I brewed about 4 grams in a 100ml gaiwan (tho I usually like my blacks western style) at 195f. I started with 10 seconds on first steep then moved up to 15 seconds for the next few. I was expecting more traditional fujian black flavors with this one than I got. It started of with an expected malty flavor with a hint of a hard to describe back end…maybe hearty/meatiness and touch of bitter. After the second steep it became apparent that this tea was not gonna be what I expected. A VERY floral astringency started to take over…much like a darjeeling tea. I’m not sure if I like this or dislike this at the moment as I do like to taste different flavors. This tea kept giving up to7 steeps though I decided to bow out there. The best way I could describe the flavor is if a Golden Monkey mated with a Darjeeling. To me those are the exact flavors…as if I mixed the two teas into the gaiwan. I have read some reviews on here saying the older offerings are chocolatey and are better as well as that this tea may be better with some age. Not one to sit on my black teas I think I’ll pepper this one into my black sessions til it disappears. All in all its not a bad tea but doesn’t really make me think of a Fujian black.
195 °F / 90 °C
0 min, 15 sec
4 g
3 OZ / 100 ML