Joseph Wesley Black Tea

It’s not too often that I get teadrunk off of an oolong, but 47 Instagram photos later, here I am. The first time I had this tea, I used 4g in a 100ml gaiwan (actually, the 100ml gaiwan that Joseph Wesley so generously gave away, which was to me :-) and it was just ok. Both Cwyn and Boychik have both recommended not to skimp on the leaf, and they were right. So this time I crammed about 7g into my tiny little 100ml yancha pot, which was as much as it would hold, and used boiling water and short steeps. The result is a tea that is nothing short of fantastic. Sweet, roasty, nutty goodness, with a lovely mineral aftertaste and lingering mouthfeel. My only regret is that I bought only 25g.

Very good.
Really enjoying this! There is a certain profile of oolong that really gets me, and yes, this is IT. Roasty. A bit fruity. Peach maybe? Highly oxidized. Mineral notes. Honey.
I can’t wait to try this in a gaiwan. and now I’m sad there’s only 25g. Le sighs.

This company has recently sparked my interest, for I had never noticed them until just recently. I enjoy their product appearance, and I knew I had to give them a go. I acquired some of this tea, so I decided to brew it up. The leaf consists of small delicate ebony curls that give off a sweet musky cherry scent. I was also picking up some dark chocolate tones. I placed them inside the warmed teapot and gave them a shake. The scent became a sweet butter or molasses scent. I was still picking up the chocolate tone, only it became much more smooth. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The steeped leaves transform towards more sharper tones of malt, dark wood, and burnt sugar. The flavor began as pure buttery molasses. The taste was sweet, smooth, and lasting. The second steep brought more maltier and wood flavors. The next steeping session slowly pushed the tea into a rough and robust direction. I really enjoyed this tea, but I believe it should be brewed western instead of gongfu. I know that I should explore more from this company, and I am happy to have tried this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BAGFeNqTGZQ/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I’ve only been drinking green teas the last few days so it’s really exciting to bring out the black teas today. Starting with this one, which I haven’t had in a bit. The smell is chocolate, the leaves are beautifully twisted. I accidentally oversteeped (got distracted at work), but even so this has such a lovely flavor. No bitterness as I was expecting. I’m tasting chocolate and, surprisingly, marshmallow! I’m having this with some homemade almond milk that my brother made and it’s really nice.

Uhhhhm ok so this tea? so good. So so so freakin good!
The first steep was wonderful. Even after it had cooled a bit, I found the flavour to have an essence of warmness about it. Like sitting by a fire, but not too close.
Something creamy in there as well. I found that there were fleeting hints of cocoa as well, but never for long enough for me to grasp it.
The second steep was good too, more like the traditional high quality keemums I first fell in love with and then couldn’t find again, years ago. Not quite as warming or dark, with definite emerging cocoa notes this time, and an edge of creaminess. Finally, I noticed a lingering honey like sweetness in the aftertaste.
It’s been a long time since I was excited about a third steep, so fingers crossed it delivers!

This tea is fantastic. i love heavy roasted Yancha. the roast is skillfully done so it has no ashtray taste. i tried it twice and placed an order last night for another 75g. since its Limited edition tea. last year Da Hong Pao and Qi Lan were sold out pretty quickly

The brew is deep red color. its mix of fruity floral and some roasted nuts in the background. this kind of tea i always brew with boil water and short steeps. it gives me nice long lasting sweetness.

Btw Joseph Wesley tea is having giveaway of their brand new gaiwan on instagram. He asked me to help him with it. its gorgeous and very functional. thick, flared so you dont burn fingers and coated with pretty porcelain glaze. the giveaway is till December 21. international too. go try your luck!

https://instagram.com/p/_UqdruBwn1/

Thank you to the Steepster friend who gifted me this tea. This is one tasty tea. There was virtually no bitterness and little astringency. I detected no malt in this. The Steepster description of chocolate and raisins is fairly close to accurate. There were a variety of sweet notes to this tea. This is my first taste of Joseph Wesley teas and I like it. I will have to add their name to my list of companies to order from. This is I have to say one of the smoothest black teas I have had. No unpleasant notes to it. It was clearly processed right.

I steeped this ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 7g leaf and 200 degree water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. This tea was not done at ten steeps but I am at my caffeine limit for the day. This tea keeps going more like a puerh than a black tea. Quite nice.

Finishing the last of this today. It is a truly fantastic tea. It is roasty and rich, has a slightly smokey flavor, and reminds me a bit of coffee in a really good way. No bitterness, just smooth. I am contemplating ordering more of this right now. It is just so damn good.

Finally getting around to gong fu-ing this. It is so superior this way. Usually is, right? Also, definitely don’t skimp on the leaves and it will reward you. Richly. Huge uptick on the rating now.

This is a solid heavy oxidized oolong. A wonderful soothing mineral flavor with a soothing mouth and throat feel. A warm delightful roasted scent is evident on the leaves. Many steeps can be had from this. It is currently part of the limited edition portion at Joseph Wesley. It is a lovely tea and I am happy to have purchased it. I brewed it Western style and am excited to try this Gongfu in my gaiwan.

I think I am going to need to try brewing this one again. I followed the brewing instructions that came with the tea and it left me feeling like this tea wasn’t as flavorful or bold as other teas of similar quality. It is a good tea. It is just, as brewed, not quite on the level of others that I have had. I’ll update as needed.

Edit: I brewed in a gaiwan gong fu style this time around with slightly cooler temps. Seemed better flavors came out this time around.

I am down to my last 2 cups of this tea. Oh my goodness I am going to miss it. This landed in my cupboard as part of a stash sale. I guess it was a win-win situation. They slimmed down their cupboard of a tea they didn’t enjoy and I gained one I loved. After this tea I think I am down to samples of Keenum teas. It will be okay for a little while, but I see either a JW or Teavire order in my future to rectify the lack of Keenums in my cupboard.

This tea this morning is delicious. It is really beady and chocolaty. Num Num Num NUm

This has been my tea of the week. I wake up thinking about it and am excited to get to work to make a cup. It has been the perfect addition to my morning. It even received tin status this week.

So I think this is the tea I am currently drinking. It maybe a similar version as I remember the note from JW saying something about being out of the Keemun, but here is a sample of something. It is good stuff! Yum yum yum yum. This is just what I needed this morning to get me going. Baked bread, with a deep hint of cacao. The teas I have tried from JW have been missing what I will call the “base” for me. They are light and airy. This one has that extra umph that is rocking my world this morning. I hope that this is the same tea that is in tin #5, because a tin worth is on its way from Beorhthraefn.