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This is the fourth and final tea from Adagio’s Silk Road Sampler, and another one that I’ve gone back and forth on. With this one, I think knowing what to expect helped a LOT.

The leaves, which are dark and rolled up, smell quite sweet. However, the tea tastes very different than it smells. This was my first Chinese black tea, and the malty, slightly earthy/mushroom-ish flavor caught me way off guard the first time I tried it. Now that I’ve grown to like malty, I can see it becoming one of my standard breakfast teas. It’s slightly earthier than Adagio’s Yunnan jig, which makes it a bit less of a favorite. Good stuff, nonetheless.

Some days I find myself suddenly craving the taste of jasmine tea…

Go easy on this one. I didn’t measure the exact water temperature, but it was right as I started to hear it boil on the stove. I let it steep for about two minutes with some help (aka me swishing the pot to stir up the leaves.) Nice, mid-level jasmine flavor, very smooth. A little less strong than some jasmine pearl teas. One of my evening teas.

(sings) IT’S THE FINAL SIPDOOOOOOOOOOOWN

(rides in on a Segway, releases doves into the air, and dances like Gob Bluth)

Well, almost the final sipdown. I’m saving one pearl and some stray leaves for freshening up my second infusion (which is something I always do. Because I’m weird.) I ordered the Teavivre version of this last night and I am SO EXCITED!

I think this may be the first time I have successfully done a second infusion of this tea. I put two new little pearls in, only let the water heat until right as I started to hear it bubbling, then let it steep for about 50 seconds. Mmmm.

OK, I know I said I was getting weary of bergamot earlier. But I had to be up extra early this morning for an increasing number of errands, so I figured, “Oh, what the hell.” This being my first Earl Grey, I had nothing to compare it to. I’ve heard other reviewers say it’s not the greatest one in existence, but for me, it’s decent. Smells a bit sweet, but the bergamot/citrus flavor is fairly pronounced so it’s quite astringent. Its the kind of thing one can get tired of, but a nice jolt to the early morning senses.

And of course I left all my travel mugs at work so I couldn’t take any with me. Damn! Oh well.