2011 Ssangke Black Tea Sejak

Here's something tasty for us to try today, Ssangke's, Black Tea Sejak. In my opinion, Korean black tea's have absolutely nothing common with western style black tea's. No astringency or bitterness to be found here. This is the 2nd time Ive purchased this tea from Sam at Good Green Tea. It's not often that I find tea's that I deem good enough to re-order, but this tea is really, really good. The usual scenario with me is that initially I,m really liking a tea then by the time Ive finished the bag Ive grown weary of it, not the case with this one. Pricey? Yes, but not exceedingly so. $27.99 for 40 gms. But they are presently on sale, refer to Good Green Tea's site to find out the sale price. Inside the container are two, 20 gm. zip top packets. As far as I,m concerned, it's money well spent. And if you take into consideration that Good Green Tea offers free priority mail shipping and that Sam's fast as lightning when it comes to getting your order out, then it's really a justifiable /  affordable treat.

But then again......if there is one thing I am exceptionally good at it's justifying buying expensive tea's and tea ware's.

The container states, Black tea Sejak is a tea that was fermented and aged for 500 days.
As a Sejak tea, it also has a refreshing, light taste and has a bright tea color that resembles the sunset. Compared to ordinary teas, this aged tea has a mild taste that everyone of all ages can enjoy.

I agree that this is a tea that everyone would enjoy. The aroma wafting from the tea pot would even hold the attention  of a child. As soon as the water hits the pot there is the delicious smell of nut's, chocolate and honey. The malted grain aroma's are there as well. Smells sweet as could be, kinda like a candy bar.

The dry leaf is mostly whole unbroken leaves that also remind me of chocolate. You can see that though the leaf is primarily the color of cocoa there are little touches of green still to be found. So, this tea hasn't really been "fully fermented" as a typical black tea is.

The picture above is the first infusion. The flavors mimic the aroma to perfection. Nuts, chocolate, toffee, honey, toasted grain and the faintest touch of very delicate florals. It's kinda surprising that the floral aspects are still intact after being fermented and aged for 500 days. The floral flavors don't deminish with repeated steepings, in fact they become more noticable in the later brews.

This tea is so rich and sweet that it's kinda like having a dessert. In the background there is the slightest hint of a dry, woodsy aspect. Very durable, I easily get 4-5 good steepings.

Pictured below are the spent leaves. It's not really a "black tea" it's more of an Oolong to me. Or should I say Balhyocha, which is the Korean name for a semi-fermented tea.

This is a very nice tea that I,m enjoying a lot. Again, as I mentioned above, this tea is actually quite affordable. But like all Korean tea's they are expensive when compared to tea's from another origin. So, for me these tea's fall into the category of "special treat" not an everyday sorta tea.