Taiwan Wild 'Shan Cha' Black Tea

Black tea is not necessarily a regular in my tea consumption schedule, but I’ve been trying to explore more lately and I am really glad that this is one of the ones that I decided to try out, because it is fantastic.

The leaves of this tea have the sweet aroma of maple syrup and blueberries, which grows even more welcoming once steeped. And the taste itself does not betray the aroma. It’s sweet, smooth and fruity, with a hint of malt in the finish.

I liked this one so much that I made it a point to stock up on more while I could, and it is now my main go-to when I’m in the mood for a black tea.

You know all those time you read tea reviews and tasting notes, and find that the flavours descriptions are all exaggerated. Yeah well, this is not one of those times! Yams and blueberries. I honestly had a hard time believing this wasn’t a flavored and sweetened tea. I felt like someone had thrown in a spoonful of blueberry jam while I wasn’t looking.

This is very light for a black tea and a whole different animal from what I was expecting. 3g in 250ml for 3 minutes, followed by 4 minutes and then 5 minutes. Will definitely order again.

I’m not surprised I’m upping the rating. I accidentally over steeped it for about 3 minutes and 15 sec in my French Press, and the result was a sticky and sweet blackberry concoction of slightly spicy notes. How they sang from the body was incredible, making this 22-year-old virgin silently mouth carnal exclamations that he could only imagine. Go two and three did not have the same honey sweet ecstasy, though number two’s blackberry sage notes rose back up as the liquor cooled. Number three was a pale ghost of the black tea that it was – even after eight minutes steeping. Yet the memory of the first experience remained as an unfortunate reminder that it was a one morning stand. Perhaps we could meet again in the future, but what could a student teacher really afford at this time? Til the next sippin’…

I really didnt want any black tea, malt is not my thing at all. so much tea with ‘golden’ in the title lying around not being finished I try not to buy any more. But this one came recommended from Alistair, and I liked the description so I went for some – & really glad I did.

Possibly one of the nicest black teas I have tried. It has a fruity blackberry taste & aroma, with honey-sweet smoothness, & an slight oily leaf taste reminiscent of wuyi yancha running through it. In fact it has the taste of a steeped wuyi, you know when the roast has gone and you are left with the leafy taste (in a good way?) it kinda has that, under the bolder black tea taste. It also has a nice tongue-whetting aspect from the sweetness.

If you like the other smoother black teas that what-cha have/had (the georgian one springs to mind) or just want something slightly different from the usual golden malty blacks, you should consider trying this, the blackberry fruit really lifts it into special territory.

I have been drinking it gongfu, but I’m pretty sure a well made cup of this would sing at the right times.