Hunan Dark Tea

This is the first high-quality pu-erh I’ve tried and it’s unlike all that came before it.

It doesn’t brew nearly as dark or pungent as the previous ones I’ve tasted.

The first sip tastes of malt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Further tasting reveals peaty, mossy, and earthy flavors.

Overall, this tea is quite enjoyable.

Something about this tea reminds me of going to Dickens Fair at Christmas time. I can’t quite place it, it’s not cinnamon or cardamom, nor douglas fir trees. It has a holiday spice quality that I really like but can’t name. Roasted butternut squash with brown sugar maybe?

This maybe a fermented tea, but it’s unlike any pu-erh I’ve ever tasted. That being said, I really liked this tea. It tasted like roasted grass to me, and unlike any Hojicha. I get the mahogany notes too. Not really tasting the grapes or much sweetness. The tea is complex and different from black or pu-erh teas.

This is my first pu-erh ever! And I really liked it – my favorite from the Steepster Select box besides the roasted buckwheat tea. The tea tastes complex and balanced, not too earthy. Even the first steeping has a lot of depthy. I like the grape notes and the gentle astringency.

I’ve been drinking this while practicing this afternoon. It’s a fermented tea, & I want it to have the chi stirring energies of a Sheng, but it doesn’t. Flavor-wise, it’s red grape peels, maybe a little molasses, & a few sips reminded me of canned condensed milk, but a little sour, kind of like buttermilk in a way. It has a very dry quality to it as well.
Sipdown: 351

I’ll preface my review by saying I have never had a loose leaf hei-cha before and after trying my best to find steeping suggestions from multiple sources, I decided just to brew this like a pu-ehr. I used the gongfu method in a gaiwan and steeped for 10 seconds, adding 10 seconds each time for infusions 2-4. Infusion five got a minute and then I added one minute each time for infusions 6 and beyond. Due to the shorter steepings, the liquor color is a golden-orange.

Immediately I notice the scent of grapes, smoke, minerals and something very creamy, like buttercream or vanilla. What a complex start!

- The first steeping has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor with just a slight bit of tartness, much like grapes. There’s a honey-like flavor on the back of the tongue and almost no astringency.

- Second steeping I’m smelling lots of mineral and french vanilla. Wonderfully creamy aroma and brew. The taste of the brew is just creamy and luxurious, less tart, more smooth. I’m reminded of a melted vanilla malt. That may be a stretch, but this is seriously creamy. There’s a malty finish and just a bit of dryness, more evident as the brew cools.

- Third steeping was quite mineral, still very smooth but less creamy and with a very long lingering aftertaste that is somewhere between salty and metallic. No astringency.

- Fourth steeping, I’m falling in love with the “vanilla & mineral” smell. It’s really a nice combo. The flavors at this point are all quite mellow and hard to individually discern. Things are backing off a bit, but still an enjoyable brew. Light aftertaste like dry grass.

- Fifth steeping, creamy and light, slight malt and honey flavor. That sort of tangy lingering aftertaste is back. I’m surprised how varying these steepings are. Sometimes an element of the taste will hide for a steeping or two then come back!

- About 8 steepings in it developed this really nice sweetness that reminded me of a Jin Shan Yin Zhen yellow tea I’ve had. I’m thinking kind of like funnel cake with a bit of the fried dough flavor and powdered sugar sweetness. Again, maybe a stretch, but that’s what comes to mind for me!

Pretty moss green leaves when brewed and the liquor smells like grapes indeed.
The name is deceiving because this really isn’t a dark and roasted type tea. The liquor is a red color. I read that In China, the type of tea that Westerners call ‘black’ tea is known as ‘red’ tea, which follows the Chinese color system of the color of the tea liquor in the cup. So Hei Cha, also known as dark tea, is quite different than the ‘black’ tea well-known to tea drinkers in the West. So, when in China, if you ask for ‘black’ tea you would be given some form of Hei Cha – if you ask for ‘red’ tea, you will be given what most Westerners would recognize as black tea (from Tea Trekker).

Anyway,,,the flavor is delicious and does have lots of grape qualities as the package suggests. It is the flavor of a fresh grape just off the bunch not of grape juice that has been cooked to concentrate sugars. So it isn’t so sweet.
This tea is very good, I like it a lot and it is unique.

From the Steepster Select Box, March 2014

Second Steeping brought out the dry finish which wasn’t evident to me in the first.