Wild Black/Dian Hong

Brisk but smooth, with no astringency. It is a breakfast tea without bitterness.

Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2019/03/28/wild-black-tea-dian-hong-teabook-2/

Hello Tea Friends!

Today I will be reviewing some Dian Hong Cha from Teabook. If you are new to tea then here is some translating: Dian – Shorter version of Yunnan, a province in China known for tea growing. Hong means red which refers to it’s colour, in China it’s known as red tea but in Western countries it’s a black tea. Cha literally means tea. So it’s Yunnan Red Tea. This tea is also known as Yunnan Black or Yunnan Red but as there are many different types of black/red teas produced in Yunnan it can be a little confusing using the generic naming. This is why Dian Hong is most commonly used for differentiation.

Personally I do love a nice Dian Hong, they tend to have more tippy golden buds in general, assuming it’s of a nice quality. For this I have no idea until I open it, so let’s get to it. Actually first before I rip the top off the sachet like a monkey peeling a banana let me mention the sachet itself, Teabook sell these sachets in pre weighed bags to make it easier for drinking and transportation. Each sachet is 3g.

Opening the packet I can see some thin, dark leaves with a couple of golden tips. Altogether 3g is around 10 pieces of loosely broken leaves. They bare a dry, wooden scent with some sweetness. I say 3g but the sachet weight is included in that too.

Steeping this Western style: 2-3g into a 320ml glass cup with infuser for 3 minutes boiling water. Usually I do three steeps with Dian Hong in a teapot but 3g is not enough for me to do that to my desired strength.

Once steeped the tea is golden red in colour and bares a very mild malt and wood scent.

Flavour is very mild at first, further sips reveal a hint of sweet malt. There is some drying in the after taste that coats my tongue somewhat. The strength does not increase but the sweet, honeyed malt remains. It’s only noticeable really toward the after taste.

I am torn at this point. I do not want to write a negative review but I do need to be honest. While there was nothing wrong with the tea I personally (and I stress personally) believe that 2g loose leaf tea is not enough for a cup. If I had some Dian Hong whilst relaxing at home I would use 4-5g for a Western brew and 6-7 for a gaiwan. Both would be suitable for multiple steeps at that level of strength.

So the sachet idea is good but it should be at least 5g of tea in my honest opinion. That way it could be Western steeped or used in Gaiwan/Gong Fu Teapot and would be happy in both instances. Perhaps 2g is good for new tea drinkers adjusting to the taste of loose leaf, though even then I would recommend a higher dose.

Apologies to Teabook but that is my brutally honest opinion.

Until next time,

Happy Steeping!

http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/09/29/dian-hong-black-tea-teabook/

This was a tasty departure from my usual kick-your-fanny-out-the-door black tea rut. Somewhat lighter than a builders’ tea—had a nice toasty, bready feel to it. My sample from K S came in a little pre-measured packet, probably measured for a slightly smaller mug than I used today; a little extra strength/less water would have made it even more pleasant.

I received a few Teabook.co samples from K S this week! Thank you, K S!

These teas are sent in a subscription box. The first box included a double walled glass steeper. An assortment of individual serving pouches is included. When you open the little wrapper, you may expect to pull out a teabag but it is loose leaf, measured and ready to pour in your steeper. It in intended for grandpa style steeping.

The leaves of this one were very fine and I don’t have their steeper, so I used my Stump pot which has a very fine infuser. It worked quite well. I only filled it halfway since it is larger than their steeper.

The tea smells good and tastes good, not bitter even though it is fine. Baked bread that has a touch of molasses in it might be a good description. The flavor does have a little staying power, lingering for a while.

There is sediment at the bottom of the last little cup of tea from the pot, but it didn’t make it bitter. I resteeped the leaves and the color is much lighter now even though I forgot about it. The resteep is noticeably less flavorful , so I think the grandpa style would be better on the greens.

I think this would be a great setup to buy for a tea newbie who wanted to try lots of things and be able to make tea at work easily, while having a nice selection that can be neatly stowed away. I just bought a similar steeper for hubby to take to work.

This would be a good gift for the workplace tea drinker who doesn’t want to resort to cheap bagged tea and can’t have a ton of tea accoutrement around them.