This is probably going to be the last review I will post today since I am running short on time. I am still limited to only using the business office’s computer on which to do my writing, and it seems that I can now no longer make it into town without my parents giving me errands to run for them. Getting back on track here, this was another of my more recent sipdowns, as I finished my 50g pouch of this tea early last week. The Traditional Process Dian Hong is another of Yunnan Sourcing’s regular offerings that never seems to disappoint me, and this tea did not buck that trend. As a matter of fact, it did not even come close to bucking that trend.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds in 4 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 sconds, 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 buds emitted aromas of malt, honey, cedar, baked bread, cinnamon, dark chocolate, and sugarcane. After the rinse, I picked up aromas of roasted almond, eucalyptus, camphor, roasted peanut, black pepper, and anise. The first infusion brought out a clove aroma and a subtle vanilla scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, dark chocolate, roasted almond, roasted peanut, baked bread, and butter that were balanced by hints of roasted cashew, honey, sugarcane, and vanilla. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of earth, pine, juniper, lemon zest, banana, red apple, plum, roasted cashew, leather, orange zest, roasted walnut, and smoke. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of roasted cashew, honey, sugarcane, and vanilla came out in the mouth alongside impressions of earth, minerals, leather, smoke, cedar, pine, juniper, lemon zest, roasted walnut, red apple, orange zest, caramel, camphor, eucalyptus, leather, and molasses. Hints of cinnamon, clove, black pepper, eucalyptus, banana, red grape, plum, smoke, and anise could also be detected. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, cream, caramel, roasted cashew, roasted almond, baked bread, malt, vanilla, and butter that were chased by lingering hints of roasted peanut, honey, roasted walnut, sugarcane, lemon zest, orange zest, molasses, pine, camphor, and leather.
Feng Qing Dian Hong is almost always a complex, deep, and incredibly interesting tea, and that was certainly the case with this particular offering. I loved the way all of its aroma and flavor components worked together harmoniously, and I also must add that the tea liquor was appropriately full-bodied and richly textured in the mouth. Teas like this one, while providing a great overall drinking experience, would probably be too complex and demanding for someone just getting into Yunnan black teas, but for experienced drinkers, especially those who are established fans of Feng Qing teas, these are the sorts of offerings that are tremendously rewarding. If you are a fan of Feng Qing black teas, this is one to check out, and no, it really had not lost much of anything in storage.
Flavors: Almond, Anise, Black Pepper, Bread, Butter, Camphor, Caramel, Cedar, Cinnamon, Clove, Cream, Dark Chocolate, Earth, Eucalyptus, Grapes, Herbaceous, Honey, Leather, Lemon Zest, Malt, Mineral, Molasses, Nutty, Orange Zest, Peanut, Pine, Plum, Red Apple, Smoke, Sugarcane, Vanilla, Walnut
