Introduction

I’ve decided to take a deeper dive into black teas after trying some new vendors recommended by TeaDB, a Youtube Channel and Tea Blog. One of my favorite vendors is The Tea Wanderer which actually caught my attention because of the dark roasted oolong teas. The rankings for these teas are just to help me when I eventually go back to buy teas. Some other tea drinkers might rank based on how interesting the flavor is, preference for a particular texture, or the endurance of a tea during a long session. However, I simply rank based on how much I want to reach for the tea in the morning. I actually still have more unopened black teas from The Tea Wanderer to try in my cupboard and they gave me a few freebie samples to try as well. I will keep coming back to this post to add more teas from The Tea Wanderer.

Mi Xiang “Honey Fragrance” High Elevation Black Tea

Current Rank: #6

One of the most distinct tasting black teas I’ve tried. It lives up to the honey fragrance name and it straight up tastes like palm sugar. I think it’s difficult for me to drink this tea every single day. I would still choose a nuttier and less sweet tasting tea like the Hometown Black but if you like sweeter teas I would try this one out. It’s the benchmark for a “sweet” smelling and tasting tea for me now. The ideal brewing method for me is fast steeps where I basically pour immediately. I’m pretty sure that is what the owner of the shop does because the apple-y and pastry flavors written in the description only appear when I do really short steeps. I don’t think I have a strong preference for tea texture in general. But the description for a slightly gelatinous finish is accurate especially for the first couple of steeps. I ordered the Black Tea Sampler from Viet Sun Teas and they were delicious but I would group them with this tea because I don’t think I could drink them every single day. I might come back to Viet Sun Tea for their other tea types.

Hometown Black Tea 2024

Rank: #1

This is the most solid black tea that I want to reach for every day. It’s got a nutty taste that reminds me of Brazil nuts and has a slightly roasted flavor. It’s not sweet and I don’t mind the toasty flavor lingering for a while unlike much sweeter teas.

Old Grove Jin Jun Mei “Golden Brows” 2024

Rank #2

This tastes almost like chocolate but not quite. Almost tastes like coffee but not quite. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet. I could drink this every single day. The only other tea that I would reach for more frequently is the Hometown Black tea 2024.

Tong Mu Forest Black 2024

Rank: #4

Has a slight smoky taste - I probably wouldn’t be able to guess that it was smoked. The sweetness is kind of difficult to describe. It’s almost like a woody taste. It doesn’t taste like any fruit I’ve had. Maybe there’s some sort of healthy root vegetable that tastes like this but I think I can drink this on most days. If I had to do 2 tea sessions on one day I might only pick this one once.

Abandoned Garden “Cloud & Mist” Black Tea

Rank #5

Tastes like barley tea and chili skin. It tastes exactly how some black tea teas smell like. I think it requires a lot of leaves for me to taste anything. I prefer more leaves with this one. It’s probably not a tea I would buy every single time but there is probably a lot of variability for this one and I’m curious about the next year this tea is released on Tea Wanderer.

Hundred’s Year Old Grove (150+ Years) Wild Black Tea 2024

Rank # 3

This one might not be a useful listing because it’s out of stock and I’m unsure if it’s ever getting restocked. I’m slotting this into the new #3 spot. The taste and smell is a bit woodsy and healthy Chinese dried root herbs and vegetables. There is a smoked quality to the tea but it’s much more subtle than the full roast teas on The Tea Wanderer. I think where this tea shines is when I’m over steeping the tea past the third or fourth steep. There isn’t really any bitterness and the woodsy scent remains and the texture stays the same as the previous steeps somehow.

San Yang Feng Rou Gui Three Peaks of Worship 2024 Mid-High Roast

This one tastes like barely, flowers, and honey. The aftertaste lingers almost as much as ripe puerh so I probably can’t really drink this every day. It’s another roasted tea, but this one feels more balanced and doesn’t just taste like smoke. I might want to try more of this and brew it in different ways because I got 2 sessions out of it. Leaving this unranked for now.