Alright, I’m just going to keep going. I’m in the mood. I might as well. This was another of my sipdowns from late last year. The 2018 Da Bo was one of the more pleasant surprises among Old Ways Tea’s 2018 black tea offerings, so I expected this one to impress as well, and it did.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick 5 second rinse, I steeped 5 grams of the loose tea leaves in 3 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 19 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.
Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, straw, pine, cedar, cinnamon, and sunflower seeds. New aromas of green wood, butter, bread, and malt came out after the rinse. The first infusion then added a nutmeg aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of roasted almond, sunflower seed, malt, bread, cream, roasted sweet potato, straw, pine, and cinnamon that were chased by subtler notes of roasted peanut, honey, red apple, pear, plum, nutmeg, and green wood. The majority of the subsequent infusions added aromas of cream, minerals, moss, oats, and raisin to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediate notes of roasted peanut, honey, red apple, and nutmeg emerged in the mouth along with impressions of minerals, moss, oats, raisin, and orange zest. I noted hints of grass, cedar, blackberry, mulberry, and black cherry in the mix as well. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized mineral, malt, cream, oat, bread, roasted almond, sunflower seed, butter, and green wood notes that were balanced by lingering traces of cinnamon, straw, orange zest, grass, cedar, roasted peanut, raisin, and red apple.
This was a unique Wuyi black tea. Many black teas from Wuyishan have pronounced chocolate, honey, and dark, rich fruity notes, but this tea leaned heavily on woody, nutty, savory, and grainy characteristics while also frequently emphasizing texture over aroma or flavor. It was a very subtle tea and often a bit challenging to dissect. Once I developed a feel for it though, it was very rewarding. I’d definitely recommend it to experienced drinkers of Wuyi black teas looking for something a little different.
Flavors: Almond, Blackberry, Bread, Butter, Cedar, Cherry, Cinnamon, Cream, Fruity, Grass, Green Wood, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Moss, Nutmeg, Nutty, Oats, Orange Zest, Peanut, Pear, Pine, Plum, Raisins, Red Apple, Straw, Sweet Potatoes
