s find out how this tea is.

Meanwhile… I had today that awful oral exam of Economics of transport companies. Today, with a little help of accidentally opened papers, I have passed. I admit, I looked there and well there was an answer. But she asked, on purpose I assume, on different topics but related to those.

Anyway, back to the tea. I did two steeps. One, 3 minutes long in early afternoon, and now while I am writing those lines, I have second, 5 minutes long next to me. Both prepared western.

I remember way too vaguely the first one. I liked it, being mild and lightly woody, but that’s pretty much all. I wasn’t paying attention to it too much. I know, this tea doesn’t deserve it.

The second steep I have now, is smelling after rye. Rye bread. I kid you not, it is really reminding me a rye bread I had back in Finland! The taste is quite similar. The taste… a bit woody indeed; with some fruitiness I think? I don’t get typical DianHong cocoa notes, but nevertheless it’s great. The mouthfeel is great. Smooth, but with some texture beneath.

Aftertaste… well again a bit of that rye along with malt. To be honest, this steep is way better than first. The first was like… okay, smooth and woody, but now, I see why it’s that popular. Too bad it’s gone. But certainly, I enjoy it!

Woke up early enough to enjoy a few cups of tea outside as the sun rose. Seagulls socially distanced moving north, the black silhouettes of the twin redwoods towering into the brightening sky.

The dry leaf of North Winds smells rich, dark and dry with dark chocolate and wood and a medicinal, fruity-floral undertone of apricot-cherry-osmanthus. I’m greeted with a cocoa aroma with the same undertone of the dry leaf. The first thing I notice when sipping is the structure. It is full-bodied with balanced tannins and very mild dry bitterness. It condenses and closes in on the tongue. Following that is the taste, which embodies malt-wood-chocolate and a fruity midtone of apricot-cherry-plum. This tea is an excellent blend of Fujian and Yunnan black teas, a nice one to brace my senses for the coming day.

I said I would try a third western steep, and I did! This time I invited my husband to drink it with me. He was more a white/green/oolong/puerh fan but is coming around on black tea fast – as long as it is not astringent. This one isn’t astringent at all.

Yes, it is weaker. Of course it is. But it was well worth steeping again and my husband really liked it even though he had not tried the first two steeps. I thought he would like it since the Fujian component is a tea he has tried before and liked a lot.

It seemed perhaps a little creamier or thicker in mouthfeel and I think that is because the cocoa note was slightly lighter and the dian hong was coming out a little more.

Great tea. Thanks, derk!

Sipdown 6-2021
Such a delightful tea, and I enjoyed every cup that I drank. I have a Whispering Pines order coming, so I’m excited to explore some new flavors. I will miss this, though.

I like this one. Its got a flavor I have been enjoying, though if it gets too cool a little astringency shows up. I got 3 very good steeps out of the leaves yesterday.

For the most part is a mellow flavor, but I find I don’t really have a good vocabulary to describe it well.

I can see myself putting this into my normal rotation on at least a semi regular basis.

Sipdown. Keep in mind that I don’t have a well-developed palate for unflavored black teas, but to me this just seemed like a weaker version of Jabberwocky. It was still pleasant and I enjoyed the sample, but if I was purchasing again, I’d definitely go for the Jabberwocky.

The last time I tried this one, I was drinking the old version and I remember really enjoying it. It was on the strength of that cup that I bought a new bag (although after the switch to the new version), and I’m only just now getting around to trying it.

The dry leaf smells just like cocoa. In fact, I could have been convinced that I’d opened a tin of cocoa by mistake if I hadn’t been able to see what I was doing. It’s definitely tea, but SO chocolatey it’s almost unreal.

Once brewed, it’s still amazingly chocolatey! I added a splash of milk just because, although in all honesty it didn’t really need it. The flavour is predominantly chocolate and malt, with just a touch of berry sharpness right at the end of the sip. It seems simple, but it’s SO good. This one could easily become a comfort tea for me.

1 tsp, boiling water, 3.5 minutes. Splash of milk.

Sipdown also from August.
Bye to this delicious tea.

Also sipped down this fall: Georgia Natela’s Gold Standard Black Tea – What-Cha
Drink (Don’t Eat) Grapefruit Sugar Scrub Tea – 52 Teas
Lone Tree – Mandala tea
Black Beauty – Gong Fu Tea
Dragon’s Well – Gong Fu Tea
Phoenix Pearl – zen tea
Nepal Silver Oolong – What-Cha

I fell in love with this tea in Summer of 2014. I believe that batch was a combination of Fujian Black and Dian Hong. The first sip of this… damn the FB is not there. It is way more smokey/savory without the sweet deep chocolate note that I loved from FB. I quickly went to the website to see what was replacing the FB. Xiao Zhong, yep that would explain the smokey/savory note. I like it, but I am not as in love with it as I was with the Summer 2014 version. This is missing the sweetness of the other version and it seems a tad thinner than before, but without a side by side comparison I can’t say for sure. Still a wonderful tea, just a little different.