Beipu

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Tea Description:

*This black tea is a fully oxidised version of traditional Oriental Beauty.

Region: Beipu, Taiwan

Type: Black Tea

Harvest Time: Winter 2013

Oxidation level: Fully oxidised

Taste: Refreshing floral aroma with fruity and honey taste.

When to drink: Throughout the day

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Wow! This Beipu Oriental Beauty Black Tea is absolutely DELIGHTFUL. I’ve had quite a few Oriental Beauty Oolong teas, but only maybe a handful of Oriental Beauty Black teas, and of those that I can remember … they really impressed me with their amazing flavor. This one is also quite impressive.

The dry leaf aroma is somewhat earthy, reminding me of damp, mossy earth (there’s a lot of that up here in the Pacific Northwest) with notes of flower in the distance. Once the tea is brewed, more of those floral notes emerge, and the earthy notes have subsided somewhat. It smells rich and inviting.

It has the soft, buttery texture of an Oolong tea, but with the well-rounded, full flavor of a black tea. The softer texture means that this is not as hearty a tea as many black teas out there. This isn’t a tea I’d turn to as that first tea in the morning. I’d choose this for a late morning or early afternoon tea.

The flavor is sweet. It has a distinct honey note and it’s the first flavor that I can really distinguish in the sip. The honey notes are intense and almost have a molasses-y undertone. Then I start to pick up on the fruit notes. It tastes of stone fruit, evoking thoughts of freshly-picked, tree-ripened peaches and apricots, bursting with flavor and still warm from the sun.

There are some faint (very faint!) floral tones to this, and I find that they’re most noticeable when I slurp the sip. Mostly I taste the sweet honey, hints of molasses and the juicy peach and apricot flavors. Such incredible flavor to this tea!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea