Classic Laoshan Black Tea from Shandong * Spring 2016

From TTB 2019/2020.

Working through some of these yummy teas and finally having a restful and enjoyable day of vacation. The days leading up to Christmas were hectic and the last couple of days I’ve been sick, so this has been my first day to just sit and enjoy some tea and a bit of reading. I’m finishing up the last of my modules for my health coach training program and then I’ll start my herbalism courses in January. Feeling super excited!

I was worried I may have steeped this too hot because the wet leaves smelled a bit like burnt bread, but the flavor is chocolaty (albeit rather thin) with no trace of bitterness. As it cools, the chocolate flavor is coming through even more. A nice cup, though one I probably wouldn’t purchase on my own.

Malt. Cacao. A teeny wee bit of smoke.

I finally managed to finish the last of this tea yesterday evening. It was one I had been working on in my spare time for the better part of a week. It was also a rather difficult tea for me to rate, as I could find a lot to like about it despite a few shortcomings that I felt were rather obvious.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a very quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 12 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute 5 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves offered a strong aroma of chocolate underscored by hints of pine and vanilla. The rinse brought out aromas of malt, burnt toast, and honey. The first infusion brought out hints of char, spice, and caramel on the nose. In the mouth, I found mild, muted notes of chocolate that were balanced by fleeting impressions of malt, honey, and vanilla. Subsequent infusions brought out somewhat stronger malt, honey, and vanilla impressions, though I also found notes of apricot, peach, roasted walnut, cream, nutmeg, minerals, and osmanthus. Caramel, char, pine, and burnt toast also made themselves known on the palate. The tea faded fast, and by the time I got to the last two or three infusions, I was mostly noting minerals, malt, and cream underscored by occasional traces of nuttiness and chocolate.

This was a pleasant, drinkable tea with the pronounced chocolate aromas and flavors one would expect from just about any Laoshan black tea. Unfortunately, it also faded fast, even for a tea of this type (in my experience, Laoshan black teas do not always offer a ton of longevity). There wasn’t much in the way of depth, and I also found the mouthfeel to be a touch too thin for my liking. In the end, I would still recommend this to those looking for a smooth, easy-sipping black tea for regular consumption or those looking for an introduction to Laoshan black teas. Just don’t expect something particularly deep, complex, or otherwise awe-inspiring.

This tea was pleasant but left me feeling ambivalent.

I could taste notes of cocoa and light malt but it was pretty much done around 3 steeps.

Ugh. At the boyfriend’s house. Internet is down at my place so I’ve been suffering at home. and my phone battery is dying, it isn’t charging properly. Not that it matters, as the cell towers around my place don’t reach us very well, thus the wifi on that doesn’t work either.
Also, I tripped over a cord with the just boiled kettle and fell on my knee. Already bruising. Not my best day to say the least!
Hopefully it isn’t a setback that my chiro will have to address, she ain’t cheap and I’ve got a pile of other things for her to fix. On the plus side, she made my leg pain go away last time I saw her (well, 95% of it. There is still some residual stuff going on but that should be fixed when she looks at the other things, I hope). I’ll tell you the story because I think everyone should try this method out. Seriously. I HIGHLY recommend matrix repatterning (and M.A.T. therapy but that’s another story)
My whole upper torso is slightly twisted to the left, but you wouldn’t know it unless you were trained to recognize stuff like that. As in a personal trainer or physical therapist etc. My twistedness causes muscles to pull everything in a bad way.
I was super skeptical at first. Reading online, it sounds like a hippy dippy money waster. But I was desperate as the body tension was becoming unbearable. I’m so happy I gave it a go. After two treatments, consider me convinced. It’s a super gentle process. My leg issue wasn’t something I ever expected a chiro to be the one who would fix me. It was a muscle thing, not a bone thing or so I thought. All she did was place her hands on me while I was on the table, and keep them there for a few minutes. Literally no pain or jarring movements at all. Anyone who has issues in their body that doctors can’t explain, especially those with fibromyalgia (sp?) needs to look into it. Worth every penny. Yeah I was a tad sore after, although an epsom salt bath really helped. Long story short, I’m uber excited to finally have more forward movement.
Physical therapy for an entire year before that fixed a few things but stopped helping after two months or so. I wish I’d gone to see this chiro first. To say I’m relieved, and honestly? grateful!!!! that I’ve finally found something helpful is an understatement, I guess that’s why I’m so eager to share.
OK. Story over. If anyone has questions about my experience I’d be happy to chat.

On to the tea: warm and toasty and oh so good! Just what I needed to soothe me as I deal with the aftermath of my klutz drama. My whole body has stiffened up. Sighs.
There’s a little extra sweetness today even though I’m drinking it straight. And that refreshing menthol lingering once the sip is finished. This is just the first infusion. I’m looking forward to more :)
Almost half my stash is gone but I wasn’t planning to order more for awhile, as I have so much tea in my cupboard and a few things on the way. Plus my annual black friday/cyber monday splurge coming up. So do I ration this and hope it doesn’t go stale? or binge and deal with an LB cupboard gap. Bah. What’s a tea hoarder to do???

Sample from Hoálatha

I wanted to do a Laoshan blind tasting/comparison for a while now. I’ve had this, the 2016 Imperial Laoshan (YS), and Spring 2016 Laoshan (Verdant) samples in my cupboard for a while, but I didn’t have as much time as I wanted to work on the tasting or due to the fact that I was too lazy to review.

I’ve had a love for Laoshan Black ever since I started getting into tea—beyond Teavana—at which point I started my Steepster account. Laoshan was my first black tea that stood out for me. I remember signing up for Verdant’s $5 sample pack, and I’ve been in love with the tea ever since.

Anyway…..

The aroma: bread, nut, oatmeal and grain.

Flavor profile: Soft notes of cocoa, grain/wheat, and a touch of malt. There was a thick mouthfeel that left a dry coating through the roof of the mouth/back of the throat. It became lighter with each steep, and didn’t last as long as I hoped.

I steeped the tea three times: 15s, 30s & 60s. It was nearly complete after the third steep. Very light; the cocoa notes lingered in the front of the mouth after the last cup.

Once brewed, the wet leaves lose their Halloweeny smell, for which I am grateful. Trashy American chocolate isn’t really my thing in either tea or food form. The aroma is more like a burnt chocolate pudding, a scent I can definitely get behind. I’m one of those people that actually enjoys eating the skin off of a cooling chocolate pudding.

The brew is a bit thin, lacking in body and depth, for a black tea. There is a light cocoa flavor, a sugary sweetness, and a hint of yeasty sourness. That hint of Halloween candy is back on the finish. As the brew cools, it gets sweeter. There is also some slight astringency on the back of the palate.

Subsequent steepings reveal a bright, yeasty honey flavor with a wash of cocoa on the finish. Though it’s still on the astringent side, the brew definitely thickens and sweetens as it cools. I’m still getting that Halloween candy flavor out the nose.

Though this tea is perfectly pleasant, I know I’ve had better Laoshans than this.

I did a comparison on the YS Laoshans against Verdant. Full post and photos here: http://www.catlaittea.com/2016/09/05/laoshan-showdown-yunnan-sourcing-vs-verdant/

Bought this tea a couple of weeks ago and am just now getting around to drinking it. It has some malt, some chocolate flavor and what tastes like a roast flavor to it. This is interesting as I don’t think it was roasted. It is overall a good tea.

I steeped this one time in a Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 3 minutes.