White2tea’s 2020 Sentinel black tea was highly recommended to me, so during a previous order, I purchased a sample. 2020 Sentinel is an old arbor large leaf varietal that is sun dried.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The leaf has an apricot and honey scent. The compression is on the tighter size here, but I also got the beenghole sample.
I used around 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size. Once boiling water was introduced to the leaves, Sentinel scent goes more cherries and apricots.
Tasting of White2tea’s 2020 Sentinel Black Tea
First Infusion: 2020 Sentinel Black tea starts off bright and cheerful, tasting of underripe fruits with a deathly creamy thick texture with a sweet and light aftertaste.
Second and Third Infusion: Sentinel opens up to a strong and tangy apricot peach note with a woodsy richness and a lingering stone fruits floral finish. Stone fruit notes like this are in some young sheng puers, but Sentinel has the woodsy darkness of black tea.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: 2020 Sentinel is now showing a lovely thick bittersweet chocolate upfront, but it is still dominated by heavy fruity notes. There is a slight astringency, but it adds to the tangy experience. I sat here for 15 minutes between infusions and could still taste the lingering flavor of this tea.
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Infusion: The final infusions of 2020 Sentinel Black are quite dry, but have an interesting light chocolate malt and tangy fruit flavor. Left to linger in the aftertaste, the tea had a clear peachy flavor aftertaste – what I wish peach iced tea could taste like every time. Gosh, I could make this into iced tea, but it is too nice of a tea to do that with.
By the end of the tea session, my brain feels like it is full of fuzzy bees and I am ready to take a nap.
Lazy/ Grandpa Style: Extending the infusion time, 2020 Sentinel black is an even more fruity perfume but also has an amber incense hit to it. As it steeps, it gets more fruity peachy, woodsy, and sweet, but doesn’t get bitter or dry. Some sips have a black cherry note. I found this style made the tea more aromatic as drinking from the cup that has tea leaves inside enhances the scent.
Comments
White2tea’s 2020 Sentinel black tea is a fruity perfume bomb! Sentinel has an uncharacteristic, but very much welcomed, luxurious heavy stone fruit aroma and flavor.
At this time of writing, 2020 Sentinel is $86 for 200 gram cake – up there on your fancy pants black teas. Snag this one if you love heavy aromatic teas. If you want something cheaper, I would look at the 2020 Horse Girl Clique which is quite nice.
