This is a type of Tibetan tea, a dark tea from Yan’an in Sichuan. It has a long history of being transported to Tibet where it is considered a source of food by the locals and drank with yak butter and salt. I wrote about a couple of dark teas from Sichuan before, all collectively called Yan’an Tibetan tea.
I reviewed other Tibetan teas under this challenge, and I have a couple of others to check as well. So far, for me, the characteristic of Tibetan teas is that they have deep red fruit aroma and taste, which also comes with a little bit of sweetness and slight astringency. When I was sipping this tea, all I could think off was sour dried grapes, and I knew I had some of them. I found them and paired them with this tea. It was a match in heaven. They both enhance each other’s flavours and aromas.
This tea comes from tea gardens with an elevation of 1200 meters. It was kept in dry storage from 2013 to 2019 until it was compressed and put on a sale.
I am very stubborn or ignorant, and I did not even check if there were any steeping instructions. And yes, there were. I prepared this tea in a teapot, gongfu style. I did not question anything. But apparently, 7 g of it should have been boiled for 20 minutes in 1.5-litre water. I cannot imagine who the result would have been. Maybe, I can try with my next Tibet tea sample and tell you. Or I continue being ignorant and go for gongfu again. As 1.5-litre water is a lot, is not it?
Tea profile:
Type: Dark Tea
Origin: Sichuan Harvest time: 2013
Leaf colour: Tones of dark brown and red Liquor colour: Orange (the more it is boiled, the darker it gets)
Tea Aroma: Fruity and woody
Tea taste: Slightly sweet and sour; dried red grapes
Steeping: Place 7 g of tea leaves in a teapot. Add 1.5 lt water and boil for 20 minutes. Alernatively, try gongfu style brewing with long steeping time (1 minute or so).
Shelf life: Can be aged.
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