Black tea from Takachiho, Minami-sayaka cultivar 2nd flush

Thanks again to Derk for this sample! Following Derk and the vendor’s instructions, I steeped 3 g of leaf in 150 ml of boiling water for 5, 8, and 15 minutes. I hope these long steeps don’t make this tea into a tannin monster!

The dry aroma is of tangerine, berries, cream, rose, other florals, malt, and wood. The first steep has rich aromas and flavours of blackberry, raspberry, vanilla, rose, and orange. In the mouth, I get the fruit plus cream, rose, orange blossom, malt, wood, thyme, vanilla, earth, and restrained tannins. The blackberry and raspberry are more pronounced for me than the orange, though it’s a nice background note. There’s blackberry, orange, and peach in the lingering aftertaste. The next steep is a bit more malty and woody, but still has lots of fruity and floral goodness. The final steep has minerals, wood, and malt with faint berries, cream, and orange, and it’s quite a bit more tannic.

This is an excellent black tea with wonderful fruity, creamy, and floral notes. It doesn’t have great longevity, but I also did very long steeps. The tannins never get overwhelming. I’m enjoying these TDJ teas more than I expected to.

Another freebie provided by Thés du Japon, thank you :)

July 5th, 2021 harvest

Dry leaf in the bag has a soft floral sweetness along with a tangy blackberry-raspberry note. Once in hand, it smells very berry-malt with lighter notes of orange and cream, an overlay of freshly washed hair – you know the smell? Warming the leaf is the preview of what is to come — tangy, fresh and clean vibe with tangerine, malt and rosewood.

The citrusy-sweet-tangy aroma is prominent with creamy peach-orange. In the mouth, the taste is very intense but with minimal tannins. A magnificent floral bouquet blooms with tangerine blossom and roses, lingering in the throat and nose. Mixed with that is candied tangerine peel, malt and rosewood, while a mild sweet vanilla-cream taste caresses and softens the bright citrus. Salivation is effusive, and the tangerine blossom and roses persist.

In my last note for a different black tea from TDJ, I said I’d go with my usual steeping parameters for black tea, but for some reason I went with package directions. Very happy with the result. First steep of 5min, second of 8min, now sipping on the third at 15min and it is like drinking candied tangerine peel with a little bit of creaminess on the sip and a very citrusy-fruity tangy aftertaste and sour feeling that becomes buttery once the tea is cold. MMM.

I hope you like this one, Leafhopper!