I almost wasn’t going to write about Mountain Stream teas’ Chilai High Mountain black tea. I was tucking into this tea for breakfast, delegated as interesting tea drinking as it will be sold out by the time my review could be posted. At first infusion, I discovered this tea is wonderful and needs a review, so I redid my schedule.
Chilai High Mountain Black is a QinXin cultivar tea from Summer 2020. Not too often one encounters high mountain tea processed as black, but also like Taiwanese oolong and white tea – their black tea is amazing.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Chilai High Mountain Black tea has a light floral scent.
I went in with a gongfu ratio of 1 gram per 15ml of vessel size, steeped with boiling water. The rinse revealed an even stronger rose scent.
Tasting of Mountain Stream Teas’ Chilai High Mountain Black Tea
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Infusion: Right away, this tea has a thick oily texture, like I’m drinking melted butter and a buttery lipstick texture that pools at the corners of the mouth. You are forced to sip slowly as this tea is like drinking a meal.
Chilai High Mountain Black is surprisingly light and delicate in flavor, but intense in the aroma – pushing a rose floral and plums, before shifting to a cherry blossom aftertaste. The more I drink, the more I find the tea is less rose and more cherry blossom, but both seem present. This black tea has a feeling of being present on an overly warm spring day with the cherry blossoms out, swaying in a rocking chair.
Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: Chilai High Mountain Black is losing steam quickly, it is holding onto cherry blossom notes but has a bit of a tart note causing a bit of puckering. Each infusion gets lighter despite the long steeping times of 5-15 minutes.
Despite the light flavor and all floral aroma, the dense oily texture made me feel like I ate a full English breakfast complete with meat sweats.
Comments
Mountain Stream Teas’ Chilai High Mountain black is a heavily floral aromatic tea – a must buy for someone who loves floral teas and oily textures. This Taiwanese black is light and not dark tasting like other black teas, so keep that in mind.
After I purchased another 100 grams of this tea, there is only a couple of bags left. I’ll leave you all to fight over the last few bags. Hopefully, Mountain Stream Tea will get more Chilai High Mountain Black in the future.
