A few weeks ago, I received three samples from Exquisite Leaves and one of those samples was the 2017 Gongjian Fu Brick. This store specializes in Anhua dark tea from Anhua and Xinhua County in Hunan Province, China. If you are looking for a dark tea specialist, this is your go-to store!
Hunan Province in China is marked in red on this map.
2017 Gongjian Fu Brick
As you can see in the tea’s name, it was produced in 2017 in Anhua County, China. This batch was made with Gongjian grade leaves (high quality). This tea is also entirely handmade. It has been compressed into bricks, hence its name. The flavour profile of the tea is described as caramel, rice pudding and smoked pinewood (source).
The dry leaves after breaking the brick. Ready for the first rinse!
The finished leaves after the final infusion.
Tea tasting
Brewing details
- Water 99°C
- 5g of tea for 120ml Jianshui teapot
- 2 rinses
- 6 steeps (15 seconds + 5 seconds each steep)
Before rinse
I’m getting smoked pinewood with very light hints of rice pudding.
After rinse
The smell of the wet leaves is mainly smoked pinewood.
Steeping
1st steep: smoked flavours from the start. No real aftertaste but a pleasant mouthfeel. During this steep, I’m only getting a smoky flavour profile.
2nd steep: the smoked flavours are a bit more intense during this steep but I’m also getting very subtle caramel notes.
3rd steep: pleasant smoked pinewood during this steep.
4th steep: again, smoked pinewood. This steep is almost identical to the third one.
5th steep: smoked pinewood with a slightly dry mouthfeel. This is, however, a delicious steep! The smoked pinewood is amazing. Unlike anything I have tasted before.
6th steep: clean smoked pinewood that keeps you hooked until the very end.
1st steep
2nd steep
3rd steep
4th steep
5th steep
6th steep
Conclusion
The smoked pinewood in this tea is simply amazing. It’s unlike anything I have ever tasted before. It’s a clean taste that keeps you interested in what it has to say. I’m pretty sure I could’ve done a few more steeps if I really wanted to but I didn’t have the time for it. To say things simple: this is a delicious and clean tasting tea that you have to try if you like smoky flavours.
Interested in buying this tea? Visit Exquisite Leaves’ store.
