When I first started getting into tea, I bought a lot of random things to discover what I liked. I relegated the teas that weren’t to my taste to the back of my cupboard and stored them in the hope that my palate would evolve to appreciate them. This has sometimes happened (roasted TGY, Wuyi oolongs, dragonwell, gyokuro) and sometimes not (Assam, lapsang souchong, sencha). The upshot is that I have a bunch of teas I’m not particularly fond of and that I feel obliged to finish.
This Dian Hong is one of those teas. It’s not objectively bad, but it is more malty than I’d like and doesn’t have many interesting background flavours. In its favour, the long, flat, fuzzy leaves are pretty. I followed my usual gongfu parameters (5 g, 120 ml, 195F, 10/12/15/18/20/25/30/40/50/60/90/120/240 seconds).
The first two steeps have notes of malt, tannins, caramel, and tomato vine, which is especially apparent in the aroma. Later steeps are still heavy on the malt, but the tomato morphs into an oakwood, earthy, and caramel finish reminiscent of scotch. These flavours last pretty much until the end of the session.
I’m sure there are many people who would enjoy this tea, especially in the morning. However, it isn’t really for me.
P.S.: I didn’t find chocolate, sweet potato, or the other flavours people have mentioned in this tea. I have no idea why, unless my 2015 batch has changed substantially with age.
Flavors: Caramel, Earth, Malt, Oak, Tannin
