I'm back to reviewing, trying out two Greengold Georgian black teas, Taiguli and Kolkhida versions. Those names don't mean anything to me, so I'll cite their website descriptions following:
TAIGULI, in English meaning “Bouquet”, is made from freshly harvested finest tea leaves. Full of tips and plucked by the hands of the local villagers. Made according to the traditional Georgian Black Tea technology, with some corrections of the modern one, that gives an unique taste.
An ideal fine tea to drink until mid-afternoon. The light amber color indicates that it is a black tea. It is a clean tea since it does not present any glaze or deposits. Bright and alive tea. The aromatic intensity is moderate.
The liquor has a predominant malt aroma. The wood is sharp and you could almost tell it is unique. The taste of the tea is sweet at first but is slightly bitter and light-bodied when swallowed.
KOLKHIDA TEA is made on Black seaside historical region “Kolkheti Lowland”, where high mountain fresh air meets the sea breeze. This special place has it’s unique climate which has an effect on the leaves. Unique KOLKHIDA taste, which you can find only in Georgia, comes from the Kolkhida tea leaves, which is massively used in this tea.
A fine tea, clean and bright, apparently dense, that can accompany you throughout the day. The liqueur displays malty, spicy and cooked lemon aromas. Sweet tea with a smooth body. The malt flavour remains for a long time. You can also appreciate a camphor flavour that gives a burning sensation.
I might also mention that the last set of teas I tried from them, also sent by Nika of Greengold for review, was fantastic, much better than I could have expected they would be. I suppose that set a high level of expectations for these, and although they were pretty good it was a lot to live up to.
We had talked to Nika in a meetup back in 2021, which includes more of his story, about renewing production at an older tea plantation in Georgia. That's covered in very limited detail here, in a post with more about two of the earlier black teas.
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Nika, and tea plants |
I've just moved back to Honolulu, here for 3 months to rejoin the kids, who are finishing up their second school year over that time, who I've been separated from for almost all of the past 7 months. It's great, being in Hawaii. I should write a post about what it's like here, since adding a couple of pictures and a couple of sentences wouldn't do it justice.
Probably being at the tail end of jet lag and busy with kids' spring break activities didn't help with this review. It was rushed, as they tend to be, but I had less initial focus to work with. Brewed tea color is all over the place, surely related to shifting infusion timing. Part of that relates to zeroing in on an optimum, and checking results at different infusion intensities, and it's also partly about that lack of focus. It's not quiet where I live now.
Review:
Taiguli: a little light; I used the standard approach of getting a first impression from a light round before a true review test. This is interesting; moderate oxidation level input maybe? Flavors are warm and pleasant, along the line of soft and warm malt. It has some oolong character for lacking much astringency edge, and being soft and full.
Kolkhida: this tastes like a familiar flavor set from teas sold as Golden Monkey in China. Those teas always have a Chinese name too, and a typical origin area background, but that's the kind of thing I explored more in my first years trying and writing about teas, that particular type range. Later I stayed more focused on Dian Hong, with Fujian, Chaozhou area, and Taiwanese blacks mixed in. A different but related malt range stands out. This extends more into rye bread scope as well. A stronger infusion will help with adding more flavor and character breakdown.
To clarify I don't think this is a complete match for that style; I'm adding these comparisons as a reference point. The teas definitely weren't made to copy any Chinese versions; they're presented as local products that represent modern, updated interpretations of traditional local tea styles.
Taiguli, #2: I might have went a little strong, compensating for the slow start, brewing these for about 20 seconds. This definitely has some edge now. The flavor set is interesting and unusual. It includes herb notes, along the line of fennel seed. Sweetness is pleasant. There are fruit tones that are hard to break down to a list; maybe along the line of dried elderberry. The feel has an unusual dryness to it. In the end the effect is interesting but not overly well balanced. Drinking this brewed a little lighter will probably help it balance.
Going back and drinking this after the other tea there is a vegetal range aspect that stands out, which is hard to describe. It tastes a bit like when you bite into a grape seed, extended on to leaf character, so maybe like tasting a grape plant leaf or stem.
Kolkhida: interesting! For favoring Dian Hong most, Yunnan black tea, it's still pleasant, but not the optimum range and balance, per my preferences. It has nice depth, and it seems to balance better, for the different layers or inputs to support each other better.
One part is that malt tone, no longer as dominant as a singular main flavor, which again extends to bread range, or even fennel seed. Another aspect is a savory but sweet quality, along the line of sun-dried tomato. Mineral range is pronounced, with one part of that range coming across almost like salt; that's unusual. I just drank a Thai version of pressed shai hong yesterday that this overlaps a good bit with, with a touch of tartness, as occurs in that tea as well. To me it hangs together well enough. It might evolve in character and balance even better during a third lighter infusion.
Taiguli, #3: I'm not reaching the optimum infusion strength balance here; this is too light again. It works like this but it's no good for ideal experience and review. Vegetal tone eases up and warmth stands out more; it's nice. It's not my favorite black tea range for the set of aspects but it's fine.
Kolkhida: a wine-like character picks up, entering in where sundried tomato and some berry left off earlier. This also isn't my absolute favorite black tea range, but it's closer. I like these teas but it's odd not absolutely loving them. All of the Greengold teas were so good the last round that I couldn't critique them much in terms of style, quality, or aspects range, and for these two how much someone likes either would depend on preference. It's as if these are more experimental versions, working with different styles to make different forms of tea. It seems like the first, the Taiguli version, is backed off in terms of oxidation level.
Taiguli, #4: the best this has been; that's a good sign, that it evolves positively, even though it's also about just getting an infusion strength balance right. Warm and sweet tones stand out the most so far, with pleasant spice-like undertone. There's a little tartness and vegetal range too. The next infusion, #5, is even better, but these notes leave off here.
Kolkhida: this balances better than ever too. A higher level of sweetness is pleasant, and the mix of aspects balances better. That sun-dried tomato savory tone really complements the rest.
One thing I'm not commenting on here is a range of weaknesses or flaws that aren't present. If teas are truly badly made then more sourness would occur (although I suppose either of these could be interpreted as slightly sour, I just don't see it that way), or flavors could be murky, less clear. Sweetness could be lacking, throwing off balance, or vegetal tones could be even stronger, although there is some of that in both these, just more in the Taiguli version.
Conclusion:
Good teas, interesting and pleasant, even though these aren't a direct match to my favorite black tea aspect and character preference. I've been spoiled for drinking some amazing teas over the years, and tend to focus in on range I really love, the warm and sweet, balanced, cacao, roasted sweet potato and yam, Chinese date towards dark cherry fruit in Dian Hong and related style versions. Vegetal range and tartness doesn't come up much, in what I tend to drink. Neither version of these was tart but one included some vegetal range.
I don't see any of the aspects in these as any sort of flaw, just normal style variations. The quality level was quite good. The form of malt in these varied from Chinese tea versions and Assam, for example, closer to one Chinese tea version in one case but still a little different. I think I might have really loved their oolongs better earlier on, and for being surprised at how good all the teas were I might have built up an unreasonable expectation from memory, expecting all of them to match the best of any teas made anywhere. These were good, pleasant and distinctive, but they don't change everything for me related to tea experience.
It's an interesting start, and there are many more samples to get to, again shared by Nika of Greengold. I expect that character of most others will be as good or better, and that many will match my main aspect preferences even better.
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on a ridgeline hike, again |
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Hanauma Bay, a wonderful nature preserve and snorkeling area |
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sunset at the beach; in Waikiki, near our small apartment |
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