Imperial Grade Laoshan Black Tea from Shandong * Spring 2017

This was one of my most recent sipdowns. I took some time focus on finishing off the remainder of the spring 2017 Laoshan teas I purchased from Yunnan Sourcing, and this was the last one I finished. In a lot of ways, it was the least memorable and satisfying of the bunch and the most difficult to get consistent results out of while brewing.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of baked bread, dark chocolate, pine, sweet potato, black cherry, and cinnamon. After the rinse, I noted the emergence of a malty aroma as well as a stronger baked bread scent and some very, very faint honey undertones. The first infusion did not see the tea’s bouquet change all that much. Aside from the emergence of a faint sugarcane scent, there was nothing different about it. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of dark chocolate, pine, sweet potato, sugarcane, and cream that were accented by hints of roasted almond, baked bread, and cinnamon. The subsequent infusions revealed aromas of roasted almond, cream, butter, and caramel. Black cherry and subtle malt and honey notes came out in the mouth. Stronger and more immediate baked bread, cinnamon, and roasted almond notes also appeared alongside new notes of minerals, butter, orange, and caramel. I also noted hints of ginger, smoke, raisin, and lemon zest in a number of places. By the end of the session, the tea liquor was mostly offering washed out notes of minerals, dark chocolate, cream, baked bread, and malt that were chased by almost ghostly hints of sugarcane, raisin, pine, and lemon zest.

Compared to Yunnan Sourcing’s Classic Laoshan Black Tea of Shandong * Spring 2017, this was a much subtler and more restrained offering with something of an elegance that is hard for me to accurately describe. Unfortunately, it was also a less complex and flavorful offering, and it was not nearly as much fun to drink. I can appreciate sophistication, but I will also take a memorable and satisfying lower grade tea with stronger and more consistent aromas and flavors over a quality higher end tea with a bit of a stuffy, uptight, fussy feel to it any day of the week. All of that being said, I did still greatly appreciate this tea, but just to be clear, there are Laoshan black teas out there that are easier to get consistently likable results out of and more accessible. Seek those out before you spring for a tea like this one.

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This tea smells like rich, fruity dark chocolate. Unfortunately, the fruit doesn’t make it into the first 15-second steep, but the chocolate definitely does, although like the classic version, it doesn’t seem as dark. There’s also toasted rice, a slight smokiness, and a hint of bitterness on the aftertaste. It’s kind of like drinking especially high-quality hot chocolate.

In subsequent steeps, the flavours are more defined and the chocolate is somewhat stronger. The toasted rice morphs into dark rye bread by the third infusion. This tea keeps getting sweeter and more chocolate-y until it peters out at about steep ten.

This is definitely a cut above the classic Laoshan black and is worth the extra money. Will buy again.