After buying and devouring 2 samples from this kilo brick, I finally decided to dive in and buy an entire brick. My tea budget isn’t very big, so dedicating $120 to a single tea takes a lot. In short: I love this tea. It is everything I want in a comforting cup, but I know it isn’t for everyone.
Smell (dry leaves): Smoke/campfire smoke, High mountain forest aromas, mushrooms
Smell (Wet Leaves/Cup): Smoke, malt, nutmeg, seaweed/umami, chocolate, bay leaf, salinity, minerals/rock
Taste: There is smoke, but not nearly as much as you’d think from the smell. That smoke really seams to bring out the chocolate-y malt notes. There is a nutmeg/cannella/cinnamon mixing in that gives the tea a big Mexican Hot Chocolate feel. The entire tea wants to go savory, but there is a very prominent mineral sweetness that takes the lead. No astringency. A bit oily in texture. The only bitterness is a dark chocolate bitterness.
This tea isn’t the best looking. It has a lot of stems. A lot of stems. Many. The leaves themselves are in excellent condition for a fu brick. The fermentation isn’t really heavy. The leaves are a dark forest green when wet. Being a fu brick, it is chock full of fungus. This tea always leaves me in a good mood. Really relaxing comforting tea. If the flavor profile sound good to you, I’d highly recommend sampling.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Herbs, Malt, Mineral, Nutmeg, Smoke, Umami, Wet Rocks
Preparation
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You make it sound so good! The sample I have is from mostly the outside of the brick. No sight or taste of the jin hua for me and very smokey.
My introduction to tea beyond what comes in a bag was through western style lapsang. As such, my tolerance to smoke is probably higher than average. Bummer on the edge sample. it is about half a cm in before I begin to see the fungus flourishing. I suspect the nitrates from the smoke may have a lot to do with the limited jin hua on the edge.
You make it sound so good! The sample I have is from mostly the outside of the brick. No sight or taste of the jin hua for me and very smokey.
My introduction to tea beyond what comes in a bag was through western style lapsang. As such, my tolerance to smoke is probably higher than average. Bummer on the edge sample. it is about half a cm in before I begin to see the fungus flourishing. I suspect the nitrates from the smoke may have a lot to do with the limited jin hua on the edge.