- HOME >
- How to enjoy tea
Creating Muscatel Black Tea using a Unique Blending Method
- [2024.02.28] Posted By Akira Hojo
I would like to introduce the unique creation of black tea with a distinctive muscatel flavor profile.
Acquiring Exceptional Mi Xiang Black Tea
Have you ever heard of a unique black tea called “Mi Xiang Black Tea” or “Muscatel Black Tea”? This tea is crafted from leaves that have been delicately nibbled by leafhoppers, resulting in a delightful sweet honey aroma reminiscent of Muscat wine. While Taiwan is renowned as the primary hub for producing Mi Xiang Black Tea, sourcing truly exceptional and high-quality versions of this tea has become increasingly challenging in recent years.
The challenges in acquiring high-quality Mi Xiang Black Tea stem from several factors:
- Increasing demand in China has driven up prices, making it more difficult to obtain this tea at reasonable rates.
- A lack of expertise among producers has resulted in a significant portion of Mi Xiang Black Tea being inaccurately processed, leading to a musty odor and a lack of the distinctive honey aroma.
- High-quality tea gardens, typically found in high mountain regions, often prioritize the production of Oolong tea. Consequently, the majority of raw materials processed into Mi Xiang Black Tea come from lowland teas, affecting overall quality.
- Leafhoppers, crucial for imparting the desired flavor, are most abundant in early summer. Therefore, Mi Xiang Black Tea is often produced from summer harvest tea, which may lack the desired smoothness in taste.
- Mi Xiang Black Tea is frequently produced in lowland regions with high temperatures during early summer. This environment necessitates the frequent use of pesticides, resulting in many teas failing to meet Japan’s stringent pesticide standards.
Experiencing the Delightful and Exceptional Flavor of Mi Xiang Black Tea
Despite the challenges associated with sourcing high-quality Mi Xiang Black Tea, you don’t need to go through the hassle of searching for it. There’s a straightforward way to experience the exquisite flavor of exceptional Black Tea infused with intense muscatel notes.
Here’s how: Blend equal parts “Oriental Beauty and Yunnan Black Tea!”
Despite the term “blend,” there’s no need to physically mix the tea leaves. Simply use half of each tea in the teapot. For instance, if you’re using 3g of tea leaves, use 1.5g of Oriental Beauty and 1.5g of black tea.
While Oriental Beauty falls into the Oolong tea category, its high level of fermentation and processing method make it closer to black tea, resulting in an excellent harmony with black tea. Oriental Beauty boasts a strong honey aroma yet offers a refreshing taste. By blending it with high-quality black tea, the smooth taste lacking in Oriental Beauty is complemented by the black tea, resulting in a truly exquisite tea experience.
We Highly Recommend Blending with High-Quality Spring Harvest Black Tea
Selecting well-processed black tea for blending is paramount. Tea with improper fermentation control may exhibit a musty odour, noticeable in both the brewed tea leaves and the resulting aroma. Ideally, well-made black tea presents with brewed leaves boasting an orange colour akin to copper, emitting a pleasant sweet aroma.
Moreover, considering that Oriental Beauty’s raw materials are harvested in early summer from low-altitude tea gardens, the resulting taste tends to be coarse regardless of quality. However, when paired with high-quality black tea, the overall flavor profile is significantly enhanced, yielding a more mellow, smooth, and robust aftertaste.
For optimal results, it’s essential to use black tea derived from the first flush of spring harvest. Specifically, we strongly recommend Yunnan black tea sourced from completely unfertilized old trees grown at elevations ranging from 2000 to 2300 meters. This unique combination elevates the muscatel flavor of Oriental Beauty to an exceptional level.
Recommended Black Teas for Blending
When considering black teas suitable for blending, I recommend following tea.
We also prioritize using naturally grown tea without fertilizers for Oriental Beauty. Our current Oriental Beauty selection boasts a strong muscatel flavor, making it a delightful standalone tea. However, blending it with the aforementioned black teas offers a unique and enriching experience! The smoothness of the black tea seamlessly merges with the expansive muscatel aroma, delivering an exceptional black tea experience.
Related Articles
How to get the latest update on HOJO?
1. Follow Twitter, 2. Click "Like" on Facebook, and 3. Subscribe in newsletter. You can have the latest tea news from HOJO.
- Subscribe the Newsletter to enjoy the privileges
- You may receive a free sample upon purchase, or you may have the priority to purchase special products. So please remember to subscribe our newsletter as well as the social network.
- New Release of Anxi Traditional Oolong
- Anxi, located in Fujian province, China, is celebrated for its Tie Guan Yin tea. However, the Traditional Anxi …
- New Release of Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi
- Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi, is not just an ordinary Tie Guan Yin. It has a strikingly delightful flavor re …
NEW ARTICLES
- New Release of Anxi Traditional Oolong
- Anxi, located in Fujian province, China, is celebrated for its Tie Guan Yin tea. However, the Traditional Anxi …
- Yunnan 2024 Spring Tea Sourcing
- Yunnan Province is globally renowned for the exceptional quality of its tea leaves. However, lax production ma …
- The Relationship Between Greenness of Tea Leaves and Fertilizer
- For both tea and vegetables, there’s a common misconception that a deeper green colour indicates better …
- Creating Muscatel Black Tea using a Unique Blending Method
- I would like to introduce the unique creation of black tea with a distinctive muscatel flavor profile. Acquiri …
- New Release of Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi
- Lan Yun Tie Guan Yin from Anxi, is not just an ordinary Tie Guan Yin. It has a strikingly delightful flavor re …
- The Difference Between Fermentation in Tea and Fermented Foods
- Black tea and oolong tea are often categorized as “fermented teas,” but the extent to which they u …
- Two New Releases of Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong: Ba Xian King and Single Tree Tea
- We are excited to introduce two highly exclusive Phoenix Dancong Lao Cong teas in our latest release. The feat …
- Easy Way to Prepare Flavorful and Warm Tea at the Workplace
- Have you ever experienced the transformation of tea stored in a thermos or water bottle at work, turning into …
- The new release of Bao Dao Shan Da Cha Tou Brick 2017, exclusively crafted from Da Cha Tou
- Bao Dao Shan Cha Tou Zhuan 2017 is a ripe pu-erh tea crafted into brick form. Bao Dao Shan is the name of the …
- We released Lapsang Suchong Qi Zhong Classic: Premium Lapsang Souchong
- Lapsang Souchong is one of the earliest known black teas distinguished by a unique production method and flavo …
Category
- New Arrival at HOJO Online Shop
- Featured Articles
- Newsletter
- Types of Tea
- Origin of Tea
- Teapot and Tea Equipment
- Tea Column
- How to enjoy tea
- Tea Processing
- How to choose quality tea
- Tea constituents and functional effect
- Safety of Tea
- Foods
- Tea Business Operation
- Hobby and Outdoor Activity
- Ranking of Tea
- Video
- FAQ
- Media Release
Profile
- AKIRA HOJO
- I invite you to experience my tea selections.I was born in Nagano, Japan. In university, I studied agricultural chemistry, and I have the master degree in food science. I worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years. I involved in R&D, QC and QA. As a factory manager, I implemented ISO9000 series and managed the factory.
- The Art of Tea Magazine
- We posted the article on “The Art of Tea Magazine No.9, the magazine is published in Taiwan. We featured …
- New Straits Times
- The Malaysian National Newspaper, New Straits Times featured HOJO Tea on 17-Oct-2007.
Shop Info
Address:Lot No. T-215, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2287-4537
Business Hour: 10am to 10pm