Grabbed a sample, so lets toss it in!
My leaf was mainly black, with only a couple leafs having golden hairs on them. Some people consider that to be an indicator of ‘low quality’ tea, but it also may not be such an indicator. Just something I thought to bring up.
7g, 180mL, 200F with a wash.
Dry Aroma: like other yunnan blacks. A little dark, with mainly burnt fruit notes. A bit of wood as well
Wet aroma: Dark, wet wood, oak, burnt apple, dried fruits, a bit smokey
Colour: A nice whiskey-orange, enters ruby red if you do longer steeps.
So onto the taste profile.
Texture: I’d say in between smooth and rough, and it’s very “coaty”. Really sticks to your mouth everywhere. A bit of astringency at the back of the tongue, but almost none in the throat nor tip of tongue at the first steeps. Afterwards, everything gets drier and drier.
Flavour: Quite smokey actually. Tastes very similar to the aroma: smokey, very slightly woody, but the dried/burnt fruit notes are pretty much hidden. The flavour isn’t complex nor bright, just feels a bit damp and flat.
On later steeps, the flavour is mainly a mild smokeyness with a bit of wet wood and a very very faint hint of dried prune.
If you’re in the mood for a mild smokey black tea, then this is one you might consider. But other than that, I can’t see anything special about it. The more you drink, the drier your mouth. Rather flat taste and doesn’t feel like it has much “life” to it like other teas. Not impressed with this tea, but again it’s decent if you want a mild smokey tea to sip.
Flavors: Burnt, Dried Fruit, Oak, Smoke, Wet Wood
