Autumn 2021 Experimental Black #2

Autumn 2021 harvest Sun-dried black tea Jingmai natural tea gardens 1 bud/2 leaves Overnight oxidation piled in a large basket This batch was made on day three of our black tea production run. We used fairly tender 1 bud/2 leaves material from the natural tea gardens of Jingmai. This tea had the same processing as batch #1, it was withered for 30 hours, rolled for an hour down to medium pressure, left to oxidize in a large basket overnight and dried on the next day. The main difference with batch #1 is the leaf grade. The same withering and rolling parameters applied to softer material has lead to a higher level of oxidation, as the tender leaves were more easily squeezed and degraded during the rolling step, causing a more complete release of the tea enzymes. At the time of tasting, two weeks after its production, the tea is not as sweet nor as fragrant as batch #1, it features medium acidity and medium astringency, both balance each other well to give a playful mouthfeel. The tea feels overall more potent than batch #1.