I had a tea session with a friend just a few days ago, where we sampled many teas. Among the teas we sampled, was B.A.D. (Bizarrely Aged Dianhong). I had been warned that it was rather special, and was prepared for that. But my taste memory of it now is almost like that of ash. It was earthy more or less verging on stone, and very little of any other taste, and did not resemble the taste notes in the link above.
Do any of you have any experience with this tea and the pitfalls in brewing it. My friend is a very seasoned teahead, and we got the other teas we sampled right. But this one ... no. So I was wondering if 1) that is really what we should expect? 2) we brewed it wrong? or 3) my leaves were not all that good.
I'll give my friend the link, so he can fill out the details from a more connoiseur viewpoint than my simple palate can provide.
Re: B.A.D. gone bad?
Hello. It has been a few weeks since I have had some, but I have also purchased some of the B.A.D. tea, and I will say you are correct in saying it should be an earthy flavor (it does have a mineraly, soily taste to it, (though not in a bad way), but you mentioned it tasted like ash to you?
I can somewhat see where you are saying this, as I have also noticed smokey notes in it.
The tea is very distinct in its taste and is unlike anything I have had before. But is probably because it is a fermented black tea (and fermented in a different manner than PuErh is).
If you brewed according to the packaged directions it should have those earthy notes.
It is difficult to say if your tea is bad or not. I have never had issues with the company in my expierences woth them. My reccomendation would be to give it another go if you have some left and havent done so already. (But take into consideration that it is a unique tea.)
I can somewhat see where you are saying this, as I have also noticed smokey notes in it.
The tea is very distinct in its taste and is unlike anything I have had before. But is probably because it is a fermented black tea (and fermented in a different manner than PuErh is).
If you brewed according to the packaged directions it should have those earthy notes.
It is difficult to say if your tea is bad or not. I have never had issues with the company in my expierences woth them. My reccomendation would be to give it another go if you have some left and havent done so already. (But take into consideration that it is a unique tea.)
Re: B.A.D. gone bad?
My impression of the company itself is very good, so it's a question about the tea itself. I was warned that it would be special, and was hoping for it to be as well. But then more in the direction of the tasting notes. I followed the brewing instructions, but a guy at the warehouse (I got a reply from them!) told me he had much the same exprience as me, but that when he lowered the brewing temp to 90˚ (the recommended was 95˚), then he got less of that "ashen" (or "stony" as he called it) taste, and more of the stuff you actually want to taste. So I might give it a new go.Teaalogian wrote: I have never had issues with the company in my expierences woth them. My reccomendation would be to give it another go if you have some left and havent done so already.
Feb 23rd, '22, 03:15
Posts: 151
Joined: Oct 24th, '17, 12:41
Location: Amsterdam
Re: B.A.D. gone bad?
I've tried many aged black teas, and the ash flavour is something I've experience several times already. The ash notes, do somewhat dissipate after 2-3 years, but it won't be totally gone though.
Personally for me, aged dian hongs are somewhat 'flawed' category of tea. Due to the aged processing, it kinda loses the strong fragrance that fresh black tea have. It does acquire some of the thickness in texture like a ripe pu erh, and there is some added complexity, but that isn't enough. For that, I rather just go for a ripe pu erh.
There's only 1 sun-dried black tea in the past which was good, it had notes of lychee, and it was sweet with a slight amount of smokiness. Definitely sample before you buy, for this kind of tea.
Personally for me, aged dian hongs are somewhat 'flawed' category of tea. Due to the aged processing, it kinda loses the strong fragrance that fresh black tea have. It does acquire some of the thickness in texture like a ripe pu erh, and there is some added complexity, but that isn't enough. For that, I rather just go for a ripe pu erh.
There's only 1 sun-dried black tea in the past which was good, it had notes of lychee, and it was sweet with a slight amount of smokiness. Definitely sample before you buy, for this kind of tea.