Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong of Wu Yi Fujian Black tea * Spring 2014

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Dill, Sweet, Toast, Toasty, Astringent, Chocolate, Malt, Smoke, Bread, Caramel, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Raisins, Wheat, Grain, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Rye
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Dexter
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 g 9 oz / 272 ml

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31 Tasting Notes View all

From Yunnan Sourcing

Classic Wu Yi mountain black tea varietal “Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong” means literally “from Wu Yi Mountain Small Tea Plant”.

Our offering is processed in traditional style and carries notes dark chocolate taste and aroma with a sweet after-finish.

We recommend brewing with 90c temperature water. Wash once very briefly!

This is not a smoky “Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong” and should not be confused with the smoky type “Lapsang Souchong”!

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

Company description not available.

31 Tasting Notes

81
681 tasting notes

This smells sooooo good while it’s steeping! Malt, honey and cocoa mmmm. I might have to tweak my parameters next time I drink this, though, because mostly what I get in the sip is rye bread or sourdough, with a hint of cocoa which is dark and powdery, almost savoury. It’s nice, but I want it to taste how it smells! Experimentation to come, I think. Thank you Sil for sending this my way!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
gmathis

I love Fujian teas!

Nattie

I just had the Whispering Pines Fujian Black, and it was so good! I think I had unrealistic expectations that this one would be similar.

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95
417 tasting notes

So delicious. Happy national coffee day or whatever. #teamtea

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec
Kittenna

Hahahahaha.

TeaExplorer

This is one of my favorite black teas. Ever. The Spring 2014 harvest was slightly better than the 2013, but both were excellent. One of the few I order in the 250 gram size.

CharlotteZero

I’ve been curious to try the spring 2015. I’ve been trying to find any websites (in English) which discuss the differences between different “vintages” in tea regions (whether Fujian or Darjeeling, etc) like they do for wine.

Dexter

I can only speak for YS ZSXZ, but I LOVED 2013, liked 2014, hated 2015 when I first got it. Now that 2015 has a couple months “age” on it, it’s much better more like the 2014 but not quite as chocolate and not as nice as 2013. This is just my opinion and observation. :)

CharlotteZero

Thanks. Hm. Maybe I’ll wait for spring 2016 to buy more of this…

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3294 tasting notes

mmmmmmm…soooo goood….
dark chocolate….nomnomnom….
I love this tea. I think I now love it more than I love LB, because it has all the rich chocately, toasty bread and deep dark tea flavor, minus the bean taste.
Now I have work to do… I love being self-employed…
“I love to work at nothin all day…”

Sil

haha

curlygc

So, if you added peppermint leaves to this tea, would it taste like Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies? (Or would that be an abomination?)

Terri HarpLady

hmmmm…..probably an abomination, but possibly worth risking the wrath of the natural universe to try…?

curlygc

Well, someone has got to do it. Calling Liquid Proust…!

Terri HarpLady

I’ve got fresh peppermint growing in my garden…

Sil

doooo eeet~

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100
557 tasting notes
Terri HarpLady

I love this tea! :)

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1040 tasting notes

ZSXZ is one of my favorite styles of black teas, and this is a really nice version of it. I drank the last of what I have at work today. It is just so good, so chocolaty, no rich, everything I like in a Fujian black tea.
Am I a little sad to see this one go – not really – I’m hoarding quite a bit of 2013 which, IMHO, was even better than 2014. I’m quite sure there will always be a version of this in my cupboard – here’s hoping for 2015.

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50
673 tasting notes

this is an awesome tea!

when i smell the leaves dry, they smell toasty and like onions

when i smell the leaves wet, they smell toasty, like onions and like dill pickles.

when i smell the brewed tea, it smells like the wet leaves

when i taste the brewed tea, it tastes toasty and like onions! MMMMM

thankyou scott wilson and yunnan sourcing for selling me this yummy tea

Flavors: Dill, Toast, Toasty

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 4 tsp 8 OZ / 250 ML

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85
1758 tasting notes

Bought this yesterday at Puerh Brooklyn. He buys nearly all of his teas from Yunnan Sourcing. I can expect he has the 2014 version as his store is brand new. This tea is excellent. Brewed this one gongfu style in a large 220ml gaiwan and gave it four steeps. There is a noticeable note of malt and another of astringency. I also seem to detect a little smoke in there and some chocolate notes, but on the back burner.

I brewed this four times in a 220ml gaiwan with 8.1g leaf and boiling water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 10 sec, and 15 sec.

Flavors: Astringent, Chocolate, Malt, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 7 OZ / 220 ML
TeaExplorer

AllanK – I also like this leaf brewed Western style. I do two steeps using 5 grams leaf to 9 oz (266 ml) of 194 F water for 3.5 and 7 minutes. It really brings out the cocoa notes with a nice underlying sweetness.

Jiāng Luo

Damn a retail outlet that selling yunnan sourcing teas? spoiled new yorkers

Dr Jim

Lucky New Yorkers

AllanK

It not close enough to me to go to on a regular basis. It is easier for me to order from the .com site than go to the store. I hate parking in Brooklyn.

AllanK

Also, he only sells about %5 of their products. Small selection.

Cwyn

You might want to chat with Scott about this. I found one of his cakes on resale at a local tea shop for quite a mark up. Scott has specific cakes he prefers that tea businesses resell, and tries to work with them on those products. He appreciated knowing what is going on with his products.

gschuschke

I just got my yunnan sourcing order in and received this. Can hardly wait to try it! I got all kinds of goodies!

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149 tasting notes

I’m only on my second infusion of this…but it’s SO delicious already.
Hints of cocoa, nuts, dark chocolate, wheat, baked bread…. So very good.
Dexter sent this my way, and I am most definitely adding this to the ‘yes…you love this tea’ list. Thanks, Dexter!
I’m plum tuckered out this morning, after having a late night shoveling workout… chipping away at the driveway that my car keeps getting stuck in… There are layers and layers of snow that just don’t want to come up.. But, they must, I say!
I know I should go out and work on it some more…but I’d rather just sit inside and drink this tea. :D

Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Raisins, Wheat

Sil

the 2013 version was even more wonderful….

ohfancythat

I’m definitely going to have to order from YS at some point in my life!
Once I get rid of a bajillion teas :/

Sil

hahaha

DeliriumsFrogs

Yup..I’m going to have to place an order at some point, too, whatshesaid. So yummers!
Sil, Dexter said the same thing! :D

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90
4183 tasting notes

Happy Saturday, Steepster! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far. This sample came from Ubacat, my Canadian tea friend with amazing postal powers! Seriously though, her package got here in four days. I believe I’ve had this tea before, but it’s been so long that I feel the need to try it again! The leaves are small and thin, and extremely dark in color. Dry scent has lovely cocoa notes along with hay or raw grains.

Mm, the steeped cup smells chocolaty and delicious! Yums. This is a lovely rich and flavorful tea! Strong notes of roasted grain and chocolate (somewhere between milk and dark). There’s also a savory rye bread flavor as well as some creamy nuttiness. I think next time I’ll try a 4 minute steep, I think this one can handle it. Yummy tasty roasty and chocolaty tea! :)

Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Grain, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Rye

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Ubacat

I think this is one of my favourite blacks!

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94
217 tasting notes

Thanks yyz for the hint to brew this slightly cooler than I would usually for a black tea to really bring out those delicious cocoa notes.. At 100C all I got was sweet potato and bread, but at 85-90C the aroma and taste of this tea changed to this amazingly malty, chocolatey goodness, seriously the aroma was so fantastic I wanted to fill my bathtub up with this tea and just soak in it!! Unfortunately it was a sip down which means another yunnan sourcing order is in my very near future… just as soon as the imposed budget will allow!

Mikumofu

Hahaha how many of us would take a tea bath if we were able?

yyz

I’m so glad you liked it this way. This is one of my favourite styles of tea:-)

beelicious

Mikumofu: so very very true!!!

yyz: Thank you soooooo much for the hint… it was good at the ‘wrong’ steeping parameters but its delicious at the ‘right’ :D

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