Nandi Hills Black

133/365

From the Regional Group Buy. This black is one I’d characterise as “lighter” in terms of both flavour and mouthfeel. Something I’m enjoying about trying these teas close together is the level of contrast between teas from the same geographical area – especially given that most of them are either black or oolong. Both of the group buys I participated in with LP have been illuminating in this way, and I love how it makes me question my assumptions and preconceptions (some of them I didn’t even know I’d made…)

Anyway. This one is interesting, because at first sip it reminds me very much of whisky; it has both a richness and a peaty, earthy sweetness. The end of the sip is smooth and honey-like, but the whisky vibe remains throughout and lingers well into the aftertaste. It’s almost like the teas was aged in barrels, but I’m almost certain that wasn’t the case here.

Although the flavour is distinctive, it’s not heavy. It seems almost to dance across the palate. I have another tea from this grower that I’m now really excited to try, and I’d certainly seek them out again in the future.

Sipdown (631)!

Finished this one off Western style; it was perfectly average. Somewhat medium bodied, with malty and mild red fruit notes with a touch of a honey-esque quality to it. Nothing to write home over, or particularly distinct in flavour. To be fair, this was old leaf – but even when it was fresher I don’t recall this being something particularly spectacular.

From LP’s Regional Group Buy -
Sipdown
200F, 2.5min, overleafed
fruity, but tannic. Malty and creamy.
4min- fruity, creamier and smoother at the longer steep time. Longer steeps help smooth out flavor and tannins, not quite so rough.
I believe I enjoyed the steep more this time than the first session I had with this tea.

I’ve been meaning to drink down some samples that I’ve had stored in my “sample box” for a long while now. I had decided to daily choose three teas at random, by placing my hand into the box.

Today, Nandi Hill Black won the lucky draw.

I had tried this once before when I had received the Regional Group Buy teas from Liquid Proust, but I decided to save the notes for a later time. I usually like to try a tea, and give it another chance before coming to a full conclusion on the tea itself.

I’m finding this tea to be very pleasant for me today. I had noted during the last session that it was “too malty & bitter.” However, I’m liking it today. There are no bitter notes lingering on the tongue. There are notes of a dark cocoa with a richness that lingers in the mouth. The mouthfeel is thick and leaves the back of the mouth/throat pretty dry.

Overall, I think this is a good tea. Despite the negative feedback on my previous session, I think that this is the type of tea that needs to sit a few weeks/months before giving it a second chance.

From the Regional Group Buy. I split the sample packet into two sessions.

Gongfu first in a 120ml ceramic gaiwan. Steeping times: 15 seconds, 12, 18, 25, 45; 1 minute, 3, 8. The dry leaf aroma morphs the more I smell it, changing from malt to pipe tobacco to beef jerky. After resting in the pre-heated bowl, the leaf aroma is smokier and more meat-like. The wet leaf aroma is evocative of deciduous tree wood.

The liquor has a full body. It is beautifully golden in the sharing pitcher. 15 seconds might have been too much time for the first infusion, which tastes malty and smokey with just a hint of honey beneath. Thereafter, all the way to the end of the session, I taste a lighter – not that much lighter – sweet potato note. The texture is thick and silky.

Second session was with an infuser mug. Steeping times: 3 minutes, 5, 8. The wet leaf aroma undergoes more change. At first it smells noticeably of tannins, then switches to honey, then to BBQ meat covered with honey BBQ sauce. (I did not have a dish like this recently.) Not surprisingly, this method produces a more intense liquor. It is darker, heartier, and more robust. Very tannic. Also a little astringent. The first cup tastes of smoke and red meat, and has a sweet aftertaste. These notes completely disappear after that, though. Compared to the first, the second and third cups are simple. Simply tannic. I had to finally add milk to the third cup since the temperature really warmed up by this point of the day.

You could go either way with Nandi Hills Black, depending on what you want out of it. If the season were winter, I’d go for the Western method. I did prefer brewing the leaf in the gaiwan. It was the first time I’d gongfu’d an African black tea. That session was more enjoyable all around. Reminded me of certain Dian Hong.

I rather liked this, but I seem to be getting a just slightly smokey beef jerky vibe out of it. I even think the dry tea smells like beef jerky. Other than that I got malt and a hint of cocoa, also a little bit of astringentcy. Really smooth sipper.

I decided to do a 10g brew on this. The incredible strong brew for me was perfect for breakfast time. Dark, middle level astringency. This is the type of tea that goes right next to a piece of toast that makes it wonderful as they compliment one another.

Drinking black teas outside of the Yunnan area really points out why I don’t drink the others. Other than Sun Moon Lake, I’m pretty sure that Yunnan is the only area of blacks that I drink. Fun tea to drink for sure that shows kind of where the whole ctc thing comes from… you have to just drink it and then use your imagination.

There isn’t much of a smell to the dry leaves, but they are big and pretty. The brew smells incredible—like a Yunnan—with heavy notes of sweet potato and cocoa. Usually I get a bit of earthiness from a tea that smells like this, but it’s all sweet potato and no earthiness.

Taste-wise, this is an odd black; it’s kind of how I would imagine a Chinese-Indian black hybrid to taste. It has the sweet potato notes with just a hint of cocoa, but it’s also bitingly bitter, malty, and peaty. This brew is strong (and yes I brewed it strong), so it would hold up well as a breakfast tea with milk and sugar if you desired—definitely robust and full-bodied.