Bai Lin Gong Fu

Bai Lin Gong Fu black tea won the top prize of Three Star Gold. Only 91 products out of over 6,000 entries achieved three stars!!!!

I received a nice sample size of this today and must say it is much different that I remember it! I know I liked it before but WOW! This time around it is even better!

Right out of the package the aroma smacks you in the face!!! I like a loud tea! BUT…the smell was much different that I remember and unlike anything I have ever smelled! GET READY FOR THIS!!!!! The smell of this reminds me of Ravioli! A bready/Tomato type smell and I just LOVE it!!! Truly unique!

The taste is also much different…and I like that! It’s a little cakey but creamy!!! It’s a full and fairly bold RED – or Black tea taste – at the beginning and leads you into a lovely mellow aftertaste. The aftertaste encourages you to sip more!

I really like this!

Excited about the Canton Tea Co sampler which arrived over the weekend! I’ll start my Monday morning with what sounds like a good breakfast tea. The dry leaf is pretty, with orange highlights in the long brown strands, and their aroma is very nice – there’s a sweetness there which reminds me a little of Darjeeling. We’ll see what comes out in the steeping…

Mmm, this tea smells really, really yummy – I’m definitely getting the caramel that other tasters have noted. The liquor is a medium-brown and on first taste is great. The caramel is there, and the natural sweetness of it means I won’t be adding any sugar to it. In addition, underneath that flavor, I’m getting something akin to fruit flavors; peach and nectarine are those which come to mind. This one’s a keeper.

This is lovely. I brewed it in my gaiwan, using a less-than-boiling temperature (to avoid burning my fingers) and steeping for 1 minute for the first infusion. The result is perfection. The cup is rich and robust and full-flavored, surprisingly so after such a short brew time. There are deliciously sweet caramel-y undertones, as well as a delicious bake-y kind of taste. Would be a good first-thing-in-the-morning tea as well as a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon.

Excellent.

On this, my day of birth, I bid a fond farewell to the last of my Canton Tea Bai Lin Gong Fu. It’s last vestiges lasted two exquisitely sweet and malty pints, and put added vigor into my morning step. This newly-turned 36-year-old bids this exquisite black tea…adieu. SALUTE!

Backlogging. Monday morning.

Since I didn’t have a special tea to celebrate my 30th birthday the previous day, I decided to have one the next day. I really like this Bai Lin Gong Fu and I only have a limited amount. I love the way the dry leaves smell and it tastes different from any other black I have. Despite increasing the amount of leaf I used last time and being happy with it, I felt again this time that I could have used more leaf (but not as bad as the first time I made it when I really needed more leaf). Still, SO GOOD!

2nd steep: 3 min.
3rd steep: 5 min.

Thank you LiberTEAS for sharing this fine black tea in the sample you sent!

The leaves of this very nice tea is spectacular in color, which appears as the intermixing of rich dark chocolate shavings with a medium caramel drizzle. The cup is smooth to the taste and doesn’t really have a noticeable bitterness.

There are some complex sweet floral and malty notes to this brewed tea. Along the taste of almonds, wheat or some sorta granola bar combo are some of the favors I’m picking up.

Plain and simple, it’s a nice diverse tea that is easy to sip.

On a shopping trip the other day I saw a box labeled Chinese Red tea. Chinese red tea? I’ve never heard of that, I’ve heard of white, green, black, herbal, oolong, honeybush and rooibos teas, but not Chinese Red. I’ve heard rooibos called red, but don’t think Rooibos grows in China. So what is this red tea? Then, a package arrived in the mail with a packet of Bai Lin Gong Fu in it, and it said Red Tea on it! YAY! I get to try this thing!

Then, I found out that Chinese red tea is the local Chinese name for black tea. Oh. Phooey. I was hoping for a whole new experience. But upon further thought, I don’t know how many non-blended Chinese black teas I’ve had – most have been Indian, Sri Lankan, blends, or flavored. So this is still something new. Excellent. Time to open the packet.

This leaf is absolutely gorgeous. Light brown fuzzy leaves make up about 50% of the sample. And the aroma is luscious. Malty, with hints of cocoa and sweetness. Once brewed up, this is a lovely light orange. And the flavor? Mellow, smooth and sweet smelling. If it wasn’t for the caffeine content, this would be the tea equivalent of wrapping up in a blanket in front of the fire for a nap. I tend to sweeten my black teas, and I am just fine drinking this without any additives.

As an introduction to Chinese red teas, this is a great start. I look forward to trying others, especially if they’re at all like this one.

Also reviewed at: http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/654/tea-review-canton-tea-co-bai-lin-gong-fu/

Second in my Canton Tea trials… the leaves are very pretty. Not too long, but thin and twisted with a pretty reddish color to them. The scent is mellow and I can’t quite describe it, but it’s not the typical black tea scent. It’s more subdued.

205/2 min. Um… vegetal. Yes. The flavor is just like stewed artichokes. I’m not impressed with this at all. I’m not certain what went wrong, but I can’t drink this. It’s not bitter or astringent, but there is no sweetness to this. Just artichokes.

What an AMAZING tea. I really don’t know what else to say. It is wonderful, complex, balanced, and most importantly DELICIOUS! This is also one I got in my Tea & Chocolat package.

Still as good as the last time I drank it. I also noticed that along with the malty flavour there’s some fruity notes in the tea that make me think of sweet raisins.