Georgia Wild 'Guguli' Hand-Made Black Tea

074/365

From Dark Matter 2016. This, I think, is the least impressive of the Dark Matter teas I’ve tried so far. It’s a decent black, with a pleasantly sweet maltiness, but that’s really all I have to say about it. There’s nothing that strikes me as particularly unusual, or unique, and it doesn’t seem to have any deeper flavours. It’s a little woody, perhaps, in the way that honeybush sometimes is, but that’s not really a recommendation. If raw wood shavings are your thing, this is for you? I don’t think so.

Nice enough, but that’s not enough.

This is probably the first Georgian tea that I’ve ever had, so there’s that… The leaf is scraggly and dark black with wafting of roast, dark wood, pomegranate, and tobacco. I warmed up my pot and tuck some in. The scents opens to a great aroma of ginger snap cookies and pancakes. This was an unusual aroma for me. I washed the leaves and set to steep. The first sip brings direct taste of dried berries to the tip of my tongue alone with some wood (pine? maple?). The brew is sweet but a tad dry. The tea tastes a bit flat, and its a little thin. The brew grows with some thickness, but it also brings sour notes and with some salted caramel. This was a very “alright” tea, but I wouldn’t chase it down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRbQfqXg2Yr/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

I brewed this one up Western, but may not have used quite enough leaf. Either that or it was just a very light tasting tea. I got a bit of raisiny fruity sweetness and some malt, but those notes were hard to pick out as this tea was just too light – I used about 4g in 8oz.

Syrupy and thick on the tongue, and possessing a beautifully mellow quality without a trace of bitterness. There is a slightly acidic earthiness at first, but an indistinct sweetness takes over soon after and unfolds into cherry cobbler and honey, lingering on these lovely notes for quite some time. Delicious, and my current favorite among What-Cha’s Georgian teas.

From Dark Matter. The first time I tried this tea I didn’t use nearly enough leaf, and was left with just 2 grams for a second round. Poor leaf management on my part.

So I tried western style steeping in about 4 oz of boiling water for 5 minutes and had a very nice cup of tea. Smooooth, mellow and just malty enough. It’s on the sweeter end of the spectrum, but I don’t notice raisin like others have. Very comforting cup on a cloudy morning.

From one of the group buys (dark matter?)

Maybe it is my brewing parameters, or queued in my senses due to current life events, but when I steeped this up and the first two steeps, this tea tastes just like that weird plastic sweet scent of new black garbage bags. SERIOUSLY.

Later steepings is malty and coconutty. It did not resteep well though, I got 5 and it died. The flavor is light despite the high gongfu ratio.

I think this would of been better western or 1g / 10ml or jam as much leaf as you can in the gaiwan and flash.

8:10 pm Monday Indianapolis, IN

Sometimes you just really love a tea. I really loved this stuff for whatever reason.

Smelled the malt from the first steep.

Tasted smooth honey and almost sheng puer-like earthiness.

A light, fudgy rich aftertaste.

Right now this is at the top of my to buy black tea list. 100!

From dark matter 2016

Brewed this western style. Didn’t see the instructions for 194 F water until after I poured the boiling in. Steeped 5 minutes and wondered if I may have a bitter cup. But it looks like this tea is about foolproof. Completely smooth, dark fruit like raisins, and a bit of malt and the finish. I even got two more steeps a at five minutes and then a fourth one that sat awhile. The last was a bit light but also had a bit of cocoa which was nice. No bitterness or astringency here, but still brighter in flavor than some Yunnan blacks.

It was great for yet another cold rainy day.

Quick Review

I haven’t had the time to sit down and enjoy tea in the Gaiwan lately. However, I’ve decided to skip class and relax today (shame, shame). The professor admitted that “We wouldn’t be doing much, and would probably get out two hours early;” therefore, instead of wasting an hour, I came home to drink tea.

Flash Steep: Cocoa, Raisins, Apple (?), dark color, sweet, and smooth aroma.

1st steep: Light, with a nice sweet malty raisin flavor; there’s a touch of apple in the aftertaste.

2nd steep: Light, the flavors are blending together throughout each sip. However, we’re introduced to a touch of cocoa within the aftertaste.

3rd steep (3 minutes in the Gaiwan): “Aunt Gerry’s Apple Raisin Pie.” Meaning: layered with raisin, a bit of caramel, apples, and slightly doughy.

I’ve dumped the other 4 steeps into a thermos for work. I have a late meeting tonight, to get ready for summer camp. I’ve told the students that I’m also ready for summer, and by showing them what I meant, I decided to wear a clown nose, while performing somersaults and “other daring feats!” A student told me that this was her “favorite day” with me; yet, she tells me this every day before she leaves. It felt good to have all of the students, even the wild ones, giggling their little heads off. I must admit, that there are days when I need to act crazy and wild as they do.

p.s. This is from the Dark Matter series!