Laoshan Black

This was THE tea that led that taught me there is more to tea than tea bags of earl grey. I absolutely LOVE this tea. Never knew that tea could be so simple yet complex. Each steeping is better than the last. It’s very refreshing iced as well.

A nice malty barley tea, with rich salted (maybe almost burnt) caramel. Good for several infusions, this has restored some of my faith in Verdant teas.

Woohoo I have been looking forward to drinking this cup of tea. Brewed western style as per the website (*see note at end). Sniffing the dry leaves I get cocoa and malt (pretty much milo for those Australians here) but also baked potato skins. Huh? I didn’t expect that.

First steep?
This first steeping has the aroma of baked potato skins, there is some cocoa there and it is malty too but mostly potato. Having read a lot of other reviews in anticipation of trying it, I was expecting much more cocoa than I am getting. The flavour is quite intense and also predominantly potato skins to me, not exactly what I was expecting or something that I’ll always go for but it isn’t necessarily bad. There is also a pleasant sweetness and smoothness in the mouth which I really enjoy.

Second steep?
The aroma of this is more like what I was expecting, chocolate malty richness, mmmm… There is still a bit of that baked potato starchiness floating around in the background but not nearly so much. This steeping for me also introduced a subtle spicy note, I think cinnamon, which is a great companion to the sweetness and cocoa which is coming through much more strongly now.

Third Steep?
This round isn’t as intense but has the same yummy qualities of the 2nd steep. I’d describe this steeping as malty and sweet, with a touch of vanilla. There is also a pleasant floral note towards the end of the cup that I didn’t get in the previous steeps.

My verdict so far?
I love trying new teas and haven’t tried a tea like this before so have really enjoyed the experience. If it wasn’t for the first steep I’d have ranked this higher as I loved the later steeps. I have enough leaf for at least another session so will revisit my ranking then.

This is a tea I’d love to own because it is so different and those later infusions so yummy. It is the kind of tea I’d love to make for friends so they can experience it too. A huge thank you to Sil for sharing it with me :D

*I wonder if I used too many leaves and that is what went wrong with my first steep? The verdant website says 1 tablespoon to 1 cup and after the season I measured my teacup to find that it only holds 150ML or 2/3 of a measuring cup.

Uh, sipdown. (No bold or exclamation marks, as I have lots more tea in my real cupboard than in my virtual one, so the virtue of a sipdown! is not mine!)

ANYway, this came from sil – thank you again, sil! Second time I’ve had it, and have to admit, this is a bit of a miss for me. Not a bad miss, but just a miss in comparison to the hit it is for a huge number of people here. The thing about it is that I got one overpowering aroma/taste/memory, and that is cocoa, as in the beverage, rather than the cooking ingredient, but more specifically, the kind of cup of cocoa that gets a skim of milk on top. Now, I haven’t had any kind of cocoa for a while, especially any made with milk (migraines and diary intolerance), and I have to doubt that that kind of a cup of cocoa smells any different from your ideal cup of cocoa, but that’s what my smell memory brought out. It’s slightly burnt-roasty, a little malty, and it’s not what I imagine when hearing a tea described as having chocolate notes. When it cooled, especially on later infusions, I got a bit milder taste, and maybe a raisin smell behind the cocoa one, but never got cinnamon or honey or caramel… Not unpleasant but not something I’d rush to buy either. Unless possibly this is the autumn/spring thing, in which case I’d try the spring.

So I have been waiting to write a tasting note on this tea because I’m still trying to figure it out. The dry leaf is intoxicating. Like a bittersweet cacao. The wet leaf smelled the same but with undertones of honey. Hmm malty..but there is something else there that I can’t put my finger on.

Wow this is so good! Not a hint of bitterness and it smells a lot like chocolate.

Laoshan Black has really grown on me — its a creeper that has slowly and quietly nudged its way into my heart and into my tummy, owing mostly to its bright and unique complexity paired with an overall comforting drinkability.

This tea offers a departure from many flavor profiles associated with traditional “black teas”. To me, Laoshan Black tastes closer to an oxidized “rock” oolong than it does an assam, keemun, ceylon etc. To my surprise, the initial few steeps brew an uncharacteristically bright yellow cup, which I find quite interesting as well. Flavor wise, there is a kind of malty/nutty/saltiness present that really sets this tea apart in my mind, its quite delicious.

Many people have commented on the chocolate taste this tea has. Now i’m a fairly staunch chocolate extremist; an 80-100% cacao kind of guy (none of that weak sauce milk chocolate) sooooo… my take on what constitutes “chocolate flavor” is probably skewed from the general public. I’ll admit, I didn’t initially taste chocolate until someone mentioned cocoa wheats. Yes… cocoa wheats is definitely the flavor i’m getting here, almost to a tee (okay, okay: tea).

In my experience, the first one to two steeps, be it gaiwan (~20 seconds) or brew cup (~1 minute) tend to be the best. I do not prefer to rinse this tea, rather i’m “all in”. Later steepings see the tincture move from bright yellow to an increasingly mellow brown and at this point the tea loses some of its unique salty/nutty/cocoa flavor and settles into a more traditional semi-sweet pleasant maltiness. Brews are fairly consistent with regard to body however the intensity of the “cocoa wheats” chocolate flavor can be a bit finicky, dependent on temperature, brew time and sadly, freshness.

Overall excellent tea. Unique, pleasing, comforting and a capable daily drinker with enough complexity to keep things interesting. I will be ordering more.

So what can i say about this almost legendary tea here on Steepster. Nothing new that the 120 other reviews have not said. So all i will say is i was not disappointed with the very high expectation i had of this tea. Expensive… yes, but it commands this price and is well worth it. and a must buy.

Should I believe the hype? After reading many great reviews for Verdant Tea, and particularly for their Laoshan Black, I succombed to the pressure and ordered. Their website is excellent, being both clean and very informative. In addition, my order came with a hand-written thank you note. Nice touch. On to the tea!

The dry leaf scent screams chocolate. It’s almost like putting your nose in a tin of powdered cocoa. The wet leaf is more grainy and muted. The scent of the liquor is a real star with an aroma not dissimilar to a creamy hot chocolate. Sipping this tea, I’m a little surprised. It’s not as chocolatey as the liquor scent would suggest. There is a grainy-malty taste that wraps around the cocoa. Verdant describes this taste as barley and I won’t argue. Taking a second sniff of the liquor, I now get plenty of this barley in the scent; it sneakily escaped my nose the first time around. The malty-barley and chocolate dance and vibe great together. Rich. After swallowing, I get malty notes in the middle of the tongue and the chocolate notes in the back of the mouth and throat. Interesting combination. If I have one slight personal criticism, I find the graininess of the tea does begin to get a little tiresome toward the end of the pot. It gives me flashes at times of a crafty/hopsy beer. A beer or two is ok, but too much can be a problem.

I enjoyed drinking a pot of this tea. But having said that, for me, it’s not an everyday tea. It doesn’t have quite the strength and vigor I look for in a morning tea. Additionally, it’s graininess makes it too rough for a dessert tea. It’s something in that nebulous, undefinable, and opaque middle, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Update: Over several weeks of drinking this tea, I have really come to like it much more than my original tasting. The graininess of the tea has become an acquired taste. I must up my rating. This is good stuff.

One of the finest black teas I ever drunk. And the price is so right!
It tastes powdery with strong bittersweet cacao notes and smells like iris flower in full bloom, deep and mysterious. After tasting Bai Lin fromTeavivre or Black Gongfu from Zhi, one would think that it is impossible to get any better, then Verdant appears with his Loashan tea and beats them both. I am rushing to buy more while it lasts. Bravo David!