Honey Fragrance Black Tea

I’m sipping this tea while catching up on tasting notes and saw that Courtney also just reviewed the 2022 harvest… and after reading her comment, all I can taste is rose! XD The power of persuasion.

I drank it yesterday as well and found it very mild and soft, but not particularly sweet. I’m really struggling to pick up on any honey notes. Today I’m also getting something slightly acrid? Strange. Maybe I overleafed it today.

An interesting black tea! I got the 2022 harvest of this tea from my recent Mountain Stream Teas order, and this tea really is quite nice, but lacks too much to say that it’s great. Beautiful leaves and liquor with an invigorating wet leaf and empty cup aroma. Interesting character and a refreshing zesty aftertaste. While the flavour is nice and pleasant, it is mild & one-dimensional and straddles the line of wanting to be delicate and wanting to be intense. The texture is relatively thin with little mouthfeel, and the cha-qi and longevity of this tea is almost non-existent. If you want an easy drinker that doesn’t offer much other than aroma and a pleasant taste, this tea may be for you. However, there are probably better teas at this price range out there.

2023 sipdown no. 69

This one is much rosier than the initial harvest I tried of this tea (though still lovely and creamy). The honey is behind all the rose/floral that’s at the forefront. It’s still tasty, but not my favourite cup of tea. Sending what remains to Kaylee to enjoy!

Harvest: spring 2022

It’s been a while, and I do have a few back logs for this company. This was given as a generous sample, and thank you!

I’ve had this kind of tea a few times before, and it’s name gives you what you should expect: a viscous smooth and honeyed black tea. It is on the softer side of blacks having a slight chocolate note followed by a dry middle to a sticky, honey ending. Earlier notes had some minerals in the thick texture, and some passionfruit hints going into the honey notes. I’d say there is a little bit of fruitiness to the tea, but since it has a honey fragrance, the honey note can always have a fructose like profile so fruitiness is but an akin descriptor. The earlier notes also were a little bit bittersweet; however, I would not describe the tea as astringent of fundamentally bitter. Middle notes were a little bit more malty, albeit light. Some raisin and wood hints, but something like apricot or plum in steeps four and five. And yes, I did this gong fu beginning 30, 45, 50, 60, 80 with 190 F water.

I would recommend this tea as an easy goer for those who like lighter blacks or want to try honey profiled teas as this one is typical. It is also a decent example of Taiwanese blacks since they are equally viscous and malty, and this does have the benefit of having a nice aroma when brewing. I might not reach for this in the future only due to my oolong preference, but I would otherwise not say no to this tea if offered. The price is also decent at $28 for 100 grams.