I’m still working my way through a lot of the samples I have accumulated over the course of the year. I ended up with a 10 gram sample of this black tea over the summer, put it on the back burner, and then broke it open last night. I find that I dread Christmas more and more every year, and as usual, I had difficulty sleeping last night, so I ended up staying up late and drinking tea. When I finally did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning, I paired this tea with a late breakfast. I found this one to be a very smooth, enjoyable black tea overall.
I prepared this tea Western style. Rather than shortening my initial steep time and attempting multiple infusions, I decided to keep my approach simple and performed a single extended infusion as recommended by the vendor. I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes.
Prior to infusion, I noted that the dry tea leaves emitted a mild aroma of raisins. After infusion, I immediately noted smooth aromas of apricot, raisins, sweet potato, and brown sugar underscored by faintly herbal, woody scents. In the mouth, mild notes of malt, wood, sweet potato, brown sugar, herbs, raisin, plum, and apricot gave way to a wonderfully smooth finish dominated by notes of raisin and brown sugar that lingered for a substantial amount of time.
As mentioned earlier, I really liked this black tea. Its aroma and flavor profiles are unique compared to many of the more widely available black teas on the market. While it may not have the most robust flavor, the aftertaste is simply heavenly and worth the price of admission alone. My limited experience also indicates that this tea can lend itself to pairing with food, so it is not a tea that is necessarily limited to being consumed on its own. I think that I can safely recommend this one to fans of smooth, fruity black teas or those looking for a rather unique drinking experience.
Flavors: Apricot, Brown Sugar, Herbs, Malt, Plum, Raisins, Sweet Potatoes, Wood
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Sounds divine. Putting it on my wish list.
Unfortunately, it’s out of stock at the moment. After trying this for the first time, I immediately wished I had bought more, went back to get a larger amount, and found it was no longer available. What-Cha seems to regularly offer Azerbaijani green and black teas though, so more should hopefully be on the way in the near future.
I can also vouch for many of their other black teas. Alistair does a great job sourcing teas from less obvious locales. I’ve enjoyed some of the Russian, Georgian, and Vietnamese black teas offered by What-Cha. Many of the Indian teas they offer are strong too. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I spent part of the day drinking their Darjeeling Gopaldara Red Thunder Gold and it was truly lovely. I don’t often find myself feeling the need to resteep Darjeelings, but I just had to try it with that one.
I see a Darjeeling day in my near future. What I have experienced with What-Cha teas has been memorable. I can’t justify another order at the moment. The tea mountains here are way out of control.
In my last What-Cha order, Alistair put together quite a splendid assortment for me. He does an excellent job and I believe in supporting what I want to see more of in the world.
I have the same issue with tea mountains. I’m about halfway through the two cabinets, but I have two small storage totes to work on after that. I’m not too concerned about it though. One thing I’m finding is that many people undershoot the life span of properly stored tea. I feel like I can get through everything within the next year.
I am hoping you are right about the life span of my various mountains. I will be needing to be attentive and steeping 24/7 for quite some time.
I have found that the ones with which I need to be most attentive are green teas and lightly oxidized oolongs. Black teas are variable, but I have yet to have a problem.
Sadly, or happily, it is the black teas that beckon me most these days. I was on a green and then an oolong trend and now I am back on black.
Sounds divine. Putting it on my wish list.
Unfortunately, it’s out of stock at the moment. After trying this for the first time, I immediately wished I had bought more, went back to get a larger amount, and found it was no longer available. What-Cha seems to regularly offer Azerbaijani green and black teas though, so more should hopefully be on the way in the near future.
I can also vouch for many of their other black teas. Alistair does a great job sourcing teas from less obvious locales. I’ve enjoyed some of the Russian, Georgian, and Vietnamese black teas offered by What-Cha. Many of the Indian teas they offer are strong too. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I spent part of the day drinking their Darjeeling Gopaldara Red Thunder Gold and it was truly lovely. I don’t often find myself feeling the need to resteep Darjeelings, but I just had to try it with that one.
I see a Darjeeling day in my near future. What I have experienced with What-Cha teas has been memorable. I can’t justify another order at the moment. The tea mountains here are way out of control.
In my last What-Cha order, Alistair put together quite a splendid assortment for me. He does an excellent job and I believe in supporting what I want to see more of in the world.
I have the same issue with tea mountains. I’m about halfway through the two cabinets, but I have two small storage totes to work on after that. I’m not too concerned about it though. One thing I’m finding is that many people undershoot the life span of properly stored tea. I feel like I can get through everything within the next year.
I am hoping you are right about the life span of my various mountains. I will be needing to be attentive and steeping 24/7 for quite some time.
I have found that the ones with which I need to be most attentive are green teas and lightly oxidized oolongs. Black teas are variable, but I have yet to have a problem.
Sadly, or happily, it is the black teas that beckon me most these days. I was on a green and then an oolong trend and now I am back on black.