Giddapahar Exotic Darjeeling Black Tea First Flush 2020 from vahdam

The dry leaf has very flowery aromas. As expected of a first flush Darjeeling, the leaves display heterogeneous oxidation in terms of color and also picking / rolling quality in terms of size and shape. Many leaves look green, some white and some brown. They appear to be mostly very tender buds with some stems. The leaves appear a bit fragmented at parts.

I brewed this both gongfu method and western method.

Gongfu method:

5 grams in 125 mL pot with 90-95C water

20 sec / 30 sec/ / 40 sec / 1 min / 2 min / 4 min

Color of brew was consistently pale to dark gold

Aromas remained very flowery, with lots of rose.

First steep was light with fresh corn sweetness reminiscent of a white tea.

Second steep was more robust. There is some green tea grassiness, black tea fruitiness and continuation of white tea sweetness. Astringency arrives in the back of the throat.

Third steep is similar to second steep but slightly gentler. Some muscatel notes arrive.

Fourth and fifth steeps are milder versions of third steep with some additional astringency.

Western brew:

4 grams

400 mL
90-95C
Steep 1: 3-4 min
Steep 2: 7- 10min

Muscatel scent and taste
Rose and other oily flower aromas
Overall very mellow
Light vegetal character
Some astringency
Long after taste of flowery and muscatel notes

In general, western brewing is more satisfying, as all the characteristics from different cups of gongfu are present in a very balanced way.

Comments

Glenburn king single estate first flush 2019 from vahdam

Leaves are small and bud like. There are many broken leaves as well and leaves with holes indicating insect bite. This could explain some of the Muscatel. 1.8 teaspoon 350 mL water 90 C water Steep 1: 4 min Steep 2: 8 min Steep 3: indefinite time Light, flowery, herbal Some muscatel in nose Muscatel, herb, flowery hops, light wood notes in taste Lingering herbal, fresh hop and cooling mint I am told mint is often a sign of Assamica tea but these are supposed to be chinary.

Longfengxia High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea, Day 5, Lot 948, 2020 taiwan tea craft

From vendor: PICKING DATE May 2020 OXYDATION LEVEL Low BAKING LEVEL None TERROIR Shanlinxi ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Nantou County PICKING STYLE Hand Picked CULTIVAR(S) USED Qing Xin GARDEN ELEVATION 1750 m Review: Dry lead is intensely flowery with prominent yellow stems Brewed 5 to 7 grams/100 mL boiling water in kobiwako. Lower leaf is okay due to intensity of flavor but higher leaf has stronger sweetness in later steeps. For 5 g: Rinse / 55 s / 45 s / 55 s / 1:10 / 1:30 /2:30 Brewed leaves have strong pastry and tropical fruit Steeps 1-2: Taste of green mango, citrus, and baked pineapple pastry. Clean minerality and medium to thick mouthfeel. There is strong perfume of oily flowers, mainly rose and some lavender. At higher leaf to water (7 g per 100 mL) there is some slight green astringency. Steep 3-5: fruit notes are much more mild but still present and long lasting. Much more buttery. There is slight green brandy like astringency. At higher leaf to water ratio, frui...

2020 Competition Grade Jin Jun Mei Black Tea from Yunnan Sourcing

From vendor: Late March Harvest Tong Mu Guan Village (Fujian) Review: Strong yeast and honey suckle aroma from dry leaf. Lots of orange yellow powder from the small, tight buds. A small holed filter is necessary. Brew parameter: 4 g / 100 mL 90 C in porcelain Rinse / 10s / 10s / 15s / 35s / 1 min / 2 min / 5 min Strong honey and milk chocolate notes. Smooth and thick with stone fruit (peach) aromas and sweet yam flavors. Some vegetal notes develop in later steepings. Early steepings are quick and strong but drops off after 3rd steeping. Strangely, a pu-erh like wet pile funk is faintly present. This is not particularly pleasant. Western brewing is also acceptable at 1 g /100 mL for 3:30. However, the chocolate notes are much more mild when brewed in this way.

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