Another sample from Sil. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this tea, so it’s one I’ve been eager to try for a while, particularly since black teas have always been my favourite.
And this tea is black. The dry leaves are some of the most solidly and uniquely black I’ve seen so far, and they’re quite long and sort of curly. The scent is intensely chocolatey and maybe slightly bitter. It’s a good kind of bitterness, though, of the kind I’d attribute to dutch-process cocoa powder, which is what I’m being reminded of most at the moment. Definetly intriguing so far!
Brewed, the chocolatey scent remains and pulls through into the flavour. There’s also a slight something that reminds me of driving past a malting barley processing plant in the summer, and a deeper scent that reminds me of molasses. This is so good. Probably my new favourite among the black teas I’ve tried so far.
The taste is a more intense version of the scent — it’s strong, chocolatey, rich, malty, and bittersweet all at the same time. It almost seems slightly smoky, but I think that might be an coincidence of the strength rather than an element of the flavour in itself. As it cools, the chocolatey notes develop in intensity and there’s even something spicy (peppery?) that lingers at the back of the palate. It’s certainly a complex tea, but a deeply satisfying one all the same. I’m not surprised this gets such favourable reviews, because it really is a spectacular black tea that I won’t hesitate to recommend. I’m off to try some more steepings now!
Thanks again to Sil for giving me the opportunity to try this one!
Yay! So glad you finally got to try it.