I admit I purchased this tea out of curiousity, a purchase review stated that it was a tea they had been looking for and had finally found after trying 30 suppliers. I was wondering what would be the draw for this person. Having had it using gongfu method twice I can say this is an intensely sweet and resilient black tea. I got many steeps with stewed apricot citrus and sweet cherry notes mixed with molasses on top and a nice deep base with cocoa, malt, and coffee, mixed with leather and earth. At times there are mole spice notes of cinnamon, chili and thyme, and baked goods notes ranging from charred crust to butter pastry. The tea is intensely sweet in its early steeps. It almost gave me a sugar headache! Altogether quite enjoyable.
http://instagram.com/p/uwBBJoGK_r/
It can be found here:
Sample sizes: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Promotion-of-high-grade-tea-Yunnan-Dianhong-2014-2-bags-Free-shipping-Buy-more-get-more/723612_2012109496.html
The dry leaf smells of fruit and cocoa and are mostly long flat blades with a mix of golden buds and longer dark chocolate brown blades at about a 50/50 mix.
I used 2.5g of leaves in a 140ml gaiwan at 95°C.
The tea had a red toned copper, slightly peachy colour with a yellow gold ring around the edges.
45s Scent: cocoa,hints of smoke and roasted notes, stewed fruits, apricot, red fruit and citrus notes.
Sweet and spicy up front with cocoa and darker malt notes underneath with molasses and hints of roasted notes with a touch of char. Stewed apricots, hints of citrus, and sweeter red fruits up front. It’s interesting because I under leafed this yesterday (2.5g/200ml) and got more leather, earth notes which are pretty well hidden in this steep and the tea was brisker. There is a faint hint of leather in the deeper base notes. Savoury spice notes, hinting at a mole sauce with cinnamon, hints of thyme and chili. In general very sweet with a rich deep base that may appeal to coffee and shou puerh drinkers. The tea has a good dose of caffeine and a hint of briskness with a thick rich texture on the tongue.
30s scent: similar to above with stronger malt tones
Cocoa,molasses,apricot, hints of sweet cherry,less citrus, malt, hints of charred crust,creamy buttery pastry, hints of coffee, mole spice, very sweet lingering aftertaste. Thick dense texture on the tongue with a light briskness creating a cooling texture on the tongue.
40s. Scent: cocoa, red fruit, molasses, malt, apricot, hints of pastry.
Cocoa, apricot, red fruits, citrus notes, molasses, malt, butter pastry, coffee , mole spice and hints of earth and leather, less intensely sweet.
60s indistinct cocoa, molasses, fruit mix.
Apricot, cocoa, molasses ( very sweet again), hints of butter pastry, coffee, malt, cinnamon, hints of earth and leather, and a tarter cherry note.
100s. Scent similar to above
Tarter with malt and red fruit, cocoa, fading molasses, citrus notes some cinnamon.
160s. Similar to above with a slight grain note and some briskness.
240s weakening with molasses fruit and artichoke.
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yay! thanks for the great review!
Yes, great review! :)
haha, I went to aliexpress site but got overwhelmed so had to stop looking – so many choices!
caile…that’s also why i just live vicariously though yyz’s tasting notes…and sometimes dexter
Agreed, detailed and nice.
Caile, aliexpress can be overwhelming very true but it can also offer many great opportunities. My advice either attack it with a purpose, is a specific tea, or narrow your search is use x tea sort by price check for sales etc. Then if you find something take the keywords from the description to check for the best price:-). Ali has allowed me to buy directly from farmers, to find out detailed info about tea types and growing regions, and to try new things at good prices. I wouldn’t be afraid of it ( except for the possibility of addiction:-)). As for Han Xiang he started out with mostly Fujian teas but has added more and more Yunnan teas. The 1.99 samples are a good place to start. If buying larger sizes ask him questions and let him know if you are ordering a number of teas he’ll often offer you further discount. He’s reduced my order by 10.00 before even when one of the teas was already on sale.
for me aliexpress is like walking in to target on black friday when they’re selling things at 1$….
That tea sounds so complex. I’m really curious to try it. I set up an Aliexpress account some time ago but never used it. Just not sure how the whole thing worked compared to EBay .
Ubacat there are similarities, in fact there are sellers and agents that sell on both platforms. Sellers set up stores, transactions are processed by Aliexpress ( all of my transactions have been processed in the uk) and the system is set up in a way that it is supposed to offer some protection to both parties. Buyer protection is extended for a certain number of days. If you haven’t received the item within that time or if you are trying to resolve an issue with an item with the seller you can request that the seller extend the time period. Most sellers will do this as the do not want to have to go through a dispute process. Once you receive the item you confirm acceptance and you have a certain number of days to Raye a transaction. In Aliexpress 5 stars means that the transaction went as expected or if there was a hickup the seller resolved in an acceptable way and you are happy with everything 4 stars is when you got the product but something about the transaction was dissapointing. 3 stars or below is generally reserved for unacceptable service, unhappy disputes, misleading or unacceptable products etc. Generally most sellers will try to resolve any issues with you before you leave a rating so I have never had a need to leave a negative one. There is a new alipay system which is meant to be like PayPal. I haven’t tried it yet. The Cc transactions have been fine for me. Otherwise, if you have any questions it pays to ask them before buying. I. General though I have been happy with my transactions and I have bought some nice teas. Don’t discount sellers who sell tea as a side to their main business. I have got good products from these sellers as well. At times they are selling tea they or their family produce themselves.
Thanks yyz, that’s good advice and I will certainly give it a try. I think I’ll try to start out small, and the samples look like a good way to begin my exploration. :-)
lol That’s the temptation, Sil!
i know..i know.. but its overwhelming for me
Thanks for all the advice yyz! I did go on and log in. That seller has some nice samples. Do you find your credit card is secure on Aliexpress?
Sil, I know there’s so much! Even on Ebay. All I have been doing on Ebay is mostly going with recommended sellers.
I’ve never had a problem. Your credit card info is handled by Aliexpress and sellers don’t have access to it.
yay! thanks for the great review!
Yes, great review! :)
haha, I went to aliexpress site but got overwhelmed so had to stop looking – so many choices!
caile…that’s also why i just live vicariously though yyz’s tasting notes…and sometimes dexter
Agreed, detailed and nice.
Caile, aliexpress can be overwhelming very true but it can also offer many great opportunities. My advice either attack it with a purpose, is a specific tea, or narrow your search is use x tea sort by price check for sales etc. Then if you find something take the keywords from the description to check for the best price:-). Ali has allowed me to buy directly from farmers, to find out detailed info about tea types and growing regions, and to try new things at good prices. I wouldn’t be afraid of it ( except for the possibility of addiction:-)). As for Han Xiang he started out with mostly Fujian teas but has added more and more Yunnan teas. The 1.99 samples are a good place to start. If buying larger sizes ask him questions and let him know if you are ordering a number of teas he’ll often offer you further discount. He’s reduced my order by 10.00 before even when one of the teas was already on sale.
for me aliexpress is like walking in to target on black friday when they’re selling things at 1$….
That tea sounds so complex. I’m really curious to try it. I set up an Aliexpress account some time ago but never used it. Just not sure how the whole thing worked compared to EBay .
Ubacat there are similarities, in fact there are sellers and agents that sell on both platforms. Sellers set up stores, transactions are processed by Aliexpress ( all of my transactions have been processed in the uk) and the system is set up in a way that it is supposed to offer some protection to both parties. Buyer protection is extended for a certain number of days. If you haven’t received the item within that time or if you are trying to resolve an issue with an item with the seller you can request that the seller extend the time period. Most sellers will do this as the do not want to have to go through a dispute process. Once you receive the item you confirm acceptance and you have a certain number of days to Raye a transaction. In Aliexpress 5 stars means that the transaction went as expected or if there was a hickup the seller resolved in an acceptable way and you are happy with everything 4 stars is when you got the product but something about the transaction was dissapointing. 3 stars or below is generally reserved for unacceptable service, unhappy disputes, misleading or unacceptable products etc. Generally most sellers will try to resolve any issues with you before you leave a rating so I have never had a need to leave a negative one. There is a new alipay system which is meant to be like PayPal. I haven’t tried it yet. The Cc transactions have been fine for me. Otherwise, if you have any questions it pays to ask them before buying. I. General though I have been happy with my transactions and I have bought some nice teas. Don’t discount sellers who sell tea as a side to their main business. I have got good products from these sellers as well. At times they are selling tea they or their family produce themselves.
Thanks yyz, that’s good advice and I will certainly give it a try. I think I’ll try to start out small, and the samples look like a good way to begin my exploration. :-)
lol That’s the temptation, Sil!
i know..i know.. but its overwhelming for me
Thanks for all the advice yyz! I did go on and log in. That seller has some nice samples. Do you find your credit card is secure on Aliexpress?
Sil, I know there’s so much! Even on Ebay. All I have been doing on Ebay is mostly going with recommended sellers.
I’ve never had a problem. Your credit card info is handled by Aliexpress and sellers don’t have access to it.