This sample is from Nicole. I’m still working on your box, I promise! :P The leaves are very dark and spindly, a look that I associate with Taiwanese blacks. The leaves themselves are very large, and there are a lot of broken pieces too, which I can see being unavoidable with a tea this fragile. There are also some stems included. The dry scent is all honey and pastry with some dried fruits. I steeped for 2 minutes, but I think I could’ve gone for 3.
The brewed tea smells very dark and malty, with cocoa and sweet raisin notes. Very different from the dry leaf! The taste is not super heavy, most likely because of the shorter steep. It is definitely malty, and there’s a nice dark grain note that isn’t quite like bread. There’s something roasty and toasty about it. I definitely get a bit of bittersweet cocoa, and there’s a lovely rich molasses flavor combined with slightly sweet dark dried fruits (cherries, raisins). I definitely taste an herbaceous spice note, and it reminds me of fennel seed. I notice as this tea cools, I get less of the fruitiness and more of the spice.
A very lovely tea! It reminds me in some ways of Full Steam by Hugo, mostly because of that savory spice. I think next time I’ll try 3 minutes and see how it changes.
Flavors: Cocoa, Dried Fruit, Fennel Seed, Grain, Malt, Molasses, Roasted
