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Hong Cha
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Wu Yi Hong Cha from xhxtea (2 V 19): deep black berry and cocoa nose, old leather chair. Cup slightly bitter, woody, substantial. Very nice tea.
Benifuki from Miyazaki via Tee Fischer (6 VI 19): nose as expected, a bit wet hay; light leather. Cup also classic, a bit cocoa nibs, a bit thin. Decent echo though.
Quicky Black from w2t 14 IX 19: good cocoa, orange, slighty, pleasant astringency; becomes a bit hollow as it chills.
Red Milan from w2t 14 IX 19: shuixian showing through, quite nice on first brew, a bit lacking on subsequent ones.
Citramalt black from w2t 14 IX 19: Herbstlaub, indeed citrussy, malty notes, surprisingly lacking for subsequent brewings.
Hong Cha (Special)
traditional lapsang (w2t)
According to
white2tea this is from Wuyi, Fujian, where some modern teas are sometimes smoked, but this one is not.
This is backed up by
teaguardian, who explain that there's a smoked and a non-smoked variant of this tea. Xiaozhong (小種, or souchong in Fujian dialect) means small leaf, Zhengshan (正山, or lapsang) means inner mountain.
Western Tasting (28 VIII 18): Very fine, thin leaves, elegant. Cocoa and roasted coffee in the empty cup. Slight roasted carrot stew nose, but also fresh charcoal. Very elegant to drink! Moderately thick cup, no astringency at all; some woody notes and wax, but without the astringency that normally accompanies it; blackcurrant marmelade.
Western (19 VIII 20): almost no smoke, but instead some lemon confit on marble. Cup no smoke at all, quite round (and plain). Little bit of caramel. (That's because it's not smoked.)
Soonga; Assam Rauchtee Hatidubi (Schwarzenbach)
Western (21 VIII 20): slightly smoked medium quality black tea; cocoa wood nose and dried orange undercurrent. Cup acidic, metallic and flat; metallic finish and sharpness. As it chills, it becomes more cloying and tanninic. I'm offended.
Cypress Smoked Wild Leaf (Song)
Western (21 VIII 20): very refined smoked, Beaujolais vinegar; cedar and raisins. Cup sombre, a little bit of acidity, some peach vinegar, too. Woody finish; very little smoke. Quite nice, if a bit too 'pretty'.
Smoky Lapsang (Sun Time Tea)
Western (21 VIII 20): This is a nice nose, the smoke is very knackig, good pine wood and cocoa blueberries. Cup full, lacking subtlety, but a good smoke punch. As it chills, it becomes a bit plainer, woodier. Still, very good baseline.
Wild & Smoked Big Tips (2015) (Dark Tea Depot)
Western (21 VIII 20): Nose is flat, stale tomato water and maybe stale walnut oil. Cup just as plain. Really not sure, how this could happen, the material looks pretty, but it tastes of nothing.
Hunan, Anhua, Gaoma'erxi, Gaojia: Back to Origins (2015) (Dark Tea Depot)
Western (21 VIII 20): Nose quite tame, but elegant, I'm thinking faint Sauternes cellar. Taste similarly tame, just a bit old cellar. Brutally plain.
Fujian: Zhengshan Xiaozhong (2019) (ST)
Openend 19 VIII 20
Western (19 VIII 20): nose pleasant smoke, almost acidic. Behind that, I think leather? Cup quite light, light smoke, some blueberry wood. Fresher, lemon leaf tea accents, too.
Western (21 VIII 20): Nose has settled, and come together. Blueberries and medium, broad smoke.