996 Tasting Notes
At 4 years of age, this tea is somewhat muted in its presentation. There is a pungent aroma, which at times reminds me of strawberries and wood cabinet. The tasty is simple and foresty with a strong warming character. The aftertaste is long, a bit sugary and constrictive.
Flavors: Fir, Forest Floor, Herbaceous, Strawberry, Sugar, Wood
Preparation
A pretty sweet black tea with a pleasant texture and very little bitterness or astringency. Its aroma reminds me of cranberries, malt, wood, and dates. The taste has notes of chocolate, fruits (nectarine), seaweed. It is sweet, malty, foresty, and a bit savoury with a cooling presence. The aftertaste is also pretty sweet, with notes such as honey and guava.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cooling, Cranberry, Dates, Fruity, Guava, Honey, Malt, Nectarine, Rainforest, Seaweed, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
A full bodied and still very flavourful tea with a powerful warming energy. It has a thick buttery mouthfeel and an overall foresty character. Specific notes include apple, spinach, fern, candies and mint early on, while stone fruits and pine appear later. Especially stronger infusions really give a strong vibe of a pine forest, both in the aromas and the bittersweet taste.
Flavors: Apple, Bitter, Bittersweet, Buttery, Candy, Herbaceous, Mint, Pine, Sap, Spicy, Spinach, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Wood
Preparation
At this point, the tea is not very exciting overall. The flavours are somewhat muted, and there is also some surt of off-putting taste to it. Moreover, I don’t really enjoy the sort of bitterness it has when overbrewed, which reminds me of an overbrewed mint tea.
Nevertheless, it is still a very much drinkable white tea and I am interested in how it develops further.
At the moment, some notes I get are celery, hay, chicken broth, snail meat, and various herbs.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Celery, Chicken Soup, Hay, Meat, Mint, Sour
Preparation
A lovely tea with plenty of bitterness without being overpowering. It also has a thick, creamy mouthfeel, herbal aromas (thyme flowers), and juicy fruity flavours. These include hints of sugarcane, citrus fruits, apricot, black currants, raspberries, and plums.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apricot, Bitter, Black Currant, Citrus, Creamy, Flowers, Herbal, Juicy, Malt, Plum, Raspberry, Sugarcane, Thick, Thyme
Preparation
[Spring 2024 harvest]
A superb black tea, which is more bitter and complex, and less sweet, than most other dian hongs. I also notice a pretty strong and focusing cha qi.
It smells vegetal with a strong molasses note. The taste is bitter, medicinal, and herbaceous, but also pretty smooth and fragrant. There are flavours of cocoa, malt, menthol, and gin. The long-lasting buttery and perfumy aftertaste also brings notes of peach and coffee.
Flavors: Alcohol, Bitter, Butter, Cocoa, Coffee, Herbaceous, Malt, Medicinal, Menthol, Molasses, Peach, Perfume, Smooth, Vegetal
Preparation
This tea has a thick mouthfeel and a very pleasant taste. The range of flavours covers fruits (nectarine, berries), burnt food, malt, alcohol, tree bark, cinnamon, and others.
Flavors: Alcohol, Bark, Berries, Burnt Food, Cinnamon, Fruity, Malt, Nectarine, Pungent, Sour, Thick
I now notice light smoke in the vegetal aroma of this tea. After rinse, I also get a fragrance of overripe peaches and apricots.
The first steep is sweet with notes of honey, sand, bitter vegetables. Later I also get flavours of alcohol, yeast, peach, and wood.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apricot, Bitter, Earth, Honey, Peach, Sand, Smoke, Sweet, Vegetal, Wood, Yeast
[Spring 2024 harvest]
I enjoy this years flush a lot. It has a pungent yet delicate aroma of nuts, florals, and hay, as well as hints of orchid and pak choi. The tea has decent umami and bitterness, it is very tasty overall.
Flavors: Bitter, Bok Choy, Floral, Hay, Nutty, Orchid, Umami
