Autumn 2014 High Mountain Red Ai Lao Mountain Black

GCTTB5

I had this yesterday morning. The dry leaf smells like freshly baked bread.
The aroma transfers into the taste with notes of baked bread, molasses, brown sugar. In the aftertaste, there is slight fruity notes but I can’t quite put my finger on which fruit it is.

The resteep at 4 minutes perhaps has less molasses and more fruit.

Delightful cuppa

The third tea in my triple taste test from the GCTTB4.

I think this was my favourite of the three black teas today. It had this gorgeous dark fruit smell, like prunes or raisins or banana bread, and that translated into the taste. It had a nice thick tongue-coating gesture as well. I might consider buying some for myself in the future – the problem is there are so many teas from YS that it’s overwhelming to choose!

My first Yunnan Sourcing club order arrived today squee!

After a busy day of packing my suitcase and trying to get the house in order before I go away on Sunday I am delighted to have finally sit down and have tea time. I haven’t had tea all day and it’s almost bed time!

The leaves are dark brown with some red patches and golden tips present. They are mostly thin, tightly rolled and curly but there are some thicker pieces present too. Also some stem/stick. It has a light, sweet and wooden scent with a hint of lychee/dark fruit.

Steeping Method: Gaiwan

First Steep
45 seconds
The liquid is burnt orange in colour and has a soft wooden scent.
Flavour is gentle and malted with sweet wood and soft leather tones. Fresh yet musty.

Second Steep
120 seconds
More sweet and rock sugar like and the malt tones are now in the background, with the wood. Also a lychee or dark fruit aftertaste.

Third Steep
2 minutes
Extremely light and all that remains is the fruity aftertaste.

This was rather a simple black but it was clean tasting and very pleasant. Not the best but something I can happily finish my 50g pouch of. Another tea where the scent showed pretty much what to expect in taste.

It seems I am the first to leave a review for this Autumn tea but it’s still pretty much the same tea from Spring of 2014. I’ve had this tea few times already but was too lazy to set up a new tea on Steepster.

I brewed western style for this morning at 200F . This is a pretty good tea for early mornings. It’s got a bit of caffeine kick to it but not overly strong. In fact I can’t tell too much of a difference in caffeine compared to having my green.

I love the bready/molasses sweetness of this early morning. There’s also a floral note but I haven’t figured out what it reminds me of. What appeals to me about this black tea is that it’s a bit lighter than I expected a black tea to be. The milder brew and light floral notes are things I enjoy in some greens. This tea is dark enough and strong enough to give to my Hubby (He likes it too) but light enough for me to enjoy as well.