Standout Black tea batch that tastes like walking through a middle-eastern fruit and spice market - saffron, mango, cinnamon syrup and rosehip.
I am usually not a huge fan of these super long bud teas from Fengqing. They have been favored in recent years by producers and sellers and I taste them all with a a bit of sadness.
The aesthetics of the tea are no doubt beautiful with long, thick, furry, bronzed buds. But, these visuals often come at the expense of taste. Most of these giant golden needle teas taste unbalanced and insipid - a weak mimicry of the richness of an old-school Dianhong.
This is the first tea of this style which just blew all of my preconceptions out of the tea cup. It is bursting with a fiesta of aromatics which are new and unusual for Dianhong tea. A session with Sultan's Quill is a joyful ride through fruits, spices and places in a heady whirlwind of aromatics and flavour.
On the nose there is so much funk - overipe mango, green banana and fermenting pineapple drizzled with saffron and cinnamon syrup and some dense cooked down sugar reminiscent of Jamaican overproof rum.
The syrupy theme continues in the mouth - soft and silky in texture with pomegranate, rosehip and saffron toffee sweetness (all while chewing some cinnamon gum).
The finish has a sweetness reminiscent of sugared fennel seeds with a cooling menthol freshness.
Sultan's Quill is like a love letter to fruit and spice markets sweltering under a hot middle-eastern sun. Ripe, sticky and humming with aromatics.
OK, now you can admire those buds - their taste live up their beauty.
Let's hope that we can continue to find Sultan's Quill in future years - I can't quite fathom this mega-tea not being in my collection.
