China Zhejiang Black Tea

Sipdown, and still good after 4 years. I threw the rest of the sample in my tumbler, brewed about 20 seconds, splashed it into my mug, then savored it…nectarine, rose, tannin, brown sugar, straw, malt, peanut, and dryness with a little astringency. I did another cup and downed it because it was a bit too malty, but good. I didn’t drink more and feel kinda bad about it, but I know how the tea tastes. Solid cup overall.

Okay, I know I said that I would post a review or three back in my first review of the day, but there’s nothing wrong with going over the max by one, is there? I finished a 25 gram pouch of this tea late last week, and I figured that I may as well take the time to review it while I was still sitting at my computer. You do not see a ton of Zhejiang black teas on the Western market, probably because a great deal of Zhejiang tea production and tea culture seems so focused on green teas. Still, the Zhejiang black teas one does occasionally stumble across are often very enjoyable. This tea was certainly no exception as it was very much worth a try.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water. This infusion was chased by 16 additional 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, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of roasted almond, cinnamon, honey, pine, and chocolate. After the rinse, I detected an aroma of roasted peanut and a subtle baked bread scent. The first infusion brought out a stronger baked bread aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of roasted almond, cream, honey, chocolate, cinnamon, and pine that were chased by hints of roasted peanut, pear, rose, and nectarine. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas of rose, orange zest, cream, pear, and brown sugar. Baked bread notes came out in the mouth alongside stronger impressions of roasted peanut, pear, and rose. New notes of minerals, sweet potato, brown sugar, and orange zest were also present as was an interesting wintergreen note that lingered in the mouth after each swallow. As the tea faded, the liquor offered mineral, roasted almond, baked bread, pine, and orange zest notes that were underscored by hints of roasted peanut, pear, sweet potato, and brown sugar. Naturally, there were still notes of wintergreen in the mouth after each swallow, though they were much subtler at the end of the session.

This was a very pleasant, likable black tea. I could see it serving as a great introduction to Zhejiang black teas or as a no fuss daily drinker. Sadly, this tea is now out of stock, and it appears that What-Cha will not be offering it again in the near future if at all. For those who are intrigued by the idea of trying a Zhejiang black tea, I will state that several other vendors do offer at least one or two on a fairly regular basis; Harney & Sons immediately springs to mind.