Ying De Black Tea

I stopped by the shop on Friday whilst running errands and picked up a cuppa. So much yum!!!
Now, I could have very well brought home a whole bag of it for double the price of one cup but I really didn’t wanna bring MOAR tea into the house when I am trying my darndest to sip down my (slightly damp, but still, I can’t bear to throw it out) supply as it is. Atleast not until I know if I like it or not.
Either way, now I know that this is a highly delish tea filled with dark chocolate and malt notes, with a very slight hay-ish backround. There were also moments where I thought I detected a subtle pepper but then it was gone faster than I could blink so don’t quote me on that!
Would love to try this in my gaiwan :)

When I received a packet of tea treats from*scribbles,* my first thought was, “No…I shall be noble and drink up the dribs and drabs that are already open.”

Yeah, that lasted about 30 seconds.

I like this one! The leaves are long and ribbony, first steep was as bright and coppery as a brand new penny, and plenty of lightly sweet malt and chocolate to think about. Second steep (western style; sorry, I’m a barbarian :) at twice the minutes was still tasty, just had to think a little harder.

This is on the lighter end of the wake-up scale; be sure you’ve had a decent night’s sleep if you drink it in the morning, but if you’re already somewhat awake, you’ll be sufficiently alert to enjoy its subtleties.

Gongfu method
4g 100 ml glass teapot 205F
15/30/45/1min
I combined all steeps in one huge mug. Each steep was really good but not much of a change of flavors. Next time I’ll make it western.
This tea is lovely and so comforting. Rich chocolaty malty, some nuts.
I would drink it anytime of the day.
So glad I picked it on 50% sale . It was a join order and Marzipan placed order , packed and sent back to 4 of us. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Sipdown Sad to see this one go. I had every intention of going wild during Tao’s Boxing Day sale. In fact I had been planning my order since their Christmas in July sale! But my cupboard is honestly out of control and I knew I should be placing any large orders. Yay for self control at least.
I finished off most of this as a celebratory pot when I go my cast removed, and I saved just enough for one last cup. Decided to bust it out today for no reason in particular. Still delightfully sweet and lovely. Hopefully they’ll do the sale in July again so I can pick up a bit more of this.

This morning, courtesy of Scribbles, I’m very pleased to be the first to review Ying De Black Tea from Tao Tea Leaf, Western style: 6 oz. / 4 g / 212*F / 2 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.

Intro: “…from Yingde, Guangdong province, China.” “The tea should have a cocoa-like aroma and, like most Chinese black teas, a sweet aftertaste.”

Leaf: Thin and thick twisted dark chocolate-brown leaves 4.5 cm long or less. Forget about measuring with a teaspoon! A digital scale is definitely recommended for this one!
Fragrance: Fine pipe tobacco
Liquor: Clear amber
Aroma: As soon as I removed the lid from the Finum brewing basket, the cocoa-like aroma was immediately evident standing at the kitchen counter.
Flavor: Chocolate with perhaps a hint of Keemun juiciness at the end of the sip.

2-min: A creamy smooth, warm, relaxing, satisfying, full-bodied black tea with rich malty chocolate! that lingers long on the tongue. There was no hint of bitterness or astringency. With each sip the relaxing warmth keeps intensifying and my smile grows larger & larger. Ah! I’m now officially quite content. Near the bottom of the cup there’s a noticeable rich & smooth cocoa flavor.

Resteep
3-min: Malty chocolate that’s extremely well-balanced and very enjoyable.

2nd Resteep
4-min: Not yet …
6-min: Not quite …
8-min: A similar flavor profile but with lighter body.

Impression: A creamy smooth full-bodied black tea with rich malty chocolate. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and recommended black tea.

Many thanks to Scribbles for sharing a generous sample of this very satisfying chocolaty Black Tea.

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket 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