Yunnan Gongfu Fragrant Black Tea

Console exclusive games infuriate me to no end, seriously. I have an Xbox, both the One and the 360, mostly because the only people I ever play with have those systems have them and I have gotten used to the Xbox, I like it and will continue to play them, but I really wish I lived in a world where the console war and exclusive games didn’t exist. I love Ark, but I am so sad that it is no available to PS4 players…but they get to have access to two games I want but can’t have because of being on the Xbox. Street Fighter V and more importantly No Man’s Sky, I want that game so badly, it looks amazing but I can’t play it. I AM CRYING BITTER TEARS ON MY CONTROLLER!! It really would be simpler if I had a gaming PC, but that will be something for the future, maybe. Ok, end nerd rant, tea time!

Continuing on with Teavivre week, today I am looking at Yunnan Gongfu Fragrant Black Tea, a hong cha from Fengqing, Yunnan, one of my favorite regions for making the glorious red teas that I’m hopelessly addicted to. Dianhongs are my drug, no lies. The name of this tea is no exaggeration, it is immensely fragrant, you open the bag and whoosh, face full of aroma! There are notes of intensely sweet cocoa and yams with brown sugar, malt, and a finish of gentle woody notes. It is very sweet and rich without being too much of either. I might have giggled with glee sniffing this tea while awaiting my kettle’s heating.

Into my teapot the oh so fragrant leaves go for their first steep, upon steeping it is time once again for sniffing. The notes coming off the wet leaves is intense! Notes of malt, cocoa, yams, peanut, pumpkin, mineral, molasses, and a very tiny hint of rose. It is really complex, pretty much every note I associate with Dianghong is present, which is impressive. The liquid is a touch lighter, sweet notes of brown sugar and pumpkin with a delicate pastry and chocolate note, it is quite sweet.

The first steep surprised me, for such a strong fragrance the taste is really light. Starting with gentle mineral notes and almost effervescent sweetness that dances across my palate. It is reminiscent of both cane sugar and brown sugar with a delicate cocoa woodiness. The finish is sweet and lingering with a light honey quality.

Second steep is where it is at! The aroma stays strong with notes of cocoa and brown sugar with a definite pumpkin and yam quality. Well, the taste takes a hint and brings in the yams and toasted peanuts, but imagine that with notes of pastry and cocoa and a finish of brown sugar and mineral. It almost reminds me of peanut brittle now that I think about it, but with sweet potatoes and cocoa, delicious!

For the third steep the aroma stays strong, but starts to pick up woody and a slight camphor note, at the finish there is a hint of pepper and a stronger mineral note as well, making it less sweet but more complex. This steep surprised me a bit, where the mouthfeel earlier was smooth and a bit thick, this one is thick and slippery with a salivary affect giving it an extra thickness. The taste is woodier, the intense sweetness is replaced with a woody richness reminiscent of cacao shells and a touch of very distant camphor. The finish and aftertaste is where all the sweetness of this steep is, ending with brown sugar and delicate yams. This tea went for several more steeps before giving up the ghost, finishing out with a very pleasant mineral quality.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/03/teavivre-yunnan-gongfu-fragrant-black.html

Upon opening the bag I discovered just how aromatic a black tea can be. The leaf is long and spiral shaped with some golden tips. Dry leaf airs of intense notes of orchid, baked pumpkin seeds and touch of molasses.
If brewed in Gongfu manner it will bring out notes of honey, molasses, orchid with full mouthfeel followed with tingling sensation in mouth and a bit dryness in throat.

Brewed in western fashion it will bring out orchid and milk notes in front along with a full mouthfeel and other notes encountered with Gongfu method are rather faint.

All in all it’s an excellent tea at really good price that has that something extra in comparison to a regular Yunnan black. Although I advise not to steep it with water over 90C because it gets a bit bitter and breaks harmony with its’ other fine notes.

Very easily one of my favorite everyday drinker, type of black tea. This tea has tons of sweet honey and simmered yams likeness – both to the dry leaves and the brewed liquid. It does a good job warming the chest and arms, after a couple cups. After the 3rd steeping, you should expect a slightly aged sheng puerh – just enough edge, mixed with returning sweetness and producing salivation. Very good tea, even better than price reflects.

Tasting note number 550. I went to an art event this morning without having any tea. So I had this as my first cup. Which also happens to be the first note. There is a scent of honey and fruit. The fruity sweetness comes out in the flavour as well.