Skip to main content

Low mid altitude Ceylon "Royal Black Tea" from Elephant Chateau, 2020 harvest

single-estate tea grown in the
Sabaragamuwa region of Sri Lanka

2 tea spoons
380 mL water
90 C

Steep 1: 5.5 minutes
Steep 2: 15 minutes

Very large distinctive leaves.
Liquor turns coppery red within seconds
Light honeyed and tobacco aroma
Distinctive buttery mouthfeel
Gentle notes of honey and tobacco
Slightly malty. Slightly flowery
Lingering astringency
Experience dominated by  very smooth mouthfeel
Reminiscent of Lipton, but much higher quality. Likely very good for ice tea


Have also tried Gongfu brewing with 8 grams per 100 mL: early steeps are strong with dried fruit, honey and some floweriness reminiscent of Yunnan black. Honey notes carry throughout brew. There is less smoothness until later steeps as expected for larger base leaves taking time to unfurl and release starchiness. This is in contrast with the company’s high mountain brew, which is more filled with buds, and therefore more flowery and Less smooth. To experience full smoothness and flavor, western style  brewing with less leaves and more water ( 1 gram / 100 mL) for 4 plus minutes is advisable.


from company:

Our tea pluckers' leaf size selection & manual rolling/drying process
plays a key part in accentuating the smoothness (buttery-ness) featured
in this fine liquor.

Note, leaves are cigar rolled instead of ball rolled. Cigar rolling is known to improve smoothness, esp as the  finishing step. This is a common practice for Keemun black teas of the highest quality.













Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hojo's da xue shan 2019 mao cha (wild tea)

  Opening the bag, I was greeted with a thick fruity aroma like grape juice and ripe melons! Brewed 3.5 grams in my 110 mL late 70s hqsn. Flash brewing of course. Wow is this green tea or sheng? Very juicy fruity flavors like white grape juice and some honey. Is this really young sheng? Where is the bitterness??? Where? Can't find it in this tea. There is the slightest throat prickle of astringency...or was that from drinking the tea while it was too hot? Felt very energized after drinking - 3.5g is more than enough! Could actually drink this on a daily basis! Update : after a few sessions, it is clear the tea "changes" quickly once exposed to air, shedding its fresh fruity aromas and gaining more oolong like characteristics. 3.5 g per session quickly becomes too flat - and I find myself progressively using more leaf. On the plus side, the tea gains body and properties that remind me of good gaoshan. The aftertaste is exceptionally robust and comes back in strong waves. V...

Full roast rougui 2018 from dxjd

 At 0.8/g from da xue jia dao Steeped 8g/110 mL boiling Flash/ 10s/15s/20s/25s/30s/40s/55s/1min30s/2min/3min/5min/7min/10min/15min/ steeped out in large volume A stunning tea like a velvet hammer. Soft and rich yet presenting a strong but pleasant astringent note that establishes a firm flavor structure. Taste is difficult to describe but includes rich milk chocolate and strong minerality as steeps progress. The early steeps include a bright plummy note that balances out the darker flavors. There is a sensation of walking into an ancient church and seeing a dusty canvas in the shadows layered with little mountains of paint - defined by strong textures and a vague impression of old, long forgotten madness. The minerality is bound tightly with flavors of dried ginseng and ginger. .

Liquid proust pu erh package

 Cannot identify every tea. For both shou and sheng brewed ~ 5g / 100 mL, 2x rinse and then for sheng: flash brew until no more flavor followed by longer brews. For shou, first brew is about 30s followed by flash brews. 2019 brown sugar: white2tea makes a brown sugar. Very sweet with caramel, molasses and red bean notes. No wodui.  2019 raw man zhuang: possibly from ys. Very floral. Brew 3g/85 mL.  Fruity, floral.  Lively..beautiful at first...then funeral, sickly abominable. "brick shou":  Not much more info than that. I suspect it is the 2018 Dragon Brick, a shou puerh brick from XiZiHao, since that is the only brick shou he sells.  Tastes different from all other shous i have had: subtle balance between herbal chinese med2icine, light incense, fresh plum, strawberry jam, earthy minerality and beef bone broth. There is also a floral aroma like acacia and jasmine. The aromas and flavors shift as steepings progress. Infusions are very clear and elegant even...