Gunpowder Tea

Tea: Gunpowder Tea 7053
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: unkn
Location: Zhejiang, China

I got this tea as well in part of the assortment pack that Lupicia had. (I do drink teas other than from Lupicia, I swear. I just happen to have a lot of them to try after stocking up last time I was there) I can't seem to find it on their website so I don't know what the pricing would be per package.

The flavor of this tea reminds me of drinking scotch. It has a very strong woody/smoky flavor to it, in the same way that a scotch has an oak flavor. While the taste of scotch is that of oak the flavor of this tea is a bit harder to place. I'm tempted to say that the flavor is almost like bamboo. I'm reminded of the taste that you get if you suck on the end of a pair of disposable chopsticks. The smokiness seems to preclude the fact that this is a green tea you can't really tell by the taste of the tea. All of the characteristics associated with a nice sencha or gyokuro are overwhelmed by the smokiness.

I did notice that the tea did change significantly with between the first and second infusions. The color also did change. The first extraction is in the picture on the left and second on the right. The heavy smoky flavor in the first is not quite as strong in the second, but not subdued enough to let the green tea come through.

Rating: 2/10

Conclusion: If you enjoy scotch and are looking for a tea that tastes like scotch, then this may be the tea for you. Aside from that the flavor is a bit too smoky for my tastes. I have a feeling that this is a tea that is going to be sitting in the back of my shelf for quite some time. I might try to find some use for it for cooking.