Prince Pengu - Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Black

Not sure what’s wrong with me. Either my taste buds are on strike or I’ve forgotten everything I knew about tea.
This was another sample that I received with my teabento order. This is two in a row that wasn’t at all what I was expecting.
Plum and brassy – that’s how I feel. Pale liquor with a thin mouthfeel. This is way more like an Indian than a Chinese black. I don’t really like this one either….
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc0X5JJhf5a/?taken-by=dex3657

To me this tastes like Big Red gum. If you have ever had it, then you know it’s a spicy cinnamon. That was my first steep of about a minute. My second steep was about 30 seconds and I still got some cinnamon but it was more mild with a bit of a peach like flavour at the end. It was really tasty and I’m really glad I got it.

It’s early and it’s still dark. I have a batch of dvds to return to the library before the fines begin in an hour or so. And so, I pulled the Prince out of the box to propel me into action.

To me, the scent of the steeped tea is citrus.
The first sip or two is rose, leather, and wood. I remember this taste from China.
Further sips produce a thicker mouthfeel and round out the flavours with a buttery earth honey sweetness.

To be continued after my sprint to and from the library.

Ok, I am back and it is sweltering out there. Humid, oy!

On my second steep now. The taste has become lighter but sweeter in both honey and rose. A bit drying in the mouth in the after sip. Not as rich and intoxicating as round one with the leaf. The rose and honey continue to be intense. I must mention here that I steeped the tea using cooler water. Hence, the rose is intensified and the chocolate note is missing altogether.

This second steep may be a bit too sweet and a bit too rose and a bit too drying for me. The first steep seemed somehow richer and more grounded with the flavours more complex and somehow kaleidoscopic. That is to say that the first steep was very wow. If I were to have this tea on hand, I would stay with that first steep every once in a while for a wow tea experience.

The third and fourth steeps were milder, of course, and more enjoyable. I steeped with boiling, hoping for chocolate or cocoa, but nope.

I have a bit left for a second run with this tea which I will likely begin steeping at a higher temperature to see whether I will be able to coax any chocolate notes and to see how that changes things.

Thank you, teabento, for sending me this sample box to try. I am very much enjoying exploring your variety of teas.

Ooh, the Prince has arrived!

The smell wafting up from this tea is a rich, malty chocolate. It surprised me, but even more so the lovely long leaves. I have a special fondness for teas where the leaves are all long and twisted, unbroken, beauty in a cup.

The flavor wasn’t as punchy as the smell, and I was a bit surprised that I didn’t coax out a stronger flavor from it. It was smooth like a French rose, light, and malty with a hint of coffee chocolate notes. The smell is way stronger than the flavor. I look forward to a few re-steeps to see what I can coax out further.

I prefer my black teas a bit thicker and bolder, I’ll admit. This felt a bit thin. Yet, it’s obviously an extremely high quality tea, and I’m thrilled to have gotten the chance to taste it.

I love it when tea packaging includes very specific instructions, including re-steep suggestions and the number of grams per pot or cup. TeaBento does an excellent job with their packaging, labeling and instructions.

A huge thank you to TeaBento for sharing this tea with me so that I could review it. Soon, I’ll have it over on my instagram account, too. http://instagram.com/teatravelninja

Sipdown (570)!

Finished this off a few nights ago – I realized I was SUPER CLOSE to being out of it, and so I figured I’d just finish it off now instead of doing my normal thing and hoarding. I found it a little light on flavour – maybe because of age? Though the sweet, fruity notes I did pick up on were quite nice; somewhat of a pomegranate kind of vibe, contrasted by wood notes and a little bit of malt.

psssst i had this and then the power went out and so i don’t remember much except it was tasty. Will write a better review time i have it