Yixing Black Tea

I like new-to-me fruity black teas, so buying this was a no brainer. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot using 195F water for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds. I also used the vendor’s parameters of 6 g in 120 ml at 195F for 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of plum, raisin, earth, malt, lavender, and florals. The first steep has notes of raisins, plums, forest floor, malt, honey, pine, lavender, florals, and wood. There are some tannins, though maybe that’s because I accidentally poured more slowly than usual. The next steep has a fruity flavour I can’t pin down that’s something like lychee. Steeps three and four have more honey, plum, malt, and earth and are quite sweet. Honey, earth, and malt predominate in subsequent steeps, and they have a sweet honey aftertaste that can get cloying.

With longer steeping times, the tea becomes more balanced but a little less fruity, with more pronounced violet florals and tannins. I actually like this method better, though later steeps can turn earthy, tannic, and brassy.

This is a nice daily drinker, and I finished the pouch without really trying. I appreciate the fruitiness and lack of bitterness.