So this is my first gunpowder tea experience, I have to say, I’m not all that impressed. Right from the get-go, the smell of the leaves, I smelled a strong almost burnt green smell, it reminded me of bitter and earthy green tea, uh-oh.
I brewed the sample hot, 2.5 minutes, no additives. The smell of the tea is very green: vegetal, earthy, rough, a heavy smell that tells you the mouth feel will not be smooth or short. I usually like green tea, furthermore, I usually like overinfused and bitter green, but this is a different beast altogether. The taste of this tea starts as green, very bitter green, but there is an unpleasant smoky-ness to it, not like Lapsang Souchong, like unintentionally burned tea, followed by more bitter and finished with a strangely misplaced hit of sweetness. Surprisingly, there is no aftertaste.
So, bitter, burnt, bitter, sweet, nothing.
There are probably ways to fix this, adding sugar or messing with infusion times. Since my sample is out, I will have to try something else.
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Oh dear – I may skip this one!!!
Oh, I don’t want to put you off to it, prove me wrong! I wish I knew how to make it better and try it…
That sounds about right, about gunpowder I mean.
oh, ok :/
But! You should definitely try other ones. I mean I thought Dragonwell was salty… but then there was a sweet one. I think I remember this one being lighter, but gunpowder is supposedly “smokey.”
I just was not expecting the smoke, maybe if I had a better range of comparison, any recommendations?
Adagio’s Gunpowder is pretty decent and flavorful. Other than that I haven’t really had any other gunpowder aside from various Asian brands.
Thanks Ricky! I’ll give that one a shot on my next Adagio order
It’s the “ashtray” smokey that turns me off (as opposed to the smoky of Jackee Muntz which is more peaty/woodfire). I will give it a try for “science” :)
Haha, I hear you, I too enjoy the woodsy campfirey smoky tea, not the burnt smoky
I second Ricky’s Adagio Gunpowder suggestion. This one tasted a bit like wet cigarette to me but Adagio’s version has a nice vegetal sweetness along with a slight almost toasted taste that’s really nice.
Adagio for life
Oh dear – I may skip this one!!!
Oh, I don’t want to put you off to it, prove me wrong! I wish I knew how to make it better and try it…
That sounds about right, about gunpowder I mean.
oh, ok :/
But! You should definitely try other ones. I mean I thought Dragonwell was salty… but then there was a sweet one. I think I remember this one being lighter, but gunpowder is supposedly “smokey.”
I just was not expecting the smoke, maybe if I had a better range of comparison, any recommendations?
Adagio’s Gunpowder is pretty decent and flavorful. Other than that I haven’t really had any other gunpowder aside from various Asian brands.
Thanks Ricky! I’ll give that one a shot on my next Adagio order
It’s the “ashtray” smokey that turns me off (as opposed to the smoky of Jackee Muntz which is more peaty/woodfire). I will give it a try for “science” :)
Haha, I hear you, I too enjoy the woodsy campfirey smoky tea, not the burnt smoky
I second Ricky’s Adagio Gunpowder suggestion. This one tasted a bit like wet cigarette to me but Adagio’s version has a nice vegetal sweetness along with a slight almost toasted taste that’s really nice.
Adagio for life