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

[stevorama]

I used to make a lot of homemade chai. I would buy bulk chai spice mix (without black tea) and boil up 1-2 gallons at a time to store. Then bring couple cups at a time, with milk, to a quick boil. Turn off heat and add black tea in teabag or tea ball. Steep for 5 minutes. Add a touch of sucanat or sugar.

This isn't the traditional way exactly, but I prefer it. Usually the black tea is boiled, but I don't really like the effect of that. You can also add the milk at the end, but I like the boiled milk the best.

[Bok]

A organic black tea from Nepal which fellow teachatter Ethan has been so kind to send me.
Cheers again!

Haven’t had anything from that region for a long time, basically before I seriously started to use proper brewing techniques. Quite a change from the Taiwanese stuff I have been drinking the last few years almost exclusively.

I was really surprised to note some almost Oriental beauty flavours and smells in the prewarmed pot!
That impression deepened with the first sips. Apart from that some darjeelingy flavours which are to be expected.

I had a good six rounds with this tea and could have gone longer – if I had eaten more, was getting dizzy with an empty stomach…

Took a bit less leaves than I woud for roled oolongs, but still a good covering of the bottom of my teapot.
Only once sligtly astringent when I was in thoughts and let it steep a tad too long.

Also, I took a little experiment, using three different cups, Qing dynasty porcelain, wood-fired and normal glazed cup. The result almost same taste, with the Qing cup a tiny wheeny bit ahead, but almost not noticeable. Of course the test could be better with same cup shapes, which I did not have available at this time.

[stevorama]

Lovely photo Bok. Very rustic and inviting.

[Bok]

Thanks, it was a lovely afternoon!

[jayinhk]

Very nice picture indeed, Bok. Love the bench and teawares. Rustic is a perfect way to describe it!

Drinking high mountain, old tree red tea from Ha Giang, Vietnam today. This stuff is bitter, even at 95C, but this is what Northern Vietnamese drinkers expect from their tea--bitterness. Somewhat like a jinjunmei, but perhaps more floral and less malty than the jinjunmei I've tried. Brewing it in a big Vietnamese porcelain pot I bought in Bat Trang, a pottery village in greater Hanoi.

The base material of this tea looks good; one bud and two leaf, with downy stems. A bit too bitter for my tastes, but palatable and cheap and easy drinking in a big pot. I got it here:

http://www.bashtea.com

[shah82]

I had a session with the Taiwanese black from Houde, the Shui Sa Lian.

It's basically like a typical chocolatey Southern Chinese congou, with a lot of Assam character and malt. There is a light hint of floral wood. This tea brought to mind the Sri Lankan teas that are made like Chinese teas, though those are considerably fruitier in a dried fig sort of way. Priced the same, but I wouldn't be sure it's as good as the Hao Xian. I know the 2009 I still have is much better.

[Luca B.]

Drinking a cup of a really good tea from Taiwan (Yuchi wild mountain),i find this tea to be very sweet and delicate with notes of fruits. I'm really enjoying all the black teas i got from Taiwan,they all show delicate fruits fragrance in with different aftertaste.

Luca

[ethan]

from Taiwan, black TGY: I like the body of this tea--medium. Late at night it is not too heavy but w/ enough feel to enjoy & want another cup. The sweetness & flavor is like other black tea I've tasted from Taiwan; yet, there is more in very subtle ways. An aftertaste & mouthfeel is quite pleasant.

[jayinhk]

Drinking a sample of dancong black tea. First tried this in Guangzhou last year and didn't like it. I still don't like it because of the bitterness. This sample does taste like dancong along with black tea flavor. Perhaps cooler temperatures would help, but there might not be any dancong flavor at all then!

[kuánglóng]

We had some fresh leaves stuck in customs and another letter from DHL demanding 28€ for their extra services . We called them and asked them to ship it back, damnit, so it's back to some nice 2015 FF Lingia, one of my favorites from last year.

[debunix]

We had some fresh leaves stuck in customs and another letter from DHL demanding 28€ for their extra services . We called them and asked them to ship it back, damnit

how upsetting!

[ethan]

Himalayan Orange (HOR) from Jun Chiyabari, Nepal:

Yes, another post.

Why? I remind myself & others that the order we drink our teas effects how much we enjoy them, sometimes quite significantly.

When I get out of bed the bold flavors of this HOR are almost too bold for the first couple of sips. One might think it is wiser to start w/ a gentler tea to ease one into the day & its drinking of tea. No, not for me. HOR wakes me up & my capacity to taste. It says "There are pleasures in this world. Enjoy!"

Starting my day w/ HOR is the best time for this tea for me. The dynamic & complex flavors of the HOR will force their way through past memories of dreams, thoughts of what one must do during the day, & just lingering sleepiness. Later in the day, awake & w/ the pleasure of my boldest flavors behind me, I can enjoy the more subtle teas I have available.

A dozen teachatters have bought this tea from me. I have advised longer steeping than I am using myself now, no longer than 1 minute 45 seconds (at 98C). I get as much flavor this way for the first & second infusions; &, the quicker steeping allows a third infusion to be almost as good. My porcelain & celadon pots seem to make this a bit better than my gaiwans do.

(I don't rinse this tea. It is organic & seems to be free of dust.)

[jayinhk]

Himalayan Orange (HOR) from Jun Chiyabari, Nepal:

Yes, another post.

Why? I remind myself & others that the order we drink our teas effects how much we enjoy them, sometimes quite significantly.

When I get out of bed the bold flavors of this HOR are almost too bold for the first couple of sips. One might think it is wiser to start w/ a gentler tea to ease one into the day & its drinking of tea. No, not for me. HOR wakes me up & my capacity to taste. It says "There are pleasures in this world. Enjoy!"

Starting my day w/ HOR is the best time for this tea for me. The dynamic & complex flavors of the HOR will force their way through past memories of dreams, thoughts of what one must do during the day, & just lingering sleepiness. Later in the day, awake & w/ the pleasure of my boldest flavors behind me, I can enjoy the more subtle teas I have available.

A dozen teachatters have bought this tea from me. I have advised longer steeping than I am using myself now, no longer than 1 minute 45 seconds (at 98C). I get as much flavor this way for the first & second infusions; &, the quicker steeping allows a third infusion to be almost as good. My porcelain & celadon pots seem to make this a bit better than my gaiwans do.

(I don't rinse this tea. It is organic & seems to be free of dust.)

Bright, flavorful tea seems to be popular for starting the day with: hence the popularity of English Breakfast blends. The pots may be performing better than the gaiwan because of thicker walls and better heat retention.

As for rinsing, I often rinse greens with lukewarm water or slightly warmed water (I add cooler water to boiling water in a cha hai) to get rid of dust and wake them up without losing too much aroma. I do this with Taiwanese greens. Might be worth a shot with the HOR!

[Teaarch]

Started the day off with a Japanese black from Thes-du-japon, musashi kaori cultivar. I haven't drank a lot black teas (even less so from Japan) so I can't really comment on how it compares, other than to say I really like it. It was advertised as having a honey scent, and I can sort of smell it (and taste it), though I'd say it's closer to a sweet liquor than honey. Anyway, it's pretty good, and it's convinced me to try more blacks.

[Frisbeehead]

Drinking a sample of dancong black tea. First tried this in Guangzhou last year and didn't like it. I still don't like it because of the bitterness. This sample does taste like dancong along with black tea flavor. Perhaps cooler temperatures would help, but there might not be any dancong flavor at all then!

Hey jay,

You're not talking about the Jing Tea Shop dancong red tea are you? I have that sitting in my cart (along with some of their other spring 2016 teas), and it seems to have gotten good reviews. But I'd like to hear from someone outside of the reviews on the site