Thursday, October 19, 2023

Tea Review: Cinnamon Wood Smoked Black Tea (Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden/Yunomi)

Cinnamon Wood Smoked Black Tea/燻製紅茶 肉桂
Yunomi/Kaneroku Matsumoto Tea Garden
Type: Flavored Black
Origin: Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shimada
Product Description: 
Silver Medal Winner of the 2014 International Tea Tasting Competition, Matsumoto-san smokes his black tea using the wood from the cinnamon tree. No flavorings or additives used.

The smokiness of the tea is light, and retains a strong hint of the cinnamon flavor. 
Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaves have a deeply smoky aroma with cinnamon notes.

The liquor is dark red with an aroma of wood smoke and sweet cinnamon.  The taste is smoky with notes of cinnamon, no notable astringency, and a long savory, smoky finish.

As with other smoked teas from Kaneroku Matsumoto-en, this was nicely balanced in flavor and aroma, deeply smoky without being overwhelming.  While I was very pleased with the results from steeping for 2 minutes, the lack of astringency allows for longer steeping times for those looking for something stronger.  The first two infusions produced the fullest flavor with a much mellower third infusion.  I admit, it took a while to start this review because I was busy savoring the aroma of the smoked tea leaves.

This tea was purchased by me.




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