BOTD: Black Of The Day

[Proinsias]

Not my black tea of the day as I had it a few weeks ago but forgot to mention.

Drinking some of Tim's yiwu today reminded me of it. Thought I should mention.

Wuyi Jin Jun Mai, 2nd grade.

Possbily the greatest tea to have ever passed my lips, and that's the 2nd grade.

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. To my tastes this stuff is truly spectacular.

It's only available in 7g samples, I got a freebie with a recent order, but well worth trying.

When my wallet is feeling better I'll by trying some of the 1st grade

http://www.themandarinstearoom.com/jin-jun-mai_c_23.html

 

[arghblech]

Jingteashop's Every Day Keemun. This stuff isn't bad even though I don't prefer black teas.

 

[arghblech]

2009 Yunnan Pure Small Bud "Gold Tips"

 

[Maduro 5]

Earl Grey Yin Zhen by Dammann. I picked up 100 mg tin on business in Moscow. Loved it.

 

[arghblech]

I picked up 100 mg tin on business in Moscow.

That's a mighty small tin!

 

[SiBurning]

Sungma SFTGFOP1 1st Flush Organic (No. 114) single-estate Darjeeling from Special Teas.

Light, astringent, woody, with citrus and a hint of floral overtones. It's a delicate, complex tea that balances nicely with a dash of sugar. The flavors seem to beg for honey, promising to layer gentle spice and lemony hints above the complexity of honey, but the delicacy of the tea doesn't stand up, so I stick with a tiny pinch of sugar.

This is the most difficult tea I've tried. The recommended 195F and 2-3 minutes steep time is too harsh for this tea. 185-190 and short infusions, gungfu style, pay off better, but also result in a somewhat weaker brew. For a richer, more concentrated drink, perhaps a second flush is warranted. There's some wonderful flavor here, but after several attempts, I have trouble bringing it out without getting bitterness.

 

[mdevine]

This morning, I started with a China black "gunpowder" tea from Upton Teas. It is a full, rounded and bright tea with hints of nutmeg and chocolate. This evening, I'm enjoying a cup of China Wu Yi Oolong "Water Fairy" tea. I get some floral and apricot notes with this one. I have a large family and we routinely meet at my house after church every Sunday for donuts and tea. The gunpowder tea is universally liked and is one of the group's favorites. The Water Fairy tea gets mixed reviews. There have been several other oolongs that are preferred. The black tea that has been requested the most is now unavailable. Several family members try to avoid caffeine and it can be hard to find flavorful decaffeinated teas. Upton sold a Kenyan BOP that stacked up to any caffeinated tea and was relatively inexpensive to boot. Every couple of months I'll peruse their web site to see if it is back in stock, but I think the days of their decaf Kenyan BOP are long gone.

 

[arghblech]

Steve's Yunnan Pure Small Bud "Gold Tips"

 

[arghblech]

Steve's Yunnan Pure Small Bud "Gold Tips". Same as yesterday. I think I only have one partial session remaining.

 

[Proinsias]

Qimen, from either teaspring or jing. Lovely.

Thought I'd try it in the pot I usually use for darjeeling, worked a treat. Didn't please the gods though, after a few years of good brewing it is now lying in pieces all over the floor

Probably won't bother trying darjeeling in the qimen pot.

 

[Proinsias]

viewer discretion advised:

Spoiler

 

[Proinsias]

Qimen again, hopefully without the drama of yesterday.

 

[shah8]

YS Banna Black Gold.

Mostly big leaf with only a few gold buds.

Very mild tasting with standard Yunnan black taste with the spicy toned down and butter way up. Has plenty of a kind of sweet aftertaste that hits the side of the tongues. Good for easy going tea, while you do something else, like work.

 

[netsurfr]

viewer discretion advised:

Spoiler

As Ouch would say, OUCH! Sorry for your loss...

 

[shah8]

Had an excellent teaday today...

Assam for breakfast. It was malty as it should be.
Kuzhushan+yiwu before midafternoon snack. A successful experiment with many tasty brews
Banna black tea from YS. My previous brew was very buttery. I let it brew longer and it was fruity in an herbal way. A pleasant surprise.
Ziyun for my post dinner shu. Got the best out of that brick this time. Very fragrant and very sweet-tasting.

To top it all off, read a bunch of MattCha and enjoyed a newish blog in french...
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translat...tea.blogspot.com/&lp=fr_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

 

[shah8]

Zhu Hai Jing Ming...

Lasted 10+ brews, tasted a bit aged and sweet, and laid a walloping amount of qi for a black tea.

 

[arghblech]

09 Yunnan Pure Small Bud Gold Tips.

 

[shah8]

No pu but dinner shu today...

1) Jin Die Hunan gold ring buds from Camillia Sinesis. This is another of my older black teas. Mostly empty, without any improvement like the Yunnan gold buds.

2) My oolong of the day was a jammed packed 12.4gm of Houde's Ban Tian Yao. Stomach complained, but it was really good, especially in the later brews. Finished off the bag.

3) I decided, after lunch, to do another session of Yin Jun Mei (the non Zhenshan stuff). The aroma was marvelous, and the taste is pretty good too, but it was quite uncomplicated and very candy sweet. There was a little tang, but too insipid for me. Very smooth and leaves a ton of tastes on the mouthparts which lasts for about an hour. The tastes aren't as beautiful as a high-end puerh with magic, like YQH. Just kinda sweet with nothing coming from the throat. I did like it, but at $22/50gms, it costs about as much as a pretty nice Wuyi, and while it's smooth and appealing with a booming fragrance of dark chocolate and everything, it's just too smooth. When I ask Lochan et al for an assam, I explicitly ask for something that's not too smooth, with too many buds. This one isn't shifty enough to really hold my attention. Wonder what the real stuff is like. I bet it's got real throat power and qi like those Tea Bank ceylons I have.

 

[arghblech]

Oolongs go in the oolong thread. Shu goes in the shu thread.

 

[shah8]

Bah!

People should be allowed run-on thoughts! Two black teas to one oolong (and who cares about shu, anyways?) and my tea days goes here...SO THERE!! PTHSBBBBBBBBBBBBBB