Ying De Jin Mo Hou

Good tea for special occasions, makes me want to create a lot of new special occasions, like, "it's 3 o'clock."

I've ordered this several times now and it's become my favorite black tea. As a fan of "tippy" teas, this one is a real pleasure with a hint of sweetness and rich yet subtle flavor. I bring the water to 190 degrees and brew the first cup for 2 minutes, and go a little longer for the second brewing.

My daily fare is green oolong, jade ti kuan yin, and an occasional mature ooling like the old bush variety. I thought I'd try this black tea, and what a pleasant surprise. The quality is obvious, the unsteeped leaves are lovely and have an aroma of peaches/apricots. Steeped 1-2 minutes has a characteristic "black tea" flavor, but without any bitterness and a sweetness and richness that I did not expect. Great change of pace from the daily green.

This one is new to ITC. Like the black teas from Yunnan province, it is mostly golden leaves. I find it to be in the same flavor family as the Yunnan blacks (one of Roy's 2 Great Teas of China in the black category) and the Heritage Edition Lapsang Souchong (non-smoky version, Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong).

It is more than twice as expensive right now as is Superior Yunnan Black, but I think it adds a nice variety to switch back and forth between it, the Yunnans, & the Zheng Shan.

I like it with 2 tsp. per 5 oz. at 195 F for 30 seconds.