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Jan 23rd, '16, 01:47
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by CWarren » Jan 23rd, '16, 01:47

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Last edited by CWarren on Mar 6th, '16, 02:09, edited 1 time in total.

Jan 23rd, '16, 06:48
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Jan 23rd, '16, 06:48

I hear about these flavorful Taiwan blacks but have not found much complexity. I sampled a couple that were dynamic but I did not buy as they were a bit "rough" for lack of a better word. I had regrets so returned to one shop which did not have the tea I had sampled just 8 days earlier.
So tonight I bought 200 grams of a "tamer" tea mostly because it was my last shop-stop before leaving very early tomorrow morning & I had invested in larger luggage to accommodate some tea.
Taipei teashops have their prejudices +/or connections; e.g., shops that totally ignore tea from some regions of Taiwan.
Anyway tonight's tea was smooth & quite subtle (perhaps a lot like blacks I had already bought). Tasting is overwhelming after a while.
Glad you found such an interesting one.

Jan 23rd, '16, 06:53
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Jan 23rd, '16, 06:53

I drank Oriental Beauty tonight & yesterday (Dongfang Meiren) that was b oring. This was at shops that carry the "best" supposedly. I flat out told them. To them their is what it is supposed to be. So when Jay & I were out "w/ the peasants"t (my words, not the shopkeepers & perhaps I am unfairly inferring an attitude that does not exist) we got better tea from them than from sophisticates.
What am I drinking back at my hostel? Thai Oriental Beauty which had sat for a few hours in a paper cup which seems to have brought out the cinnanmon I had missed. Funny world!

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Jan 27th, '16, 03:55
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Rui » Jan 27th, '16, 03:55

Sipping a very aromatic and flavourful unsmoked Lapsang Souchong from the Wuyi region. Cheering me in this grey and rainy day.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by hopeofdawn » Jan 27th, '16, 12:30

Drinking a Red Jade black tea from Taiwanteacrafts--amazing aroma, a very sweet black, though the flavor is a bit one-note compared to their oolongs.

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Feb 1st, '16, 15:53
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Frisbeehead » Feb 1st, '16, 15:53

Opened up the sample of "wild black tea" that I got from Hojo when I got one of my kyusu. I'm drinking it now, and it is pretty good. Reminds me of other Chinese black teas, with the sweet molasses flavor and texture and no bitterness or astringency. Mmmmm

Reading ethan's posts, and considering my experiences with black tea thus far, I am curious as to whether or not there are a lot of black teas out there that are complex and interesting to drink. All the Chinese black teas I have tried so far have been very enjoyable, due to the sweet molasses flavors, but I haven't had one yet that has the dynamics of some of the oolongs I have tried. I recently tried a ruby 18 black tea for the first time, which I got directly from the farmer/producer in Taiwan. It was a very enjoyable tea, which I will have to experiment with more. However I still didn't find the complexities in it that I have experienced with some oolongs that I drink. In fact, I also got some roasted oolongs from the same farmer/producer as the ruby 18, and they were fantastic. So I am curious if black tea in general is geared more for casual drinking rather than sitting and concentrating on it.

*I haven't had any experience with Indian/Nepalese black teas yet, so I can't speak for those. Just Chinese/Taiwanese black teas. Also, so far I have only had one Taiwanese black tea, so I can't make a general statement about those either.*

I will certainly continue drinking Chinese black teas, because I like them and they're great for casual drinking and doing homework/watching a movie/etc. However if there are more complex ones out there, I would love to try them.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Feb 1st, '16, 23:04

Frisbeehead, For my palate, I've tasted more complexity using less time & leaf than recommended. I am using less than 1 gram of leaf per 50 ml of water for infusions of 45 seconds to 2 minutes in thin porcelain for first & second infusions. (Third may be quite longer.) I am getting 2 ideal rounds & 1 weaker round. It's economical & tasty.

If a very quick infusion is too weak, I've either returned the liquid to the gaiwan for more time or combined it w/ the following infusion.

In the past some Dian Hong has given me complexity in black tea that you may be seeking. I don't like it so much now & don't know if I changed or the tea did.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Bok » Feb 2nd, '16, 01:53

Frisbeehead wrote:So I am curious if black tea in general is geared more for casual drinking rather than sitting and concentrating on it.
I’ve had a few Taiwanese black teas and they can be quite complex – however still less so than High mountain oolongs (greener or more oxidized/roasted/aged). Easier to brew less easy to mess them up… one or the other note might escape but still quite drinkable.

I’ve had No18 from different places, High mountain oolong processed as black in a lot of different flavour profiles. Usually they can be brewed at least 6-8 times before they go flat. Especially the high mountain blacks have nice and deep flavours and are almost impossible to overbrew.

But generally I agree, I tend to drink them whenever time is short or I can not fully pay attention to the brewing. Also a favourite to take out and about.

I also concur with Ethan, most of Taiwanese blacks profit of a little less leave than for normal gongfu brewing.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Feb 7th, '16, 09:30

I am drinking a different high-mountain black tonight. Bought in Taipei at my last stop for shopping for tea, Lin Mao Sen Tea Co., where I was politely helped & given tea to taste, but definitely cautiously. I was often abandoned as regular customers were served, friends greeted, etc.; &, they were not going to allow me to taste haphazardly. Though there almost two hours (mostly w/ the son who eventually was solely devoted to me) I only sampled 4 teas; & (I realized later) not one that we had planned to save for last. We talked about plays, politics, .... life, more than we talked about tea. He made me taste a Tie Guan Yin that he thought should be bought because it was such good value for $; then would not serve me Da Yu Ling. Funny.
So here I am enjoying a delicious, simple black tea that is sweet & smooth. The first 2 infusions are much pleasantly thicker than later ones but I find myself preparing the 4th & not missing that body.
I look at my notes & see that the son did not give me a name nor specific origin of the tea.
Earlier in the day I drank Himalayan Orange from Nepal. A complex tea so different than this tea from Taiwan. Great how one can enjoy both.

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Feb 7th, '16, 12:38
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by jayinhk » Feb 7th, '16, 12:38

Interesting, I'd like to check that place out the next time I'm in Taipei!

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Feb 12th, '16, 11:37
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Frisbeehead » Feb 12th, '16, 11:37

ethan and Bok, I followed your advice and used less leaf today when brewing some Simao golden bud. It worked out very well, and I could definitely taste more out of the tea. I will experiment with this more and see if I can find a sweet spot.

I just finished up the last steep of the golden bud, I think I'll move on to some jin jun mei now. Does anyone use clay pots for their black tea? I was thinking about brewing it in my zini or my nosaka, just as an experiment.

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Feb 12th, '16, 11:45
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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Tead Off » Feb 12th, '16, 11:45

[quote= Does anyone use clay pots for their black tea? I was thinking about brewing it in my zini or my nosaka, just as an experiment.[/quote]

Aren't all teapots made from clay that we generally talk about here?

My preference is high fired clay whether it is Yixing, Seong il, or Japanese kyusu. You want the high notes of black teas to sparkle in your mouth.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Frisbeehead » Feb 12th, '16, 12:05

Tead Off wrote:
Frisbeehead wrote: Does anyone use clay pots for their black tea? I was thinking about brewing it in my zini or my nosaka, just as an experiment.
Aren't all teapots made from clay that we generally talk about here?

My preference is high fired clay whether it is Yixing, Seong il, or Japanese kyusu. You want the high notes of black teas to sparkle in your mouth.
It's pedant's job to be pedantic, I think you are confusing your role here. You're supposed to be tead off. :wink: Jokes aside, you're right I should have clarified: unglazed clay.

Thanks for the input tead, that makes sense. I've found the the shigaraki takes too much out of Yunnan black tea. It comes out malty and sort of sweet still, but the "higher" flavors if you will are muted a bit. I'll give the Nosaka a shot with this jinjunmei.

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by hopeofdawn » Feb 12th, '16, 12:17

I've found Petr's unglazed pots also work very well for black tea, though they're versatile enough for almost anything I throw at them. :)

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Re: Official what Black (Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by ethan » Feb 12th, '16, 18:39

Frisbeehead, Glad you had good results w/ less leaf. What year was your Simao golden bud? (I had some that was wonderful then the next year, it was not as good.) Cheers

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