Georgia Old Gentleman Black Tea

June Wedding! This is another borrowed tea from the last Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox (thanks so much to tea-sipper for organizing and to all that contributed teas to the box!) I’ve never sampled a tea from Georgia, so I was happy to get the opportunity to try this. I only kept a single serving of this, and prepared it as a hot cuppa. It was that first cup of the day, as I thought a black tea would be a good choice after a rough night of sleep.

The aroma from the cup was very malty and honey-sweet, reminding me immediately of some of my very favorite Chinese blacks (like Black Dragon Pearls), so I had a good feeling before even taking a sip I was going to enjoy it. The taste confirmed this! The tea had notes of malt, apricot, a hint of warm cherry at the back of the tongue, and a honey sweetness and very subtle smokiness that lingered in the aftertaste. It was a very smooth cup, lacking bitterness and holding only the most subtle of astringent drying of the tongue after the sip. Overall, this is the exact kind of black tea that is to my tastes, and now I’m very interested in trying more Georgian teas!

Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Seven- Tea #2
A tea from Georgia, which is a place I haven’t heard tea coming from very much. It’s a tasty one! The leaves are big and full and there is such a sweetness here. It’s kind of like a Ruby tea or Sun and Moon or Taiwanese Assam. I think fans of Butiki’s PTA would like this one, but it still isn’t quite the same. Really great flavor here but not quite the same complexity as PTA but that is tough to match! It’s also tough to report what these flavors are but the two steeps were fantastic — very thirst quenching. Possibly hints of molasses, raisins, but definitely the sweetness takes over. Happy to find this in the tea box!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 //few minutes after boiling // 5 minute steep

Since I have already reviewed three Georgian black teas offered by What-Cha, I may as well go ahead and post a review of a fourth. This was the tea I unwound with after work today. What-Cha described it as having a somewhat different character compared to the other Georgian black teas offered. I have to say that I found that description to be accurate.

I prepared this tea Western style. I steeped 3 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. Again, I did not attempt additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, I noted that a whiff of the dry tea leaves did not reveal aromas of dried fruit, mild spice, or nuts. Like the other teas, there was a pronounced malty scent, but it was more of a dark malt scent. There was also a subtle dried leaf scent coupled with a mellow woody aroma. After infusion, I picked up strong aromas of malt, cream, wood, and toast. Again, there was a slightly leafy quality on the nose. In the mouth, a rich malt note took center stage, balanced by notes of cream, wood, toast, orange, and raisin. The finish was rich and smooth. It was heavy on the malt and cream, though there was enough of a raisin presence to provide some balance.

While the other Georgian black teas were consistent in their demonstration of light malt and golden raisin notes, this tea was full of cream, dark malt, and darker raisin flavors. The persistent maltiness coupled with the tea’s leafy and woody characteristics reminded me more than a bit of some of the high-end Assams I have consumed in recent years. Though I did not enjoy this one quite as much as What-Cha’s other Georgian black teas, I think fans of maltier black teas would be pleased with it.

Dark malt and molasses with a hint of raisin and smoke, and a slightly bitter edge to the finish. While mildly sweet, this tea is decidedly focused on the malt. It is stronger than the other Georgian teas offered by What-Cha, but still fairly smooth, as an old gentleman should be. Aptly named.

I was super excited to order some teas from Georgia, where I lived and consider one of my homes. rhinkle wanted this one yesterday but I’d overheated the water, so I made it to have ready right as she arrived today.

I feel like this tea waits to assert what it has to offer. No aroma hits me in the face, the liquor is a rather unassuming, albeit deep, reddish amber. The first steep is smooth and offers a blend of tobacco, bread and malty flavors with just a hint of citrus and a subtle sweetness. The aroma left behind in my mug smells faintly of sweet citrus.

::sighs:: I swear, I should not be allowed to do western style because I always forget about the tea. My resteep went for a very, very long time, but the leaves withstood it. The citrus comes through clearer in this steep, and just a bit of bitterness at the very end, probably thanks to me oversteeping.

The leaves have expanded nicely after a couple of steeps, and they’re very intact. All-in-all, while this is different from my most preferred teas, I find it to be of good quality and it is actually quite enjoyable. My body was even able to tolerate it after having matcha this morning, so I feel nice and even right now. And, of course, I’m very happy to have tea from Georgia. Tea that is better than any tea I ever actually had in Georgia, funny enough.

I grabbed a handful of the Georgian black tea offerings from What-Cha, and have been really enjoying them. While they are all different, there is a thread of aroma and flavor that connects them all.

One thing I find interesting about the Georgian teas I have tried is that they can pull off “burly” flavors without seeming in any way dirty. By that I mean that the mild hints of leather I pick up in the wet leaf aroma of the Old Gentleman black tea are welcoming and balanced by the spicier/breadier Georgian character and inherent sweetness of the tea. This one in particular is a satisfying Georgian tea that brews up a dark golden red color with a full body, even with shorter steeps. There’s also a very satisfying mild acidity.

Ah, today is a good day, Minecraft TU 25 is finally out, meaning we who play on the console finally inch closer to the PC version. Pros and cons, yay for finally having stained glass, I was immensely excited for the building potential presented with all the colorful glasses, especially when combining them with stained clay (my weakness.) Sadly the hinted at new biomes, all the flowers, and bunnies were not added with this update which is causing a massive wave of disappointment with the console players. Hopefully the next update will bring them out, I am craving the Ice Spike biome something fierce! I am wondering if they decided to do a small updated in time for Minecon, if so, I am ok with lots of small updates rather than months between big ones.

In grand traditional fashion, it is Wednesday, so time for a What-Cha tea! Flipping through my notebook I notice I am starting to run out of tea notes, le gasp! Clearly a shopping trip will be in my future, conveniently looking at the website I just noticed a ton of new teas, which is awesome. Today’s tea is Georgia Old Gentleman Black Tea, from the Nasakirali Village in Georgia, handmade by Iuri, who I am assuming is the old gentleman this tea is named for. The aroma of the lovely dark curling leaves is sweet, with notes of tobacco and cherry wood, a lovely fruity tobacco reminding me of my dad’s pipe tobacco. Add in a touch of smoke, delicate honey sweetness, and a tiny hint of cocoa and you have a very pleasant smelling tea. Honestly the aroma is nostalgic, like the smell of a pipe being smoked in a library, it gives me the warm fuzzies.

After giving the leaves a steeping, the now quite plump leaves have become malty and brisk, with notes of oak and cherry wood, raisins, and a tiny hint of citrus peel. It is very livening, and just a little bit sweet. The liquid is very rich, I was surprised, expecting a brisk aroma, but it is intensely rich with notes of pipe tobacco, cherry wood, a creamy sweetness with a finish of malt and raisins.

So, this cup has a lot going on, it is very rich, starting out with raisins and pipe tobacco with just a gentle hint of smoke, This transitions to a midtaste of citrus and malt, giving it a slight brisk and sour taste, this fades to a creamy sweet finish of cocoa. Amusingly the aftertaste was brisk with a slight dryness and a lingering taste of citrus. I found this tea enjoyable, it has a nostalgic feel and a complex blend of notes, plus the briskness was a perfect amount for me, not too intense, just enough to liven up the senses.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-cha-georgia-old-gentleman-black.html

The leaves are really beautiful! Long and twisted with a dark chocolate colour.

This is a smooth, sweet tea. I’m mostly getting raisin notes, and didn’t find the citrus until it started to cool down.

Thanks to TheLastDodo for chance to try it!

My order from What-Cha arrived today. Oh, boy, it is just like Christmas around here! This one says “Full-bodied with a sweet raisin and citrus taste.” I don’t taste the raisin (no big surprise, since I have no sense of smell) but I can detect a hint of citrus. Just a little tang at the end of a mouthful. Not sour. The tea is more robust than mild, but smooth, with no bitterness, no astringency, and just a bit sweet on its own. I’m really, really glad I ordered this one!