Tea Review: 7 Star 2009 Tian Jian Anhua Heicha (Bitterleaf Teas)

7 Star 2009 Tian Jian Anhua Heicha

Bitterleaf Teas
Type: Heicha
Origin: China, Hunan Province
Product Description: 

This 2009 Tianjian heicha has been our go-to post meal tea ever since it arrived. It has a gentle and warming smoky flavour that doesn’t overdo it. Having undergone pine-smoking during as a result of processing it also has some very pleasant pine and spice notes.

The soup is smooth and enjoyable, coating the mouth and leaving a cooling sensation in the throat after it’s gone.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3 minutes

The dry leaves have a spicy aroma with notes of moss and antique wood.

The liquor is copper-orange with a spicy, mossy, and almost minty aroma.  The taste is savory and broth-like with moss, mushroom, and wood notes.

This reminded me of a particularly flavorful vegetarian broth.  The savory mushroom-like notes became lighter by the second infusion and moved to the front again by the third. 

This tea was received as a gift from a third party.

Tea Review: Gold Dust 2000 Fuzhuan Anhua Heicha (Bitterleaf Teas)

Gold Dust 2000 Fuzhuan Anhua Heicha
Bitterleaf Teas
Type: Heicha
Origin: China, Hunan Province, Anhua County
Product Description: 

With almost two decades of age on it, this Anhua fuzhuan heicha is well populated with golden flowers. The flavour is smooth and medicinal, with a pleasant and mellow camphor scent, slightly nutty character and lingering sweetness.

Temperature: 208° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 3-7 minutes

The dry leaves have an aroma of aromatic wood with a hint of sweet cinnamon.

The red-brown infusion has an aroma of aromatic wood, with light notes of cinnamon and ferns.  The taste is smooth with wood notes and hints of cinnamon and something that reminded me of mint.  

This is a very forgiving tea that invites experimentation, so I prepared it using 3 grams of leaf and again using 6 grams of leaf.  The flavor and aroma using 3 grams of leaf mellowed significantly after the initial infusion, though I found that it improved by increasing steeping times to 5-7 minutes.  Some intriguing maple notes developed in the aroma by the second infusion.  Steeping 6 grams of leaf for 5 minutes resulted in a much darker liquor with more pronounced aroma and flavor, including pleasant cocoa and maple-like notes.  I enjoyed the results from both weights of leaf, though using more leaf resulted in several more flavorful infusions for a more enjoyable tea tasting session.

Please note that fuzhuan cha is not celiac-safe.  The light speckling of jin hua (golden flower) that makes this style of dark tea unique is Eurotium cristatum, a potentially beneficial probiotic fungus which is sometimes encouraged to develop with a light dusting of flour.  

This tea was purchased by me.

[3 grams of leaf]

[6 grams of leaf]

Tea Review: Liquid Sunshine 2019 Fengqing Yellow Tea (Bitterleaf Teas)

Liquid Sunshine 2019 Fengqing Yellow Tea
Bitterleaf Teas
Type: Yellow
Origin: China, Yunnan Province

Product Description:

If you’re not drinking something that makes you happy, then you’re not drinking the right tea. This Yunnan yellow tea is likely a step in the right direction though.
Made from fangyang (left to grow) material that is typically used for puer, this tea is sweet and smooth up front. There’s a noticeable pine and mossy fragrance that is subdued at first, but slowly takes over the mouth and throat, lingering well after you’ve finished a sip.
We highly recommend this tea for anyone new to the less-common yellow teas, as well as those in search of a long-lasting and enduring yellow tea – in other words, we recommend it for everyone (that includes you).

Temperature: 175° F
Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 1-2 minutes

The dry leaves have a light aroma with notes of pine, moss, and sweet oats.

The aroma of the pale yellow infusion has light notes of sun-warmed moss and straw with a hint of perilla or sesame.  The taste is lightly toasty and herbaceous with a long sweet finish.

The mossy and woody notes reminded me just a bit of sheng puerh.  I was also reminded of the field I would play in during the warm summer months when I was very young which was an unexpected, though not unwelcome, flashback.  Steeping for 2 minutes worked very well for the first infusion and I preferred a shorter 1-1.5 minute steeping time for subsequent infusions.  For those who prefer something a little stronger, mild astringency developed in the second and third infusions when steeped for 2 minutes.

This tea was received as a gift from a third party.