I’m still working my way through a lot of the samples I have accumulated over the course of the year. I ended up with a 10 gram sample of this black tea over the summer, put it on the back burner, and then broke it open last night. I find that I dread Christmas more and more every year, and as usual, I had difficulty sleeping last night, so I ended up staying up late and drinking tea. When I finally did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning, I paired this tea with a late breakfast. I found this one to be a very smooth, enjoyable black tea overall.
I prepared this tea Western style. Rather than shortening my initial steep time and attempting multiple infusions, I decided to keep my approach simple and performed a single extended infusion as recommended by the vendor. I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes.
Prior to infusion, I noted that the dry tea leaves emitted a mild aroma of raisins. After infusion, I immediately noted smooth aromas of apricot, raisins, sweet potato, and brown sugar underscored by faintly herbal, woody scents. In the mouth, mild notes of malt, wood, sweet potato, brown sugar, herbs, raisin, plum, and apricot gave way to a wonderfully smooth finish dominated by notes of raisin and brown sugar that lingered for a substantial amount of time.
As mentioned earlier, I really liked this black tea. Its aroma and flavor profiles are unique compared to many of the more widely available black teas on the market. While it may not have the most robust flavor, the aftertaste is simply heavenly and worth the price of admission alone. My limited experience also indicates that this tea can lend itself to pairing with food, so it is not a tea that is necessarily limited to being consumed on its own. I think that I can safely recommend this one to fans of smooth, fruity black teas or those looking for a rather unique drinking experience.
Flavors: Apricot, Brown Sugar, Herbs, Malt, Plum, Raisins, Sweet Potatoes, Wood
