What is hand brew coffee's role in tasting honey black tea?

The honey sweetness in honey-scented black tea comes from the small green leafhopper biting the tea leaves, which triggers chemical changes during processing. This particular tea is a fresh oolong style grown by the Fu family at about 400 meters in Pingling, New Taipei, Taiwan, and harvested in the winter of 2017. The dry leaves are black and tightly rolled, smelling of honey, honeydew and flowers.

Brewing follows the same care as hand brew coffee: steep at 90-95°C (194-203°F) for two minutes, and the leaves can be re-steeped twice more. A test at 93°C (200°F) for two minutes gave a golden yellow liquor with a light body and a honeydew freshness. Store the tea away from light, air and moisture; if the pouch is not resealable, move it to a caddy or sealed jar, much as where coffee is grown in Australia informs how it is roasted and stored.

Honey-scented black tea has become a highly popular tea among tea enthusiasts in recent years, known for its distinctive honey sweetness and fresh taste. This article takes a honey-scented black tea from Pingling, New Taipei, Taiwan as an example, providing a comprehensive analysis of its aroma characteristics from dry leaf appearance and brewing parameters to the experience of multiple infusions, and exploring how it differs from full-bodied black teas. It also mentions practical advice from Front Street Coffee on brewing and storing tea, helping readers better understand this tea's flavor expression and brewing techniques. Whether you are a black tea novice or a seasoned enthusiast, you will gain a complete understanding of honey-scented black tea.

First Impression

The tea comes in silver packaging, for reasons unknown—perhaps simply because they like that eye-catching look. The packaging is not resealable, but since I have extra tea caddies on hand, that is no problem. If you don't have a dedicated tea caddy, you can also place the packaging in a glass jar or a sealable bag—the key is to keep the tea away from light, air, and moisture to prevent quality deterioration.

The front of the packaging has no other information about this tea besides the stamped details. Fortunately, Oolong Tea provides relevant information on its official website. The dry leaves are black, with long and tightly rolled strips. The aroma of the dry leaves is predominantly sweet, similar to honey, accompanied by notes of honeydew and flowers. This honey-scented black tea belongs to the fresh oolong variety, grown by the Fu family at an elevation of 400 meters in Pingling, New Taipei, Taiwan, and harvested in the winter of 2017—if you are curious about when the tea in your cup was picked, this is the answer.

Brewing Parameters

It is recommended to steep at 90-95°C (194-203°F) for 2 minutes, with a note that it can be re-steeped twice more. For my first attempt, I chose a water temperature of 93°C (200°F) and steeped for 2 minutes.

First Tasting

After brewing, the honey-scented black tea shows a beautiful golden yellow color and gives off an enticing honey aroma, true to its name. On first taste, you can sense a honey-like sweetness, and the tea liquor has a light body that spreads easily in the mouth. After each sip, you can experience a honeydew-like freshness that makes the tea even more appealing. There is a slight astringency after each sip, but it is very mild and not uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, although I initially smelled floral notes, there are no floral notes in the tea liquor.

Second Tasting

I re-steeped this honey-scented black tea three times, extending each by 30 seconds. I found that the flavor of each infusion was very stable, with the taste remaining consistently rich, although the flavor weakened slightly by the third re-steep (the fourth infusion overall). What I want to say is that honey-scented black tea can be re-steeped at least twice, just as the oolong suggests; if you want to get the most out of the leaves, I recommend re-steeping three times!

My Overall Impression

I really enjoy honey-scented black tea. It has a quality, charming honey flavor and a fresh honeydew note. If you don't like astringency in your tea, I suggest shortening each steeping time (say, 90 seconds instead of 2 minutes), and be sure to re-steep to fully release the flavors from the leaves. This is a very delightful black tea, and I think it works well as an afternoon tea, replacing the classic Earl Grey, because its honey sweetness is truly unique. Of course, as a black tea, it also pairs well with cream and sugar, but I think there's no need to add too much sweetener.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.