Tippy Doke Fusion and second flush Giddapahar teas

This tasting theme related to getting to samples from last year that looked interesting, including a different "tippy" version of the flagship Fusion product from Doke, from Bihar, not one of the main tea producing regions.  Reviewing another Darjeeling with it is about using that as a benchmark, and just commenting here on more teas they sent.  Giddapahar rings a bell, I must have reviewed at least one or two from them before, but it's not that familiar.  Per usual I'll add more listing details and links during editing.

One atypical part of this review post is that I wrote these notes three weeks ago, dropping out of doing most writing due to spending nearly two weeks on a covid experience.  These tasting notes tend to be fairly complete anyway.

DOKE BLACK FUSION TIPPY:- FIRST FLUSH 2021 (now listed at $11.24 / 50 grams)

The best Indian black tea that has a combination of sweet and malty roast notes with caramel flavour aftertaste is a heart winner for most of the tea drinkers! Having a brewing time of 3 minutes, this tea fills the air with its aroma of caramel and a spicy texture that is beyond words to explain! Coming from Bihar, Doke Black Fusion is processed using Assamica tea leaves that compels the tea lovers to explore this tea.

I didn't see a listing for the Giddapahar tea through their outlet (Tea Swan), or a clear match through Google search.  That version was more for comparison purposes anyway, and it was interesting experiencing the contrast in styles.  I didn't take it to be indicative of a normal, standard style Darjeeling second flush, but that was fine, trying something pleasant and more unique instead.  Of course I mis-matched flushes, since the Doke was a spring tea, but it turned out to not matter related to style range since they had fully oxidized that tea version, unlike conventional first flush Darjeeling style.

Review:

interesting that the second flush Giddapahar, left, is less oxidized

Tippy Black Fusion:  interesting.  One part resembles a standard black tea, maybe towards Ceylon for being softer and including more mineral depth than Assam typically does, and from there distinctive dried fruit range enters in.  It's a little towards Chinese date, jujube, but it's not that.  Cocoa / cacao comes across as well; that part would be familiar to Chinese black tea drinkers.  The feel is nice, with a little dryness and fullness but nothing like harsh astringency edge.  People accustomed to drinking better loose tea wouldn't consider adding milk to this, although it probably would be ok, it's just not something that I would check.  This is quite pleasant, and it will probably develop a little more depth over the next two infusions, before levelling off.

Giddapahar AV2 Summer Delight Second Flush:  that's really quite nice too, but very different.  It's includes just a little more dryness but really the effect is just different, more than it's stronger.  A strong range of warm tones stand out in this, and it includes fruit as well, and a catchy spice-like aspect, which I'm not really clear enough on to describe yet.  The muscatel level is moderate; it's not a version that's all about blasting that, but it does include that distinctive grape / citrus / wine-like range.   The catchy part may be how the different aspects balance.  I wouldn't be surprised if a bit of dryness and light range mineral softened and deepened next round, so I'll do a more complete flavor breakdown then.

Doke Tippy Fusion on the left in all photos

Doke Tippy Fusion second infusion:  lots of transition; an inky sort of flavor range really ramped up.  It's hard to describe, not like the straight ink mineral range that can couple with lots of other integrated flavors in Wuyi Yancha oolongs.  This is towards sourness, just not sour in a typical sense.  It seems to couple with fruit range, like elderberry, as a variation of how a juice can come across.  

I like it, but personal preference would determine response to this.  Fruity, mineral based, heavy flavor range black teas seem really nice to me, but this is in a unique range.  We've bought a ligonberry jam from IKEA before; what I'm describing as sourness and fruit isn't that close to that, since these flavors are heavier, but it works in comparison to describe what I mean by fruit-like and sour.  That reminds me, there's a Laos berry tisane I've been meaning to review, gooseberry, maybe that was?

Giddapahar:  so different that it's cool experiencing one of these and then the other.  I had expected more astringency edge from this, given how broken the leaf is, and now it's showing up.  It's not exactly that green wood range that seems to stand out and be distinctive related to only Darjeeling, but it's close to that, a variation.  Warm tones broaden feel and flavor well beyond that, making it seem complex (which it is).  The part I'm interpreting as catchy might just be the way a pronounced root spice aspect links with less distinctive fruit, with the two complementing each other.  The aftertaste is just that astringency edge, not so far off the experience of bitterness, or this might be a feel aspect that seems to link to actual bitterness.  

It works, but the astringency and towards-bitter edge isn't in an ideal balance.  The water I'm using is probably around 90 C, maybe just over (but I tend to not check those things), and backing that off to 80 or 85 might be more optimum for this.  Not that I would; I brew tea using pretty much the same water temperature, and even brewing parameters, and how it works out is what I'm interested in experiencing.  If this was more broken I would brew it Western style, probably then easing up on temperature just a little, but it's ok for this approach, with astringency moderated by brewing time.

In giving it one last taste that spice range includes towards-root flavor but also fennel seed, as a more dominant aspect, which is interesting.

Doke, third infusion:  I brewed these quite quickly, at or under 10 seconds, because intensity is a bit much at this proportion, for both, but they're probably still not even close to light.  The lighter intensity lets the fruit show through better; it's nicer.  That still does remind me most of elderberry.  It's hard to say what that tastes like, in comparison with other berries; a bit like blackberry, but heavier on mineral, richer in flavor, less fruity somehow, even inky in taste range.  If you ever get a chance to try a good version of fresh elderberry pie with vanilla ice cream your life will be improved by that.

Overall balance is good, the moderate astringency, pleasant and integrated flavors, good sweetness.  There aren't really any flaws to work around.  The only limitation is that this style and character might not suit everyone, which is true of essentially every tea type.  I see some types as more universal in appeal but that interpretation might not be shared by others.  These including what I'm describing as towards sourness and bitterness work well in relation to the rest of the range, but they might serve as examples of range that wouldn't work well for everyone.  Backing off infusion strength makes the part seeming like sourness drop out in this, with plenty of fruit flavor and warm tone intensity remaining, so it's down to a matter of brewing it appropriately.  I don't think this would be as good made Western style, unless someone could be careful about dialing in final infusion timing and intensity.

Giddapahar:  brewed lighter the part I've been struggling to capture really stands forward.  This tastes like teaberry!  It's a minty sort of wild berry found where I'm from, in Pennsylvania, that people tend not to eat.  I've heard before that you can collect and brew the leaves, and that they can even be oxidized.  That sounds amazing, but I've never tried it.  As with the other tea intensity really supports lighter brewing; this is plenty strong enough, and much better balanced.  Sweetness stands out more, with astringency and the seemingly connected wood tone flavor dialing back.  

It can come across as an insult in tea circles to say that a tea would be good with food, but I could see how this would pair well with a lot of range.  That edge works better moderated by infusion strength, like this round is prepared, but that effect could also be countered by eating this with a raisin cinnamon roll.  There's even a hint of cinnamon in this, showing up better for the wood tone dropping with infusion strength.

Doke, fourth infusion:  more of the same, and quite pleasant.  

Giddapahar:  the same really; maybe transitioning just a little.  Both these teas will keep making positive, complex, balanced infusions for a number of additional rounds, and character will shift a bit more, but the notes are sufficient.

Conclusion:

For quitting taking notes that early both teas might have improved slightly over the next few rounds, especially the Doke version.  It picked up a nice brandy-like character, warming and adding depth, with sweetness towards toffee or heavy caramel.  Intensity stayed good for lots more rounds, with parts that someone might have interpreted as negative (for both) largely dropping out, the astringency edge and such.

It was interesting how different this seemed to me in relation to the other second flush Doke Fusion version I had tried and reviewed (here).  There was enough continuity that I could relate to them being branded under the same name but they weren't even close to identical, with this version much better, adding more depth, complexity, and positive nature across a broad number of rounds.

This Giddapahar was interesting for not matching Darjeeling second flush standard character I expected, but being positive in a different way.  As some sort of standard type comparison baseline it wasn't suitable at all, but as a novel, good quality, and pleasant tea version it exceeded my expectations.  I'll skip trying to compare either of these to some other standard range, and the impossible task of matching a general extracted quality level from one range of tea to another.  These were good, pleasant and interesting; that's enough.

not much for home life or outings to share lately, so them sleeping will do

still time for messing around in between all the rest and recovery

Latumoni Summer Tippy Assam

tippier "Royal Tippy" version left

I'm comparing two of the better looking Assam versions I've ran across, supplied by the Tea Leaf Theory for review.  Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating; we'll see how they are brewed.  I wrote about a couple of other teas from them in this post; those were great, one Darjeeling and one from Arunachal Pradesh, not far from Assam but not Assam, as I remember.  I'd meant to include more pictures Upamanyu sent of tea plants growing or processing, and didn't get to that, but there are plenty in their Instagram profile.

I tried the best Assam I've probably ever had not so many months ago, two versions from Oiirabot.  In a way that judgement is odd because I liked them for seeming more like Chinese black tea than any Assam I've ever tried, and there's nothing wrong with more conventional Assam style, I like that too.  Some versions I've tried that fall within that range have been really nice.  I just prefer Chinese black teas, as a personal favorite.  To some extent I'd have to reconsider that if these were that good but back towards more conventional style forms.

There is no pricing on the Tea Leaf Theory site, or specific product descriptions, so I won't be addressing any of that, but this seems to be a description of this source:


Latumoni, Assam

It was during the early 90s when the tea plantation rule became liberal and small private farmers were allowed to grow tea plants to sell green leaves to the large factories, Late Mr Ramesh along with his son Mr Sailen took to tea plantation in a small patch of land measuring around 2 acres. Today Mr Sailen adopts natural & sustainable cultivation methods passed on through generations and have been able to set up a micro tea processing unit which as also serves as our experimental station to research on different tea productions. Some of the finest crafts from Assam comes from this farm.


Sounds good.

I'll brew these Gongfu style, even though that's definitely a judgement call.  It's what I'm most used to, and I'm familiar with how the range of difference between the approaches tends to go, even though results vary for that.  It's not completely different.  I'll keep the proportion somewhat moderate and use longer infusion times than I do for sheng pu'er, for which I pack out the gaiwan and tend to go with 5 to 8 second brew times.

Review:

Royal Tippy left, Golden Tippy right, in all following photos

Lautomi Summer Royal Tippy Gold Assam, batch number TTLT 19:  this has some of the longest twisted leaves of any Assam version I've tried, as does the other version.  It's definitely orthodox tea.

The flavor is nice, malty, complex, and sweet.  It tastes like good Assam.  The astringency gives it some structure and feel but it's not astringent.  Beyond malt it includes cocoa and other range that might be interpreted in a range of different ways.  To me it tastes like warm, rich floral tone and a bit of dried fruit, towards dried persimmon.  I'll describe feel difference and work on that flavor breakdown over the following infusions. 


Lautomi Summer Golden Tippy Assam, batch number TTLT 19:  this looks similar, maybe just less tippy.

This is less dry, a bit deeper in tone and sweeter.  Preference for style and aspects is something of a judgement call but I think I like it better.  Cocoa stands out more, and flavors are even deeper and richer.  There is warm mineral supporting what would probably be interpreted as fruit and floral, or maybe just one of those, depending on interpretation. 

Level of malt is a bit lower, the balance of that input.  It's not the harsh form of malt that occurs in CTC teas, to be clear, not paired with a sharp astringency, not overwhelming related to the rest of the flavor profile.  Relation to that flavor and more typical feel would probably determine which of these two versions is better, per this early take. 

The first version is still soft, not dry and astringent, but a higher level of structure and more malt make it more typical for Assam, per my own past experiences.  It doesn't really work to say the second is like Chinese black teas but the style overlaps in some range; it's more like them.  It may well be that the other Assam versions I'd mentioned that seemed that much closer to Chinese tea style may have been made from different plant types; that would make sense, related to the results.

Second infusion:

Royal Tippy Gold:  this round is brewed a lot lighter, for around 10 seconds instead of longer, checking out how that changes things.  The feel softens in this, and warmth picks up.  It tastes even more like cocoa this round.  Maybe that was coming anyway, just how it was going to transition, separate from a difference in infusion strength.  A lot of complexity supports that, as described in the first round, but beyond that relative aspect level shift and feel softening it's unchanged.


Golden Tippy:  this is a bit light made this way, perhaps just under optimum related to that.  The feel still has a lot of thickness, and even a more subtle flavor is pleasant and full.  The first tea is like cocoa related to the scent of dried cocoa powder, this is more like dark chocolate. 

The first version doesn't seem dry at all when you taste it alone but in comparison with this second version that stands out more, both a feel aspect and a mineral undertone (flavor) that seems related. Supporting flavor range for both isn't completely separate but the effect and balance is quite different.  Again warm, rich floral and dried fruit describe both, but a clearer, more complete breakdown would vary.  To me malt is a minor supporting aspect in the second but more on par with the cocoa in the first.

Third infusion:

Royal Tippy Gold:  this tea is really nice; that might be getting lost in this description.  For a tippier version of Assam it really couldn't get much better than this.  That bit of dryness is just how the style of the type goes, along with malt as a main flavor.  Complexity based around cocoa and other range in this case isn't atypical but this is well above average for complexity.  Take that input for what it's worth; I've tried some Assam over the past year, and more over the last 3 or 4, but I've been focusing on other tea types a lot more.


Golden Tippy:  aspects transition, which in part would relate to brewing this stronger, well over 10 seconds (more like 15), versus that shorter time frame last round.  It's not just feel or intensity that changes when you brew a tea to a different intensity, the aspects that stand out most and how you interpret them also shifts.  It surely must be possible to identify character and flaws in teas overbrewed (per a normal preference optimum) using the standard ISO / typical tasting approach, brewing tea for 5 minutes at significant proportion.  But surely some of what I was just talking about must get missed, the range of what is possible to "get out of" a tea, how it comes across within a narrow but varied range of more optimum preparations.

Malt picks up slightly, cocoa (dark chocolate) fades, and background aspects transition towards a wood tone, away from rich floral and dried fruit.  I suppose all of that is more negative than positive, but to some extent it's also just different.  It's still quite pleasant.

Fourth infusion:

This will have to wrap up soon due to the typical deadline of heading out to a standard Sunday morning swim class.

Royal Tippy Gold:  not really changed, so I'll skip repeating the last description.

Golden Tippy:  it's interesting the way that the slightly dry structure in the first contrasts the softer, richer, more subtle feel in this version.  Per some acclimation and preference the first version might already be too soft, it might lack enough astringency structure.  I like the feel of the second better, but it's my impression that it's only a matter of preference, not an objective call.  I like the flavor depth of the second better, versus emphasis on just malt with some cocoa in the first, even though it is more subtle. 

That fruit and floral background I mentioned in the early rounds never did completely fade or develop enough to be easy to describe better.  The general effect was that flavors were complex, that there was more going on, but what that was never became easy to isolate, beyond the malt and cocoa / chocolate.  Wood tones stand out a bit in the second most now, in the cured hardwood range as that goes (versus greener wood, tree bark, autumn leaf, etc.). 

On the next round (fifth) the flavor of the first (Royal Tippy Gold) reminded me a bit of tobacco, a rich, sweet, aromatic version of it.  The malt, cocoa, and feel, that touch of dryness, are all in an even better balance than in earlier rounds; nice when it works out like that.  The Golden Tippy version is still quite pleasant, although picking up wood tone wouldn't be positive for everyone.  I liked the earlier background touch of fruit and floral range better but it's still nice, to me.

These teas aren't finished; made like this they'll produce another 3 or 4 positive infusions.  How they transition in late rounds is an interesting part of the experience, but it's usually a case of either that staying very positive or trailing more into wood tones, and diminishing in complexity.  A positive flavor transition in late rounds can occur, something new showing up that wasn't present, but that's not usually how it goes.

Conclusions:

I don't have much to add to all that, I can just try to place these in relation to what else I've tried.  I did like the Oiirabot versions better, but as mentioned that was because they didn't seem like standard Assam to me, closer to typical of Chinese black tea style.  For being typical Assam style tea (good orthodox versions of it) these are surely as good as anything I've ever tried, quite possibly the best versions.  It was interesting trying two closely related but different versions as I did, and really that general description and quality judgement applies to both.

It's odd not rambling on more.  For reviewing sheng so much lately I always go on and on about aging and storage concerns, value judgments, and style observations related to any number of factors.  This was just quite good tea, familiar in style range, type-typical, but better than those almost ever are. 

If someone wanted to try benchmark best-case versions of Assam style black tea styles these two would work well for that.  It's not unusual for astringency and that touch of dryness in the tippier version to be even more pronounced, or level of malt to be higher, or for versions to include a touch of citrus, which these kind of didn't.  Beyond all that this is just what really good Assam is like.

One might wonder how these would be different in a Spring version, about the "flush" or season issue related to these teas.  I could add a lot more about that but since it's a much less familiar concern in relation to how that tends to go in Darjeeling it's probably best not to.  It seems possible that Spring versions could be slightly different, perhaps even better, maybe slightly more intense, with a bit more light floral aspect standing out versus the slightly richer, heavier flavors in these.  That's really essentially a guess though, and not a very reliable one at that.

Halmari Orthodox Assam and Earl Grey tasting

orthodox Assam; full name HALMARI Gold GTGFOP1 Clonal

Halmari Earl Grey

I didn't get to the last two of the Halmari Assam tea samples, one their highest quality orthodox Assam black tea, and I'll try an Earl Grey along with it.  As I've often repeated combined tasting makes more sense with similar teas, and these aren't that.  The main point is wrapping up trying them, since I'd like to clean the slate of what I mean to get to, but comparison could turn up something interesting.

I'll try to prepare these in a hybrid style in a gaiwan, more or less in between Western and Gongfu, or probably as a light version of Gongfu style, which isn't traditional.  The idea is to make small quantity infusions, adjusting for the unusual proportion as I go.  It's not ideal for tasting to use an unconventional brewing approach but it's not that atypical for me.  Related to informing background I've got a touch of a cold.  I'll probably re-try this orthodox tea version later this week to double check how a standard Western brewing approach works out, and hopefully I can shake this cold instead of it getting worse [editing note:  I'm adjusting the draft while I have a throat infection; that didn't work out].


I'll mention a little about what the orthodox tea is first.  It's listed as HALMARI GOLD GTGFOP1 CLONAL.  I don't keep up with those letter terms but I could swear that first "G" should be an F (which I won't explore, but the Wikipedia article on all that is a natural starting point).  I looked to their description to shed light on the "clonal" part:

Leaf : Long, selectively plucked and delicately rolled leaves with a generous sprinkling of chunky golden pubescent buds. Very exclusively made only during the 2 months of second flush season... 

One of our most iconic teas, the GTGFOP1 Clonal has won the North American Tea Championship is 2012,2013 and 2015.


Not much for detailed description, but winning awards is a good start.  Clonal is a reference to propagating the tea by cuttings to preserve consistent genetics, versus using seeds, but I'd expect that's related to a hybrid or other selected tea plant type with characteristics they want to preserve.

Review

I went too long on the first infusion, even though it was only for around one minute.  This really is a hybrid style of brewing, in the middle between Western and Gongfu, but some people would see it as a light proportion variation of Gongfu brewing instead.  Not that a brewing approach label really matters.  Part of that error--preparing it a bit strong--might relate to using slightly higher water temperature than I usually tend to for black tea, close to boiling point versus down between 85-90 C instead.

These teas would be fine across any temperature range, I'd expect, still making ok brewed tea at lower temperature more typical for green tea brewing, but hot water would probably be more standard, and variation would shift aspects balance slightly.  I'm often using slightly cooler water to accentuate sweeter flavors and de-emphasize astringency / feel elements, but for some that wouldn't be preferable at all, and different teas would work out differently.

first go, brewed a little strong (Earl Grey left, orthodox right)

Brewed a little strong I can only get the general range for the orthodox version; it's nice.  It is normal to brew on the slightly strong side for comparison tasting, using the standard "ISO" approach, for two reasons:  to set one level of parameters to use across many examples, and to help with identifying flaws in the stronger brewed version, which is said to highlight those (along with practice in trying tea made that way).  Nothing negative stands out.  The feel is a bit strong, and the taste is a little intense, leading towards dryness, but I'd guess this is exactly how a very good Assam brewed a little too strong should be, the right attributes in the right balance.  The malt is intense but I don't think it's going to take over the tea, back in the normal balance, and even brewed strong the flavors are still quite clean.


Brewed strong the Earl Grey is also a little intense, of course.  The balance of the bergamot (a type of orange essential oil) is the main thing, then after that the input from the tea itself.  I'd expect it will level off nicely, related to the proportion and how they're coming across a bit strong.  This won't be a bergamot-intensive version where you just can't tell what black tea is under that, although brewed strong the black tea isn't contributing lots to this flavor.

It won't be as distinctive and pronounced as the orthodox version, the black tea input, likely quite a bit more subdued.  It doesn't include bud material as the orthodox version does, which would change the effect a lot.  I'm not tasting anything "off" about it, but at a guess it will be a mild version of a black tea, as Assam goes, with no off flavors.  That mildness might be as well, since intense malt might not pair as well with bergamot.

Next infusion

Prepared more typically--in one sense, at least--the orthodox version is great.  There is plenty of malt but it doesn't take over the tea.  A lot of nice sweetness balances that out, and there's more going on than malt.  Mind you if someone didn't like malty black tea they still wouldn't like this version but if typical Assam seemed one-dimensional, a bit rough, or unsophisticated and not well-balanced this version resolves all that.  The flavors-list style description is going to sound a lot like for any better Assam, I'd think, but how those elements come across, the exact expression of them, and more so how they balance is what defines this tea as being on a higher level.

Beyond malt a cedar or redwood like wood aspect fills in flavor depth.  The taste extends into a nice citrus element at the finish, nothing like the bergamot in a flavored tea but not completely dis-similar either, maybe in the orange zest range.  I'll work on pinning down another flavor aspect or two as I try a few more infusions.

lighter, a better infusion strength (Earl Grey left, orthodox right)

The Earl Grey is nice, of course with bergamot as a central flavor theme.  It's hard to separate out what the black tea is like aside from that, but I guess describing the mix is more valid.  Malt isn't intense, but it's there.  Some degree of wood-tone also comes across.  It might have sweetness and some citrus without the actual citrus added but combined it certainly does.  Mineral isn't as strong as I'd expect it would be if this were above average Ceylon instead, but there is some acting as a base for the other flavors.

It works; to me it's better than typical commercial Earl Grey versions.  Earl Grey isn't a page I've been on much in the past year, more so in the first half of last year, as I recall, but I can relate to it.  My favorite Earl Grey version so far was from Vietnam, from Hatvala, but then it was based on a plain black tea I liked alone, and I've not tried that recently enough to compare it to this from memory.

To me this type of tea works great as something you don't need to focus on, as a breakfast tea, more than one that would excel in a comparison tasting session.  The flavors balance is nice, just lacking subtlety of a better plain tea.  It would go with all sorts of foods very well, with enough sweetness and fruit to offset savory foods, and enough earthiness and body to offset sweet pastry.  Per my preference this tea works better drank with food than alone, even if it's something neutral like a butter cookie or biscuit, to help offset that bergamot orange tone, to reset from it while drinking.  A chocolate digestive is more or less exactly what I'm talking about, on the sweeter side, like a graham cracker with chocolate.  If you've never tried them life has at least one more re-affirming surprise in store for you.

the other British contribution to food, besides fish and chips (credit)

Third infusion

Brewed just a little stronger the orthodox version shows just a little pine-resin character, which is nice, even if it may not sound it.  The actual flavor range is a bit complex; it wouldn't be wrong to describe it as relating a little to cocoa, and with minimal imagination related to some sort of fruit (tamarind?).  The citrus is strong enough that would be more natural to flag.  The feel is cool too; a bit on the dry side, seemingly related to that pine flavor.  And as black teas go the aftertaste is quite pronounced.  Surely all of this relates in part to the very high proportion of buds in the tea.

Related back to those three Dian Hong (Yunnan black teas) that I compared awhile back this is definitely closest to the buds only version (golden tips).  I suppose personal preference would dictate how good a thing that is but I can at least definitely relate to this tea.  I suppose my absolute favorite for an aspects set might be more like a Chinese black tea, shifted more towards cocoa, a subdued dried cherry range, with just a touch of roasted yam, and a molasses sweetness background, but this tea works well for me.

The Earl Grey is still mostly bergamot; that's really as it should be.  The flavors are really clean, and the earthy complexity beyond that makes it work well.  It's in the malt, cedar / redwood, touch of pine range too, but it seems a quite different black tea, the balance is completely different.  It has a lot less pine going on, and probably less natural citrus, but of course that's just a guess.


I'm in a hurry today--always in a hurry; kind of how life goes these days--so I won't get through more infusions, although brewing these twice more I'd probably tease out another aspect or two, and notice how they work out for being stretched for infusion count.  These might express slightly more complexity brewed Western style for more of that coming out in a three to four minute soak, it just wouldn't work to experience flavors evolving layer by layer, as a Gongfu approach allows.  I'll try these teas again Western style and check in related to what turns up.

Second try, conclusion

I did try the orthodox version again brewed Western style; the results weren't so different.  I brewed the tea twice using a standard light proportion and 3 1/2 minute then around five minute second steep, brewed to a typical infusion strength.  The flavors range was the same:  malt, cedar, pine, and citrus, with good sweetness and a bit of fruit aspect that was harder to pin down for being more subtle, per my take close to dried tamarind.


I was curious how this would seem in comparison to their other orthodox version that I reviewed and to be honest it seemed similar.  Both are complex, clean flavored, and full in feel but not really astringent, both well balanced, a bit intense but moderate on malt.  I would expect those similar aspects are balancing a little better in this orthodox version, that it's a little cleaner in effect (likely related to very slightly different feel and overall flavor effect), with a bit more fruit, but a difference would be clearer trying them side by side.


I actually posted a version of this before considering mentioning value, a subject bloggers tend to avoid but one I've been drifting into more lately.  As in other cases of direct sourcing buying this tea from Halmari would be an incredible value related to buying anything remotely like it from a resale vendor.  Don't take my word for it though; check the prices on their website and Google search similar alternatives. 


I didn't do as much with describing subjective preference in this post as I sometimes do, but related to what I prefer in teas of theirs I really liked their oolong version.  As I mentioned in that review post it shared some space with Darjeeling second flush teas and Oriental Beauty Taiwanese oolongs, which cover two nice and related ranges for tea aspects.

recharging to cause more trouble later