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I’m nearing the end of my 4 oz. stash of this very enjoyable complex Fujian tea. This morning, I brewed Ming Hong Black Tea from Yezi Western style: 7g / 8 oz / 203*F / rinse, 20, 35, 50 sec. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Leaf: Fine dark brown, tan, and golden twisted 2 cm long or less
Fragrance: Notes of hay
Liquor: Beautiful brilliant clear copper
Aroma: Sweet potatoes (as it cools)
Flavors: Baked Bread, Grain (barley?), Dark Chocolate, Sweet Potatoes, Malt, Creamy, Caramel, Green Beans

20 sec.: A wonderfully complex and very satisfying morning cup of Fujian tea with a wonderful sweet potato aroma! It’s a creamy-smooth, full-bodied tea without any astringency or bitterness. Notes of baked bread / grain (barley?), dark chocolate, malt, and sweet potatoes, are equally blended together with a mild caramel finish. It’s great to have one’s first 8 oz. cup of tea in the morning with so much flavor in only 20 seconds! Most black teas brewed Western-style require 3 to 5 minutes. Near the bottom of the now cool cup notes of green beans are apparent.

35 sec.: (Due to a momentary distraction, this was actually 45 sec.) This cup is very full-bodied without any astringency or bitterness. The same flavors as above are noted, but the dark chocolate is now stronger than all the others. Wow, this is a very satisfying morning cup! As I near the bottom of the second cup, the caramel finish now includes cocoa and persists long on the tongue.

50 sec.: Not quite, so I let it steep another 10 sec. This cup has the same flavor profile as the first cup, but a little less full-bodied.

75 sec.: The fourth cup was light to medium-bodied so I let it steep longer until it produced a medium-bodied cup, about two minutes. This cup had the same flavor profile as the original. Most of the leaves were now fully open, so I stopped here.

Impression: A very complex-flavored creamy smooth Fujian tea that’s not to be missed!

Thanks to Boris of Yezi for his brewing recommendations of this excellent complex tea!

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently using a digital variable-temp electric kettle in a tempered tea mug with a brew basket:
http://steepster.com/teaware/bonavita/39130-1-liter-variable-temperature-digital-electric-gooseneck-kettle
http://steepster.com/teaware/royal-albert/45581-old-country-roses-afternoontea-mugs
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39312-perfect-preset-tea-timer