Dan Cong Hong Cha - 2011 Spring Guangdong Black Tea

I was really looking forward to trying this sample today, but also unsure of how to steep it. Norbu’s instructions recommend the gong fu method so I thought I would try it that way.

My first steep was for a 1 minute infusion in the Jingdezhen gaiwan pictured here: http://www.redblossomtea.com/teaware/gaiwan/gaiwan-spring.html

I got a nice organish-brown infusion which smells faintly of malt. Now that I’ve had a few dan cong oolongs I am really picking out that flavor in this tea, but this is darker, more robust. Really not sure about it, a bit on the side of bitterness for me.

2nd steep: 30 seconds. To me it smells a bit malty, I can’t find the honey flavors that others have described. It’s woody, sour & astringent. the other reviewers loved this tea but it’s leaving a bad feeling in my stomach, so out it goes.

Sorry Norbu, this one is not for me… evidently I am really picky about all things dan cong related :(

Please let me know if anyone wants the remaining 5g of this sample, the other reviewers loved it. I hate giving a bad review to a tea.

Sipdown No. 2 for today, from NofarS.
This is a tasty, honey sweet cup of goodness, with an interesting almost oily texture, & some malt. Nice & fruity, & the fragrance is beautiful!

Sample provided by @Amy Oh

I was pretty excited to try this when Amy Oh offered to mail away 5g of her sample. I’ve never tried tea from Norbu before, but I have tried 3 other black teas from Guangdong, China. They all tasted pretty different, so I was wondering what sort of category this one falls into.

Sniffing inside the sample pouch, I’m picking up on cherry, earthy, maybe something kinda sour. The scent of sour and cherry is mouthwatering.

First steep reaffirms what the dry tea leaves suggested. Very earthy aroma with sour cherry, mild sweetness and roasted flavour. I can kinda also taste something that reminds me of chocolate, but it’s very faint.

Second steep brought out more of the roasted and sour flavour. The tea body itself is nice, there is a nice depth to it.

Third steep is getting astringent (borderline annoying), but all the other flavours are still going strong. The earthy, sour cherry flavour might not really describe what I’m tasting. But it’s the best rough description I can come up with.

Fourth and fifth steep lost some of the astringency, which made it more palatable. However the tea flavour is starting to weaken.

I decided to end on the sixth steep because the astringency was starting to rub me the wrong way. Sometimes I like that characteristic, but if it’s too prominent, the mouth-drying sensation is nice enjoyable.

Overall I like this tea, it’s pretty much the same as another one I tried from the same province (Feng Huang Hong Cha – Camellia Sinensis). Flavour wise, it’s pretty different from most of the black tea I’ve had the pleasure to drink. However it’s a great flavour that I couldn’t stand to drink all the time, it just ends up annoying me (if that makes any sense).

100ml gaiwan, 5g, 6 steeps (15s, 30s, 45s, 1m, 1m30, 2m)

Wow! Received this as a sample and it is great!. Honey floral notes all around :) Lite astringency on the tongue, but still sweet. Norbu always delights me with a great sample.

sipdown! I think i need to get my hands on a few more norbu teas. This is a lovely tea. This is a tea with an earthy taste. there’s some sweetness to this as well, and it reminds me of something that i can’t quite place.

Drinking this tea iced – and it is fantastic! A great way to unwind after a long and eventful day. The golden tea is malty, slightly fruity, with a touch of astringency that finishes off the cup. Although it smells like a Mi Lan Phoenix Dan Cong when dry, it has very little in common with it. There’s an oily smoothness to the liquor, and no pronounced floral aromas.

This tea is delicious and smooth. It possesses the honey orchid & woody flavors of (Norbu Tea’s) Mi Lan Dan Cong (it’s the same varietal) without the more bitter components, and also with a lighter astringency. Calling the mouthfeel oily hits the mark. This is an extremely pleasant tea to drink.

I liked this, pretty delicate for a black tea without any bitterness. Other than that, it wasn’t mind-blowing, but definitely enjoyable.