Cherry Coke, or the last thing i expect black tea to taste like...

From time to time i have an online shopping excess and i buy a lot of tea, especially if there is a seasonal discount, like for moon festival. Often there is good and bad stuff. Sometimes there is weird stuff. In this special case i try to brew in gaiwan first, to get to know the tea and eventually become friends.

There are 3 Reasons for that. Firstly, porcelain is neutral and doesn´t influence the taste of my new tea. Secondly, the amount of leaves i need to use is easy to determine by the shape and size of the gaiwan. Just cover the bottom a bit, do not stuff it. And lastly, with my gaiwan it´s easy to do quick steepings, so i do not overbrew my expensive tea.

But let´s continue with the Yuchi Hon Yun which i bought from Taiwan Teacrafts last Year.

From first view its an ugly leaf, half open, some leafs are broken. 

While the frist brew, on the surfaces of the water, you can see the essential oils dancing. The Liquor of the steeping is dark rosé and clear, but as i pour, the tea leaves a lot of oil residues in the gaiwan. 

The Nose is unspecified, non roasted soft black tea. If i concentrate on, i get some hints of soft fruitiness. 

On the palate it is clear. I sense an unexpected rich, but unreal cherry flavor. The whole is surrounded by very round and mellow black tea character. For the first time it felt so unreal, that i can´t believe my senses. With each brew it gets more complex and fruity. The whole taste experience is somehow surrealistic. 

The aftertaste is even stranger. Black tea spices mingle with a „Hubba Bubba“ like taste that arise from my throat. You will not believe me since you try it, but this is like a Cherry Coke. It is a weird, nonetheless pleasent experience.

Data:

Tea Genre:    Black Tea

Cultivar:        Yuchi Hong Yun 

Terroir:          Mountain Tea from Taiwan 

Distributor:    Taiwan Teacrafts Lot 276

Season:         Winter 2013

Gramm:         4,5
Tool:              Gaiwan 120 ml 

Temperature: 95° Celsius

Steepings: 4 Times