Jinjunmei Fujian Black Premium

This is really perfect for this morning…
malty and sweet with hints of raisins.
I’m getting a light, almost delicate mouthfeel (but I did just eat roasted carrots and fennel for breakfast, so my note here could be slightly off… lol).
As I’m sipping, I’m picking up a fruity note in the back… It’s really lovely!
Thank you so much for sending this to me, Dexter! And, you sent such a generous sample, so I can play around with this one. :)))

I got this a while back from Cameron B. I thought the sample might be a little tainted (which would have been my fault for keeping it stored near other scented tea’s) since it smelled faintly of cinnamon. Fortunately the I don’t taste the cinnamon.

I’m not sure if I’ve tried a Jin Jun Mei before. I really enjoyed this one, so I think I will keep this style of tea as part of my rotation.

The first steep was all dark honey and dried dark fruits. Yum!

The second steep was much lighter. Still very honey sweet and fruity, but much less so.

I really needed this cup of deliciousness after receiving the bad news about the cost of repairing my car…boo :(

Sipdown! This was a really nice Jin Jun Mei, especially for the price I paid. It was a good balance between roasty malty-ness and sweeter chocolate notes. I did detect an odd mineral note in this one though. Almost metallic. It wasn’t enough to keep me from enjoying the tea, but I picked up on it throughout the cup. Because of that I don’t think I would order this one again, but it’s still really lovely. I liked the other Jin Jun Mei from the same seller a bit better.

I’m running late today – i have to be down to the office this afternoon and still have a couple errands i need to try and wrap up before i get down there. Not to mention packing up some tea so that i can make a fresh cup or two tonight. While making a very late breakfast (even terri was up before me today!) i pulled out this one. I’ve never been a crazy omg fan of jin jun mei’s. It’s not that i don’t like them, but i’ve never found them to be as amazing as my tea sister or others. That being said, i have had a couple really great ones that i’ve enjoyed. This one is middle of the road for me. I’m really enjoying the almost chocoaltey, sweet notes in this one, which are tempered by a little bit of maltiness. quite an enjoyable tea while making breakfast :) thanks again cameron!

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

This is one of the four Jin Jun Mei’s Cameron B included in the box for me, and one of the three from this dealer. Brewed in a glass test tube steeper. Steeping times: 15 sec, 30, 45, 60, 120.

Every time I stuck my nose into the steeper after each infusion, I was greeted with a malty, chocolately, caramel-y nose. The amber liquor is medium-bodied, smooth, and clear, even with the little fuzzies floating around. The first infusion is weak – 15 seconds is too short, I realized too late – and I barely taste anything. The second infusion is much stronger. And strange. Not only does it have notes of malt and fresh organic honey (what one would think a Jin Jun Mei would have), but I could also make out brown and wild rice. The typical sweetness and chocolate make their appearance in the 3rd infusion, this tea’s peak, I believe. The 4th infusion is similar, but lighter in taste and totally without the malt. I originally planned to include a 90 second steeping but opted instead to skip right 120; I felt that if I didn’t, these last two infusions would be weak and wanted to finish with a nice, strong cup. And I was right. This fifth infusion retains similar strength and taste as the fourth, though it definitely feels as if it’s time to finish up.

The weather decided to comply. It’s cool, cloudy, and breezy today. Jin Jun Mei day. Yiss.

First, thanks to the precious CameronB for sending this and several other Jinjunmeis my way. The only other JJM I’ve had was from Yezi and I"m glad to be able to compare them. The dry leaves are really pretty. Lots of golden little eyebrows mixed with darker brown.

I steeped a couple of teaspoons in 12 oz of 200 degree water for my usual 4 minutes. Frequently I start out on a new tea at 3 like “they” usually want you to, but I always end up at my personal default 4 anyway and I woke up late this morning so I just skipped ahead.

The brewed tea has a sweet honey note and the first sip confirms that. The sweetness is very present, much like a concentrated fruit (like a fruit roll-up maybe?) with the tiniest and I mean TINY bit of creosote in the background, which is not unpleasant at all and gives the tea some bottom.

This is an earthy, thickly sweet tea and I’m enjoying it very much. I’m actually enjoying it even more as it cools a little. Quite nice. Thanks again Cameron

This was the first tea to try from my sample order from Han Xiang Ecological Tea on AliExpress. There’s no particular reason that I chose this one, I just pulled it out of the pile and went with it. The leaves are slender and curly, and it’s about half golden tips and half dark brownish grey leaves. Dry scent is vaguely honey sweet with some fruit and malt notes. I did my general “black tea” 3 minute steep at 200 degrees.

Mm, this smells delicious! Brewed, the aroma is rich and sweet, reminding me of molasses with dark, syrupy dried fruits. There’s also a bit of a mineral edge to it. Yum this is a great start to my Han Xiang experience. It’s definitely a somewhat earthy tea, with a little bit of mineral quality to it. But there’s a lovely rich molasses sweetness that really helps to moderate that earthiness, along with a nice dark dried fruit note similar to raisin, prune, or cherry. There’s also a bit of a grain element that pokes its head out occasionally. Interestingly enough, I also get a flavor that somewhat reminds me of slow-cooked green beans? It sounds very odd, but it’s actually very nice in combination with the other flavors. It’s worth noting that this tea didn’t get bitter even as it cooled, and still remained very tasty at room temperature. :D