Feng Qing Classic 58 Dian Hong Premium Yunnan Black Tea

I used 7g in a 220ml yixing pot.
Three infusions
1: 1min 90C
2: 2min 90C
3: 3min 90C

Malty slightly sweet. A bit of dark chocolate? A very slight astringency on the aftertaste.

A superb black tea.

Very nice. This is great breakfast-style black tea. Plenty strong with some bitterness, but not an offensive bitterness like I find in many Assam black teas. A tolerable bite to it which you may find welcome in a breakfast tea. The flavor is nice and complex, with caramel sweetness, a touch of puerh-like earthiness, hints of dried fruit, oak, some sweet potato, and that nice “leathery” texture you get with some black teas. Brews up cleanly with a satisfying darker reddish-brown color and is a great value for a nice tea.

When I first started getting into tea, I bought a lot of random things to discover what I liked. I relegated the teas that weren’t to my taste to the back of my cupboard and stored them in the hope that my palate would evolve to appreciate them. This has sometimes happened (roasted TGY, Wuyi oolongs, dragonwell, gyokuro) and sometimes not (Assam, lapsang souchong, sencha). The upshot is that I have a bunch of teas I’m not particularly fond of and that I feel obliged to finish.

This Dian Hong is one of those teas. It’s not objectively bad, but it is more malty than I’d like and doesn’t have many interesting background flavours. In its favour, the long, flat, fuzzy leaves are pretty. I followed my usual gongfu parameters (5 g, 120 ml, 195F, 10/12/15/18/20/25/30/40/50/60/90/120/240 seconds).

The first two steeps have notes of malt, tannins, caramel, and tomato vine, which is especially apparent in the aroma. Later steeps are still heavy on the malt, but the tomato morphs into an oakwood, earthy, and caramel finish reminiscent of scotch. These flavours last pretty much until the end of the session.

I’m sure there are many people who would enjoy this tea, especially in the morning. However, it isn’t really for me.

P.S.: I didn’t find chocolate, sweet potato, or the other flavours people have mentioned in this tea. I have no idea why, unless my 2015 batch has changed substantially with age.

Sweet and vegetal. Vegetable broth. Excelent.

Spring 2017 production.

The description is accurate, “malty, floral, sweet and slightly bitter all at once.”

My stash of black teas grow dangerously low! I’ve got a big YS order on the way though, so maybe it will arrive before I run out. Not likely though because I chose SAL shipping.

Drinking the spring 2015 version. This is a good, fairly run-of-the-mill Yunnan black. It’s malty and lightly chocolaty with notes of brown sugar, toasty bread, and yams. Also just faintly fruity like figs. A good daily drinker, but prefer black teas with a little more “personality” if that makes sense; something that makes them unique. This one is pretty stereotypical in it’s “dian hong” qualities.

I’m starting to lose track of all these Chinese blacks. I think I will need to do a comparison session one day to see how they relate to each other.

The brew smelled like a chocolate malted sweet potato, and pretty much tasted the same. The main flavor was a malty sweet potato with an aftertaste of cocoa. A very nice tea, but not the best I’ve had.

I have the Spring 2016 batch. Brewed at 193˚F. Heavenly malty, earthy, burnt-sugar aroma but the liquid is more earthy and not as sweet as it smells. Very good tea.

Didn’t sleep too well last night for some reason, but I am up getting my caffeine injection for the day.

This is another of Yunnan Sourcing tea of the month club, I have the Autumn 2014 version. Beautiful, dark slender leaves that are stick like in shape. I haven’t been a huge fan of all dian hong black teas I’ve tried in the past, but I like this one. It smells like a cup of spicy hot chocolate and tastes malty & sweet. there are some interesting notes in here for sure. Something roasty and something kinds spicy like cinnamon.

A very smooth tea with no astringency or bitterness. I am sipping on it plain but it would also be ok with a splash of milk. Something tells me I will need a LOT of tea to get through this day!

terriharplady my dearest tea sisiter, let me have a bit of this when i was at her house exploring her teas haha. I have to say that this is a really delicious tea from YS. It actually hit the spot a little better than LB this morning, but don’t tell LB that! I brewed this one western for ease and was left with a really delicious, slightly sweet but malty cup of tea. i didn’t get much astringency in the cup, which was nice. I’ll have to try the other teal of this variety that i picked up from terri as well and see how it compares.