Traditional Process Dian Hong Black tea of Feng Qing * Spring 2014

Thanks so much for this one a while back, Ost! And it’s a sipdown. Love these types of teas. I used two teaspoons of these wiry golden and dark twisty leaves. The resulting dark burgundy cup has a great depth to the flavor: wine and chocolate and honey. Everything I expect from this type of tea. I could drink a tea like this every day. It’s the most satisfying.
Steep #1 // 18 minutes after boiling // 3 minutes
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 3 minutes

Another one from Teri!
So this one I’m not such a fan of. I think I might have over-steeped it a little so it came out really really strong. xD Pretty woody…and kinda reminds me of horse manure. xD Great description, right? Oy. I’m sorry haha My taste buds suck clearly!
Thanks for the sample though, Teri. Glad to have tasted it before I wasted money!

mmmmm this was one of the teas i snuck from terri when i was visiting her. I’m trying to get through some of my samples so that i can get back to focusing on my larger quantities of teas. This is a really smooth tasting tea. Now, granted i’m a little sick so i’m not sure i’m catching all the nuances today but it’s a rather pleasant cup of tea today. Not overly malty, but still has some maltiness to it. It’s smooth, and there’s no astringency to this. The description mentions floral notes, but i’m not getting any of those, and that makes me a happy camper. Is this better than my favourites from Yunnan? Nope. But i wouldn’t turn a cup of this down for sure. :)

When the spring Black teas were unveiled on the YS website, I have to admit I went a little nuts, LOL. In part it was the unending urge to try all the black teas, & also the desire to have teas on hand to share with my BBBB sisters. I still haven’t sampled all of them yet.

I just added this one to the steepster database, which required me to visit the YS website, a dangerous activity!

I’m drinking a cup of it now. It definitely has a floral edge, which kind of makes me think of geraniums, along with a little bitterness, & a touch of astringency. It also brings to mind a really dense chewy natural rise German bread I used to buy, back when I could eat things like that. It was kind of dry & chewy, with a hoppy kind of taste, & especially tasty with avocado… I’m not sure if this is the brand, but this is the type http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Bread/Schneider_Brot_Organic_And_Wheat_Free_Rye_Bread_with_Sunflower_Seeds_500g.html