A lovely, full-bodied-but-subtle tea. Warming and wintery. This ‘premium grade Chinese Keemun’ black tea was the perfect thing to get me into the working day after a freezing dawn surf!
Aroma: Subtle woody smoke and roast capsicum. Iodine and a hint of pine needle. Some fleeting stone fruit.
Palate: A complex but subtle mix of wood, smoke and earth – which sounds overpowering but is anything but in this tea (and perhaps due to my short steeping time). Light but lingering rose petal and lychee notes and a delicate sweetness. This tea has a nice depth without being tannic, and a great balance of deep and floral characteristics. Second steeping (1min 30sec @ 100*c) is still nicely balanced but loses some of the complexity and floral notes, with woodiness predominating.
Overall: This tea has all the attributes I love in a Chinese black tea: the subtle dark cloak of smokiness, wood and earth, giving way to a bouquet of floral fruity notes. The floral and fruity notes are admittedly less pronounced than other premium Chinese black teas in this style. Not the most outstanding tea of this style, but remarkably elegant tea for the price. A great find!
$18/100g
Flavors: Floral, Iodine, Lychee, Smoke, Wood
