Imperial Grade Bai Lin Gong Fu Black tea of Fuding

Decent enough black! I got this tea from my recent YS order, and it’s not too bad but not amazing either. Nice, relatively whole leaves but a low proportion of buds, rich aroma in the wet leaf with nuance and complexity, and vibrant red liquor in the cup. The flavour is pretty well-rounded, reminding me of tangerines or 小青柑 Puer, and the texture is smooth with a slight juiciness to it. Character is decent, a bit of steep variability paired with a average to decent finish & aftertaste. Cha-qi is almost non-existent and steep longevity is average, topping out at steep 7-8.

I have the Spring 2017 harvest.

Dry leaf smells really fruity, like tart cherries. The wet leaf and liquor smell divine, like sweet young woodsy incense (I’m not describing this well). Delicious, delicate flavour but slightly green. I think I should let it age, to mellow and sweeten more.

This tea as of Apr 2018 does NOT go well with even a splash of milk; milk totally overwhelms the subtle flavour. The Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu 2015 (my rating: 90) went well with milk, so I’ll rate this an 87.

This, btw, is the Spring 2016 harvest I am talking about. I hesitate to make yet another heading though maybe I should.

I very much enjoy this. caveat—> If I do not drink it around the same time as the Classic version.

I steep both at a lower temperature to maximize the chocolatey malt deliciousness.

And 500—whoop!

This is from the autumn 2014 harvest, meaning that it’s been in my cupboard for almost three years. (Time to sip down some old teas!) To be honest, I know why it’s been there so long—there’s always a more interesting option around.

This tea is a superior version of something you might find in a regular tea bag. It has a smooth, slightly sweet taste with just the right amount of astringency. It isn’t bad by any means; it’s just kind of one dimensional. I’ve had many other great blacks from Yunnan Sourcing that I’d restock before this one.

Another tea from Terri i decided to have this one with another from the same area. I find more and more that the imperial grades from YS are often not for me. this has a bit of malt, but it’s got a thin brew taste to it. There’s a bit of sweetness here and some tannins. Overall, a decent cup, but not my favourite.

One of my favourite Black (red) Teas. Rich, robust, malty and cocoa. The dry leaves have a fabulous hazelnut aroma. Quite a contrast to the supersmooth caramel of Canton Tea Co’s version.
Brewed western I use a heaped tablespoon and 2min steep, 2-3min on 2nd steep, maybe stretching to a long 3rd. I’ve steeped at 80deg C with good results.

Nice sweet, fruity flavor with some tannins that seem to more contribute than detract. Probably will be better in a week or so. Next time I think I’ll use more tea.

I finally decided to pull this out. I tore open the package and took in a wonderful aroma. These leaves are very fragrant with notes of dark chocolate with some red fruit scent (or red grapes). I warmed my teapot up and packed these in. The leaf scent expands to a nice malt, warm dark chocolate, and some oak tones. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The flavor begins as slightly astringent yet still smooth. I picked up some nice baked bread, caramel, and burnt sugar flavors. The brew has a nice full body and warm curbed flavors. The brew grows with some astringency and wood tones by the third steeping. After, the brew falters down a notch to more sweeter tones with some light malt. I was able to get a decent amount of steeping sessions out this brew, and I enjoyed it. Although, this brew is a little too woody and astringent for my tastes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/_PLomLzGUW/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I this tea I get some different notes, malt first, followed by chocolate with hints of baked bread. This tea seems to improve as it cools a little. I only steeped this western style this morning having no time for a gongfu session. Overall I like this tea. I will eventually try it gongfu but I rarely get around to brewing black tea gongfu.

I steeped this tea one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

I’ve been drinking this at work for the last couple of days – 2015 harvest.
I love it, steeped western, over leafed, long steeps – and it’s deep dark smooth bitter chocolate. Fantastic, everything I like about this style of black tea.