1749 Tasting Notes
Thanks Evol!
I was interested to see how these turned out because I have not been a huge fan of jasmine blacks previously. Then I try Shangs Tangerine Blossom Black and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now for this one.
I brewed three balls in my glass gaiwan to see how the leaves opened up. The first steep was a long five and a half minutes to get the balls to open. When I tried it, there was a amber candy sweetness to the black tea with the jasmine being oh so heady. Malt rounded off the taste overall in each steep.
The subsequent brews were much shorter, beginning at 50 sec and adding 15 sec increments to each later steep. The jasmine went back and forth, but the black tea itself really evolved going from sweet, to woodsy, to malty. There were some definite cocoa notes that faded in and out as well.
So I enjoyed this tea, but sometimes the black tea contrasted too much with the jasmine. I think that the black tea was high quality and that the scenting was high quality, but sometimes the two tastes didn’t always meld together. Sometimes I got girly jasmi-MALT-Oh-sweetness in the taste. If that makes any sense whatsoever. In comparison, the Tangerine Blossom’s citrus/orange peel helped balance the heady florals with the rich black tea. Essentially, I am biased to an orange or tangerine blossom over a jasmine for the florals of the black tea.
This is definitely a tea to try if you have never had a jasmine black, and I could see this tea on the full spectrum of hit, great, okay, meh, miss, and ew. You just have to know what jasmine tastes like and maybe what a Dragon Black Tea ball tastes like. If not, these pearls give you a good idea of how they taste and how other Yunnan blacks taste.
But like I said, I did enjoy this tea. I could easily see myself drinking the black base on its own. I also would not mind trying a jasmine black more often. I think the remaining two balls will do well in my tumbler too.
First black tea for my Gaiwan last night. I was able to get a lot more sweetness and complexity brewing it with glass which surprised me. I’ve always enjoyed this tea anyway, but I was able to highlight the things I like about it. I did realize why I don’t drink it as often though: it’s on the rich-thicker side. Sometimes, I do not want to eat when I drink it never mind my cravings go crazy after I’m finished with it. Who cares, though. It’s good black tea.
I have a full Gong Fu tea set now! I have a tray, utensils, a Cha Hai, 9 sipping cups, and a Gaiwan! Finally, a proper gaiwan. Though Gaiwan is glass, it has worked out nicely. Can’t wait to show it off.
So I christened the set with this tea, and got twelve yields out of it. I was able to balance the profile far more with these materials than I have with my Xiangfu tea pot lately. It was so nice that my roommate, Rich, really liked it and he’s only had oolong once. Mind you, it was flavored, and he thoroughly liked this one.
My only complaint about this tea is that it is a little on the lemon grass side of jade, but I continue to enjoy it. Now to see if 50 grams the right amount of or too little of a purchase.
Speaking of Lapsang, would you be interested to try the unsmoked Lapsang that What-Cha offers? I have a little left, but was wondering if you wanted me to save it for the next far reaching trade. I am reserving the Taiwan Sencha and a Korean Black Dancha (it’s a lot like a Japanese black) as well if you are still interested. As for the trade itself, like I said, whenever in the future.
I’ve been eyeing Berylleb for a while now. Prices seem almost too good to be true…their Dayuling is almost a 1/3 of Taiwan Tea Crafts. But they seem legit though based on all the positive reviews. I think I’ll take a chance on them next time I order oolong.
This one I’m enjoying a lot personally. I’ve had better Dayulings for sure, but there’s no arguing with the price and the taste is still a better quality.
Backlog:
Tumbler Test#2- Holy crap this worked out well. I used a very small teaspoon, maybe a little less, and brewed it using 15 ounces in the tumbler. I just let it soak, and the tea yielded two heady floral and creamy brews, the third fruity and floral, and the last just lightly floral and refreshing. I am so happy that I have a green oolong that can be brewed Grandpa and Western allowing so much complexity and sweetness. I still need to try it again Gong Fu to see if I can do it properly.
Awesome in the rebrew, awesome in the Tumbler. I am so glad I took my time with this. By the time I’m finished, though, the sale is going to be over. Crap.
My problem is that I’ve spent a lot of money already and have a good amount of tea. Most of it from What-Cha.
It almost passed the tumbler test since the florals popped out, but there was too much residue from a previous tea to accurately judge it.
This morning, I’ve been trying to use less time on the leaves starting at one minute, and the second steep at two minutes. I’m gettting the floral and creamyness fine, but more grassiness than fruit in the taste. I guess going two minutes the first time is the way to go for me.
I’m being an idiot with the brew anyway because it’s flatter than usual. I don’t know if my current allergies are the cause. Last night, I was able to taste a Dayuling just fine. Today, I’m getting a muted version of what I love despite having the same snotty symptoms last night. Here’s to having plenty of this tea for the upsides and the downsides!
Now, if only I purchased from What-Cha when Alistair released the new Zhangpins…
Note to self: finish you’re other tea before you decimate your expensive ones. Though you are savoring your Dayuling, be smart about it. Yes, you are getting all kinds of florals from this one. Yes, you might want to try Berylleb’s other Gaoshans. You’re next big order if you run out of things will probably be Berylleb and or What-Cha…
I know Amanda added this before. Anyway, Backlog.
I just continued venturing into the world of Lapsangs and found that I actually really like them….they might be a favorite varietal. After Amanda’s ecstatic review on her blog, I decided to throw in a sample with my What-Cha order. She got vanilla, cocoa and heavy citrus and compared it to a Qilan. I got smooth texture, malt, a slight cocoa taste, and an infusion between lemon and orange peel. Yes, it definitely reminded me of a Qilan, but darker. It was still mega smooth and super tasty.
The tea snobs would be happy with this tea and so would newbie tea drinkers enjoy it, but citrus can be dividing for some people. The citrus taste in this tea is almost strong enough to call a flavor in my opinion, but it still tastes like black tea.
I do love this tea and would want it on hand, but I might not buy a large amount of it because of the price and prefer to savor it. That might change as soon as I have it again.
…I had it again with a shorter steep. It was about 30 seconds. I let it brew to lighter yellowish brown maple color, and then had it, and the citrus peel with vanilla and cocoa came through. Now I understand why Amanda was raving. I’d get more of this too.
The rebrew on the second and third time are also fairly complex. Citrus peel and vanilla with a smooth cocoa background. Dang this is good.