Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Tree Black Tea

Additional notes: I’m going to try to write newer tasting notes for my 2018 Teavivre samples, because at this point, I haven’t written notes for years about most of them, even if I’ve been enjoying most of them without writing notes. I’ve been trying to drink the varieties of Yun Nan closer together (and then I’ll work on the Keemuns, etc) and it really is amazing that most of these Yun Nans have such different flavor profiles. I originally stocked up on this one because it was similar to the glorious Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree that I love so much: tangy/plumy notes in the harvest I stocked up on a couple years ago. Though the tangy/plumy notes were definitely less noticeable in this tea than the Nonpareil. This harvest, it’s even less noticeable than before. The 2018 tastes like a lighter Assam tea, with that malty flavor with hints of fruitiness. The flavors aren’t as distinct as I wish they were. It looks like my steeping parameters were close to the other tasting note. I’m going to drink my older harvest soon to compare. So this tea might have lost some of its special qualities that I was noticing before. Instead of stocking up on this one, I’d rather choose to steep up the Nonpareil for special occasions or just go with the more affordable Yun Nan. Even the cheapest Yun Nan is delicious to me. The rating now might be an 86 for losing the tangy plum.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 3 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Harvest: 2018

Part 4 of my Teavivre Dian Hong series.

Prepared in a gongfu session with a ceramic gaiwan. Brewed with 200 degree temp. water since my kettle doesn’t have 195 setting. Rinsed the leaf for 5 seconds (was supposed to be the first infusion but it didn’t taste like anything). Steeping times: 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 15, 18, 30, 45, 60; 2 min, 2, 4, 12.

The dry leaf – nearly inch-long, needle-like, wiry – is dark, save for a few golden tips. It has an aroma of dark chocolate with a hint of malt. Surprisingly, the aroma is weaker after I let the dry leaf sit the heated gaiwan bowl, still having chocolate but also bread. In the beginning of the session, the wet leaf smells like tomato soup and oregano. After a time and some more infusions the leaf smells like raisins.

The liquor is a clear, bright orange. The texture is thick off the bat, becoming creamy in the middle of the session. While it has a full-body, it tastes light. The first couple infusions are malty, and tangy and sweet. Thereafter, I taste a consistent note of sweet potato – without the skin, it is worth noting since I couldn’t taste the bitterness that comes with sweet potato skin. Marshmallow might have also popped up, but that was probably just my brain thinking about the Thanksgiving dish.

I experimented by drinking the infusions from two different cups: ruyao and porcelain. I drank the previous Teavivre Dian Hongs with just the ruyao cup, fyi. This Dian Hong tasted sharper from the porcelain cup, whereas it came out muted from the ruyao cup. Also, creamy texture stood out more from the porcelain.

This is my second favorite Dian Hong I’ve tried from Teavivre. It does very well gongfu style, with quicker steeping times. The creamy texture, coupled with the sweet potato note, was very enjoyable. I also felt energetic, a little restlessly so.

This is a solid performer of a tea. It is not as good as their Nonpareil Ancient Tree Wild Tree but is pretty good. It has notes of malt and notes of chocolate in there. It’s got very little bitterness and just a little astringency. Overall I have to give this one a good rating.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 195 degree water for 5 min.