Black Pearl

I love pearled tea. So easy to travel with and measure out. Nice large leaves when it’s all done. I’ve been looking for a black version for awhile so I had to snag some of this, and it ended up being an interesting tea in its own right. First off it smells rather amazing like dark dried fruit. In playing with this in the past few weeks I’ve found it to brew kind of light so I go heavy on the leaf and steep for at least a full five minutes. It has a bit of tannins that keep it bright, but don’t seem to make it undrinkable if oversteeped so this is definately a travel infuser candidate. The tea has a bit of cocoa notes and dark sugar plus a long lingering aftertaste as well as the feeling of a bit of tannins on the teeth.

Pictures: http://gooseberryspoon.tumblr.com/post/146210596095/black-pearl-indonesian-black-tea-from-teasource

Of all the teas in this new order this might be my favorite. It’s described on the package as having a cocoay/molasses. I can certainly taste that in it and it gives it a fairly unique character among the black teas I’ve tried—I can’t recall a similar flavor profile. My aunt found it only “Okay.” She likes very basic teas like the Kenya Milma in our order. The things that for me make this tea stand out are exactly what she doesn’t like. But yes, personally this is one I’d order again. If I’m rating it a bit lower than the Kenyan tea it’s only that given both my aunt as well as I like it I’m just that much more likely to order it again.