Bang Dong Hong Cha Chinese black tea is one of the most amazing black teas out there. Not only it attracts with its deep chocolaty and fresh aroma, but this tea offers so many surprises it’s difficult to count them all.
Name: Bang Dong Hong Cha
Tea Vendor: White2Tea (China)
Type: Chinese black tea
Sometimes there are periods when you taste bad tea day after day. And sometimes, like in the last few weeks, all I do is drink tea that makes me extremely happy. Bang Dong black tea from white2tea is one of the most amazing black teas I have ever tried. Forget expensive leaves, famous leaves, perfect looking leaves. This little gem is full of life, more than affordable, extremely fresh and so intense it will knock you down with beautiful deep chocolate aroma. Dry leaves look so live, inviting, with long big stripes, somewhere between dark black-brown-green color dappled with golden buds. Bang Dong Hong Cha Chinese black tea is made from varietal used for pu’er tea, and comes from Yunnan. And the price? Unbelievable 4.75 USD for 50 grams.
Brewing times with Bang Dong Hong Cha Chinese black tea
150ml of water, 98 degrees Celsius, 7 grams of leaves, approximately 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 120, 180, 300 seconds steeping. Would that be enough? It’s truly amazing how much this tea can offer.
Color is dark orange to brown, a bit raw, not sophisticated, but charming, and pure of intensity. Taste is similar, very full, a bit smokey, with hints of chocolate. It’s smooth, well-rounded and each and every steep offers incredible taste. It does start to fade a bit after the fifth one, but not like most teas. It seams that the leaves are almost impossible to wash out. I prefer this tea extremely hot. Intense, hot and bold.
Longer times give excellent results as well. 1, 1.5, 2,3 minutes are a great choice as well. I think it’s impossible to brew it wrong. First 1 minute steep will result in a tea that resembles coffee quite a lot, dark, thick and smooth, with deep chocolaty flavor in the second one. After the second steeping it gets a bit thinner, lighter and more live and refreshing, but not pale or worn-out.
Finding the best in tea
Whenever I try some tea and write a review, I always try to find the best quality in tea – leaves, scent, multiple steeping, anything that makes tea special, different or worth trying. This one has it all. Extremely simple to brew, fast to brew, offers unusually high number of steepings for a black tea, wonderful fresh aroma, beautiful live leaves… And then, there is a feeling it give you – it’s like this tea overtakes every single part of you, awakes your senses and give pure joy.
Bang Dong Hong Cha Chinese black tea is the most perfect example how even cheap teas can be of high quality, and what truly counts in the end is how much effort, knowledge and passion has been put into producing it. And the skills of tea vendors to know how to recognize amazing teas, keep them fresh and make tea lovers happy. As written on the pouch I’ve received – white2tea – your country needs it. Yes it does, more than anything. If people were given such an amazing tea to sip each day, I believe they would live much happier lives.
