Vietnam 'Shan Tuyet' Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea Leaves
Flavors
Ash, Black Pepper, Brandy, Grapes, Red Wine, Berries, Bread, Cherry, Citrus Zest, Hay, Honey, Malt, Molasses, Smoke, Cacao, Caramel, Cedar, Cocoa, Rum, Spices, Sweet, Tart, Butter, Cream, Mineral, Orange Zest, Pine, Plum, Toast, Chocolate, Fruity, Pear, Smooth, White Grapes, Wood
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by eastkyteaguy
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 30 sec 4 g 35 oz / 1028 ml

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9 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Brewed some of this in a Pyrex measuring cup before pouring it into a plastic travel mug like a sophisticated person last night. Didn’t want to waste my last chance to have a cup of caffeinated tea...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “I had it Western style. The dry leaf is long, remarkably wiry and gnarly, which is pleasant. Its smell is restrained, with notes of fresh hay,malt, honey and pepper. The wet leaf acquires...” Read full tasting note
    94
  • “This is a truly delightful black tea. Intense red grapes fruitiness but with delicious charred notes. I haven’t tried petmez/pekmez but that’s how I imagine it would taste – grape must that has...” Read full tasting note
    95
  • “What a lovely leaf to look at and hold. A wild and clumpy pile of large-leaf tendrils. They smell mostly of red cherry, malt and pine with hints of cedar and cacao. Gone western. What-Cha...” Read full tasting note
    92

From What-Cha

A very smooth black tea with a fruity red grape taste which lingers in the mouth.

The tea is interestingly produced from ‘Shan Tuyet’ a variety native to Vietnam (variety pubilimba), different from the more commonly found variety assamica and variety sinensis typically used in tea production.

Tasting Notes:
- Very Smooth texture with little to no bitterness or astringency
- Fruity red grape taste which lingers

Harvest: Spring, March 2018

Origin: Tay Con Linh Mountain, Ha Giang, Vietnam
Tea Variety: Camellia Sinensis var. pubilimba
Altitude: 1,300m+
Sourced: Direct from the producer

Brewing Advice:
- Heat water to roughly 95°C/203°F
- Use 2 teaspoons per cup/small teapot
- Brew for 2-3 minutes

About What-Cha View company

Company description not available.

9 Tasting Notes

83
66 tasting notes

Brewed some of this in a Pyrex measuring cup before pouring it into a plastic travel mug like a sophisticated person last night. Didn’t want to waste my last chance to have a cup of caffeinated tea even though I had to run down to the barn after work for horse activities. It’s a really interesting brew, even with the notes of polymer that you get from pouring hot tea into a “microwave safe” plastic cup and letting it sit in there until it’s cool enough to drink.

First of all, the dry leaves are beautiful. Spindly and long like antlers, they hook around each other with the curled ends and lift out of the bag in gnarled clumps. The scent is peppery and dark with hints of grape. When you brew them, they smell… like a classic black tea. Heady and brisk with a hint of tannins that you don’t actually end up tasting.

The flavor is completely free of astringency—I think. The plastic notes were overwhelming some stuff in the flavor, but I’ve had it once before in a proper mug and recall it being terribly smooth—with a definite brandy taste. Red grapes, aged wine. Nothing sour or tart about it. It’s easy to forget that you’re drinking this because there aren’t any potentially unpleasant or out-of-place notes that grab your attention. I think the best way I can describe it is as a polished Lipton. It tastes familiar and I wouldn’t hesitate to offer it to someone who likes a plain black cup of tea without any frills.

Flavors: Ash, Black Pepper, Brandy, Grapes, Red Wine

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec 3 g 12 OZ / 354 ML
gmathis

Is this what I had? It was delicious!

Eelong

It is! Hard to go wrong with this tea.

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94
226 tasting notes

I had it Western style. The dry leaf is long, remarkably wiry and gnarly, which is pleasant. Its smell is restrained, with notes of fresh hay,malt, honey and pepper. The wet leaf acquires undertones of ash, earth, molasses and overripe berries.

The liquor is pale and it takes some time for it to darken appreciably. The taste is similarly understated: baked bread, malt, molasses, smoke, dark cherries, citrus zest. It has a good lasting power and could be sipped for a long time at different temperatures. A nice and balanced aftertaste.

Overall, it is a very enjoyable restrained tea with the profile of mostly baked bread + cherry/molasses sweetness. No astringency whatsoever. It could be a reliable daily drinker.

Flavors: Ash, Berries, Bread, Cherry, Citrus Zest, Hay, Honey, Malt, Molasses, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
gmathis

Sounds like a winner!

Kawaii433

I really liked this one too. I need to restock it.

Martin Bednář

I remember having this one… Great tea!

Bluegreen

Well, it is on sale now at Whatcha. And despite coming from the 2018 harvest it is still very potent.

Martin Bednář

Bluegreen: you are teasing me now!

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95
70 tasting notes

This is a truly delightful black tea. Intense red grapes fruitiness but with delicious charred notes. I haven’t tried petmez/pekmez but that’s how I imagine it would taste – grape must that has been boiled down until all the sugars are nice and caramelized and resemble sticky sweet molasses. Then there’s some roasted cacao beans on the finish and maybe just a hint of rose. I should order some more of this.

Flavors: Cacao, Caramel, Grapes, Honey, Molasses, Smoke

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 6 g 6 OZ / 190 ML

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92
1557 tasting notes

What a lovely leaf to look at and hold. A wild and clumpy pile of large-leaf tendrils. They smell mostly of red cherry, malt and pine with hints of cedar and cacao.

Gone western. What-Cha recommends 2tsp, yes, but how I am I supposed to measure that? The leaves in the teaspoon are the arms of an octopus trying to escape man’s confines. So I brought out my scale and 2g of octopus arms roughly translates to 2 heaping teaspoons? 8oz, 205F, 2 steeps at 3/5m.

After the first brew, my nose is going wild picking out all the aromas coming from the leaf: baked bread, dark cherry, dark honey, cedar, malt and pine foremost with hints of cocoa, juicy red grape, red wine, mandarin orange and grape must. The aroma of the liquor has less strength yet is still satisfying with medicinal cherry, alcohol (brandy?), mandarin orange, baked bread, malt, cedar and pine.

The sip is light and smooth yet robust with an interesting astringency. I’m not sure I mentioned this in my note a few days ago about the Vietnam Wild Boar black tea but that tea’s flavors hit mostly mid-mouth and back with very little happening up front. I’m having the same experience with this tea. Dominant flavors of baked bread, cedar and minerals with hints of cherry, dried orange rind and woody cocoa appear mid-mouth. As I swallow the tea, I notice a stronger mineral presence and tartness. The aftertaste is tart much like a sour orange and lingering with some grape fruitiness and faint cocoa. A light oiliness lines my mouth and I’m salivating, which I love.

I have to thank Togo for the opportunity to try this lovely tea. This is yet another tea to add to my impressive experiences with teas coming out of Vietnam. Oh, this Shan Tuyet black was a great complement to a dessert of coconut ice cream and sticky rice. It cut the sweetness nicely and cleared my palate in between bites.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
Hris

This sounds amazing. What-Cha here I come :D

lizwykys

Ditto; this sounds so good!

Kawaii433

I got some based the reviews and love it. I rated it 92 but didn’t write a review on it yet. it’s a good one!

derk

You’re full of reminders today. This one’s going on my next order, too, along with the Vietnam Gui Fei.

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75
35 tasting notes

Black but refreshing. Not bitter. Good with cake not a bacon butty.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 200 OZ / 5914 ML

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94
943 tasting notes

This is one of my favourite black teas, it compares very well with the “Feng Qing Ye Sheng Hong Cha”, another favourite of mine.

It has a beautiful smell, full body, pleasant and decently strong taste, and no astringency. The price is very good too. Really, it’s hard to imagine what more could you want.

As for the particular characteristics, it is quite a malty tea, but not as sweet and lacking the chocolate notes (I nevertheless do get a bit of cocoa beans flavour, especially in the finish) of many tippy Yunnan and Fujian red teas. The taste is definitely more balanced compared to those. It is tart, robust and sweet. I aslo get woody notes of cedar and barrel aged liquors. The aftertaste is strong and protracted, with hints of spices like star anise and cinnamon.

Importantly, the mouthfeel is not lacking in any way either. It is soft, velvety and full-bodied! If you like black tea, definitely get this one, the price is more than adequate!

Flavors: Brandy, Cedar, Cocoa, Malt, Molasses, Rum, Spices, Sweet, Tart

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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93
1048 tasting notes

I finally got around to starting on a sample pouch of this tea last night. On that note, I really must get out of the habit of drinking tea in the evening as it is starting to interfere with my sleep patterns. Fortunately, I still work for my family and I’m in charge of my own scheduling, so it’s not that big of a deal right now. Anyway, I greatly enjoyed this tea. It was perhaps one of the smoothest black teas I have had in some time.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, molasses, honey, and wood. After the rinse, I found new aromas of cocoa and toast. The first infusion then brought out hints of smoke and spice on the nose. In the mouth, I detected smooth notes of malt, toast, cocoa, cedar, and pine underscored by hints of black cherry and plum. What-Cha described this as being a very fruity tea, but my experience to this point suggested that it was going to be more malty and bready. Subsequent infusions brought out hints of honey and molasses in the mouth that were accompanied by slightly stronger notes of plum. The black cherry remained subtle throughout. Black pepper and smoke began to appear on the palate while new impressions of baked bread, cream, butter, caramel, minerals, and orange zest began to appear. The later infusions mostly offered lingering impressions of minerals, butter, baked bread, and cream with hints of cocoa and orange zest in the background.

Although this tea did not change a great deal from start to finish, it was very appealing. I loved how smooth it was and all of the aromas and flavors it displayed worked well together. Surprisingly, it was lacking in astringency. That struck me as being very unusual for a Vietnamese wild black tea of any sort. I would definitely recommend this tea to fans of Vietnamese black teas and Yunnan black teas alike. It made for a pleasant break from the usual assamicas on offer.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Caramel, Cedar, Cherry, Cocoa, Cream, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Molasses, Orange Zest, Pine, Plum, Smoke, Toast

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
A Taste of My Own

DELETEless than a minute ago
I agree that the tea did not change a great deal from start to finish. I think this is a tea better brewed western style. I also break up some of the leaves to add a little more body to the tea. Not a tea for me; however, if you enjoy a smooth weak tea brewed in a big teapot then this might be the one for you. Brew hard.

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100
72 tasting notes

So far, I’ve been reviewing only teas I love, and this is no exception. I thought it had just a little bit of astringency, which I like in a breakfast tea, but it still was very smooth and malty. I tried this one as a sample and then promptly ordered more. Like other teas that I enjoy, it has a light cocoa flavor.

Flavors: Chocolate, Malt

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80
33 tasting notes

I’ve given this tea another go, using more water and a slightly lower temp.

The leaves are not very aromatic, but there is a scent of dry chocolate perhaps.

The tea is very light and smooth, slightly malty with a sweet white grape juiciness and a hint of chocolate and wood in the background. There’s a lingering white grape flavor.

The second steeping is all malt, pear and white grape, with a light fruity-floral after taste. I find myself licking my lips as the flavor lingers for minutes after each sip, it’s lovely.

It’s almost as if the tea showcases the juicy flavors hiding behind the usual curtain of tannins that black teas typically have, resulting in a quite refreshing and gentle brew. I definitely recommend this for those who enjoy lighter, fruitier black teas.

Flavors: Chocolate, Fruity, Malt, Pear, Smooth, White Grapes, Wood

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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