Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Cameron Tea
Tea Description:
*This black tea is a fully oxidised version of traditional Oriental Beauty.
Region: Beipu, Taiwan
Type: Black Tea
Harvest Time: Winter 2013
Oxidation level: Fully oxidised
Taste: Refreshing floral aroma with fruity and honey taste.
When to drink: Throughout the day
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This Beipu Oriental Beauty Black Tea is absolutely DELIGHTFUL. I’ve had quite a few Oriental Beauty Oolong teas, but only maybe a handful of Oriental Beauty Black teas, and of those that I can remember … they really impressed me with their amazing flavor. This one is also quite impressive.
The dry leaf aroma is somewhat earthy, reminding me of damp, mossy earth (there’s a lot of that up here in the Pacific Northwest) with notes of flower in the distance. Once the tea is brewed, more of those floral notes emerge, and the earthy notes have subsided somewhat. It smells rich and inviting.
It has the soft, buttery texture of an Oolong tea, but with the well-rounded, full flavor of a black tea. The softer texture means that this is not as hearty a tea as many black teas out there. This isn’t a tea I’d turn to as that first tea in the morning. I’d choose this for a late morning or early afternoon tea.
The flavor is sweet. It has a distinct honey note and it’s the first flavor that I can really distinguish in the sip. The honey notes are intense and almost have a molasses-y undertone. Then I start to pick up on the fruit notes. It tastes of stone fruit, evoking thoughts of freshly-picked, tree-ripened peaches and apricots, bursting with flavor and still warm from the sun.
There are some faint (very faint!) floral tones to this, and I find that they’re most noticeable when I slurp the sip. Mostly I taste the sweet honey, hints of molasses and the juicy peach and apricot flavors. Such incredible flavor to this tea!
