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

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.

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Dec 3rd 10 1:06 am
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by TIM » Dec 3rd 10 1:06 am

shah82 wrote:No, it wasn't stale...

I really enjoy Houde's more outrageous taiwan black teas. I also enjoy good n18 leaf teas. However, most taiwan and japanese teas are too easygoing for me. I really tend to prefer things like assam if it's something I've not had before because they are so in your face.
Interesting... Shah82
I did not know Houde sells Tawianese black tea? Which one if I may ask?

Dec 3rd 10 4:56 am
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by shah82 » Dec 3rd 10 4:56 am

They sell a Taiwanese Assam with a sandalwood aroma attack. It's nice, but *very* expensive for what it is. Indian Assams at that price are better.

They sell your typical high end Yunnan.

They sell this Hao Xian Taiwanese black, which is a fully fermented leaf from high end oolong bush's summer flush. 2008 was really malty, like a pale ale. 2009 is more SF Darjeeling. Don't know what this year is like. However, do expect it be fairly wild in taste. Intensely sweet, offensive to some palettes. Still my favorite black tea.

They've added another super-flavorful fall harvest. It is fairly sour, especially if you pile on the leaf. It's also super-malty to the point of beer. Extremely flavorful with many spicy accents, and the sourness is crisp and generates sweet aftertastes. The leaves are very robust for black tea, so I've thought about buying some to age. Aged sweetness with this sour should be fantastic, really.

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

by NOESIS » Dec 3rd 10 4:51 pm

Assam Mangalam Estate on this dreary morning. A very stout brew.

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Dec 6th 10 10:09 am
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Tead Off » Dec 6th 10 10:09 am

Arya Pearl 2nd flush. 2 leaves and a bud rolled into balls. Deep fragrance and an almost powdery mouthfeel. Fresh and slightly drying on the palette. Florals and sugar in the mouth.
Arya Pearl.jpg
Arya Pearl wet.jpg
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Dec 7th 10 12:37 pm
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by nrstooge » Dec 7th 10 12:37 pm

First thing this am was black dragon pearls.. with a bit of german rock sugar. In my "work" 6 dragon traveler... darjeling with german rock sugar and taking a bit of cream for it too. That should get me through my 10.5 hr day ahead (I hope).

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

by Owlie » Dec 7th 10 10:16 pm

A mug of SpecialTeas' Golden Monkey, second steep, with some sugar.

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

by nickE » Dec 8th 10 10:47 pm

Sun Moon Lake black from EoT.

EDIT: Here's a picture of the leaves; these might be the nicest I've seen in a black tea.
Image

Dec 9th 10 2:12 am
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Cael » Dec 9th 10 2:12 am

I'm actually drinking a tea that I've never had before. It's called Vithanakanda and the vendor said that it was from Sri Lanka. It's really good, malty and rich. The first time I had this it was a bit rancid, but I got a nice fresh batch.

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

by NOESIS » Dec 9th 10 6:53 am

Imperial Mojian Golden Bud from YS. Very smooth, very mellow.....very boring. I find these types of Chinese all-bud red teas are way too one dimensional to drink regularly, but are alright for a change of pace.

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

by shah82 » Dec 11th 10 12:37 am

Leave them alone for a year. I enjoy the golden buds I got from Imen Shan much more now than I did when I got them.

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

by NOESIS » Dec 11th 10 2:14 am

shah82 wrote:Leave them alone for a year. I enjoy the golden buds I got from Imen Shan much more now than I did when I got them.
Yanno, I purchased 1/2 lb of Feng Qing factory "Golden Strand" from Hou De a few years back and aged some of it. I'll agree, it gained more flavor nuances with the aging (other than pure maltose sugar), but compared to a top-shelf Darjeeling or Assam estate tea, still rather lacking in depth/complexity. This is probably just my bias in favor of Indian black teas in general. As much as I enjoy many Chinese oolongs, puerhs, and greens, I find most red teas rather flat for my taste buds (with the exception of authentic Qimen and the few Taiwanese black teas that I've tried).

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

by shah82 » Dec 11th 10 4:44 am

/me hugs.

What's your favorite Assam?

I avoid the gold tips only, that's a really waste of tannins, right there!

So far, favorite assam of all time is the Khajorigan estate from '08 that I got from Uptons. Jutlibari is pretty good, fairly strong aftertastes.

Malt is king.

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

by NOESIS » Dec 11th 10 7:16 pm

shah82 wrote:/me hugs.

What's your favorite Assam?

I avoid the gold tips only, that's a really waste of tannins, right there!

So far, favorite assam of all time is the Khajorigan estate from '08 that I got from Uptons. Jutlibari is pretty good, fairly strong aftertastes.

Malt is king.
Yep, gotta love a malty black tea in the morning.

Well, I usually go through Upton's or Camellia Sinensis for assams. I thought that the Jutlibari was the best assam of '09. In the past, I've had excellent summer flush teas from Numalighur, Rungagora and Halmari. My go-to is probably Mangalam. Not usually the best, but very consistent from year to year.

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Dec 12th 10 9:18 am
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by Tead Off » Dec 12th 10 9:18 am

Dongcheon Black Tea. Is it really a black tea or is it a Balhyocha from Korea. This is a Korean tea which is not green. :D It is produced by Mr. Ha's farm in Jirisan and is a bit different than other Balhyocha that I have tasted so there may be a case for this really being a black tea. This is the only black tea I saw for sale in Korea. My tasting notes: Dark, wiry twisted leaves with a licorice aroma in the dry leaf. Using very hot water in a gaiwan, aroma is sweet, baked fruit. Smooth mouthfeel, subtle spices, delicious finish. Dark amber color. Maybe 5 brews. Lovely tea.
Mr. Ha's Black.jpg
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Dec 13th 10 7:08 pm
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Re: What Black(Red) Tea Are You Drinking Right Now?

by yshuto » Dec 13th 10 7:08 pm

All Darjeeling

First Flush
Castleton SFTGFOP 1
Bloomfield SFTGFOP 1
Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP 1

Second Flush
Namring Upper SFTGFOP 1
Abootia FTGFOP 1
Happy Valley FTGFOP 1
Puttabong FTGFOP 1
Gielle FTGFOP 1