Thanks to Blodeuyn and scribbles, I have a ton of new black tea samples to enjoy in the mornings! Thanks so much ladies, I really appreciate it! This one is from Blodeuyn. Clearly it’s a completely different animal from the only other black pearl tea I’ve had (from TeaVivre). The pellets are tiny and not really spherical. They’re jet black and somewhat shiny, which makes me think of little beetles and reminds me of the part in Harry Potter when he’s in Diagon Alley and the apothecaries sell scoops of beetle eyes… LOL. Sometimes associations are weird, no? Anyway! The dry scent of this tea is powerful! Strong malt and earth with a little sharp scent that almost reminds me of eucalyptus? Who knows? I steeped mine for 3 minutes at 200 degrees.
When I opened my brew basket, they just looked like normal black tea leaves. Amazing! The brewed aroma is still very strong and earthy with definite mineral/smoke notes. I can see this is going to be a kick-in-the-pants kind of tea! The aroma reminds me of shou with its strong earth/wood notes (and it’s very dark in color so that helps!). Wow, this is earth city! And the taste absolutely reminds me of shou as well. It’s very earthy, but with a bit of sweetness. There’s a very present mineral/smoke note along with a touch of wood. It’s a shou masquerading as a black tea! :o
OFF-TOPIC: I miss you, Stephanie! There’s no one here with me in chat in the mornings! D: Hope your vacation is going well though!
Flavors: Earth, Mineral, Smoke, Sweet, Wood
