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

[Frisbeehead]

Finally drinking a good Yunnan red tea. Just got my order of Yunnan Sourcing's 2015 imperial dian hong and their 2015 mojiang golden bud. I'm drinking the mojiang golden bud at the moment, and it is delicious.

I just got back from Chicago, and it's nice to be back in the warmth of my home with my teaware.

[kuánglóng]

Some organic 1st flush Longview Highlands. Surprisingly fruity with dominant notes of blood orange and medicinal herbs.
Just three months to go for the 2016 1st flush ... can't wait

[Frisbeehead]

Some organic 1st flush Longview Highlands. Surprisingly fruity with dominant notes of blood orange and medicinal herbs.
Just three months to go for the 2016 1st flush ... can't wait

Kuang, where do you get your Indian black teas from? I have been drinking mostly Chinese reds from Yunnan recently but I'd like to try some good Indian tea. I don't have much experience with it, really. I feel like it would feel...wrong...to use my gaiwan to make it

Edit: I'd also like to try black tea from Nepal. I have heard good things, and I have seen a lot of people say that they like black teas from India and Nepal more than Chinese red teas.

[CWarren]

Edited

[kuánglóng]

Some organic 1st flush Longview Highlands. Surprisingly fruity with dominant notes of blood orange and medicinal herbs.
Just three months to go for the 2016 1st flush ... can't wait

Kuang, where do you get your Indian black teas from? I have been drinking mostly Chinese reds from Yunnan recently but I'd like to try some good Indian tea. I don't have much experience with it, really. I feel like it would feel...wrong...to use my gaiwan to make it

Basically from all over the place. Got some old friends in Darjeeling and Nepal , local online vendors like those folks:
darjeelingtee.de
teespeicher.de
...
and the usual suspects like thunderbolttea.com, teaemporium.net, teabox.com, goldentipstea.com, ... you name them.

I'm still on a stopover in Germania, hence the local links above but next year I'll order most of my DJs straight from India again and hopefully will be back in Darjeeling and Nepal for the 1st flush 2017.

Re. gaiwan I use one myself for DJs here and there but most of the time I brew them up in some 150-200ml teapot - glass-porcelain-celadon-whatever. We've talked about cups before, Fris, I keep rotating them - it's all one mess of an ongoing experiment

Edit: I'd also like to try black tea from Nepal. I have heard good things, and I have seen a lot of people say that they like black teas from India and Nepal more than Chinese red teas.

IMO the teas from Nepal get better and better each year. The Shakira FF I mentioned a while ago has been one of the most memorable teas I've tried this year. It's just that they can be as finicky and sensitive as their counterparts from Darjeeling but some of them have incredibly beautiful stories to tell. Just keep them away from the slightest amount of moisture at any cost!
Regarding chinese vs. other red teas it all boils down to personal preferences but I sure love my Keemuns
Once I'm at it - I slightly preferred second over first flush (in-between and autumn) DJs most of my life but somehow that has changed a while ago. It's close to freezing outside and I'm sitting here with a pot of some greenish 1st flush Nagri. I couldn't even imagine drinking something like a Dian Hong or Shu Pu these days but I'm OK with my Keemuns, some Lapsang Souchong and brighter 2nd flush DJs. Strange, strange.

Edit/Crosspost: I've just noticed that CWarren mentioned Shakira too. One more fan - cheers!

[kuánglóng]

Sakhira Estate Nepal SFTGFOP1 CL First Flush. I was blown away not only by the golden honey color but by the heavy floral notes, fruity overtones and the slight smokiness. This is one of two Sakhira Estate FF teas received last week, this one a new bold leaf offering and the other a limited selection that I look forward to enjoying later this evening. Considering they are both SFTGFOP1 CL FF from the same estate, I will be very curious to see the differences.

CWarren

Looking forward to your impressions. (I mentioned that estate in my post above and another one a while ago).

[CWarren]

Edited

[kuánglóng]

Thanks for your impressions, C.
There are more interesting estates up there, e.g. Kanyam, Lali Guras and of course Jun Chiabari to name but a few but the Shakiras I've tried this year were exceptional, even though they've been made from clonal leaves.
Let's see what the next harvest brings - just three months to go.

[CWarren]

Edited

[kuánglóng]

I've just finished another pot of that organic 1st flush Nagri (EX3) and this tea keeps surprising me with its shifting character and unexpected, beautiful muscatel notes if you can wait an extra minute or two.
PS: found some Jun Chiabari and 2nd flush Golden Tips Dikom Assam in the mail today and will have a closer look tonight.

[pedant]

just ordered some stuff from thunderbolt. fingers crossed, hoping for good stuff.
they're having a 50% off sale right now that i think ends midnight christmas day (timezone unspecified): coupon code BLESS50
does a good job of offsetting that shipping.

[Tead Off]

2013 Arya Tara Wonder Tea. Hand rolled. Second Flush. Almost 3 years old and this tea still delivers its honeyed, fruit filled flavor and aromatic nose. 3g/90ml Yixing. Concentrated flavor for the first couple of brews with a bit of tapering off. Perhaps not as long lasting as some other Nepali teas, but still an enjoyable brew that will get praises.

Arya Tara.jpg (48.46 KiB) Viewed 1898 times

[CWarren]

Edited

[Tead Off]

2013 Jun Chiyabari Hand Rolled Himalayan Tips. Wow, not sure if it gets any better than this. Intensely aromatic and deep flavor that sits right on the tongue. Mouth-feeling on tongue and palette. Long lasting finish and flavor on the tongue. Many brews using 3g/90ml Yixing, 30 sec brew.

This and the Kuwapani are long lasting, deep teas. I'm trying to detect any variations in the flavor of these teas but it's proving difficult. Is it fair to say that there is a 'sameness' in the eastern Nepali Dhankuta black teas? They are different from Darjeelings. Darjeelings have more fruitiness, a light sparkle to the teas. These have a depth to them. All have a purity and clarity that are hard to find in other black teas. This is probably what makes Himalayan teas quite special

[kuánglóng]

2013 Jun Chiyabari Hand Rolled Himalayan Tips. Wow, not sure if it gets any better than this. Intensely aromatic and deep flavor that sits right on the tongue. Mouth-feeling on tongue and palette. Long lasting finish and flavor on the tongue. Many brews using 3g/90ml Yixing, 30 sec brew.

This and the Kuwapani are long lasting, deep teas. I'm trying to detect any variations in the flavor of these teas but it's proving difficult. Is it fair to say that there is a 'sameness' in the eastern Nepali Dhankuta black teas? They are different from Darjeelings. Darjeelings have more fruitiness, a light sparkle to the teas. These have a depth to them. All have a purity and clarity that are hard to find in other black teas. This is probably what makes Himalayan teas quite special

I've had some 2014 2nd flush Jun Chaibari with a friend last night. The viscosity and mouth feel was different from any of my Darjeelings, the tea could be felt a long way down the throat and those impressions lasted for quite a while.
Regarding fruitiness this tea has it in spades, right in the foreground - peach and dried turkish cherries together with some darker, preserved fruit, interspersed by a beautiful, fractal display of balsamic 'medical', herbal, woody notes, like a blast from a past long gone - I was constantly reminded of what old pharmacies used to smell like.
Looking forward to what these leaves will pull off next time ... different vessel, cups, dosage, temperature, water, mood, whatever.