Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: dark, tightly compressed
Ingredients: black tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: celadon gongfu teapot
Liquor: dark reddish brown
Some of you might remember that I did a Tandem Tea Tasting with this tea a few years ago. I picked up a bag of these bricks on a recent Yunnan Sourcing order so I thought it might be time to do a formal review. At $8.50 for a 100g bag you really get a lot of bang for your buck. I just had to throw in a few extra toys to make the shipping worth it. I used a gaiwan the time that I had this tea so I went with my celadon gongfu pot instead. It took a good rinse and a couple of rounds for the leaves to really open up. Once they did, the flavor just kept going and going. The taste was earthy sweet with notes of cacao and a hint of maltiness. I even started getting a bit of savory sweet potato. The combination had a really comforting effect. There was no bitterness but a bit of tannic astringency added a refreshingly clean finish. This a perfect cold weather tea. When I drank it I was snowed in and crunching deadlines. Each pot helped me get all of that writing done.
Feng Qing Black Tea Mini Bricks purchased from Yunnan Sourcing.