The Classic 58

Guess who was up all night looking at Magic cards for deck planning? Ugh, it is that time of my sleep schedule cycle where my body insists on staying up later and sleeping later, meaning that in a few days I will have one of those days where I get no sleep then sleep for like 14 hours and my cycle resets. It is obnoxious but at least there is a pattern! I did, in my searching, found a card I was unaware of and want for my in progress Mono Black Commander deck, Army of the Damned! Because dropping 13 2/2 zombies on my opponent late game and seeing the look of anguish on their face. #Unlifegoals

Today I am looking at Green Tea Guru’s The Classic 58, a Dian Hong which hails from Feng Qing, Lincang and is created by the Feng Qing Tea Factory. The name is a reference to the recipe developed by the factory back in 1958, the leaves are hand picked and processed from 50-70 year old bushes. There is a reason this is a classic, and not just the emulation of style, it is a perfect example of what Dian Hongs can offer. If I was introducing someone to this style of tea for this first time, this is definitely one I would recommend as a starting point. The long needles have an equal blend of fuzzy gold and dark leaf color, and the aroma is oomph. Strong notes of malt and cocoa blend with brown sugar and molasses with a mineral and woody undertone. The very tail end of the sniff gives a bit of yams and myrrh, finishing off with sweet starchiness and resinous richness.

I thought on a whim I would play some of the top musical hits of 1958, but sadly I found out I was not a huge fan of that year, so I jumped ahead in the future and sipped this tea while listening to my Acid Rock (it is called Low pH, it also has a good bit of Swamp Rock, which is funny since the blackwater swamps of the South are more acidic, I AM SUCH A DORK) station on Pandora. Musical accompaniment aside, the aroma of the leaves is sweet! Notes of brown sugar, malt, and cocoa dance together with a whiff of myrrh and a touch of camphor. I am impressed with how strong the malt note is, it is definitely the dominant note on the wet leaves. The liquid is also pretty malty, but the dominant note is brown sugar sweetness and roasted peanuts with a resinous pine sap and myrrh undertone.

The first steep is a tiny bit brisk, but falls pretty abruptly into smooth and slippery, leaving the initial briskness as a memory. The first note that pops up is brown sugar, it lingers for pretty much the entire sip, but it is dominant at the front. In the middle there are notes of camphor and myrrh with a peanut and specifically peanut shell woodiness. The finish is cocoa and sweet, it is very rich and the brown sugar lingers happily in my mouth.

Ever had one of those teas that smell so good that while sniffing it you dip your nose into the tea, yeah that happened to me…again. It was worth it for those notes of brown sugar, peanut, and resin. I am not surprised that a tea that prides itself on replicating a recipe from 1958 delivers on consistency. There is no real change between steeps with tasting notes, the addition of molasses at the finish being the most noticeable change. However there is a taste in texture, instead of an initial briskness and slipperiness, it is all smooth and thick, like warm watered down honey.

The third steep takes its cues from the second, not altering much in notes that are present, but it does change in level of intensity. The peanut and cocoa note are stronger, as is the molasses, with the brown sugar and and malt taking a bow and being there in lightness. This tea became an instant favorite, it is called a classic for a reason, it has the iconic notes I associate with Dian Hong and it is not a surprise that I only have a little bit of my sample left!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/09/green-tea-guru-classic-58-tea-review.html