Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Black Tea

Another sample from the generous Angel!

Before brewing this (Western style for me), I had finished a mug of the Superfine Keemun Mao Feng that I have recently been super impressed by.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of a “red black” tea.

First sip, I was surprised at how…sour (?) it seemed to taste on my tongue!

Not BAD, but nowhere near as sweet as the aforementioned Keemun.

It was a light color, and it had sort of a strange taste that felt somehow familiar to me, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. The closest I came was like kind of a bitter raisins taste. But I’m not entirely sure.

I appreciate the opportunity to try this one, but it’s not one I would purchase.
Perhaps gong fu style would make a big difference overall.

I’m not rating this time around because I feel like I need to try my second sample first :)

Thank you to Angel at TeaVivre for the generous sample!

Dry: Longer twisty dark leaves, though much lighter to touch and almost wiry in the bag. They make an elegant sight in the stainless steel infuser and the fragrance is attractive with a hint of cocoa and heady malt.

Steeped: Brewed this Western style in spring water, the tea takes on a mahogany clear liquor. The scent is warming still with a hint of something chocolate, but with added wood and mineral playing around the edges. I did not expect these notes from the dry leaf, so we will see what happens.

Taste: While it is still quite pleasant, I think I was looking for something more striking initially from the steeped aromas. Steeped at 1 min and then at 3 minutes, the taste of the tea is somewhat muted overall. I don’t really detect any cocoa on the palate, but after 3 minutes, there are flavors that remind me distinctly of walking in the woods after it rains. I grew up in the tropics, so the smell may be different for me than for someone that grew up in the North. Do you know what I am taking about? There is a fragrance that develops when the raindrops land on the trees and the earth and this also has a flavor of wood with mineral, malt, and flowers. I had to sit and think about it for a while before I could put my finger on what I was tasting, though the tea is outstandingly smooth. Of the two Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong teas I’ve tasted, I find the Ancient Wild Tree Black Tea to be superior in presence so far. That is not to say I am not thoroughly enjoying this cup, but it is less striking on the palate overall. Next time I may try 3-5 minutes for the initial steep and see if I can coax more flavor out of these pretty leaves. I still suspect this tea has more secrets to share.. for those willing to listen. Happy Tuesday Steepster friends! :)

I am enjoying a long session with this tea this morning and noticing some very nice honey notes in later infusions. Yummy for Saturday morning.

Thank you Angel for this sample.

In appearance the leaves are: dark brown, thin and curly with some golden tips present. Also has stick/stem pieces. It has a sweet wood and malt scent with a touch of cocoa and smoke.

Once steeped the colour is golden red/brown and bares a rich but sweet malt scent with sour cocoa and fresh wood.

Flavour is medium in strength with sweet malt tones that lighten to reveal fig and prune notes. The fruit lingers in the after taste with some wood and dryness. As it cools it becomes slightly more sour and smoky.

Overall: Other than some sourness it is rather smooth and lightly creamy which makes the delicious malt and fruit flavours linger. Strength remained consistent and pleasing.

I don’t think I’ve reviewed this tea yet! It was a free sample from the lovely Angel at Teavivre from a while back, I think in my second round of free samples. Thank you for all the lovely teas!!

Onto the review! This one smells very chocolatey in dry form. I steeped it with ~194 degree water for 2 minutes. This may have been too light for my tastes, as the steeped smell is a faint floral aroma but very light and fresh, almost a fruit note in there as well.

As for the flavor, wow this is such a light tea for a black tea! It is super mellow, with the only really discernible notes being something floral and something sweet, almost like a marshmallow, in the aftertaste. As it cools, the marshmallow flavor takes on more honey notes. The middle notes are definitely floral, and to my palate there is a slight linen note at the first sip. It is quite bizarre, as it’s a light tea but there definitely is caffeine in here, I feel a warming buzz coming over me.

Overall, this is a different type of black tea than I’m used to, but I am really enjoying it because it’s so light and sweet. I may try brewing it a bit stronger next time, or if I resteep these leaves, to see if I get a bit more prominent flavor. But this is a nice light tea on this sunny morning. It feels more like an afternoon tea, one to have with light pastries in a flower garden. I wish it was still summer now :( haha, but a very tasty tea! Thanks again Teavivre for the free samples!

ETA – as it cools, the texture becomes a bit maltier, and notes of milk chocolate are coming out in the middle of the sip. Strong linen like notes to milky cocoa to marshmallow/honey – this tea is confusing, but it all works. I am enjoying this!

I ordered this sample with my TeaVivre order. I figured since this was the only one of their Dian Hongs that I hadn’t tried, I should order a sample. The leaves are extremely dark, and they’re long and twisty. They kind of remind me of a smaller-scale version of the “creepy tree branch” Taiwanese teas. Dry scent is sweet honey with malt and some cocoa notes. I did a 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

The brewed aroma is quite light, with grainy bread and honey scents. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed with this tea brewed western-style… It was kind of just vaguely bready/grainy with a little bit of honey and a bit of a mineral note. And overall, it felt kind of dusty in my mouth, like it should have been rinsed first. I’m thinking this tea either needs to be steeped longer, or it just doesn’t lend itself well to western style preparation. I’ll definitely try it gong fu style when I get the gaiwan that I ordered recently. For now, I’m not going to rate this.

Backlog:

This is an AMAZING black tea. As I said in my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/04/28/nonpareil-yunnan-dian-hong-chinese-red-black-tea-teavivre/ this is one of those “memorable” type of black teas that I think every tea lover should try!

Thick, silky and full-flavored. Notes of dark, bittersweet chocolate with a caramel-y undertone. (Hey, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and caramel, can you?) There is also a rich, bake-y, cake-y like flavor to it, like a freshly baked loaf of bread. Mmm!

Malty. Very, very little astringency. If you’re someone who shies away at the mere mention of astringency, I think you’ll find this tea very much to your liking. This tea reminds me a lot of Dawn from the Simple Leaf. I miss that tea … but this one makes a suitable substitute for that extraordinary tea as this too is quite extraordinary!

Several months ago Angel at Teavivre sent me five black teas to review. If I had known how absolutely nummy this one is, it wouldn’t have taken me until now to try it out! It’s slightly toasty, with a rich, creamy maltiness that I can just sink into. This tea is a new favorite, and hopefully I can talk hubby into getting me some for my next birthday!

For some pretty pictures, you can visit my blog at:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2014/07/nonpareil-yunnan-dian-hong-chinese-red.html

Backlog from yesterday:

Maybe I was really spoiled from last week’s sample of Premium Taiwanese Assam from the GCTTB3, but I didn’t enjoy this tea as much as I had the first time around. I think I messed up the steeping parameters on this one, as the flavour wasn’t as deep or fruity as hoped it would be. It was a bit more leathery this time.

When I think of nonpareil, I think of sno-caps….those little chocolate candies you get at the movies that have the white beady-balls on one side. With this tea, the similarity isn’t very far off with the chocolate note, but this simplistic comparison needs to end here, because this is one complex tea!
The dry leaf had a chocolate and woodsy note that was surprising when expecting a usual Dian Hong (or at least something like it!) After a 5 minutes steep western-style, the liquid was a beautiful golden amber color, not the mahogany I was expecting after smelling the leaf! This tea smells organic….and what I mean by organic is “of the earth”. The taste was also very organic with a dark woodsy note coming to the forefront, then warm hay, wheat….then cocoa, flowers, and a touch of parched earth. It certainly doesn’t taste like any other teas I’ve had before! There is also a slight astringency, that makes you want another sip…and another, and another…..
(5 minutes later)
Now that I’ve had some time over this cup to change my expectations (from Dian Hong to the unexpected), I can understand why this is a considered to be a coveted tea. Reminiscent of Bailin Gongfu, this is a deep, rich, multi-layered tea. The bottom and mid-notes of dark wood, earth, chocolate and hay marry well with the floral and wheat top notes. It almost seems like a “Man’s tea” …. A great deep flavored cuppa for sitting on a small fishing boat on an early chilly foggy morning, not being in any kind of hurry for the fish to bite. Nonpariel Yunnan Dian Hong Chinese Red Black Tea is an unusual, extraordinary cup for when you’re craving the unusual, extraordinary places that a cup of tea can take us. Recommended!