With my last Joseph Wesley black tea order I was stuck on what to get. I was purchasing a cup set that came with your choice of tea and choosing a tea was difficult – all their teas sounded awesome! I decided on 06 Bai Lin Congfu for its promise of caramel and cream notes. Creamy teas make me weak in the knees. Let’s check this tea out!
Gorgeous sophisticated and modern packing as usual.
The black tea is vacuum packed and once the seal is breached it is hard to fit the tea back in unless you drink about 2 or 3 cups. I have no problems doing that!
Love the embossing, I was happy I was able to catch it in a photo!
Dry Leaf
Sweet bread crust scented tea. The dry leaf is dainty lazy waves of black and gold.
Steeping Instructions
The steeping instructions have a low temperature for a black tea – 185f to 190 f for 2 to 2.5 minutes. I went on the high end, so 190F for 2.5 minutes.
Tasting of Joseph Wesley black tea’s 06 Bai Lin Congfu
Bai Lin Congfu steeps up really fragrant, like marshmallows and chocolate! The color is a warm yellow brown.
Bai Lin Congfu sips in sweeter than it smells. There are notes of milk, chocolate, raisin, malt, and almonds. The tea finishes off with a buttered toast note. The texture is smooth and creamy. As it cools the flavor evens out to more milky caramel.
Some sips remind me of bread pudding dotted with chocolate chips, raisins, caramelized sugar formed on top of the crusty buttery bread. I am also getting all sorts of relaxing feels, either from the tea or all those sweet comfort food notes.
Second Infusion: I did a 3 minute reinfusion of the leaves. This steeping is very similar in flavor and identical intensity of flavor to the first but a bit more malty and caramel. I highly recommend doing a second infusion!
Third Infusion: The third round of Bai Lin Congfu is noticeably lighter in taste despite the 5 minute infusion. It’s an alright steeping if you wanted to get every last bit out.
Extended Infusion: When I had another session with Bai Lin Congfu, for the second infusion I ended up steeping it for at least 30 minutes as I got caught up playing my 3DS. The flavor wasn’t bitter or dry, just strong maltly caramel. A Discovery! This tea is near bombproof and can take a long infusion! Yes! My travel tumbler will be happy about this!
Comments
Joseph Wesley black tea doesn’t disappoint in the black tea department. Black tea lovers need to pop by and check out their teas.
I could drink 06 Bai Lin Congfu all day and be happy. 06 Bai Lin Congfu is a really flexible tea. It would be great in the morning with the sweet notes pairing well with pancakes or even oatmeal. I had a great snack of a cup of Bai Lin Congfu and harvarti cheese. This tea can also take long infusions, so a good tea leave in a travel tea thermos on the go. The desserty sweet notes would make Bai Lin Congfu an awesome dessert tea.
Bonus: Joseph Wesley tins make for optimal Tea Owl hiding. Tea Owl totally stole my cheese!
