During Spring break, I want to do a proper tasting session every day. You can read all about my plans and the other teas I tried this week in this post.
I haven’t tasted a black tea in a while so that is the kind of tea I wanted to taste today. It’s quite difficult for me as I don’t really drink black that often. I prefer green and oolong tea but I was pleasantly surprised by this black tea. I picked the Fujian Baroque black tea from Adagio Teas because the description looked really promising.
Fujian Baroque
Fujian Baroque is a black tea from, as you might have guessed, Fujian Province in China. It’s a delicate black tea with notes of “cocoa, fruitiness and some glimmers of spice.” (source) I can also expect some sweet cherries so that is something to look forward to.
The dry leaves are really dark and have a long shape.
The wet leaves are more or less the same shape and colour.
Tea tasting
Brewing details
- 90°C water
- 10g of leaves for a 200ml glass teapot
- 1 rinse
- 6 steeps (15 sec + 5 sec each steep)
Smell dry leaves
The smell of the dry leaves is really sweet. I’m getting sweet cherries.
Smell wet leaves
The smell of the wet leaves is still really sweet but this time I’m getting a very deep smell of cherries. Also light hints of wood.
Steeping
1st steep: to start off, this tea has a mineral flavour profile. I’m not getting the sweetness from the dry and wet leaves but I’m getting some very light cherries in the aftertaste. Some woodsy notes as well.
2nd steep: not as mineral anymore. I’m getting more woodsy notes in combination with light cherries. It’s sweeter than steep 1.
3rd steep: this steep is a bit sweeter than the previous one. Less woody and sweet notes of Japanese cherries.
4th steep: this steep is all about the cherries. No more woodsy notes but more earthy flavours; moist earth in particular. It’s a bit like when it rains and the earth is wet after a really hot day in Summer.
5th steep: still sweet cherries but without the moist earth. Very smooth steep without a real aftertaste. I’m getting a slightly dry sensation on my tongue after drinking this steep.
6th steep: light notes of sweet cherries in combination with woodsy notes.
1st steep
2nd steep
3rd steep
4th steep
5th steep
6th steep
Conclusion
This tea session was quite challenging for me because I don’t usually drink black tea. I really enjoyed this tea even though the flavours are different from what I’m used to. I was surprised to taste such a sweetness in a black tea. The smooth and sweet cherries in combination with some woodsy notes (and even moist earth during steep 5) made this session pleasant and enjoyable. Before this session, I was stressed out and I didn’t really feel like doing a session. This tea, however, made me relax so I’m happy I’ve picked this tea and that I did this session.
Do you want to buy this smooth and sweet tea? Visit Adagio Teas Europe’s store.
