Jin Pin Black Tea

Okay, I must have done something wrong. I have never had the same experience with a handful of black teas as some other users on Steepster where the only flavor is dirt. But. Now I can say I have.
All I taste is dirt.
Like, take a sweet potato, burn it in a fire on some dirt and ashes, and make me drink it. Physically impossible, but yes, that is the flavor profile I can narrow it down to.
I don’t want to think that it was a bad sample, I have and love all of the other Yezi blacks I own. But like, what the fuck? It must be on my end. Ah well, sorry Jin Pin. I will have to put you on my ‘get as a sample with next yezi order’ list.

My last Yezi black tea sample! I’ve enjoyed all their teas so far, though they tend to be a bit expensive for my tastes. This is actually one of their cheaper black teas, so hopefully I enjoy it as much as the pricier ones. The leaves are medium-sized and while they’re long and slender, they’re not wiry-looking. The color is a medium to dark brown with some golden tips included. Dry scent is hay and potatoes.

The steeped tea… smells exactly like French fries to me. Excuse me while I sit here and sniff it for a few minutes… Wow, it tastes very potato-y as well! Totally French fries. There’s also a light sort of green vegetable flavor as well as a slightly sweet and rich caramel/molasses touch. Mostly though, I taste French fries. There is perhaps a touch of fruit near the end, some kind of dried fruit, perhaps prune? Overall, this is a nice mostly savory and thick tea. It’s almost bitter, but not quite there.

Ost included a sample of this in her Christmas Card. Thank you, Ost!!

Brewed in a test tube steeper. Steeping times: 20, 40, 60, 120.

The dry leaf smells uncannily like caramel-filled chocolate candies, while a rich smoky and somewhat chocolately aroma arises from the wet leaf. The liquor is a beautiful golden orange color, and has silky smooth texture. Very clear, except for the fuzzies from the leaves – makes for a nice sight when you hold the steeper in the light. Flavorful and full-bodied. Offers fudge and caramel with a bold smokey note.

I’ve come to learn that smoke in teas doesn’t appeal to me unless it’s lapsang souchong, but this is a delightful and well-made black tea nonetheless.

I was thinking of having a Yezi tea this morning.. or should I say I was thinking specifically of the flavor of a Chinese black (or red) tea? No, I knew Yezi wouldn’t fail me. I’ve been holding onto this one from the Butiki traveling teabox so I thought I’d try this one. The Yezi black teas I’ve tried seem to be variations on a theme when it comes to flavor… especially if you happen to be able to steep them with exactly the same parameters. Yezi suggests a teaspoon for each three ounces of water, so I steeped the entire sample: three not-entirely-full teaspoons. The black and golden leaves have exactly the flavor I was looking for: not quite chocolate, not quite sweet potato (it’s a nice middle ground that only Yunnan seems to have), with something in the flavor that reminds me of wine. There is something about teas like this one that it seems like I’m actually chewing food – very rich and satisfying. Three amazing steeps with this one. Perfect every time. It’s hard to tell which Yezi red/black tea is the best, but I’d sure love to try them all to find out.
Steep #1 // 3 tsps for 12 ounce mug // 10 min after boiling // 2 1/2 min steep
Steep #2 // 5 min after boiling // 3 1/2 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4 min

So far I haven’t been too impressed by the Yezi Tea samples, but this one!
This one surprised me!
It’s creamy and malty. Hardly any earthiness at all! Definitely something that I would buy again if they had a really good sale or free shipping!
The win of the night! :D

I placed a Yezi Tea order a while back when they had their free shipping promotion. I have really really been enjoying straight blacks this summer and so I thought why not. I have had the opportunity to try quite a few Yezi Teas with out making a purchase so thought I would go ahead and support these guys. I threw this one into my cart without trying it and I will be honest it is not all that I had hoped for. It is a decent black tea, but nothing about it is unique. It is more like your every day cup of black tea. I am okay with that. I need this on those days when you just don’t know what you are looking for. It is a light tea with hints of bread and slight hints of cocoa. This tea won’t go to waste, but it probably will not make it back into my cupboard after I finish this 2oz. I have quite a few more from Yezi that I love more.

T&C TTB 23/23

I remember saving a small serving of this to try because I remember someone liking this more than a Verdant one that I don’t even remember the name of anymore. I saved this for months thinking I would hold off until I could write a proper review. Well I still can not but this is a yummy, malty, bready tea, I should purchase some or something like it and have it more often.

I was a little hesitant to try this tea because of the supposed smoke in the description, but it seems to be positively reviewed so I will give it a try! Sipping… I’m glad that there isn’t a bunch of smoke here. It’s earthy, smooth and tastes a bit like caramel and milk without any heavy sweetness. This is another tea that I would like to be stronger. The flavors are all nice, but are quite faint. It’s difficult to enjoy the more delicious elements because the earthiness sort of takes over for me.

This was good I liked it, Not my favorite Yezi black tea, but nice enough for an everyday at work black.

When I opened the bag of tea and took a deep inhale, I was not immediately impressed. It smelled like tea.

But then I boiled the water and started to brew this, and wow, it’s gorgeous. The tea is a lovely amber color and the brewed tea smells exactly like the malted grains used in brewing beer. I mean exactly.

When the tea finally steeps and cools, and I take a sip, it tastes like it smells. Any homebrewer or beer aficionado would know this flavor. Grains can be malted a million different ways into colors from light to dark, and flavors from mild to strong. The flavor of this tea was in the mid-range, which happens to be my favorite.

I should have brewed this gong fu style, but I wanted a nice sip while I watched a film, so I used boiling water for around 4 minutes. There was a slight bitterness, but I made a second infusion, poured it into a tall mug with the first (gasp!) and drank it that way. It was excellent and less bitter than the first steep alone.

I also tried adding just a hint of rock sugar, maybe just 1/2 tsp, which cut the minimal bitterness and really let the malty flavor shine.

I didn’t really pick up other flavors, but whatever. It’s probably because I am malt-obsessed, so when that appeared, I didn’t care about anything else. I was thrilled with this tea.