Ok people it's time for me to officially confess my love for this beautiful black tea I have been raving about on TeaDay mornings. This one simply captivates me every time I have it. The one I am drinking is an organic limited edition from Tao of Tea and comes in a sweet little Limited Edition Canister - once ounce for $8. I wish they sold it loose because I am really wanting to stock up, the fear of never having this one again is very great.
It is beautifully smooth and has the just the right amount of light smokiness.
Never astringent or bitter, beautifully sweet with cocoa-like nuances.
Thanks to GeekGirl for introducing me and others to these ToT Limited Edition teas!
Tao of Tea says:
"Bohea is from a 400 year old tea garden in Tong Mu Guan of Xing Village, located in the heart of a pristine Wuyi mountains nature reserve, in Fujian, China."
After reading it was from the Wuyi mountains I did a little more research and found this from Seven Cups teas:
"Bohea (Boo-he) is the world’s first black tea created purely by the innovative tea farmers in the small Tongmu village in Northeastern China. This certified organic tea comes directly from the original Lapsang Farm in the WuYi Mountains. This tea is made from young tea buds and fresh leaves creating a deep amber liquor and clean, sweet flavor known as longan, the trademark of Bohea tea. Most Asian palates prefer the its delicate flavor to the heaviness of the Lapsang Souchong, which is primarily consumed by the British. When this tea first came to the markets in Fuzhou during the end of the 17th century, the buyers were very interested in this new style of tea. When asked the name they were told it was “Wu Yi Cha” which they pronounced as Bohea."
I will probably buy the Seven Cups one just for comparison, although it looks to be a 2006 harvest.
When researching TeaChat "search" for Bohea - I found a rather long and spamish post that touts Bohea as the Ancestor of Black Tea and supports the claim as such by Seven Cups above.
Anyone with a lot of time and so inclined may read more about it here:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... ight=bohea
but I have read that Bohea was the famous Boston Tea Party tea also, which I thought was kind of cool. I've never tried the stuff, though...