Organic Jinhao Golden Tip Black Tea

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So I haven’t been around for the past couple of days. On Wednesday I got my second COVID vaccination shot (yay!), and then on Thursday the reaction pretty much knocked me out all day. I was very surprised to feel pretty much totally normal the next day, but it was also the same day that my husband had his wisdom teeth removed, so all of Friday was related to his recovery from that. He’s feeling much better today, so here I am! And yet, I made this tea this morning, and now it’s 11 PM and I’m just now finishing the pot and writing the note… Oops?

Anyway, this was another one that I ordered a sample of because I hadn’t tried it before (a rarity among Teavivre’s black tea. It’s tasty enough but nothing special I guess? Quite savory with thick bread and sweet potato sort of notes, and a slight smoked meat soft of thing going on. A hint of apricot but not much else in the way of fruitiness. Deep undertones of earth and a bit of molasses.

Sorry, not much of a note I guess. Basically it’s tasty but not one I would order as I don’t really find any distinguishing characteristics compared to some of their dian hong teas (even though this isn’t from Yunnan). But glad to have tried!

Here’s hoping I do better with drinking tea tomorrow…

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One sip and I was like “I’ve had this before”. It tastes very much like raisins. Raisins and rye bread. It’s quite nice. Thank you Angel for sending me a sample of this to try!

One of the benefits of ordering tea from Teavivre is they allow you to select free samples of their teas with your order. This presents the opportunity to take other choices from their constantly growing lineup out for a spin.

The description of this Jinhao Golden Tip Black Tea intrigued me because it advertised a possible wide range of flavors to be experienced. I also chose this one because black tea is my favorite due to higher caffeine content and (usually) more robust flavors than the less oxidized types.

I opened the silver sample package and found long black and golden leaves inside. The aroma was rich and leathery like a lot of Chinese teas.

I brewed the leaves at 195 degrees for five minutes. (I am unable to steep at the recommended 194 degrees since my automatic tea maker was not designed with this temperature selection. Close enough.)

The final product had a golden brown color. The aroma had sweet and malty characteristics.

My first sip had a fleeting flavor like English Breakfast tea. Then, out of the multitude of tastes noted for this tea, my palate was able to pull three out of the hat: malt, fruit, and bread. The flavor was blended so well that I had to truly focus my taste buds to dissect it into separate entities. The end result was also sweet, smooth, and hardy.

With my first few sips, I thought I was experiencing just a tad of astringency. However, this sensation completely settled down before I was half way through my first cup. I believe Angel’s comment on the Teavivre website explains this part of the ride: “This is a rare infusing-durable organic black tea with charming fruity fragrance and sweet taste. The taste will turn mellower as time goes on.”

All in all, I found this tea to be a unique and tasty blend. After my first few sips, I just sat back and enjoyed it.

The aroma oddly reminds me of a Cherry Vanilla Coke. The flavour fulfills the promise made by the aroma but the soda has gone flat and woody. The cocoa/chocolate note is prevalent and dark.

All-in-all, it’s not my favourite Chinese cocoa-black tea, but it’s still a lovely cup to cozy up to on a rainy fall day.

Steep Count: 3

(2017 spring harvest)

Kinda hurried today, but these are my thoughts on this one:

For the first few steeps, I get primarily freshly baked bread with a touch of chocolate. After the third steep, there’s more of a honey-like flavour. Deliciously smooth throughout, with no bitterness or astringency. First steeps around 2-3 minutes, later ones around 3-4 minutes, always in boiling water, no additions.

Another excellent tea from Teavivre, would absolutely, definitely purchase again.

This tea has a nice bready aroma. Its taste reminds me of buttered rye toast. It is good, but a little too bready for me.

Third steep. All of the steeps have gone down so easily. Not bitter or astringent, just smooth and tasty. Even without milk and-or sugar. I’ve got one serving left in my sample pack. It’s a definite favourite, and once I have a little money flowing again, this is one that is going to be ordered in a larger size.

I did a red tea tasting:

This was a very fluffy and large leafed tea. The fuzzy golden curls gave off a baked bread aroma with sweet coco, cherry, and vanilla mixed together. The tones were very sweet and smooth. I warmed my gaiwan up and placed these inside. The aroma inside my gaiwan reminded me of angel food cake and cherry coke. The scent was sweet but “bite-y”. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The drink was smooth and easy to sip on. The texture was thick on the tongue and had a sweet “breadiness” to it. The base was of soft wood along with caramel and resin on top. The next steeps cause the tea to get a bit maltier, but it still carried a good smooth taste. I liked this tea.

It’s multiple photos, so you have to scroll to see them all:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRqtHDQAuVP/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

This was another free sample from Angel at Teavivre thank you!! As it’s a Saturday, I figure it’s early enough for me to have a black tea. This is my pick, I brewed it Western Style for 3 mins with 195 degree water.

The smell is honeyed and reminiscent of a golden tip tea, which is good. It smells pretty light, not overly rich which is good. Wanted something warming yet not too heavy as it’s the first tea of the day.

As for flavor; this is good! It’s different – the honey notes of other golden tip teas is there but it’s overall lighter in effect. There is a fruitiness, some type of dried fruit, with a light astringency enhancing that flavor. Just what I wanted this morning- a lighter textured Chinese black tea :)

Overall, I like this, it’s just different enough from my other black teas that it’s a refreshing change. It reminds me of warmer days, something like spring. It is also melding spectacularly with my breakfast of steel cut oats, which I sweetened with honey, it’s not overpowering but a good match. Thanks again for the sample Angel!

My goal this year is to write one review per day. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep on this, but we shall see….

As I read through my notes on this session, I noted that I hadn’t followed the brewing instructions (194 F for 3-5 minutes). I’m assuming this would’ve been more excellent brewed western style (?); however, I threw the entire sample into my 150 ml Gaiwan at 195 F water w/quick steeps.

I had notes of cocoa, dried plum (?), raisins, malt, and the tea having a thick body.

I’m usually skeptical with brewing black tea and/or having a black tea. 90% of the flavors out there are usually rated at an average 0-60 for me; however, the 10% that remains is usually on the higher scale from 80-95%. It really has to be good for me to consider it, or to truly enjoy it. And despite the ratings of this tea, I think I’m one of the few that likes it as much as I do. There are notes beyond the maltiness (which I must say malt is what turns me off from black tea—cough Assam cough) that gives this tea a unique balance within the black tea spectrum. However, it isn’t as highly favorited as say, Laoshan Black, but it is on the higher end of my rating scale (75%; average). Overall, I like it. I’d drink it from time to time, but it’s neither a daily drinker nor a ‘never have again’ tea.