We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“Gongfu! Dry leaf aroma of this smoked black tea is so enticing with its notes of pipe tobacco, syrupy golden raisins, and ash! Clouds are rolling in and it’s looking like it might rain; hopefully...” Read full tasting note
My cousin lives in the mountains above Tongmu in a village called Masu. This is black tea (zhen shan xiao zhong) from Masu smoked in the traditional way over pine.
Opening the bag will release a fresh smoke smell, strong, but not acrid or overpowering. The first steep may give you the impression of cooking breakfast over a pine fire, a little dry and ashy but smooth and full bodied. The smoke flavor quickly mellows out, and becomes well balanced with the sweetness of the black tea and mineral flavors.
The quality of the base material is what makes this tea interesting for me. As the smoke dissipates faster than the tea steeps out, each steep shows a slightly different look at what smoked tea can be.
Note: Images of the smoking process below are from the smoking of this particular tea.
Company description not available.
Gongfu!
Dry leaf aroma of this smoked black tea is so enticing with its notes of pipe tobacco, syrupy golden raisins, and ash! Clouds are rolling in and it’s looking like it might rain; hopefully part of this session overlaps with some heavy rain so I can really capitalize on that super cozy feeling of a robust and cozy smoked tea during a storm – it’s the tea equivalent of sipping a Scotch under a giant flannel blanket in a log cabin the the middle of the woods!!
Steeped, it’s very similar to the dry aroma but vastly more fruity – brandied stonefruits, overripe red fruit, and the same raisin notes. Very, very syrupy in terms of mouthfeel as well – each sip was viscous and coating, leaving a lovely lingering smoke and overripe fruit note on the palate to enjoy between steeps. Sadly died off pretty quickly – five steeps total.
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/COtVI3TAi86/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGdPoBcxqs&ab_channel=JelaniAryeh
