Laoshan Black

Throughout numerous steepings, this tea’s flavors shifted in a harmony of dark, earthy sweetness, and baked notes, cereal, and sweet potato. On the first steeping (10s), it had a robust richness: dark chocolate, cooked ripe fruits, malt syrup. The liquor had the kind of silky mouth-feel I have only experienced with certain green and oolong teas. The infusion smelled of unsweetened cocoa, cereal, and had a tart note that was not represented in the liquor.

On the second infusion (15s) the sweetness was more subdued, and the baked, cereal notes became stronger. This trend continued through additional steepings. The sweetness never left the liquor, but the richer, dark notes of sweetness became brighter. The tartness I had noted in the infusion never really asserted itself in the liquor, though aeration did bring it out—a sort of sharp caramel, citric quality vaguely similar to the aroma of demerara sugar.

The liquor from the first two or three infusions was complex, with too many nuances for me to describe. Later steepings were simpler, less dark and rich, though always playing on a balance of grain and earthy sweetness. I was able to enjoy 6 steepings before the liquor became insipid and unpleasant, which is significantly fewer than recommended by Verdant Tea, but I also started with longer steeping times. On my next attempt, I will follow their recommendations more closely.

This is a wonderful tea. The first infusion was incredibly rich and easily stands out from other Chinese black teas, such as the Golden Monkey and Bailin Gongfu, that I have been enjoying lately. I definitely look forward to trying this again.

4.2g tea (half the sample) • 90ml Gaiwan • 212°F • 6 steepings (10s, +5)

Morning tea, cereal and soft smoke.

This review is for the Spring 2016 Laoshan Black. I was going to add a page for that when I came across this one. I brewed this according to the directions on the package which called for a short 30 second steep even though the instructions were for western brewing. I’ve only sampled this once before. To me the main note of this tea is malt. Then I guess you could say some of the notes in the description page show up, perhaps raisins, perhaps a little bit of a roast note. As to the main question, is this better than the Yunnan Sourcing Laoshan Black tea. I think it is a toss up. They are both good.

I brewed this one time in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 30 seconds.

1:30 min steep. Floral flavor. Roses. Not much of a black base like I’m used to with straight black teas. As it cools down the normal woodsy flavor starts to appear. This is good with brownie brittle. The leaves have a very interesting aroma. Slightly dark chocolate, slightly woodsy almost oaky. The way the wet leaves look kinda creeps me out.

I have the current offering of this but it s disappointing and appears to suffer from the flaws mentioned about some recent versions . It smells good dry, very chocolaty , but brewed takes on an over processed burnt quality . It’s a shame as you have a sense of its potential but frankly it’s not all that nice. Hopefully they will get it right again some time soon.

Creamy, rich, dark chocolate caramel! It has a nice earthy feel without the roasted flavour. It’s pretty darn good..

On a side note, I love the way David brings the farmers into the picture. Whilst sipping this tea, I was thinking of the He family, the work that went into producing this marvellous tea, and the general life of a tea farmer. I’m very grateful.

As I said in my tasting note for the Black Chocolate Genmaicha, I actually find the straight Laoshan Black to be more chocolatey and grainy than the version with actual cacao nibs and toasted grains added to it. Go figure. :) I think my next experiment will be to start comparing this against the other naturally chocolatey teas I have in my cupboard. This one really balances the cocoa notes with the roasted grain notes, rather than going full-on chocolate. I have to admit, some of the appeal for me with this tea comes from hearing about the He family and their commitment to organic farming and producing a high-quality product.

Thought I logged this as tasting great; maybe had network issues.

Wow, this tea is so flavorful! There’s a definite roasted taste here, which I really enjoy. I can also taste some of the cocoa note mentioned on Verdant’s site description. That said, it’s not a sweet tea. Instead it’s really savory, with strong malty notes and a delicious aroma that’s especially potent with the first few cups. Later steepings were a bit lighter, with notes of raisin. I steeped my sample at least five times (Western style, but short steeps), and each cup was tasty.

This tea is impressive, with lots of staying power. I can see why everyone raves about it! I’m glad I’ll be drinking more of it in the form of Laoshan Village Chai—but I may have to order some of it plain in the near future, too.

Didn’t care for this cup, but since I tried it a few days ago I do not remember what my impressions were about it. It is one I’d be inclined to get another sample or 2…I mean afterall, I may have brewed it wrong. Honestly, I have not overly liked any of the recent samples from Verdant, so far.

Still got more for another cup so will do another review in a few days. I would love to do it today, but due to needing to get up early tomorrow, I can’t have caffeine for the rest of the day. If I manage to get my sorry butt out of bed early enough, I might have time in the morning. LOL.