Review: Taiwan Black Tea - Unknown

Type: Black
Producer: Unknown
Origin: Taiwan
Brewing Parameters: 90°C, 6g, gongfu style
Appearance: Mix of dark and light brown curled/rolled leaves of medium size
Rating: B | 83/100
# of Brews: 4

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Short review today because I'm busy and not really feeling going in depth on this one. This is one of the teas that is almost completely in Chinese except for the name (which is pretty vague on its own). Because of that, I don't really have much information to go off of and I'll just assume that it's a standard black tea.

Interestingly, the dry leaf is relatively pungent– with a smoky, malty smell. When brewed, the leaf became a bit more sour smelling, but kept the smoky notes. For some reason, I keep thinking this is fermented (smells slightly like it'd be). The liquid was a nice clear, bright orange-amber color with very quick brew times; since the leaves were loosely rolled, there was no need to brew for more than five or ten seconds. As for the taste, it's similar to the Azores Pekoe Black. It's very malty (like it smells), somewhat earthy, and ends on a sour note. It's a bit astringent, but doesn't really have an aftertaste. All in all, it's not a bad tea, but it's not great– it's average. I'd be interested in trying it with milk, just for the hell of it.


Other Notes
As I said above, busy day today. I'm taking my permit test (again), getting my suit dry cleaned for work (starting work at the Fremont DA's office on Monday!), getting some gifts for peoples' grad parties, and maybe hanging out with friends. The goal is to get my license by July, so we'll see how that goes. I also start an online class for incoming Berkeley freshmen next week, which I'm unsure if it'll be a waste of time or not, but it's two free units so I'm not really complaining.

I feel like I shouldn't work this much this summer because it's the first time I really don't have that many responsibilities, but I don't know. I wish I could travel like it a lot of my friends are doing. My ex told me a while ago that I'm probably going to be one of those people who end up constantly working their ass off and never have a social life, which kind of sucks. I'm going to try and fix that this summer and in college; it's hard since I never really had the same high school experience as a lot of my friends. Oh well.

Also, remember that girl from the other comp civics team? We were going to hang out next week, but she ended up bailing on me last night. It's been kind of on par for how our relationship has been; she says she just wants to be friends (which I'm fine with), but always just seems kind of cold to me in my opinion. I'm going to her grad party this Sunday; I don't know how that's going to go. I should really move on, but it's easier said than done. So it goes.