June 14th, 2021 harvest
This was a sample provided by Thés du Japon in my joint buy with Leafhopper. I prepared it according to TDJ’s parameters, which differ from my usual 3g:300mL:3min for many black teas. TDJ recommends half of my typical water volume, so I opted to use a 200mL Taiwanese black clay teapot and eyeball the water level instead of my usual Western-style mason jar brewing. I have 2 different black clay teapots that hadn’t seen much use until I recently got into Japanese teas. They seem to work very well for these teas and I’m happy they’re getting the attention they deserve!
A powerful Japanese black tea, full of lively tannins but with no heaviness that upsets my body. The woody-floral-spicy aroma carries through into the mouth and presents strongly in retro-olfaction but does not linger for more than a few minutes. I think this is due to the tannic and drying, rather than coating, nature of the tea. The full flavor is malty-rosewoody with lesser dark-fruitiness and soft, warm cinnamon; an apple nuance. A fruity and light, buttery finish presents along with the return of the aroma. I accidentally steeped the second infusion for 15 minutes. It came out rather bitter, reminding me of violet candies, while still presenting some weakened characteristics of the first infusion.
The tea calls to mind the profile of What-Cha’s Taiwan Wild ‘Shan Cha’, the main difference between the two residing in the mouthfeel — this one has plenty of structure provided by the tannins, while the Wild ‘Shan Cha’ exhibits the smooth character of many Taiwanese blacks. This is a lovely black tea that I think would appeal to plenty of people , especially those who like to add a touch of milk, but it is not necessarily something I would seek out. For being grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers, I’m impressed with the result!
Flavors: Apple, Black Currant, Blackberry, Brisk, Butter, Chili, Cinnamon, Drying, Floral, Geranium, Honey, Malt, Muscatel, Rosewood, Spicy, Tannic, Vanilla, Violet, Woody
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
This sounds interesting, though perhaps a bit tannic for me.
TDJ offers steeping parameters for their black teas that produce more intense results than I prefer. Moving forward with the rest of these black teas, I will do my usual steeping.
There’s 3+ grams left of this sample that might produce a brew less tannic if prepared in a different way. Would you like to try it, or do you want to pass?
It depends on how much you like it and on what the other sample is. I’m always up for trying new teas, but feel free to keep it if it’s something you enjoy. :)
This sounds interesting, though perhaps a bit tannic for me.
TDJ offers steeping parameters for their black teas that produce more intense results than I prefer. Moving forward with the rest of these black teas, I will do my usual steeping.
There’s 3+ grams left of this sample that might produce a brew less tannic if prepared in a different way. Would you like to try it, or do you want to pass?
It depends on how much you like it and on what the other sample is. I’m always up for trying new teas, but feel free to keep it if it’s something you enjoy. :)