Today’s tea is Eco-Cha’s Jin Xuan GABA black tea was a part of their tea club. This is a Summer 2018 tea promised to be rich and fruity. I have been on the hunt for interesting (and not horrible) GABA teas, and Eco-Cha fits the bill. Alas, this GABA black is from an old tea club, but it is an interesting tea and example of the fun teas Eco-Cha gets for its exclusive members. Eco-Cha goes more into this tea in their blog.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The dry leaf has a soapy plum scent on the twisted long leaves. I was expected a rolled style, similar to other GABA blacks I’ve seen, but this is certainly not unusual as other Taiwanese black teas aren’t rolled.
I used 1 gram of leaf to 15ml vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The rinsed hot leaf smells inviting and awesomely yammy, fruity, and sweet.
Tasting of Eco-Cha’s April Tea Club Jin Xuan GABA Black Tea
First and Second Infusion: I am intrigued that Jin Xuan GABA black steeps up a gold colour.
These early steepings taste of sweet eggy bread close to a hot cross bun with the flecks of dried fruit. There is a tang of sourness indicating the GABAness of this tea, but it quickly rounds out to the thick body and creamy taste. The aftertaste is a sweet potato note. After some sips, I feel a bit of a refreshing chill note.
Third and Fourth Infusion: I went with a longer aggressive steep, say around 45 seconds. Jin Xuan GABA black is thick, like pudding. The Jin Xuan has a dried fruit note, again like hot cross buns, mincemeat pie, or like various dried tangy fruits. In the background, there is a rich and malty dark raisin note.
Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: I went in for a 5-minute steeping, then 10 and 20 minutes for the last infusions, which resulted in the best flavor. Jin Xuan GABA black is strong, rich malty, but similarly consistent to the past infusions but with more meat on the bones. The later steepings tapered off and developed a gentle dryness on the tongue.
Bowl/Grandpa style: I threw a couple of grams in a big bowl cup and let it steep grandpa style. This is the final optimal way to tea this tea for my tastes. Jin Xuan GABA black is rich, creamy, malty, bready, with a refreshingly cool finish. There is a bit of sour GABA flavor but the other notes overpower it. This way there is less fruity complexity, but I prefer the richer malt notes here.
Comments
Eco-Cha’s Jin Xuan GABA black is an interesting tea that is consistent in flavors but has a lot going on within with a mix of comforting malt, fruity, and creamy textures. This one I encourage to play with the steep times, as I found it best extended steeped, so best to be Grandpa or Thermos style.
You’ll enjoy this tea if you love comfort food style notes. It isn’t offensively GABA sour in taste too which is a huge plus in my book.
Eco-Cha tends to get all the interesting small-batch Taiwanese teas in their monthly Tea Club, so certainly check them out if you are on the quest for a good tea of the month club.
(tea provided for review | affiliate links)
