Cameron B. select Send Message

346 Followers / 342 Following

Recommended

Cameron B. drank Organic Dian Hong Yunnan Black Tea by Dragon Tea House

4160 tasting notes

This sample is from cookies. She was very impressed with it and offered to send samples, which of course I took her up on. Hooray swaps! The leaves of this tea are somewhat long and quite twisty, and they’re mostly black with some medium brown places. The package smells a bit like lychee from the lychee tea that was also in the swap, but I’m not complaining. Smells yummy! :P

Steeped, this tea smells quite rich. It definitely has wheat bread notes, but there are also smoked meat and dark caramel scents. Hm, this is a very savory tea for me. It’s quite malty with strong bread and smoked meats flavors, as well as some sort of roasty presence. It has that thick mouthfeel that I find to be fairly typical of Yunnan teas, and just the smallest hint of stonefruits and honey. There’s a little touch of some sort of savory spice or herb that I can’t quite identify, but it seems to be somewhere between dill and something else. Overall, tasty, thanks cookies!

Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Herbs, Honey, Meat, Roasted, Smoked, Thick

Preparation

200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

I Like This

12 likes

0 comments

People who liked this

Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- November sipdowns: 9
- Total 2024 sipdowns: 152

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing